System for facilitating control of an aircraft
First Claim
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1. A method of providing flight control instructions to an aircraft, the method comprising the steps of:
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c. utilizing at least two control loop algorithms, in which an outer control loop algorithm determines an aircraft target angle and an inner control loop algorithm outputs commands, to cause said aircraft to achieve said aircraft target angle;
d. utilizing optic flow data from a sensor system capable of detecting optic flow;
e. utilizing vertical reference data derived from the combination of data from at least accelerometers and angular rate gyros; and
f. combining data from said optic flow data and said vertical reference data, and utilizing said control algorithms to obtain said position and/or velocity relationship between aircraft and said at least one object.
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Abstract
A system for providing flight control instructions to an aircraft is claimed, wherein using aircraft position or velocity data, an outer control loop algorithm determines an aircraft target angle and an inner control loop algorithm outputs commands to cause the aircraft to achieve the target angle. Utilizing the commands outputted from the control loops, aircraft are able to autonomously take-off and land, station hold in a very precise manner, and fly in very close proximity to other objects with little chance of collision.
70 Citations
17 Claims
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1. A method of providing flight control instructions to an aircraft, the method comprising the steps of:
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a. b. receiving a command to maintain a position and/or velocity relationship to at least one object wherein a distance between said at least one object and said aircraft is less than 2000 feet; c. utilizing at least two control loop algorithms, in which an outer control loop algorithm determines an aircraft target angle and an inner control loop algorithm outputs commands, to cause said aircraft to achieve said aircraft target angle; d. utilizing optic flow data from a sensor system capable of detecting optic flow; e. utilizing vertical reference data derived from the combination of data from at least accelerometers and angular rate gyros; and f. combining data from said optic flow data and said vertical reference data, and utilizing said control algorithms to obtain said position and/or velocity relationship between aircraft and said at least one object. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A method of controlling an aircraft, the method comprising the steps of:
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a. calculating instantaneous aircraft movement data using a computer onboard the aircraft; and b. continually calculating flight control data using at least two flight control loop algorithms in which an outer flight control loop algorithm determines an aircraft target angle and an inner flight control loop algorithm outputs commands to cause said aircraft to achieve said aircraft target angle. c. Utilizing optic flow data from a sensor system capable of detecting optic flow. d. Utilizing vertical reference data derived from the combination of data from at least accelerometers and angular rate gyros. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A method for determining flight control data for an aircraft as a function of altitude to achieve smooth flight for the aircraft, the method comprising the steps of:
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a. providing an aircraft flying at a distance from an object; b. calculating the trajectory of said aircraft from at least one of either a translation-sensor derived data set and a GPS derived data set, wherein said calculating is influenced by at least one of said two data sets; c. wherein each of said two data sets provides an amount of influence on said trajectory calculation; and d. whereinas said distance increases, the amount of influence of said GPS derived data increases and the amount of influence of said optic flow derived data decreases; e. utilizing optic flow data from a sensor system capable of detecting optic flow; f. utilizing vertical reference data derived from the combination of data from at least accelerometers and angular rate gyros. - View Dependent Claims (17)
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Specification