Patent Application
20210229832
The present disclosure relates generally to aircraft systems and, more particularly, to aircraft exterior lighting systems.
Aircraft are generally equipped with a plurality of Anti-Collision Lights (ACLs) which may strobe or flash in sequence during flight. The sequence and frequency of ACL strobing may be governed according to variously regulatory and safety guidelines which may further require synchronization of strobing across each of the plurality of ACLs. In this regard, the aircraft may tend to be more visible at night and in adverse weather conditions. Traditional ACL synchronization methods tend to rely on either a “master-slave” configuration or a “dominant-light” configuration. In the master-slave configuration, one ACL serves as a master and generates and transmits a flash signal to each of the other ACLs (the slaves) which flash in response to the master flash signal. In the dominant-light configuration, one of the plurality of ACLs receives a first power signal. In response to the first power signal, the ACL generates the flash signal and transmits the flash signal to the plurality of ACLs
In various embodiments, an anti-collision light (ACL) control system comprises a controller, a GPS receiver in electronic communication with the controller, an ACL comprising a housing and a flash lamp in electronic communication with the controller, and a tangible, non-transitory memory configured to communicate with the controller, the tangible, non-transitory memory having instructions stored thereon that, in response to execution by the controller, cause the controller to perform operations comprising receiving a GPS signal from the GPS receiver, generating a flash signal in response to the GPS signal, and controlling the flash lamp via the flash signal.
In various embodiments, the operations further comprise extracting a real time stream from the GPS signal, calculating an ACL duty cycle based on the real time stream, and generating the flash signal based on the ACL duty cycle. In various embodiments, a receiving element may be in electronic communication with the ACL and disposed within the housing. In various embodiments, the operations further comprise encoding the flash signal and transmitting the encoded flash signal to the receiving element. In various embodiments, the receiving element comprises at least one of a wireless receiver or a data over powerline modem. In various embodiments, each of the controller and the GPS receiver are disposed within the housing. In various embodiments, the ACL comprises a light emitting diode (LED) flash lamp. In various embodiments, a LED driver module may be configured to control the LED flash lamp and in electronic communication with the controller, wherein the controller transmits the flash signal to the LED driver module. In various embodiments, a navigation lamp may be disposed within the housing. In various embodiments, the operations further comprise receiving a navigation power sense signal and inhibiting generation of the flash signal in response to the navigation power sense signal.
In various embodiments, an article of manufacture is disclosed including a tangible, non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having instructions stored thereon that, in response to execution by a processor, cause the processor to perform operations comprising receiving a GPS signal, generating a flash signal in response to the GPS signal, and controlling a flash lamp via the flash signal.
In various embodiments, the operations further comprise extracting a real time stream from the GPS signal, calculating an ACL duty cycle based on the real time stream, and generating the flash signal based on the ACL duty cycle. In various embodiments, the operations further comprise encoding the flash signal and transmitting the encoded flash signal to a receiving element. In various embodiments, the operations further comprise receiving a navigation power sense signal and inhibiting the generation of the flash signal in response to the navigation power sense signal.
In various embodiments, a method of controlling an anti-collision light may comprise receiving a GPS signal, generating a flash signal in response to the GPS signal, and controlling a flash lamp via the flash signal. The method includes extracting a real time stream from the GPS signal, calculating an ACL duty cycle based on the real time stream, and generating the flash signal based on the ACL duty cycle. In various embodiments, the method includes encoding the flash signal and transmitting the encoded flash signal to a receiving element. In various embodiments, the method includes receiving a navigation power sense signal and inhibiting the generation of the flash signal in response to the navigation power sense signal.
The foregoing features and elements may be combined in various combinations without exclusivity, unless expressly indicated otherwise. These features and elements as well as the operation thereof will become more apparent in light of the following description and the accompanying drawings. It should be understood, however, the following description and drawings are intended to be exemplary in nature and non-limiting.
The subject matter of the present disclosure is particularly pointed out and distinctly claimed in the concluding portion of the specification. A more complete understanding of the present disclosure, however, may best be obtained by referring to the detailed description and claims when considered in connection with the figures, wherein like numerals denote like elements.
All ranges and ratio limits disclosed herein may be combined. It is to be understood that unless specifically stated otherwise, references to “a,” “an,” and/or “the” may include one or more than one and that reference to an item in the singular may also include the item in the plural.
The detailed description of exemplary embodiments herein makes reference to the accompanying drawings, which show exemplary embodiments by way of illustration. While these exemplary embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the exemplary embodiments of the disclosure, it should be understood that other embodiments may be realized and that logical changes and adaptations in design and construction may be made in accordance with this disclosure and the teachings herein. Thus, the detailed description herein is presented for purposes of illustration only and not limitation.
