USA As Represented by Secretary of the Navy

Frank A Leban

Gordon G Parker

Joseph P Teter

J Dexter Bird, Iii

John G Vorwald

Michael J Agostini

Scott A Sirchio

Jeffrey P Green

The bottom surface of an aircraft, such as an Osprey V-22 propeller driven aircraft, has at least four distributed hook attachment points. A load suspension apparatus is attached to the four attachment points with elongated slings. The load suspension apparatus includes an upper rigid frame and a lower rigid frame of lesser dimensions. The lower frame is suspended from the upper frame with V-shaped slings. A cargo load is attached to the lower frame. The load suspension apparatus provides stable attachment of loads to tilt wing and rotary wing aircraft at high aircraft speeds, at transitions between high and low speeds and through aircraft turns.

Cargo suspension frame for aircraft

The present invention is typically embodied to exert active control of two same-shipboard cranes performing joint lifting of a payload. Sensory signals indicative of ship motion, and of luff angle and hoist line length of both cranes, are transmitted to a computer. The sensory signals are processed by the computer using a ship motion cancellation algorithm, which solves for values of the respective luff angles and hoist line lengths of both cranes, such values achieving static equilibrium (e.g., zero motion horizontally, vertically, and rotationally in the same vertical geometric plane) of the suspended payload. Inverse kinematic control signals in accordance with the mathematical (e.g., minimum norm) solutions are transmitted by the computer to respective luff angle actuators and hoist line length actuators of both cranes so that the suspended payload tends toward steadiness. Inventive control thus acts on a continual basis to significantly reduce pendulation during the two-crane lifting operation.

Coordinated control of two shipboard cranes for cargo transfer with ship motion compensation

The inventive control system, as typically embodied, includes sensing mechanisms, a computational processing unit, and an algorithm for processing inputs and generating outputs to control a rotating pedestal crane equipped with a Rider Block Tagline System (RBTS). Typical inventive embodiments uniquely feature a processing algorithm that distributes various control modes that operate not only through the crane's hoisting, luffing, and slewing mechanisms but also through the crane's RBTS; the inventive algorithm thereby effectuates motion compensation and pendulation damping with respect to the crane. This algorithmic allocation of control represents a more efficient crane anti-pendulation methodology than conventional methodologies; in particular, the inventive methodology exerts significantly greater control of the payload while exacting significantly less burden upon the hoisting, luffing, and slewing mechanisms of the crane.

Pendulation control system with active rider block tagline system for shipboard cranes

A liquid-phase cooling device of a refrigeration system has an outer tubular housing enclosing a heat exchanger through which a mixture gases and liquid constituting a working fluid media is heated and cooled while undergoing compression and expansion within a cavity formed in the outer tubular housing at an axial end portion thereof closed by an electromagnetic actuator under selective control of an electrical power source through which operation of the heat exchanger is effected. The actuator has a casing attached to the outer tubular housing of the heat exchanger at said axial end thereof within which a diaphragm attached to the axial end of the casing is exposed to the working fluid media within the cavity enclosed by the outer tubular housing of the heat exchanger. The diaphragm is engaged by a piston within the casing for axial deformation thereof to effect said compression and expansion of the fluid media under selective control of electrical current supplied from the power source to an electromagnetic coil through which a magnetic field is established within a body of magnetostrictive material disposed within the actuator casing between the piston and an end cap closing the axial end of the casing opposite the axial end to which the diaphragm is attached.

Growing community of inventors

Columbia, MD, United States of America

Frank A Leban