System and method to assist in the braking of an aircraft on a landing runway

• US 8,515,601 B2
• Filed: 08/02/2010
• Issued: 08/20/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 01/03/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Thales SA
• Original Assignee: Thales SA
• Inventors: Hugues, Meunier
• Primary Examiner(s): Jen, Ian
• Application Number:
  US12/848,413
• Publication Number:
  US 20100299004A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,114 Days
• Field of Search: 701/16, 701/70
• US Class Current: 701/16
• CPC Class Codes: B64C 25/426 Braking devices providing an automatic sequence of braking
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0083 to help an aircraft pilot in the rolling phase
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/065 Navigation or guidance aids, e.g. for taxiing or rolling

Abstract

A system includes a means of acquiring the position of the aircraft on the runway and its speed in the taxiing phase, a means of storing data concerning the runway and a predefined deceleration law, a function for calculating the distance that the aircraft will have traveled on the runway when it has reached a certain speed and/or the speed that it will have reached when it has traveled a certain distance: the calculated distance makes it possible to adapt the braking by comparison with the distance remaining to reach the end of the runway; the calculated distance makes it possible to adapt the braking by comparison with the distance remaining to reach the end of the runway; the calculated speed makes it possible to adapt the braking by comparison with the maximum speed to take the exit.

Claims

1. A method to assist in adjusting a braking intensity of an aircraft on a landing runway comprising the steps of:

recovering data concerning a runway where the aircraft is landing, including points characterizing an end of said runway, a length of said runway and exit points of said runway;

determining an axis of said runway;

acquiring a position of the aircraft on the runway and a speed of the aircraft in a taxiing phase;

calculating a stopping distance that the aircraft will have traveled on the runway when the aircraft has reached a zero speed, taking into account for calculating only the speed component along the axis of the runway and assuming for calculating that the speed of the aircraft decrease according to a predefined time function;

displaying to a pilot a graphical representation of said runway, said end points and said exit points of said runway, said aircraft position on said runway and said calculating stopping distance,

wherein a difference between the displayed stopping distance and the displayed end and exit points of the runway providing guidance to the pilot to increase or decrease the braking intensity.

2. The method to assist in adjusting the braking intensity of an aircraft on a landing runway as claimed in claim 1, wherein the speed is calculated assuming that the speed of the aircraft decreases according to a time-dependent function only.

3. The method to assist in adjusting the braking intensity of an aircraft on a landing runway as claimed in claim 2, wherein the speed is calculated assuming that the speed of the aircraft decreases according to a linear time function.

4. The method to assist in adjusting the braking intensity of an aircraft on a landing runway as claimed in claim 1, wherein the speed is calculated assuming that the speed of the aircraft decreases according to a function depending on time and on other variables characterizing an instantaneous braking quality given a state of the runway or of the aircraft and being estimated when taxiing on this runway.

5. The method to assist in adjusting the braking intensity of an aircraft on a landing runway as claimed in claim 1, wherein the axis of the runway is determined by extraction from an airport database containing a position of thresholds and of the end point of the runway or containing a geographic orientation of the runway.

6. The method to assist in adjusting the braking intensity of an aircraft on a landing runway as claimed in claim 1, wherein the axis of the runway is obtained by calculation based on coordinates of notable points of the runway on which the aircraft is.

7. The method to assist in adjusting the braking intensity of an aircraft on a landing runway as claimed in claim 1, wherein the axis of the runway is supplied by on-board systems.

8. A system to assist in adjusting the braking intensity of an aircraft on a landing runway comprising:

a means of acquiring the position of the aircraft on the runway and its speed in the taxiing phase;

a means of storing data concerning the runway where the aircraft is landing including end point, length, exit points, and a predefined deceleration law;

a function for calculating the stopping distance that the aircraft will have traveled on the runway, the speed being calculated assuming that the speed of the aircraft decreases according to the deceleration law wherein the speed is calculated by taking into account only the speed component along the axis of the runway;

a display module for displaying a graphical representation of said runway including said end of said runway, said exit points, said position of said aircraft on said runway and said stopping distance,

wherein the position characterizing a runway start or end point and the length of the runway are stored in the storage means and the stopping distance is calculated by the calculation function, a difference between the displayed stopping distance and the displayed end and exit points of the runway providing guidance to the pilot to increase or decrease the braking intensity.

9. The system to assist in adjusting the braking intensity of an aircraft on a landing runway as claimed in claim 8, comprising an audible alert module raising an alert if the stopping distance of the aircraft is greater than a distance remaining to reach the end point of the runway or if no exit can be reached at a speed less than or equal to its maximum exit speed.

10. The system to assist in adjusting the braking intensity of an aircraft on a landing runway as claimed in claim 8, comprising a visual alert module raising an alert if the stopping distance of the aircraft is greater than a distance remaining to reach the end point of the runway or if no exit can be reached at a speed less than or equal to its maximum exit speed.

11. The system to assist in adjusting the braking intensity of an aircraft on a landing runway as claimed in claim 8, wherein a tendency to shorten or lengthen the stopping distance of the aircraft is graphically displayed.

12. The system to assist in adjusting the braking intensity of an aircraft on a landing runway as claimed in claim 8, wherein a graphical representation of an exit already passed is different from a graphical representation of an exit not yet passed.

13. The system to assist in adjusting the braking intensity of an aircraft on a landing runway as claimed in claim 8, wherein only exits not yet passed are graphically represented.

14. The system to assist in adjusting the braking intensity of an aircraft on a landing runway as claimed in claim 13, wherein only exits that can be reached at a speed less than their maximum exit speed are graphically represented.

15. The system to assist in adjusting the braking intensity of an aircraft on a landing runway as claimed in claim 8, wherein graphical representation of exits that can be reached at a speed less than or equal to their maximum exit speed is different from a graphical representation of the exits that cannot be reached at a speed less than or equal to their maximum exit speed.

16. The system to assist in adjusting the braking intensity of an aircraft on a landing runway as claimed in claim 8, wherein a moving graphical representation of the stopping distance do not jerk about.

17. The system to assist in adjusting the braking intensity of an aircraft on a landing runway as claimed in claim 8, wherein a fixed graphical representation of exits that can be reached or not at a speed less than or equal to their maximum exit speed do not blink.