Aircraft collision avoidance system
First Claim
1. An aircraft collision avoidance system in which a plurality of aircraft are equipped with radio communication systems, each such communication system comprising:
- message receiving and transmitting means;
data processing means coupled to the transmitting means for generating plural-data-content interrogation messages in accordance with a first selected format and for generating reply messages in accordance with a second selected format;
said data processing means further including means for decoding a received interrogation message according to said first format and means for initiating generation of a reply message thereto in said second format if and only if the data decoded from said received interrogation message indicates proximity of the interrogating aircraft to the receiving aircraft within preselected limits;
wherein said first and second formats comprise brief initiation and termination pulses spaced apart by a time duration of silence corresponding to the data content of the message.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A communication system particularly adapted for use in an aircraft collision avoidance system wherein the transmitted portions of messages exchanged between aircraft consist of pulses or pairs of pulses at the beginning and end of a message. The data or information content of a message is defined by the time duration between start and end pulses, an interval during which the sender'"'"'s transmitter is off. Thus the media is clear for other aircraft to use during the major portion of any message, thereby greatly increasing the number of aircraft which can be accommodated by the system without overloading the communication medium. The system provides for determining the presence of other aircraft in the near vicinity which may be a collision threat and for sending intent messages to threat aircraft to assist in collision avoidance.
46 Citations
39 Claims
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1. An aircraft collision avoidance system in which a plurality of aircraft are equipped with radio communication systems, each such communication system comprising:
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message receiving and transmitting means; data processing means coupled to the transmitting means for generating plural-data-content interrogation messages in accordance with a first selected format and for generating reply messages in accordance with a second selected format; said data processing means further including means for decoding a received interrogation message according to said first format and means for initiating generation of a reply message thereto in said second format if and only if the data decoded from said received interrogation message indicates proximity of the interrogating aircraft to the receiving aircraft within preselected limits; wherein said first and second formats comprise brief initiation and termination pulses spaced apart by a time duration of silence corresponding to the data content of the message. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A data processor for periodically generating interrogation messages for transmission over a common medium which is shared by messages from other sources and for generating reply messages to received interrogation messages, the data processor comprising:
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means for generating interrogation messages having a first start pulse configuration and a first termination pulse configuration which are capable of identifying interrogation messages, the time duration between the first start and termination pulse configurations establishing the information content of the message; means for generating a replay message having a second start pulse configuration and a second termination pulse configuration in reply to a received interrogation message, said second configurations being capable of identifying reply messages, the time duration between the second start and termination pulse configurations establishing the information content of the reply message; means for determining the type of received message; means for decoding the respective types of received message to determine the information content thereof; and means for initiating the generation of a reply message upon the decoding of a received interrogation message. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 39)
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30. The method of generating a message for transmission via a shared medium comprising:
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generating a start pulse to indicate the beginning of the message; generating a termination pulse to indicate the end of the message; and controlling the spacing between the start pulse and the termination pulse in accordance with the information content of the message. - View Dependent Claims (31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38)
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Specification