Patent Abstract:
Methods, systems, and devices for determining system/device configuration and setting a mode of operation based on the determined configuration. An air vehicle processor: (a) receives a component information  14  set of at least one external component; (b) determine a mode of operation, by the processor having a current mode of operation setting, based on the received component information and at least one of: an initial mode of operation setting and the current mode of operation setting; (c) determines whether all of the one or more received component information sets match a configuration requirement; (d) transitions to a flight-ready status if the determination is a conjunctive match; and (e) transition to a reset status if the determination is not a conjunctive match.

Full Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
       [0001]    This application claims priority to and the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/264,587, filed Nov. 25, 2009, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety for all purposes. 
     
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
       [0002]    Embodiments pertain to automatic configuration control of a device and particularly systems and methods of invoking operational modes based on recognized configuration components. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0003]    Vehicles such as an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) may be assembled prior to porting into the field of operation and may be assembled or reassembled in the field of operation. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0004]    Embodiments include methods, systems, and devices for determining system/device configuration and setting a mode of operation based on the determined configuration. For example, an embodiment may include a method of operational mode determination comprising: (a) receiving, by a processing unit, a component information set of at least one external component; and (b) determining a mode of operation, by the processing unit having a current mode of operation setting, based on the received component information set and at least one of: an initial mode of operation setting and the current mode of operation setting. Some embodiments may further comprise: (c) determining whether all of the one or more received component information sets match a configuration requirement; (d) transitioning to a flight-ready status if the determination is a conjunctive match; and (e) transitioning to a reset status if the determination is not a conjunctive match. 
         [0005]    Some exemplary embodiments may include a computing device comprising a processing unit and addressable member; the processing unit configured to: (a) receive a component information set of at least one external component; and (b) determine a mode of operation, by a device having a current mode of operation setting, based on the received component information and at least one of: an initial mode of operation setting and the current mode of operation setting. In some embodiments, the processing unit of the computing device may be further configured to: (c) determine whether all of the one or more received component information sets match a configuration requirement; (d) transition to a flight-ready status if the determination is a conjunctive match; and (e) transition to a reset status if the determination is not a conjunctive match. 
         [0006]    Some embodiments may include a system comprising: (a) a processing unit and addressable member; the processing unit configured to: (i) receive a component information set of at least one system component; and (ii) determine a mode of operation, by the processing unit having a current mode of operation setting, based on the received component information and at least one of: an initial mode of operation setting and the current mode of operation setting; and (b) at least one sensor configured to detect the at least one system component. Some system embodiments may further comprise a system component associated with the component information set. Some system embodiments may further comprise a data store comprised of one or more parameters associated with the component information set. 
         [0007]    In addition, embodiments may include processor-readable non-transient medium having processor executable instructions thereon, which when executed by a processor cause the processor to: (a) receive a component information set of at least one external component; (b) determine a mode of operation, by the processor having a current mode of operation setting, based on the received component information and at least one of: an initial mode of operation setting and the current mode of operation setting; (c) determine whether all of the one or more received component information sets match a configuration requirement; (d) transition to a flight-ready status if the determination is a conjunctive match; and (e) transition to a reset status if the determination is not a conjunctive match. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0008]    Embodiments are illustrated by way of example and not limitation in the figures of the accompanying drawings, and in which: 
           [0009]      FIG. 1A  is a top level functional block diagram of an embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0010]      FIG. 1B  is a top level mode logic flowchart of an embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0011]      FIG. 2  is a top level functional block diagram of an embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0012]      FIG. 3  is a top view of an exemplary air vehicle embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0013]      FIG. 4  is a partial cutaway top view of an exemplary air vehicle embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0014]      FIG. 5  is a top view of another exemplary air vehicle embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0015]      FIG. 6  is a top view of another exemplary air vehicle embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0016]      FIG. 7  is a top view of another exemplary air vehicle embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0017]      FIG. 8  is a top view of another exemplary air vehicle embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0018]      FIG. 9  is a top view of another exemplary air vehicle embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0019]      FIG. 10  is a top view of another exemplary air vehicle embodiment of the present invention; and 
