System and method for alerting a user of an aircraft of a possible entrance into a selected airspace

• US 7,818,099 B2
• Filed: 08/24/2006
• Issued: 10/19/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 08/24/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
• Original Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
• Inventors: Kemp, Lance A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Beaulieu; Yonel
• Application Number:
  US11/509,118
• Publication Number:
  US 20080051947A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,517 Days
• Field of Search: 701/3, 701/14, 340/945, 340/961, 340963-965, 731/78.R, 342/29, 342/36
• US Class Current: 701/3
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 45/0015 Devices specially adapted for the protection against criminal attack, e.g. anti-hijacking systems
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 45/0031 means for overriding or restricting access to flight controls
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 45/0059 by communicating emergency situations to ground control or between crew members
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 23/005 Flight directors indicating arrangements specially adapted for rotary gyroscopes G01C19/32
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/006 in accordance with predefined flight zones, e.g. to avoid prohibited zones

Abstract

A system and method for an aircraft alerts a user of the aircraft of a possible entrance into a selected airspace. A flight path of an aircraft and locations of a plurality of selected airspaces are stored on at least one storage medium. A processor is in operable communication with the at least one storage device and configured to compare the flight path of the aircraft to the locations of the plurality of selected airspaces and provide an alert signal if the flight path calls for the aircraft to operate within a pre-selected distance of at least one of the plurality of selected airspaces.

Claims

1. An avionics system comprising:

at least one storage device having a flight path of an aircraft and locations of a plurality of selected airspaces stored thereon, wherein the flight path comprises at least one of a latitude and longitude of the aircraft, a heading of the aircraft, and an altitude of the aircraft and the locations of the plurality of selected airspaces comprise for each selected airspace at least one of a latitude and longitude and an altitude, the at least one storage device comprises a Flight Management System (FMS), and the plurality of selected airspaces comprise at least one of an airspace defined by a user and an airspace defined by an aviation regulatory authority; and

a processor in operable communication with the at least one storage device, the processor being configured to;

compare the flight path of the aircraft to the locations of the plurality of selected airspaces; and

provide an alert signal if the flight path calls for the aircraft to enter at least one of the plurality of selected airspaces;

wherein said providing of the alert signal occurs when a current heading of the aircraft does not intersect a nearest one of the plurality of selected airspaces.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein said providing of the alert signal occurs when the aircraft is not in flight.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein at least some of the plurality of selected airspaces are at least one of a Flight Information Region (FIR), an Upper Flight Information Region (UIR), and a Military Operating Area (MOA).

4. The system of claim 3, further comprising a visual display device in operable communication with the processor to receive the alert signal and generate a visual indication of the alert signal, the visual indication comprising at least one of a color-coded message and a text message.

5. The system of claim 4, further comprising an audio device in operable communication with the processor to receive the alert signal and generate an audio indication of the alert signal.

6. An avionics system comprising:

a Flight Management System (FMS) having a flight path of an aircraft stored thereon;

a computer-readable medium in operable communication with the FMS having locations of a plurality of selected airspaces stored thereon;

a processor in operable communication with the FMS and the computer-readable medium, the processor being configured to;

compare the flight path of the aircraft to the locations of the plurality of selected airspaces; and

provide an alert signal if the flight path calls for the aircraft enter at least one of the plurality of selected airspaces,

wherein said providing of the alert signal occurs when at least one of a current heading of the aircraft does not intersect a nearest one of the plurality of selected airspaces and the aircraft is not in flight; and

at least one of a visual display device in operable communication with the processor to receive the alert signal and generate a visual indication of the alert signal and an audio device in operable communication with the processor to receive the alert signal and generate an audio indication of the alert signal.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the at least one of a visual display device and an audio device comprises the visual display device and wherein the visual indication comprises at least one of a color-coded message and a text message.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the visual display device is connected to the FMS.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein at least some of the plurality of selected airspaces are at least one of a Flight Information Region (FIR), an Upper Flight Information Region (UIR), and a Military Operating Area (MOA).

10. A method for alerting a user of an aircraft of a possible entrance into a selected airspace comprising:

loading a flight path onto a Flight Management System (FMS) onboard the aircraft, wherein the flight path comprises at least one of latitude and longitude of the aircraft, a heading of the aircraft, and an altitude of the aircraft;

comparing the flight path to locations of a plurality of selected airspaces stored on a computer-readable medium in operable communication with the FMS, wherein the locations of the plurality of selected airspaces comprises at least one of the latitude and longitude of the selected airspaces and an altitude of the selected airspaces; and

alerting the user of the aircraft if the flight path calls for the aircraft to intersect one or more of the plurality of selected airspaces,

wherein said alerting of the user occurs when at least one of a current heading of the aircraft does not intersect a nearest one of the plurality of selected airspaces and the aircraft is not in flight.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the plurality of airspaces comprises at least one of an airspace defined by the user and an airspace defined by an aviation regulatory authority.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein said alerting of the user comprises providing at least one of a visual indication and an audio indication to the user of the aircraft.