Textron Innovations Inc.

Bell Helicopter Textron Inc.

Jillian Samantha Alfred

Luke Dafydd Gillett

Robert Earl Worsham, Ii

Sung Kyun Kim

Christopher Mike Bothwell

Christopher Michael Bothwell

Morganne Cody Klein

Bradley Don Linton

Michael Reaugh Smith

Charles Eric Covington

Joseph M Schaeffer

Thomas Parham

Robert L Fortenbaugh

Troy S Caudill

Matthew Wade Hendricks

Thomas Earl Johnson, Jr

Mark E Wasikowski

Clifton L Harrell

Robert Worsham

Chris James Ludtke

Marko Vuga

Stephanie Baynham

Lan Nam Hoang

Monica Sibello

Christopher James Ludtke

Robert Earl Worsham Ii

Luke Dafydd Gillet

Kim Sung Kyun

Luke Dayfdd Gillett

Thomas Earl Johnson Jr

Robert Lee Fortenbaugh

In an embodiment, a rotorcraft includes a control element; a first detent sensor connected to the control element, the first detent sensor being operable to generate detent slip rate data indicating movement of the control element and detent state data indicating pilot control of the control element; a first trim motor connected to the control element and operable to generate trim rate data; and an FCC in signal communication with the first detent sensor and the first trim motor, the FCC including an error monitor operable to compare the detent slip rate data with the trim rate data and determine whether the first detent sensor is functional or defective, operable to provide a first flight management function when the first detent sensor is determined to be functional, and operable to provide a second flight management function when the first detent sensor is determined to be defective.

Error monitors for collective and cyclic sticks

A flight control computer (FCC) for a rotorcraft includes a processor and a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a program to be executed by the processor, with the program including instructions for providing main rotor overspeed protection. The instructions for providing the main rotor overspeed protection include instructions for monitoring sensor signals indicating a main rotor RPM, determining a target operating parameter, determining one or more flight parameters in response to a relationship between the main rotor RPM and the target operating parameter indicating a main rotor overspeed condition. Determining the one or more flight parameters includes determining a setting for a flight control device of the rotorcraft that changes the main rotor RPM, controlling positioning of a pilot control according to the flight parameters, and controlling the flight control device of the rotorcraft according to positioning of the pilot control.

Reverse tactile cue for rotorcraft rotor overspeed protection

In an embodiment, a rotorcraft includes: a plurality of engines; a flight control computer connected to the plurality of engines, the flight control computer being configured to: receive an operating parameter of a first engine of the plurality of engines; determine an engine output ramping rate for the first engine according to a difference between the operating parameter of the first engine and a nominal limit of the first engine; and increase the output of the first engine in response to detecting an outage of another engine of the plurality of engines, the output of the first engine being increased according to the engine output ramping rate.

System and method for controlling rotorcraft

In an embodiment, a method includes: obtaining a first signal from a first sensor of a rotorcraft, the first signal indicating measured angular velocity around a first axis of the rotorcraft; filtering the first signal with a lag compensator to estimate angular position around the first axis of the rotorcraft; and adjusting flight control devices of the rotorcraft according to the estimated angular position and the measured angular velocity around the first axis of the rotorcraft, thereby changing flight characteristics of the rotorcraft around the first axis of the rotorcraft.

In an embodiment, a method of indicating flight modes of a rotorcraft includes: detecting a change in flight mode of the rotorcraft from a previous flight mode to an active flight mode, the active flight mode and the previous flight mode each being from one of a first subset or a second subset of a plurality of flight modes; determining whether the active flight mode and the previous flight mode are from different subsets of the plurality of flight modes; and updating one or more flight mode indicators on an instrument panel of the rotorcraft in response to the active flight mode and the previous flight mode being from different subsets of the plurality of flight modes.

System and method for flight mode annunciation

An rotorcraft including a pilot control, a pilot control position sensor connected to the pilot control and operable to generate a position signal indicating a position of the pilot control, a flight control computer (FCC) in signal communication with the pilot control position sensor and operable to provide a tactile cue in the pilot control in response to the position signal indicating the position of the pilot control exceeds a threshold associated with an operating limit, and further operable to determine a tactile cueing value for the tactile cue according to a relationship between the position of the pilot control and the threshold, and generate a cue control signal according to the tactile cueing value, and a tactile cue element connected to the pilot control and in signal communication with the FCC and operable to control action of the pilot control in response to the cue control signal.

System and method for tactile cueing through rotorcraft pilot controls using variable friction and force gradient

A rotorcraft including a control element, a control sensor connected to the control element, where the control sensor is operable to generate trim data indicating a displacement of the control element in relation to a trim position of the control element, and a flight control computer (FCC) operable to monitor the trim data and determine an active detent state of the control element. The active detent state is one of an in-detent state, an out-of-detent state, and an in-transition state. The FCC is operable to buffer a transition of the active detent state from the in-detent state to the out-of-detent state using the in-transition state. The FCC provides a first flight management function when the active detent state is the in-detent state or the in-transition state, and provides a second flight management function when the active detent state is the out-of-detent state.

