Data processing: vehicles – navigation – and relative location – Vehicle control – guidance – operation – or indication – Traffic analysis or control of aircraft
Reexamination Certificate
1999-03-29
2001-03-06
Zanelli, Michael J. (Department: 3661)
Data processing: vehicles, navigation, and relative location
Vehicle control, guidance, operation, or indication
Traffic analysis or control of aircraft
C701S014000, C707S793000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06199008
ABSTRACT:
FIELD
The present invention relates to an aviation, terrain, air traffic and weather display system that provides information for preflight and inflight use by pilots. In particular, the invention uses a terrain database, an aviation map database, a weather database, an airplane specific database, an air traffic control database and a route database to display a flight path over a given terrain while combining weather data (e.g. wind and clouds), aviation map data (e.g. control zones and required minimum visibilities and ceilings), air traffic data (e.g. position and movement vectors) and real time and/or predicted performance data (e.g. climb rate, endurance) to allow increased situational awareness of the pilot and enhance display of possible dangerous conditions and prohibited procedures.
BACKGROUND
Pilots have long needed assistance in making decisions whether to fly given ambient weather conditions (the “go
o go decision”). If that decision is positive, they must then determine the safety of flying to a given destination airport or along a preplanned route. Presently, the National Weather Service (NWS), Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and other government agencies assist pilots by providing sky data including wind direction and speed, weather conditions such as rain and other relevant data. Often this information is in cryptic form and is difficult for beginning pilots to understand. This information must then be applied in the context of a multitude of regulations and aircraft performance parameters, making this a formidable task. Moreover, experienced pilots still often find the information cryptic and find it difficult to retrieve and assimilate specific data relevant to their flight from the large amount available. Confounding the situation further, commercial flight operators have their own unique regulations and restrictions supplementing federal aviation regulations which must be recognized and adhered to by their pilots.
Some systems were developed to automate the delivery of weather information to pilots. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,265,024 describes a pilot's automated weather support system. The system receives weather information from a plurality of weather reporting organizations including the NWS, FAA and others. The system then converts the weather information into cross sections for preflight and inflight use. U.S. Pat. No. 5,432,895 describes a virtual reality imaging system. The system provides pilots with a representation of all the multidimensional space around an airport. This includes weather, air traffic and spatial relationships of the aircraft with respect to the airport and the ground level.
While these patents and other conventional products can provide some level of automation to the weather reporting, these systems do not take into account the special flight rules that are dictated for airports and airspace and specific flight parameters that are unique from one aircraft and one trip to the next.
What is needed is a system that combines information including weather, terrain, map, air traffic and airplane specific parameters to supply a pilot with information that he can use to visualize his departure, enroute segment and approach to the destination airport.
SUMMARY
The invention solves the identified problems by providing a computer system that displays terrain, weather, air traffic and aviation information. The invention provides pilots with information derived from a terrain database, an aviation map database, a weather database, an airplane specific database, an air traffic database and a route database. The system can display a flight path over a given terrain while combining aviation map data (e.g. approach paths and control zones), air traffic data (position, direction, speed and predicted path) and weather data (e.g. wind and clouds). Further, the system can employ the airplane specific information along with the terrain, map, weather, air traffic and route information to display whether the airplane parameters will allow departure (e.g. minimum visibility/ceilings violated), flight along the route or landing at a specific airport (e.g. crosswind component too large). If the pilot desires, the system can suggest alternate routes and alternate airports. Of course, the pilot makes the decision whether to accept the system's suggestions (many of whose parameters are controlled by the pilot) and whether to query the system to provide additional options.
Three important features of the system are the aviation map database, the airplane specific database and the air traffic database. The aviation map database provides flight information such as restricted airspace, location of airports, location of VORs, instrument approach/departure paths and other information. The aviation map database also provides information on airports such as runway lengths, runway elevations, runway orientation, alternate airports and other information. This information is very important for preflight and inflight planning.
The airplane specific database provides information on a specific aircraft such as runway length requirements, maximum crosswind component, fuel consumption, maximum climb speed and rate, object clearance, current speed and direction, outside air temperature and other information. This information is combined with information from the other databases to be used for preflight and inflight planning.
The air traffic database provides information on aircraft type, position, speed, direction and predicted position that are in the area of the designated flight. Combined with information from the other databases, this can be used for inflight planning and collision avoidance.
An exemplary embodiment of the system includes a terrain database, an aviation map database, a weather database, an airplane specific database, an air traffic database and a route database. A processor is coupled to the terrain database, the aviation map database, the weather database, the airplane specific database, an air traffic database and the route database and configured to determine a position and heading of an airplane over the terrain based on the route database, to compute and display terrain information, aviation map information, air traffic information and weather information relative to the airplane and to compute and display flight parameters associated with the airplane using the airplane specific database and the route database.
Advantages of the invention include the ability to supply a pilot with information that he can use to visualize his flight and approach to the destination airport. The pilot can also visualize which flying variables (e.g. required climb rate, wind speed/direction) are beyond the aircraft's capabilities or are prohibited by federal regulations (e.g. visibilities below minimums). This provides improved information to the pilot so that he can make his decision whether to make to flight or whether to choose his intended route or destination. With this improved information, the pilot will make safe and informed decisions about flying.
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Free Flight—moving map for pilots; http://www.cse.vcsc.edv/research/slvg/slug.html. No date.
Aviation Weather; wysiwyg://64/http://aviationweather.com, Mar. 10, 1998
Aratow Michael
Simon Robert S.
Ashby David C.
Flehr Hohbach Test Albritton & Herbert LLP
Noegenesis, Inc.
Zanelli Michael J.
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