Method and apparatus for guiding an aircraft through a cluster of hazardous areas

• US 6,744,382 B1
• Filed: 04/19/2002
• Issued: 06/01/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 04/19/2002
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Rockwell Collins, Inc. (Raytheon Technologies Corporation d/b/a RTX)
• Original Assignee: Rockwell Collins, Inc. (Raytheon Technologies Corporation d/b/a RTX)
• Inventors: Walling, Karen L., Kronfeld, Kevin M., Lapis, Mary Beth
• Primary Examiner(s): TONG, NINA C
• Application Number:
  US10/126,803
• Time in Patent Office: 774 Days
• Field of Search: 340/971, 340/963, 701/200, 702/3, 702/4, 702/5, 342/26, 324/72
• US Class Current: 340/971
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 23/005 Flight directors indicating arrangements specially adapted for rotary gyroscopes G01C19/32

Abstract

An apparatus and method for displaying weather and other hazard information to a pilot with additional content which helps a pilot avoid no-fly-zones and to prepare a new flight path through a group of widely scattered thunderstorms. The display shows a no-fly-zone around the storm and the no-fly-zone is depicted differently, depending upon variables, such as distance from the aircraft, velocity of the storm being tracked and others.

Claims

1. An avionics system comprising:

a display showing a plurality of dynamic hazards disposed around a central point depicting a current location of an aircraft, where increased distance on the display corresponds to increased separation between a dynamic hazard and the aircraft; and

,

a line drawn around each of said plurality of dynamic hazards to create a no-fly-zone;

WHEREBY, a flight crew member on said aircraft can readily see areas which are to be avoided.

2. An avionics system of claim 1 wherein said line is drawn such as to represent a no-fly-zone which is at least large enough to include airspace within a predetermined minimum safe separation distance from a dynamic hazard.

3. An avionics system of claim 2 wherein each of said plurality of dynamic hazards is a storm cell, and said predetermined minimum safe separation distance is nominally 20 NM.

4. An avionics system of claim 2 wherein said plurality of dynamic hazards are weather-related hazards and further comprising:

additional graphic representation providing information relating to a predicted future contour of a tracked storm cell.

5. An avionics system of claim 4 wherein said additional graphic representation is predicted future no-fly-zone.

6. An avionics system of claim 5 wherein said predicted future no-fly-zone is disposed around a predicted future contour of said tracked storm cell.

7. An avionics system of claim 2 wherein a size characteristic of said no-fly-zone is determined by a separation distance between a tracked storm cell and a location of the aircraft.

8. An avionics system of claim 7 further comprising a displayed vector depicting predicted future movement of said tracked storm cell.

9. An avionics system of claim 8 wherein a length characteristic of said displayed vector represents a speed characteristic of said tracked storm cell.

10. An avionics system of claim 9 further including a display of an automated deviated flight path which avoids said tracked storm cell.

11. A method of assisting a pilot with navigating an aircraft through a plurality of dynamic hazards, the method comprising the steps of:

providing a map display of weather information;

providing a display of a zone line drawn around a dynamic hazard, where the zone line represents airspace within a predetermined distance of said dynamic hazard.

12. A method of claim 11 wherein said dynamic hazard is a contoured region within a storm.

13. A method of claim 12 wherein said contoured region is tracked to predict a future location.

14. A method of claim 13 further including the step of providing a future zone line disposed about said predicted future location.

15. A method of claim 12 wherein said storm cell is a tracked storm cell having a predicted future velocity.

16. A method of claim 15 wherein said predetermined distance is variable and is, at least in part, related to a radial distance from said tracked storm cell to said aircraft.

17. A method of claim 16 further comprising the step of:

providing a display of a velocity vector of said tracked storm cell, where a length characteristic of said velocity vector corresponds to a relative speed characteristic between said aircraft and said tracked storm cell.

18. A method of claim 17 further comprising the steps of:

automatically generating an alternate flight path of said aircraft in response to said tracked storm cell and automatically flying said aircraft along said alternate flight path.

19. A method of claim 17 wherein said step of providing a display of a zone line is performed at a location other than on said aircraft;

and said aircraft is an unmanned aerial vehicle.

20. A system comprising:

means for providing and processing weather information;

means for displaying said weather information on-board an aircraft;

wherein said means for providing and processing weather information being configured to determine a no-fly-zone around a tracked storm cell;

wherein said no-fly-zone is sized, shaped, located and oriented in response to a size characteristic of said tracked storm cell, a velocity characteristic of said tracked storm cell, and a separation distance between said tracked storm cell and said aircraft; and

,

means for generating an alternate flight path of said aircraft in response to said tracked storm cell.