Aerial vehicles may be outfitted with one or more ultrasonic anemometers, each having ultrasonic transducers embedded into external surfaces. The transducers may be aligned and configured to transmit acoustic signals to one another, and receive acoustic signals from one another, along one or more paths or axes. Elapsed times of signals transmitted and received by pairs of transducers may be used to determine air speeds along the paths or axes. Where two or more pairs of transducers are provided, a net vector may be derived based on air speeds determined along the paths or axes between the pairs of the transducers, and used to generate control signals for maintaining the aerial vehicle on a desired course, at a desired speed or altitude, or in a desired orientation. The transducers may be dedicated for use in an anemometer, or may serve multiple purposes, and may be reoriented or reconfigured as necessary.
Airframe-embedded ultrasonic transducers
2021-01-26
Patent
Electronic Resource
English
IPC: | G05D SYSTEMS FOR CONTROLLING OR REGULATING NON-ELECTRIC VARIABLES , Systeme zum Steuern oder Regeln nichtelektrischer veränderlicher Größen / B64C AEROPLANES , Flugzeuge / B64D Ausrüstung für Flugzeuge , EQUIPMENT FOR FITTING IN OR TO AIRCRAFT / G01C Messen von Entfernungen, Höhen, Neigungen oder Richtungen , MEASURING DISTANCES, LEVELS OR BEARINGS / G01H MEASUREMENT OF MECHANICAL VIBRATIONS OR ULTRASONIC, SONIC OR INFRASONIC WAVES , Messen von mechanischen Schwingungen oder Ultraschall-, Schall- oder Infraschallwellen / G01S RADIO DIRECTION-FINDING , Funkpeilung |
Dry Coupling Ultrasonic Inspection of Bonded Airframe Structures
Emerald Group Publishing | 1986
|Broadband Ultrasonic Transducers
NTRS | 1986
|Wireless Ultrasonic Transducer Network for Airframe Structure Health Management
British Library Conference Proceedings | 2009
|