Automatic Landing Gear Extension via Emergency Gas Pressure
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Solution Overview
Problem
Aerial vehicles face challenges in automatically lowering landing gear in response to detected conditions, particularly in emergency situations where pilot intervention may be delayed or impossible.
Innovation Solution
A vehicle management system that monitors aerial vehicle conditions such as altitude and speed, and automatically lowers the landing gear or alerts the pilot when predetermined conditions are met, including the use of emergency gas bottles to expedite landing gear deployment in critical situations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of time
If automatic landing gear extension system is implemented, then response time to emergency conditions is reduced, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system pre-positions the landing gear in a stowed state during flight and automatically transitions it to an extended state when emergency conditions are detected. The vehicle management system continuously monitors flight parameters and is ready to trigger gear extension immediately when critical conditions are met, eliminating pilot reaction time delays.
Solution Approach 2:
The landing gear extension system operates autonomously by self-monitoring flight conditions through sensors and self-actuating the gear extension mechanism when predetermined emergency criteria are satisfied. The system serves itself by detecting its own operational state and initiating the appropriate response without external pilot input.
2Reliability
If manual pilot intervention is required for landing gear extension, then system complexity is reduced, but reliability decreases in emergency situations
Solution Approach 1:
The vehicle management system continuously receives feedback from sensors monitoring altitude, descent rate, and other flight parameters. This feedback loop enables the system to detect when emergency landing conditions are approaching and automatically initiate gear extension at the optimal moment, ensuring reliable response even when pilots are incapacitated.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical pilot control system with an automated electronic control system that uses sensors, processors, and actuators to monitor flight conditions and control landing gear extension. This substitution of mechanical/manual control with electronic automation enhances reliability in emergency situations.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Ensures timely and automatic lowering of landing gear in emergency conditions, reducing the risk of damage to the aerial vehicle and injury to occupants by eliminating the need for immediate pilot intervention.
Implementation Method 1
triggering a release of a gas stored in a container may reduce an amount of time to lower the landing gear
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods for automatically controlling landing gear responsive to detected aerial vehicle conditions. A system can receive, from one or more sensors of the aerial vehicle, altitude information and speed information of the aerial vehicle. The system can determine to lower landing gear of the aerial vehicle based on a change in a state of the aerial vehicle, and identify a condition corresponding to a type of the aerial vehicle and the state of the aerial vehicle. The system can compare the speed information and the altitude information to the condition to determine that a condition to lower landing gear is satisfied. Responsive to determining that the condition to lower the landing gear is satisfied, the system can provide a signal to lower the landing gear.