APPARATUS FOR CONTROLLING VEHICLE IMPACT ABSORPTION SYSTEMS AND RELATED METHODS

• US 20190315485A1
• Filed: 04/13/2018
• Published: 10/17/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 04/13/2018
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: The Boeing Co.
• Original Assignee: The Boeing Co.
• Inventors: Bolukbasi, Akif O.
• Granted Patent: US 10,946,979 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: B64C 25/58 Arrangements or adaptations of shock-absorbers or springs shimmy-dampers B64C25/50
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 2045/008 Devices for detecting or indicating hard landing
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 2201/00 Airbags mounted in aircraft for any use
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 25/00 Emergency apparatus or devices, not otherwise provided for parachutes B64D17/00, B64D19/00; jettisoning of fuel tanks or fuel per se B64D37/00; specially adapted for protection against criminal attack, e.g. anti-hijacking systems B64D45/0015 ; safety belts or body harnesses in general A62B35/00; safety belts or body harnesses for land vehicles B60R22/00; jettisonable parts of fuselage facilitating emergency escape B64C
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 25/04 Seat modifications
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 25/06 Harnessing
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 45/00 Aircraft indicators or protectors not otherwise provided for camouflage F41H3/00
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 45/04 Landing aids; Safety measures to prevent collision with earth's surface
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0021 located in the aircraft
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0056 in an emergency situation, e.g. hijacking
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0086 for monitoring terrain radar or analogous systems specially adapted for terrain avoidance G01S13/935
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/045 Navigation or guidance aids, e.g. determination of anti-collision manoeuvers radar or analogous systems specially adapted for anti-collision between aircraft G01S13/933

Abstract

Apparatus for controlling vehicle impact absorption systems and related methods are disclosed herein. An example apparatus includes a predictor to generate a prediction of an impact event for a vehicle based on data received from sensors of the vehicle. The example apparatus includes an energy absorption allocator to determine an amount of vehicle energy to be absorbed by a crash protection system of the vehicle upon the impact event. The example apparatus includes a communicator to generate an instruction to activate the crash protection system based on the prediction and the amount of vehicle energy to be absorbed by the crash protection system and transmit the instruction to a controller of the crash protection system.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising:

a predictor to generate a prediction of an impact event for a vehicle based on data received from sensors of the vehicle;

an energy absorption allocator to determine an amount of vehicle energy to be absorbed by a crash protection system of the vehicle upon the impact event; and

a communicator to;

generate an instruction to activate the crash protection system based on the prediction and the amount of vehicle energy to be absorbed by the crash protection system; and

transmit the instruction to a controller of the crash protection system.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the crash protection system includes an energy absorber for a seat of the vehicle.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the predictor is to generate the prediction based one or more of vertical velocity sensor data or vertical acceleration sensor data.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the predictor is to further predict an impact terrain for the vehicle and the energy absorption allocator is to determine the amount of vehicle energy to be absorbed by the crash protection system based on the impact terrain.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, further including a calculator to calculate a time to impact and a timer to identify a time to activate the crash protection system, the communicator to transmit the instruction based on the time to impact and the time to activate.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the crash protection system is a first crash protection system of the vehicle and wherein the energy absorption allocator is to determine a first amount of the vehicle energy to be absorbed by the first crash protection system and a second amount of the vehicle energy to be absorbed by a second crash protection system of the vehicle.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the communicator is to generate an instruction to activate the second crash protection system based on a total amount of the vehicle energy and the first amount of the vehicle energy to be absorbed by the first crash protection system.

8. A method comprising:

predicting, by executing an instruction with a processor, an impact event for an aircraft based on sensor data received from sensors of the aircraft;

determining, by executing an instruction with the processor, respective amounts of aircraft energy to be absorbed by a first crash protection system of the aircraft and a second crash protection system of the aircraft; and

selectively activating, by executing an instruction with the processor, the first crash protection system and the second crash protection system based on the respective amounts of energy to be absorbed by each of the first and second crash protection systems.

9. The method of claim 8, further including generating an alert based on the predicting of the impact event.

10. The method of claim 8, further including:

determining a time to impact for the aircraft;

performing a comparison of the time to impact to an amount of time to activate the first crash protection system; and

one of activating or refraining from activating the first crash protection system based on the comparison.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein the predicting includes performing a comparison of a distance of the aircraft to impact a terrain and an altitude of the aircraft relative to the terrain.

12. The method of claim 8, further including predicting a type of terrain the aircraft is to impact and wherein the selectively activating the first crash protection system or the second crash protection system is further based on the type of terrain.

13. The method of claim 8, wherein the first crash protection system includes one or more of an energy absorber for a seat of the aircraft, a supplemental restraint system for the seat of the aircraft, or a major mass item load limiter and further including generating at least one instruction including a stroke load for the seat energy absorber, a limit load for the major mass item load limiter, or an activation signal for the seat supplemental restraint system.

14. The method of claim 8, further including:

activating the first crash protection system;

performing a comparison of the amount of the aircraft energy to be absorbed by the first crash protection system and a total amount of the aircraft energy; and

activating the second crash protection system based on the comparison.

15. The method of claim 8, wherein the first crash protection system includes dampers for landing gear of the aircraft and the second crash protection system includes external airbags.

16. An aircraft comprising:

a plurality of sensors to generate sensor data during flight of the aircraft;

a first controller to control a first crash protection system;

a second controller to control a second crash protection system; and

a third controller in communication with the first controller and the second controller, the third controller to;

generate a prediction of a crash event for the aircraft based on the sensor data; and

transmit an instruction to at least one of the first controller to activate the first crash protection system or the second controller to activate the second crash protection system based on the prediction.

17. The aircraft of claim 16, wherein the instruction includes an energy absorption parameter for the least at one of the first crash protection system or the second crash protection system.

18. The aircraft of claim 17, wherein the third controller is to determine an impact terrain surface for the crash event, the energy absorption parameter to be based on the impact terrain surface.

19. The aircraft of claim 16, wherein the sensor data includes engine torque data and the third controller is to determine if the engine torque data satisfies a threshold, the third controller to further transmit the instruction based on the engine torque data satisfying the threshold.

20. The aircraft of claim 16, further including a fourth controller in communication with a third crash protection system, the third controller to transmit a second instruction to activate the fourth controller if an amount of aircraft impact energy to be absorbed by the first crash protection system and the second crash protection system is less than a total amount of aircraft impact energy.