           [0020]      FIG. 11  is a side view of another exemplary air vehicle embodiment of the present invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0021]    Reference is made to the drawings that illustrate exemplary embodiments.  FIG. 1A  is a top level functional block diagram of an embodiment of the present invention where a processing device or processor  110  may comprise one or more central processing units (CPUs) and addressable memory. The processor  110  may be comprised of functional modules of executable instructions and/or firmware modules. The processor  110  may be configured to execute instructions to perform mode control, flight control, and/or sensor processing/filtering. A mode controller  111  for an air vehicle may set or change parameters, filters, and control loop feedback gains according to the in-flight mode setting. The mode controller  111  for an air vehicle may test for the presence of external components according to a preflight mode setting. The mode controller  111  for an air vehicle may determine whether to change modes based on tests for values of metrics representative of flight conditions and/or the values of other flight parameters. A flight controller  112  for an air vehicle may receive sensed vehicle dynamics, sensed and/or estimated vehicle positions and/or velocities, and heading and/or attitude commands. The flight controller  112  may output commands to motors  150 , e.g., propeller motors, and actuators, e.g., control surface actuators. The sensor processor  113  may receive output from vehicle dynamic sensors such as accelerometers and/or gyroscopes referenced by flight control sensors  130 . The sensor processor  113  may receive output from component sensors  120  that may be indicative of the presence or the component. The sensor processor  113  may filter or otherwise condition the input from the flight control sensors  130  before providing the filtered and/or processed information to the flight control processing  112 . Embodiments may include navigation processing that may be executed by sensor processing  113 , flight control processing  112 , or distributed between the two processing modules of the processor  110 . The component sensor  120  output may comprise information that the sensor processing  113  may use as an index in referencing a component information database. Exemplary component sensors include radio frequency identification (rfid), inductance/Hall effect sensors, or voltage sensors. For example, in some embodiments, the external component may draw power from the vehicle and superimpose information on the voltage signal path. 
         [0022]    Depending on the function of the processor  110 , other modules, including functions and capabilities, may be added or removed. Furthermore, the modules in the exemplary processor  110  described herein may be further subdivided and combined with other functions so long as the function and processes described herein may be performed. The various modules may also be implemented in hardware, or a combination of hardware and software, i.e., firmware. 
         [0023]    For an air vehicle embodiment, the external components may include a lifting surface extension, a tail boom, a rotor, a battery module, and a payload module. If the external component is a lifting surface extension, the information provided by an associated component sensor may be an index with the sensor processing  113  that may access a component identification database  140  comprising information indexed for: (a) airfoils such as span, chord, sweep, symmetry characteristics, and material; and (b) payloads such as auxiliary battery type. 
         [0024]      FIG. 1B  is a top level mode logic flowchart  160  of an embodiment of the present invention where, after “power on,” the processing receives an input to initiate a preflight check (step  161 ). In a preflight mode, the processing may input a mission setting and/or execute a configuration check (step  162 ). A mission setting may comprise: pre-launch configuration parameters, in-flight configuration parameters, one or more waypoints, a target point, and reconnaissance and/or surveillance trajectory parameters. A configuration check is a configuration determination that may comprise additional steps of receiving component sensor inputs, referencing component information databases, and/or comparing component sensor inputs with pre-launch configuration parameters based on a selected mission setting. If the determined configuration comports with the pre-launch configuration parameters that are based on a selected mission setting (test  163 ), then the system may transition to a launch-ready mode (test  165 ). If the determined configuration does not comport with the pre-launch configuration parameters that are based on a selected mission setting (test  163 ), then the system may transition to a “no go” mode (step  164 ). Optionally, the operator may invoke an override of the “no go” mode to force a launch. An operator and/or the processor re-initiate a preflight check and/or the sensed changing of components may trigger a configuration check and/or a change in mission setting may trigger a configuration check. In an in-flight mode (step  166 ), the processing may execute instructions to change configuration based on one or more mission parameters. The in-flight processing, e.g., a portion of the flight control processing  112  ( FIG. 1A ), may output to an associated actuated element such as a pin, level, screw, bolt, or the like, to effect a command to: drop wings, drop tail boom, drop an auxiliary, e.g., payload-stowed, battery, or some other payload component. Once the mission is completed (test  167 ), the processor may power off the processor  110 , or in some embodiments may command a self-destruction component once the mission is completed or if the mission is determined to be irretrievably aborted. 
