Classifications

• • G—PHYSICS
  • G08—SIGNALLING
  • G08G—TRAFFIC CONTROL SYSTEMS
  • G08G5/00—Traffic control systems for aircraft, e.g. air-traffic control [ATC]
  • G08G5/0004—Transmission of traffic-related information to or from an aircraft
  • G08G5/0008—Transmission of traffic-related information to or from an aircraft with other aircraft
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B64—AIRCRAFT; AVIATION; COSMONAUTICS
  • B64D—EQUIPMENT FOR FITTING IN OR TO AIRCRAFT; FLIGHT SUITS; PARACHUTES; ARRANGEMENTS OR MOUNTING OF POWER PLANTS OR PROPULSION TRANSMISSIONS IN AIRCRAFT
  • B64D45/00—Aircraft indicators or protectors not otherwise provided for
  • B64D45/04—Landing aids; Safety measures to prevent collision with earth's surface
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
  • G01C—MEASURING DISTANCES, LEVELS OR BEARINGS; SURVEYING; NAVIGATION; GYROSCOPIC INSTRUMENTS; PHOTOGRAMMETRY OR VIDEOGRAMMETRY
  • G01C21/00—Navigation; Navigational instruments not provided for in groups G01C1/00 - G01C19/00
  • G01C21/20—Instruments for performing navigational calculations
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G05—CONTROLLING; REGULATING
  • G05D—SYSTEMS FOR CONTROLLING OR REGULATING NON-ELECTRIC VARIABLES
  • G05D1/00—Control of position, course or altitude of land, water, air, or space vehicles, e.g. automatic pilot
  • G05D1/10—Simultaneous control of position or course in three dimensions
  • G05D1/101—Simultaneous control of position or course in three dimensions specially adapted for aircraft
  • G05D1/106—Change initiated in response to external conditions, e.g. avoidance of elevated terrain or of no-fly zones
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G08—SIGNALLING
  • G08G—TRAFFIC CONTROL SYSTEMS
  • G08G5/00—Traffic control systems for aircraft, e.g. air-traffic control [ATC]
  • G08G5/0073—Surveillance aids
  • G08G5/0078—Surveillance aids for monitoring traffic from the aircraft
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G08—SIGNALLING
  • G08G—TRAFFIC CONTROL SYSTEMS
  • G08G5/00—Traffic control systems for aircraft, e.g. air-traffic control [ATC]
  • G08G5/0073—Surveillance aids
  • G08G5/0086—Surveillance aids for monitoring terrain
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G08—SIGNALLING
  • G08G—TRAFFIC CONTROL SYSTEMS
  • G08G5/00—Traffic control systems for aircraft, e.g. air-traffic control [ATC]
  • G08G5/04—Anti-collision systems
  • G08G5/045—Navigation or guidance aids, e.g. determination of anti-collision manoeuvers

