Method, system, and apparatus for a diffractive based coherent aircraft position and anticollision lighting system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9469415-B1
Application number	US-201213442398-A
Country	US
Kind code	B1
Filing date	Apr 9, 2012
Priority date	Apr 9, 2012
Publication date	Oct 18, 2016
Grant date	Oct 18, 2016

Abstract

A method, system, and apparatus for a diffractive based coherent aircraft position and anti-collision lighting system may include generating optical source signals in an aircraft lighting system utilizing one or more coherent light sources. The generated optical source signals may be communicated to diffractive optical elements in the aircraft via optical waveguides, and output optical signals may be generated for transmission out of the aircraft via the diffractive optical elements. The lighting system may comprise indicator lights and/or anti-collision lights. The coherent light source may comprise a solid state laser. The diffractive optical elements may be integrated in wingtips and/or a fuselage of the aircraft. The coherent optical sources may be located within a fuselage of the aircraft and/or within wings of the aircraft. The diffractive optical elements may be statically and/or dynamically controlled and may comprise liquid crystals.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method for aircraft lighting, the method comprising: generating a single optical source signal from a single coherent light source; splitting the single optical source signal into multiple optical source signals; communicating each of said multiple optical source signals to a different one of a plurality of diffractive optical elements via respective optical waveguides, each of the diffractive optical elements being located at a different location about an aircraft remote from the single coherent light source; generating an output optical signal from each of the diffractive optical elements for transmission out of the respective diffractive optical elements; and dynamically controlling an intensity pattern of the output optical signal generated from each of the plurality of diffractive optical elements to switch between a first intensity pattern corresponding with a first aircraft light requirement and a second intensity pattern corresponding with a second aircraft light requirement different than the first aircraft light requirement, wherein said plurality of diffractive optical elements each comprises a dynamically-controllable liquid crystal comprising a plurality of liquid crystal pixels each individually-controllable to change an index of refraction of the optical source signal and to change an intensity pattern of the output optical signal transmitted out of the diffractive optical element by changing an electric field applied to the liquid crystal pixel.

2. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the single coherent light source is located on an exterior of the aircraft.

3. The method according to claim 2 , wherein the single coherent light source is located on a wing structure of the aircraft, and wherein the wing structure acts as a heat sink for the single coherent light source.

4. The method according to claim 1 , wherein each of the diffractive optical elements is configured to cause different phase delays of optical signals passing through different regions of the diffractive optical element.

5. The method according to claim 4 , wherein a Fourier-transform relationship exists between the phase delays of the optical signals passing through each of the plurality of diffractive optical elements and the intensity pattern of the output optical signal generated from each of the plurality of diffractive optical elements.

6. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the first aircraft light requirement is a first anti-collision light requirement and the second aircraft light requirement is a second anti-collision light requirement.

7. The method according to claim 1 , wherein said one or more coherent light source comprises a laser.

8. The method according to claim 1 , wherein one or more of said plurality of diffractive optical elements is integrated in at least one of a fuselage and one or more wingtips of said aircraft.

9. The method according to claim 1 , wherein one or more of said plurality of diffractive optical elements is integrated in at least one of a fuselage and one or more wings of said aircraft.

10. The method according to claim 1 , wherein said one or more coherent light sources is located within at least one of a fuselage and one or more wings of said aircraft.

11. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the first aircraft light requirement is one of a first anti-collision light requirement or first indicator light requirement, and the second aircraft light requirement is one of a second anti-collision light requirement or second indicator light requirement.

12. The method according to claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of diffractive optical elements is between about 0.25 mm 2 and about 1 mm 2 .

13. The method according to claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of diffractive optical elements comprises a layer of dielectric material having a varying thickness.

14. A system for aircraft lighting, the system comprising:
a single coherent light source that generates a single optical source signal;
a plurality of optical waveguides each communicating a portion of said single optical source signal;
a plurality of diffractive optical elements each sharing the single optical source signal via one of the plurality of optical waveguides and generating an output optical signal for transmission out of the diffractive optical element, wherein each diffractive optical element comprises a dynamically-controllable liquid crystal comprising a plurality of liquid crystal pixels each individually-controllable to change an index of refraction of the optical source signal and to change an intensity pattern of the output optical signal transmitted out of the diffractive optical element by changing an electric field applied to the liquid crystal pixel; and
an aircraft computer system that controls the plurality of liquid crystal pixels of the dynamically-controllable liquid crystal of each diffractive optical element to switch between transmitting an output optical signal out of the diffractive optical element with a first intensity pattern and transmitting an output optical signal out of the diffractive optical element with a second intensity pattern, the first intensity pattern corresponding with a first aircraft light requirement and the second intensity pattern corresponding with a second aircraft light requirement different than the first aircraft light requirement.

15. The system according to claim 14 , wherein the first aircraft light requirement is a first anti-collision light requirement and the second aircraft light requirement is a second anti-collision light requirement.

16. The system according to claim 14 , wherein said coherent light source comprises a laser.

17. The system according to claim 14 , wherein one or more of said plurality of diffractive optical elements is integrated in at least one of a fuselage and one or more wingtips of said aircraft.

18. The system according to claim 14 , wherein said coherent light source is located within at least one of a fuselage and one or more wings of said aircraft.

19. A method for aircraft lighting, the method comprising: generating a single optical source signal from a single coherent light source, the single optical source signal comprising coherent light; splitting the single optical source signal into multiple optical source signals, each of the multiple optical source signals comprising coherent light; communicating each of said multiple optical source signals to a different one of a plurality of diffractive optical elements via respective optical waveguides, each of the diffractive optical elements being located at a different location about an aircraft remote from the single coherent light source; generating an output optical signal from each of the diffractive optical elements for transmission out of the respective diffractive optical elements, the diffractive optical elements being configured to scatter the coherent light of the optical source signals such that the output optical signal comprises non-coherent light having a diffractive pattern; and dynamically controlling an intensity of the diffractive pattern of the output optical signal generated from each of the plurality of diffractive optical elements to switch between a first intensity diffractive pattern corresponding with a first aircraft light requirement and a second intensity diffractive pattern corresponding with a second aircraft light requirement different than the first aircraft light requirement, wherein said plurality of diffractive optical elements each comprises a dynamically-controll

Assignees

• Harvey Eric Joseph
• Boeing Co

Inventors

• Harvey Eric Joseph

Classifications

• B64D47/04

  the lighting devices being primarily intended to illuminate the way ahead · CPC title

• B64D47/06 Primary

  for indicating aircraft presence · CPC title

• B64D47/00

  Equipment not otherwise provided for · CPC title

• F21W2101/06

  Mechanical Engineering · mapped topic

• F21Y2101/025

  Mechanical Engineering · mapped topic