Aircraft airbag protection apparatus and method
First Claim
1. Apparatus for controlling the inflation of an airbag in an aircraft, the aircraft including a control member for manual movement by a pilot to facilitate control of the aircraft, the apparatus comprising;
- first means for sensing that the aircraft has experienced an excessive acceleration force, and for generating a control signal in response to said acceleration force,an airbag mounted relative to said control member and relative to the pilot, said airbag being responsive to said control signal,second means for sensing an aircraft operating parameter, andmeans responsive to said second means and operable to prevent response of said airbag to said control signal as a function of the presence of said operating parameter.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Airbags are positioned in a general aviation aircraft cockpit relative to a control yoke, a pilot, and a front seat passenger. Airbag actuation is controlled by a adaptive programmable controller such as a microcomputer. Airbag actuation is based upon information that the controller receives from multiple acceleration sensors. The outputs of the acceleration sensors are subjected to thresholding techniques, such as output signal weighting and/or majority voting. A programmable threshold is adaptively established for the controller based upon unique aircraft parameters, such as weight, altitude, angle of attack, ground and/or air speed, etc. The controller ignores all acceleration sensor inputs that do not meet this adaptive threshold. Thus, airbag actuation takes place only when a sufficient acceleration event occurs concurrently with the presence or absence of defined aircraft parameters that establish a proper threshold for the acceleration event. Airbag inflation includes a controllable delay that is used to customize airbag inflation to particular aircraft parameters, such as ground/air speed and weight.
49 Citations
51 Claims
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1. Apparatus for controlling the inflation of an airbag in an aircraft, the aircraft including a control member for manual movement by a pilot to facilitate control of the aircraft, the apparatus comprising;
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first means for sensing that the aircraft has experienced an excessive acceleration force, and for generating a control signal in response to said acceleration force, an airbag mounted relative to said control member and relative to the pilot, said airbag being responsive to said control signal, second means for sensing an aircraft operating parameter, and means responsive to said second means and operable to prevent response of said airbag to said control signal as a function of the presence of said operating parameter. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. Processor controlled aircraft airbag actuation apparatus selectively operable to determine if aircraft operation conditions are appropriate for activating an airbag assembly, the apparatus comprising;
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an airbag assembly mounted relative to an aircraft seat, first sensing means for sensing that the aircraft has experienced an excessive acceleration force, and for generating a first control signal in response to said excessive force, second sensing means for sensing an operating parameter of the aircraft, and for providing a second control signal as a function of said operating parameter, processor means receiving said first control signal and said second control signal as first and second inputs, and having an output for actuating said airbag assembly in response to said first and second inputs, and programmed means for said processor means operable to cause said processor means to respond to said second control signal in a manner to prevent actuation of said airbag assembly in response to said first control signal when said aircraft operating parameter indicates a likelihood for continued control of the aircraft. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A method for controlling aircraft airbag inflation, the aircraft including a control member for manual movement by a pilot to facilitate control of the aircraft, the apparatus comprising;
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providing first means for sensing that the aircraft has experienced an acceleration force, and for generating a control signal in response to said force, providing an airbag mounted relative to said control member and relative to the pilot, said airbag normally being responsive to said control signal, providing second means for sensing an operating parameter of the aircraft, and providing means responsive to said second means and operable to prevent response of said airbag to said control signal as a function of said operating parameter. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. A method for selectively inhibiting activation of an aircraft airbag assembly when aircraft operation conditions are appropriate for enabling a pilot to attempt to retain aircraft control, comprising the steps of;
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providing an airbag assembly mounted relative to the pilot, providing first sensing means for sensing that the aircraft has experienced an excessive acceleration force, and for generating a first control signal in response to said force, providing second sensing means for sensing an operating parameter of the aircraft, and for providing a second control signal in response to said operating parameter, providing control means receiving said first control signal and said second control signal as first and second inputs, said control means having an output for actuating said airbag assembly in response to said first and second inputs, and providing means whereby said control means operates to respond to said second control signal in a manner to prevent actuation of said airbag assembly in response to said first control signal when said aircraft operating parameter indicates a likelihood that the pilot can retain control of the aircraft. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25, 26, 27)
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28. A method for determining when an aircraft airbag assembly is to be activated, comprising the steps of;
