Methods and systems for avoiding a collision between an aircraft on a ground surface and an obstacle
First Claim
1. A method for avoiding a collision between an aircraft on a ground surface and an obstacle, the aircraft comprising a fuselage, wings, a vertical stabilizer and a horizontal stabilizer, the method comprising:
- receiving, at a processor onboard an aircraft, a detection signal from one of a plurality of proximity sensors comprising first proximity sensors disposed on the wings of the aircraft and a second proximity sensor disposed on at least one of the vertical stabilizer or the horizontal stabilizer, wherein the detection signal indicates that the obstacle has been detected by a particular proximity sensor that transmitted the detection signal;
receiving, at the processor onboard the aircraft, a plurality of video image signals each being generated by a particular one of a plurality of video imagers each being disposed at various different locations on the aircraft and each being associated with at least one of the proximity sensors, wherein the video imagers comprise first video imagers disposed on the wings of the aircraft and a second video imager disposed on at least one of the vertical stabilizer or the horizontal stabilizer;
transmitting only one particular video image signal of the plurality of video image signals from the processor to a display in the cockpit of the aircraft in response to receiving the detection signal, wherein the one particular video image signal corresponds to a particular one of the video imagers that is associated with the particular proximity sensor that detected the obstacle;
displaying a video image on the display corresponding to the one particular video image signal, wherein the video image is of a particular region around the aircraft that includes the obstacle; and
transmitting, from the processor in response to receiving the detection signal, an alert signal to an element in a cockpit of the aircraft, and a brake activation signal to automatically activate a braking system to prevent the aircraft from colliding with the obstacle.
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Abstract
The disclosed embodiments relate to methods and systems for avoiding a collision between an obstacle and a vehicle, such as an aircraft, on a ground surface. A processor receives a detection signal from one of a plurality of proximity sensors. The detection signal indicates that the obstacle has been detected. In response to receiving the detection signal, a video image signal is transmitted from the processor to a display in the cockpit of the aircraft. The video image signal corresponds to a particular video imager that is associated with the particular proximity sensor that detected the obstacle. A video image, of a particular region around the aircraft that includes the obstacle is displayed on a display. In response to receiving the detection signal, the processor can also transmit an alert signal, and a brake activation signal to activate a braking system to prevent the aircraft from colliding with the obstacle.
41 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method for avoiding a collision between an aircraft on a ground surface and an obstacle, the aircraft comprising a fuselage, wings, a vertical stabilizer and a horizontal stabilizer, the method comprising:
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receiving, at a processor onboard an aircraft, a detection signal from one of a plurality of proximity sensors comprising first proximity sensors disposed on the wings of the aircraft and a second proximity sensor disposed on at least one of the vertical stabilizer or the horizontal stabilizer, wherein the detection signal indicates that the obstacle has been detected by a particular proximity sensor that transmitted the detection signal; receiving, at the processor onboard the aircraft, a plurality of video image signals each being generated by a particular one of a plurality of video imagers each being disposed at various different locations on the aircraft and each being associated with at least one of the proximity sensors, wherein the video imagers comprise first video imagers disposed on the wings of the aircraft and a second video imager disposed on at least one of the vertical stabilizer or the horizontal stabilizer; transmitting only one particular video image signal of the plurality of video image signals from the processor to a display in the cockpit of the aircraft in response to receiving the detection signal, wherein the one particular video image signal corresponds to a particular one of the video imagers that is associated with the particular proximity sensor that detected the obstacle; displaying a video image on the display corresponding to the one particular video image signal, wherein the video image is of a particular region around the aircraft that includes the obstacle; and transmitting, from the processor in response to receiving the detection signal, an alert signal to an element in a cockpit of the aircraft, and a brake activation signal to automatically activate a braking system to prevent the aircraft from colliding with the obstacle. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A collision avoidance system for an aircraft comprising a fuselage, wings, a vertical stabilizer and a horizontal stabilizer, the system comprising:
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a plurality of proximity sensors mounted at a plurality of extremity portions of the aircraft, the plurality of proximity sensors comprising first proximity sensors disposed on the wings of the aircraft and a second proximity sensor disposed on at least one of the vertical stabilizer or the horizontal stabilizer, the proximity sensors each being configured to detect presence of obstacles in proximity to the aircraft, and to transmit a detection signal when an obstacle is detected; a plurality of video imagers mounted at the plurality of extremity portions of the aircraft, each of the video imagers each being configured to acquire video images of different regions around the aircraft that correspond to that particular one of the video imagers and generate a video image signal corresponding to video images acquired by that particular video imager, wherein the video imagers comprise first video imagers disposed on the wings of the aircraft and a second video imager disposed on at least one of the vertical stabilizer or the horizontal stabilizer; a first display in a cockpit of the aircraft; and an onboard computer that is communicatively coupled to the plurality of proximity sensors and the plurality of video imagers, and operatively coupled to the first display, the onboard computer comprising; a processor that is configured to; receive a plurality of video image signals each being generated by a particular one of a plurality of video imagers each being disposed at various different locations on the aircraft and each being associated with at least one of the proximity sensors; transmit, in response to receiving a detection signal from one of the plurality of proximity sensors, an alert signal to an element in the cockpit, and only one particular video image signal to the first display, wherein the one particular video image signal corresponds to a particular one of the video imagers that is associated with the particular proximity sensor that detected the obstacle, wherein the first display is configured to display a video image corresponding to the one particular video image signal, wherein the video image is of a particular region around the aircraft that includes the obstacle. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A collision avoidance system for an aircraft comprising a fuselage, wings, a vertical stabilizer and a horizontal stabilizer, comprising:
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a plurality of proximity sensors each being configured to detect presence of obstacles in proximity to the vehicle, and to transmit a detection signal when an obstacle is detected, the plurality of proximity sensors comprising first proximity sensors disposed on the wings of the aircraft and a second proximity sensor disposed on at least one of the vertical stabilizer or the horizontal stabilizer; a plurality of video imagers each being configured to acquire video images of different regions around the vehicle that correspond to each of the video imagers and to generate a video image signal corresponding to the video images acquired by that particular video imager,. wherein the video imagers comprise first video imagers disposed on the wings of the aircraft and a second video imager disposed on at least one of the vertical stabilizer or the horizontal stabilizer; a first display in a cockpit of the vehicle; a braking system; and an onboard computer, communicatively coupled to the plurality of proximity sensors and the plurality of video imagers, and operatively coupled to the braking system and the display, the onboard computer comprising; a processor that is configured to; receive a plurality of video image signals each being generated by a particular one of a plurality of video imagers each being disposed at various different locations on the aircraft and each being associated with at least one of the proximity sensors; transmit, in response to receiving a detection signal from one of the plurality of proximity sensors; an alert signal to an element in the cockpit; only one particular video image signal to the first display, wherein the one particular video image signal corresponds to a particular one of the video imagers that is associated with the particular proximity sensor that detected the obstacle, wherein the first display is designed to display a video image corresponding to the one particular video image signal, wherein the video image is of a particular region around the vehicle that includes the obstacle; and a brake activation signal to activate the braking system to prevent the vehicle from colliding with the obstacle.
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Specification