Aircraft vertical stabilizer illumination light and method of operating an aircraft vertical stabilizer illumination light

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10793288-B2
Application number	US-201916362893-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 25, 2019
Priority date	Apr 20, 2018
Publication date	Oct 6, 2020
Grant date	Oct 6, 2020

Abstract

An aircraft vertical stabilizer illumination light, the light includes a LED group, having a plurality of LEDs; an optical system, having at least one optical element, the optical system being associated with the LED group for shaping a light output from the light emitted by the LED group; an image generator, arranged within the aircraft vertical stabilizer illumination light for being oriented towards the vertical stabilizer, the image generator being configured to provide image data of the vertical stabilizer; and a controller, coupled to the image generator for receiving the image data; wherein the controller is configured to operate the aircraft vertical stabilizer illumination light in a plurality of operating modes.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An aircraft vertical stabilizer illumination light, configured for being arranged in a rotatable horizontal stabilizer of an aircraft and for being oriented towards a vertical stabilizer of the aircraft for illuminating the vertical stabilizer, comprising:
a LED group, comprising a plurality of LEDs,
an optical system, comprising at least one optical element, the optical system being associated with the LED group for shaping a light output from the light emitted by the LED group,
an image generator, arranged within the aircraft vertical stabilizer illumination light for being oriented towards the vertical stabilizer, the image generator being configured to provide image data of the vertical stabilizer, and
a controller, coupled to the image generator for receiving the image data,
wherein the controller is configured to operate the aircraft vertical stabilizer illumination light in a plurality of operating modes, with different sets of the plurality of LEDs being switched on in the plurality of operating modes and with different light outputs being emitted by the aircraft vertical stabilizer illumination light in the plurality of operating modes,
wherein the controller comprises an object detection unit configured to detect at least one object in the image data received and wherein the object detection unit is configured to detect a rotation angle indication (α) from the detected at least one object, the rotation angle indication (α) indicating a rotation angle of the rotatable horizontal stabilizer, and
wherein the controller is configured to select a particular operating mode in response to the rotation angle indication (α) indicating the rotation angle of the rotatable horizontal.

2. The aircraft vertical stabilizer illumination light according to claim 1 , wherein the image generator comprises a camera.

3. The aircraft vertical stabilizer illumination light according to claim 1 , wherein the image generator comprises at least one of a laser scanner and an ultrasonic scanner.

4. The aircraft vertical stabilizer illumination light according to claim 1 , wherein the object detection unit is configured to perform edge detection on the image data received, in particular edge detection on the basis of at least one of a Canny algorithm, a Sobel operator, and a Laplace filter.

5. The aircraft vertical stabilizer illumination light according to claim 1 , wherein the object detection unit is configured to determine the rotation angle indication (α) on the basis of the position and/or orientation of the at least one object in the image data with respect to a reference position and/or a reference orientation of the at least one object in reference image data.

6. The aircraft vertical stabilizer illumination light according to claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to select the particular operating mode in such a way that substantially the entire vertical stabilizer of the aircraft is illuminated for a given rotation angle of the rotatable horizontal stabilizer within a predefined rotation angle range.

7. The aircraft vertical stabilizer illumination light according to claim 6 , wherein the predefined rotation angle range covers an angular range of at least 10°, in particular an angular range of between 10° and 20°.

8. The aircraft vertical stabilizer illumination light according to claim 1 , having one optical system associated with the plurality of LEDs, with individual light outputs by the plurality of LEDs being affected differently by the one optical system due to their different positioning with respect thereto.

9. The aircraft vertical stabilizer illumination light according to claim 1 , having a plurality of optical arrangements, with each optical arrangement comprising at least one of the plurality of LEDs and an associated optical sub-system and with at least some of the plurality of optical arrangements having differing orientations towards the vertical stabilizer and being independently operable.

10. An aircraft, having in a tail portion of the aircraft a vertical stabilizer, a left rotatable horizontal stabilizer and a right rotatable horizontal stabilizer,
wherein each of the left rotatable horizontal stabilizer and the right rotatable horizontal stabilizer comprises an aircraft vertical stabilizer illumination light according to claim 1 , oriented towards the vertical stabilizer for illumination thereof.

11. A method of operating an aircraft vertical stabilizer illumination light, installed in a rotatable horizontal stabilizer of an aircraft for illuminating a vertical stabilizer of the aircraft, the method comprising the steps of:
generating image data of the vertical stabilizer, and
detecting at least one object in the image data received,
determining a rotation angle indication (α) from at least one object, the rotation angle indication indicating a rotation angle of the rotatable horizontal stabilizer,
selecting a particular operating mode of the aircraft vertical stabilizer illumination light in response to the rotation angle indication indicating the rotation angle of the rotatable horizontal stabilizer, the particular operating mode being selected from a plurality of operating modes, with different light outputs being emitted by the aircraft vertical stabilizer illumination light in the plurality of operating modes.

12. The method according to claim 11 ,
wherein said determining of the rotation angle indication comprises a relating of the position and/or orientation of the at least one object with a reference position and/or a reference orientation of the at least one object in reference image data.

Assignees

• Goodrich Lighting Systems Gmbh

Inventors

• Pawliczek Carsten
• Ueberschaer Andreas
• Schallenberg Bjoern

Classifications

• H05B45/10

  Controlling the intensity of the light · CPC title

• B64D2203/00

  Aircraft or airfield lights using LEDs · CPC title

• B64C5/02

  Tailplanes · CPC title

• B64D47/02 Primary

  Arrangements or adaptations of signal or lighting devices · CPC title

• B64D45/0005

  Devices specially adapted to indicate the position of a movable element of the aircraft, e.g. landing gear · CPC title