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providing first means for sensing that the aircraft has experienced an excessive acceleration force, and for generating a control signal in response to said acceleration force, providing an airbag that is mounted relative to said control member and relative to the pilot, said airbag being responsive to said control signal, providing second means for sensing an aircraft operating parameter, and providing means responsive to said second means and operable to prevent response of said airbag to said control signal as a function of the presence of said operating paramter. - View Dependent Claims (29, 30, 31, 32, 35, 36)
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33. Processor controlled aircraft apparatus for activating an airbag assembly and an extendable aircraft control yoke, comprising;
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an airbag assembly mounted relative to an extendable aircraft control yoke, first sensing means for sensing an excessive acceleration force, and for providing a first control signal in response to said force, second sensing means for sensing an aircraft operating parameter, and for providing a second control signal as a function of said operating parameter, processor means receiving said first control signal and said second control signal as first and second inputs, said processor means having an output, said processor means being operable to respond to said first and second control signals to provide a processor output signal only when said aircraft operating parameter indicates that continued aircraft control is unlikely after the occurrence of said force, first means connecting said processor means output signal to said control yoke to produce extension of said control yoke generally concurrently with the occurrence of said processor means output signal, and second means connecting said processor means output signal to said airbag assembly to activate said airbag assembly with a time delay relative to the occurrence of said processor means output signal. - View Dependent Claims (34, 37)
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38. Apparatus for activating an aircraft airbag assembly and an extendable aircraft control yoke, comprising;
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sensing means for sensing an excessive acceleration force and providing a control signal in response to said force, first means connecting said control signal to said control yoke to produce extension of said control yoke generally concurrently with the occurrence of said control signal, and second means connecting said control signal to said airbag assembly to activate said airbag assembly with a time delay relative to the occurrence of said control signal. - View Dependent Claims (39, 40, 41)
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42. Processor controlled aircraft apparatus for activating an airbag assembly and an extendable aircraft control yoke, comprising;
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an airbag assembly mounted relative to an extendable aircraft control yoke, first sensing means for sensing an excessive acceleration force, and for providing a first control signal in response to said force, second sensing means for sensing an aircraft operating parameter, and for providing a second control signal as a function of said operating parameter, a plurality of processor means, each of said processor means receiving said first control signal and said second control signal as first and second inputs, and each of said processor means having an output, a first of said processor means being operable to respond to said first and second control signals to provide a first processor output signal only when said aircraft operating parameter indicates that continued aircraft control is unlikely after the occurrence of said force, first means connecting said first processor output signal to said control yoke to produce extension of said control yoke generally concurrently with the occurrence of said first processor output signal, a second of said processor means receiving said first processor output signal as an enable input, and said second processor means then being operable to respond to said first and second control signals to provide a second processor output signal only when said aircraft operating parameter indicates that continued aircraft control is unlikely after the occurrence of said force, and processor output signal verification means connecting said first and second processor means output signals to said airbag assembly to activate said airbag assembly with a time delay relative to the occurrence of said first processor means output signal. - View Dependent Claims (43, 44, 45, 46)
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47. Processor controlled aircraft apparatus for activating an airbag assembly and an extendable aircraft control yoke, comprising;
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first sensing means for sensing an excessive acceleration force, and for providing a first control signal as a function of said force, second sensing means for sensing an aircraft operating parameter, and for providing a second control signal as a function of said operating parameter, a plurality of series arranged processors, each of said processors receiving said first control signal and said second control signal as first and second inputs, and each of said processors having an output, each of said processors being operable to respond to said first and second control signals to provide a processor output signal only when said aircraft operating parameter indicates that continued aircraft control is unlikely after the occurrence of said force, means connecting the processor output signal of said plurality of processors as an enable input to the next processor in said series arranged processors, means connecting a processor output signal from one of said series arranged processors to said control yoke to produce extension of said control yoke generally concurrently with the occurrence of said first processor output signal, and processor output signal verification means connecting said processor output signals to said airbag assembly to activate said airbag assembly with a time delay relative to telescoping of said control yoke. - View Dependent Claims (48, 49, 50, 51)
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Specification