Aircraft Flight Management Geographical Constraint Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current aircraft flight management systems lack the ability to directly visualize and adjust the position at which speed and altitude objectives are reached, leading to complexity and inefficiency in managing vertical flight trajectories, particularly in dynamic operational environments.
Innovation Solution
A method and device that allow pilots to enter speed and altitude instructions, with automatic control of the aircraft's thrust and airbrakes to reach a specified geographical constraint, such as a distance ahead of the aircraft, simplifying the piloting task and reducing fuel consumption by integrating the management of automatic thrust and airbrakes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the crew manually manages speed and altitude adjustments using conventional interfaces, then they can control the aircraft trajectory, but they cannot directly visualize or adjust the position where objectives are reached, increasing complexity and workload
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a horizontal distance dimension to the vertical flight management interface. Instead of only managing altitude and speed independently, the system now allows pilots to specify a horizontal distance ahead of the aircraft where a target altitude or speed should be reached. This additional spatial dimension simplifies the mental workload by providing intuitive geometric control while the system automatically calculates the complex energy management required.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an automated flight management system as an intermediary between the pilot's simple geometric input (distance ahead) and the complex aircraft control systems. This intermediary automatically manages the coordinated adjustment of thrust, airbrakes, and vertical trajectory to achieve the desired position-objective pairing, shielding the pilot from complexity while maintaining ease of operation.
2Productivity
If the aircraft uses separate control systems for thrust and airbrakes, then each system can be independently managed, but the coordinated control increases pilot workload and may lead to suboptimal fuel consumption
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the independent control of thrust and airbrakes into a unified automated control system. Instead of requiring the pilot to manually coordinate these separate systems, the flight management system integrates their control, automatically adjusting both thrust and airbrake settings in coordination to achieve the desired flight objective at the specified position, thereby reducing pilot workload and optimizing fuel efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The automated flight management system performs self-service by automatically managing the coordinated adjustment of thrust and airbrakes without requiring direct pilot intervention. The system monitors flight parameters and autonomously adjusts the control surfaces and engine thrust to maintain optimal performance and achieve objectives, reducing the pilot's workload to supervisory levels.
3Loss of information
If the pilot enters speed and altitude instructions using conventional interfaces, then the aircraft can follow the instructions, but the pilot cannot directly control or visualize where these objectives will be reached along the trajectory
Solution Approach 1:
The patent adds a horizontal distance dimension to the flight management interface, allowing pilots to specify where along the horizontal trajectory a vertical objective should be reached. This dimensional enhancement provides complete visibility and control of the trajectory in both horizontal and vertical planes, eliminating information loss about where objectives will be achieved while maintaining interface simplicity through intuitive geometric control.
Data Source
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AI summary
The method involves allowing a pilot to enter setpoints such as speed setpoint and altitude setpoint, by a flight control interface unit (2). An interface unit (4) is envisaged for allowing the pilot to generate a geographical constraint represented by a distance ahead of an aircraft. A position, at which the pilot attains a setpoint to be entered, is defined. An automatic thrust system (6) of the aircraft and airbrakes (7) of the aircraft are automatically servo controlled in a combined manner such that the aircraft attains the setpoint at a position defined by the geographical constraint. An independent claim is also included for a device for aiding flight management of an aircraft.