Method and device for determining the optimal turn direction of an aircraft
First Claim
1. A method for determining a lateral trajectory followed by an aircraft executed by a flight management system, the lateral trajectory being computed on a basis of a plurality of successively inserted sections of a flight plan and of aircraft parameters input by a pilot, a transition between two successive inserted sections requiring in certain cases that the aircraft turns according to a turn direction, said method comprising for at least one inserted section requiring said turn, a step of determining an optimal turn direction method of the aircraft defined with respect to its movement, from among two directions, right and left, the aircraft following the lateral trajectory so as to join an arrival straight oriented according to the desired direction of movement of the aircraft and charted by an angle of arrival, on a basis of a departure point and of an angle of departure defining a departure straight oriented in the direction of movement of the aircraft,the right or left direction of the optimal turn with respect to the movement of the aircraft being conventionally defined by a respectively positive or negative optimal turn sign,the said step of determining the optimal turn direction method comprising the steps:
- determining a conventional departure sign of the departure point with respect to the oriented arrival straight, the departure sign being positive or negative when the departure point is situated respectively on the left or on the right of the oriented arrival straight,determining a centered value of an angle of change of course equal to a difference between the angle of arrival and the angle of departure referred back between −
180° and
+180°
, the said centered value exhibiting a logical sign corresponding to the sign of the centered value of the angle of change of course,determining the sign of the optimal turn on the basis of the comparison between the departure sign and the logical sign, the said sign of the optimal turn defining the optimal turn direction, andthe method further comprising the steps of computing the lateral trajectory and proposing to the pilot to insert the computed trajectory in a flight plan.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method determines the optimal turn direction of an aircraft among two directions, right and left, following a lateral trajectory to join an arrival straight charted by an angle of arrival, based on a departure point and angle of departure defining a departure straight oriented along movement of the aircraft, the direction defined by a respectively positive or negative optimal turn sign, comprising: determining a conventional departure sign of the departure point; determining a center value of an angle of change of course equal to the difference between the angle of arrival and angle of departure referred back between −180° and +180°, the center value exhibiting a logical sign corresponding to the center value sign of the angle of change of course; determining the sign of the optimal turn based on comparison between the departure sign and the logical sign, the sign of the optimal turn defining optimal turn direction.
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Citations
19 Claims
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1. A method for determining a lateral trajectory followed by an aircraft executed by a flight management system, the lateral trajectory being computed on a basis of a plurality of successively inserted sections of a flight plan and of aircraft parameters input by a pilot, a transition between two successive inserted sections requiring in certain cases that the aircraft turns according to a turn direction, said method comprising for at least one inserted section requiring said turn, a step of determining an optimal turn direction method of the aircraft defined with respect to its movement, from among two directions, right and left, the aircraft following the lateral trajectory so as to join an arrival straight oriented according to the desired direction of movement of the aircraft and charted by an angle of arrival, on a basis of a departure point and of an angle of departure defining a departure straight oriented in the direction of movement of the aircraft,
the right or left direction of the optimal turn with respect to the movement of the aircraft being conventionally defined by a respectively positive or negative optimal turn sign, the said step of determining the optimal turn direction method comprising the steps: -
determining a conventional departure sign of the departure point with respect to the oriented arrival straight, the departure sign being positive or negative when the departure point is situated respectively on the left or on the right of the oriented arrival straight, determining a centered value of an angle of change of course equal to a difference between the angle of arrival and the angle of departure referred back between −
180° and
+180°
, the said centered value exhibiting a logical sign corresponding to the sign of the centered value of the angle of change of course,determining the sign of the optimal turn on the basis of the comparison between the departure sign and the logical sign, the said sign of the optimal turn defining the optimal turn direction, and the method further comprising the steps of computing the lateral trajectory and proposing to the pilot to insert the computed trajectory in a flight plan. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A flight management system configured to compute a lateral trajectory followed by an aircraft computed on a basis of a plurality of successively inserted sections of a flight plan and of aircraft parameters inserted by a pilot, a transition between two successive inserted sections requiring in certain cases that the aircraft turns according to a turn direction, said flight management system comprising a device for determining the optimal turn direction of an aircraft being defined with respect to its movement, from among two directions, right and left, the aircraft following the lateral trajectory so as to join an arrival straight oriented according to the desired direction of movement of the aircraft and charted by an angle of arrival, on a basis of a departure point and of an angle of departure defining a departure straight oriented in the direction of movement of the aircraft,
the right or left direction of the optimal turn with respect to the movement of the aircraft being conventionally defined by a respectively positive or negative optimal turn sign, the said device comprising: -
a module for determining a conventional departure sign of the departure point with respect to the oriented arrival straight, the departure sign being positive or negative when the departure point is situated respectively on the left or on the right of the oriented arrival straight, a module for determining a centered value of an angle of change of course equal to a difference between the angle of arrival and the angle of departure referred back between −
180° and
+180°
, the said centered value exhibiting a logical sign corresponding to the sign of the centered value of the angle of change of course, anda module for determining a sign of the optimal turn on the basis of the comparison between the departure sign and the logical sign, the said sign of the optimal turn defining the optimal turn direction.
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17. A method for determining a lateral trajectory followed by an aircraft executed by a flight management system, the lateral trajectory being computed on a basis of a plurality of successively inserted sections of a flight plan and of aircraft parameters input by a pilot, a transition between two successive inserted sections requiring in certain cases that the aircraft turns according to a turn direction, said method comprising for at least one inserted section requiring said turn, a step of determining an optimal turn direction method of the aircraft defined with respect to its movement, from among two directions, right and left, the aircraft following the lateral trajectory so as to join an arrival straight oriented according to the desired direction of movement of the aircraft and charted by an angle of arrival, on a basis of a departure point and of an angle of departure defining a departure straight oriented in the direction of movement of the aircraft,
the right or left direction of the optimal turn with respect to the movement of the aircraft being defined by a respectively positive or negative optimal turn sign, the said step of determining the optimal turn direction method comprising the steps: -
determining a conventional departure sign of the departure point with respect to the oriented arrival straight with the flight management system, the departure sign being positive or negative when the departure point is situated respectively on the left or on the right of the oriented arrival straight, determining a centered value of an angle of change of course equal to a difference between the angle of arrival and the angle of departure referred back between −
180° and
+180°
with the flight management system, the said centered value exhibiting a logical sign corresponding to the sign of the centered value of the angle of change of course,determining the sign of the optimal turn on the basis of the comparison between the departure sign and the logical sign with the flight management system, the said sign of the optimal turn defining the optimal turn direction, and the method further comprising the steps of computing the lateral trajectory with the flight management system and proposing to the pilot to insert the computed trajectory in a flight plan utilizing the flight management system. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19)
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Specification