Method and apparatus for terrain awareness
DCFirst Claim
1. An apparatus for alerting a pilot of an aircraft of proximity to terrain, the apparatus comprising,an input for receiving signals representative of a position of the aircraft, a flight path angle of the aircraft and a speed of the aircraft, and coupled to a data base of stored terrain information;
- an output;
a signal processing device, coupled to said input, and coupled to said output, for;
(a) defining a look ahead distance as a function of the speed of die aircraft;
(b) defining a first alert envelope, indicative of a first severity of terrain threat, wherein boundaries of said first alert envelope in a first plane are determined as a first function of the fight path angle, said look ahead distance, and a terrain floor boundary;
(c) defining a second alert envelope, indicative of a second severity of terrain threat, wherein boundaries of said second alert envelope in a first plane are determined as a second function of the flight path angle, said look ahead distance and said terrain floor boundary;
(d) defining, in a second plane, lateral boundaries of said first and said second alert envelopes relative to a ground track of the aircraft; and
(e) outputting an alert signal when a subset of the stored terrain information is located within the boundaries of at least one of said first and said second alert envelopes.
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Abstract
A terrain awareness system (TAS) provides LOOK-AHEAD/LOOK-DOWN as well as LOOK-UP terrain advisory and warning indications to the pilot of an aircraft of a hazardous flight condition. The TAS includes an airport data base as well as a terrain data base that is structured to provide various resolutions depending on the topography of the particular geographic area of interest. Navigational data from a satellite-based navigational system, such as a global positioning system (GPS), is used to provide a LOOK-AHEAD/LOOK-DOWN and LOOK-UP terrain advisory and terrain warning indications based upon the current position and projected flight path of the aircraft. Since the terrain advisory and the warning signals are a function of the flight path of the aircraft, nuisance warnings are minimized.
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Citations
16 Claims
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1. An apparatus for alerting a pilot of an aircraft of proximity to terrain, the apparatus comprising,
an input for receiving signals representative of a position of the aircraft, a flight path angle of the aircraft and a speed of the aircraft, and coupled to a data base of stored terrain information; -
an output;
a signal processing device, coupled to said input, and coupled to said output, for;
(a) defining a look ahead distance as a function of the speed of die aircraft;
(b) defining a first alert envelope, indicative of a first severity of terrain threat, wherein boundaries of said first alert envelope in a first plane are determined as a first function of the fight path angle, said look ahead distance, and a terrain floor boundary;
(c) defining a second alert envelope, indicative of a second severity of terrain threat, wherein boundaries of said second alert envelope in a first plane are determined as a second function of the flight path angle, said look ahead distance and said terrain floor boundary;
(d) defining, in a second plane, lateral boundaries of said first and said second alert envelopes relative to a ground track of the aircraft; and
(e) outputting an alert signal when a subset of the stored terrain information is located within the boundaries of at least one of said first and said second alert envelopes. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. An apparatus for alerting a pilot of an aircraft of proximity to terrain, the apparatus comprising:
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an input for receiving signals representative of a position of the aircraft, a flight path angle of the aircraft and a speed of the aircraft, and coupled to a data base of stored terrain information;
an output;
a signal processing device, coupled to said input, and coupled to said output, for;
(a) defining a look ahead distance as a function of the speed of the aircraft, (b) defining a first alert envelope, indicative of a first severity of terrain threat, wherein boundaries of said first alert envelop in a first plane are determined as a first function of the flight path angle, said look ahead distance, and a terrain floor boundary;
(c) defining a second alert envelope, indicative of a second severity of terrain threat, wherein boundaries of said second alert envelope are in a first plane are determined as a second function of the flight path angle, said look ahead distance and said terrain floor boundary;
(d) defining in a second plane, lateral boundaries of said first and said second alert envelopes by defining a first point and a second point port and starboard of the aircraft respectively and projecting a line out from each of said first and said second points at a configurable angle;
(e) outputting an alert signal when a subset of the stored terrain information is located within the boundaries of at least one of said first and said second alert envelopes. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A method for alerting a pilot of an aircraft of proximity to terrain, comprising the steps;
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receiving signals representative of a position of the aircraft, a flight path angle of the aircraft and a speed of the aircraft, and stored terrain information;
defining a look ahead distance as a function of the speed of the aircraft;
defining a first alert envelopes indicative of a first severity of terrain threat, wherein boundaries of said first alert envelope in a first plane are determined as a first function of the flight path angle, said look ahead distance, and a terrain floor boundary;
defining a second alert envelope, indicative of a second severity of terrain threat, wherein boundaries of said second alert envelope in a first plane are determined as a second function of the flight path angle, said look ahead distance and said terrain floor boundary;
defining, in a second plane, lateral boundaries of said first and said second alert envelopes relative to a ground track of the aircraft; and
outputting an alert signal when a subset of the stored terrain information is located within the boundaries of at least one of said first and said second alert envelopes.
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16. A method for alerting a pilot of an aircraft of proximity to terrain comprising the steps of:
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receiving signals representative of a position of the aircraft a flight path angle of the aircraft and a speed of the aircraft, and stored terrain information;
defining a look ahead distance as a function of the speed of the aircraft;
defining a first alert envelope indicative of a first severity of terrain threat, wherein boundaries of said first alert envelope in a first plane are determined as a first function of the flight path angle, said look ahead distance, and a terrain floor boundary;
defining a second alert envelope, indicative of a second severity of terrain threat, wherein boundaries of said second alert envelope are in a first plane are determined as a second function of the flight path angle, said look ahead distance and said terrain floor boundary;
defining, in a second plane, lateral boundaries of said first and said second alert envelopes by defining a first point and a second point port and starboard of the aircraft respectively and projecting a line out from each of said first and said second points at a configurable angle; and
outputting an alert signal when a subset of the stored terrain information is located within the boundaries of at least one of said first and said second alert envelopes.
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Specification