1. A lever assembly comprising:
a lever;
a shaft coupled to said lever for supporting pivotal movement of said lever;
a magnet coupled to said lever, said magnet being configured to rotate about an axis that is substantially perpendicular to an axis of rotation of said shaft upon pivotal movement of said lever about said axis of rotation; and
a magnetic field sensor positioned adjacent said magnet for providing an output representative of a position of said lever.
2. A lever assembly according to claim 1, said assembly further comprising a face gear coupled to said shaft, and a pinion gear in meshing engagement with said face gear, whereby pivotal movement of said lever causes rotational movement of said pinion gear.
3. A lever assembly according to claim 2, wherein said pinion gear includes a mating feature for mating with a corresponding feature of a magnet carrier to cause rotation of said magnet carrier upon rotation of said lever.
4. A lever assembly according to claim 3, wherein said mating feature comprises a slot and said corresponding feature comprises a tab.
5. A lever assembly according to claim 1, said assembly further comprising a magnetic shield encompassing said magnetic field sensor.
6. A lever assembly according to claim 1, wherein said assembly further comprises a pivot arm coupled to said shaft for pivotal movement therewith, and a magnet carrier including a channel for receiving said pivot arm, whereby pivotal movement of said lever causes rotational movement of said magnet carrier.
7. A system comprising:
a plurality of lever assemblies, each of said lever assemblies having different associated functions, each of said lever assemblies comprising at least one identification magnet coupled thereto;
a plurality magnetic field sensors, each of said magnetic field sensors being positioned adjacent an associated one of said identification magnets; and
said magnetic field sensors providing an output associated with each of said magnets for indicating connection of said lever assemblies in said system, and for indicating which of said different associated functions is associated with each of said lever assemblies.
8. A lever assembly comprising:
a lever;
a shaft coupled to said lever for supporting pivotal movement of said lever; and
a face gear coupled to said shaft, and a pinion gear in meshing engagement with said face gear, whereby pivotal movement of said lever causes rotational movement of said pinion gear about an axis that is substantially perpendicular to an axis of rotation of said shaft.
9. A system comprising:
a plurality of lever assemblies, each of said lever assemblies having different associated functions and each of said lever assemblies comprising at least one associated identification magnet coupled thereto
and comprising at least one mating peg configuration corresponding to said associated function, each of said associated functions having a different associated mounting peg configuration;
a plurality of receptacles, each of said receptacles being configured to receive a plurality of different ones of said mating peg configurations, and each of said plurality of receptacles having one of said plurality of lever assemblies positioned therein; and
a plurality magnetic field sensors, each of said magnetic field sensors being positioned adjacent an associated one of said identification magnets; said magnetic field sensors providing an output associated with each of said magnets for indicating which of said different associated functions is associated with one of said lever assemblies positioned in each of said plurality of receptacles.
10. A lever assembly according to claim 9, said assembly further comprising
a lever; and
a shaft coupled to said lever for supporting pivotal movement of said lever.
11. A lever assembly according to claim 10, said assembly further comprising a face gear coupled to said shaft, and a pinion gear in meshing engagement with said face gear, whereby pivotal movement of said lever causes rotational movement of said pinion gear.
12. A lever assembly according to claim 11, wherein said pinion gear is configured to rotate about an axis substantially perpendicular to an axis of rotation of said shaft.
13. A lever assembly according to claim 11, wherein said pinion gear includes a mating feature for mating with a corresponding feature of a magnet carrier to cause rotation of said magnet carrier upon rotation of said lever.
14. A lever assembly according to claim 13, wherein said mating feature comprises a slot and said corresponding feature comprises a tab.
15. A lever assembly according to claim 9, wherein said assembly further comprises a pivot arm coupled to said shaft for pivotal movement therewith.
16. A lever assembly comprising:
a lever;
a shaft coupled to said lever for supporting pivotal movement of said lever;
a magnet coupled to said lever, said magnet being configured to rotate about an axis that is substantially perpendicular to an axis of rotation of said shaft upon pivotal movement of said lever about said axis of rotation;
a first magnetic field sensor positioned adjacent said magnet for providing an output representative of a position of said lever;
at least one identification magnet; and
a second magnetic field sensor positioned adjacent said at least one identification magnet,
said second magnetic field sensor providing an output in response to said identification magnet for indicating which of a plurality of different associated functions is associated with said lever assembly.
17. A lever assembly according to claim 16, said assembly further comprising a face gear coupled to said shaft, and a pinion gear in meshing engagement with said face gear, whereby pivotal movement of said lever causes rotational movement of said pinion gear.
18. A lever assembly according to claim 17, wherein said pinion gear includes a mating feature for mating with a corresponding feature of a magnet carrier to cause rotation of said magnet carrier upon rotation of said lever.
19. A lever assembly according to claim 18, wherein said mating feature comprises a slot and said corresponding feature comprises a tab.
20. A lever assembly according to claim 17, said assembly further comprising a magnetic shield encompassing said first magnetic field sensor.
