Flight plan intent alert system and method

• US 6,643,580 B1
• Filed: 10/15/1999
• Issued: 11/04/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 10/16/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Universal Avionics Systems Corporation (Elbit Systems Limited)
• Original Assignee: Universal Avionics Systems Corporation (Elbit Systems Limited)
• Inventors: Naimer, Hubert L., Krohn, Patrick G., Glaze, Patrick K.
• Primary Examiner(s): Cuchlinski, Jr., William A.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Hernandez, Olga
• Application Number:
  US09/418,709
• Time in Patent Office: 1,481 Days
• Field of Search: 701/206, 701/9, 701/14, 701/16, 701/36, 701/200, 244/1.R, 340/963, 340/945
• US Class Current: 701/206
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/005 with correlation of navigation data from several sources, e.g. map or contour matching G01C21/30 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0034 Assembly of a flight plan
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0039 Modification of a flight plan
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0086 for monitoring terrain radar or analogous systems specially adapted for terrain avoidance G01S13/935

Abstract

Flight plan information is provided in the form of a series of waypoints having attributes which preferably include, among others, latitude, longitude, altitude constraint, and waypoint identifier. A flight path, defined by this information is modeled, and the flight plan model is checked against terrain information to locate any instances in which a potentially unsafe flight altitude exists. In flight, the flight path model is updated using aircraft position so that the path from the aircraft position to the next waypoint is reflected in the model. In the event that a potentially unsafe flight altitude is detected, an alert may be issued to the flight crew. The crew may then amend the flight plan or take other appropriate action.

Claims

1. An apparatus for determining flight path alerts, comprising;

a processor coupled to the input module wherein the processor checks for occurrence of the specified condition at intervals along each leg of the flight path;

a database coupled to the processor, the database including terrain information said information inclusive of terrain information for locations along one or more flight paths, said flight path including one or more legs, and wherein the flight path information includes two or more way points, the two or more way points defining a leg, and wherein the processor checks each leg for occurrence of the specified condition;

a memory coupled to the processor, the memory including flight plan information, wherein the flight plan information corresponds to one of the one or more flight paths; and

an output device coupled to the processor, the output device providing an alert upon the occurrence or a specified condition, wherein the processor processes the flight information, the terrain information and the flight plan information and generates the alert upon the occurrence of the specified condition.

2. An apparatus for determining flight path alerts, comprising:

a processor coupled to the input module wherein the processor receives flight performance data and generates the maximum allowable horizontal and vertical deviations from the intended flight path;

a database coupled to the processor, the database including terrain information said information inclusive of terrain information for locations along one or more flight paths;

a memory coupled to the processor, the memory including flight plan information, wherein the flight plan information corresponds to one of the one or more flight paths;

a module connected to the processor for receiving flight information and wherein the flight plan information includes information generated based on the flight information; and

an output device coupled to the processor, the output device providing an alert upon the occurrence of a specified condition and comprises a display wherein the processor receives the terrain information and generates a flight path display of the intended flight path, and wherein the processor processes the flight information, the terrain information and the flight plan information and generates the alert upon the occurrence of the specified condition.

3. An apparatus for determining flight path alerts, comprising:

a processor coupled to the input module;

a database coupled to the processor, the database including terrain information said information inclusive of terrain information for locations along one or more flight paths;

a memory coupled to the processor, the memory including flight plan information, wherein the flight plan information corresponds to one of the one or more flight paths;

a module connected to the processor for receiving flight information and wherein the flight plan information includes information generated based on the flight information; and

an output device coupled to the processor, the output device providing an alert upon the occurrence of a specified condition and comprises a display wherein the processor receives the terrain information and generates a flight path display of the intended flight path, and wherein the processor processes the flight information, the terrain information and the flight plan information and generates the alert upon the occurrence of the specified condition wherein the flight path display further comprises a display of terrain between way points.

4. An apparatus for determining flight path alerts, comprising:

a processor coupled to the input module;

a database coupled to the processor, the database including terrain information said information inclusive of terrain information for locations along one or more flight paths;

a memory coupled to the processor, the memory including flight plan information, wherein the flight plan information corresponds to one of the one or more flight paths;

a module connected to the processor for receiving flight information and wherein the flight plan information includes information generated based on the flight information; and

an output device coupled to the processor, the output device providing an alert upon the occurrence of a specified condition and comprises a display wherein the processor receives the terrain information and generates a flight path display of the intended flight path, and wherein the processor processes the flight information, the terrain information and the flight plan information and generates the alert upon the occurrence of the specified condition wherein the flight path display is one of a side view of the flight path and the terrain, a top view of the flight path and the terrain and a perspective view of the flight plan and the terrain.

