Fuel gauge for an unmanned aerial vehicle
AssigneeHoneywell International Inc.
InventorsErik Erben, Michael W. Moore, Justin J. Ebaugh
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An amount of fuel in a fuel bladder of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is determined based on a deformation of the bladder. In some examples, a fuel system for a UAV includes a bladder, a proximity sensor, a fuel gauge, and a controller. The bladder is deformable based on the amount of fuel in the bladder. The proximity sensor may output a signal that varies as a function of the deformation of the bladder. The controller may determine the amount of fuel in the bladder based on the signal output by the proximity sensor and control the fuel gauge to indicate the determined amount of fuel.
Claims18
A fuel system for an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), the fuel system comprising:
- a deformable bladder configured to store fuel;
- a plurality of proximity sensors, each proximity sensor being configured to output a signal based on deformation of the bladder;
- a fuel gauge;
- an avionics pod configured to generate orientation data;
- and
- a controller configured to select one or more proximity sensors of the plurality of proximity sensors based on the orientation data, determine an amount of the fuel in the bladder based on the signals output by the one or more selected proximity sensors, and control the fuel gauge to indicate the amount of the fuel.
An unmanned aerial vehicle comprising:
- an avionics pod configured to generate orientation data;
- a fan duct that defines a chamber;
- a bladder that is arranged within the chamber, wherein the bladder deforms based on an amount of fuel in the bladder;
- a plurality of proximity sensors, each proximity sensor of the plurality of proximity sensors being configured to output a signal indicative of a deformation of the bladder;
- a fuel gauge;
- and
- a controller configured to select one or more proximity sensors of the plurality of proximity sensors based on the orientation data and to determine the amount of fuel in the bladder based on the signals output by the selected proximity sensors and control the fuel gauge to indicate the determined amount of fuel.
A method comprising:
- determining a deformation of a bladder of an unmanned aerial vehicle with at least one proximity sensor, wherein determining the deformation of the bladder comprises:
- receiving orientation data indicative of an orientation of the unmanned aerial vehicle;
- selecting one or more proximity sensors of a plurality of proximity sensors based on the orientation data;
- and
- determining the deformation of the bladder based on signals generated by the selected one or more proximity sensors of the plurality of proximity sensors;
- determining an amount of fuel in the bladder based on the deformation;
- and
- indicating, via a fuel gauge, the amount of fuel in the bladder.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.