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US 9,977,432 B1Granted
Distributed flight control system
AssigneeKitty Hawk Corporation
InventorsMark Johnson Cutler, Todd Reichert, James Jackson
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A set of commands for each of a plurality of actuators to alter an aircraft's state responsive to one or more inputs is produced. The set of commands is provided to fewer than all actuators comprising the plurality of actuators.
Claims20
A flight control system, comprising:
- a plurality of flight computers, each comprising a processor configured to:
- receive one or more inputs;
- and
- produce a set of commands for each of a plurality of actuators to alter an aircraft's state responsive to said one or more inputs, the set of commands produced by each of at least a subset of flight computers in the plurality of flight computers including a first command for a first actuator included in said plurality of actuators and a second command for a second actuator included in said plurality of actuators;
- wherein a first flight computer in said at least a subset of flight computers is configured to provide the first command to the first actuator but not to provide the second command to the second actuator;
- a second flight control computer in said at least a subset of flight computers is configured to provide the second command to the second actuator but not to provide the first command to the first actuator;
- and each of said plurality of flight computers is configured to determine instructions for all actuators in the plurality of actuators and is communicatively decoupled from other ones of said plurality of flight computers;
- and
- wherein each of the plurality of flight computers is configured to control directly and individually a respective actuator of the plurality of actuators.
6 more elements
A flight control system, comprising:
- a plurality of flight computers, each comprising a processor configured to:
- receive one or more inputs;
- and
- produce a set of commands for each of a plurality of actuators to alter an aircraft's state responsive to said one or more inputs;
- wherein a first flight computer in said at least a subset of flight computers is configured to provide the first command to the first actuator but not to provide the second command to the second actuator;
- and each of said plurality of flight computers is configured to determine instructions for all actuators in the plurality of actuators and is communicatively decoupled from other ones of said plurality of flight computers;
- and
- wherein each of the plurality of flight computers is configured to control directly and individually a respective actuator of the plurality of actuators.
5 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.