Aircraft flight management aid device

• US 9,188,461 B2
• Filed: 12/27/2012
• Issued: 11/17/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 12/29/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Thales SA
• Original Assignee: Thales SA
• Inventors: Sacle, Jerome, Chazottes, Xavier, Rieunier, Camille, Huysseune, Joseph
• Primary Examiner(s): Edwards, Jerrah
• Assistant Examiner(s): SMITH-STEWART, DEMETRA R
• Application Number:
  US13/728,731
• Publication Number:
  US 20130173090A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,055 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 23/00 Combined instruments indicating more than one navigational value, e.g. for aircraft; Combined measuring devices for measuring two or more variables of movement, e.g. distance, speed or acceleration
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0021 located in the aircraft
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0039 Modification of a flight plan
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0052 for cruising combined instruments indicating more than one navigational value G01C23/00

Abstract

A configured aircraft flight management aid system comprises: means of interpretation receiving data taken from external instructions from an external control center, data relating to aircraft equipment failures, cabin problems and problems related to the environment of the aircraft; means of determination receiving data from the means of interpretation and determining at least one reference constraint associated with at least one parameter representative of a flight path, a reference constraint associated with a reference parameter comprising a new constraint, different from the initial constraint when the item of data effectively necessitates following a new path, different from the initial path, and a reference constraint comprising the initial constraint when the means of determination do not have access to any data relating to an event effectively necessitating following a new path; warning means generating a warning to an operator when the path actually flown does not comply with said reference constraint.

Claims

1. An aircraft flight management aid system configured to have access to a flight plan comprising initial constraints relating to respective parameters representative of an initial flight path that an aircraft is supposed to follow initially, the initial constraints corresponding to values that values of respective parameters must take or ranges of values wherein the values of respective parameters must be included and is furthermore configured to have access to the effective values of said parameters, said values being representative of a path actually followed by the aircraft, said system comprising:

means of interpretation configured to receive data D relating to events likely to necessitate the following of a new path, different from the initial path, initial constraints corresponding to values that the values of respective parameters must take or ranges of values wherein the values of respective parameters must be included when receiving a datum D, to determine if said datum effectively necessitate that the aircraft follow a new flight path different from the initial flight path, said data being taken from among;

external instructions coming from an external control center,

data relating to aircraft equipment failures,

data relating to cabin problems,

data relating to problems related to an environment of the aircraft;

means of determination configured to receive data D from the means of interpretation and to determine, at regular time intervals, at least one reference constraint, representative of unexpected flight path, each reference constraint being associated with one parameter among said parameters, the reference constraint associated with said parameter comprising a new constraint, different from the initial constraint associated with said parameter when the means of determination have access to a datum D relating to an event effectively necessitating the following of the new flight path, different from the initial path, and a reference constraint comprising the initial constraint associated with this parameter when the means of determination do not have access to any data D relating to an event effectively necessitating the following of a new flight path,

checking means configured to check, at regular time intervals, if an effective value of at least one reference parameter among said parameters complies with said reference constraint associated with said reference parameter, the effective value of a reference parameter being representative of a flight path actually flown by the aircraft; and

warning means capable of generating a warning to an operator when the effective value of said reference parameter does not comply with said reference constraint.

2. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the means of interpretation comprise a database, storing data relating to reference events effectively necessitating the following of a new path and means of checking that an item of data D is relative to a reference event.

3. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein when the means of determination have access to an item of data D effectively necessitating the following of a new path, the warning means generate a warning to an operator when the path actually flown by the aircraft does not comply with said at least one reference constraint solely when a non-zero duration d has elapsed since a reference time corresponding to the reception of said item of data.

4. The system as claimed in claim 1, comprising means for determining a duration d and possibly a reference time from an item of data D.

5. The systems as claimed in claim 1, wherein said at least one reference constraint relating to a parameter comprises a tolerance regarding the compliance with said reference constraint.

6. The system as claimed in claim 1, comprising means for generating a warning comprising at least one of the following:

an audible cockpit warning, a visual cockpit warning, an audible cabin warning, or a visual cabin warning.

7. The system as claimed in claim 1, comprising an inhibition database listing conditions for inhibiting a warning, said warning means being capable of checking if an inhibiting condition is valid and generating a warning only if no inhibiting condition is valid.

8. The system as claimed in claim 1, comprising selection means capable of determining, when the system has access to several items of data D, a priority item of data among said items of data according to the event to which they relate, only said priority item of data being transmitted to the means of determination.

9. The system as claimed in claim 8, wherein the priority item of data is moreover selected from the following list in which the events are listed from the one of highest priority to the one of least priority:

terrain problem, warning coming from a TCAS system, windshear zone warning, storm zone, major failure, instruction coming from an external center.

10. The system as claimed in claim 1, said system being integrated in a centralized FWS warning management system.

11. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the means of interpretation comprise first means of interpretation able to receive data coming from first monitoring means able to be informed of cabin problems and to receive data on problems related to the environment of the aircraft and flight instructions, the first means of interpretation being integrated in a dedicated module furthermore integrating the checking means and the means of determination, the means of interpretation furthermore comprising second means of interpretation able to receive data coming from second monitoring means able to be informed of aircraft equipment failures, said second means of interpretation being integrated in a centralized FWS warning management system furthermore integrating the warning means.

12. The system as claimed in claim 11, wherein the first monitoring means comprise first acquisition means integrated in the dedicated module able to determine effective values of flight parameters from the instructions transmitted to the flight controls, second acquisition means integrated in the FMS and being able to determine effective values of flight parameters, and third acquisition means integrated in an automatic pilot device and being able to determine effective values of flight parameters from flight controls generated by this device.

13. The system as claimed in claim 1, comprising means for generating a warning that includes means for transmitting a warning to an external center.

14. An aircraft flight management aid system configured to have access to a flight plan comprising initial constraints relating to respective parameters representative of an initial flight path that an aircraft is supposed to follow initially, the initial constraints corresponding to values that values of respective parameters must take or ranges of values wherein the values of respective parameters must be included and is furthermore configured to have access to the effective values of said parameters, said values being representative of a path actually followed by the aircraft, said system comprising:

an interpretation module configured to receive data D relating to events likely to necessitate the following of a new path, different from the initial path, initial constraints corresponding to values that the values of respective parameters must take or ranges of values wherein the values of respective parameters must be included when receiving a datum D, to determine if said datum effectively necessitate that the aircraft follow a new flight path different from the initial flight path, said data being taken from among;

external instructions coming from an external control center,

data relating to aircraft equipment failures,

data relating to cabin problems,

data relating to problems related to an environment of the aircraft;

a determination module configured to receive data D from the interpretation module and to determine, at regular time intervals, at least one reference constraint, representative of unexpected flight path, each reference constraint being associated with one parameter among said parameters, the reference constraint associated with said parameter comprising a new constraint, different from the initial constraint associated with said parameter when the determination module have access to a datum D relating to an event effectively necessitating the following of the new flight path, different from the initial path, and a reference constraint comprising the initial constraint associated with this parameter when the determination module do not have access to any data D relating to an event effectively necessitating the following of a new flight path,

a checking module configured to check, at regular time intervals, if an effective value of at least one reference parameter among said parameters complies with said reference constraint associated with said reference parameter, the effective value of a reference parameter being representative of a flight path actually flown by the aircraft; and

a warning module configured to generate a warning to an operator when the effective value of said reference parameter does not comply with said reference constraint.