SYSTEMS AND METHODS EMPLOYING ACTIVE TCAS TO ENHANCE SITUATIONAL AWARENESS

• US 20080158040A1
• Filed: 11/27/2007
• Published: 07/03/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 11/27/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: L3 Technologies, Inc. (L3Harris Technologies, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: L-3 Communications Corporation (L3Harris Technologies, Inc.)
• Inventors: Stayton, Gregory T., Tremose, Michael F.
• Granted Patent: US 7,786,922 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 342/32
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/782 using multimoding or selective addressing
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/933 of aircraft or spacecraft
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0008 with other aircraft
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0078 for monitoring traffic from the aircraft radar or analogous systems specially adapted for traffic control G01S13/91

Abstract

A method according to the present invention includes transmitting a Mode S interrogation and receiving a response from an aircraft that has received the Mode S interrogation. A range to the aircraft is determined based on a time period between transmitting the Mode S interrogation and receiving the response. The method further includes receiving information from one or more data sources and determining at least one of a bearing to the aircraft and a position of the aircraft using the determined range and the information from the one or more data sources. Information can be received from any number (or type) of data sources, such as ADS-B-equipped aircraft.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

transmitting a Mode S interrogation;

receiving a response from an aircraft that has received the Mode S interrogation;

determining a range to the aircraft based on a time period between transmitting the Mode S interrogation and receiving the response;

receiving information from one or more data sources; and

determining at least one of a bearing to the aircraft and a position of the aircraft using the determined range and the information from the one or more data sources.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the information from the one or more data sources includes at least one of:

a range between the aircraft and one or more of the data sources;

a bearing to the aircraft from one or more of the data sources;

a position of one or more of the data sources;

a velocity of one or more of the data sources; and

an identifier for one or more of the data sources.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising displaying the position of the aircraft in conjunction with a map of a geographical region through a Cockpit Display of Traffic Information (CDTI).

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising requesting the information from the one or more data sources, wherein the requesting includes specifying that the information should only be provided by the one or more data sources if the aircraft is within a predetermined volume.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the predetermined volume is bounded by at least one dimension measured from at least one of:

a distance from a vehicle;

a distance from the one or more data sources;

a distance from a fixed geographical location; and

combinations thereof.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the position of the aircraft is further based on the determined bearing.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein determining at least one of the bearing to the aircraft and the position of the aircraft is based on one or more geographical features.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

transmitting a second Mode S interrogation;

receiving a second response from the aircraft that has received the second Mode S interrogation;

determining a second range to the aircraft based on a second time period between transmitting the second Mode S interrogation and receiving the second response; and

determining at least one of a velocity direction of the aircraft and a velocity magnitude of the aircraft based on the determined range and the second determined range.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein determining at least one of the bearing to the aircraft and the position of the aircraft is further based on at least one of the determined velocity direction of the aircraft and the determined velocity magnitude of the aircraft.

10. A system comprising:

a processor;

a Mode S transceiver;

a data transceiver; and

a memory coupled to the processor and storing instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to;

transmit a Mode S interrogation using the Mode S transceiver;

receive a response through the Mode S transceiver from an aircraft that has received the Mode S interrogation;

determine a range to the aircraft based on a time period between transmitting the Mode S interrogation and receiving the response;

receive information from one or more data sources through the data transceiver; and

determine at least one of a bearing to the aircraft and a position of the aircraft using the determined range and the information from the one or more data sources.

11. The system of claim 10, further comprising a user interface, wherein the memory further stores instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to describe the position of the aircraft to a user through the user interface.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the user interface includes a Cockpit Display of Traffic Information (CDTI) and the position of the aircraft is displayed in conjunction with a map of a geographical region.

13. The system of claim 11, wherein the memory further stores instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to:

determine whether the aircraft poses a threat to a vehicle coupled to the system; and

issue an alert to the user through the user interface when it is determined that the aircraft poses a threat to the vehicle.

14. The system of claim 10, wherein the memory further stores instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to:

transmit a second Mode S interrogation using the Mode S transceiver;

receive a second response through the Mode S transceiver from the aircraft that has received the second Mode S interrogation;

determine a second range to the aircraft based on a time period between transmitting the second Mode S interrogation and receiving the second response;

determine at least one of a velocity direction of the aircraft and a velocity magnitude of the aircraft based on the determined range and the second determined range.

15. A method comprising:

transmitting a plurality of Mode S interrogations;

receiving a respective plurality of responses to the plurality of Mode S interrogations from an aircraft that has received the plurality of Mode S interrogations;

determining a plurality of computed ranges to the aircraft, wherein each one of the plurality of ranges is based on a time period between each of the transmitted Mode S interrogations and the receipt of the respective responses; and

determining the range to the aircraft based on the plurality of computed ranges to the aircraft.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein determining the plurality of computed ranges further includes subtracting an amount of time from each of the time periods between each of the transmitted Mode S interrogations and the receipt of the respective responses to account for a propagation delay associated with the aircraft.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein determining the range to the aircraft based on the plurality of computed ranges to the aircraft includes selecting a range from the plurality of computed ranges.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the selected range is the minimum range from the plurality of computed ranges.

19. The method of claim 15, further comprising determining a bearing to the aircraft.

20. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

determining a position from which the plurality of Mode S interrogations are transmitted and at which the plurality of Mode S responses are received;

receiving information from one or more data sources, wherein determining the bearing to the aircraft is further based on the determined position and the information from the one or more data sources.

21. The method of claim 20, further comprising determining a bearing to one or more of the data sources based on the determined position and the position information from the one or more data sources.

22. A system comprising:

a processor;

a Mode S transceiver;

a data transceiver; and

a memory coupled to the processor and storing instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to;

transmit a plurality of Mode S interrogations using the Mode S transceiver;

receive a respective plurality of responses to the plurality of Mode S interrogations through the Mode S transceiver from an aircraft that has received the plurality of Mode S interrogations;

determine a plurality of computed ranges to the aircraft, wherein each one of the plurality of ranges is based on a time period between each of the transmitted Mode S interrogations and the receipt of the respective responses; and

determine the range to the aircraft based on the plurality of computed ranges to the aircraft.

23. The system of claim 22, wherein the memory further stores instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to:

determine a position from which the plurality of Mode S interrogations are transmitted and at which the plurality of Mode S responses are received;

receive information from one or more data sources, wherein determining the bearing to the aircraft is further based on the determined position and the information from the one or more data sources.

24. The system of claim 23, further comprising a user interface, wherein the memory further stores instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to describe the position of the aircraft to a user through the user interface.

25. The system of claim 24, wherein the user interface includes a Cockpit Display of Traffic Information (CDTI) and the position of the aircraft is displayed in conjunction with a map of a geographical region.

26. The system of claim 23, wherein the memory further stores instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to:

determine whether the aircraft poses a threat to a vehicle coupled to the system; and

issue an alert to the user through the user interface when it is determined that the aircraft poses a threat to the vehicle.