Predictive aircraft flight envelope protection system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11900824-B2
Application number	US-202318295124-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 3, 2023
Priority date	Aug 27, 2018
Publication date	Feb 13, 2024
Grant date	Feb 13, 2024

Abstract

The aircraft threat envelope protection system employs a threat envelope data structure in a computer-readable medium that stores at least one trigger condition for each of a plurality of different types of threats associated with the aircraft, and modeled using a common schema. A processor computes plural different projected trajectories representing different possible aircraft paths through spacetime. The processor associates at least some of the plurality of the threats to specific trigger points in spacetime along each of the projected trajectories. The processor will deprecate ones of the projected trajectories when they are deemed not viable to recover from a threat. The processor initiates an aircraft protective response when all projected trajectories but one have been deprecated and the aircraft is within a predetermined proximity to the closest trigger point in spacetime along the non-deprecated trajectory.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method of providing aircraft threat envelope protection for an aircraft, comprising:
populating a threat envelope data structure embodied in a computer-readable medium to store a plurality of trigger conditions, each of the plurality of trigger conditions associated with at least one threat of a plurality of different types of threats associated with the aircraft;
iteratively generating projected trajectories of the aircraft, where at each iteration a plurality of projected trajectories are generated, with each iteration of the plurality of projected trajectories describing different possible aircraft paths through spacetime that each begin at a current aircraft state;
responsive to a detected threat of the plurality of different types of threats, associating a trigger condition of the plurality of trigger conditions to a specific trigger point in spacetime along at least one of the plurality of projected trajectories, where the specific trigger point identifies where in spacetime a recovery action should be initiated based on the trigger conditions associated the detected threat;
deprecating selected projected trajectories of the plurality of projected trajectories during conditions when such selected projected trajectories are computed as not viable to recover from any detected threat of the plurality of different types of threats; and
initiating an aircraft protective response in response to:
all but one of the plurality of projected trajectories having been deprecated such that only one non-deprecated projected trajectory remains viable; and
the aircraft is within a determined proximity to a closest trigger point of the one or more specific trigger points along the one non-deprecated projected trajectory.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising updating the specific trigger point when a subsequent iteration of the plurality of projected trajectories is generated.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein each of the plurality of different types of threats is parameterized using a common schema in the threat envelope data structure.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein the common schema expresses each of the plurality of different types of threats in terms of (a) a force affecting trajectory of the aircraft and (b) an energy state of the aircraft.

5. The method of claim 3 wherein the common schema expresses each of the plurality of different types of threats in terms of a g-force vector and an energy state vector.

6. The method of claim 3 wherein the common schema expresses each of the plurality of different types of threats in terms of (a) a force normal to the longitudinal axis of the aircraft, (b) an aircraft bank angle, (c) an excess specific power of the aircraft, and (d) a flight path angle.

7. The method of claim 3 wherein each of the plurality of projected trajectories is expressed in terms used by the common schema.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the threat envelope data structure stores at least one of the plurality of trigger conditions associated with an energy boundary.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein the threat envelope data structure stores at least one of the plurality of trigger conditions associated with a matter boundary.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein the aircraft protective response is selected from the group consisting of issuing an alert message to an aircraft pilot, issuing a control command to an autopilot system and combinations thereof.

11. An aircraft protection system, comprising:
a threat envelope data structure embodied in a computer-readable medium populated to store a plurality of trigger conditions, each of the plurality of trigger conditions associated with at least one threat of a plurality of different types of threats associated with an aircraft; and
a processor coupled to the computer-readable medium, the processor programmed with instructions to:
iteratively generate projected trajectories of the aircraft, where at each iteration a plurality of projected trajectories are generated, with each iteration of the plurality of projected trajectories describing different possible aircraft paths through spacetime that each begin at a current aircraft state;
responsive to a detected threat of the plurality of different types of threats, associate a trigger condition of the plurality of trigger conditions to a specific trigger point in spacetime along at least one of the plurality of projected trajectories, where the specific trigger point identifies where in spacetime a recovery action should be initiated based on the trigger conditions associated the detected threat;
deprecate selected projected trajectories of the plurality of projected trajectories during conditions when such selected projected trajectories are computed as not viable to recover from any detected threat of the plurality of different types of threats; and
initiate an aircraft protective response in response to:
all but one of the plurality of projected trajectories having been deprecated such that only one non-deprecated projected trajectory remains viable; and
the aircraft is within a determined proximity to a closest trigger point of the one or more specific trigger points along the one non-deprecated projected trajectory.

12. The aircraft protection system of claim 11 wherein the processor is further programmed with instructions to update the specific trigger point when a subsequent iteration of the plurality of projected trajectories is generated.

13. The aircraft protection system of claim 11 wherein each of the plurality of different types of threats is parameterized using a common schema in the threat envelope data structure.

14. The aircraft protection system of claim 13 wherein the common schema expresses each of the plurality of different types of threats in terms of (a) a force affecting trajectory of the aircraft and (b) an energy state of the aircraft.

15. The aircraft protection system of claim 13 wherein the common schema expresses each of the plurality of different types of threats in terms of a g-force vector and an energy state vector.

16. The aircraft protection system of claim 13 wherein the common schema expresses each of the plurality of different types of threats in terms of (a) a force normal to the longitudinal axis of the aircraft, (b) an aircraft bank angle, (c) an excess specific power of the aircraft, and (d) a flight path angle.

17. The aircraft protection system of claim 11 wherein the threat envelope data structure stores at least one of the plurality of trigger conditions associated with an energy boundary.

18. The aircraft protection system of claim 11 wherein the threat envelope data structure stores at least one of the plurality of trigger conditions associated with a matter boundary.

19. The aircraft protection system of claim 11 wherein the aircraft protective response is selected from the group consisting of issuing an alert message to an aircraft pilot, issuing a control command to an autopilot system and combinations thereof.

20. An aircraft protection system, comprising:
a threat envelope data structure embodied in a computer-readable medium populated to store a plurality of trigger conditions, each of the plurality of trigger conditions associated with at least one threat of a plurality of different types of threats associated with an aircraft, wherein each of the plurality of different types of threats is parameterized using a common schema in the threat envelope data structure; and
a processor coupled to the computer-readabl

Assignees

• Gulfstream Aerospace Corp

Inventors

• Prosser Kevin
• Landers Thomas
• Vaidya Abhishek
• Sakhaei Alborz
• Finlayson Blake

Classifications

• G08G5/74

  for monitoring terrain · CPC title

• G08G5/723

  from the aircraft · CPC title

• G08G5/21 Primary

  located onboard the aircraft · CPC title

• G08G5/80 Primary

  Anti-collision systems · CPC title

• G08G5/045 Primary

  Physics · mapped topic