Process and device for managing the activating of a warning message in an aircraft

• US 9,196,167 B2
• Filed: 06/25/2008
• Issued: 11/24/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 06/29/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Airbus Operations SAS (Airbus SE)
• Original Assignee: Airbus, Airbus Operations SAS (Airbus SE)
• Inventors: Campagne, Pierre, Sorbier, Boris, Maylin, Baptiste
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Hung T
• Application Number:
  US12/145,793
• Publication Number:
  US 20090015437A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,708 Days
• Field of Search: 340/945, 340/963, 340/947, 340/949, 340951-953, 340959-962, 340965-970, 455/512, 455/701, 704/267, 704/274, 701/4, 701/9, 701/10, 701/14
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0021 located in the aircraft
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0078 for monitoring traffic from the aircraft radar or analogous systems specially adapted for traffic control G01S13/91
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0086 for monitoring terrain radar or analogous systems specially adapted for terrain avoidance G01S13/935
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0091 for monitoring atmospheric conditions radar or analogous systems specially adapted for meteorological use G01S13/95; meteorology G01W

Abstract

A process for managing the activating of emission of a given warning message in an aircraft comprises transmission, from a monitoring system to an authorization-issuing system, of an emission authorization request. The request has a priority attribute known as request priority attribute. The process also includes transmission, from the authorization-issuing system to the monitoring system, of an emission authorization. The transmission of the emission authorization is effected if the request priority attribute is higher than a current priority threshold. In addition, the process includes activation of emission of the given warning message. The activation may be effected if an alert condition associated with the given warning message is detected and if a priority attribute associated with the alert condition is higher than or equal to the request priority attribute.

Claims

1. A process for managing the activating of emission of a warning message in an aircraft, the process comprising:

transmitting, from a monitoring system to an authorization-issuing system, a request to authorize emission of the warning message, the request possessing a priority attribute known as request priority attribute;

transmitting, from the authorization-issuing system to the monitoring system, an emission authorization to emit the warning message, and the transmitting the emission authorization is effected if the request priority attribute is higher than a current priority threshold; and

activating, by a controller in the monitoring system, emission of the warning message.

2. A process according to claim 1, wherein the activating emission of the warning message further comprises transmitting, from the monitoring system to the authorization-issuing system, an information item known as alert in progress, the transmitting being performed if the monitoring system is effectively commanding the emission of the warning message.

3. A process according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the transmitting the request to authorize emission of the warning message is preceded by activating an alert process, comprising transmitting, from the authorization-issuing system to the monitoring system, an information item about activation of the warning message, and transmitting the emission authorization request is effected if an alert condition associated with an activated warning message is detected.

4. A system for managing the activating of emission of a warning message, the system comprising:

means for transmitting a request for authorization to emit the warning message from a monitoring system to an authorization-issuing system;

means for transmitting an authorization to emit the warning message from the authorization-issuing system to the monitoring system;

means for modulating transmission of an authorization to emit the warning message, the transmission of the authorization to emit the warning message being effected if a priority attribute known as request priority attribute of a request to authorize emission of the warning message transmitted from the monitoring system to the authorization-issuing system is higher than a current priority threshold; and

means for activating emission, by a controller in the monitoring system, of the warning message.

5. An authorization-issuing system for managing the activating of emission of a warning message, the system comprising:

a receiving section that receives, from a monitoring system, a request for authorization to emit a warning message;

a transmitting section that emits an authorization to emit the warning message;

a threshold updating section configured to update a current priority threshold; and

a transmission modulation section that modulates the emission by the transmitting section of the authorization to emit the warning message, the emission of the authorization to emit being effected if a priority attribute, known as request priority attribute, of the request for authorization to emit the warning message received by the receiving section is higher than the current priority threshold.

6. An authorization-issuing system according to claim 5, wherein the transmission modulation section comprises means for measuring a duration known as prohibition duration, counted from a preceding transmission of an authorization, the transmission of the authorization to emit being effected after the end of the prohibition duration.

7. An authorization-issuing system according to claim 5, further comprising:

an emission modulating section configured to modulate the emission of an information item about activation of warning messages possessing a priority attribute known as activation priority, emission of an information item about activation of warning messages being effected if the current priority threshold is modified.

8. An authorization-issuing system according to claim 5, wherein the authorization-issuing system includes a monitoring system, and a function of the monitoring system includes emission of at least one automatic altitude announcement.

9. An authorization-issuing system according to claim 5, wherein the authorization-issuing system has priority rules implemented therein defining a relationship between messages of at least two monitoring systems.

10. An authorization-issuing system according to claim 5, wherein said authorization-issuing system is a computer.

11. A monitoring system for activating of emission of a warning message, the system comprising:

a transmitting section configured to emit, to an authorization-issuing system, a request for authorization to emit the warning message;

a receiving section configured to receive an authorization to emit the warning message from the authorization-issuing system; and

an emission activation modulation section in a controller of the monitoring system configured to modulate the activation of the emission of the warning message, the activation of the emission of the warning message being undertaken upon reception of the authorization to emit by the receiving section if an alert condition associated with the warning message is still detected.

12. A monitoring system according to claim 11, wherein the warning message is supplemented at its beginning by a silence of predetermined duration, known as cutoff, if the emission authorization comprises a time delay order.

13. A monitoring system according to claim 11, wherein the emission activation modulation section includes means for measuring a duration known as activation duration, counted from the reception of the authorization to emit, the emission of the warning message being activated only during the activation duration.

14. A monitoring system according to claim 11, wherein the emission activation modulation section comprises means for modulating emission of an information item known as alert in progress, the emission of the information item about the alert in progress being effected if the monitoring system is effectively commanding the emission of the warning message.

15. A monitoring system according to claim 11, including at least two systems from the group consisting of TAWS, GPWS, TCAS, WxR and PWS.

16. A monitoring system according to claim 11, further comprising an emission modulating section configured to modulate the emission of a request for authorization, the request being emitted only if an alert condition associated with an activated warning message is detected.

17. A system for managing the activation of emission of a warning message, the system comprising:

a monitoring system that includes

a first transmitting section configured to emit, to an authorization-issuing system, a request for authorization to emit the warning message,

a first receiving section configured to receive an authorization to emit the warning message from the authorization-issuing system, and

an emission activation modulation section in a controller of the monitoring system configured to modulate the activation of the emission of the warning message, the activation of the emission of the warning message being undertaken upon reception of the authorization to emit by the first receiving section if an alert condition associated with the warning message is still detected; and

an authorization-issuing system that includes

a second receiving section that receives, from the monitoring system, the request for authorization to emit the warning message,

a second transmitting section that emits the authorization to emit the warning message,

a threshold updating section configured to update a current priority threshold, and

a transmission modulation section that modulates the emission by the second transmitting section of the authorization to emit the warning message, the emission of the authorization to emit being effected if a priority attribute, known as request priority attribute, of the request for authorization to emit the warning message received by the receiving section is higher than the current priority threshold.

18. A system according to claim 17, wherein the monitoring system and the authorization-issuing system are interconnected by an Ethernet network.

19. A system according to claim 17, wherein the authorization-issuing system includes a second monitoring system that emits at least one warning message associated with an alert condition, when a detection duration of the alert condition during a flight condition is shorter than a detection duration of the alert condition when monitored by the monitoring system.