AIRPORT GROUND AIRCRAFT AUTOMATIC TAXI ROUTE SELECTING AND TRAFFIC CONTROL SYSTEM

• US 3,706,969 A
• Filed: 03/17/1971
• Issued: 12/19/1972
• Est. Priority Date: 03/17/1971
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: New Forney Corp.
• Original Assignee: Candelario Paredes
• Inventors: Paredes, Candelario
• Primary Examiner(s): Claffy, Kathleen H.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Kundert, Thomas L.
• Application Number:
  US05/125,372
• Time in Patent Office: 643 Days
• Field of Search: 340/23,24,25,26,35,40 343/7RS,8
• US Class Current: 340/989
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0013 with a ground station
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0043 Traffic management of multiple aircrafts from the ground G08G5/003 takes precedence; data processing specially designed for resource management, e.g. scheduling or allocating time, human or machine resources G06Q10/06
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/065 Navigation or guidance aids, e.g. for taxiing or rolling

Abstract

As an identified object, such as an aircraft on the ground is scheduled to cross the surface traffic network of certain areas, such as an airport, its identification and point of destination on the ground are fed to an automatic digital computerized controller comprising integrated intersection traffic control and monitoring logic units, which automatically generates a selected route from the point of origin of the object to such destination point, and by appropriate guidance displays including such identification, directs the pilot or driver of the object at each traffic intersection when safely to enter and in which direction to proceed, until the object reaches the desired destination point.

Claims

1. A surface traffic control system for controlling the movement of vehicles including automotive transports and taxiing aircraft over a network of surface ways and intersections for the automatic generation of a current optimum route for use by selected individual operator driven vehicles over said network of surface ways, comprising:

detector means located at said intersections for sensing the presence and absence of vehicles at said intersections;

a plurality of individual digital logic means for each of said intersections operatively connected to each other and to each of said detector means to respond to the existing traffic at such intersection detected by said detector means for defining a traffic pattern at such intersection and for safely controlling the flow of traffic at such intersection;

a central digital computer operatively connected to said digital logic means for generating an optimum route in relation to existing traffic conditions on said neTwork of surface ways for use by each of said vehicles on said network, said optimum route passing through a plurality of said intersections at each of which said optimum route may take a plurality of paths;

route guidance means operatively connected to said digital logic means for indicating to the operator of each selected vehicle the optimum route generated by said central digital computer.

2. A surface traffic control system according to claim 1 in which said network includes intersections of taxiways and runways, and individual digital logic means are comprised of individual satellite digital computers located at each of said intersections.

3. A surface traffic control system according to claim 1 in which said route guidance means include visual displays located at said traffic control stations for indicating to the operator of said vehicles the correct instructions for traversing said optimum route.

4. A surface traffic control system according to claim 1 in which said digital computer is under the supervision of the ground controller of the airport, such that when the identification of a particular vehicle is supplied to said computer along with the desired destination and point of origin thereof, said optimum route is automatically selected by the computer which thereupon in cooperation with said logic means guides said particular vehicle over said optimum route.