Runway lighting system
First Claim
1. An improved runway lighting system, comprising:
- a first set of lamps for providing illumination in a first direction along the runway;
a second set of lamps for providing illumination in a second direction along the runway;
a plurality of fixtures for receiving lamps, wherein one lamp from said first set of lamps and one lamp from said second set of lamps are housed in a single fixture;
means for switching on either said first set of lamps or said second set of lamps as determined by the direction of landing of incoming aircraft or of departing aircraft;
means for controlling said switching means;
a transmission wire electrically connecting said switching means to said controlling means, wherein said controlling means transmits a control pulse to said switching means over the transmission wire.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An improved runway lighting system comprises a first set of runway lights providing illumination in one direction along the runway, a second set of runway lights providing illumination in the opposite direction along the runway and a switching unit for switching on either the first set of lights or the second set of lights, depending on the direction of approach of incoming aircraft. A control unit provides current pulses along existing runway circuitry to operate the switching unit. Circuitry in the switching unit determines which set of lights to illuminate based upon the amplitude and duration of the current pulse. A selector switch may also be provided in the control tower to remotely operate the control unit.
31 Citations
20 Claims
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1. An improved runway lighting system, comprising:
- a first set of lamps for providing illumination in a first direction along the runway;
a second set of lamps for providing illumination in a second direction along the runway; a plurality of fixtures for receiving lamps, wherein one lamp from said first set of lamps and one lamp from said second set of lamps are housed in a single fixture; means for switching on either said first set of lamps or said second set of lamps as determined by the direction of landing of incoming aircraft or of departing aircraft; means for controlling said switching means; a transmission wire electrically connecting said switching means to said controlling means, wherein said controlling means transmits a control pulse to said switching means over the transmission wire. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
- a first set of lamps for providing illumination in a first direction along the runway;
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11. An improved runway lighting system for an airport runway, comprising:
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a plurality of lighting fixtures, each lighting fixture including means for providing illumination in at least two directions, wherein each direction of illumination corresponds to an approach to the runway; means for regulating electrical energy; means for communicating electrical energy from the regulating means to each lighting fixture; means for selecting the direction of illumination of said illumination means as determined by the direction of landing of incoming aircraft or of departing aircraft; means responsive to said selecting means for encoding the selected direction in the electrical energy communicated from said regulating means to said lighting fixtures; and means at each said lighting fixture for decoding the electrical energy and illuminating said illumination means in the direction selected. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. An improved runway lighting system for installation on an existing runway lighting system, wherein the existing runway lighting system includes a plurality of runway lamps connected by a series runway transmission line, an intensity selector switch for controlling the intensity of the runway lamps, and a regulator for receiving a signal from the intensity selective switch and providing a variable output to the runway lamps, said variable output being transmitted on the series runway transmission line, comprising:
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a first set of lamps for providing illumination in a first direction along the runway; a second set of lamps for providing illumination in a second direction along the runway;
a plurality of fixtures for receiving lamps, wherein one lamp from said first set of lamps and one lamp from said second set of lamps are housed in a single fixture;means for switching on either said first set of lamps or said second set of lamps as determined by the direction of landing of incoming aircraft or of departing aircraft, said means for switching being connected electrically to said series runway transmission line and receiving the variable output from said regulator; and means for controlling said switching means, said means for controlling electrically connected to said regulator for controlling the output of said regulator.
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Specification