# US 12,110,124 B2 · Health based actuator allocation

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- Number: US 12,110,124 B2
- Document ID: US12110124B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 18/483,414
- Filed: 2023-10-09
- Published: 2024-02-01
- Granted: 2024-10-08
- Earliest claimed: 2018-09-17
- Assignees: Kitty Hawk Corporation
- Applicants: Kitty Hawk Corporation
- Inventors: Christopher Scott Saunders; Mark Johnson Cutler
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US12110124B2

## CPC

- B64D 45/00: Aircraft indicators or protectors not otherwise provided for
- B64D 31/06: actuated automatically
- B64D 35/00: Transmitting power from power plants to propellers or rotors; Arrangements of transmissions
- G05D 1/0072: {to counteract a motor failure}
- G05D 1/0858: {specially adapted for vertical take-off of aircraft}
- G07C 5/0808: {Diagnosing performance data (testing of vehicles G01M17/00; testing of electrical installation on vehicles G01R31/005)}
- B64D 2045/0085: {Devices for aircraft health monitoring, e.g. monitoring flutter or vibration}
- G05D 1/0808: {specially adapted for aircraft}
- G05D 1/101: {specially adapted for aircraft}
- G05D 1/46: Control of position or course in three dimensions [3D]
- G05D 1/606: Compensating for or utilising external environmental conditions, e.g. wind or water currents (station keeping G05D1/611)
- G05D 2109/23: {Vertical take-off and landing [VTOL] aircraft; Short take-off and landing [STOL, STOVL] aircraft}
- B64D: EQUIPMENT FOR FITTING IN OR TO AIRCRAFT; FLIGHT SUITS; PARACHUTES; ARRANGEMENT OR MOUNTING OF POWER PLANTS OR PROPULSION TRANSMISSIONS IN AIRCRAFT
- G05D: SYSTEMS FOR CONTROLLING OR REGULATING NON-ELECTRIC VARIABLES
- G07C: TIME OR ATTENDANCE REGISTERS; REGISTERING OR INDICATING THE WORKING OF MACHINES; GENERATING RANDOM NUMBERS; VOTING OR LOTTERY APPARATUS; ARRANGEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS FOR CHECKING NOT PROVIDED FOR ELSEWHERE

## Abstract

A vertical takeoff and landing vehicle which includes an allocation block that receives a set of desired forces or desired moments and a health metric associated with at least one of: (1) a motor controller or (2) a rotor that operates in a vertical takeoff and landing mode at least some of the time. A command signal is determined per a first manner that attempts to satisfy both the set of desired forces or desired moments and the health metric. If the command signal is unable to be determined in the first manner, a second manner is used that prioritizes flight control associated with one or more of a roll axis or a pitch axis over flight control associated with a yaw axis where the axes are mutually orthogonal. The command signal is output to the motor controller that controls the rotor using the command signal.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A vertical takeoff and landing vehicle, comprising:
an allocation block that:
receives a set of one or more desired forces or desired moments;
receives a health metric associated with at least one of: (1) a motor controller or (2) a rotor that operates in a vertical takeoff and landing mode at least some of the time;
determines a command signal, including by:
attempting to determine the command signal in a first manner that satisfies both the set of one or more desired forces or desired moments and the health metric; and
in the event the command signal is unable to be determined in the first manner, determining the command signal in a second manner that prioritizes flight control associated with one or more of a roll axis or a pitch axis over flight control associated with a yaw axis, wherein the roll axis, the pitch axis, and the yaw axis are mutually orthogonal; and
outputs the command signal to the motor controller;
the motor controller that controls the rotor using the command signal; and
the rotor.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The vertical takeoff and landing vehicle recited in claim 1, wherein:
the vertical takeoff and landing vehicle includes a multicopter with a plurality of rotor modules having fixed positions; and
the rotor operates in the vertical takeoff and landing mode all of the time.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The vertical takeoff and landing vehicle recited in claim 1, wherein attempting to determine the command signal in the first manner includes:
setting a value of a first weight, associated with taking the set of one or more desired forces or desired moments into account, and a value of a second weight, associated with taking the health metric into account, based at least in part on the health metric; and
using the set value of the first weight and the set value of the second weight in attempting to determine the command signal in the first manner.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The vertical takeoff and landing vehicle recited in claim 1, wherein the health metric is received from a built-in health monitoring circuit.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The vertical takeoff and landing vehicle recited in claim 1, wherein the health metric is determined based on one or more of the following: a temperature of a battery, a temperature of a motor, or a temperature of a motor controller.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The vertical takeoff and landing vehicle recited in claim 1, wherein:
the motor controller and the rotor are included in a rotor module; and
the health metric is determined based at least in part on (1) an electrical signal that is passed to the rotor module and (2) a thrust that is output by the rotor module.

### Claim 7 (depends on 1)

The vertical takeoff and landing vehicle recited in claim 1, wherein the health metric is associated with an amount of wear experienced by one or more bearings in the rotor.

### Claim 8

A method, comprising:
receiving, at an allocation block in a vertical takeoff and landing vehicle, a set of one or more desired forces or desired moments;
receiving, at the allocation block, a health metric associated with at least one of: (1) a motor controller in the vertical takeoff and landing vehicle or (2) a rotor, in the vertical takeoff and landing vehicle, that operates in a vertical takeoff and landing mode at least some of the time;
determining, at the allocation block, a command signal, including by:
attempting to determine the command signal in a first manner that satisfies both the set of one or more desired forces or desired moments and the health metric; and
in the event the command signal is unable to be determined in the first manner, determining the command signal in a second manner that prioritizes flight control associated with one or more of a roll axis or a pitch axis over flight control associated with a yaw axis, wherein the roll axis, the pitch axis, and the yaw axis are mutually orthogonal;
outputting, from the allocation block to the motor controller, the command signal; and
controlling, at the motor controller, the rotor using the command signal.

### Claim 9 (depends on 8)

The method recited in claim 8, wherein:
the vertical takeoff and landing vehicle includes a multicopter with a plurality of rotor modules having fixed positions; and
the rotor operates in the vertical takeoff and landing mode all of the time.

### Claim 10 (depends on 8)

The method recited in claim 8, wherein attempting to determine the command signal in the first manner includes:
setting a value of a first weight, associated with taking the set of one or more desired forces or desired moments into account, and a value of a second weight, associated with taking the health metric into account, based at least in part on the health metric; and
using the set value of the first weight and the set value of the second weight in attempting to determine the command signal in the first manner.

### Claim 11 (depends on 8)

The method recited in claim 8, wherein the health metric is received from a built-in health monitoring circuit.

### Claim 12 (depends on 8)

The method recited in claim 8, wherein the health metric is determined based on one or more of the following: a temperature of a battery, a temperature of a motor, or a temperature of a motor controller.

### Claim 13 (depends on 8)

The method recited in claim 8, wherein:
the motor controller and the rotor are included in a rotor module; and
the health metric is determined based at least in part on (1) an electrical signal that is passed to the rotor module and (2) a thrust that is output by the rotor module.

### Claim 14 (depends on 8)

The method recited in claim 8, wherein the health metric is associated with an amount of wear experienced by one or more bearings in the rotor.