5. A method of generating flight path intent alerts for an aircraft flight plan comprising the steps of:

receiving way point location data for at least two way points, the way point data comprising data representative of the location of the way point and altitude data associated with the way point;

determining a position of at least one intermediate location between the at least two way points;

retrieving terrain altitude data representative of a terrain altitude associated with the location of each of the at least two way points and the at least one intermediate location;

determining an aircraft altitude data value for said at least one intermediate location;

comparing the aircraft altitude data value for the at least two way points and the intermediate location with the corresponding retrieved terrain altitude data; and

issuing an alert if the aircraft altitude data associated with any of the at least two way points and the intermediate location is indicative of an altitude that is less than the terrain altitude data value for such location.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the way point location data comprises data representative of the latitude and longitude of a way point, and wherein the terrain altitude data is provided in the terrain altitude database for the location corresponding to the center of a plurality of contiguous, generally quadrilateral areas.

7. The method of claim 5 wherein the terrain altitude data is representative of a highest terrain altitude within the one of a series of areas of terrain containing the location of a way point.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the at least one intermediate location comprises a plurality of intermediate locations each of which is contained within one of a series of contiguous areas of terrain and wherein the number of such intermediate locations is greater than or equal to the number of contiguous areas of terrain between the at least two way points.

9. The method of claim 5, wherein the step of determining an aircraft altitude data value comprises receiving a signal representative of aircraft altitude.

10. The method of claim 5, wherein the step of determining an aircraft altitude data value for the at least one intermediate location is accomplished by interpolation of the altitude data associated with the at least two way points.

11. The method of claim 5, wherein the step of issuing an alert further comprises:

(i) displaying graphics representative of the terrain between the at least two way points;

(ii) displaying graphics representative of location and altitude data of each of the at least two way points;

(iii) displaying graphics representative of a plurality of intermediate locations and altitude data associated therewith; and

(iv) displaying a warning graphic proximate to any way point or intermediate location for which the altitude data from the terrain database is greater than an actual or projected aircraft altitude.

12. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

receiving flight performance data, the flight performance data including positional data uncertainty;

computing a horizontal flight path tolerance based on the flight performance data, wherein the horizontal flight path tolerances defines one or more flight path increments;

computing a vertical flight tolerance based on the flight performance data;

checking each of the flight path increments for presence of an aircraft altitude below the terrain altitude data for the increment; and

displaying allowable horizontal and vertical flight path tolerances.

13. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

receiving an updated flight plan;

determining changes between the updated flight plan and the original flight plan;

recomputing the aircraft altitude data value for way points and intermediate points associated with the updated flight plan using corresponding retrieved terrain altitude data; and

issuing an alert if the recomputed aircraft altitude data is indicative of an altitude that is less than the terrain altitude data value for the way points and the intermediate points associated with the updated flight plan.

14. The method of claim 5, wherein the terrain data is included in a terrain data base.

16. The method of claim 14, further comprising determining whether the aircraft in on the ground or in the air.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein when the aircraft is in the air, a current aircraft location comprises a way point, and wherein the aircraft altitude at the current aircraft location is compared to the terrain data.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein when the aircraft is on the ground, the processor compares intended aircraft altitude to the terrain data.

19. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

computing an aircraft altitude tolerance;

computing an aircraft horizontal tolerance; and

checking for occurrence of the specified condition within an area defined by the horizontal tolerance, wherein the altitude tolerance and the horizontal tolerance comprise an allowable deviation from an intended flight path.

20. The method of claim 14, wherein the comparison step is performed before flight.

21. The method of claim 14, wherein the comparison step is performed during flight.

22. The method of claim 14, further comprising displaying a graphical representation of the flight path and terrain associated with the flight path.

23. The method of claim 14, wherein the flight path comprises one or more legs, further comprising:

defining one or more increments for each of the legs; and

comparing the aircraft data to the terrain data at each of the one or more increments.

30. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the flight information is provided by one or more of a flight management system and aircraft instruments.

15. A method for issuing alerts for aircraft maintaining a flight plan, comprising:

receiving flight plan information, wherein the flight plan includes one or more legs, each of the one or more legs defined by two way points;

receiving terrain data for geographic locations along the flight plan, wherein the geographic locations include the way points;

determining flight plan information data, wherein the flight plan data comprises aircraft altitude;

in a processor, comparing the flight plan data to the terrain data; and

issuing an alert when the comparison indicates the occurrence of a specific event, wherein the specific event comprises an aircraft altitude below an altitude based on the terrain data.

24. An apparatus that generates alerts related to an aircraft flight plan, comprising:

an input that receives flight information;

a database that stores terrain information related to the aircraft flight plan, wherein the terrain data includes terrain altitude data; and

a processor that processes the flight information to generate a flight plan for comparison with the terrain information, wherein the flight plan includes one or more legs, each of the one or more legs defined by at least two way points, wherein a way point includes one or more of a fixed geographical location and a current location of the aircraft, and wherein the processor further compares the processed flight information to the terrain information to determine the occurrence of a specified event, and generates an alert upon the occurrence of the specified event.

25. The apparatus of claim 24, wherein the current location of the aircraft includes one of on the ground and in the air.

26. The apparatus of claim 24, wherein the processor divides each leg into one or more increments, and computes an altitude constraint for each way point and for each increment, based on the terrain altitude data.

27. The apparatus of claim 26, wherein the terrain altitude data for a way point is estimated, based on data at a prior and a subsequent way point.

28. The apparatus of claim 24, wherein the flight information includes aircraft position information and aircraft altitude information, and wherein the position information includes aircraft latitude and longitude.

29. The apparatus of claim 28, wherein the specific event includes the aircraft altitude at a value less than an altitude constraint at a way point or at an increment.

32. The method of claim 26, wherein the aircraft geographic location is a projected future location, and wherein a current aircraft location is on the ground.

33. The method of claim 26, wherein the aircraft location is an actual aircraft location, the actual aircraft location being in the air.

34. The method of claim 26, further comprising:

receiving aircraft information indicating an updated flight plan;

comparing the update flight plan to terrain data; and

issuing an alert if aircraft altitude associated with the updated flight plan indicates an altitude that is less than the terrain altitude data value for the aircraft geographic location.

31. A method of generating flight path intent alerts for an aircraft flight plan, comprising:

receiving geographic data related to an aircraft flight plan;

receiving terrain altitude data representative of a terrain altitude associated with two or more points in the aircraft flight plan;

determining an aircraft geographic location and an aircraft altitude data value corresponding to the aircraft geographic location;

comparing the aircraft altitude data value for the at least the two or more points with the corresponding retrieved terrain altitude data; and

issuing an alert if the aircraft altitude data associated with any of the at least two or more points indicates an altitude that is less than the terrain altitude data value for the aircraft geographic location.

35. An apparatus for determining flight plan alerts, wherein a flight plan includes one or more legs, each leg extending between a way point and a successive way point comprising:

a processor coupled to the input module;

a database coupled to the processor, the database including terrain information said information inclusive of terrain information for locations along said flight plan;

a memory coupled to the processor, the memory including flight plan information, wherein the flight plan information corresponds to one of the one or more legs of the flight plan; and

an output device coupled to the processor, the output device providing an alert upon the occurrence of a specified condition, wherein the processor processes the flight information, the terrain information and the flight plan information and generates the alert upon the occurrence of the specified condition.

36. The apparatus of claim 35 further comprising a module connected to the processor for receiving flight information and wherein the flight information is provided by one or more of a flight management system and aircraft sensors.

37. The apparatus of claim 36, wherein the flight information includes aircraft altitude, latitude and longitude.

38. The apparatus of claim 35 further comprising a module connected to the processor for receiving flight information and wherein the flight plan information includes information generated based on the flight information.

39. The apparatus of claim 35, wherein a flight plan includes one or more legs, wherein the flight plan information includes two or more way points, the two or more way points defining a leg, and wherein the processor checks each leg for occurrence of the specified condition.

40. The apparatus of claim 39, wherein a way point is defined as one or more of a fixed geographical location and a current aircraft location, the current aircraft location including one of on the ground and in the air.

