Method and system to automatically generate a clearance request to deviate from a flight plan

• US 8,229,659 B2
• Filed: 06/02/2011
• Issued: 07/24/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 01/10/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
• Original Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
• Inventors: Judd, Thomas D., Brandao, Ruy C. P.
• Primary Examiner(s): Dager, Jonathan M
• Application Number:
  US13/151,852
• Publication Number:
  US 20110257874A1
• Time in Patent Office: 418 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 701/120
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0013 with a ground station
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0021 located in the aircraft
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0039 Modification of a flight plan

Abstract

A method to generate a clearance request to deviate from a flight plan is provided. The method includes receiving at one or more processors in an airborne vehicle input from at least one automatic flight-plan-relevant source, at least one of the one or more processors independently determining a revised flight route based on the received input, at least one of the one or more processors independently generating a preconfigured clearance request message to deviate from the flight plan for a flight crew user based on the determining. The method further includes providing an audible prompt to the flight crew user for one of approval and rejection of the clearance request to deviate from the flight plan. When an approval of the clearance request to deviate from the flight plan is received from the flight crew user, the preconfigured clearance request message is downlinked.

Claims

1. A method to generate a clearance request to deviate from a flight plan, the method comprising:

receiving at one or more processors in an airborne vehicle input from at least one automatic flight-plan-relevant source;

at least one of the one or more processors independently determining a revised flight route based on the received input;

at least one of the one or more processors independently generating a preconfigured clearance request message to deviate from the flight plan for a flight crew user based on the determining;

providing an audible prompt to the flight crew user for one of approval and rejection of the clearance request to deviate from the flight plan; and

when an approval of the clearance request to deviate from the flight plan is received from the flight crew user, downlinking the preconfigured clearance request message.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

uplinking one of an approval of the preconfigured clearance request message from a traffic controller and a rejection of the preconfigured clearance request message from the traffic controller.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving input from at least one automatic flight-plan-relevant source comprises:

receiving at least one of a weather radar input, a ground proximity input, a traffic collision avoidance input, and flight data from a flight management computer (FMC).

4. The method of claim 1, wherein independently generating a preconfigured clearance request message for the flight crew user comprises:

independently generating a controller/pilot data link communication (CPDLC) clearance request.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein providing an audible prompt to the flight crew user comprises translating signals received from a controller/pilot data link communication (CPDLC) application into a string of phonemes that announce the clearance request to deviate from the flight plan using a voice readback device.

6. A system to automatically generate a clearance request to deviate from a flight plan of an airborne vehicle, the system comprising:

at least one interface on the airborne vehicle communicatively coupled to an associated automatic flight-plan-relevant source;

one or more processors on the airborne vehicle configured to receive input via the at least one interface, wherein at least one of the one or more processors is configured to use the input to independently determine if a revised flight route is to be created and indicated to a flight crew user, wherein at least one of the one or more processors is configured to generate a prompt for the flight crew user to one of approve and reject an independently generated clearance request to deviate from the flight plan when the revised flight route is to be created and indicated to the flight crew user;

an audio/aural interface unit on the airborne vehicle to audibly prompt to the flight crew user and to receive one of approval input or rejection input from the flight crew user; and

a wireless interface to downlink the clearance request to deviate from the flight plan from the airborne vehicle to an air traffic controller at a ground control when the interface unit receives an approval input, the wireless interface further configured to uplink one of air traffic controller approval of the clearance request to deviate from the flight plan and air traffic controller rejection of the clearance request to deviate from the flight plan.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the one or more processors comprise:

one or more predictive controller/pilot data link communication (CPDLC) clearance processors.

8. The system of claim 7, further comprising:

a controller/pilot data link communication (CPDLC) application to handle communications between the flight crew user and the air traffic controller, the CPDLC application communicatively coupled to at least one of the one or more predictive CPDLC clearance processors and the audio/aural interface unit.

9. The system of claim 8, further comprising:

a communications management unit including the wireless interface to link the CPDLC application to an air-to-ground wireless sub-network, the communications management unit communicatively coupled to the CPDLC application.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the communications management unit comprises a router including the wireless interface.

11. The system of claim 8, wherein the audio/aural interface unit includes:

an audio alert generator to audibly provide the prompt to the user; and

a user input interface communicatively coupled to the CPDLC application, the user input interface configured to receive the approval input and the rejection input from the flight crew user.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the audio alert generator translates signals received from the CPDLC application into a string of phonemes.

13. The system of claim 12, further comprising:

a voice readback device that uses the string of phonemes to verbally announce the clearance request to deviate from the flight plan to the flight crew user.

14. The system of claim 11, wherein the user input interface is one of a tactile input interface and a tactile-audio interface.

15. The system of claim 11, wherein the user input interface is an audio input interface.

16. The system of claim 6, further comprising:

a non-transitory memory communicatively coupled to at least one of the one or more processors, the non-transitory memory storing a current flight plan in a non-transitory storage medium.

17. The system of claim 6, wherein one automatic flight-plan-relevant source comprises:

a flight management computer configured to output at least one of flight planning input, navigation data, and a combination thereof.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the one or more processors are one or more predictive controller/pilot data link communication (CPDLC) clearance processors and wherein the flight management computer further includes a predictive controller/pilot data link communication (CPDLC) application communicatively coupled to at least one of the one or more CPDLC processors.

19. A system to automatically generate a clearance request to deviate from a flight plan, the system comprising:

means for automatically receiving input at an airborne vehicle, the input being related to conditions of a flight plan;

processing means on the airborne vehicle for independently generating a preconfigured clearance request message;

means for audibly indicating the preconfigured clearance request message to a flight crew user; and

processing means for receiving two approvals to the independently generated preconfigured clearance request message at the airborne vehicle.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein the means to receive two approvals comprise:

means for receiving onboard approval input responsive to implementation of the means for audibly indicating the preconfigured clearance request message; and

means for receiving an offboard approval input responsive to implementation of the means for receiving an onboard confirmation.