Long range weather information display system and method

• US 9,244,167 B1
• Filed: 06/07/2013
• Issued: 01/26/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 03/07/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Rockwell Collins, Inc. (Rtx Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Rockwell Collins, Inc. (Rtx Corporation)
• Inventors: Cahoon, James D., Oransky, Alexander M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Brainard, Timothy A
• Application Number:
  US13/913,100
• Time in Patent Office: 963 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/87 Combinations of radar systems, e.g. primary radar and secondary radar
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/953 mounted on aircraft
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/003 Transmission of data between radar, sonar or lidar systems and remote stations
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/062 in which different colours are used
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/10 Providing two-dimensional and co-ordinated display of distance and direction
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/18 Distance-height displays; Distance-elevation displays, e.g. type RHI, type E
• CPC Class Codes: Y02A 90/10 Information and communication technologies [ICT] supporting adaptation to climate change, e.g. for weather forecasting or climate simulation

Abstract

A system and method of displaying weather data related to weather for an aircraft can include receiving onboard weather data and external weather data. A vertical weather profile is provided on a display based on the onboard weather data and the external weather data. Display includes a first portion associated with a first range closest to the aircraft and a second portion associated with a second range farthest from the aircraft. First images of weather in the first range are provided on the first portion in response to the onboard weather data and second images of the weather in the second range are provided on the second portion in response to the external weather data. Blended images can be provided on a blended portion between the first range and the second range.

Claims

1. A method of displaying weather for an aircraft using an avionic weather radar system, the method comprising:

providing a radar signal via a radar antenna of the avionic weather radar system;

receiving weather radar returns associated with the radar signal;

receiving onboard weather data derived from the weather radar returns of the weather radar system of the aircraft;

receiving external weather data from an external source, the external source being remote from the aircraft via an electronic communications unit; and

providing a vertical weather profile of the weather on an electronic display based on the onboard weather data and the external weather data from the external source, wherein the electronic display provides a first portion associated with a first range closest to the aircraft, a second portion associated with a second range, and a third portion associated with a third range farthest from the aircraft, the second range being between the first range and the third range, wherein first images of the weather in the first range are provided on the first portion in response to the onboard weather data without the external weather data, wherein third images of the weather in the third range are provided on the third portion in response to the external weather data without the onboard weather data, wherein second images of the weather in the second range are provided on the second portion in response to the onboard weather data and the external weather data, wherein the second images are provided by determining if a first weather cell in the second range in the onboard weather data is within a predetermined distance of a second weather cell in the second range in the external weather data, and if so, filling between display representations of the first weather cell and the second weather cell in response to altitude values and reflectivity values of the first weather cell and the second weather cell and if not, providing the representations of the first weather cell and the second weather cell without filling.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the vertical profile is a two dimensional view along a flight path of the aircraft.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the vertical profile is a two dimensional view along a selected azimuth direction from the aircraft.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the second images are provided in the second portion using a blending process.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the blending process uses the NEX RAD data associated with the external weather data and Echo Tops data associated with the external weather data.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein the blending process determines maximum altitude values and fills between the display representations of the first weather cell and the second weather cell using the maximum altitude values.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the first range is up to 80 nautical miles (nm), the second range is from 80 nm up to 120 nm, and the third range is more than 120 nm.

8. A method of displaying weather data relating to weather for an aircraft, the method comprising:

providing a radar signal via a radar antenna of an avionic weather radar system;

receiving weather radar returns associated with the radar signal;

receiving onboard weather data derived from the radar returns of the weather radar system of the aircraft;

receiving external weather data from an external source, the external source being remote from the aircraft via an electronic communications unit; and

providing a vertical weather profile of the weather on an electronic display based on the onboard weather data and the external weather data from the external source, wherein the electronic display provides a first portion associated with a first range closest to the aircraft, a second portion associated with a second range, and a third portion associated with a third range farthest from the aircraft, the second range being between the first range and the third range, wherein first images of the weather in the first range are provided on the first portion in response to the onboard weather data, wherein third images of the weather in the third range are provided on the third portion in response to the external weather data, wherein second images of the weather in the second range are provided on the second portion in response to the onboard weather data and the external weather data, wherein a blending process determines whether adjacent weather cells exist in the external weather data and the onboard weather data, and if not superimposes weather images from the external weather data and the onboard weather data to provide the second images in the second portion and if not the blending process blends the adjacent weather cells together by;

