Emergency flight plan

• US 7,729,817 B2
• Filed: 04/19/2007
• Issued: 06/01/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 04/20/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Saab AB
• Original Assignee: Saab AB
• Inventors: Petrini, Erik, Duranti, Simone
• Primary Examiner(s): ARTHUR JEANGLAUDE, GERTRUDE
• Application Number:
  US11/785,674
• Publication Number:
  US 20080167763A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,139 Days
• Field of Search: 701/11, 701/23, 701/14, 701/30, 701/32, 701/206, 701/209, 340/945, 340/947, 340/952
• US Class Current: 701/11
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/105 specially adapted for unpowered flight, e.g. glider, parachuting, forced landing parachutes per se B64D17/00

Abstract

An emergency flight plan useable for an aircraft provided with a navigation system wherein the flight plan includes a pointer matrix including a number of cells. Each cell of the matrix has a unique identification and each cell corresponds to a geographical area, and wherein each cell of the matrix includes an identification of a cell corresponding to a next waypoint in an emergency route.

Claims

1. An emergency flight plan useable for an aircraft provided with a navigation system, said flight plan comprising:

a pointer matrix comprising a number of cells wherein each cell of said matrix has a unique identification and each cell corresponds to a geographical area, and wherein each cell of said matrix comprises an identification of a cell corresponding to a next waypoint in an emergency route.

2. The emergency flight plan according to claim 1, wherein the emergency route terminates in a cell corresponding to a termination point.

3. The emergency flight plan according to claim 2, wherein the emergency route comprises at least one cell corresponding to an intermediate waypoint in order to avoid that the emergency route passes through cells that are not allowable to fly through.

4. The emergency flight plan according to claim 1, wherein the pointer matrix is of 2-dimensional structure.

5. The emergency flight plan according to claim 1, wherein the pointer matrix is of 3-dimensional structure.

6. A method for preparing an emergency flight plan for an aircraft, the method comprising:

dividing a map of a geographical area into a grid forming cells;

indicating identification of each cell;

selecting termination points in an area of interest; and

determining pointers of each cell that points to a cell using the indicating identification in order to set up an emergency route wherein all the pointers form said pointer matrix.

7. The method for preparing an emergency flight plan according to claim 6, further comprising:

selecting and marking cells where the aircraft is not allowed or able to move through.

8. The method for preparing an emergency flight plan according to claim 7, wherein determining pointers comprises avoiding pointing to a cell that would cause the aircraft to fly over cells that are marked as unallowable or unable to move through.

9. The method for preparing an emergency flight plan according to claim 6, wherein determining pointers includes determining pointers that point directly to a termination point.

10. A method for emergency flight control of an aircraft, the method comprising:

receiving an indication that a failure has occurred in the aircraft;

determining a position of the aircraft in a geographical area, wherein said area is divided in a grid forming cells in which each is identified by a cell ID;

determining the cell ID of the aircraft based on the position of the aircraft;

retrieving from said cell ID of the aircraft a pointer where to direct the aircraft from said pointer matrix that corresponds to the grid of said area; and

directing the aircraft to the cell ID that the pointer indicated.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein comparing the cell ID in order to receive a pointer, the pointer comprises a chain of cell IDs forming the emergency route.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein directing the aircraft comprises directing the aircraft according to the chain of cell IDs sequentially.

13. The method according to claim 10, further comprising:

terminating the aircraft when the aircraft has arrived at the cell being a termination point.

14. The method according to claim 10, wherein the pointer matrix is configured in beforehand and bases its pointers on the geographical area and wherein the pointers either point to a termination point or a intermediate point.

15. The method according to claim 10, further comprising:

selecting a matrix of pointers based on indications on what failure has occurred in the aircraft.

16. The method according to claim 10, wherein the grid structure of the area of interest is two-dimensional.

17. The method according to claim 10, wherein the grid structure of the area of interest is three-dimensional.

18. An emergency travel plan useable for a vehicle provided with a navigation system, the travel plan comprising:

a pointer matrix comprising a number of cells wherein each cell of said matrix has a unique identification and each cell corresponds to a geographical area, and wherein each cell of said matrix comprises an identification of a cell corresponding to a next waypoint in an emergency route.