IP Library Granted Patent US 12,518,640
Granted Patent B2
US 12,518,640 · App. 18/457,906 · Granted Jan 6, 2026

Methods and apparatus for line-of-sight enforcement

Inventors: Rolf Theodoor Rysdyk (Hood River, OR); Jasmine Beth Minteer-Levine (Everett, WA); Michael John Gobble (Troutdale, OR); Scott Patrick Marmillion (White Salmon, WA)
Assignee: Insitu, Inc.
G08G5/34
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,518,640
App. No.
18/457,906
Granted
Jan 6, 2026
Kind
B2
Abstract

Methods and apparatus for line-of-sight (LoS) enforcement are disclosed. A disclosed example apparatus for guidance of an aircraft with respect to a target includes machine readable instructions, and programmable circuitry to at least one of instantiate or execute the machine readable instructions to determine a movement constraint based on an LoS criterion of an LoS corresponding to an orientation of the aircraft with respect to the target, and adjust, based on the movement constraint, movement of the aircraft to relax flight path following to maintain or cause the LoS to be directed away from an occlusion region.

Claims (31)

1. An apparatus for guidance of an aircraft with respect to a target, the apparatus comprising:

machine readable instructions; and

programmable circuitry to be programmed by the machine readable instructions to:

determine a movement constraint based on a line-of-sight (LoS) criterion of an LoS corresponding to an orientation of the aircraft with respect to the target, wherein the movement constraint corresponds to a bank of the aircraft, and

limit, based on the movement constraint, the bank of the aircraft to relax flight path following to maintain or cause the LoS to be directed away from an occlusion region, the flight path following relaxed from a first flight path having a first path length to a second flight path having a second path length longer than the first path length.

2. The apparatus as defined in claim 1 , wherein the limiting of the bank angle includes generation of a commanded flight path.

3. The apparatus as defined in claim 1 , wherein the programmable circuitry is to vary a degree of the limiting of the bank angle of the aircraft based on a proximity of the LoS to the occlusion region.

4. The apparatus as defined in claim 1 , wherein alignment criterion of the LOS corresponds to alignment of a functional vector of the aircraft toward the target.

5. The apparatus as defined in claim 1 , wherein alignment criterion of the LOS corresponds to alignment of a functional vector of the aircraft away from the target.

6. The apparatus as defined in claim 1 , wherein the limiting of the bank angle of the aircraft includes defining bank-to-turn logic of the aircraft.

7. The apparatus as defined in claim 1 , wherein the occlusion region is defined by a portion of the aircraft.

8. The apparatus as defined in claim 7 , wherein the portion includes a wing of the aircraft.

9. The apparatus as defined in claim 1 , wherein the programmable circuitry is to change a shape of the first flight path to define the second flight path.

10. The apparatus as defined in claim 9 , wherein the programmable circuitry is to add or remove at least one of a segment or a spline of the first flight path to the second flight path for defining the second flight path.

11. The apparatus as defined in claim 1 , wherein the programmable circuitry is to define a bank angle sequence corresponding to the second flight path.

12. The apparatus as defined in claim 1 , wherein the programmable circuitry is to define bank-to-turn logic based on the second flight path.

13. The apparatus as defined in claim 1 , wherein the second flight path corresponds to guidance logic that defines a control loop.

14. A non-transitory machine readable storage medium comprising instructions to cause at least one programmable circuitry to at least:

determine an orientation of an aircraft;

determine a line-of-sight (LoS) corresponding to the orientation with respect to a target;

determine a movement constraint of the aircraft based on an LOS criterion, wherein the movement constraint corresponds to a bank of the aircraft; and

limit, based on the movement constraint, the bank angle of the aircraft to relax flight path following to maintain or cause the LoS to be directed away from an occlusion, the flight path following relaxed from a first flight path having a first path length to a second flight path having a second path length longer than the first path length.

15. The non-transitory machine readable storage medium as defined in claim 14 , wherein the limiting of the bank angle includes generation of a commanded flight path to maintain the LoS to be directed away from the occlusion.

16. The non-transitory machine readable storage medium as defined in claim 14 , wherein the limiting of the bank angle of the aircraft corresponds to aligning a functional vector of the aircraft away from a cone of the occlusion to a requisite degree.

17. The non-transitory machine readable storage medium as defined in claim 16 , wherein a a movement of the aircraft adjusted is based on a degree of alignment between the functional vector and the cone of the occlusion.

18. The non-transitory machine readable storage medium as defined in claim 14 , wherein the limiting of the bank angle includes bank-to-turn logic of the aircraft.

19. A method comprising:

determining, by executing instructions with at least one programmable circuitry, an orientation of an aircraft;

determining, by executing instructions with one or more of the at least one programmable circuitry, a movement constraint of the aircraft based on a line-of-sight (LoS) criterion of an LoS corresponding to the orientation of the aircraft with respect to a target, wherein the movement constraint corresponds to a bank of the aircraft; and

limiting, by executing instructions with one or more of the at least one programmable circuitry, the bank of the aircraft based on the movement constraint to maintain or cause the LoS to be directed away from an occlusion region, the flight path following relaxed from a first flight path having a first path length to a second flight path having a second path length longer than the first path length.

20. The method as defined in claim 19 , further including generating, by executing instructions with one or more of the at least one programmable circuitry, a commanded flight path, the commanded flight path including bank-to-turn logic.

Assignments (2)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Apr 23, 2025
From: THE BOEING COMPANY
To: INSITU, INC.
Reel/Frame 071018/0785 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Aug 31, 2023
From: RYSDYK, ROLF THEODOOR; MINTEER-LEVINE, JASMINE BETH; GOBBLE, MICHAEL JOHN; MARMILLION, SCOTT PATRICK
To: THE BOEING COMPANY
Reel/Frame 064792/0272 →
Continuity (1)
Related Publication 20250078669A1 · Mar 6, 2025
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