Method of detecting and displaying a collision hazard for an aircraft, by generating a consolidated warning relating to avoiding an obstacle by a vertically upward maneuver
First Claim
1. A method for an aircraft fitted with a collision avoidance apparatus having (i) a plurality of independent collision avoidance systems of different types having modes of operation that are distinct from one another and (ii) an interface in communication with the collision avoidance systems, the method comprising:
- detecting obstacles in an environment of the aircraft by the collision avoidance systems;
generating collision avoidance warnings by the collision avoidance systems in response to detecting the obstacles, wherein each collision avoidance warning includes an obstacle avoidance alert for the aircraft and the obstacle avoidance alerts of at least two of the collision avoidance warnings are vertically upward obstacle avoidance alerts;
receiving by the interface the collision avoidance warnings;
selecting by the interface the at least two of the collision avoidance warnings for use in generating a consolidated warning;
wherein the step of selecting by the interface the at least two of the collision avoidance warnings is performed by the interface applying a selection criterion relating to a vertically upward obstacle avoidance maneuver, with only those collision avoidance warnings that include a vertically upward obstacle avoidance alert being selected by the interface for use in generating the consolidated warning;
any other collision avoidance warning not being selected by the interface;
generating by the interface the consolidated warning using the at least two of the collision avoidance warnings, any other collision avoidance warning being excluded from being used in generating the consolidated warning; and
communicating by the interface the consolidated warning to a pilot of the aircraft via at least a display.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A method of generating and displaying a consolidated warning making use of collision avoidance warnings as generated by various collision avoidance systems (TCAS, HTAWS, OWS, FMS, N) fitted to an aircraft. The consolidated warning is generated in application of a selection criterion for selecting collision avoidance warnings that relate to the aircraft performing an obstacle avoidance maneuver vertically upwards. The consolidated warning is displayed in the form of a plurality of display elements comprising display elements arranged as superposed strips. A first strip indicates the presence of an obstacle to be avoided by a vertical avoidance maneuver, and a second strip that is segmented to indicate the bearing position of said obstacle relative to the aircraft.
10 Citations
14 Claims
-
1. A method for an aircraft fitted with a collision avoidance apparatus having (i) a plurality of independent collision avoidance systems of different types having modes of operation that are distinct from one another and (ii) an interface in communication with the collision avoidance systems, the method comprising:
-
detecting obstacles in an environment of the aircraft by the collision avoidance systems; generating collision avoidance warnings by the collision avoidance systems in response to detecting the obstacles, wherein each collision avoidance warning includes an obstacle avoidance alert for the aircraft and the obstacle avoidance alerts of at least two of the collision avoidance warnings are vertically upward obstacle avoidance alerts; receiving by the interface the collision avoidance warnings; selecting by the interface the at least two of the collision avoidance warnings for use in generating a consolidated warning; wherein the step of selecting by the interface the at least two of the collision avoidance warnings is performed by the interface applying a selection criterion relating to a vertically upward obstacle avoidance maneuver, with only those collision avoidance warnings that include a vertically upward obstacle avoidance alert being selected by the interface for use in generating the consolidated warning;
any other collision avoidance warning not being selected by the interface;generating by the interface the consolidated warning using the at least two of the collision avoidance warnings, any other collision avoidance warning being excluded from being used in generating the consolidated warning; and communicating by the interface the consolidated warning to a pilot of the aircraft via at least a display. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
-
-
13. A collision avoidance apparatus for an aircraft, the collision avoidance apparatus comprising:
-
a plurality of independent collision avoidance systems of different types having modes of operation that are distinct from one another, the collision avoidance systems to detect obstacles in an environment of the aircraft and to generate collision avoidance warnings in response to detected obstacles, wherein each collision avoidance warning includes an obstacle avoidance alert for the aircraft and the obstacle avoidance alerts of at least two of the collision avoidance warnings generated by the collision avoidance systems are vertically upward obstacle avoidance alerts; an interface in communication with the collision avoidance systems, the interface to receive the collision avoidance warnings, select the at least two of the collision avoidance warnings for use in generating a consolidated warning, generate the consolidated warning based on the at least two of the collision avoidance warnings, and communicate the consolidated warning to a pilot of the aircraft via at least a display; and wherein the interface performs the selection of the at least two of the collision avoidance warnings by applying a predefined selection criterion relating to a vertically upward obstacle avoidance maneuver with only those collision avoidance warnings that include a vertically upward obstacle avoidance alert being selected by the interface for use in generating the consolidated warning and any other collision avoidance warnings being excluded from being used in generating the consolidated warning. - View Dependent Claims (14)
-
Specification