Communications: directive radio wave systems and devices (e.g. – Testing or calibrating of radar system – By monitoring
Reexamination Certificate
2000-02-15
2002-05-21
Gregory, Barnarr E. (Department: 3662)
Communications: directive radio wave systems and devices (e.g.,
Testing or calibrating of radar system
By monitoring
C342S036000, C342S165000, C342S175000, C342S195000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06392587
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a method of monitoring the continuous flows of data between the output of data transmission systems and the input of data processing equipment.
2. Prior Art
Such flows of data occur, for example in connection with the transmission of radar data for air traffic control systems. Therefore, the invention particularly concerns a method for providing air traffic control systems or the like with data, whose control centers are supplied with radar data via a network, whereby feeding of the radar installations into the network as well as uncoupling of the radar data for the air traffic control systems takes place via network junctions, and whereby the radar data are transmitted further via networks to integrated operating systems and, if need be, to a backup system. Furthermore, the invention relates to a device for implementing the method.
The European air traffic control organizations of the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany, and the EUROCONTROL Agency jointly operate a network for supplying control centers with radar data (RADNET=Radar Data Network). Feeding of the radar installations into the RADNET system, as well as uncoupling of the radar data for the air traffic control systems from the RADNET system takes place via network junctions (RMCDE=Radar Message Conversion and Distribution Equipment). Further transmission of the radar data takes place via networks to the integrated operating systems, as well as to a backup system, which, however, only offers limited functionality. In cases of emergency, the backup system is additionally supplied with radar data via a direct tie to the radar stations.
Since the time of introduction of the RADNET system, a regional point is supplied with radar data basically in two ways: while the local radar station in the form of a all-round radar installation at the site of the airport (ASR=Airport Surveillance Radar) is directly fed to the display system via the Radar Message Conversion and Distribution Equipment (RMCDE), all other radar stations of a radar network are made available via the Radar Data Network (RADNET). Versus the method commonly employed prior to the introduction of the RADNET, according to which method all required radar stations had to be fed in directly on the respective processing system, this already constitutes a considerable simplification and thus also a saving of costs.
With the current method for medium and long range radar stations, radar data are fed into two operating facilities of the German Air Control System (DFS=Deutsche Flugsicherung), said facilities being independent of each other. For the local radar stations (ASR—Airport Surveillance Radar), the feed takes place in one location (“local feed”). For a regional point, this means that in addition to the local ASR-station, further line stations are fed in quasi “locally” if such a regional point is a RADNET feed point.
The network junction RMCDE consists of four channels, which are independent of each other, whereby each channel is capable of processing all required radar data. Two of said channels are combined in each case in one unit. Reversing between the two units is possible only manually, whereas within one unit, reversing between the channels takes place automatically in case of error. In the past, problems occurred in isolated cases with the radar supply in spite of the high redundancy of the radar message conversion and distribution equipment (RMCDE). Furthermore, total failure of the radar supply poses a basic problem, which cannot be bridged in any satisfactory manner by the “emergency supply” of the existing backup system, and this not only because only radar data and no flight planning data can be transmitted with the backup system.
Therefore, it has already been proposed earlier to change the RMCDE-concept to the extent that the network junctions are separated into two independent RMCDE's, namely an RMCDE N (=net) and an RMCDE D (=direct). The connection to the RADNET takes place via the RMCDE N, whereas all directly connected radar stations (RADNET feed points) are connected via the RMCDE D. Both RMCDE's transmit their data simultaneously to two networks with a local area of propagation (LAN=Local Area Network), in particular the Ethernet and the FDDI networks. Thus all radar data are available either directly, or via the networks simultaneously and independently of each other to the online system and the backup system. Parallel therewith, all directly connected radar stations are still connected to the backup system via so-called ADR's (all-purpose data replicators). In the event of total failure of all RMCDE's (RMCDE D and RKCDE N), an “emergency” feed takes place via the backup system. However, in this process, only the radar stations intended for the RADNET feed are available for the evaluations. Coverage of the entire air space of a regional point is not accomplished in this way. This would be possible only if in addition to the radar stations required for the RADNET-feed, additional radar stations were directly connected for single coverage of the air space. This, however, would ensue enormous line costs. In addition, the connection capacity of the existing radar stations would have to be expanded, which would particularly result in interface multiplication.
Furthermore, consideration has already been given to install the ADR's for safety reasons not in the same area where the two RMCDE's N and D are already installed, so that in the event both RMCDE's should fail in a fire, at least an emergency feed of the system could be assured via the ADR's by means of the directly connected radar stations. The problem of inadequate radar coverage connected with such an approach could be overcome only by leasing additional transmission lines, which would be connected with considerable costs and connection problems for the radar stations.
In order to assure at least single radar coverage both in the event of total failure of the network junction (RMCDE D and N) and partial failure of the network junction, direct connection of a corresponding number of radar stations is therefore required in connection with the present system.
The backup system employs a PC-based radar data processing system (“TracView”), which, however, permits no connection to the flight plan processing system. The connection of radar stations to the backup system via the ADR's, furthermore, leads to high investment costs and leases for the lines required if more radar stations than those required for the RADNET-feed are fed in. Single radar coverage of the air space could be safely secured only if additional, more remotely located radar stations were directly connected.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Now, the problem of the present invention is to make available a method of the type specified above, by which in the event of failure of the transmission system, the complete flow of data of the data processing equipment connected downstream is made available again within seconds via an alternative transmission path.
Said problem is solved according to the invention in that the transmitted data are counted at the output of the data transmission device in time intervals with adjustable parameters;
that a data flow is reproduced based on the counted data;
that the transmitted data are stored over several intervals and compressed into an average value;
that when a new value is received, the oldest value is in each case erased (FIFO-buffer);
that the average value of the measured data formed by means of the FIFO-buffer is used for a sensitivity curve, which generates a time window for the periodic comparison of the added data for an error detector;
that the error detector signalizes a total failure of the data to be transmitted in the predetermined time unit, and initiates the selection mode for accessing a predefined data source in a suitable data network; and
that the data received in said way are fed into the respecti
Langbecker Werner
Seja Werner
Collard & Roe P.C.
DFS Deutsche Flugsicherung GmbH
Gregory Barnarr E.
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