DEVICE AND METHOD FOR CALCULATING REQUIRED NAVIGATION PERFORMANCE PREDICTION

• US 20180012503A1
• Filed: 07/05/2017
• Published: 01/11/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 07/07/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Thales SA
• Original Assignee: Thales SA
• Inventors: ROGER, Michel, PIERRE, Christophe, GOUTELARD, Herv
• Granted Patent: US 10,866,592 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 23/005 Flight directors indicating arrangements specially adapted for rotary gyroscopes G01C19/32
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/02 Control of position or course in two dimensions
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/101 specially adapted for aircraft
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0021 located in the aircraft
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0034 Assembly of a flight plan
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0039 Modification of a flight plan
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0047 Navigation or guidance aids for a single aircraft details of equipment G08G5/0017
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0052 for cruising combined instruments indicating more than one navigational value G01C23/00

Abstract

A method is provided for calculating the prediction of required navigation performance for a trajectory associated with a list of segments of a flight plan. A method is also provided for displaying the navigation performance as a corridor trajectory and adapted to guarantee compliance with the navigation performance requirements while offering immediate viewing of the navigation latitude in a corridor.

Claims

1. A method of calculating required navigation performance prediction for a trajectory of an aircraft, the method being operated by an aircraft computing platform and comprising the steps of:

receiving a list of segments of a flight plan;

for each segment of the list;

identifying all the contingencies constituting navigation performance constraints;

determining and selecting the most constraining contingency for said segment;

calculating a prediction of required navigation performance, as a function of data arising from the selected contingency; and

updating the list of segments with the prediction of required navigation performance associated with each segment.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the identification step consists in identifying the contingencies existing in the navigation database and the contingencies defined by an operator.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the determination step consists in determining whether a performance contingency given by a regulation is the most constraining, and selecting it.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the calculation of the prediction of required navigation performance is done as a function of default values when no navigation performance constraint is identified.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the steps are executed for a calculation of required horizontal navigation performance prediction and/or for a calculation of required vertical navigation performance prediction.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the steps are re-executed automatically if the flight plan changes.

8. A device for calculating required navigation performance prediction for a trajectory of an aircraft, the device comprising:

means adapted to receive a list of segments of a flight plan;

means adapted, for each segment of the list;

to identify all the contingencies constituting navigation performance constraints;

to determine and select the most constraining contingency for said segment;

to calculate a required navigation performance prediction, as a function of data arising from the selected contingency; and

means adapted to update the list of segments with the required navigation performance prediction associated with each segment, wherein the device is configured to operate the steps of the method according to claim 2.

10. A tangible non-transitory computer program product comprising code instructions to carry out the steps of the method according to claim 1, when said program is executed on a computer.

11. A method of displaying predictions of estimated and required navigation performance for a trajectory of an aircraft, the method being operated by a calculation platform for aircraft and comprising the steps of:

calculating predictions of estimated navigation performance for a list of segments of a flight plan;

calculating for the same list of segments, predictions of required navigation performance according to the steps of the method of claim 1; and

representing said predictions of estimated and required navigation performance graphically on a display means.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein the step of calculating the predictions of estimated navigation performance comprises the steps of:

receiving a list of segments comprising all of the segments of a flight plan with a prediction of a transit time associated with each segment;

for each segment of the list;

identifying the positioning systems outside the aircraft that are available in the geographical zone of said segment;

determining the performance values of the positioning systems identified and selecting the outside positioning system exhibiting the lowest navigation performance calculation error for the position of said segment and said predicted transit time;

calculating an estimated navigation performance prediction, on the basis of data arising from the outside positioning system selected; and

updating the list of segments with the estimated navigation performance prediction associated with each segment.

13. The method according to claim 11, wherein the graphical representation consists in displaying said predictions of estimated and required navigation performance superimposed on a wire trajectory.

14. The method according to claim 11, comprising, before the display step, a step consisting for each segment in subtracting the predictions of estimated navigation performance from the predictions of required navigation performance, so as to construct a corridor trajectory, and in which the graphical representation consists in displaying said predictions of estimated and required navigation performance as a function of the corridor.

15. The method according to claim 14, wherein the display step consists in displaying a wire trajectory for the segments having a greater estimated navigation performance prediction than the required navigation performance prediction.

16. The method according to claim 14, wherein the graphical representation consists in representing the navigation latitude in contrast on the corridor trajectory.

17. A device for displaying predictions of estimated and required navigation performance for a trajectory of an aircraft, the display device comprising a display means and calculation means adapted to calculate predictions of estimated and required navigation performance, the predictions of estimated navigation performance being calculated according to the steps of the method of claim 1, the device further comprising means for representing said predictions of estimated and required navigation performance graphically on said display means.

18. The display device according to claim 17, wherein the display means is a screen of the cockpit of the aircraft, such as a “

Navigation Display”

(ND) or a “

Primary Flight Display”

(PFD) screen.

7. A device for calculating required navigation performance prediction for a trajectory of an aircraft, the device comprising:

means adapted to receive a list of segments of a flight plan;

means adapted, for each segment of the list;

to identify all the contingencies constituting navigation performance constraints;

to determine and select the most constraining contingency for said segment;

to calculate a required navigation performance prediction, as a function of data arising from the selected contingency; and

means adapted to update the list of segments with the required navigation performance prediction associated with each segment.

9. A flight management system or onboard embedded computer of EFB type comprising a device for calculating required navigation performance prediction for a trajectory of an aircraft according to claim 7.