Definitions

• the present invention relates to a method and a device for securing the flight of an aircraft in instrument flight conditions excluding instrument flight infrastructures.
• VMC Visual - visual flight conditions
• I MC Instrument Meteorological Conditions
• VFR Visual Flight Rules
• instrument flight say "IFR"
• IMC Intrasstrument Flight Rules
• IMC Instrument Flight Rules
• the flight in IMC conditions that is to say in instrument flight conditions
• IMC instrument flight conditions
• low-lying areas outside of airport areas
• between reliefs are not accessible, as they are generally outside IFR infrastructure, i.e. out of reach of radio navigation and coverage means. air navigation radars.
• IFR for air traffic control (i.e. outside IFR infrastructure).
• US Pat. No. 6,421,603 (Pratt et al) describes a method for evaluating risks of interference between a planned flight plan and obstacles, in which the flight plan is defined in the form of a rough trajectory consisting of '' a series of segments with spatial extent parameters (horizontal and vertical); a route generator converts these segments and parameters into parallelepipeds or polygons to form a route model; fixed obstacles are represented in the form of terrain squares with an altitude and their subdivisions, while mobile obstacles are modeled by segments, similar to the flight plan; interference detection is performed by comparison of the respective road and obstacle models; an alarm is triggered when interference is detected.
• This system does not allow the pilot to be shown the portion of the route corresponding to the interference detected.
• US Pat. No. 6,424,889 (Bonhoure et al) describes a method for generating a horizontal trajectory for avoiding dangerous areas for an aircraft; the method comprises the determination of circles tangent to the trajectory at an initial point and at an end point; determining tangents to these circles and to the zone models dangerous; selecting pairs of tangents defining a trajectory skeleton, and determining a coarse trajectory comprising circles connecting the tangents.
• An object of the invention is to propose a system for assisting the piloting of an aircraft with instruments outside the range of IFR infrastructures.
• An object of the invention is to propose a system for assisting the piloting of an aircraft with rotary wing at low altitude.
• An objective of the invention is to propose an interactive method for determining a piloting instruction facilitating the avoidance of obstacles by the on-board pilot of an aircraft, and a device for its implementation.
• An object of the invention is to propose a system for assisting the piloting of an aircraft which is improved and / or which overcomes at least some of the drawbacks of known methods and devices.
• the present invention relates to a method for securing the flight of an aircraft, in particular a rotary wing aircraft, in instrument flight conditions (IMC) outside of instrument flight infrastructures (except IFR infrastructures), so as to provide the aircraft with mission capability anytime, anywhere.
• IMC instrument flight conditions
• the term “road” means a succession of crossing points in 3D space, required by a mission and of segments (“legs” in English terminology) connecting these points two by two.
• the method according to the invention makes it possible to ensure all the functions necessary for the execution of a flight in IMC conditions (that is to say in instrument flight conditions), simply from available means. on board the aircraft, and not connected to IFR infrastructure.
• the reliability and complementarity of the means used for this purpose allow, as will be seen below, to perform all these functions with a level of security at least as good as during a flight executed with the support of an IFR infrastructure. .
• step a) above to determine a secure route for the aircraft:
• an operator constructs a route for the aircraft using an interactive graphical route construction tool coupled to an interference calculator and to a memory;
• step c or) to verify the safety of the effective trajectory of the aircraft:
• step c? At least when the aircraft is close to the ground:
• a safety line located above the relief is superimposed on said real external view.
• step c ⁇ at least some of the following information is presented to at least one pilot of the aircraft:
• the present invention also relates to a device for securing the flight of an aircraft, in particular of a rotary wing aircraft, in instrument flight conditions excluding instrument flight infrastructures.
• said device is remarkable in that it comprises at least:
• an interference calculator capable, in particular, of calculating the interference between a road and a theoretical terrain
• a display means for example a screen, a head-up collimator or equivalent, as well as the necessary interface;
• the device conforming to the inversion makes it possible to ensure all the functions necessary for the execution of a flight in IMC conditions, without using for this purpose the usual IFR infrastructure.
• the reliability and complementarity of the various means of said device make it possible to carry out all of these functions with a level of security at least as good as during a flight executed with the support of IFR infrastructures.
• the device according to the invention has a flight capacity of any time and in any place.
• said device further comprises at least one means for assisting in the perception of the external environment of the aircraft.
• the device 1 is intended to secure the flight of an aircraft (not shown), in particular of a rotary wing aircraft, such as a helicopter, in instrument flight conditions (IMC) excluding instrument flight infrastructure (excluding IFR infrastructure).
