DEVICE AND A METHOD FOR CONSTRUCTING A FLIGHT PATH IN ORDER TO REACH A DESTINATION

• US 20120296499A1
• Filed: 05/16/2012
• Published: 11/22/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 05/20/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Airbus Helicopters
• Original Assignee: Eurocopter
• Inventors: Kirchhofer, Alain, Garcia, Patrick, Mandonnaud, Francois
• Granted Patent: US 8,868,257 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/3
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 23/00 Combined instruments indicating more than one navigational value, e.g. for aircraft; Combined measuring devices for measuring two or more variables of movement, e.g. distance, speed or acceleration
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/102 specially adapted for vertical take-off of aircraft

Abstract

A device (10) for defining a flight path (2) enabling an aircraft (1) to reach a destination (B), said device (10) including a digital terrain model (21) and a display screen (30), and being provided with generator means (15) for generating a flight path (2) including at least one flight segment (3) associated with a flying altitude. The device (10) includes a digital noise database (20) having volumes that are to be avoided, said device (10) having a computer (11) with a main memory (13) containing instructions for displaying on said display screen (30) and as an overlay on a first representation (31) of said terrain as provided by said digital terrain model (21): a second representation (41) of said volumes to be avoided; and a flight path (2) that has been generated by using said generator means (15).

Claims

1. A device for defining a flight path enabling an aircraft to reach a destination (B), said device including a digital terrain model and a display screen, and being provided with generator means for generating a flight path including at least one flight segment associated with a flying altitude, wherein the device includes a digital noise database having volumes that are to be avoided where such a volume is a volume into which an aircraft must avoid penetrating in order to avoid generating undue noise on the ground at predetermined sites, said device having a computer with a main memory containing instructions enabling the following to be displayed on said display screen as an overlay on a first representation of said terrain as provided by said digital terrain model:

a second representation of said volumes to be avoided; and

a flight path that has been generated by using said generator means.

2. A device according to claim 1, wherein by executing said instructions said computer determines whether a segment is a risky segment passing through a volume to be avoided.

3. A device according to claim 2, wherein by executing said instructions with each flight segment being associated with a flying altitude, said computer displays on said display screen a second representation in two dimensions of a section of said volumes to be avoided at said flying altitude.

4. A device according to claim 3, wherein said device includes a flight instructions database, and by executing said instructions, said computer determines whether a segment of a generated flight path is a risky segment passing through a volume to be avoided, and displays information relating to flight instructions to be applied while traveling along said risky segment.

5. A device according to claim 1, wherein said device includes an aircraft database supplied by the manufacturer of an aircraft and characterizing the noise generated by said aircraft, and a legislative database containing the regulations to be complied with in terms of noise emissions, and by executing said instructions said computer generates said noise database from said aircraft database and said legislative database.

6. A device according to claim 5, wherein said device includes a meteorological database, and by executing said instructions said computer generates said noise database from said aircraft database together with said legislative database and said meteorological database.

7. A device according to claim 1, wherein said device includes a secondary memory, said generated flight path and said second representation of said volumes to be avoided being stored in said secondary memory.

8. An aircraft, including a device according to claim 1.

9. A method of defining a flight path in order to reach a destination (B) using a flight path including at least one segment associated with a flying altitude, by using a digital terrain model and a display screen, together with generator means for generating said flight path, wherein:

a generated flight path is constructed during a flight path construction step; and

volumes to be avoided into which an aircraft should avoid penetrating in order to avoid generating undue noise on the ground at predetermined sites are displayed together with the generated flight path on a display screen, being overlaid on a first representation of a terrain during a comparison step.

10. A method according to claim 9, wherein an alternative flight path is constructed when the generated flight path and the locations of volumes to be avoided are incompatible.

11. A method according to claim 9, wherein:

said generated flight path is constructed with the help of the generator means; and

a computer provided with a main memory containing instructions executes said instructions to display volumes to be avoided and said generated flight path on said display screen as an overlay on a first representation of a terrain as provided by a digital terrain model, said computer making use of a digital noise database including the volumes to be avoided in order to display said volumes to be avoided on said representation.

12. A method according to claim 9, wherein for a segment associated with a flying altitude, a second representation in two dimensions of a section of said volumes to be avoided at said flying altitude is displayed on said display screen by a computer.

13. A method according to claim 12, wherein information relating to flight instructions for application while following a risky segment is displayed on said display screen, said information relating to flight instructions being extracted from a flight instructions database.

14. A method according to claim 11, wherein said noise database is generated from an aircraft database characterizing the noise generated by an aircraft, and from a legislative database containing the regulations to be complied with in terms of noise emission.

15. A method according to claim 14, wherein said noise database is generated from an aircraft database characterizing the noise generated by an aircraft, from a legislative database containing the regulations to be complied with in terms of noise emissions, and also from a meteorological database.