Voice-directed aircraft navigation system and direction finder

• US 3,907,223 A
• Filed: 04/25/1974
• Issued: 09/23/1975
• Est. Priority Date: 06/14/1972
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Carl J. Crane
• Original Assignee: Carl J. Crane
• Inventors: Crane, Carl J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Blix, Trygve M.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Kunin, Stephen G.
• Application Number:
  US05/463,957
• Time in Patent Office: 516 Days
• Field of Search: 179/1VC,1VE,100.2 235/150.22 244/77A,77B,77C 340/26 343/5LS,5GC,102,18R,112D,113R
• US Class Current: 244/183
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 1/06 Means for providing multiple indication, e.g. coarse and fine indications

Abstract

A navigation-by-communication system for informing the pilot of an aircraft as to the location of the aircraft along the approach-landing path, and along the runway during the critical period of landing and during take-off, especially during conditions of light and/or weather which prevent outside visual reference to terrestrial or celestial fixes and in which an automatic tracking direction finder is connected through switching means to multiple endless magnetic tape reproducers with selected voice recordings.

Claims

1. In combination with a voice directed aircraft navigation system having a transmitter for lateral guidance of an aircraft during landing and takeoff;

a transmitting means on the aircraft emitting radio signals of selected frequency and for a pre-set time to a direction finder;

means defining a runway center-line course which is taken by the aircraft during approach, landing, and takeoff as a landing runway equipped with a radio localizer transmitter for guiding said aircraft along the extended center-line path of the said runway; and

an aircraft monitoring system for informing the aircraft crew by voice the longitudinal location of the aircraft at preselected intervals along its path to and from the runway as well as along the runway, said monitoring system comprising;

at least one ground based automatic direction finder including a rotating element adjacent the runway for tracking the aircraft by means of radio signals emitted by the aircraft in the approach as well as in the landing path, said automatic direction finder having a receiver tunable to the said selected transmitter frequency of the aircraft transmitting means;

sequential switching means including a photoelectrical switching means connected to the rotating element of said automatic direction finder, which constitutes a rotation element of the direction finder and is provided with means for connecting the Said rotation element of the automatic direction finder to a sequential switch;

a multiple track tape player having preselected tracks, said switching means energizing in succession preselected tracks of said tape player;

voice modulated broadcasting means including interconnected radio transmitter means supplied by the preselected tracks of said multiple track tape player to broadcast to the aircraft receiver of the aircraft being tracked a sound and voice transmission corresponding to the track selector and identifying the position of the aircraft along the center-line course, said voice modulated means broadcasting on a frequency other than that in use by the transmitter of the aircraft, whose input is derived from the output of an associated multiple track tape player;

the sequential switch of said sequential switching means providing means for electrically coupling that particular track of the multiple track tape player which contains the recorded spoken words of aircraft position which corresponds to the instant position of the aircraft being tracked along the said localizer path by the said automatic direction finder and to provide sequential switching to selected tracks of said multiple track tape player so arranged to permit energization of the said selected track of a duration ample to permit the voice broadcast of aircraft position by repetition of words descriptive of the aircraft position;

radio receiver means in the aircraft for receiving each prerecorded voice message in proper sequence from the tape player which is transmitted by the radio transmitter means at the automatic direction finder whereby there is received voice reception identifying positioning movements of the aircraft along the runway extended; and

, audio speaker means connected to the radio receiver means for presenting to the aircraft crew the spoken words generated and broadcast by the said tape player transmitter combination of the said automatic direction finder.