21. A lever assembly according to claim 17, wherein said assembly further comprises a pivot arm coupled to said shaft for pivotal movement therewith, and a magnet carrier including a channel for receiving said pivot arm, whereby pivotal movement of said lever causes rotational movement of said magnet carrier.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1-20. (canceled)
21. An aerial vehicle comprising:
a vehicle management system configured to navigate the aerial vehicle; and
a redundant processing unit comprising a first processor and a second processor, wherein at least one of the first processor or the second processor is configured to:
receive a mission plan comprising a flight plan and a contingency plan,
validate the mission plan by at least determining the mission plan includes the flight plan,
after determining the mission plan is valid, execute the mission plan by at least providing the mission plan to the vehicle management system, wherein the vehicle management system is configured to direct the aerial vehicle to travel along the flight plan, and
synchronize the first processor and the second processor.
22. The aerial vehicle of claim 21, wherein the first processor is configured to synchronize the first processor and the second processor by at least communicating data to the second processor.
23. The aerial vehicle of claim 22, wherein the first processor is configured to synchronize the first processor and the second processor by at least communicating data to the second processor at regular intervals.
24. The aerial vehicle of claim 22, wherein the data comprises at least one of mission execution commands or information about a status of the mission plan.
25. The aerial vehicle of claim 22, further comprising a sensor, wherein the data comprises at least one of sensor data or data indicative of a configuration of the sensor.
26. The aerial vehicle of claim 25, wherein the sensor data comprises at least one of data indicating a current location of the aerial vehicle, a velocity of the aerial vehicle, an acceleration of the aerial vehicle, or video data.
27. The aerial vehicle of claim 25, wherein the sensor comprises at least one of a video sensor, a laser designator, a chemical sensor, a biological sensor, a smoke detector, a radiation detector, or an electromagnetic wave detector.
28. The aerial vehicle of claim 21, wherein the first processor is configured to receive the mission plan, validate the mission plan, execute the mission plan, and synchronize the first processor and the second processor, and wherein the second processor is configured to detect failure of the first processor and, in response, receive the mission plan, validate the mission plan, and execute the mission plan.
29. The aerial vehicle of claim 28, wherein the second processor is configured to detect failure of the first processor by at least failing to receive synchronization data from the first processor in an appropriate format or within a threshold time interval.
30. The aerial vehicle of claim 28, wherein the second processor is configured to detect failure of the first processor by at least detecting a software error in the first processor or unavailability of resources of the first processor.
31. The aerial vehicle of claim 21, where the redundant processing unit comprises a first redundant processing unit, the aerial vehicle further comprising:
at least one navigational sensor; and
a second redundant processing unit coupled with the first redundant processing unit, wherein the second redundant processing unit comprises a third processor and a fourth processor, wherein at least one of the third processor or the fourth processor is configured to receive navigational data from the at least one navigational sensor, determine a current location of the aerial vehicle based on the navigational data, and communicate the current location of the aerial vehicle to at least one of the first or second processors of the first processing unit.
32. The aerial vehicle of claim 31, further comprising a fuel sensor, and wherein the second processing unit is configured to receive fuel data from the fuel sensor, determine a fuel level based on the fuel data, and communicate the fuel level to at least one of the first or second processors of the first processing unit, and wherein the first processing unit is configured to communicate the flight path to at least one of the third or fourth processors of the second processing unit.
33. The aerial vehicle of claim 21, wherein the flight plan comprises one or more waypoints for a particular mission and the contingent flight plan includes a plan to at least one of land the aerial vehicle, hover the aerial vehicle, continue the flight plan, or fly the aerial vehicle to a rally point.
34. A method comprising:
receiving a mission plan at an aerial vehicle, wherein the mission plan comprises a flight plan and a contingency plan;
determining, by at least one of a first processor or a second processor of a redundant processing unit of the aerial vehicle, that the mission plan is valid, wherein determining the mission plan is valid comprises determining the mission plan includes the flight plan;
after determining the mission plan is valid, executing the mission plan by at least providing the mission plan to a vehicle management system of the aerial vehicle, the vehicle management system being configured to navigate the aerial vehicle, wherein the vehicle management system is configured to direct the aerial vehicle to travel along the flight plan; and
with at least one of the first processor or the second processor, synchronizing the first processor and the second processor.
35. The method of claim 34, further comprising;
determining that the mission plan is not valid; and
responsively requesting retransmission of at least part of the mission plan.
36. The method of claim 34, wherein synchronizing the first processor and the second processor comprises communicating data from the first processor to the second processor.
37. The method of claim 36, where communicating data from the first processor to the second processor comprises communicating data from the first processor to the second processor at regular intervals.
38. The method of claim 36, wherein the data comprises at least one of mission execution commands or information about a status of the mission plan, sensor data, or data indicative of a configuration of the sensor.
39. The method of claim 34, wherein receiving the mission plan comprises receiving the mission plan by the first processor, wherein determining that the mission plan is valid comprises determining, by the first processor, that the mission plan is valid, and wherein executing the mission plan comprises executing the mission plan by the first processor, the method further comprising detecting, by the second processor, failure of the first processor, and, in response:
receiving, by the second processor, the mission plan;
validating, by the second processor, the mission plan; and
executing, by the processor, the mission plan.
40. The method of claim 39, wherein detecting, by the second processor, failure of the first processor comprises at least one of failing to receive synchronization data from the first processor in an appropriate format or within a threshold time interval, or detecting a software error in the first processor or unavailability of resources of the first processor.