Method And Device For Automatically Monitoring Air Operations Requiring Navigation And Guidance Performance

• US 20120173052A1
• Filed: 01/03/2012
• Published: 07/05/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 01/05/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Airbus Operations (European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company EADS NV)
• Original Assignee: Airbus Operations (European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company EADS NV)
• Inventors: Raynaud, Sylvain, Lanterna, Florent, Legay, Martin, Nicolas, Arnaud
• Granted Patent: US 8,660,715 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/3
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0077 using redundant signals or controls
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0039 Modification of a flight plan

Abstract

The monitoring device (1) comprises means (22) for implementing monitoring, in order to check whether two flight management systems (4, 5) are able to operate in dual mode.

Claims

1. A method for automatically monitoring a flight management assembly for an aircraft implementing air operations requiring navigation and guidance performance, said assembly (2) comprising a first flight management system (4), of the master type, operating in dual mode with a second flight management system (5), of the slave type, and, in the case of the detection of an obligation to implement an operation affecting its flight plane, emits, to said second flight management system (5), a request requiring to carry out at least one operation affecting the flight plane of the latter, which method wherein, if said method is activated, upon the emission of such a request, the following operations are implemented:

a) means (22) check that conditions for implementing said request are met; and

b) as a function of this check;

if said conditions are met, said second flight management system (5) carries out the operation requested by this request and the two flight management systems (4, 5) continue to operate in dual mode; and

if said conditions are not met, said second flight management system (5) does not carry out the operation requested by this request, the two flight management systems (4, 5) will operate in an independent mode, and a warning signal is emitted.

2. The method according to claim 1,

wherein said request is a request for sequencing the flight plane, as a result of a calculation error of the position of the aircraft, and, upon the emission of such a sequencing request, at step a):

the difference is calculated between the positions of the aircraft, available respectively to the two flight management systems (4, 5);

this difference is compared with a threshold value; and

as a function of this comparison, it is considered;

that the conditions for implementing said request are met, if this difference is lower than said threshold value; and

that the conditions for implementing said request are not met, if this difference is higher than or equal to said threshold value.

3. The method according to claim 2,

wherein if the conditions for implementing said request are not met, said second flight management system (5) does not sequence its flight plane.

4. The method according to claim 1,

wherein after insertion in the flight plane of a procedure relative to air operations requiring navigation and guidance performance, upon the preparation of an approach phase, if a resynchronization request, relative to a modification of the flight plane, whereby the first flight management system (4) requests the second flight management system (5) to resynchronize on it, is emitted, at step a) for checking whether the conditions for implementing said request are met, it is checked whether the new flight plane is consistent with the ongoing procedure, such as issued from a navigation database (8).

5. The method according to claim 1,

wherein upon an approach phase, wherein a procedure relative to air operations requiring navigation and guidance performance is implemented, if a resynchronization request, relative to a modification of the flight plane, whereby the first flight management system (4) requests the second flight management system (5) to resynchronize on it, is emitted, at step a) for checking whether the conditions for implementing said request are met, it is checked whether the new flight plane is consistent with the ongoing procedure, such as issued from a navigation database (8).

6. The method according to claim 1,

wherein step a) is implemented using means (22) being part of said second flight management system (5).

7. The method according to claim 1,

wherein step a) is implemented using means external to said second flight management system (5).

8. The method according to claim 1,

wherein the activation of the operations implemented at steps a) and b) is automatically implemented.

9. The method according to claim 8,

wherein the activation of the operations is automatically implemented as a function of the configuration of the aircraft and of the current flight data.

10. The method according to claim 1,

wherein the activation of the operations implemented at steps a) and b) is implemented manually by an operator, using a man/machine interface (20).

11. A device for automatically monitoring a flight management assembly for an aircraft implementing air operations requiring navigation and guidance performance, said assembly (2) comprising a first flight management system (4), of the master type, operating in dual mode with a second flight management system (5), of the slave type, and, in the case of the detection of an obligation to implement an operation affecting its flight plane, emitting, to said second flight management system (5), a request requesting to carry out at least one operation affecting the flight plane of the latter, said device (1) comprising:

means (20) for activating said device (1);

means (22) for checking, upon the emission of such a request, that the conditions for implementing said request are met;

means (22) ordering said second flight management system (5) to carry out the operation requested by this request if said conditions are met, the two flight management systems (4, 5) continuing to operate in dual mode;

means (22) ordering said second flight management system (5) not to carry out the operation requested by this request if said conditions are not met, the two flight management systems (4, 5) then operating in an independent mode; and

means (23) for emitting a warning signal, if said conditions are not met.

12. The device according to claim 11,

wherein it further comprises at least one navigation database (8) used for the check.

13. A flight management assembly for an aircraft implementing air operations requiring navigation and guidance performance, said assembly (2) comprising a first flight management system (4), of the master type, and a second flight management system (5), of the slave type, operating in dual mode,

wherein it further comprises a device (1) such as specified in claim 11.

14. An aircraft,

wherein it comprises a device (1) such as specified in claim 11.