41. The apparatus of claim 39, wherein the specified condition comprises a minimum altitude, wherein each of the two or more way points comprises terrain information including altitude information and wherein each way point includes an altitude constraint corresponding to the minimum altitude.

42. The apparatus of claim 39, wherein the specified condition comprises a minimum altitude, wherein one or more way points does not include an altitude constraint, and wherein the processor determines an altitude constraint based on one or more of a prior altitude constraint and an interpolation of a prior altitude constraint and a future altitude constraint.

43. The apparatus of claim 39, wherein the processor checks for occurrence of the specified condition at intervals along each leg of the flight plan.

44. The apparatus of claim 35, wherein the output device comprises a display and wherein the processor displays at least a portion of the flight plan.

45. The apparatus of claim 41, wherein the processor receives flight performance data and generates maximum allowable horizontal and vertical deviations from the flight plan based thereon.

46. The apparatus of claim 44, wherein the flight path display further comprises a display of terrain between way points, said flight path display being one of a side view of the flight path and the terrain, a top view of the flight path and the terrain and a perspective view of the flight path and the terrain.

47. The apparatus of claim 35, wherein the terrain data includes latitude and longitude data, and altitude data representative of the maximum altitude within a geographic area surrounding a latitude and longitude whose data are included in the terrain data.

48. The apparatus of claim 35, wherein the alert is provided as one or more of a text alert, an audible alert, including a tone or a voice alert, a light signal, and an image.

49. A method of generating flight plan alerts for an aircraft flight plan comprising the steps of:

receiving way point location data for at least two way points, the way point data comprising data representative of the location of the way point and altitude data associated with the way point;

determining a position of at least one intermediate location between the at least two way points;

retrieving terrain altitude data representative of a terrain altitude associated with the location of each of the at least two way points and the at least one intermediate location;

determining a flight plan altitude data value for said at least one intermediate location;

comparing the flight plan altitude data value for the at least two way points and the intermediate location with the corresponding retrieved terrain altitude data; and

issuing an alert if the flight plan altitude data associated with any of the at least two way points and the intermediate location is indicative of an altitude that is less than the sum of a vertical tolerance and the terrain altitude data value for such location.

50. The method of claim 49, wherein the way point location data comprises data representative of the latitude and longitude of a way point, and wherein the terrain altitude data is provided in the terrain altitude database for each of the locations.

51. The method of claim 50, wherein the at least one intermediate location comprises a plurality of intermediate locations each of which is contained within one of a series of contiguous areas of terrain and wherein the number of such intermediate locations is greater than or equal to the number of contiguous areas of terrain between the at least two way points.

52. The method of claim 49, wherein one of said waypoints is the location of the aircraft, and wherein the flight plan altitude data value is based on aircraft altitude.

53. The method of claim 49 wherein the step of determining a flight plan altitude data value for the at least one intermediate location is accomplished by interpolation of the altitude data associated with the at least two way points.

54. The method of claim 49, wherein the step of issuing an alert further comprises:

displaying graphics representative of the terrain between the at least two way points;

displaying graphics representative of location and altitude data of each of the at least two way points;

displaying graphics representative of a plurality of intermediate locations and altitude data associated therewith; and

displaying a warning graphic proximate to any way point or intermediate location for which the altitude data is less than the terrain database exceeds a threshold value calculated based on the flight plan altitude.

55. The method of claim 49 further comprising:

receiving flight performance data, the flight performance data including positional data uncertainty;

computing a horizontal flight plan tolerance based on the flight performance data, wherein the horizontal flight plan tolerances defines one or more flight path increments;

computing a vertical flight tolerance based on the flight performance data;

checking each of the flight plan increments for presence of a flight plan altitude within the vertical flight tolerance of the terrain altitude data for the increment; and

displaying allowable horizontal and vertical flight path tolerances.

56. The method of claim 49, further comprising:

receiving an updated flight plan;

determining changes between the updated flight plan and the original flight plan;

recomputing the aircraft altitude data value for way points and intermediate points associated with the updated flight plan using corresponding retrieved terrain altitude data; and

issuing an alert if the recomputed aircraft altitude data is indicative of an altitude that is less than the terrain altitude data value for the way points and the intermediate points associated with the updated flight plan.