Aircraft collision avoidance system

• US 6,909,381 B2
• Filed: 02/21/2001
• Issued: 06/21/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 02/12/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Leonard Richard Kahn
• Original Assignee: Leonard Richard Kahn
• Inventors: Kahn, Leonard Richard
• Primary Examiner(s): Lee, Benjamin C.
• Application Number:
  US09/790,103
• Publication Number:
  US 20030025614A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,581 Days
• Field of Search: 340/988, 340/961, 340/996, 340/506, 340/980, 340/815.4, 340/945, 701/200, 701/301, 702/150, 348/61, 348/39, 348/82, 348/148, 348/143, 348144-147, 359/630, 359/430, 359/399, 359/400, 359/407, 345/7
• US Class Current: 340/945
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0021 located in the aircraft
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0078 for monitoring traffic from the aircraft radar or analogous systems specially adapted for traffic control G01S13/91

Abstract

An aircraft collision avoidance system utilizing video signals of the air space surrounding the aircraft for determining whether an object, such as another aircraft, is too close. Use is made of various types of monitors to display the on coming object and its location relative to the protected aircraft. An audio alarm is provided for alerting the pilot of the danger as well as providing localization information. Video recordings store information for accident and near miss studies. The video signals can also be used for the entertainment of airline passengers. One preferred embodiment of the invention permits ground based experts to point out interesting objects that are visible due to the improved view provided passengers.

Claims

1. A system for avoiding collisions and recording near miss events and also providing improved vision of the ground for passengers comprising:

(a) one or more optical lenses feeding one or more video cameras, said lens or lenses located so as to “

see”

at least a substantial part of the space surrounding the aircraft permitting the viewing of other aircraft and other objects close enough to the protected aircraft to represent a potential hazard,

(b) a monitoring system connected to the video signals generated by the (a) video camera(s), said monitor system arranged so as to cause potentially hazardous objects to appear at a location where the pilot would expect the object would collide with the protected aircraft,

(c) circuitry also driven by the signal derived from the (a) cameras for sensing the presence of dangerous objects that are perceived to present a hazardous situation, and

(d) audio circuitry driven by the (c) sensing circuitry for producing an alarm sound whenever an object is close enough to the protected aircraft to require evasive actions is sensed, said alarm sound projected by a surround sound system so as to cause the sound to be perceived by the aircraft'"'"'s pilot to be at a location where the dangerous object can be seen by the pilot on the monitor system,

(e) a video recorder connected to the (a) optical/video system and controlled by the (c) sensing circuitry so as to record the signals fed to the two monitors, and

(f) passenger monitoring equipment fed by at least some of the video signals generated by the (a) video cameras, said passenger monitoring equipment arranged so as to permit the viewing of landmarks from individual passenger seats.

2. An entertainment and education system permitting passengers to view celestial bodies and landmarks comprising:

(a) one or more optical lenses feeding one or more video cameras, said lens or lenses located so as to “

see”

at least a substantial part of the ground below and the sky above the aircraft permitting the viewing of stars, planets and other celestial bodies as well as buildings and other landmarks that passengers might find interesting,

(b) a monitoring system connected to the video signals generated by the (a) one or more cameras, said monitoring system arranged so as to view such objects from individual passenger seats, and

(c) pressure sensors, upon which passengers sit, for detecting the direction passengers turn their heads to view monitors that display the celestial bodies and landmarks that they may find interesting.

3. Equipment for entertaining and educating airline passengers permitting ground-based experts to describe points of interest to the airline passengers in the sky including transmission facilities to transmit the coordinates of one or more celestial bodies visible on the aircraft permitting an expert'"'"'s terrestrial sky charts to be lined up with the passengers'"'"' view of the sky.

4. Equipment for entertaining and educating airline passengers by providing communications between passengers on the aircraft and ground-based experts permitting said experts to describe points of interest on the ground or in the sky to the passenger;

including, transmission facilities to transmit the coordinates of celestial bodies or ground sites as displayed on the aircraft monitors that provides the required information to line up the maps and sky charts used by the experts with the passengers'"'"' monitors and facilities to permit passengers to transmit monitor coordinate information to the expert thereby permitting passengers to point to specific celestial bodies and ground sites during lectures.

5. Equipment, including video monitors, for entertaining and educating airline passengers by communicating between aircraft passengers and one or more ground based experts who offer information to passengers regarding points of interest on the ground or in the sky, including facilities to transmit monitor coordinate information thus allowing the expert(s) to direct passengers to a specific location on the ground or in the sky.

6. Equipment for entertaining and educating airline passengers that permits ground based experts to lecture and answer passenger questions, such experts includes at least one of professional and amateur astronomers, wherein equipment is provided for sensing the direction towards which an airline passenger is looking connected to a communications channel to transmit that sensed direction information to a location where it can be viewed by said ground based experts.