The scope of the disclosure is defined by the appended claims and their legal equivalents rather than by merely the examples described. For example, the steps recited in any of the method or process descriptions may be executed in any order and are not necessarily limited to the order presented. Furthermore, any reference to singular includes plural embodiments, and any reference to more than one component or step may include a singular embodiment or step. Also, any reference to attached, fixed, coupled, connected or the like may include permanent, removable, temporary, partial, full and/or any other possible attachment option. Additionally, any reference to without contact (or similar phrases) may also include reduced contact or minimal contact. Surface shading lines may be used throughout the figures to denote different parts but not necessarily to denote the same or different materials.
With reference to
With additional reference to
System program instructions and/or controller instructions may be loaded onto a non-transitory, tangible computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon that, in response to execution by a controller, cause the controller to perform various operations. The term “non-transitory” is to be understood to remove only propagating transitory signals per se from the claim scope and does not relinquish rights to all standard computer-readable media that are not only propagating transitory signals per se. Stated another way, the meaning of the term “non-transitory computer-readable medium” and “non-transitory computer-readable storage medium” should be construed to exclude only those types of transitory computer-readable media which were found in In Re Nuijten to fall outside the scope of patentable subject matter under 35 U.S.C. § 101.
In various embodiments and with additional reference to
In various embodiments, and with additional reference to
Controller 408 may receive an encoded flash signal 414 (i.e., an externally generated flash signal or a flash command from a first controller such as controller 202) via the receiving element 412. The encoded flash signal 414 may be received wirelessly or by hardline such as, for example as data over powerline via ACL power lines 416. The controller 408 may control the flash lamp 404 in response to the encoded flash signal 414 by, for example, decoding the encoded flash signal and in causing the flash lamp 404 to strobe at a frequency between 30 Hz to 45 Hz. For example, the controller 408 may generate a flash signal 420 (i.e. an internal flash signal) in response to the encoded flash signal 414 and transmit the flash signal 420 to the LED driver 418. In various embodiments, the controller 408 may receive a GPS signal 422 from the GPS receiver 410 and extract a real time stream from the GPS signal 422. The Controller 408 may calculate an ACL duty cycle based on the real time stream and generate the flash signal 420 based on the ACL duty cycle. In various embodiments, ACL 400 includes a navigation lamp 424. Navigation lamp 424 may receive power from navigation power lines 426. Navigation lamp 424 may receive power via a power conditioning module 428 configured to provide a conditioned power to the navigation lamp 424. In various embodiments, controller 408 may receive a navigation power sense signal 430 from, for example, the power conditioning module 428 or the navigation power lines 426. In response to the navigation power sense signal 430, controller 408 may inhibit generation of the flash signal 420.
Benefits and other advantages have been described herein with regard to specific embodiments. Furthermore, the connecting lines shown in the various figures contained herein are intended to represent exemplary functional relationships and/or physical couplings between the various elements. It should be noted that many alternative or additional functional relationships or physical connections may be present in a practical system. However, the benefits, advantages, and any elements that may cause any benefit or advantage to occur or become more pronounced are not to be construed as critical, required, or essential features or elements of the disclosure. The scope of the disclosure is accordingly to be limited by nothing other than the appended claims, in which reference to an element in the singular is not intended to mean “one and only one” unless explicitly so stated, but rather “one or more.” Moreover, where a phrase similar to “at least one of A, B, or C” is used in the claims, it is intended that the phrase be interpreted to mean that A alone may be present in an embodiment, B alone may be present in an embodiment, C alone may be present in an embodiment, or that any combination of the elements A, B and C may be present in a single embodiment; for example, A and B, A and C, B and C, or A and B and C.
Systems, methods and apparatus are provided herein. In the detailed description herein, references to “various embodiments,” “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” “an example embodiment,” etc., indicate that the embodiment described may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but every embodiment may not necessarily include the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Moreover, such phrases are not necessarily referring to the same embodiment. Further, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in connection with an embodiment, it is submitted that it is within the knowledge of one skilled in the art to affect such feature, structure, or characteristic in connection with other embodiments whether or not explicitly described. After reading the description, it will be apparent to one skilled in the relevant art(s) how to implement the disclosure in alternative embodiments.
Furthermore, no element, component, or method step in the present disclosure is intended to be dedicated to the public regardless of whether the element, component, or method step is explicitly recited in the claims. No claim element herein is invoke 35 U.S.C. 112(f) unless the element is expressly recited using the phrase “means for.” As used herein, the terms “comprises,” “comprising,” or any other variation thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements does not include only those elements but may include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus.
