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Display systems and methods for preventing runway incursions

  • US 10,446,039 B2
  • Filed: 02/15/2017
  • Issued: 10/15/2019
  • Est. Priority Date: 02/15/2017
  • Status: Active Grant
First Claim
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1. A method operable in an ownship aircraft for providing a flight display to an aircrew of the ownship aircraft, the method comprising steps of:

  • receiving, at a multi-channel radio communications module of the ownship aircraft, at least a first voice transmission on a first radio frequency and a second voice transmission on a second radio frequency that is different than the first radio frequency, wherein the first radio frequency and the second radio frequency are air traffic control frequencies and are each independently selected from the group consisting of;

    a ground control frequency, a tower (local) control frequency, and an approach control frequency;

    automatically, and without input from the aircrew of the ownship aircraft, transcribing, using voice recognition software installed on the ownship aircraft, both the first voice transmission and the second voice transmission into an electronic, textual format, thereby generating a first transmission record and a second transmission record;

    automatically, and without input from the aircrew of the ownship aircraft, analyzing both of the first transmission record and the second transmission record for an aircraft clearance, wherein the aircraft clearance pertains to an aircraft other than the ownship aircraft, and wherein the aircraft clearance is selected from the group consisting of;

    a takeoff clearance, a landing clearance, a runway crossing clearance, and a taxiing clearance;

    receiving, at a synthetic vision system (SVS) of the ownship aircraft, a status indication of a ground-based clearance lighting feature in a vicinity or a pathway of the ownship aircraft, wherein the ground-based clearance lighting feature is selected from the group consisting of;

    runway status lights (RWSL), final approach runway occupancy signal (FAROS) lights, runway entrance lights (REL), takeoff hold lights (THL), and runway intersection lights (RIL), and wherein the status indication is selected from the group consisting of;

    clear to proceed and not clear to proceed;

    displaying, using the synthetic vision system, a display of the status indication of the ground-based clearance lighting feature on a cockpit display to the aircrew of the ownship aircraft in a form of a graphical representation of an environment surrounding the ownship aircraft;

    displaying, using the synthetic vision system, an overlaid graphical symbology on the cockpit display corresponding to the status indication of the ground-based clearance lighting feature, wherein the overlaid graphical symbology indicates that the ownship aircraft is either clear to proceed or not clear to proceed, and wherein the overlaid graphical symbology is additional to and different from the display of the status indication of the ground-based lighting feature;

    automatically, and without input from the aircrew of the ownship aircraft, determining whether the aircraft clearance that pertains to the aircraft other than the ownship aircraft conflicts with the status indication of the ground-based clearance lighting feature; and

    based on the step of determining;

    if there is determined to be a conflict and if the status indication of the ground-based clearance lighting feature is clear to proceed, automatically and without input from the aircrew of the ownship aircraft, using the synthetic vision system, modifying the overlaid graphical symbology to indicate that the ownship aircraft is not clear to proceed;

    however, if there is not determined to be a conflict or if the status indication of the ground-based clearance lighting feature is not clear to proceed, maintaining the overlaid graphical symbology without modification.

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