Collision risk prevention equipment for aircraft

• US 7,492,307 B2
• Filed: 03/14/2007
• Issued: 02/17/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 03/14/2006
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Thales SA
• Original Assignee: Thales SA
• Inventors: Coulmeau, François
• Primary Examiner(s): Tarcza; Thomas H
• Assistant Examiner(s): GALT, CASSI J
• Application Number:
  US11/686,345
• Publication Number:
  US 20070222666A1
• Time in Patent Office: 706 Days
• Field of Search: 342 29- 32, 342 36- 37, 342/454, 342 42- 43, 342/146, 342/165, 342/173, 340/961, 343/715, 343/708, 701/120
• US Class Current: 342/32
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/765 with exchange of information between interrogator and responder
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/933 of aircraft or spacecraft
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/003 Transmission of data between radar, sonar or lidar systems and remote stations
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0008 with other aircraft
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0013 with a ground station
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0021 located in the aircraft
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/045 Navigation or guidance aids, e.g. determination of anti-collision manoeuvers radar or analogous systems specially adapted for anti-collision between aircraft G01S13/933

Abstract

This equipment is of the TCAS type. In order to improve its integrity and the reliability of its measurements, its computing unit is provided with a cross-checking function carrying out the comparison between two values of a same parameter, for example a relative distance with respect to an intruder, one of them generated by its own estimating means and the other communicated by another TCAS equipment installed on the intruding aircraft and generating a discordance alarm in the case of the observed difference exceeding a tolerance threshold. The computing unit is provided with fault locating means locating the aircraft whose TCAS is faulty when in the presence of several intruding aircraft, by examining the observed differences in pairs of values of a same parameter established for each intruding aircraft.

Claims

1. Equipment, for aircraft, for anticipating collision risks comprising:

an SSR transponder supporting a data transmission channel,

an SSR interrogator adapted to an SSR transponder,

a computing unit provided with;

means for managing the SSR transponder and the SSR interrogator,

estimation means for estimating the relative distances and bearings of aircrafts responding to the requests of the SSR interrogator,

SSR interrogator request specifying means specifying requests for communication of estimated relative distance and/or of estimated relative bearing,

SSR transponder response specifying means for making it possible, on the request of an SSR interrogator of another aircraft flying in the vicinity, to include in the response given by the SSR transponder of the aircraft, a value of relative distance and/or of relative bearing provided by the estimation means, said specific requests and responses being carried by the data transmission channel,

Concordance checking means for checking the concordance between the relative distance value and/or the relative bearing value of an aircraft provided by the estimation means and the value of relative distance and/or of relative bearing communicated by that aircraft by means of its SSR transponder, and

discordance alarm means that, in the case of discordance detected by the concordance checking means, provokes the generation of a discordance alarm message by the SSR transponder response specifying means, relayed by the SSR interrogator and containing the registration number of the aircraft which is at its source.

2. The equipment as claimed in claim 1, wherein the concordance checking means operate on oblique distances.

3. The equipment as claimed in claim 1, wherein the SSR interrogator request specifying means specify requests for communication of estimated relative distance and of estimated relative bearing,

wherein the SSR transponder response specifying means allow, on the request of an SSR interrogator of another aircraft flying in the vicinity, the inclusion in the response made by the SSR transponder of the aircraft of the values of its relative distance and of the relative bearing provided by the estimation means;

and wherein the concordance checking means operate simultaneously on the values of relative distance and on the values of bearing, given with respect to a common reference system, concerning a same aircraft.

4. The equipment as claimed in claim 1, wherein the computing unit also comprises fault locating means locating the faulty in-flight collision risk prediction equipment when there are more than two aircraft in the vicinity which are responding to the SSR interrogator and which are provided with in-flight collision risk anticipation equipments exchanging their data via the data transmission channel.

5. The equipment as claimed in claim 4, wherein the fault locating means carry out their locating by majority vote.

6. The equipment as claimed in claim 1, wherein the SSR transponder response specifying means couple each estimation of relative distance and/or of relative bearing with the registration numbers of the aircraft in question.

7. Equipment for aircraft, for anticipating collision risks comprising:

an SSR transponder supporting a data transmission channel,

an SSR interrogator adapted to an SSR transponder, and

a computing unit provided with;

means for managing the SSR transponder and the SSR interrogator,

estimation means for estimating the relative distances and bearings of aircrafts responding to the requests of the SSR interrogator,

SSR interrogator request specifying means specifying requests for communication of estimated relative distance and/or of estimated relative bearing,

SSR transponder response specifying means for making it possible, on the request of an SSR interrogator of another aircraft flying in the vicinity, to include in the response given by the SSR transponder of the aircraft, a value of relative distance and/or of relative bearing provided by the estimation means, said specific requests and responses being carried by the data transmission channel,

concordance checking means for checking the concordance between the relative distance value and/or the relative bearing value of an aircraft provided by the estimation means and the value of relative distance and/or of relative bearing communicated by that aircraft by means of its SSR transponder,

discordance alarm means triggered in the case of discordance detected by the concordance checking means and

fault locating means locating a faulty in-flight collision risk prediction equipment when there are more than two aircrafts in the vicinity which are responding to the SSR interrogator and which are provided with in-flight collision risk anticipation equipments exchanging their data via the data transmission channel.

8. The equipment as claimed in claim 7, wherein the concordance checking means operate on oblique distances.

9. The equipment as claimed in claim 7, wherein the SSR interrogator request specifying means specify requests for communication of estimated relative distance and of estimated relative bearing,

wherein the SSR transponder response specifying means allow, on the request of an SSR interrogator of another aircraft flying in the vicinity, the inclusion in the response made by the SSR transponder of the aircraft of the values of its relative distance and relative bearing provided by the estimation means;

and

wherein the concordance checking means operate simultaneously on the values of relative distance and on the values of bearing, given with respect to a common reference system, concerning a same aircraft.

10. The equipment as claimed in claim 7, wherein the SSR transponder response specifying means generate, at each triggering of the discordance alarm means, a discordance alarm message relayed by the SSR interrogator and containing the registration number of the aircraft which is at its source.

11. The equipment as claimed in claim 7, wherein the fault locating means carry out their locating by majority vote.

12. The equipment as claimed in claim 7, wherein SSR transponder response specifying means couple each estimation of relative distance and/or of relative bearing with registration numbers of the aircraft in question.