US 12,304,617 B2
Decoupled hand controls for aircraft with vertical takeoff and landing and forward flight capabilities
Alexander David Selwa, San Francisco, CA (US); Todd Reichert, Mountain View, CA (US); and Mark Johnson Cutler, Sunnyvale, CA (US)
Assigned to Kitty Hawk Corporation, Palo Alto, CA (US)
Filed by Kitty Hawk Corporation, Palo Alto, CA (US)
Filed on Jan. 24, 2024, as Appl. No. 18/421,169.
Application 18/421,169 is a continuation of application No. 17/343,384, filed on Jun. 9, 2021, granted, now 11,919,621.
Application 17/343,384 is a continuation of application No. 16/165,959, filed on Oct. 19, 2018, granted, now 11,104,419, issued on Aug. 31, 2021.
Application 16/165,959 is a continuation of application No. 15/693,804, filed on Sep. 1, 2017, granted, now 10,144,504, issued on Dec. 4, 2018.
Prior Publication US 2024/0166336 A1, May 23, 2024
This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.
Int. Cl. B64C 13/04 (2006.01); B64C 27/08 (2023.01); B64C 27/20 (2023.01); G05D 1/00 (2006.01); G05D 1/495 (2024.01); G05D 1/652 (2024.01); G05D 1/654 (2024.01); G05G 9/047 (2006.01)
CPC B64C 13/0421 (2018.01) [B64C 27/08 (2013.01); B64C 27/20 (2013.01); G05D 1/0816 (2013.01); G05D 1/0858 (2013.01); G05D 1/102 (2013.01); G05D 1/495 (2024.01); G05D 1/652 (2024.01); G05D 1/654 (2024.01); G05G 9/047 (2013.01)] 4 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A method, comprising:
receiving a forward velocity associated with an aircraft, wherein the aircraft includes a multicopter with a plurality of rotors which rotate in a substantially horizontal plane;
determining a pitch offset based at least in part on the forward velocity, wherein the pitch offset changes monotonically with the forward velocity;
determining a desired pitch based at least in part on the pitch offset and a pitch angle specified via a hand control; and
determining a plurality of control signals for the plurality of rotors based at least in part on the desired pitch.