a) determining the maximum altitudes for each reflectivity level in the adjacent cells, b) connecting points of the maximum altitudes of each reflectivity levels, and c) filling a required color to represent a desired reflectivity level to blend the adjacent weather cells for the second weather images in the second portion.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the external weather data includes echo top data and NEXRAD reflectivity data, and the method provides a three dimensional model of the weather in the second range and the third range using the echo top data and NEXRAD reflectivity data.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the weather model uses Zipser curves.

11. An avionic weather warning system, comprising:

an electronic display;

an electronic processor configured to;

provide a three-dimensional weather profile of weather near an aircraft in response to onboard weather data from radar returns of a weather radar system of the aircraft and external weather data from an external source; and

provide a two dimensional vertical weather profile on the electronic display in response to the onboard weather data from the radar returns of the weather radar system of the aircraft and the external weather data from the external source, wherein the electronic display provides a first portion associated with a first range closest to the aircraft and a second portion associated with a second range farthest from the aircraft, wherein first images of the weather in the first range are provided on the first portion in response to the onboard weather data, wherein second images of the weather in the second range are provided on the second portion in response to the external weather data, wherein a third range between the first range and the second range is associated with a third portion of the electronic display, wherein third images for the third portion are provided by determining if a first weather cell in the third range in the onboard weather data is within a distance of a second weather cell in the third range in the external weather data, and if so, filling between display representations of the first weather cell and the second weather cell in response to altitude values and reflectivity values of the first weather cell and the second weather cell.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the electronic processor is further configured to:

provide the third images as a blended image on the third portion as a blended portion of the display between the first portion and the second portion.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the blended image are provided on the blended portion in response to the onboard weather data and the external weather data, the onboard weather data being first reflectivity data and the external weather data being second reflectivity data.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the blended image includes non-adjacent weather cells from the first reflectivity data and the second reflectivity data.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the blended image includes a blended cell associated with a first adjacent weather cell in the first reflectivity data and a second adjacent weather cell in the second reflectivity data.

16. The system of claim 15 wherein the blended image is formed by:

a) determining the maximum altitudes for each reflectivity level in the first adjacent cell and the second adjacent cell, b) connecting points of the maximum altitudes of each reflectivity level, and c) filling a required color to represent a desired reflectivity level.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein second reflectivity data includes echo top data and NEXRAD reflectivity data.

18. The system of claim 11, wherein the first range is up to 80 nautical miles (nm), the third range is from 80 nm to 120 nm, and the second range is more than 120 nm.

19. One or more computer-readable non-transitory storage media having instructions stored thereon, the instructions being executable by one or more processors to execute a method on an aircraft comprising:

receiving onboard weather data derived from radar returns of a weather radar system of the aircraft;

receiving external weather data from an external source, the external source being remote from the aircraft; and

providing a vertical weather profile of the weather on a display based on the onboard weather data and the external weather data from the external source, wherein the display includes a first portion associated with a first range closest to the aircraft and a second portion associated with a second range farthest from the aircraft, wherein first images of the weather in the first range are provided on the first portion in response to the onboard weather data, wherein second images of the weather in the second range are provided on the second portion in response to the external weather data, wherein a third range between the first range and the second range is associated with a third portion, wherein third images for the third portion are provided on the display by determining if a first weather cell in the third range in the onboard weather data is within a distance of a second weather cell in the third range in the external weather data, and if so, filling between display representations of the first weather cell and the second weather cell in response to altitude values and reflectivity values of the first weather cell and the second weather cell.

20. The one or more computer-readable storage media of claim 19, wherein the filling provides a blended image in the third portion, and if the first weather cell and the second weather cell are not within the distance, providing the representations of the first weather cell and the second weather cell without filling.