Systems and method of automatically generated radio calls

• US 10,116,378 B1
• Filed: 09/20/2017
• Issued: 10/30/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 09/20/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
• Original Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
• Inventors: Morowsky, Katarina Alexis, Gannon, Aaron, Wyatt, Ivan Sandy
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Tai T
• Application Number:
  US15/709,916
• Time in Patent Office: 405 Days
• Field of Search: 340945, 340963, 340970, 340977, 701 4, 701 9
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0061 for transition from automatic pilot to manual pilot and vice versa
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/008 communicating information to a remotely located station transmission systems for measured values G08C
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/0825 using optical means
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0013 with a ground station
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0021 located in the aircraft
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0056 in an emergency situation, e.g. hijacking
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0065 for taking-off
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0078 for monitoring traffic from the aircraft radar or analogous systems specially adapted for traffic control G01S13/91
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0091 for monitoring atmospheric conditions radar or analogous systems specially adapted for meteorological use G01S13/95; meteorology G01W
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/025 Navigation or guidance aids radar or analogous systems specially adapted for landing purposes G01S13/913
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/045 Navigation or guidance aids, e.g. determination of anti-collision manoeuvers radar or analogous systems specially adapted for anti-collision between aircraft G01S13/933
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/18508 with satellite system used as relay, i.e. aeronautical mobile satellite service

Abstract

A method in an aircraft computing system for facilitating communication between a flight crew and external communication facility (ECF) such as air traffic control (ATC) or airline operational control (AOC) is provided. The method comprises monitoring aircraft data by an aircraft computing system for a plurality of pre-defined, non-emergency conditions, detecting, by the aircraft computing system, a pre-defined, non-emergency condition requiring communication from the flight crew to the ECF, automatically generating and displaying a computer-generated message on an aircraft cockpit display responsive to detecting the condition requiring communication from the flight crew to the ECF, providing a selection option for transmitting the message to the ECF, and transmitting the message to the ECF in accordance with the option selected.

Claims

1. A method in an aircraft computing system for facilitating communication between a flight crew and an external communication facility (ECF), the method comprising:

mining aircraft data by an aircraft computing system for indicators for a plurality of pre-defined, non-emergency conditions from an aircraft interface to flight desk equipment;

detecting from the mined aircraft data, by the aircraft computing system, a predefined, non-emergency condition requiring communication from the flight crew to the ECF;

automatically generating and displaying a computer-generated message on an aircraft cockpit display responsive to detecting the condition;

providing a selection option for transmitting the message to the ECF; and

transmitting the message to the ECF in accordance with the option selected.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein mining aircraft data comprises retrieving aircraft data from a standard aircraft interface.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the standard aircraft interface comprises an ARINC 429 interface or an ARINC 661 interface.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein retrieving aircraft data comprises retrieving aircraft data from a flight management system.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the aircraft data comprises one or more of flight plan data, fuel and weights data, ECF log data, aircraft state data, and aircraft sensors data.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of pre-defined, non-emergency conditions comprise a plurality of routine conditions requiring communication from a flight crew to the ECF, a plurality of regulatory conditions requiring communication from the flight crew to the ECF, and a plurality of pre-defined, non-emergency, abnormal conditions requiring communication from the flight crew to the ECF, wherein a routine condition results from normal flight operations, a regulatory condition is specified in a regulation, and a non-emergency, abnormal condition results from a non-emergency loss of function by aircraft equipment.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein detecting a condition comprises determining a condition for which to monitor based on the aircraft data.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein automatically generating a computer-generated message comprises automatically generating a computer-generated voice message and a computer-generated textual message.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the computer-generated message includes condition specific information, the name of the ECF, and the aircraft call sign.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein providing a selection option comprises providing the option to transmit no message, either a computer-generated voice message or a computer-generated textual message, or both a computer-generated voice message and a computer-generated textual message.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein providing a selection option comprises providing the option to revise the message.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising detecting an emergency message and automatically transmitting the emergency message to the ECF.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the pre-defined, non-emergency conditions comprises one or more of an enter holding pattern condition, exit holding pattern condition, activating a go-around maneuver for a missed approach condition, and a checking in to a new frequency condition.

14. An automatic message generation system for an aircraft for facilitating communication between a flight crew and an external communication facility (ECF), the system comprising:

a data mining engine comprising one or more processors configured by programming instructions encoded on non-transient computer readable media, the data mining engine configured to mine aircraft data for indicators for a plurality of pre-defined, non-emergency conditions from an aircraft interface to flight desk equipment;

a condition detection engine comprising one or more processors configured by programming instructions encoded on non-transient computer readable media, the condition detection engine configured to detect from the mined aircraft data a pre-defined, nonemergency condition requiring communication from the flight crew to the external communication facility (ECF);

a message generation engine comprising one or more processors configured by programming instructions encoded on non-transient computer readable media, the message generation engine configured to;

automatically generate and display a computer-generated message on an aircraft cockpit display responsive to detecting the condition;

provide a selection option for transmitting the message to the ECF; and

receive a selected option; and

a message transmitter comprising one or more processors configured by programming instructions encoded on non-transient computer readable media, the message transmitter configured to transmit the message to the ECF in accordance with the option selected.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the computer-generated message comprises a computer-generated voice message and a computer-generated textual message.

16. The system of claim 14, wherein the selection option comprises an option to transmit no message, an option to transmit either a computer-generated voice message or a computer-generated textual message, or an option to transmit both a computer-generated voice message and a computer-generated textual message.

17. The system of claim 14, wherein the aircraft data comprises one or more of flight plan data, fuel and weights data, ECF log data, aircraft state data, and aircraft sensors data.

18. The system of claim 14, wherein the plurality of pre-defined, non-emergency conditions comprise a plurality of routine conditions requiring communication from the flight crew to the ECF, a plurality of regulatory conditions requiring communication from the flight crew to the ECF, and a plurality of pre-defined, non-emergency, abnormal conditions requiring communication from the flight crew to the ECF, wherein a routine condition results from normal flight operations, a regulatory condition is specified in a regulation, and a non-emergency, abnormal condition results from a non-emergency loss of function by aircraft equipment.

19. The system of claim 14, wherein the condition detection engine is further configured to determine a condition for which to monitor based on the mined aircraft data.

20. An automatic message generation system for an aircraft for facilitating communication between a flight crew and an external communication facility (ECF), the system comprising one or more processors configured by programming instructions encoded on non-transient computer readable media, the system configure to:

monitor aircraft data for indicators for a plurality of pre-defined, non-emergency conditions from an aircraft interface to flight desk equipment;

detect a pre-defined, non-emergency condition requiring communication from the flight crew to the external communication facility (ECF);

automatically generate and display a computer-generated message on an aircraft cockpit display responsive to detecting the condition;

provide a selection option for transmitting the message to the ECF;

receive a selected option; and

transmit the message to the ECF in accordance with the selected option.