Communications: electrical – Aircraft alarm or indicating systems – Land-based landing guidance
Reexamination Certificate
2000-08-28
2001-09-25
Swarthout, Brent A. (Department: 2632)
Communications: electrical
Aircraft alarm or indicating systems
Land-based landing guidance
C073S17800T
Reexamination Certificate
active
06295007
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to lighting sources which employ visible and reflective laser beams to provide illumination of airport runways and taxiways, preferred approach and departure routes, helipads, seaplane base landing areas, marine waterways, as well as to assist in search and rescue operations.
2. Description of the Related Art
Many airports handle different types of aircraft ranging from highly sophisticated and complex military aircraft and commercial airliners to ultra-simple single engine airplanes with little in the way of navigation or communication capabilities. Further, the pilot's experience and ability associated with these different aircraft also varies greatly. Edges and center lines of runway and taxiways are typically illuminated with individual incandescent lamps of comparatively high candle power. The type of illumination utilized in many previous systems exhibited a comparatively high installation cost. The power requirements for such prior system also were excessive, and the systems were expensive to maintain The construction and maintenance of a standard electric illuminating system in certain areas is not always practical Federal Regulations require these areas to be “lit” for night operations. This invention uses lighting sources which employ visible and reflective laser beams to provide illumination airport runways and taxiways, preferred approach and departs routes, seaplane base landing areas, marine waterways, as well to assist in search and rescue operations.
The related art is represented by the following patents interest.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,407,294, issued on Oct. 22, 1968 to Alan E. Hill, describes a method for redistributing laser light into a non-coherent uniform beam while retaining other property of laser light. Hill does not suggest a laser lighting system according to the claimed invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,710,098, issued on Jan. 9, 1973 to Noel H. F. Walden, describes a swept-beam visual light assembly including a laser light source, a beam collimator, and a beam-sweeping means. Walden does not suggest a laser lighting system according to the claimed invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,866,032, issued on Feb. 11, 1975 to Raymond M. Veres, describes an illumination system for providing center and edge stripes for an airport runway, in which six laser generating stations are respectively arranged in with relationship with the ends of the proposed stripes. Veres does not suggest a laser lighting system according to the claimed invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,145,111, issued on Mar.20, 1979 to Hans Hansson et al., describes an omnidirectional retroreflector assembly that can be attached to an aircraft structure designed for carrying external loads such as bombs and rocket missiles, enable a combat aircraft to be quickly and easily converted for service as a target for anti-aircraft gunnery practice with laser equipment of the above described type. Hansson et al. do not suggest a laser lighting system according to the claimed invention
U.S. Pat. No. 4,185,891, issued on Jan. 29, 1980 Paul Kaestner, describes a laser diode optical collimating system. Kaestner does not suggest a laser lighting system according to the claimed invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,291,294, issued on Sep. 22, 1981 Wendell D. Chase, describes a landing approach lighting system which utilizes red warning lights to delineate the runway approach additional blue lights juxtaposed with the red lights such that the red lights are chromatically balanced. Chase does not suggest a laser lighting system according to the claimed invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,551,726, issued on Nov. 5, 1985 to Richard M. Berg, describes methods for making and assembling various orthogonal multifaceted polydeltatrihedral self-supportable corner reflectors. Berg does not suggest a laser lighting system according to the claimed invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,554,543, issued on Nov. 19, 1985 to Ivan S. Wyatt et al., describes a glide slope indicator system which light from an incoming aircraft's landing light is shaped a spherical/cylindrical lens combination into a line image which strikes a linear photodiode array. Wyatt et al. do not suggest a laser lighting system according to the claimed invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,700,912, issued on Oct. 20, 1987 to Marshall J. Corbett, describes a laser system for illuminating a column of air which captures an aircraft thereby enabling; a pilot to see the air column and “bucket” during take-off and landing Corbett does not suggest a laser lighting system according to the claimed invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,707,696, issued on Nov. 17, 1987 to Harry L. Task et al., describes a portable glide slope indicator including a pair of light sources, one projecting a steady beam and one projecting a blinking beam. Task et al. do not suggest a laser lighting system according to the claimed invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,790,402, issued on Dec. 13, 1988 to Bruce F. Field et al., describes an unmanned, self-propelled vehicle in the nature of a mobile robot that has an on-board computer that stores path and machine function instructions and activates the drive and steering systems so as to cause the machine to follow a desired path. Field et al. do not suggest a laser lighting system according to the claimed invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,862,164, issued on Aug. 29, 1989 to Henry C. Croley et al., describes a portable infrared landing site illumination system for fixed wing and rotary wing aircraft having night vision capabilities as provided by the Army's second generation goggles (PVS-5) or the third generation goggles (ANVIS). Croley et al. do not suggest a laser lighting system according to the claimed invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,969,713, issued on Nov. 13, 1990 to Charles W. Wyckoff, describes a direction-indicating surface marke strip comprising a bottom rubber-like (non-memory) surface for adhering to a roadway and an upper crosslinked plastic elastomeric self-restoring (polyurethane, PVC, polycarbonate, epoxy, rubber etc.) surface. Wyckoff does not suggest a laser lighting system according to the claimed invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,115,343, issued on May 19, 1992 to Reginald S. Bennett, describes a truncated pyramidal pylon useful for aiding night landing of helicopters or fixed wing aircraft but also useful as an emergency marker to be carried in ambulances, or other emergency vehicles. Bennett does not suggest a laser lighting system according to the claimed invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,172,267, issued on Dec. 15, 1992 to Eli Yablonovitch, describes an omnidirectional optical reflector structure made by forming a plurality of holes in a solid body so as to result in a face-centered cubic lattice. Yablonovitch does not suggest a laser lighting system according to the claimed invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,202,742, issued on Apr. 13, 1993 to Andrew A. Frank et al., describes a laser radar apparatus for producing a pulse modulated transmitted light beam and receiving reflected light beams from road mounted retroreflectors. Frank et al. do not suggest a laser lighting system according to the claime invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,293,162, issued on Mar. 8, 1994 to William D. Bachalo, describes a laser tracking device which includes a laser generation apparatus for generating and transmitting a laser beam. Bachalo does not suggest a laser lighting system according to the claimed invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,371,581, issued on Dec. 6, 1994 to Richard J. Wangler et al., describes a helicopter hazardous ground object warning system that has a horizontally rotating beam from laser range-finder which detects and measures the distance to ground objects which may present a hazard to a helicopter during hover, takeoff, and landing. Wangler et al. do not suggest a laser lighting system according to the claimed invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,416,636, issued on May 16, 1995 to Reginald S. Bennett, describes a runway marker which has a pair of upwardly converging reflectant planar panels facing approximated in opposite directions. Bennett '636 does not suggest
Litman Richard C.
Swarthout Brent A.
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