System and methods for preventing the unauthorized use of aircraft

• US 7,127,334 B2
• Filed: 12/03/2003
• Issued: 10/24/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 12/03/2002
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Bentley D. Frink
• Original Assignee: Bentley D. Frink
• Inventors: Frink, Bentley D.
• Primary Examiner(s): Beaulieu, Yonel
• Application Number:
  US10/727,447
• Publication Number:
  US 20040249519A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,056 Days
• Field of Search: 701 1- 3, 701 23- 25, 701/206, 701 9- 11, 701/14, 340/870.01, 340/870.11, 340/870.16, 340/945, 340/963, 342/29, 342/357.09, 342/357.1, 342/357.13
• US Class Current: 701/3
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 45/0015 Devices specially adapted for the protection against criminal attack, e.g. anti-hijacking systems
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 45/0031 means for overriding or restricting access to flight controls
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 45/0059 by communicating emergency situations to ground control or between crew members
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0061 for transition from automatic pilot to manual pilot and vice versa
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/18506 Communications with or from aircraft, i.e. aeronautical mobile service

Abstract

An aircraft having a memory loaded with geolocation data corresponding to restricted airspace boundaries and an autonomous system for rerouting the aircraft outside of the restricted airspace boundaries as the aircraft approaches to within a predetermined distance of the restricted airspace.

Claims

1. An aircraft having a memory loaded with geolocation data corresponding to restricted airspace boundaries and a flight computer programmed with software for rerouting said aircraft outside of said restricted airspace boundaries as said aircraft approaches to within a predetermined distance of said restricted airspace, said aircraft further being controllable by way of a command and control radio signal, wherein said flight computer includes software routines to loiter said aircraft over a predetermined area in the event of a loss of said command and control radio signal.

2. The aircraft of claim 1, wherein said geolocation data corresponding to restricted airspace boundaries is retrievable over the Internet and is remotely downloadable into said aircraft memory.

3. The aircraft of claim 1, wherein said memory is in remote communication with computer running flight-planning software having access to a government controlled restricted airspace database.

4. The aircraft of claim 3, wherein said computer is connected to the Internet.

5. The aircraft of claim 4, wherein said computer is onboard said aircraft.

6. The aircraft of claim 4, wherein said computer is ground based.

7. The aircraft of claim 3, wherein said computer includes software to generate and post a NOTAM to an Internet website.

8. The aircraft of claim 3, wherein said computer includes software for processing user defined destination coordinates into a waypoint set that is downloadable into said aircraft memory.

9. The aircraft of claim 1, wherein said geolocation data corresponding to said restricted airspace boundaries are within a memory belonging to a navigation system of said aircraft.

10. The aircraft of claim 5, wherein said computer further includes software for generating an authorization code and an expiration date for preventing said waypoint set from being used after said expiration date.

11. The aircraft of claim 10, wherein said flight computer is programmed with software to reroute said aircraft to a predetermined safe area.

12. The aircraft of claims 1, wherein said aircraft is a passenger aircraft.

13. The aircraft of claim 1, wherein said aircraft is an unmanned aerial vehicle.

14. The aircraft of claim 1, wherein said aircraft is a radio controlled model aircraft and said restricted airspace boundaries are predefined by a radio control pilot in command of said model aircraft.

15. A communications relay system using unmanned aircrafts, said system comprising:

a) a ground based wireless communications station;

b) a first unmanned aircraft for flying a predetermined pattern within wireless communication range of said ground based wireless communications station; and

c) a second unmanned aircraft for operating within wireless communication range of said first unmanned aircraft and for simultaneously flying outside the wireless range of said ground based wireless communication station and for receiving ground based wireless communications station commands relayed through said first unmanned aircraft.

16. The communications relay system of claim 15, wherein said first unmanned aircraft has first antenna for communicating with said second unmanned aircraft and a second antenna for communicating with said ground based wireless communications station.