Monitoring and control system for manned vehicles

• US 20050065667A1
• Filed: 11/06/2002
• Published: 03/24/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 11/06/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Johannes Wolfgang Weineck and Bernhard Klein
• Original Assignee: Johannes Wolfgang Weineck and Bernhard Klein
• Inventors: Weineck, Johannes Wolfgang
• Granted Patent: US 7,184,863 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/3
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 45/0031 means for overriding or restricting access to flight controls
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 45/0053 using visual equipment, e.g. cameras
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 45/0056 detecting passenger or crew behavior by sensors, e.g. biometrics
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 45/0059 by communicating emergency situations to ground control or between crew members
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0013 with a ground station
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0021 located in the aircraft
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/18508 with satellite system used as relay, i.e. aeronautical mobile satellite service

Abstract

A monitoring and control system for manned vehicles is being proposed, wherein an automatic early-on recognition of emergencies and an automatic specification of measures to be taken in accordance with a separate escalation assessment concerning the development of the emergency in question are made possible, in that data packets comprising a vehicle identification field, a time indicator field, a continuously updated position field, a continuously updated vehicle-status field and a pilot-confirmation field are either transmitted from the vehicle to a ground station and evaluated there or is transmitted to the ground station already having been evaluated, wherein continuous storing of the data packets is carried out over a limited period of time in the ground station when a first evaluation result is present; in the event of the occurrence of a second particular evaluation result storing is carried out over a longer period of time and at the same time a switchover signal is transmitted to the vehicle, which switchover signal switches over the control from being linked with the cockpit to being linked with the autopilot control station control without being subject to influence by the cockpit, and wherein switching back to the control means being linked with the cockpit is only effected by a reset signal which again is not subject to influence by the cockpit, which reset signal is generated by the ground station, depending on a third particular evaluation result concerning the pilot-confirmation field, and transmitted to the vehicle.

Claims

1. A monitoring and control system for manned vehicles, comprising drive means (2), control means (3) and navigation means (4) for location determination and vehicle-status determination, wherein said control means (3) may be operated depending on information data of said navigation means (4) from a control station (30) or, in a switchable manner, from an autopilot control station (32), and said navigation means are linked with a set of sensors for obtaining actual-vehicle-state data, wherein said actual-vehicle-state data may be transmitted via a satellite transmission path (6) to a ground station (8) and be stored there for a particular period of time, and said vehicle may be remote-controlled from said ground station (8) depending on a particular evaluation result of said actual-vehicle-state data,

wherein a data packet (13) containing a vehicle identification field (14), a time indicator field (15), a continuously updated position field (16), a continuously updated vehicle-status field (17) and a pilot-confirmation field (18), is transmitted in a first timing by means of transmitter/receiver means (33) of said vehicle (1) via said satellite transmission path (6) and/or directly (7) to said ground station (8), and said data packet may be evaluated by evaluation means located in said vehicle or in said ground station (8) for the generation of three generation results;

such that

depending on a first particular evaluation result concerning said pilot-confirmation field (18), continuous storing of said data packets is carried out over a limited period of time in said ground station (8),

depending on a second particular evaluation result concerning said pilot-confirmation field (18), continuous storing is carried out over a longer period of time longer in comparison with said particular limited in said ground station (8), and at the same time a switchover signal is transmitted from said ground station (8) via said one or via another satellite data transmission path (6) or a direct data transmission channel (7) to said vehicle (1), which switchover signal switches over said control means (3) from being linked with said control station (30) to being linked to said autopilot control station (32) without being subject to influence by the cockpit; and

depending on a third particular evaluation result, switching back to said control means (3) being linked with said control station (30) is only effected by a reset signal which again is not subject to influence by the cockpit, which reset signal is generated by said ground station (8), depending on said third particular evaluation result concerning said pilot-confirmation field (18), and transmitted to said vehicle.

2. The system in accordance with claim 1, wherein said data packets (13) and/or said switchover signal and/or said reset signal is/are transmitted between vehicle (1) and ground station (8) in a coded form.

3. The system in accordance with claim 1, wherein said data packets (13) are transmitted from said vehicle (1) to said ground station in a compressed form.

4. The system in accordance with claim 1 wherein the timing frequency of data packet transmission is increased depending on said second evaluation result.

5. The system in accordance with claim 1 wherein depending on a warning evaluation result concerning said vehicle-status field (17), the vehicle-statues data is continuously transmitted via said one and/or another satellite data transmission path (6) and/or immediately (7) to said ground station (8) and/or additional ground stations, continuously stored there and continuously evaluated there or evaluated further, respectively.

6. The system in accordance with claim 1 wherein depending on an alarm evaluation result concerning said vehicle-status field (17) and/or said position field (16), particularly in the event of a simultaneous occurrence of said second evaluation result concerning said pilot-confirmation field (18), a switchover signal switches over to a special autopilot program of said autopilot (32) that controls a travel situation correction and/or course correction in a manner not subject to being influenced by the control station.

7. The system in accordance with claim 6, wherein said special autopilot program (66) is respectively selected depending on actual data (64) of the vehicle position.

8. The system in accordance with claim 1 wherein said set of sensors contains at least one microphone (43, 46, 49) installed in or on said vehicle (1) and/or at least one image recording camera (41, 42, 45, 48) installed in or on said vehicle and/or at least one pressure sensor installed in or on said vehicle and/or at least one gas analyzer (50, 51, 52) installed in or on said vehicle.

9. The system in accordance with claim 8, wherein said at least one microphone (43, 46, 49) is connected to a sound spectrum evaluation group (70-73) containing voice recognition apparatus (70, 71, 72), the outputs of which are linked such that a positive voice recognition of the pilot and supporting staff associated with the latter results in a release of a pilot conformation in said pilot-confirmation field (18).

10. The system in accordance with claim 8 wherein said at least one microphone (43, 46, 49) is connected to a word recognition evaluation group (74-77) containing word recognition apparatus (74, 75, 76), the outputs of which are linked such that a positive password recognition of the pilot supporting staff associated with the latter results in a release of a pilot confirmation in said pilot-confirmation field (18).

11. The system in accordance with claim 1 wherein said ground station (8) and/or further ground stations, each of which receive data packets from said transmitter/receiver means (33) of monitored vehicles in evaluation means, contain multiplexers, the timings of which are transmitted synchronously via satellite transmission paths (6) and/or immediately (7) to said vehicles for controlling their transmitter/receiver means (33).