Advanced warning ice detection system for aircraft
First Claim
1. A warning system mountable on board an aircraft for inflight monitoring of the airspace ahead of the aircraft for conditions likely to cause ice accretion on the surface of the aircraft and provide a warning thereof, said system comprising:
- a laser source for generating a pulsed laser beam at a first wavelength;
a first plurality of optical elements configured to direct said pulsed laser beam into the airspace ahead of the aircraft;
a second plurality of optical elements for receiving the backscattering of light from said pulsed laser beam, said second plurality of optical elements configured to separate the received backscattering of light into a plurality of predetermined wavelengths;
a plurality of light detectors for detecting the light of the separated plurality of wavelengths, respectively, and generating respectively corresponding plurality of electrical signals representative of the light detected thereby; and
a processor for processing said plurality of electrical signals to determine if airspace conditions ahead of the aircraft are likely to cause ice accretion on the surface of the aircraft, and for generating a warning indicative thereof.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
An ice detection warning system mountable on board an aircraft for inflight monitoring of the airspace ahead of the aircraft comprises: a first plurality of optical elements configured to direct a pulsed laser beam at a first wavelength from a laser source into the airspace ahead of the aircraft; a second plurality of optical elements configured to separate received backscattering of light from the laser beam into a plurality of predetermined wavelengths; a plurality of light detectors for detecting the light of the separated plurality of wavelengths, respectively, and generating respectively corresponding plurality of electrical signals representative of the light detected thereby; and a processor for processing the plurality of electrical signals to determine if airspace conditions ahead of the aircraft are likely to cause ice accretion on the surface of the aircraft, and for generating a warning indicative thereof. In one embodiment, the warning system includes an optical scanner operative to scan the pulsed laser beam into the airspace ahead of the aircraft with a predetermined scan pattern, the scanner also being operative to receive the backscattering of light from the pulsed laser beam and direct it to the second plurality of optical elements which is configured to separate the received backscattering of light into the plurality of predetermined wavelengths.
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Citations
23 Claims
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1. A warning system mountable on board an aircraft for inflight monitoring of the airspace ahead of the aircraft for conditions likely to cause ice accretion on the surface of the aircraft and provide a warning thereof, said system comprising:
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a laser source for generating a pulsed laser beam at a first wavelength;
a first plurality of optical elements configured to direct said pulsed laser beam into the airspace ahead of the aircraft;
a second plurality of optical elements for receiving the backscattering of light from said pulsed laser beam, said second plurality of optical elements configured to separate the received backscattering of light into a plurality of predetermined wavelengths;
a plurality of light detectors for detecting the light of the separated plurality of wavelengths, respectively, and generating respectively corresponding plurality of electrical signals representative of the light detected thereby; and
a processor for processing said plurality of electrical signals to determine if airspace conditions ahead of the aircraft are likely to cause ice accretion on the surface of the aircraft, and for generating a warning indicative thereof. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A warning system mountable on board an aircraft for inflight monitoring of the airspace ahead of the aircraft for conditions likely to cause ice accreation on the surface of the aircraft and provide a warning thereof, said system comprising:
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a laser source for generating a pulsed laser beam at a first wavelength;
a first plurality of optical elements configured to direct said pulsed laser beam along a first optical path;
an optical scanner disposed in said first optical path and operative to scan said pulsed laser beam into the airspace ahead of the aircraft with a predetermined scan pattern, said scanner also operative to receive the backscattering of light from the pulsed laser beam and direct said backscattering along a second optical path;
a second plurality of optical elements for receiving the backscattering of light from said second optical path, said second plurality of optical elements configured to separate the received backscattering of light into a plurality of predetermined wavelengths;
a plurality of light detectors for detecting the light of the separated plurality of wavelengths, respectively, and generating respectively corresponding plurality of electrical signals representative of the light detected thereby; and
a processor for processing said plurality of electrical signals to determine if airspace conditions ahead of the aircraft are likely to cause ice accretion on the surface of the aircraft, and for generating a warning indicative thereof. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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Specification