AIRCRAFT GROUND TRAFFIC CONTROL SYSTEM

• US 3,855,571 A
• Filed: 04/13/1972
• Issued: 12/17/1974
• Est. Priority Date: 04/13/1972
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Massa Products Corporation
• Original Assignee: Frank Massa
• Inventors: Massa, Frank
• Primary Examiner(s): Blakeslee, Ralph D.
• Application Number:
  US05/243,656
• Time in Patent Office: 978 Days
• Field of Search: 340/22,23,24,26,38S,32
• US Class Current: 340/990
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0021 located in the aircraft
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0026 located on the ground
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/065 Navigation or guidance aids, e.g. for taxiing or rolling

Abstract

Mounted on each airplane is a small waterproof loudspeaker that transmits a coded high frequency acoustic signal while the airplane is on the ground. A plurality of microphones are located along the runways, taxiing strips, ramps, and gate positions. The acoustic signals will propagate a limited distance so that only a near-by microphone will be activated thereby, thus making it very simple to continuously monitor the positions of airplanes on the ground. Each microphone is separately connected to a recognition circuit which in turn activates a corresponding display indicator. The indicators are arranged on a display panel in the form of a map of the airfield.

Claims

1. A system for automatically indicating and continuously displaying the locations of individual airplanes while they are on the ground at an airport, said system comprising a transmitting transducer means mounted on each of said airplanes for sensing a coded aircraft identification signal individually associated with each of said airplanes, power activating means for operating said transmitting transducer to send said signal, a plurality of receiving transducer means arranged in a fixed spatial pattern on the airfield, a plurality of communication link means, a plurality of recognition circuit means operated responsive to said identification signal, each of said communication link means connecting a receiving transducer to a corresponding recognition circuit, a plurality of indicator means operated responsive to said identification signals for indicating and continuously displaying both the spatial relationships and the identity of the plurality of receiving transducer means, each of said recognition circuit means being connected to an individually associated indicator means, and means for activating said associated indicator means when the associated receiving transducer is receiving a coded identification signal from an airplane.

2. The system of claim 1 and a display panel comprising a map of the airport area, said indicator means being located on said map at positions corresponding to the physical locations of corresponding ones of said receiving transducer means on said airport.

3. A system for automatically displaying the individual locations of airplanes while they are on the ground at an airport, said system comprising a transmitting transducer means mounted on each of said airplanes for sending an aircraft identification signal individually associated with each of said airplanes, said transmitting transducer being an electroacoustic transducer for radiating an acoustic signal, means for encoding said acoustic signal to identify the airplane carrying the transducer radiating the signal, power activating means for operating said transmitting transducer to send said signal, a plurality of receiving transducer means in fixed spatial relationships on the airfield, a plurality of communication link means, a plurality of recognition circuit means operated responsive to said identification signal, each of said communication link means connecting a receiving transducer to a corresponding recognition circuit, a plurality of indicator means operated responsive to said identification signals for continuously displaying both the spatial relationshps and the identity of the plurality of receiving transducer means, each of said recognition circuit means being connected to an individually associated indicator means, means for activating said aircraft indicator means when the associated receiving transducer is receiving a signal from an airplane, a display panel comprising a map of the airport area, said indicator means being located on said map at positions corresponding to the physical locations of corresponding ones of said receiving transducer means on said airport, each of said indicator means including a visual display, wherein each of said indicators displays a visible legend to identify a particular airplane responsive to the coded message transmitted from the particular airplane which is in close proximity to a receiving transducer channel means individually associated with said indicator to activate the associated recognition circuit and operate the visual indicator, thereby causing the display of the identification legend of the particular airplane, each of said visual legends being located on said map in positions corresponding to the actual positions on the ground of the activated receiving transducer.

4. A system for automatically indicating and continuously displaying the locations of individual airplanes while they are on the ground at an airport, means including an electroacoustic transducer attached to each of said plurality of airplanes, means associated with each electroacoustic transducer for sending a differently encoded acoustic signal corresponding to the identity of the airplane, a plurality of microphone means arranged in a fixed spatial pattern over the airfield, electrical connection means extending between each microphone and a plurality of visual indicators, and means activated by said encoded acoustic signal transmitted from an airplane close to any particular one of said microphones for causing a continuous visual indication of the code associated with the airplane near said particular microphone, thereby displaying the identification of the airplane and also indicating the position of the microphone.

5. The system of claim 4 and a display panel in the form of a map of said airport, said indicators being at locations on said map corresponding to individually associated microphones on said airport.

6. A system for automatically monitoring the locations of a plurality of individually identified airplanes while they are on the ground at an airport, said system comprising a sonic energy transmitting transducer means attached to each of said plurality of airplanes, power activating means for operating said transmitting transducer whereby a sonic energy signal is radiated from said transducer, characterized in that said sonic signal is coded and still further characterized in that each of said plurality of planes has a different coded signal radiated from its transmitting transducer, a plurality of receiving transducer means arranged in a fixed spatial pattern over the airfield, a plurality of communication link means, a link means connecting one of said receiving transducer means to a corresponding one of said recognition circuit means, a plurality of indicator means, said indicator means being arranged in a display pattern corresponding to the spatial pattern occupied by the plurality of receiving transducer means on the airfield, each of said recognition circuit means being connected to an individually associated one of said indicator means which is located in the same corresponding position in the display as the connected receiving transducer means is located in said pattern, means for activating said indicator means by said connected recognition circuit means when said associated receiving transducer means is in such close proximity to an airplane that the radiated sonic energy signal from said airplane is detected thereby, each of said indicator means including a visual display, wherein each of said indicators displays a visible legend to identify a particular airplane responsive to the coded message transmitted from the particular airplane when it is in said close proximity to a receiving transducer means which in turn activates the associated recognition circuit means to operate the visual indicator for causing the display of the identification legend of the particular airplane, said visual legend being located in a position on said display corresponding to the actual position on the ground of the activated receiving transducer means.