Vertical landing vehicle, situational awareness system, and method thereof

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10403158-B2
Application number	US-201715480927-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 6, 2017
Priority date	Apr 6, 2017
Publication date	Sep 3, 2019
Grant date	Sep 3, 2019

Abstract

A vertical landing vehicle including an airframe forming a hull and having at least one wing coupled to the airframe, at least one proximity sensor coupled to the airframe, and a flight control system including a control processor and an operator interface, the at least one proximity sensor being coupled to the control processor, the control processor being configured to receive proximity signals from the at least one proximity sensor and present, through the operator interface and based on the proximity signals, situational awareness information of obstacles within a predetermined distance of the vertical landing vehicle relative to the hull and/or the at least one wing.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A vertical landing vehicle comprising:
an airframe forming a hull and having at least one wing coupled to the airframe;
at least one proximity sensor coupled to the airframe so that at least a portion of the airframe is disposed within a field of view of a respective one of the at least one proximity sensor so that the portion of the airframe is sensed by the at least one proximity sensor; and
a flight control system including a control processor and an operator interface, the at least one proximity sensor being coupled to the control processor, the control processor being configured to receive proximity signals from the at least one proximity sensor and generate so as to present, through the operator interface and based on the proximity signals, situational awareness information of obstacles within a respective predetermined distance of the vertical landing vehicle relative to the hull and the at least one wing, wherein a positional relationship between the portion of the airframe and the obstacles, as both the portion of the airframe and the obstacles are sensed by the at least one proximity sensor, is presented as part of the situational awareness information.

2. The vertical landing vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the at least one wing comprises one or more of a fixed wing and a rotary wing.

3. The vertical landing vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the at least one proximity sensor comprises one or more of a terrain sensor, an obstacle sensor, a radar sensor, a video imager, and a sonic sensor.

4. The vertical landing vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the situational awareness information includes distance data indicating a distance between obstacles and the vertical landing vehicle.

5. The vertical landing vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the control processor is configured to present the situational awareness information, through the operator interface, as one or more of visual and aural feedback.

6. The vertical landing vehicle of claim 5 , wherein the one or more of the visual and the aural feedback represent a distance between at least the hull and terrain or obstacles adjacent the vertical landing vehicle.

7. The vertical landing vehicle of claim 1 , wherein control processor is configured to present the situational awareness information, through the operator interface, as tactile feedback on a flight control of the vertical landing vehicle.

8. The vertical landing vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the flight control system comprises an automatic flight control system and the control processor is configured to control a landing approach or hovering of the vertical landing vehicle depending on the proximity signals received from the at least one proximity sensor.

9. The vertical landing vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the flight control system includes terrain data and the control processor is configured to fuse the terrain data with the proximity signals to form the situational awareness information.

10. A situational awareness system for a vertical landing vehicle having an airframe forming a hull and having at least one wing coupled to the airframe, the situational awareness system comprising:
at least one proximity sensor coupled to the airframe, the at least one proximity sensor being positioned relative to the airframe and configured to sense both of at least a portion of the airframe and obstacles around a perimeter of one or more of the hull and the at least one wing; and
a flight control system including a control processor and an operator interface, the at least one proximity sensor being coupled to the control processor, the control processor being configured to receive proximity signals from the at least one proximity sensor and generate so as to present, through the operator interface and based on the proximity signals, situational awareness information of obstacles within a respective predetermined distance of the perimeter of the one or more of the hull and the at least one wing, wherein a positional relationship between the portion of the airframe and the obstacles, as both the portion of the airframe and the obstacles are sensed by the at least one proximity sensor, is presented as part of the situational awareness information.

11. The situational awareness system of claim 10 , wherein the at least one proximity sensor comprises one or more of a terrain sensor, an obstacle sensor, a radar sensor, a video imager, and a sonic sensor.

12. The situational awareness system of claim 10 , wherein the situational awareness information includes distance data indicating a distance between obstacles and the vertical landing vehicle.

13. The situational awareness system of claim 10 , wherein the control processor is configured to present the situational awareness information, through the operator interface, as one or more of visual and aural feedback.

14. The situational awareness system of claim 10 , wherein control processor is configured to present the situational awareness information, through the operator interface, as tactile feedback on a flight control of the vertical landing vehicle.

15. The situational awareness system of claim 10 , wherein the flight control system comprises an automatic flight control system and the control processor is configured to control a landing approach or hovering of the vertical landing vehicle depending on the proximity signals received from the at least one proximity sensor.

16. A method for providing situational awareness to an operator of a vertical landing vehicle, the method comprising:
coupling at least one proximity sensor to an airframe of the vertical landing vehicle so that at least a portion of the airframe is disposed within a field of view of a respective one of the at least one proximity sensor so that the portion of the airframe is sensed by the at least one proximity sensor, the airframe forming a hull and having at least one wing coupled to the airframe;
receiving proximity signals from the at least one proximity sensor with a control processor of a flight control system of the vertical landing vehicle; and
generating and presenting with the control processor, through an operator interface of the flight control system and based on the proximity signals, situational awareness information of obstacles within a respective predetermined distance of the vertical landing vehicle relative to the hull and the at least one wing, wherein a positional relationship between the portion of the airframe and the obstacles, as both the portion of the airframe and the obstacles are sensed by the at least one proximity sensor, is presented as part of the situational awareness information.

17. The method of claim 16 , further comprising presenting the situational awareness information, through the operator interface, as an image of the hull with a terrain map overlay including range indications between at least the hull and terrain adjacent the vertical landing vehicle.

18. The method of claim 17 , wherein the image of the hull includes an image of one or more doors or access ramps coupled to the hull.

19. The method of claim 16 , further comprising presenting the situational awareness information, through the operator interface, as tactile feedback on a flight control of the vertical landing vehicle.

20. The method of claim 16 , wherein the flight control system comprises an automatic flight control system and the method further comprises controlling, with the control processor, a landing approach or hovering of the vertical landing vehicle depending on the proximity signals rec

Assignees

• Boeing Co

Inventors

• Lieberman Eric
• Blanton William Brendan

Classifications

• G01S13/935

  for terrain-avoidance · CPC title

• B64D45/04 Primary

  Landing aids; Safety measures to prevent collision with earth's surface · CPC title

• B64D45/00

  Aircraft indicators or protectors not otherwise provided for · CPC title

• B64D43/00

  Arrangements or adaptations of instruments · CPC title

• B64C29/0016

  the lift during taking-off being created by free or ducted propellers or by blowers · CPC title