Distress beacon, process and device for monitoring distress signals, and vehicle on which such a device is installed

• US 6,943,700 B2
• Filed: 02/27/2003
• Issued: 09/13/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 03/01/2002
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Airbus Operations SAS (Airbus SE)
• Original Assignee: Airbus France
• Inventors: Ceccom, René, Pichavant, Claude
• Primary Examiner(s): SWARTHOUT, BRENT
• Application Number:
  US10/376,523
• Publication Number:
  US 20030164769A1
• Time in Patent Office: 929 Days
• Field of Search: 340/945, 340/963, 340/970, 340/981, 340/971, 701/3, 701/9, 701/14
• US Class Current: 340/981
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0231 Emergency, distress or locator beacons

Abstract

This invention relates to a distress beacon comprising at least one transmitter stage (22) connected to an antenna, and one receiver stage (21) locked onto a distress frequency connected to the said antenna (25), and a detection module connected to the output of this receiver stage (21) capable of activating a signal in order to indicate an alarm.

This invention also relates to a device for implementing this process.

Claims

1. Distress beacon installed onboard a vehicle comprising a plurality of VHF transceivers, said beacon comprising:

a transmitter stage, which transmits a distress signal when said beacon is activated;

a receiver stage for continuous listening of a distress frequency; and

a diplexer connected to said transmitter stage and to said receiver stage for connecting one of these stages to an antenna, said receiver stage being connected to a computer in the vehicle, which activates a discrete signal and triggers an alarm to vehicle crew members when a distress signal is received by the receiver stage on said distress frequency, and which communicates with a tuning device of said VHF transceivers, when an alarm is triggered in order to preselect said distress frequency on this tuning device such that when vehicle crew members want to listen to said distress frequency, they have only to validate the distress frequency on one of said VHF receivers.

2. Beacon according to claim 1, further comprising an amplifier placed between the transmitter stage and the diplexer.

3. Device for reception and processing of a distress signal that uses such a distress beacon according to claim 1, capable of receiving signals of the same frequency as its transmission frequency.

4. Use of a device according to claim 3 in a vehicle.

5. Method for reception of a distress signal on a distress frequency by a receiver stage of a vehicle which comprises a plurality of VHF transceivers, wherein a distress beacon, capable of transmitting a distress signal when it is activated, is installed onboard said vehicle and wherein said beacon comprises said receiver stage and a detection module connected to the output of said receiver stage, said method comprising:

continuous listening of the distress frequency using said receiver stage;

detection by the detection module of the reception of a distress signal on the distress frequency;

activating a discrete signal when such a distress signal is received;

signaling an alarm to vehicle crew members;

communicating with a tuning device of said VHF transceivers, when an alarm is signaled in order to preselect said distress frequency on this tuning device; and

validating by the vehicle crew members of this distress frequency on one of said VHF receivers.

6. Method according to claim 5, in which this discrete signal is sent to a processing device that outputs visual or audio information to the vehicle crew members.

7. Method according to claim 6, in which acknowledgement of this information by the vehicle crew members inhibits the alarm but it is not transmitted to the detection module which maintains the indication that a distress signal has been received as long as the power of this signal remains greater than a predetermined threshold value.

8. Method according to claim 5, in which the vehicle is an aircraft and an alarm can only be triggered if the altitude of the aircraft is greater than a predetermined threshold value.

9. Method according to claim 5, in which the alarm is not triggered unless a signal is received on the distress frequency for a period exceeding a predetermined threshold value.