Method for conducting a moving vehicle along a trajectory of a coordinated maneuver based on state information broadcast by other vehicles participating in the coordinated maneuver
First Claim
1. A method for conducting a moving vehicle along a trajectory of a coordinated maneuver being executed by the moving vehicle and at least one other moving vehicle, the method comprising the steps of:
- providing the moving vehicle and the at least one other moving vehicle with a set of coordinated maneuver control parameters, said set of coordinated maneuver control parameters governing the coordinated maneuver; and
at the moving vehicle;
(a) determining a vehicle state of the moving vehicle from at least one state indicating signal;
(b) calculating a projected maneuver for the moving vehicle from said vehicle state;
(c) receiving an other-vehicle data set from each of the at least one other moving vehicle, said other-vehicle data set including a vehicle state and a projected maneuver of the corresponding other moving vehicle, said other-vehicle data set being broadcast from said each of the at least one other moving vehicle;
(d) calculating a projected coordinated maneuver based upon said projected maneuver of the moving vehicle and said other vehicle data set from each of the at least one other vehicle, said projected coordinated maneuver being constrained by said coordinated maneuver control parameters;
(e) adjusting said projected maneuver of the moving vehicle so that a trajectory prescribed thereby is as prescribed by said projected coordinated maneuver;
(f) adjusting said vehicle state of the moving vehicle so as to conduct the moving vehicle along said trajectory prescribed by said projected maneuver;
(g) broadcasting a vehicle data set of the moving vehicle, said vehicle data set including said vehicle state and said projected maneuver of the moving vehicle;
(h) performing an exit procedure if the moving vehicle is to exit the coordinated maneuver; and
(i) repeating the method at step (a) if the moving vehicle is to continue participation in the coordinated maneuver.
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Abstract
A method for coordinating numerous vehicles within a common maneuver is characterized by receiving, at a moving vehicle, state and projected maneuver information of other vehicles participating in the maneuver via a broadcast link and utilizing the information to control the trajectory of the moving vehicle based on predicted paths of all participating vehicles for future times for which the maneuver is to be conducted. For simple maneuvers, such as flight-deck based self-spacing of aircraft in a runway approach, the method allows each participating vehicle to virtually perform the coordinated maneuver by predictive simulation using current state data to determine if corrective measures need be undertaken, or, if the predicted maneuver shows that it would complete as planned, maintaining its current trajectory. This affords vehicle operators the freedom to perform other duties, as the operators are alerted only when a change in state is necessitated. In the runway approach problem, the state changes are primarily in a change of speed and the choice of a simple, stepped speed profile reduces the amount of speed control that must be attended to by aircraft flight crews, allows for fuel efficient flight profiles within constraints of solving the spacing problem, and allows for higher runway throughput as compared with the prior art.
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Citations
53 Claims
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1. A method for conducting a moving vehicle along a trajectory of a coordinated maneuver being executed by the moving vehicle and at least one other moving vehicle, the method comprising the steps of:
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providing the moving vehicle and the at least one other moving vehicle with a set of coordinated maneuver control parameters, said set of coordinated maneuver control parameters governing the coordinated maneuver; and
at the moving vehicle;
(a) determining a vehicle state of the moving vehicle from at least one state indicating signal;
(b) calculating a projected maneuver for the moving vehicle from said vehicle state;
(c) receiving an other-vehicle data set from each of the at least one other moving vehicle, said other-vehicle data set including a vehicle state and a projected maneuver of the corresponding other moving vehicle, said other-vehicle data set being broadcast from said each of the at least one other moving vehicle;
(d) calculating a projected coordinated maneuver based upon said projected maneuver of the moving vehicle and said other vehicle data set from each of the at least one other vehicle, said projected coordinated maneuver being constrained by said coordinated maneuver control parameters;
(e) adjusting said projected maneuver of the moving vehicle so that a trajectory prescribed thereby is as prescribed by said projected coordinated maneuver;
(f) adjusting said vehicle state of the moving vehicle so as to conduct the moving vehicle along said trajectory prescribed by said projected maneuver;
(g) broadcasting a vehicle data set of the moving vehicle, said vehicle data set including said vehicle state and said projected maneuver of the moving vehicle;
(h) performing an exit procedure if the moving vehicle is to exit the coordinated maneuver; and
(i) repeating the method at step (a) if the moving vehicle is to continue participation in the coordinated maneuver. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A method for conducting an aircraft along a trajectory of a coordinated maneuver being executed by the aircraft and at least one other aircraft, the method comprising the steps of:
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providing the aircraft and the at least one other aircraft with a set of coordinated maneuver control parameters, said set of coordinated maneuver control parameters governing the coordinated maneuver; and
at the aircraft;
(j) determining a state of the aircraft from at least one state indicating signal;
(k) calculating a projected maneuver for the aircraft from at least said state of the aircraft;
(l) receiving an other-aircraft data set from each of the at least one other aircraft, said other-aircraft data set including a vehicle state and a projected maneuver of the corresponding other aircraft, said other-aircraft data set being broadcast from said each of the at least one other aircraft;
(m) calculating a projected coordinated maneuver based upon said other-aircraft data set from each of the at least one other aircraft, said projected coordinated maneuver being constrained by said coordinated maneuver control parameters;
(n) adjusting said projected maneuver for the aircraft as necessary so that a trajectory prescribed thereby is as prescribed by said projected coordinated maneuver;
(o) adjusting said state of the aircraft so as to conduct the aircraft along said trajectory prescribed by said projected coordinated maneuver;
(p) broadcasting a data set of the aircraft including at least one of said state and said projected maneuver of the aircraft, said projected maneuver of the aircraft being included in said data set of the aircraft if said projected maneuver was adjusted in step (n);
(q) performing an exit procedure if the aircraft is in an exit condition; and
(r) repeating the method at step (j) if the aircraft is to continue participation in the coordinated maneuver. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36)
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37. A method for conducting an aircraft through a final approach maneuver at a runway of an airport, the aircraft being designated an own-ship and trailing in runway approach order another aircraft designated as a lead-ship, the own-ship and the lead-ship being aligned with the runway so as to land at a region beyond a terminating runway threshold, the method comprising the steps of:
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(s) initializing an own-ship planned speed profile based upon an own-ship state;
(t) evaluating either of an exit condition or an emergency condition and performing an exit procedure or an emergency exit procedure, respectively, in response thereto;
(u) receiving a lead-ship information set including a lead-ship state and a projected lead-ship range-to-threshold function operating on units of time as an independent variable;
(v) calculating a projected own-ship range-to-threshold function operating on units of time as an independent variable;
(w) adjusting said own-ship state so that a revised own-ship speed profile based thereon indicates that the own-ship is projected to cross the runway threshold within constraints set by at least one control parameter;
(x) setting said own-ship planned speed profile to said revised own-ship speed profile;
(y) broadcasting an own-ship information set, said own-ship information set including said own-ship state and said projected own-ship range-to-threshold function, said projected own-ship range-to-threshold function being broadcast only if said revised own-ship speed profile differed from said own-ship planned speed profile prior to setting said own-ship planned speed profile to said revised own-ship speed profile in step (x); and
(z) repeating the method at step (t). - View Dependent Claims (38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53)
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Specification