Device and a method for constructing a flight path in order to reach a destination

• US 8,868,257 B2
• Filed: 05/16/2012
• Issued: 10/21/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 05/20/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Airbus Helicopters
• Original Assignee: Airbus Helicopters
• Inventors: Kirchhofer, Alain, Mandonnaud, Francois, Garcia, Patrick
• Primary Examiner(s): Algahaim, Helal A
• Assistant Examiner(s): PATEL, SHARDUL D
• Application Number:
  US13/472,896
• Publication Number:
  US 20120296499A1
• Time in Patent Office: 888 Days
• Field of Search: 701/3, 701/5, 701/301, 701/400, 701/448, 701/449, 701/446, 340/990, 340/995, 340/988, 702/144, 702/145
• US Class Current: 701/3
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 23/00 Combined instruments indicating more than one navigational value, e.g. for aircraft; Combined measuring devices for measuring two or more variables of movement, e.g. distance, speed or acceleration
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/102 specially adapted for vertical take-off of aircraft

Abstract

A device (10) for defining a flight path (2) enabling an aircraft (1) to reach a destination (B), said device (10) including a digital terrain model (21) and a display screen (30), and being provided with generator means (15) for generating a flight path (2) including at least one flight segment (3) associated with a flying altitude. The device (10) includes a digital noise database (20) having volumes that are to be avoided, said device (10) having a computer (11) with a main memory (13) containing instructions for displaying on said display screen (30) and as an overlay on a first representation (31) of said terrain as provided by said digital terrain model (21): a second representation (41) of said volumes to be avoided; and a flight path (2) that has been generated by using said generator means (15).

Claims

1. A device for defining a flight path enabling an aircraft to reach a destination, said device comprising:

a digital terrain model;

a digital noise database having volumes to be avoided, each volume to be avoided being a zone in which an aircraft emits noise generating a sound footprint above a predetermined threshold value on the ground at predetermined sites;

an aircraft database supplied by the manufacturer of an aircraft and characterizing the noise generated by said aircraft;

a legislative database containing the regulations to be complied with in terms of noise emissions;

a display screen;

generator means for generating a flight path including at least one flight segment associated with a flying altitude; and

a computer with a main memory containing instructions enabling the following to be displayed on said display screen as an overlay on a first representation of said terrain as provided by said digital terrain model;

a second representation of said volumes to be avoided; and

a flight path that has been generated by using said generator means;

wherein by executing said instructions said computer generates said noise database from said aircraft database and said legislative database.

2. A device according to claim 1, wherein by executing said instructions said computer determines whether a segment is a risky segment passing through a volume to be avoided defined by the digital noise database.

3. A device according to claim 2, wherein by executing said instructions with each flight segment being associated with a flying altitude, said computer displays on said display screen a section of said volumes to be avoided at said flying altitude in two dimensions as the second representation.

4. A device according to claim 3, wherein said device includes a flight instructions database, and by executing said instructions, said computer determines whether a segment of a generated flight path is a risky segment passing through a volume to be avoided from the digital noise database, and displays information on the display relating to flight instructions to be applied while traveling along said risky segment through the volume to be avoided.

5. A device according to claim 1 further comprising a meteorological database;

and

wherein by executing said instructions said computer generates said noise database from said aircraft database together with said legislative database and said meteorological database.

6. A device according to claim 1 further comprising a secondary memory, said generated flight path and said second representation of said volumes to be avoided being stored in said secondary memory.

7. An aircraft, including a device according to claim 1.

14. A device according to claim 1, wherein the flight path generated by the generated means is based on the volumes to be avoided from the digital noise database and the digital terrain model.

8. A method of defining a flight path in order to reach a destination, the flight path including at least one segment associated with a flying altitude, by using a digital terrain model, a digital noise database, and a display screen, together with generator means for generating said flight path, the method comprising:

generating said noise database from an aircraft database characterizing the noise generated by an aircraft, and from a legislative database containing the regulations to be complied with in terms of noise emission;

constructing a generated flight path during a flight path construction step using the terrain model and the noise database;

displaying terrain as a first representation on a display screen; and

overlaying volumes to be avoided from the noise database into which an aircraft should avoid penetrating in order to avoid generating undue noise on the ground at predetermined sites, and the generated flight path on the display screen over the first representation of the terrain during a comparison step.

9. A method according to claim 8 further comprising constructing an alternative flight path when the generated flight path and the locations of volumes to be avoided are incompatible.

10. A method according to claim 8, wherein said generated flight path is constructed with the help of the generator means;

and the method further comprising;

executing said instructions to display volumes to be avoided and said generated flight path on said display screen as an overlay on a first representation of a terrain as provided by a digital terrain model using a computer provided with a main memory, said computer making use of the digital noise database including the volumes to be avoided in order to display said volumes to be avoided on said representation.

11. A method according to claim 8, further comprising displaying a second representation in two dimensions of a section of said volumes to be avoided at said flying altitude for a segment associated with a flying altitude on said display screen by a computer.

12. A method according to claim 11, further comprising displaying information relating to flight instructions for application while following a risky segment entering one of the volumes to be avoided from the digital noise database on said display screen, said information relating to flight instructions being extracted from a flight instructions database regarding flight procedures within the one of the volumes to be avoided.

13. A method according to claim 8, further comprising generating said noise database from an aircraft database characterizing the noise generated by an aircraft, from a legislative database containing the regulations to be complied with in terms of noise emissions, and also from a meteorological database.

15. A device for defining a flight path for an aircraft, the device comprising:

a display screen;

a computer linked to a terrain model and a noise database, the noise database containing data relating to the locations and shapes of volumes to be avoided by the aircraft, where each volume to be avoided represents a portion of air space to avoid to reduce excessive noise at predetermined sites on the ground, the computer configured to generate the noise database using an aircraft database characterizing the noise generated by said aircraft, a legislative database containing the regulations to be complied with in terms of noise emissions, and a meteorological database; and

a flight path generator configured to generate a flight path to a destination, the flight path containing at least one segment with an associated flight altitude;

wherein the computer is configured to command the display screen to display;

(i) a first representation of the terrain model, (ii) a second representation of volumes to be avoided overlaying first representation, and (iii) the flight path overlaying the first representation.

16. The device of claim 15 wherein the first representation, second representation, and flight path are displayed on the display screen as a three dimensional view.

17. The device of claim 15 wherein the first representation, second representation, and flight path are displayed on the display screen as a navigational chart.

18. The device of claim 15 further comprising a flight instructions database linked to the computer, the flight instructions database having predetermined instructions for flying with moderate noise to limit the noise impact of the aircraft at a predetermined site, the predetermined instructions including at least one of flight instructions proper and flight procedures;

wherein the computer is configured to designate a segment of a generated flight path passing through a volume to be avoided as a risky segment;

wherein the computer is configured to display a symbol on the display screen indicating flight instructions to be applied when the aircraft is traveling along the risky segment.