Air traffic control support system

• US 6,453,231 B1
• Filed: 04/16/2001
• Issued: 09/17/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 10/11/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha (Mitsubishi Electric Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha (Mitsubishi Electric Corporation)
• Inventors: Ooga, Yasuisa
• Primary Examiner(s): Beaulieu, Yonel
• Application Number:
  US09/834,655
• Publication Number:
  US 20020042673A1
• Time in Patent Office: 519 Days
• Field of Search: 701/120, 701/14, 701/15, 701/16, 701/17, 340/951, 340/961, 342/32, 342/37, 342/26, 342/29
• US Class Current: 701/120
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/91 for traffic control G01S13/93 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/913 for landing purposes
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/95 for meteorological use
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 17/58 Velocity or trajectory determination systems; Sense-of-movement determination systems
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 17/95 for meteorological use
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/04 Display arrangements
• 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

An air traffic control support system comprises:

a wake turbulence detecting unit adapted to detect a wake turbulence occurring in a runway sky due to taking off or landing of an aircraft;

a decay time predicting unit adapted to predict decay time of the wake turbulence;

a weather information acquiring unit adapted to acquire weather information in the surroundings around the runway; and

a display unit adapted to display the decay time,

wherein the decay time predicting unit predicts the decay time of the wake turbulence detected by the wake turbulence detecting unit on the basis of the weather information.

Claims

1. An air traffic control system comprising:

a wake turbulence detecting unit adapted to detect a wake turbulence occurring in a runway sky due to taking off or landing of an aircraft; and

a decay time predicting unit adapted to predict decay time to the wake turbulence,

wherein the decay time predicting unit extracts, from past decay time information, decay time information corresponding to the wake turbulence detected by the wake turbulence detecting unit to calculate the decay time of the wake turbulence detected by the wake turbulence detecting unit on the basis of the decay time information.

2. The system according to claim 1, further comprising:

a weather information acquiring unit adapted to acquire weather information in the surroundings around the runway; and

a display unit adapted to display the decay time,

wherein the decay time predicting unit predicts the decay time of the wake turbulence detected by the wake turbulence detecting unit on the basis of the weather information.

3. The system according to claim 2, wherein the weather information acquiring unit has an airport meteorological Doppler radar installed within an airport.

4. The system according to claim 1, further comprising:

an aircraft detecting unit adapted to detect airframe information of an aircraft;

a take-off time predicting unit adapted to predict take-off time of the aircraft being stand-by to take off on the runway, on the basis of the airframe information of the aircraft and the decay time; and

a display unit adapted to display the take-off time.

5. The system according to claim 1, further comprising:

a data storage unit adapted to store past decay time information of wake turbulence occurring in the runway sky; and

a display unit adapted to display the decay time.

6. The system according to claim 1, further comprising a display unit adapted to display the decay time, wherein the decay time predicting unit predicts the decay time on the basis of temporal changes of the wake turbulence detected by the wake turbulence detecting unit.

7. An air traffic control support system comprising:

a wake turbulence detecting unit adapted to detect a wake turbulence occurring in a runway sky due to taking off or landing of an aircraft;

a decay time predicting unit adapted to predict decay time of the wake turbulence; and

a transmission unit adapted to convert the decay time into an aural signal and transmit the aural signal to an aircraft on stand-by to take off or land,

wherein the aural signal is output in voice on the aircraft.

8. An air traffic control support system comprising:

a wake turbulence detecting unit adapted to detect a wake turbulence occurring in a runway sky due to taking off or landing of an aircraft;

a decay time predicting unit adapted to predict decay time of the wake turbulence; and

a transmission unit adapted to convert the decay time into a message signal and transmit the message signal to an aircraft on stand-by to take off or land,

wherein the message signal is displayed on the aircraft.

9. An air traffic control support system comprising:

a wake turbulence detecting unit adapted to detect a wake turbulence occurring in a runway sky due to taking off or landing of an aircraft; and

a decay time predicting unit adapted to predict decay time of the wake turbulence,

wherein the wake turbulence detecting unit has an optical transmitter-receiver scanning with a laser beam.

