Systems and methods for supplemental weather information presentation on a display

• US 7,817,078 B2
• Filed: 02/29/2008
• Issued: 10/19/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 02/29/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
• Original Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
• Inventors: Bunch, Brian
• Primary Examiner(s): Tarcza; Thomas H
• Assistant Examiner(s): Brainard; Timothy A
• Application Number:
  US12/040,784
• Publication Number:
  US 20090219197A1
• Time in Patent Office: 963 Days
• Field of Search: 340/945
• US Class Current: 342/26.00B
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/95 for meteorological use
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/003 Transmission of data between radar, sonar or lidar systems and remote stations
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/06 Cathode-ray tube displays or other two dimensional or three-dimensional displays
• 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: G01W 1/08 Adaptations of balloons, missiles, or aircraft for meteorological purposes; Radiosondes transmission of measurements G01D; transmitting circuits H04B; balloons in general B64B; aeroplanes in general B64D; missiles in general F42B15/00
• 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

An embodiment of the supplemental weather display system presents supplemental weather information on a display in a craft. An exemplary embodiment receives the supplemental weather information from a remote source, determines a location of the supplemental weather information relative to the craft, receives weather information from an on-board radar system, and integrates the supplemental weather information with the weather information received from the on-board radar system.

Claims

1. A method for presenting supplemental weather information on a display in a craft, the method comprising:

receiving, at the craft, the supplemental weather information from a remote source;

determining, at the craft, a location of the supplemental weather information relative to the craft;

receiving weather information from an on-board radar system residing on the craft; and

integrating, at the craft, the supplemental weather information with the weather information received from the on-board radar system,

wherein the characteristic of the supplemental weather information is an altitude of the supplemental weather information, wherein the characteristic of the craft is an altitude of the craft,

wherein the supplemental weather information is integrated with the weather information received from the on-board radar system in response to determining that the altitude of the supplemental weather information is within a threshold of the altitude of the craft, and

wherein the supplemental weather information is excluded from the weather information received from the on-board radar system in response to determining that the altitude of the supplemental weather information is outside of the threshold of the altitude of the craft.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein integrating the supplemental weather information comprises:

replacing a portion of the weather information received from the on-board radar system with a portion of an icon corresponding to the supplemental weather information.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein a location of the portion of the icon corresponds to the determined location of the supplemental weather information with respect to the craft.

4. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

displaying a portion of the icon and the weather information received from the on-board radar system on the display.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the remote source is a ground station.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the remote source is a remote aircraft.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining if the supplemental weather information is within a range of the on-board radar system such that the supplemental weather information is integrated with the weather information when the supplemental weather information is within the range of the on-board radar system.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

comparing at least one characteristic of the supplemental weather information with at least one characteristic of the craft;

determining if, based on the characteristic of the supplemental weather information, the supplemental weather information will impact performance of the craft; and

integrating the supplemental weather information with the weather information received from the on-board radar system in response to determining that the supplemental weather information will impact performance of the craft.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the supplemental weather information is turbulence detected by a remote aircraft, wherein a characteristic of the turbulence is a strength of the turbulence, and wherein the at least one characteristic of the craft is a weight of the craft.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the threshold comprises an upper threshold and a lower threshold, and wherein the supplemental weather information is integrated with the weather information received from the on-board radar system in response to determining that the altitude of the supplemental weather information is between the upper threshold and the lower threshold.

11. A system residing on a craft for presenting supplemental weather information and detected weather phenomena, comprising:

an on-board radar system operable to detect weather phenomena in a vicinity of the craft and operable to generate weather information corresponding to the detected weather phenomena;

a transceiver residing on the craft, operable to receive the supplemental weather information from a remote source;

a processor system residing on the craft, communicatively coupled to the on-board radar system and the transceiver, and operable to integrate the weather information and the supplemental weather information; and

a display residing on the craft, communicatively coupled to the processor system, and operable to display the integrated weather information and supplemental weather information,

wherein the characteristic of the supplemental weather information is an altitude of the supplemental weather information, wherein the characteristic of the craft is an altitude of the craft,

wherein the supplemental weather information is integrated with the weather information received from the on-board radar system in response to determining that the altitude of the supplemental weather information is within a threshold of the altitude of the craft, and

wherein the supplemental weather information is excluded from the weather information received from the on-board radar system in response to determining that the altitude of the supplemental weather information is outside of the threshold of the altitude of the craft.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the supplemental information is a turbulence and pilots report (TAPS) generated by a remote aircraft.

13. The system of claim 11, wherein the processor system is further operable to:

replace a portion of the weather information received from the radar system with a portion of an icon corresponding to the supplemental weather information,

wherein a location of the portion of the icon corresponds to a determined location of the supplemental weather information with respect to the craft.

14. The system of claim 11, wherein the processor system is further operable to:

determine if the supplemental weather information is within a range of the on-board radar system such that the supplemental weather information is integrated with the weather information when the supplemental weather information is within the range of the on-board radar system.

15. The system of claim 11, wherein the processing system is further operable to:

compare at least one characteristic of the supplemental weather information with at least one characteristic of the craft;

determine if, based on the characteristic of the supplemental weather information, the supplemental weather information will impact performance of the craft; and

integrate the supplemental weather information with the weather information received from the on-board radar system in response to determining that the supplemental weather information will impact performance of the craft.

16. An apparatus residing on a craft for presenting supplemental weather information and weather information detected by an on-board radar system, comprising:

an input interface residing on the craft communicatively coupled to the on-board radar system and operable to receive the detected weather information from the on-board radar system, and communicatively coupled to a communication management unit that receives the supplemental weather information from a source that is remote to the craft;

a processor system residing on the craft communicatively coupled to the input interface, and operable to integrate the weather information and the supplemental weather information; and

a display residing on the craft communicatively coupled to the processor system and operable to display the integrated weather information and supplemental weather information,

wherein the characteristic of the supplemental weather information is an altitude of the supplemental weather information, wherein the characteristic of the craft is an altitude of the craft,

wherein the supplemental weather information is integrated with the weather information received from the on-board radar system in response to determining that the altitude of the supplemental weather information is within a threshold of the altitude of the craft, and

wherein the supplemental weather information is excluded from the weather information received from the on-board radar system in response to determining that the altitude of the supplemental weather information is outside of the threshold of the altitude of the craft.

17. The apparatus of claim 16, further comprising:

a user interface communicatively coupled to the processor system and operable to receive a user selection to enable the integration of the weather information and the supplemental weather information.

18. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the input interface, the processor system and the display reside in an electronic flight bag.

19. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the input interface, the processor system and the display reside in a navigational display system.