US3886334A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Method and apparatus for simulating a class of aircraft
Assignee: CAE Link Corp
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Filing: 1973-06-07
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Granted: 1975-05-27
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Expires: 1993-06-07
Abstract
Abstract A flight simulator, or computer section thereof, capable of computing and supplying output signals in real time corresponding to the performance of any of two or more aircraft. The aircraft are members of a defined class having similar aerodynamic and physical characteristics as evidenced by the equations of motion for each aircraft of the class being expressed in common terms. The terms in the equations which may vary in value between aircraft in the class to cause significant performance differences are expressed as conversion constants. Each conversion constant is equal to one for a particular aircraft of the class. A set of values for said constants are thus developed for each of the aircraft in the class which may be used as multipliers in the equations to provide outputs commensurate with performance of any aircraft of the class. The invention also resides in the method of simulating a class of aircraft.
Inventors
- 👤 Thomas R Cummings
- 👤 William J Hewitt
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-01 20:02
CPC Classifications
G; G06; G06G; G06G7/00; G06G7/48; G06G7/70; G09; G09B; G09B9/00; G09B9/02; G09B9/08; G09B9/16; G09B9/20
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 16
Claim 1
Independent Claim
149 words
Apparatus for simulating in real time any selected vehicle of a predetermined class of vehicles having common operational and physical characteristics, comprising: a trainee station having simulated controls and instruments for providing outputs representative of a trainee''s operation of the simulated controls and for receiving inputs representative of instrument readings; computing means for receiving and processing said outputs according to motion and engine equations for said class of vehicles, said equations being expressed in terms of vehicle parameters for one vehicle of said class and conversion constants which compensate for differences in performance between said one vehicle and the other vehicles of said class; and means for providing to said computing means electrical signals representative of values of the conversion constants for any selected vehicle of said class, said computing means employing said electrical signals to process said outputs and produce said inputs, whereby said selected vehicle is simulated.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
149 words
Apparatus for simulating in real time any selected vehicle of a predetermined class of vehicles having common operational and physical characteristics, comprising: a trainee station having simulated controls and instruments for providing outputs representative of a trainee''s operation of the simulated controls and for receiving inputs representative of instrument readings; computing means for receiving and processing said outputs according to motion and engine equations for said class of vehicles, said equations being expressed in terms of vehicle parameters for one vehicle of said class and conversion constants which compensate for differences in performance between said one vehicle and the other vehicles of said class; and means for providing to said computing means electrical signals representative of values of the conversion constants for any selected vehicle of said class, said computing means employing said electrical signals to process said outputs and produce said inputs, whereby said selected vehicle is simulated.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
30 words
The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said vehicles comprise aircraft having common aerodynamic and physical characteristics, said trainee station comprises a simulated cockpit, and said motion equations comprise flight equations.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
56 words
The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the means for providing electrical signals comprises: means for generating a set of electrical signals representative of a set of values of said conversion constants for each of said vehicles in said class; and means for selectively providing any one of said sets of electrical signals to said computing means.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
168 words
In a flight simulator capable of real time simulation of any aircraft of a class of aircraft having common aerodynamic and physical characteristics, the combination comprising: a. a computer having active circuits for electronically implementing flight and engine equations representative of the performance of one of the class, said equations being in a form such that terms in said equations which have substantially different values between aircraft in said class are expressed as conversion constants, said conversion constants compensating for significant differences in performance between said one aircraft and the other aircraft of said class; b. means for electronically implementing sets of values for said constants, each set representing a different aircraft of said class, the value of each of said coNversion constants in the set corresponding to said one aircraft being equal to one; and c. means for selectively including in the active circuits of said computer the electronic implementation of any one of said sets of values, whereby any aircraft of said class can be simulated.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
168 words
In a flight simulator capable of real time simulation of any aircraft of a class of aircraft having common aerodynamic and physical characteristics, the combination comprising: a. a computer having active circuits for electronically implementing flight and engine equations representative of the performance of one of the class, said equations being in a form such that terms in said equations which have substantially different values between aircraft in said class are expressed as conversion constants, said conversion constants compensating for significant differences in performance between said one aircraft and the other aircraft of said class; b. means for electronically implementing sets of values for said constants, each set representing a different aircraft of said class, the value of each of said coNversion constants in the set corresponding to said one aircraft being equal to one; and c. means for selectively including in the active circuits of said computer the electronic implementation of any one of said sets of values, whereby any aircraft of said class can be simulated.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
