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US 2013/0085629 A1Published application
Hardware-Based Weight And Range Limitation System, Apparatus And Method
AssigneeAurora Flight Sciences Corporation
InventorsTom Washington, Thorsten Hisam, Martin Gomez
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The present disclosure endeavors to provide systems, methods and apparatus for ensuring aircraft compliance with governmental guidelines, such as, for example, MRCR Category II compliance. A hardware-based system may be employed to reduce range and/or payload below predetermined ranges and a payload capacities. Also provided herein are hardware-based systems, methods, and apparatus for restricting a system's range to predetermined range and/or the payload to a predetermined limit using, for example, a Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) installed in the flight control system.
Claims25
A hardware centric system for restricting a vehicle, comprising:
- a device for determining the vehicle's current location;
- a processor operatively coupled to a memory device;
- a transmitter device enabled to communicate an approval-to-proceed signal with a flight control system, wherein the flight control system is separate from the hardware only system;
- range limitation circuitry operatively coupled to the processor for dynamically calculating the distance between the vehicle's current location and a stored location, wherein the calculated distance is compared to a stored maximum distance value;
- and
- weight limitation circuitry operatively coupled to the processor for dynamically calculating the vehicle's take-off acceleration, wherein the calculated take-off acceleration is compared to a stored maximum take-off acceleration value;
- wherein communication of the approval-to-proceed signal to the flight control system via the transmitter device is permitted if (i) the calculated distance is less than the maximum distance value and (ii) the calculated take-off acceleration is less than a maximum take-off acceleration.
4 more elements
A hardware-implemented method for restricting a vehicle, comprising the steps of:
- using a device to determine the vehicle's current location;
- dynamically calculating the distance between the vehicle's current location and a stored location using range limitation circuitry operatively coupled to a processor, wherein the calculated distance is compared to a stored maximum distance value;
- calculating the vehicle's take-off acceleration using weight limitation circuitry operatively coupled to the processor, wherein the calculated take-off acceleration is compared to a stored maximum take-off acceleration value;
- communicating an approval-to-proceed signal to a flight control system via a transmitter device if (i) the calculated distance is less than the maximum distance value and (ii) the calculated take-off acceleration is less than a maximum take-off acceleration.
1 more element
A hardware-base apparatus for restricting a vehicle, comprising:
- a device for providing the vehicle's current location;
- a processor operatively coupled to a memory device;
- a transmitter device enabled to communicate an approval-to-proceed signal with a flight control system, wherein the flight control system is separate from the hardware only system;
- range limitation circuitry operatively coupled to the processor for dynamically calculating the distance between the vehicle's current location and a stored location, wherein the calculated distance is compared to a stored maximum distance value;
- and
- weight limitation circuitry operatively coupled to the processor for dynamically calculating the vehicle's take-off acceleration wherein the calculated take-off acceleration is compared to a stored maximum take-off acceleration value;
- wherein communication of the approval-to-proceed signal to the flight control system via the transmitter device is permitted if (i) the calculated distance is less than the maximum distance value and (ii) the calculated take-off acceleration is less than a maximum take-off acceleration.
4 more elements
A system for restricting a vehicle, comprising:
- a device for providing the vehicle's current location;
- a processor operatively coupled to a memory device;
- a transmitter device enabled to communicate an approval-to-proceed signal with a flight control system;
- range limitation circuitry operatively coupled to the processor for calculating the distance between the vehicle's current location and a stored location, wherein the calculated distance is compared to a stored maximum distance value;
- and
- weight limitation circuitry operatively coupled to the processor for calculating the vehicle's take-off acceleration, wherein the calculated take-off acceleration is compared to a stored maximum take-off acceleration value;
- wherein communication of the approval-to-proceed signal to the flight control system via the transmitter device is prohibited if (i) the calculated distance is greater than the maximum distance value and (ii) the calculated take-off acceleration is greater than a maximum take-off acceleration.
4 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.