Communications: electrical – Aircraft alarm or indicating systems – Flight alarm
Reexamination Certificate
1998-11-13
2001-03-20
Lefkowitz, Edward (Department: 2736)
Communications: electrical
Aircraft alarm or indicating systems
Flight alarm
C340S973000, C340S974000, C340S977000, C073S17800T, C342S121000, C342S176000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06204779
ABSTRACT:
The present invention relates to a combined altitude and height-above-ground indicator for an aircraft.
Although not exclusively, it is more particularly suited to helicopters liable to travel at low or very low heights above the ground.
Present-day altimeters present altitude information which simply shows a flying level given with respect to a fixed reference updated by the pilot. Furthermore, the height of the aircraft above the ground being overflown, measured by a radio altimeter, has to be consulted from another device, which has a different layout and a different origin. The altitude information and the height-above-ground information are therefore currently shown on two physically separate indicators which have different resolutions and different references even though they deal with the same physical parameters. These two items of information need to be monitored and correlated with one another during some phases of flight, and this leads to a heavy workload for the pilot.
However, American U.S. Pat. No. 3,580,080 describes a combined indicator comprising:
a first sensor and a second sensor which respectively sense altitude and height above ground,
means of processing the information supplied by said first and second sensors, and
means of displaying said information, showing said two items of information against each other to the same linear and vertical scale, comprising a first part represented by a graduated strip showing the altitude and a second part represented by a graduated strip, adjacent to the first one, showing the height above the ground.
In such a known combined indicator, two moving pointers which are independent of one another are provided, which means that this indicator is difficult for the pilot to read.
The present invention intends to overcome this drawback.
To this end, according to the invention, the combined indicator of the type mentioned hereinabove is noteworthy in that said first and second parts respectively scroll past first and second stationary pointers and said pointers are at the same level.
Thus, the invention makes it possible to show, on a single indicator, with the same reference, the information regarding the pressure altitude and the information regarding the height above the ground being overflown. This indicator allows the pilot monitoring the flight altitude of the aircraft also to see clearly how much height remains between the aircraft and the ground when this ground is approaching. The pilot can thus see the ground “rise up” toward the current-altitude or height pointer and is thus alerted to an excessive decrease in this height: he can therefore control this using the indicator of the invention.
Advantageously, the resolution of the second part of the scale is greater once a certain ground-proximity threshold has been crossed.
According to another feature of the invention, the indicator comprises a strip scrolling past under the strip showing the altitude and indicating the ground, masking the background of the indicator for altitude levels which are below the measured height from the ground.
According to yet another feature of the invention, the indicator comprises a window, the size of which is smaller than the operating ranges shown by said strips and through which a portion of each of the latter can be seen.
REFERENCES:
patent: 3580080 (1971-05-01), Perkins
patent: 3595077 (1971-07-01), Perkins
patent: 5136301 (1992-08-01), Bechtold et al.
patent: 5359890 (1994-11-01), Fulton et al.
patent: 5369589 (1994-11-01), Steiner
patent: 5412382 (1995-05-01), Leard et al.
patent: 5844504 (1998-12-01), Etherington
patent: 5952570 (1999-09-01), Berlioz et al.
patent: 2273260 (1975-12-01), None
patent: 2372417 (1978-06-01), None
Astruc Joel Christian Roger
Berlioz Raymond Jacques Gerard
Saintagne Vincent Frederic
Eurocopter
Goins Davetta W.
Lefkowitz Edward
Stevens Davis Miller & Mosher L.L.P.
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