Apparatus and method for aligning an aircraft
First Claim
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1. An apparatus for determining a location for an aircraft relative to an area on the ground, the apparatus comprising:
- an on-board landing system on an aircraft, the on-board landing system configured to identify a location marker on an area of the ground, the location marker configured to reflect a signal from the aircraft back to the aircraft as a reflected signal, wherein the reflected signal contains a unique, reflective code from the location marker and carries the code to the on-board landing system;
wherein the on-board landing system is configured to obtain the unique, reflective code from the reflected signal and use the unique, reflective code to determine a location of the aircraft.
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Abstract
An apparatus for aligning an aircraft with an area on the ground is provided. The apparatus includes an aircraft having an on-board landing system, the on-board landing system configured to record an image of an area on the ground. The apparatus also includes a location marker on the area of the ground, and a stored image showing at least a portion of the area of the recorded image. The on-board landing system is configured to obtain information from the location marker and use the information to align the recorded image with the stored image.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. An apparatus for determining a location for an aircraft relative to an area on the ground, the apparatus comprising:
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an on-board landing system on an aircraft, the on-board landing system configured to identify a location marker on an area of the ground, the location marker configured to reflect a signal from the aircraft back to the aircraft as a reflected signal, wherein the reflected signal contains a unique, reflective code from the location marker and carries the code to the on-board landing system; wherein the on-board landing system is configured to obtain the unique, reflective code from the reflected signal and use the unique, reflective code to determine a location of the aircraft. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A method for determining a location for an aircraft, the apparatus comprising:
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observing an area with a landing system on-board an aircraft to obtain an image of the area; transmitting a signal from the aircraft; receiving a reflected signal at the aircraft, wherein a location marker reflects the signal from the aircraft as the reflected signal and wherein the reflected signal contains a unique, reflective code; obtaining the unique, reflective code from the location marker within the area of the observed image, the code uniquely identifying the location marker; determining a location of the aircraft based on the unique, reflective code. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. An system for aligning an aircraft, the system comprising:
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an airport; and a location marker located near the airport and configured to aid in landing an aircraft, the location marker configured to be recognizable by an on-board landing system of the aircraft, the location marker configured to convey a unique, reflective code to the on-board landing system for use by the on-board landing system in identifying a location for the aircraft, wherein the unique reflective code is conveyed to the aircraft by reflecting a signal from the aircraft, the reflected signal containing the unique, reflective code. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20)
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Specification