• IMC instrument flight conditions
• IFR infrastructure instrument flight infrastructure
• the purpose of said device 1 is to implement a method according to the invention, consisting of:
• Y provide assistance in perceiving the external environment of the aircraft.
• said device 1 comprises:
• an interference calculator 2 capable, in particular, of calculating the interference between the road and the terrain
• a memory 5 containing a model of the terrain to be overflown
• piloting system 9 of the usual type, not further specified and usually comprising at least one piloting screen or equivalent, and possibly an autopilot.
• control system 9 is connected by a link 10 to the navigation computer 8.
• said navigation computer 8 comprises a usual navigation function 11, and said computer 2, as well as said memory 4, are integrated into said navigation computer 8.
• the aforementioned first step a) of an all-weather flight is the preparation and securing of the route with respect to the terrain and to any obstacles.
• the interactive road construction tool 7 is necessarily on board the aircraft.
• This interactive tool 7 comprises a usual designation means (for example a mouse, a keyboard, a touch screen) which can be actuated by an operator, in particular a pilot of the aircraft, which is coupled to the computer 2, and the result of which of an actuation is displayed on a screen, in particular on the display screen 6.
• a usual designation means for example a mouse, a keyboard, a touch screen
• the route constructed by the pilot using the construction tool 7 is introduced into the computer 2 which then superimposes this theoretical route on the digital terrain model from memory 5 to determine any interference, taking safety margins (minimum acceptable distances from the relief, in the vertical plane and in the horizontal plane). This interference is visualized on the display screen 6 so that the pilot can modify the route until all interference is eliminated.
• the pilot can gradually build the secure route of his choice and store it in the memory 4 of the computer 2.
• Flight safety is based on precise monitoring of the secure route thus determined.
• the display screen 6 makes it possible to display the respective positions of the aircraft and of the planned route.
• the navigation computer 8 (navigation function 11) guides the aircraft very precisely over the secure route. However, the trajectory actually carried out by the aircraft differs slightly from the theoretical route. Also, to ensure the best possible safety, it is necessary, in step c) above, to check the safety of the effective trajectory of the aircraft.
• the computer 2 checks that the difference between the theoretical route of the aircraft and the current position of the aircraft remains acceptable;
• the navigation computer calculates, on the basis of information from the acquisition means 3 and the theoretical route, a difference between the aircraft and the theoretical route. If this difference becomes greater than the predefined safety margins of the theoretical route, the pilot is alerted by alarms, displayed for example on a piloting screen of the piloting system 9.
• step 2 Securing with respect to the theoretical terrain (step 2) is implemented by a usual system for avoiding collisions with the ground, preferably of the “GC ⁇ S” type (Ground Collision Avoidance System).
• GC ⁇ S Round Collision Avoidance System
• This GCAS system is part of a set 12 of systems S1, S2, ..., Sn provided on the aircraft. Said assembly 12 is integrated into the device 1 according to the invention,
• a usual obstacle detection and avoidance system preferably of the “OWS” (“Obstacle Warning System”) type, calling on to sensors detecting obstacles and reliefs in the dark or in bad weather conditions.
• This OWS system which is integrated into the assembly 12 comprises a display screen or equivalent, which provides the pilot with a safety line over obstacles, as defined for example in patent FR-2712251, and a device for alert indicating the presence of a dangerous obstacle.
• step c ") of the method according to the invention can be implemented by an aircraft collision avoidance system, preferably of the" Aircraft Collision Avoidance System “(ACAS) type, which detects the presence and position of other aircraft within a radius compatible with the reaction possibilities of the aircraft and the pilot and provides the pilot with information on potential conflicts and piloting instructions to avoid collision.
• AVS Aircraft Collision Avoidance System
• step Q Y is implemented by systems specified below of said assembly 12.
• This aid is essential in all phases of flight close to the ground, both for landings / takeoffs and for flights at very low altitudes. In the other flight phases, it reinforces the level of flight safety by giving the pilot additional information which enables him to optimize his actions or reactions.
• OVS obstacle avoidance system
• the knowledge of the environment of the aircraft can be reinforced by means of various complementary systems, allowing:

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• 2003
  • 2003-04-16 FR FR0304753A patent/FR2853978B1/fr not_active Expired - Fee Related
• 2004
  • 2004-04-06 US US10/553,408 patent/US20070027588A1/en not_active Abandoned
  • 2004-04-16 EP EP04742521A patent/EP1614086B1/de not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 2004-04-16 EP EP04742520A patent/EP1614085A2/de not_active Withdrawn
  • 2004-04-16 US US10/553,965 patent/US7346437B2/en active Active
  • 2004-04-16 WO PCT/FR2004/000939 patent/WO2004095393A2/fr active Application Filing
  • 2004-04-16 WO PCT/FR2004/000940 patent/WO2004095394A2/fr active Search and Examination

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