US 4,906,990 AGranted

Anti-G system failure detection

AssigneeThe Boeing Company

InventorJon K. Robinson

Life of this patent

Estimating the term…

Loading patent…

Abstract

A system and method for alerting a crew member if his anti-G system is not at the proper pressure during a flight. Flight condition sensors and an anti-G suit pressure sensor input data to a computer controller. The controller selects a pressure for protecting the crew member against blackout based on the input and data stored. The controller generates a signal to change the pressure in the anti-G suit to the selected pressure. The controller monitors the pressure status of the anti-G suit and rate of pressure change over time after the signal is generated. If the anti-G suit does not reach the selected pressure within a selected time, an alarm is provided to the crew member. Early warning, caution or failure alarms are generated if the suit does begin to inflate immediately or if it fails to reach a threshold pressure after a threshold time.

Claims16

Dependent claims

A method of ensuring that a crew member's anti-G garment remains coupled to a high pressure fluid supply during flight, comprising the steps of:

sensing an aircraft flight condition;
selecting a fluid pressure for said anti-G garment to compensate for the effects of said flight condition on the blood flow of a crew member's body;
generating a signal for controlling a valve means for providing said selected fluid pressure to said anti-G garment, said valve means being coupled between said high pressure fluid supply and said anti-G garment;
sensing the fluid pressure in said anti-G garment at a selected time after generating said signal for controlling said valve;
determining the difference between said sensed fluid pressure at said selected time and said selected fluid pressure for said flight condition;
determining an acceptable tolerance of error in said difference between said sensed fluid pressure and said selected fluid pressure, said acceptable tolerance of error being determined based on said sensed flight condition;
comparing said difference between said selected fluid pressure and said sensed fluid pressure to said acceptable tolerance of error;
and
providing as an output an alarm signal to alert a crew member if said difference between said selected fluid pressure and said sensed fluid pressure is greater than said acceptable tolerance of error at said selected time.

6 more elements

An apparatus for ensuring that the anti-G garment of a crew member in an aircraft remains operational during flight, comprising:

pressure sensor means for sensing an anti-G garment fluid pressure while said aircraft is flying;
flight condition sensor means for sensing a flight condition of said aircraft;
a pull-apart connector coupling a source of fluid pressure to said anti-G garment, said anti-G garment being separable from said source of fluid pressure at said pull-apart connector by pulling said fluid pressure source and said anti-G garment away from each other;
electronic control means for selecting a fluid pressure to compensate for the effects of said flight condition on said crew member's body;
valve means for selectively coupling a source of fluid under pressure to said anti-G garment;
signal generation means for generating a signal to control said valve means sufficient to provide a selected fluid pressure to said anti-G garment;
comparing means for comparing said anti-G garment fluid pressure with said selected fluid pressure;
timing means for measuring said anti-G garment pressure at selected times and for measuring variations in said anti-G garment pressure over time;
and
alarm means for alerting said crew member if said sensed anti-G garment fluid pressure is not within a threshold value of said selected fluid pressure.

7 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.