Weather radar system and method using data from a lightning sensor

• US 7,515,087 B1
• Filed: 03/07/2006
• Issued: 04/07/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 03/07/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• 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: Woodell, Daniel L., Kronfeld, Kevin M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Gregory; Bernarr E
• Application Number:
  US11/370,085
• Time in Patent Office: 1,127 Days
• Field of Search: 342 26 R- 26 D, 342 52- 58, 342/175, 342/195, 342176-181, 342/198, 342/450, 342/451, 342/460, 342463-465, 342/182, 702 1- 4, 324/72, 324/72.5, 731/701.6, 731/702.4
• US Class Current: 342/26.00B
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/86 Combinations of radar systems with non-radar systems, e.g. sonar, direction finder
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/953 mounted on aircraft
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/22 Producing cursor lines and indicia by electronic means
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/403 in azimuth, i.e. in the horizontal plane
• CPC Class Codes: G01W 1/02 Instruments for indicating weather conditions by measuring two or more variables, e.g. humidity, pressure, temperature, cloud cover or wind speed G01W1/10 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: Y02A 90/10 Information and communication technologies [ICT] supporting adaptation to climate change, e.g. for weather forecasting or climate simulation

Abstract

A weather radar system or method can be utilized to determine a location of a weather hazard for an aircraft. The weather radar system can utilize processing electronics coupled to an antenna. The processing electronics can determine presence of the hazard in response to data related to returns received by the weather radar antenna and data from a lightning sensor. The system can include a display for showing the hazard and its location.

Claims

1. A weather radar processing system for use on an aircraft having a radar antenna for receiving radar returns and radar electronics, comprising:

a first input for receiving lightning detection data;

a second input for receiving weather radar data from the radar electronics; and

processing electronics for determining a presence of a hazardous region, the processing electronics receiving the weather radar data from the second input and the lightning detection data from the first input, the weather radar data being related to the radar returns received at the radar antenna, the processing electronics determining a position and size of the hazardous region in response to the weather radar data and the lightning detection data;

wherein the processing electronics commands the radar electronics to perform queuing in response to detection of a convective cell;

wherein the processing electronics utilizes a reflectivity parameter and a spectral width parameter to determine the position and size.

2. The weather radar processing system of claim 1, wherein the processing electronics determines a direction to the hazardous region from the lightning detection data.

3. The weather radar processing system of claim 1, wherein the processing electronics determines the position and the size from the lightning detection data correlated with the radar returns.

4. The weather radar processing system of claim 1, wherein the lightning detection data includes radar lightning flash history data and the processing electronics determines the position and size from the radar lightning data flash rate history or lightning data flash rate history correlated with the radar returns.

5. The weather radar processing system of claim 1, wherein the processing electronics causes the weather radar system to analyze regions in a search area of the weather radar system in response to the position.

6. The weather radar processing system of claim 1, wherein the processing electronics causes the weather radar system to provide a weather radar beam to the position in response to the lightning detection data.

7. The weather radar processing system of claim 1, further comprising a display, wherein a convective cell in the hazardous region is indicated on the display.

8. The weather radar processing system of claim 7, wherein lightning is indicated on the display.

9. The weather radar processing system of claim 1, wherein the weather radar system performs queuing in response to detection of a convective cell.

10. The weather radar processing system of claim 1, further comprising:

an on-board lightning sensor coupled to the first input.

11. A method of displaying an indication of a hazardous region on an aircraft display in an avionic system, the method comprising:

receiving lightning sensor data;

receiving radar returns;

providing the indication on the aircraft display using the radar returns and the lightning sensor data, wherein a size and position of the hazardous region is determined on-board using the lightning sensor data and the radar returns, a reflectivity parameter, and a spectral width parameter; and

commanding radar electronics on the aircraft to perform queuing in response to detection of a convective cell.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

directing at least one radar beam to a location derived from the lightning sensor data.

13. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

calculating an azimuth bias.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein the indication is a textual symbol or color on a weather radar display.

15. The method of claim 11, wherein the hazard is a region including a convective cell.

16. The method of claim 11, wherein the radar returns are at least one of:

multi-scan radar returns and volumetric scanning radar returns.

17. A system for mounting on-board an aircraft and for determining a presence of a hazard for the aircraft, comprising:

a processor communicably coupled to a computer readable medium, the computer readable medium comprising;

means for determining an area of cells from weather radar returns;

means for determining a presence of lightning;

means for displaying the hazard on a display in response to the presence of lightning and the area of cells;

means for utilizing a reflectivity parameter and a spectral width parameter to determine a position and size of the hazard; and

means for commanding radar electronics on the aircraft to perform queuing in response to detection of a convective cell.

18. The system of claim 17, further comprising:

means for calculating azimuth bias based upon data derived from the means for determining a location and the means for determining a presence.

19. The system of claim 17, wherein the means for determining a presence and the means for determining an area of cells are implemented as software and wherein the hazard is displayed on a special hazard screen of a weather radar display.