         [0025]      FIG. 2  is a top level functional block diagram of an embodiment of the present invention for an air vehicle where the system  200  is comprised of a CPU  210 , flight control components  220  comprising a Global Positioning System (GPS) sensor and processing  221 ; an atmospheric pressure sensor  222 , a power supply including a battery  224 , and a telemetry  223  that may include an uplink receiver and processor. The flight control components may also include an inertial measurement unit and/or accelerometers and/or gyroscopic sensors. The system  200  may further include an image sensor such as camera  225 . The system  200  may further comprise a forward port/left rotor drive  231 , a forward starboard/right rotor drive  232 , an aft rotor drive  233 , a forward port/left rotor tilt  234 , a forward starboard/right rotor tilt  235 , a forward starboard/right rotor guard sensor  236 , and a forward port/left rotor guard sensor  237 . The system may comprise landing gear and mission settings may require the landing gear be extended or released from a stowed position and/or may require the landing gear be dropped from the system. Accordingly, the system  200  may further comprise a forward port/left landing gear release actuator  241 , a forward starboard/right landing gear release actuator  242 , an aft landing gear release actuator  243 , a forward starboard/right landing gear sensor  244 , a forward port/left landing gear sensor  245 , and an aft landing gear sensor  246 . The system  200  may comprise a payload or cargo sensor  251  and may further comprise a payload or cargo release actuator  252 . The system  200  may further comprise a forward port/left wing sensor  261 , a forward starboard/right wing sensor  262 , a tail or tail boom sensor  263 , a tail boom release actuator (not shown), a forward port/left wing release actuator  264 , and a forward starboard/right wing release actuator  265 . The system  200  may further include self-destruct safe/arm circuitry  270 . The communication channels may be wired and/or wireless, e.g., radio frequency and/or infrared. The wired communication channels may include metal wire channels having protocols including IEEE 1553, Ethernet, and the universal serial bus (USB), and fiber optic channels. 
         [0026]      FIG. 3  is a top view of an exemplary air vehicle embodiment  300  of the present invention comprising a fuselage  310  comprising: a forward volume  311  for disposing device electronics, circuitry and processing, an auxiliary battery, and/or a primary payload; and a mid-body volume  312  for disposing device electronics, circuitry and processing, a power supply, and/or an auxiliary payload. The vehicle  300  may further comprise a port/left wing base  321  and a starboard/right wing base  322  and each of these airfoils  321 ,  322 , or portions thereof, may be actuated as elevators, ailerons, or elevons. The vehicle may further comprise a port/left tail airfoil  323  and a starboard/right tail airfoil  324  where each of these airfoils  323 ,  324  may be disposed on a vertical tail  325 , and each of these airfoils  323 ,  324 , or portions thereof, may comprise an inverted v-tail and may be actuated as ruddervators. The air vehicle  300  may further comprise a port/left rotor  331 , a starboard/right rotor  332 , an aft rotor  333 , a port/left rotor guard  334  detachably attached to the port/left wing base  321 , a starboard/right rotor guard  335  detachably attached to the starboard/right wing base  335 . The air vehicle  300  may further comprise a body-fixed image sensor, e.g., a camera  340 , disposed on the air vehicle nose. The nose location may further include a pitot tube. 
