Aircraft Ground Speed Control Using Non-Engine Drive Means
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current aircraft ground travel systems require pilots to manually control speed and direction using engines, leading to safety risks, increased fuel consumption, and reduced situational awareness due to the need to focus on throttle management during taxiing.
Innovation Solution
A system and method using onboard non-engine powered drive means to set and maintain a selected taxi speed and direction, allowing the pilot to focus on other tasks by automatically controlling the aircraft's movement through speed control and direction guidance, interfacing with external sensors for navigation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Use of energy by moving object
If pilots manually control aircraft speed using engines during taxi, then speed control is achieved, but fuel consumption increases and situational awareness deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the speed control function from the engine system and places it in a dedicated ground speed control system with separate thrust generators. This separation allows the engine to be idle during taxi operations while a specialized system handles speed maintenance, eliminating fuel consumption during ground movement and freeing the pilot to focus on situational awareness.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary ground speed control system that acts as a mediator between the pilot's speed commands and the aircraft's movement. This intermediary system automatically maintains selected ground speeds using thrust generators, eliminating the need for manual engine throttle adjustments and reducing pilot workload during taxi operations.
2Reliability
If pilots focus on throttle management during taxi, then speed control is maintained, but safety risks increase due to reduced external monitoring
Solution Approach 1:
The ground speed control system is designed to be self-regulating, automatically maintaining selected speeds without continuous pilot intervention. The system monitors its own performance and adjusts thrust generator output as needed, providing inherent safety through automation while reducing the complexity of manual control procedures.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the traditional mechanical engine throttle control system with an automated ground speed control system that uses electronic control and separate thrust generators. This substitution eliminates the need for manual throttle management and reduces safety risks associated with pilot distraction while maintaining precise speed control.
3Productivity
If engines are used to power aircraft during ground travel, then movement is achieved, but fuel consumption and emissions increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the aircraft propulsion system into separate functions: main engines for flight and dedicated thrust generators for ground movement. This segmentation allows the main engines to remain idle during taxi operations, eliminating fuel consumption during ground travel while maintaining efficient aircraft movement through the segregated ground propulsion system.
Solution Approach 2:
The thrust generators serve multiple functions: providing propulsion during ground movement, enabling precise speed control, and allowing the main engines to be shut down during taxi. This multi-functionality improves ground travel efficiency while eliminating the energy loss associated with running main engines at idle during ground operations.
Data Source
AI summary
A system and method for setting, controlling, or maintaining a selected taxi speed and route for one or more aircraft equipped with an onboard non-engine powered drive means powering one or more aircraft wheels to move the aircraft during taxi is provided. Taxi speed and/or route can be set, maintained, or controlled by the aircraft pilot or ground traffic control in conjunction with taxi speed and travel of other aircraft and ground vehicles. A pilot activates a speed control to set and control taxi speed. The aircraft will automatically travel on the ground at that speed without input from the pilot until it is necessary to change the speed manually or automatically. Airport ground traffic control can generate taxi profiles for all non-engine driven aircraft to automatically control, subject to pilot capability to override, the taxi of multiple aircraft at an airport in conjunction with ground vehicle movement.