Helicopter hoist systems, devices, and methodologies
First Claim
1. A smart hook apparatus, comprising:
- a housing having a cable end for attachment to a rescue cable, and a hook end for attachment to rescue equipment, the housing further including an outer surface;
a ring coaxially protruding from the outer surface of the housing and located between the cable end and the hook end, wherein the ring has an upper surface facing the cable end, and a lower surface facing the hook end;
a first plurality of lights mounted on the upper surface of the ring configured to illuminate and direct light upward and generally toward a helicopter when the hook end is lowered from the helicopter;
a second plurality of lights mounted on the lower surface of the ring configured to illuminate and direct light downward and generally in a direction away from the helicopter when the hook end is lowered from the helicopter;
a control system located in the housing configured to measure, store, and transmit at least one of the following parameters;
(a) a load between the hook end and the cable end;
(b) an altitude of the housing above the ground or water; and
(c) at least one of a position and a relative motion of the hook in coordinate space;
wherein the control system comprises a processor and the control system is further configured to modify at least one of the following;
an illumination pattern, a flash frequency, and a color of the light emitted from the plurality of lights located with the housing based on at least one of the following;
the measured load between the hook end and the cable end; and
the measured altitude of the housing relative to the ground.
14 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A helicopter-hoist system is described. The system may include: hoist equipment, illumination systems, range-measuring equipment, camera(s), communication systems, display devices, processing/control systems including image-processing systems, and power-management systems. The system may also include a smart-hook for measuring a load on the hook. Based on the measured load on the cable, the lighting may be illuminated in different manners. In another aspect, the system may communicate with display devices, which render images of a mission to helicopter crew members or other observers. Measured parameters appurtenant to the mission—such as the weight of the load, height of the smart-hook above a surface, altitude of the aircraft, distance between the aircraft and end of the hook, location of the hook in three-dimensional space, forces on the hook and cable, and other mission-critical information—may be overlaid, or rendered proximate to the real images to provide crew members with a full understanding of a mission.
-
Citations
20 Claims
-
1. A smart hook apparatus, comprising:
-
a housing having a cable end for attachment to a rescue cable, and a hook end for attachment to rescue equipment, the housing further including an outer surface; a ring coaxially protruding from the outer surface of the housing and located between the cable end and the hook end, wherein the ring has an upper surface facing the cable end, and a lower surface facing the hook end; a first plurality of lights mounted on the upper surface of the ring configured to illuminate and direct light upward and generally toward a helicopter when the hook end is lowered from the helicopter; a second plurality of lights mounted on the lower surface of the ring configured to illuminate and direct light downward and generally in a direction away from the helicopter when the hook end is lowered from the helicopter; a control system located in the housing configured to measure, store, and transmit at least one of the following parameters; (a) a load between the hook end and the cable end; (b) an altitude of the housing above the ground or water; and (c) at least one of a position and a relative motion of the hook in coordinate space; wherein the control system comprises a processor and the control system is further configured to modify at least one of the following; an illumination pattern, a flash frequency, and a color of the light emitted from the plurality of lights located with the housing based on at least one of the following; the measured load between the hook end and the cable end; and the measured altitude of the housing relative to the ground. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
-
-
17. A smart hook apparatus, comprising:
-
a housing having a cable end for attachment to a rescue cable, and a hook end for attachment to rescue equipment, the housing further including an outer surface; a ring coaxially protruding from the outer surface of the housing and located between the cable end and the hook end, wherein the ring has an upper surface facing the cable end, and a lower surface facing the hook end; a first plurality of lights mounted on the upper surface of the ring configured to illuminate and direct light upward and generally toward a helicopter when the hook end is lowered from the helicopter; a second plurality of lights mounted on the lower surface of the ring configured to illuminate and direct light downward and generally in a direction away from the helicopter when the hook end is lowered from the helicopter; a control system located in the housing configured to measure, store, and transmit at least a load between the hook end and the cable end; wherein the control system comprises a processor and the control system is further configured to modify at least one of the following;
an illumination pattern, a flash frequency, and a color of the light emitted from the plurality of lights located with the housing based on the measured load between the hook end and the cable end.
-
-
18. A smart hook apparatus, comprising:
-
a housing having a cable end for attachment to a rescue cable, and a hook end for attachment to rescue equipment, the housing further including an outer surface; a ring coaxially protruding from the outer surface of the housing and located between the cable end and the hook end, wherein the ring has an upper surface facing the cable end, and a lower surface facing the hook end; a first plurality of lights mounted on the upper surface of the ring configured to illuminate and direct light upward and generally toward a helicopter when the hook end is lowered from the helicopter; a second plurality of lights mounted on the lower surface of the ring configured to illuminate and direct light downward and generally in a direction away from the helicopter when the hook end is lowered from the helicopter; a control system located in the housing configured to measure, store, and transmit at least an altitude of the housing above the ground or water wherein the control system comprises a processor and the control system is further configured to modify at least one of the following;
an illumination pattern, a flash frequency, and a color of the light emitted from the plurality of lights located with the housing based on the measured altitude of the housing relative to the ground. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20)
-
Specification