Data processing: vehicles – navigation – and relative location – Vehicle control – guidance – operation – or indication – Traffic analysis or control of aircraft
Reexamination Certificate
1998-06-09
2001-08-28
Cuchlinski, Jr., William A. (Department: 3614)
Data processing: vehicles, navigation, and relative location
Vehicle control, guidance, operation, or indication
Traffic analysis or control of aircraft
C701S013000, C701S117000, C701S204000, C701S300000, C340S947000, C340S951000, C342S032000, C342S036000, C342S037000, C342S039000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06282487
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a runway reservation system for predicting the time of taking off and landing of aircraft expected to arrive and depart, assigning runway use time to each of the aircraft expected to arrive and depart so as to exhibit the processing capability of the airport at its maximum, and supporting the terminal control and the aerodrome control service.
As it is well known, in the terminal control, the sequence and spacing of arriving aircraft are established by watching the radar screen or the like. On the other hand, in the tower control, control is affected so that departing aircraft may take off in between the spacing of arriving aircraft by watching the radar screen in the terminal control. As occasion demands, adjustment of taking off and landing is coordinated between the terminal control and the tower control by means of audio communication over a land line.
For improving the service efficiency of departing aircraft and arriving aircraft in total in the conventional aerodrome control, it is thus necessary to conjecture an efficient pattern of taking off and landing and conduct adjustment of taking off and landing between the terminal control and the tower control by means of audio communication in order to implement this pattern of taking off and landing.
Nowadays, however, the aircraft schedule has become more and more overcrowded, and the service of controllers has arrived at its overload. Under the existing circumstances, adjustment of taking off and landing allowing such taking off and landing as to exhibit the processing capability of the airport at its maximum is very difficult.
As for situations of overload of the service of controllers, the following cases described in (1) to (3) can be considered.
(1) The case where a runway change is conducted:
In Japan, there are many airports located in the vicinity of the sea. During one day, therefore, the runway change is conducted typically twice. For example, in the Tokyo International Airport and Nagoya Airport, the wind shifts from a sea breeze to a land breeze and from a land breeze to a sea breeze just before noon and in the evening.
If a runway change has been conducted according to such a wind shift, then a changeover must be conducted from a series of familiar control works to a thinking pattern after the runway change, and immediate adaptation is demanded. As a result, a work load occurs.
(2) The case where the approach distance is long:
The approach of the Kansai International Airport passing through the Akashi Arrival and Lilac Arrival has a narrow airspace width and a long section. Therefore, it is necessary to make a large number of aircraft fly at equal intervals, and the load of the control service becomes especially heavy.
(3) The case where the approach distance is short:
If the approach distance is short as in each north arrival of the Narita Airport or the Eddy Arrival in the Kansai International Airport, then the spatial margin for establishing the sequence and spacing of arriving aircraft is insufficient and the control needs to be conducted in a short time. Temporarily, therefore, the service load is increased.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
For improving the efficiency of taking off and landing in the conventional aerodrome control, it is necessary as heretofore described to conjecture an efficient pattern of taking off and landing and conduct adjustment of taking off and landing between the terminal control and the tower control by means of audio communication.
Under the existing circumstances, such conjecture of an efficient pattern of taking off and landing relies on the experience and skill of each controller. In such a state that the control service load is high, it is difficult to exhibit the efficiency of taking off and landing at its maximum.
An object of the present invention is to provide a runway reservation system capable of solving the above described problems, predicting the time of taking off and landing of aircraft expected to arrive and depart, assigning runway use time to each of the aircraft expected to arrive and depart so as to exhibit the processing capability of the airport at its maximum, displaying the runway use time assigning information on a screen in a form that the controller can easily grasp, sharing this information between the terminal control and the aerodrome control, thereby exhibiting the processing capability of the airport at its maximum, and significantly reducing the control service load concerning the adjustment of taking off and landing.
In order to achieve the above described object, a runway reservation system for assigning runway use time to each of the arriving and departing aircraft and supporting terminal control and aerodrome control service in accordance with the present invention includes:
information acquiring means for acquiring aerodrome information and weather information of the arriving and departing aircraft;
arrival time prediction means for predicting arrival time of the arriving aircraft on the basis of information acquired by the information acquiring means;
departure time prediction means for predicting departure time of the departing aircraft on the basis of information acquired by the information acquiring means;
runway use time assignment means for assigning runway use time to each of the arriving and departing aircraft most efficiently under restrictions on the control on the basis of information acquired by the information acquiring means;
flight situation display means for displaying estimated time of arrival/departure of each of the arriving and departing aircraft calculated by the arrival time prediction means and the departure time prediction means; and
reservation situation display means for displaying the situation of runway assignments calculated by the runway use time assignment means.
To be more concrete, a runway reservation system for assigning runway use time to each of the arriving and departing aircraft and supporting terminal control and aerodrome control service, includes:
a weather information receiving unit for acquiring weather information from an external system issuing weather information in an approach area and selectively taking out necessary information;
a weather information storage unit for storing weather information acquired by the weather information receiving unit and outputting pertinent weather information according to a request;
an aircraft flight information receiving unit for selectively taking necessary information out of aircraft flight information sent from a radar or each aircraft;
flight plan information receiving unit for selectively taking out information containing arriving aircraft information, estimated time of arrival, estimated time of movement start, restricted control matters, standard instrument departure, aircraft type, wake turbulence classification, and spot number from a flight plan sent from a FDP;
an ATFM information receiving unit for selectively taking out necessary information from a flow control center;
a condition status management unit for determining whether each of the arriving and departing aircraft is a subject of control and judging a state of each of the arriving and departing aircraft on the basis of contents of control instructions sent from an external control apparatus, and acquiring a condition status as a part of arriving and departing aircraft information;
an aircraft information storage unit for storing, as a part of the aircraft information of the arriving aircraft and departing aircraft, information acquired in the aircraft flight information receiving unit, the flight plan information receiving unit, the ATFM information receiving unit, and the condition status management unit, and outputting pertinent information according to a request;
an arriving time prediction unit for predicting an arrival time of the each of arriving aircraft on the basis of information stored in the weather information storage unit and the aircraft information storage unit, and outputting information of estimated time of arriva
Katsuyama Yasuhiro
Nakajima Toshikazu
Shiomi Kakuichi
Cuchlinski Jr. William A.
Director-General, Ship Research Institute, Ministry of Trans
Mancho Ronnie
Oblon & Spivak, McClelland, Maier & Neustadt P.C.
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