Method and apparatus for tracking aircraft and securing against unauthorized access
First Claim
1. A system for monitoring an aircraft, comprising:
- a first means aboard the aircraft for receiving navigation signals and deriving a position vector therefrom, a second means aboard the aircraft for receiving an input representative of altitude of the aircraft above ground level, a third means aboard the aircraft for sampling said position vector at a selected sample rate and outputting a succession of samples of said position vector, said third means being responsive to the second means to increase the sample rate in response to the altitude of the aircraft being less than a predetermined value, a fourth means aboard the aircraft for receiving the succession of samples of the position vector and generating data packets that contain respective samples of the position vector, and a fifth means aboard the aircraft for transmitting the data packets to a ground-based receiving station.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system for monitoring an aircraft receives navigation signals and deriving a position vector therefrom and also receives an input representative of altitude of the aircraft above ground level. The system samples the position vector at a selected sample rate and outputs a succession of samples of the position vector, the sample rate depending on whether the altitude of the aircraft above ground level is less than a predetermined value. Data packets that contain respective samples of the position vector are transmitted to a ground-based receiving station. The ground-based receiving station may calculate secondary data.
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Citations
52 Claims
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1. A system for monitoring an aircraft, comprising:
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a first means aboard the aircraft for receiving navigation signals and deriving a position vector therefrom, a second means aboard the aircraft for receiving an input representative of altitude of the aircraft above ground level, a third means aboard the aircraft for sampling said position vector at a selected sample rate and outputting a succession of samples of said position vector, said third means being responsive to the second means to increase the sample rate in response to the altitude of the aircraft being less than a predetermined value, a fourth means aboard the aircraft for receiving the succession of samples of the position vector and generating data packets that contain respective samples of the position vector, and a fifth means aboard the aircraft for transmitting the data packets to a ground-based receiving station. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. A combined airborne and ground-based system for monitoring an aircraft, comprising:
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a first airborne means for receiving navigation signals and deriving an aircraft position vector therefrom, a second airborne means for sampling said aircraft position vector at a selected sample rate and outputting a succession of samples of said aircraft position vector, a third airborne means for receiving the succession of samples of the aircraft position vector and generating data packets that contain respective samples of the aircraft position vector, and a fourth airborne means for transmitting the data packets, a first ground-based means for receiving the data packets, and a second ground-based means for extracting the aircraft position vector samples from the data packets and calculating an aircraft flight parameter from the position vector samples. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A system for transmitting an alert signal in response to a condition aboard a transport vehicle, comprising:
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a first means for sensing the value of a selected parameter aboard the transport vehicle, a second means for storing an acceptable value of said selected parameter, a third means for comparing said sensed value of said parameter with said acceptable value and asserting a status signal in the event that the sensed value does not match, within an acceptable tolerance range, said acceptable value, a fourth means for receiving navigation signals and deriving a vehicle position vector therefrom, a first wireless transmission means responsive to said third means and said fourth means for generating a vehicle position signal from which the vehicle position vector can be extracted and for transmitting the vehicle position signal to a ground-based facility in the event that said status signal is asserted, and a second wireless transmission means for transmitting an alert signal to a ground-based facility in the event that said status signal is asserted. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19)
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20. A system for controlling access to a controlled space aboard a transport vehicle, comprising:
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a first means aboard the transport vehicle for sensing a biometric characteristic associated with a person requesting access to the controlled space, a second means aboard the transport vehicle for evaluating the biometric characteristic and determining, based on the biometric characteristic, whether the person is authorized to access the controlled space, a third means distinct from the transport vehicle for evaluating the biometric characteristic and determining, based on the biometric characteristic, whether the person is authorized to access the controlled space, and a fourth means for providing wireless communication between the second and third means and, in the event that both the second means and the third means have determined that the person is authorized to access the controlled space, approving the person'"'"'s request for access and otherwise denying the request for access. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31)
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32. A system for monitoring a condition aboard a transport vehicle, comprising:
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a first means aboard the vehicle for storing a record of biometric conditions associated with persons who are authorized to access a controlled space of the vehicle, a second means aboard the transport vehicle for sensing a current biometric condition in the controlled space, a third means for storing a record of the current biometric condition sensed by the second means, a fourth means responsive to the second means for comparing the current biometric condition sensed by the second means with the record stored by the first means and transmitting an alert signal if the current biometric condition does not match the record stored by the first means, a fifth means aboard the vehicle for transmitting the record stored by the third means. - View Dependent Claims (33)
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34. A flight recorder system with remote wireless access, for use aboard an aircraft, comprising:
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a microphone means for producing digital audio data, an indexing means for indexing the digital audio data relative to aircraft position and time, a data storage means for storing the digital audio data, and a wireless means for receiving a download command, reading data from the data storage means in LIFO sequence and transmitting the data to a ground-based facility for evaluation. - View Dependent Claims (35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45)
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46. A system for identifying a person aboard an aircraft, comprising:
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a microphone for acquiring an audio signal representative of an utterance spoken by the person, a processing means for processing the audio signal and generating a spectrogram of extracted characteristics of the utterance, a storage means for storing spectrograms of extracted characteristics of utterances of identified persons, and a comparison means for comparing the spectrogram generated by the processing means with the spectrograms stored by the storage means and generating a signal that indicates whether the spectrogram generated by the processing means matches a spectrogram stored by the storage means.
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47. A combined airborne and ground-based system for monitoring an aircraft, comprising:
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a first airborne means for receiving navigation signals and deriving an aircraft position vector therefrom, a second airborne means for sampling said aircraft position vector at a selected sample rate and outputting a succession of samples of said aircraft position vector, a third airborne means for receiving the succession of samples of the aircraft position vector and generating data packets that contain respective samples of the aircraft position vector, and a fourth airborne means for transmitting the data packets, a first ground-based means for receiving the data packets, and a second ground-based means including a means for determining the position of the aircraft, represented by a position vector sample, selecting a spatial domain that includes the position of the aircraft, and providing a display of the spatial domain, the second ground-based means having a first state in which it displays the spatial domain as an air traffic control navigational display and a second state in which it displays the spatial domain and correlated terrestrial features that are not shown in the first state.
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48. A combined airborne and ground-based system for monitoring an aircraft, comprising:
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a first airborne means for receiving navigation signals and deriving an aircraft position vector therefrom, a second airborne means for sampling said aircraft position vector at a selected sample rate and outputting a succession of samples of said aircraft position vector, a third airborne means for receiving the succession of samples of the aircraft position vector and generating data packets that contain respective samples of the aircraft position vector, and a fourth airborne means for transmitting the data packets, a first ground-based means for receiving the data packets, and a second ground-based means including a means for comparing the position of the aircraft, represented by a position vector sample, with the positions of a plurality of ground-based facilities, allowing selection of one of said ground-based facilities, and calculating a distance vector from the aircraft position to said one ground-based facility. - View Dependent Claims (49, 50, 51, 52)
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Specification