17 words
The invention according to claim 4 wherein said means for selectively including comprise manually positionable switching means.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
153 words
Grounded flight training apparatus comprising, in combination: a. a simulated cockpit having controls and instruments; b. a flight computer working in real time to provide outputs for operating said controls and instruments in accordance with the performance of any one of a plurality of aircraft, said computer having circuits electronically implementing equations describing performance of a class of aircraft having common aerodynamic and physical characteristics, said equations including conversion constants representing those terms in the equations having different values for different aircraft of the class and causing significant differences in performance for the various aircraft of the class, said computer further having a plurality of components electronically implementing values of said conversion constants for the different aircraft of said class; and c. means for selectively including in the active circuits of said computer selective ones of said components corresponding to the values of said conversion constants associated with any aircraft of said class.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
153 words
Grounded flight training apparatus comprising, in combination: a. a simulated cockpit having controls and instruments; b. a flight computer working in real time to provide outputs for operating said controls and instruments in accordance with the performance of any one of a plurality of aircraft, said computer having circuits electronically implementing equations describing performance of a class of aircraft having common aerodynamic and physical characteristics, said equations including conversion constants representing those terms in the equations having different values for different aircraft of the class and causing significant differences in performance for the various aircraft of the class, said computer further having a plurality of components electronically implementing values of said conversion constants for the different aircraft of said class; and c. means for selectively including in the active circuits of said computer selective ones of said components corresponding to the values of said conversion constants associated with any aircraft of said class.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
42 words
The invention according to claim 6 wherein the values of said conversion constants are equal to one for a particular aircraft of the class and said values are precomputed without reference to the aerodynamic coefficients of the other aircraft of said class.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
26 words
The invention according to claim 6 wherein said computer is an analog computer and said components comprise means providing scaled time division signals representing said value.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
13 words
The invention according to claim 6 wherein said computer is a digital computer.
Claim 13
Independent Claim
164 words
A method of simulating in real time any selected one of a class of vehicles having common operational and physical characteristics, comprising the steps of: providing a computer which implements a set of motion and engine equations representing the performance of said class of vehicles, said equations containing vehicular parameters for one member of said class of vehicles and conversion constants which compensate for differences in performance between said one member and the other members of said class; providing control signals indicative of a trainee''s operation of simulated vehicular controls to said computer; providing signals to said computer representative of values of the conversion constants for the vehicle selected to be simulated; processing said control signals and signals representative of values of the conversion constants in said computer according to said motion and engine equations to produce output signals indicative of the performance of said selected vehicle; and providing said output signals to simulated instruments, whereby the performance of said selected vehicle is simulated.
Claim 14
Independent Claim
164 words
A method of simulating in real time any selected one of a class of vehicles having common operational and physical characteristics, comprising the steps of: providing a computer which implements a set of motion and engine equations representing the performance of said class of vehicles, said equations containing vehicular parameters for one member of said class of vehicles and conversion constants which compensate for differences in performance between said one member and the other members of said class; providing control signals indicative of a trainee''s operation of simulated vehicular controls to said computer; providing signals to said computer representative of values of the conversion constants for the vehicle selected to be simulated; processing said control signals and signals representative of values of the conversion constants in said computer according to said motion and engine equations to produce output signals indicative of the performance of said selected vehicle; and providing said output signals to simulated instruments, whereby the performance of said selected vehicle is simulated.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
57 words
The method of claim 10 wherein the step of providing signals representative of values of the conversion constants for the selected vehicle comprises: generating a set of values of said signals representative of a set of conversion constants for each vehicle of the class; and selectively providing any one of said sets of signals to said computer.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
23 words
The method of claim 10 wherein said vehicles comprise aircraft having common aerodynamic and physical characteristics and said motion equations comprise flight equations.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1978-05-26 | 1978-11-25 | 1979-05-27 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1982-05-26 | 1982-11-25 | 1983-05-27 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1986-05-26 | 1986-11-25 | 1987-05-27 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |