Avionics system adapted for employing smartphone to input-output flight data

• US 10,275,950 B2
• Filed: 07/26/2013
• Issued: 04/30/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 07/26/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Textron Innovations Incorporated (Textron Inc)
• Original Assignee: Bell Helicopter Textron Incorporated (Textron Inc)
• Inventors: Girard, William D., Tucker, Brian E.
• Primary Examiner(s): Mawari, Redhwan K
• Application Number:
  US13/951,900
• Publication Number:
  US 20150032296A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,104 Days
• Field of Search: 701 3, 701 14, 701120, 701 10, 701100, 701123, 701 2, 701 291
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/008 communicating information to a remotely located station transmission systems for measured values G08C

Abstract

A system and method configured to monitor aircraft flight performance data. The system includes a wireless transmitter in data communication with an avionics system of the aircraft, a portable wireless transceiver associated with the wireless transmitter, and a wireless database associated with the wireless transmitter. The method includes sensing flight performance data with the sensor, transmitting sensed flight performance data to the wireless transmitter, wirelessly transmitting the sensed flight performance data to the wireless database, and monitoring flight performance data with a display operably associated with the wireless database.

Claims

1. An aircraft, comprising:

a sensor configured to sense flight performance of the aircraft during flight;

an avionics system associated with the sensor, the avionics system comprising;

a memory card interface;

a database in data communication with the sensor and the avionics system, the database being configured to store information relating to a pilot flying the aircraft during flight and the flight performance of the aircraft during flight;

a wireless transmitter having memory, the wireless transmitter in data communication with the avionics system and the database, the wireless transmitter comprising a non-volatile memory card coupled to the memory card interface of the avionics system; and

a transceiver comprising an input device, the transceiver having a transceiver identity associated with pilot identification information, the transceiver being configured for receiving information relating to sensed flight performance from the wireless transmitter, for associating the thus received information with the pilot identification information associated with the transceiver identity, and for transmitting the received information with the thus associated pilot identification information to the database;

wherein the transceiver is a wireless transceiver in data communication with the wireless transmitter;

wherein the wireless transceiver is configured to wirelessly receive and transmit aircraft flight performance data to the database;

wherein the stored sensed flight performance is only accessible with the associated pilot identification information;

wherein the avionics system is configured to monitor aircraft flight performance data from the sensor; and

wherein the pilot identification information is entered directly into the input device of the transceiver.

2. The aircraft of claim 1, wherein the transceiver is portable.

3. The aircraft of claim 2, wherein the transceiver is a smartphone.

4. The aircraft of claim 1, wherein the transceiver is configured to upload data to the avionics system via the wireless transmitter.

5. The aircraft of claim 4, wherein the uploaded data is a flight planning data.

6. The aircraft of claim 1, wherein the wireless transmitter removably attaches to the wireless transceiver.

7. The aircraft of claim 1, wherein the wireless transmitter removably attaches to the avionics system, the non-volatile memory card being an SD card.

8. The aircraft of claim 1, wherein the transceiver is configured to receive and store aircraft flight performance data.

9. An aircraft flight performance monitoring system, comprising:

a wireless transmitter having memory, the wireless transmitter in data communication with an avionics system of an aircraft, the avionics system comprising a memory card interface and the wireless transmitter comprising a non-volatile memory card coupled to the memory card interface of the avionics system;

a database in data communication with the avionics system, the database being configured to store information relating to a pilot flying the aircraft during flight and flight performance of the aircraft during flight;

a transceiver comprising an input device;

the transceiver having a transceiver identity associated with pilot identification information, the transceiver being configured for receiving information relating to sensed flight performance from the wireless transmitter, for associating the thus received information with the pilot identification information associated with the transceiver identity, and for transmitting the received information with the thus associated pilot identification information to the database;

wherein the stored sensed flight performance is only accessible with the associated pilot identification information;

wherein the wireless transmitter is configured to receive and transmit flight performance data from the avionics system to the transceiver, which in turn is transmitted to the database; and

wherein the pilot identification information is entered directly into the input device of the transceiver.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the wireless transmitter removably attaches to the avionics system.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the transceiver is configured to wirelessly receive information from the wireless transmitter.

12. The system of claim 9, wherein the transceiver is a smartphone.

13. A method to monitor aircraft flight performance data, comprising:

providing an avionics system comprising;

a sensor for sensing flight performance data; and

a memory card interface;

sensing flight performance data with the sensor;

providing a wireless transmitter comprising;

memory; and

a non-volatile memory card configured for coupling to the memory card interface of the avionics system;

transmitting the sensed flight performance data to a transceiver having a transceiver identity associated with pilot identification information;

entering the pilot identification information directly on the transceiver;

associating, by the transceiver, the sensed flight performance data received from the wireless transmitter with the pilot identification information associated with the transceiver identity;

transmitting, by the transceiver, the received sensed flight performance data with the associated pilot identification information to a database; and

allowing access to the received sensed flight performance data only with the associated pilot identification information.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the transmitting by the transceiver of the associated sensed flight performance data and pilot identification information includes wirelessly transmitting the associated sensed flight performance data and pilot identification information to the database.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

removably attaching the wireless transmitter to the transceiver.

16. The method of claim 13, wherein the non-volatile memory card is an SD card.