10. An air traffic control support system comprising:

an aircraft detecting unit adapted to detect an aircraft by the use of a plurality of radar apparatuses and to generate aircraft information;

a data storage unit adapted to store map information corresponding to the plurality of radar apparatuses;

a wake turbulence detecting unit adapted to detect a wake turbulence occurring in a runway sky due to taking off or landing of an aircraft and to generate wake turbulence information;

an image synthesizing process section adapted to synthesize images of the aircraft information, the map information, and the wake turbulence information to output the images as air traffic control information corresponding to the plurality of radar apparatuses; and

a display unit adapted to display the air traffic control information in a plurality of subwindows positioned on a screen.

11. The system according to claim 10, wherein the wake turbulence detecting unit has an optical transmitter-receiver scanning with a laser beam.

12. An air traffic control support system comprising:

means for detecting wake turbulence occurring in a runway sky due to taking off or landing of an aircraft; and

means for predicting decay time of the wake turbulence,

wherein the means for predicting extracts, from past decay time information, decay time information corresponding to the wake turbulence detected by the means for detecting a wake turbulence to calculate the decay time of the wake turbulence detected by the means for detecting a wake turbulence on the basis of the decay time information.

13. The system according to claim 12, further comprising:

means for acquiring weather information in the surroundings around the runway; and

means for displaying the decay time,

wherein the means for predicting predicts the decay time of the wake turbulence detected by the means for detecting wake turbulence on the basis of the weather information.

14. The system according to claim 13, wherein the means for acquiring weather information has an airport meteorological Doppler radar installed within an airport.

15. The system according to claim 12, further comprising:

means for detecting airframe information of an aircraft;

means for predicting take-off time of the aircraft on stand-by to take off on the runway on the basis of the airframe information of the aircraft and the decay time; and

means for displaying the take-off time.

16. The system according to claim 12, further comprising:

means for storing past decay time information of wake turbulence occurring in the runway sky; and

means for displaying the decay time.

17. The system according to claim 12, further comprising means for displaying the decay time, wherein the means for predicting the decay time predicts the decay time on the basis of temporal changes of the wake turbulence detected by the means for detecting a wake turbulence.

18. The system according to claim 12, further comprising

means for converting the decay time into an aural signal and for transmitting the aural signal to an aircraft on stand-by to take off or land,

wherein the aural signal is output in voice on the aircraft.

19. The system according to claim 12, further comprising

means for converting the decay time into a message signal and for transmitting the message signal to an aircraft on stand-by to take off or land,

wherein the message signal is displayed on the aircraft.

20. The system according to claim 12, wherein the means for detecting a wake turbulence has means for scanning and the means for scanning includes an optical transmitter-receiver scanning with a laser beam.

21. An air traffic control support system comprising:

means for detecting an aircraft by the use of a plurality of radar apparatuses and for generating aircraft information;

means for storing map information corresponding to the plurality of radar apparatuses;

means for detecting a wake turbulence occurring in a runway sky due to taking off or landing of an aircraft and for generating wake turbulence information;

means for synthesizing images of the aircraft information, the map information, and the wake turbulence information to output the images as air traffic control information corresponding to the plurality of radar apparatuses; and

means for displaying the air traffic control information in a plurality of subwindows positioned on a screen.

22. The system according to claim 21, wherein the means for detecting a wake turbulence has an optical transmitter-receiver scanning with a laser beam.

23. An air traffic control support system comprising:

means for detecting a wake turbulence occurring in a runway sky due to taking off or landing of an aircraft;

means for predicting decay time of the wake turbulence; and

means for converting the decay time into an aural signal and for transmitting the aural signal to an aircraft on stand-by to take off or land,

wherein the aural signal is output in voice on the aircraft.

24. An air traffic control support system comprising:

means for detecting a wake turbulence occurring in a runway sky due to taking off or landing of an aircraft;

means for predicting decay time of the wake turbulence; and

means for converting the decay time into a message signal and for transmitting the message signal to an aircraft on stand-by to take off or land.

wherein the message signal is displayed on the aircraft.

25. An air traffic control support system comprising:

means for detecting a wake turbulence occurring in a runway sky due to taking off or landing of an aircraft; and

means for predicting decay time of the wake turbulence,

wherein the means for detecting wake turbulence has an optical transmitter-receiver scanning with a laser beam.