Wireless assisted recovery systems and methods

• US 7,633,410 B2
• Filed: 10/28/2005
• Issued: 12/15/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 02/19/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
• Original Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
• Inventors: Poe, John J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Mehmood; Jennifer
• Application Number:
  US11/163,744
• Publication Number:
  US 20060038720A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,509 Days
• Field of Search: 244/75.1, 244/76.R, 244174-197, 244/78.1, 244/78.2, 244 79- 82, 244/76.A, 244/76.B, 244/76.C, 244/76.J, 244/181, 701 3- 18, 701300-302, 701/1, 701/2, 340945-983, 342 29- 40, 342410-413
• US Class Current: 340/963
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0061 for transition from automatic pilot to manual pilot and vice versa
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0676 specially adapted for landing
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0021 located in the aircraft
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0052 for cruising combined instruments indicating more than one navigational value G01C23/00
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0086 for monitoring terrain radar or analogous systems specially adapted for terrain avoidance G01S13/935

Abstract

Systems and methods for assisted recovery. An example method receives at least one of a directional or pitch command signal. Localizer or glide slope signals are generated based on the received signal. The localizer or glide slope signals are wirelessly transmitted via a predefined frequency over a transmitter and received at receivers of a navigation system. The vehicle is controlled based on the received signals. A proximity warning device generates an alert when the aircraft is within an alert distance from at least one of terrain, obstacle or special use airspace and an assisted recovery component generates the directional and pitch command signals based on the generated alert and a time delay.

Claims

1. A method performed on a vehicle for assisted recovery, the method comprising:

receiving at least one of a directional or pitch command signal at an assisted recovery component included in the vehicle;

generating at least one of a localizer or glide slope signal based on the received signal at the assisted recovery component and one of a localizer or glide slope signal generator;

generating at the assisted recovery component a tuning signal;

sending the generated tuning signal to an Instrument Landing System (ILS) and the localizer or glide slope signal generators;

wirelessly transmitting the at least one localizer or glide slope signal from the localizer or glide slope signal generators to the ILS based on the sent tuning signal;

at the ILS, generating at least one localizer or glide slope signal based on the wirelessly transmitted at least one localizer or glide slope signal;

controlling the vehicle based on the ILS generated localizer or glide slope signal,

wherein the at least one of directional or pitch command signals are generated by the assisted recovery component based on a proximity alert and a time delay.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

displaying vehicle position relative to the ILS generated localizer or glide slope signal.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the vehicle includes at least one of an aircraft, a surface vehicle, or a subsurface vehicle.

4. A vehicle comprising:

a proximity warning device configured to generate an alert when the vehicle is within an alert distance from at least one of terrain, obstacle or special use space;

an assisted recovery component configured to generate directional or pitch command signals based on the generated alert, generate a tuning signal and send the tuning signal over a databus;

one or more generators configured to receive at least one of the directional or pitch command signals and the tuning signal, generate at least one of a localizer or glide slope signal based on the received directional or pitch command signals, and wirelessly transmit the generated at least one localizer or glide slope signal based on the tuning signal;

an Instrument Landing System (ILS) configured to receive the tuning signal, receive the wirelessly transmitted localizer or glide slope signal based on the tuning signal and generate at least one localizer or glide slope signal based on the wirelessly transmitted localizer or glide slope signal;

a controller configured to control the vehicle based on the localizer or glide slope signal generated by the ILS.

5. The vehicle of claim 4, further comprising:

a display configured to present vehicle position relative to a flight path or glide slope based on the ILS generated localizer or glide slope signal.

6. The vehicle of claim 4, wherein the vehicle includes at least one of an aircraft, a surface vehicle, or a subsurface vehicle.