System and method for pilot-in-control sensing in a rotorcraft

In an embodiment, a rotorcraft includes: a rotor system; a sensor; a flight control device; and a flight control computer (FCC) coupled to the rotor system, the sensor, and the flight control device, the FCC configured to: determine a rotation speed of the rotor system; select a first aeroservoelasticity filter configuration from a plurality of aeroservoelasticity filter configurations according to the rotation speed of the rotor system, the aeroservoelasticity filter configurations being predetermined configurations corresponding to different rotation speeds of the rotor system; receive a signal from the sensor; filter the signal according to the first aeroservoelasticity filter configuration; and adjust the flight control device according to the filtered signal.

A rotorcraft having a plurality of wheels, each wheel configured to receive weight of the rotorcraft when in contact with a landing surface, a plurality of wheel sensors, each wheel sensor associated with a respective wheel and having circuitry configured to generate a wheel on ground (WOG) signal indicating that the respective wheel is in contact with the landing surface, and a flight control computer (FCC) in signal communication with the plurality of wheel sensors, the FCC operable to execute a first hold loop having a first integrator and providing first control augmentation of a rotorcraft flight system, the FCC further operable to freeze the first integrator according to a number of WOG signals received from the plurality of wheel sensors, the FCC further operable to generate a first control signal according to a first value provided by the first integrator while the first integrator is frozen.

System and method for rotorcraft-weight-on-wheels flight state transition control

A fly-by-wire system for a rotorcraft includes a computing device having control laws. The control laws are operable to engage a roll command or a yaw command in response to deflection of a beep switch of a pilot control assembly, wherein a roll angle for the roll command or a yaw rate for the yaw command is determined based on forward airspeed of the rotorcraft. The beep switch may be disposed on a collective control of the pilot control assembly. The control laws are further operable to disengage the roll command or the yaw command in response to the beep switch being returned from a deflected position to a neutral position. In representative aspects, the roll angle or the yaw rate may correspond to a standard rate turn (e.g., 3&#xb0; per second).

Rotorcraft fly-by-wire standard rate turn

In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, a method of operating a rotorcraft includes receiving a measured yaw rate from a yaw rate sensor or a measured lateral acceleration from a lateral acceleration sensor of the rotorcraft, filtering the measured yaw rate or the measured lateral acceleration using a filter to form a filtered measured yaw rate or a filtered measured lateral acceleration, and regulating a yaw rate or a lateral acceleration of the rotorcraft based on the measured yaw rate or the measured lateral acceleration. The filter includes a bandpass characteristic or a notch characteristic, and the filtering is configured to reduce lateral vibrations caused by airflow in a tail section of the rotorcraft.

System and method for rotorcraft active lateral shuffle filter

A system and method for providing state comparison of redundant processors used, e.g. to control a rotor craft. A primary microprocessor is configured to receive input data from a position sensor and a flight condition sensor and determine therefrom a first desired control law state, and a secondary microprocessor is configured to receive input data from the position sensor and the flight condition sensor and determine therefrom a second desired control law state. The first desired control law state from the primary microprocessor and the second desired control law state from the secondary microprocessor are compared, and (a) the first desired control law state is entered when the first desired control law state and the second desired control law state match, and (b) a last known control law state is maintained when the first desired control law state and the second desired control law state do not match.

Rotorcraft with redundant processors using state comparison

A rotorcraft including a flight control computer (FCC) providing a vertical speed hold for the rotorcraft, a collective control, and a collective trim motor connected to the collective control. The collective trim motor moves the collective control according to a collective set command generated by the FCC according to a target vertical speed and when the FCC determines the collective control is in-detent. A collective position sensor is connected to the collective control. The collective position sensor generates, and sends to the FCC, a collective position signal indicating the position of the collective control. A flight control device controls a flight parameter of the rotorcraft in response to a flight control device control signal received from the FCC. The FCC generates the flight control device control signal according to the collective position signal, and sends the flight control device control signal to a flight control device.

Default in-detent vertical speed/altitude hold

In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, a method of operating a rotorcraft includes operating the rotorcraft in a heading control mode that includes activating a yaw channel path of a heading controller and deactivating a roll channel path of the heading controller when a speed of the rotorcraft is less than a first speed threshold or a heading error is less than a heading error threshold, and activating the roll channel path of the heading controller and deactivating the yaw channel path of the heading controller when the speed of the rotorcraft is greater than a second speed threshold and the heading error is not less than the heading error threshold.

Growing community of inventors

Fort Worth, TX, United States of America

Jillian Samantha Alfred