         [0027]      FIG. 4  is a partial cutaway top view of an exemplary air vehicle embodiment  400  of the present invention depicting an exemplary disposition of the CPU  210  and the battery  224  in the mid-body volume  312 . The vertical tail  325  is depicted as detached from the fuselage  310  and a port/left external wing component  421  is shown proximate to the port/left wing base  321 . The port/left wing base  321  is depicted in this example as further comprising a wing sensor  261 , an actuator volume  411  for receiving power where a landing gear release actuator may be disposed, and a connector  412  that may connect voltage or signal output from the CPU to one or more devices that may be disposed on the port/left external wing component  421 . In this example, the port/left rotor  431  and aft rotor  433  are shown as four-blade rotors. While each rotor of the several examples comprises a plurality of blades, the teachings of the description apply to all rotor embodiments. 
         [0028]      FIG. 5  is a top view of another exemplary air vehicle embodiment  500  of the present invention where the configuration is not flight worthy. For example, without either a v-shaped tail airfoil pair (e.g., ruddervator) tail boom or an aft rotor, a configuration check of the configuration as depicted in  FIG. 5 , if powered on, would return a “no-go.” A configuration check may also require the port/left and starboard/right rotor guards be attached to their respective wing base in order for the configuration to comport with the configuration required for the mission setting. 
         [0029]      FIG. 6  is a top view of another exemplary air vehicle embodiment  600  of the present invention where the port/left  334  and starboard/right  335  rotor guards may be attached to their respective wing base and both a vertical tail  325  and aft rotor  333  are attached. In this example, the tail boom may or may not also include v-shaped tail airfoil pair  324 ,  323  ( FIG. 3 ), or ruddervator, in order to comport with a mission setting. Accordingly, a configuration check may be passed and the vehicle may be placed into a ready for launch mode. 
         [0030]      FIG. 7  is a top view of another exemplary air vehicle embodiment  700  of the present invention where a port/left external wing component  711  is attached to the port/left wing base  321  and a starboard/right external wing component  712  is attached to the starboard/right wing base  322 . In this example, the vertical tail  325  may also include a v-shaped tail airfoil pair  324 ,  323  ( FIG. 3 ), in order to comport with a mission setting. 
         [0031]      FIG. 8  is a top view of another exemplary air vehicle embodiment  800  of the present invention where the wingspan of the vehicle may be changed in the preflight mode by replacing, in this example, a port/left external wing component  811  with one of less span  711  and replacing starboard/right external wing component  812  with one of less span  712 .  FIG. 8  also depict the air vehicle embodiment  800  comprising a tail boom  820 . In addition, the forward rotors  331 ,  332  may be commanded to a forward position as shown prior to launch responsive to a mission setting.  FIG. 9  is a top view of the exemplary air vehicle embodiment  900  having the longer span and  FIG. 10  is a top view the exemplary air vehicle embodiment  1000  having the shorter span previously mentioned. 
         [0032]      FIG. 11  is a side view of another exemplary air vehicle embodiment  1100  of the present invention where the port rotor may be titled before launch, during flight, and during landing so as to clear the landing surface at touchdown. In the forward position, the rotor functions as a propeller. An optional surface may extend from the port/left wing base  321  or, as depicted  1110 , from a portion of the fuselage  310 . An optional surface  1120  may extend from a vertical tail  325 . These exemplary surfaces may provide lift when the vehicle is traveling in the direction of the longitudinal axis of the vehicle, and these exemplary surfaces may provide structural support to the vehicle, when landed, and accordingly may be sized to accommodate forward propeller/rotor clearance. 
         [0033]    It is contemplated that various combinations and/or sub-combinations of the specific features and aspects of the above embodiments may be made and still fall within the scope of the invention. Accordingly, it should be understood that various features and aspects of the disclosed embodiments may be combined with or substituted for one another in order to form varying modes of the disclosed invention. Further it is intended that the scope of the present invention herein disclosed by way of examples should not be limited by the particular disclosed embodiments described above.

Technology Classification (CPC): 1