Ground proximity warning system geographic area determination
First Claim
1. A method for determining the geographic location of a vehicle relative to predetermined geographic areas comprising the steps of:
- storing data representative of predetermined longitudes and latitudes;
monitoring the present longitude and latitude of the vehicle;
successively comparing one of the present longitude or latitude with respective longitude or latitude representative data to define one of a longitude or latitude band in which the vehicle is located;
after said one of said longitude or latitutde bands has been defined, successively comparing the other of the present longitude or latitude with respective stored longitude or latitude representative data within the defined band, to define the other of the longitude or latitude bands in which the vehicle is located, the intersection of said latitude band said longitude band defining a zone;
retrieving stored data representative of a predetermined region in said zone;
retrieving stored data representative of a predetermined area in said region; and
comparing the present longitude and latitude of said vehicle with the retrieved data to determine if the vehicle is located in a region or in an area.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A ground proximity warning system utilizes geographic position data to alter the warning criteria as is required by the terrain features of particular geographic areas. To determine whether the aircraft is within a particular geographic area, the world is subdivided into latitude bands that are in turn subdivided into non-overlapping zones by predetermined lines of longitude, with the position of each zone being defined by the latitude and longitude coordinates of one of its corners. The zones are further defined by regions which may overlap other zones. The regions are limited in size, and their positions are also defined by the locations of one of their corners. The regions are further subdivided into one or more geographic areas that are defined by their shapes and locations within the region. Inputs from the navigational system of the aircraft are used successively to determine whether the aircraft is in a particular latitude band, zone, region and area, and adjustments to the warning criteria are made to optimize the performance of the warning system for the area in which the aircraft is flying. A "snapshot" is made over known territory to verify the validity of the barometric altitude signal before any modification to the warning criteria is made.
90 Citations
43 Claims
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1. A method for determining the geographic location of a vehicle relative to predetermined geographic areas comprising the steps of:
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storing data representative of predetermined longitudes and latitudes; monitoring the present longitude and latitude of the vehicle; successively comparing one of the present longitude or latitude with respective longitude or latitude representative data to define one of a longitude or latitude band in which the vehicle is located; after said one of said longitude or latitutde bands has been defined, successively comparing the other of the present longitude or latitude with respective stored longitude or latitude representative data within the defined band, to define the other of the longitude or latitude bands in which the vehicle is located, the intersection of said latitude band said longitude band defining a zone; retrieving stored data representative of a predetermined region in said zone; retrieving stored data representative of a predetermined area in said region; and comparing the present longitude and latitude of said vehicle with the retrieved data to determine if the vehicle is located in a region or in an area. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A system for determining whether a vehicle is located in a predetermined area comprising:
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means for monitoring the present longitude and latitude of the vehicle; means for storing data representative of predetermined latitudes, and for storing data representative of predetermined longitudes; means responsive to signals representative of the present longitude and latitude of the vehicle for successively comparing one of the present longitude or latitude with said respective stored longitude or latitude representative data to define one of a longitude or latitude band in which the vehicle is located; after said one of said longitude or latitude bands has been defined successively comapring the other of the present longitude or latitude with said respective stored longitude or latitude representative data within the defined band to define the other of the longitude or latitude band in which the vehicle is located; means responsive to said comparisons for defining a zone within which the vehicle is located, said zone being defined by the intersection of said latitude band and said longitude band; means for storing data representative of regions and areas within said zones; and means for comparing the present latitude and the present longitude with the region and area representative data, and providing an indication when said vehicle is within a region or an area. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A ground proximity warning system for aircraft comprising:
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means responsive to predetermined flight conditions of the aircraft for generating a warning in the event of a hazardous flight condition according to a predetermined set of criteria; means for altering the predetermined set of criteria whenever the aircraft is in a predetermined geographic area; means for monitoring the present longitude and latitude of the aircraft; means for storing data representative of predetermined longitudes and latitudes; means for determining whether the aircraft is in the predetermined area, said determining means including means for successively comparing one of the present longitude or latitude with the respective stored longitude or latitude representative data defining one of a longitude band or a latitude band in which the vehicle is located;
after said one of said longitude or latitude bands has been defined, successively comparing the other of the present longitude or latitude with respective stored longitude or latitude representative data within the defined band to define the other of the longitude or latitude bands in which the vehicle is located;
said latitude band and said longitude band defining a zone;
said system further including means for defining an area within said zone and means for determining whether said aircraft is within said area. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43)
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Specification