Inflating rotorcraft external airbags in stages
First Claim
1. An aircraft airbag inflation system comprising:
- a first airbag, a second airbag, and a third airbag each mounted on an external surface of an aircraft, each of the first airbag, the second airbag, and the third airbag configured to inflate in one of a plurality of stages prior to the aircraft crashing, each stage associated with a respective pressure, the plurality of stages comprising a first stage associated with a first pressure, a second stage associated with a second pressure greater than the first pressure, and a third stage associated with a third pressure greater than the second pressure;
a plurality of sensors disposed on-board the aircraft and configured to sense a plurality of aircraft velocities and an aircraft attitude; and
a controller disposed on-board the aircraft and configured to perform operations comprising;
receiving a plurality of signals from the plurality of sensors, the plurality of signals representing the plurality of aircraft velocities and the aircraft attitude sensed by the plurality of sensors,determining a crash event for the aircraft based on the received plurality of signals, the crash event comprising an aircraft sink rate, an aircraft attitude at crash time, and an aircraft distance from an impact surface, anddetermining a stage at which the airbags are to be inflated based on the crash event, comprising determining, based on the determined crash event, that the first airbag is to be inflated to the first stage, the second airbag is to be inflated to the second stage, and the third airbag is to be inflated to the third stage.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An aircraft airbag inflation system includes an airbag mounted on an external surface of an aircraft. The airbag is configured to inflate in one of multiple stages prior to the aircraft crashing, and each stage is associated with a respective pressure. The system also includes multiple sensors disposed on-board the aircraft and configured to sense aircraft velocities and an aircraft attitude. The system also includes a controller disposed on-board the aircraft and configured to receive multiple signals from the sensors, the multiple signals representing the aircraft velocities and the aircraft attitude sensed by the sensors, determine a crash event for the aircraft based on the received multiple signals, the crash event including an aircraft sink rate, an aircraft attitude at crash time, and an aircraft distance from the impact surface, and determine a stage at which the airbag is to be inflated based on the crash event.
29 Citations
20 Claims
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1. An aircraft airbag inflation system comprising:
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a first airbag, a second airbag, and a third airbag each mounted on an external surface of an aircraft, each of the first airbag, the second airbag, and the third airbag configured to inflate in one of a plurality of stages prior to the aircraft crashing, each stage associated with a respective pressure, the plurality of stages comprising a first stage associated with a first pressure, a second stage associated with a second pressure greater than the first pressure, and a third stage associated with a third pressure greater than the second pressure; a plurality of sensors disposed on-board the aircraft and configured to sense a plurality of aircraft velocities and an aircraft attitude; and a controller disposed on-board the aircraft and configured to perform operations comprising; receiving a plurality of signals from the plurality of sensors, the plurality of signals representing the plurality of aircraft velocities and the aircraft attitude sensed by the plurality of sensors, determining a crash event for the aircraft based on the received plurality of signals, the crash event comprising an aircraft sink rate, an aircraft attitude at crash time, and an aircraft distance from an impact surface, and determining a stage at which the airbags are to be inflated based on the crash event, comprising determining, based on the determined crash event, that the first airbag is to be inflated to the first stage, the second airbag is to be inflated to the second stage, and the third airbag is to be inflated to the third stage. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A method comprising:
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receiving a plurality of signals from a plurality of sensors disposed on-board an aircraft, the plurality of signals representing a plurality of aircraft velocities and an aircraft attitude sensed by the plurality of sensors; determining a crash event for the aircraft based on the received plurality of signals, the crash event comprising an aircraft sink rate, an aircraft attitude at crash time, and an aircraft distance from an impact surface; determining a stage at which a first airbag, a second airbag, and a third airbag mounted on an external surface of an aircraft are to be inflated based on the crash event, each of the first airbag, the second airbag, and the third airbag configured to inflate in one of a plurality of stages prior to the aircraft crashing, each stage associated with a respective pressure, wherein the plurality of stages comprises a first stage associated with a first pressure, a second stage associated with a second pressure greater than the first pressure, and a third stage associated with a third pressure greater than the second pressure; determining, based on the determined crash event, that the first airbag is to be inflated to the first stage, the second airbag is to be inflated to the second stage, and the third airbag is to be inflated to the third stage; and transmitting a signal representing the determined stage to the airbags, wherein the airbags inflate to a pressure associated with the transmitted signal, wherein transmitting a signal comprises transmitting a first signal to inflate the first airbag to the first stage, a second signal to inflate the second airbag to the second stage, and a third signal to inflate the third airbag to the third stage. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions executable by data processing apparatus to perform operations comprising:
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receiving a plurality of signals from a plurality of sensors disposed on-board an aircraft, the plurality of signals representing a plurality of aircraft velocities and an aircraft attitude sensed by the plurality of sensors; determining a crash event for the aircraft based on the received plurality of signals, the crash event comprising an aircraft sink rate, an aircraft attitude at crash time, and an aircraft distance from an impact surface; determining a stage at which a first airbag, a second airbag, and a third airbag mounted on an external surface of an aircraft are to be inflated based on the crash event, each of the first airbag, the second airbag, and the third airbag configured to inflate in one of a plurality of stages prior to the aircraft crashing, each stage associated with a respective pressure, wherein the plurality of stages comprises a first stage associated with a first pressure, a second stage associated with a second pressure greater than the first pressure, and a third stage associated with a third pressure greater than the second pressure; determining, based on the determined crash event, that the first airbag is to be inflated to the first stage, the second airbag is to be inflated to the second stage, and the third airbag is to be inflated to the third stage; and transmitting a signal representing the determined stage to the airbags, wherein the airbags inflate to a pressure associated with the transmitted signal, wherein transmitting a signal comprises transmitting a first signal to inflate the first airbag to the first stage, a second signal to inflate the second airbag to the second stage, and a third signal to inflate the third airbag to the third stage.
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19. An aircraft airbag inflation system comprising:
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an airbag mounted on an external surface of an aircraft, the airbag configured to inflate in one of a plurality of stages prior to the aircraft crashing, each stage associated with a respective pressure; a plurality of sensors disposed on-board the aircraft and configured to sense a plurality of aircraft velocities and an aircraft attitude; and a controller disposed on-board the aircraft and configured to perform operations comprising; receiving a plurality of signals from the plurality of sensors, the plurality of signals representing the plurality of aircraft velocities and the aircraft attitude sensed by the plurality of sensors, determining a crash event for the aircraft based on the received plurality of signals, the crash event comprising an aircraft sink rate, an aircraft attitude at crash time, and an aircraft distance from an impact surface, wherein determining a crash event comprises; storing a plurality of crash event values in a computer-readable storage medium, each crash event value associated with a respective plurality of aircraft velocities and aircraft attitude; and comparing the plurality of aircraft velocities and the aircraft attitude sensed by the plurality of sensors with the stored plurality of aircraft velocities and aircraft attitude; and determining a stage at which the airbag is to be inflated based on the crash event.
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20. A method comprising:
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receiving a plurality of signals from a plurality of sensors disposed on-board an aircraft, the plurality of signals representing a plurality of aircraft velocities and an aircraft attitude sensed by the plurality of sensors; determining a crash event for the aircraft based on the received plurality of signals, the crash event comprising an aircraft sink rate, an aircraft attitude at crash time, and an aircraft distance from an impact surface; determining a stage at which an airbag mounted on an external surface of an aircraft is to be inflated based on the crash event, the airbag configured to inflate in one of a plurality of stages prior to the aircraft crashing, each stage associated with a respective pressure, wherein the airbag comprises a plurality of inflators, each inflator corresponding to a respective stage, each inflator configured to discharge gas to a pressure associated with the respective stage; determining that the stage at which the airbag is to be inflated based on the crash event is a second stage of the plurality of stages; and transmitting a signal representing the determined stage to the airbag, wherein the airbag inflates to a pressure associated with the transmitted signal, the transmitting comprising transmitting a first signal and a second signal to a first inflator and a second inflator, respectively, of the plurality of inflators, wherein the first inflator and the second inflator discharge gas at a respective pressure to inflate the airbag to the second stage.
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Specification