Helmet Camera Mount Adapter for Pilot View Monitoring
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Solution Overview
Problem
The training and monitoring of pilots in cockpits with obstructed seating arrangements prevent instructors from observing the pilot's view, necessitating a method to capture and display the pilot's point of view for real-time feedback and review, which is hindered by the lack of a standard camera mount compatible with the NVD-ANVIS mount on flight helmets.
Innovation Solution
A camera is affixed to the standard multi-angle mounting surface of pilot helmets using an intermediate mating structure that matches the NVD-ANVIS mount, providing a single planar face for proper camera positioning and angle, allowing real-time image capture and display of the pilot's view for instructors and recordings for review.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If an instructor sits beside or directly observes the pilot in the cockpit, then real-time training feedback is improved, but the seating arrangement in crowded cockpits prevents this observation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a camera to capture images from the pilot's point of view and transmits them to a display device visible to the instructor. This creates a visual copy of the pilot's perspective, allowing the instructor to observe without physically being in the pilot's position, thus resolving the contradiction between observation quality and seating accessibility.
2Loss of information
If separate training helmets are provided to capture pilot's point of view, then training monitoring capability is improved, but the cost becomes prohibitive
Solution Approach 1:
The patent adapts the existing NVD-ANVIS mount on standard flight helmets to serve a dual purpose: its original function for night vision devices and a new function as a camera mounting interface. This universal adaptation eliminates the need for separate training helmets, reducing costs while maintaining the ability to capture the pilot's point of view.
3Adaptability or versatility
If standard camera mounts are used, then device compatibility is improved, but they cannot be properly mounted to the three different planes of the NVD-ANVIS mount
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediate mounting structure that acts as a mediator between the three-plane NVD-ANVIS mount and standard single-plane camera mounts. This intermediary adapter provides a flat mounting surface for standard cameras while attaching to the complex NVD-ANVIS interface, thus resolving the compatibility issue without requiring custom camera mounts.
4Volume of stationary object
If the instructor sits behind the pilot with obstructed view, then cockpit space utilization is improved, but the training effectiveness deteriorates due to inability to observe pilot's view
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical requirement of physical proximity for observation with an optical/electronic system. Instead of the instructor needing to sit beside the pilot to observe, a camera system captures images and transmits them to a display device, substituting the mechanical observation arrangement with an electronic information transmission system that maintains training effectiveness while preserving cockpit space utilization.
Data Source
AI summary
A helmet point-of-view training and monitoring method and apparatus to solve problems encountered in the training and monitoring of pilots of airplanes and other air, sea, land, and space vessels, or vehicles where the seating arrangement in the cockpit prevents an instructor or evaluator from sitting beside or directly observing the pilot's view of the controls and indicators in the cockpit and the outside view from the pilot's position in the cockpit, by providing an apparatus to affix a camera to the standard multi-angle mounting surface found on pilot's helmets, in a proper position and at a proper angle, and by capturing a series of images from the pilot's point of view and displaying such images in real time to an instructor and as recordings for review by pilots, instructors, and others.