Data processing: vehicles – navigation – and relative location – Vehicle control – guidance – operation – or indication – Aeronautical vehicle
Patent
1998-12-07
2000-08-01
Zanelli, Michael J.
Data processing: vehicles, navigation, and relative location
Vehicle control, guidance, operation, or indication
Aeronautical vehicle
701 3, 701301, G01C 2100
Patent
active
060979968
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for determining a trajectory for the lateral avoidance by a vehicle of a mobile zone which it is undesirable to traverse.
2. Discussion of the Background
It applies in particular, but not exclusively, to the piloting of an aerodyne, to aid the pilot rapidly to determine in flight, an avoidance trajectory, for example to avoid a dangerous meteorological zone, such as a storm formation.
Indeed, the most characteristic meteorological phenomenon to be avoided absolutely by an aerodyne is the storm formation prevailing within a cumulo-nimbus in which there are severe conditions of turbulence and icing, and in which the risk of lightning strikes is considerable.
To avoid this phenomenon, most aerodynes equipped with instruments for nil-visibility piloting make use of a weather radar which supplies meteorological information, this information giving in particular the contours of the meteorological zones associated with a danger level. However, having been detected, it is up to the pilot to handle the meteorological problem manually either by carrying out avoidance in sight of the zone, or by traversing the zone.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The objective of the present invention is to relieve the pilot of a vehicle in the case in which an unexpected phenomenon has to be avoided by laterally bypassing the zone where the phenomenon is occurring. For this purpose, it proposes a method for the lateral avoidance by a vehicle of at least one mobile zone starting from an initially planned route and from periodically supplied information giving the contours of the mobile zone to be avoided and the current position and the speed of the vehicle.
According to the invention, this method is characterized in that it comprises the following steps in succession: aid of the said contour information, to be avoided, and of the velocity vector of the circumscribed circle by recording successive positions of the latter, path of the circumscribed circle, and the positioning of the circumscribed circle at the moment at which the vehicle lies on the said portion of route, planned route of the vehicle, the computation of port and starboard trajectories for the avoidance of the zone delimited by the circumscribed circle, which connect points of exit and of return to the initially planned route, and the length of the new routes respectively including the computed avoidance trajectories, and of the velocity vector of the centre of the circumscribed circle about the zone to be avoided.
By virtue of these provisions, the avoidance of a mobile zone can be fully automated.
According to a feature of the invention, the points of exit and of return to the initially planned route correspond to the points of intersection with the latter of tangents to the circumscribed circle about the envelope of the zone to be avoided, forming a predetermined angle with the initially planned route, the port and starboard avoidance trajectories being defined by these tangents.
Advantageously, the method according to the invention applies also to the case of multiple mobile zones. In this case, the method furthermore comprises: to be avoided, and of the respective velocity vector of the circumscribed circles thus determined, by recording successive positions of these latter, vehicle at the respective moments at which the vehicle is situated on the portions of route which are traversed by the said zones, selection of the zones to be avoided lying in a sector delimited by the tangents to the circumscribed circle about the first zone to be avoided and passing through the current position of the vehicle, situated at a distance less than a predetermined threshold from the first zone or from a zone already selected during the second selection, considering the first zone, and of the points of return to the planned route by considering the latest zone selected; and of tangent segments to the circumscribed circles about each previously selected zone, and tangent segments passing t
REFERENCES:
patent: 3781530 (1973-12-01), Britland et al.
patent: 4812990 (1989-03-01), Adams et al.
patent: 5526260 (1996-06-01), Kodet et al.
patent: 5631640 (1997-05-01), Deis et al.
Gibson Eric M
Sextant Avionique
Zanelli Michael J.
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