Minimum safe altitude system and method
First Claim
1. An aircraft navigation system operating independently of all other aircraft systems comprising:
- an aircraft data source consisting of a global positioning receiver adapted to provide real time longitude, latitude, altitude, heading, velocity, and time data;
a minimum safe altitude database for a collection of cells, wherein each cell represents a geographic area of the earth, and wherein the database is updated at least every 56 days;
an alphanumeric display; and
a processor adapted to calculate the minimum safe altitude within a cell corresponding to the real time latitude and longitude of the aircraft and one or more adjacent cells, wherein the processor is connected to and controls the display to indicate the real time numeric minimum safe altitude.
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Abstract
The invention provides an aircraft navigation system and method of aiding aerial navigation, comprising a global positioning receiver adapted to provide real time longitude, latitude, altitude, heading, velocity, and time data; a minimum safe altitude database for a collection of cells, wherein. each cell represents a geographic area of the earth; an alphanumeric display; and a processor adapted to calculate the minimum safe altitude within a cell corresponding to the real time latitude and longitude of the aircraft and one or more adjacent cells, wherein the processor is connected to and controls the display to indicate the current and projected numeric minimum safe altitude.
39 Citations
15 Claims
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1. An aircraft navigation system operating independently of all other aircraft systems comprising:
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an aircraft data source consisting of a global positioning receiver adapted to provide real time longitude, latitude, altitude, heading, velocity, and time data;
a minimum safe altitude database for a collection of cells, wherein each cell represents a geographic area of the earth, and wherein the database is updated at least every 56 days;
an alphanumeric display; and
a processor adapted to calculate the minimum safe altitude within a cell corresponding to the real time latitude and longitude of the aircraft and one or more adjacent cells, wherein the processor is connected to and controls the display to indicate the real time numeric minimum safe altitude. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. Method of aiding aerial navigation comprising:
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providing a database of minimum safe altitudes for a collection of cells, wherein each cell represents a geographic area of the earth, and wherein the database is updated at least every 56 days;
providing an aircraft with a global positioning receiver as the sole source of data for calculating aircraft position using real time longitude, latitude, altitude, heading, velocity, and time data;
providing an alphanumeric display; and
using the data from the global positioning receiver and the minimum safe altitude data from the database to calculate and display in numeric form on the alphanumeric display the real time minimum safe altitude. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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Specification