Passive Airborne Collision Warning Device and Method
First Claim
1. A collision warning system mounted on an observer aircraft for passively detecting and tracking nearby target aircraft equipped with a transponder responsive to interrogation signals from a rotating radar source, comprising:
- direction finding antenna means for receiving signals from the radar source and the transponder-equipped aircraft and measuring the bearing of said signals;
means for determining the position of the observer aircraft;
means for determining the position of the radar source;
means for determining the total trip distance from the radar source to the target aircraft to the observer aircraft;
means for determining the position of the target aircraft from the range to the radar source, the total trip distance, and the bearing of the target aircraft relative to the observer aircraft measured by said direction finding antenna means; and
means for warning the pilot of the observer aircraft of the presence of the target aircraft for collision avoidance.
4 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A passive airborne mounted collision warning system suitable for light aircraft that enables an observer aircraft to determine the position of a nearby transponder-equipped target aircraft. The transponder-equipped target aircraft transmits replies responsive to interrogation signals from rotating secondary surveillance radars (SSR). In an embodiment of the invention, position of the target aircraft is determined based on the known position of the observer aircraft obtained e.g. via satellite navigation means such as GPS, the position of the SSR, and the bearing of the target aircraft measured by a direction finding antenna. The direction-finding antenna elements and the GPS receiver components are included in a device that is externally mounted on the observer aircraft. The data from the device is connected to a portable computer for processing and presentation to the pilot to alert him of the position of the target aircraft for avoiding collisions.
-
Citations
22 Claims
-
1. A collision warning system mounted on an observer aircraft for passively detecting and tracking nearby target aircraft equipped with a transponder responsive to interrogation signals from a rotating radar source, comprising:
-
direction finding antenna means for receiving signals from the radar source and the transponder-equipped aircraft and measuring the bearing of said signals;
means for determining the position of the observer aircraft;
means for determining the position of the radar source;
means for determining the total trip distance from the radar source to the target aircraft to the observer aircraft;
means for determining the position of the target aircraft from the range to the radar source, the total trip distance, and the bearing of the target aircraft relative to the observer aircraft measured by said direction finding antenna means; and
means for warning the pilot of the observer aircraft of the presence of the target aircraft for collision avoidance. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
-
-
8. A method of collision avoidance by determining the position, relative to an observer aircraft, of at least one target aircraft equipped with a transponder transmitting reply signals in response to interrogation signals from a rotating radar source comprising the steps of:
-
a) determining the position of the observer aircraft;
b) determining the position and range of the radar source relative to the observer aircraft by measuring the bearing of interrogation signals with a direction finding antenna;
c) determining the bearing of the target aircraft relative to the observer aircraft by measuring reply signals with a direction finding antenna;
d) determining the position of the target aircraft with a computer executing software for processing data comprising the determined positions of the observer aircraft and radar source, and the measured bearing of the target aircraft; and
e) presenting the position of the target aircraft relative to the observer aircraft to the pilot of the observer aircraft to assist in collision avoidance. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
-
-
21. A computer program product for displaying the relative position of a target aircraft to an observer aircraft comprising:
a computer readable storage medium having a computer readable program code means embedded in said medium, the computer readable program code means comprising;
a) a first computer instruction means for receiving signals data from a direction finding antenna, wherein the signals include interrogation signals from a rotating radar source and reply signals responsive to interrogations signals from a transponder equipped target aircraft;
b) a second computer instruction means for receiving satellite navigation signals data for determining the position of the observer aircraft;
c) a third computer instruction means for determining the position of the target aircraft from said data;
d) a fourth computer instruction means for displaying the target aircraft relative to the observer aircraft at a periodically updated position. - View Dependent Claims (22)
Specification