1394 results about "Flight safety" patented technology

Several improvements to an aircraft turbine engine and Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) are disclosed, as well as methods of using these improvements in routine and emergency aircraft operations. The improvements comprise the addition of cockpit-controllable clutches that can be used to independently disconnect the engine's integrated drive generator (IDG), engine driven pump (EDP), fuel pump, and oil pump from the engine gearbox. These engine components may then be connected to air turbines by the use of additional clutches and then powered by the turbines. Similar arrangements are provided for the APU components. Cranking pads, attached to various engine and APU components, are disclosed to provide a means for externally powering the components for testing purposes and to assist with engine and APU start. Detailed methods are disclosed to use the new components for routine ground-testing and maintenance and for the enhancement of flight safety, minimization of engine component damage, and extension of engine-out flying range in the case of an emergency in-flight engine shutdown.

A radar altimeter system with a closed-loop modulation for generating more accurate radar altimeter values. The present invention combines flight safety critical sensors into a common platform to permit autonomous or semi-autonomous landing, enroute navigation and complex precision approaches in all weather conditions. An Inertial Navigation System (INS) circuit board, a radar altimeter circuit board and a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) circuit board are housed in a single chassis. VHF (Very High Frequency) Omni-directional Radio (VOR), Marker Beacon (MB), and VDB (VHF Data Broadcast) receiver circuit boards may also be implemented on circuit boards in the chassis.

Flight safety and air vehicle deconfliction are of paramount concern in the operation of manned aircraft. The introduction of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in quickly growing numbers raises the risks of mid-air collisions, near misses, and diversions from intended flight paths. This application discloses a series of linked process whereby such risks may be significantly reduced and may enable the safe integration of UAVs into the national airspaces of the United States and other nations. The disclosed process allows emergency responders and others to declare an emergency air operations zone (perhaps near the expected landing spot of a medivac helicopter) and notify UAV operators in the vicinity of that zone of the emergency and suggested or mandated actions for the UAV operators to take (i.e., land your airframe as soon as possible, do not approach this spot, be alert for emergency aircraft, etc.). The emergency or priority zone would be limited in location and time. The notifications are made to UAV operators either through an application running on a mobile phone or other connected device or by calls, texts, or other alerts to such devices. The process has uses beyond providing priority to emergency services. For example, a city could provide priority airspace to a film crew using UAVs and notify other UAV users to keep clear of a particular area for a limited time.

A method and system for collision avoidance, carried by each aircraft, includes a miniature MEMS (MicroElectroMechanical Systems) IMU (Inertial Measurement Unit), a miniature GPS (Global Positioning System) receiver, a display, a data link receiver / transmitter, and a central processing system. Each aircraft carries a GPS receiver coupled with a self-contained miniature IMU for uninterrupted position determination. This position information is shared with other aircraft over an RF (Radio Frequency) data link. An intelligent display shows the relative positions of the aircraft in the immediate vicinity of the host aircraft and issues voice and flashing warnings if a collision hazard exists. This system provides situational awareness to the pilot and enhances the safety of flight.

Several improvements to an aircraft turbine engine and Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) are disclosed, as well as methods of using these improvements in routine and emergency aircraft operations. The improvements comprise the addition of cockpit-controllable clutches that can be used to independently disconnect the engine's integrated drive generator (IDG), engine driven pump (EDP), fuel pump, and oil pump from the engine gearbox. These engine components may then be connected to air turbines by the use of additional clutches and then powered by the turbines. Similar arrangements are provided for the APU components. Cranking pads, attached to various engine and APU components, are disclosed to provide a means for externally powering the components for testing purposes and to assist with engine and APU start. Detailed methods are disclosed to use the new components for routine ground-testing and maintenance and for the enhancement of flight safety, minimization of engine component damage, and extension of engine-out flying range in the case of an emergency in-flight engine shutdown.

A navigation altitude obtaining method combining relative altitude and absolute altitude comprises the five steps of obtaining the relative altitude hrelat of an aircraft from the ground with a relative altitude measurement meter, obtaining the absolute altitude habs of the aircraft with an absolute altitude measurement meter, determining the navigation altitude source according to the relative altitude hrelat, calculating the navigation altitude hNavi by means of the absolute altitude habs if it is determined that the navigation altitude source is the absolute altitude habs in the third step, and calculating the navigation altitude hNavi by means of the relative altitude hrelat and the ground altitude hground and calculating and recording the difference value hoffset between the navigation altitude hNavi and the absolute altitude habs if it is determined that the navigation altitude source is the relative altitude hrelat in the third step. According to the navigation altitude obtaining method combining relative altitude and absolute altitude, the reliability and accuracy of the navigation altitude are improved; when the aircraft flies near the ground, the aircraft flies along with the ascending terrain, the aircraft can exit from the current state and return to an expected altitude when the aircraft flies along with the descending terrain, and then flight safety is guaranteed.

The invention discloses an autonomous landing method for an unmanned aerial vehicle. According to the autonomous landing method, a camera is carried on the unmanned aerial vehicle to shoot ground images, an image semantic partitioning algorithm model obtained through training of a deep learning model is adopted to identify types and boundaries of all areas of the ground images, and the best landing pint is judged through ground types and ground area sizes. When emergency circumstances occur to the unmanned aerial vehicle in air, the complex ground environment can be automatically identified through the autonomous landing method, after selection, the unmanned aerial vehicle efficiently and accurately lands on a safe place, and the flight safety of the unmanned aerial vehicle is greatly promoted.

The invention discloses a design method of a ground station three-dimensional navigation map of a small unmanned air vehicle. The method comprises the steps of Google Earth application program interface (API)-based map data acquisition, geographical coordinate conversion and navigation function implementation. Network map data of a flight area can be stored into a local two-dimensional array by a Google Earth API; map data is drawn into a ground station navigation map area by a three-dimensional drawing interface, so that a three-dimensional map can be formed; flight destinations of the unmanned air vehicle are inquired in local map data and are drawn in the three-dimensional map, so that the three-dimensional map navigation function can be realized. By virtue of the method, the three-dimensional navigation map with low cost can be provided for a ground station of the small unmanned air vehicle, the map display intuition is improved, and the flight safety of the unmanned air vehicle can be improved under complex terrain conditions.

A radar altimeter system with a closed-loop modulation for generating more accurate radar altimeter values. The present invention combines flight safety critical sensors into a common platform to permit autonomous or semi-autonomous landing, enroute navigation and complex precision approaches in all weather conditions. An Inertial Navigation System (INS) circuit board, a radar altimeter circuit board and a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) circuit board are housed in a single chassis. VHF (Very High Frequency) Omni-directional Radio (VOR), Marker Beacon (MB), and VDB (VHF Data Broadcast) receiver circuit boards may also be implemented on circuit boards in the chassis.

The group of inventions relates to aviation and to transport means having (static and dynamic) air discharge, in particular to self-stabilizing wing-in-ground-effect craft of types A, B and C. The following technical results are achieved: increased flight safety and maneuvering safety, increased load-bearing capacity and flight height in ground effect mode, reduced dimensions, improved take-off and landing characteristics, as well as amphibian characteristics and economic efficiency, increased functionality and a wider range of operational alignments, and greater ease of use and maintenance. This result is achieved by simultaneously applying the methods for generating a system of aerodynamic forces, the structural solutions and the piloting methods conceptually linked therewith which are proposed in the present group of inventions to “flying wing” or “composite wing” design layouts.