Classifications

• • G—PHYSICS
  • G08—SIGNALLING
  • G08G—TRAFFIC CONTROL SYSTEMS
  • G08G5/00—Traffic control systems for aircraft
  • G08G5/20—Arrangements for acquiring, generating, sharing or displaying traffic information
  • G08G5/26—Transmission of traffic-related information between aircraft and ground stations
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G08—SIGNALLING
  • G08G—TRAFFIC CONTROL SYSTEMS
  • G08G5/00—Traffic control systems for aircraft
  • G08G5/30—Flight plan management
  • G08G5/34—Flight plan management for flight plan modification
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G08—SIGNALLING
  • G08G—TRAFFIC CONTROL SYSTEMS
  • G08G5/00—Traffic control systems for aircraft
  • G08G5/50—Navigation or guidance aids
  • G08G5/54—Navigation or guidance aids for approach or landing

Definitions

• the invention relates to an aid to navigation of an aircraft in the approach phase, particularly during a rapid change of runway or landing procedure.
• an aircraft is equipped with an FMS (Flight Management System) management computer that assists the pilot, particularly in his management of the approach phase.
• the pilot schedules an arrival procedure in his flight plan; this includes the list of side segments, flight plan constraints, an airstrip and the associated landing aid system or approach procedure.
• system of landing aid mention may be made of systems comprising means of radio navigation on the ground such as ILS ground beacons "Instrument Landing System", VOR (VHF Omni Range), NDB (Non Directional Beacon). .. to which correspond sensors embedded on board the aircraft.
• FIG. 1 illustrates a lateral approach trajectory: it is located between the end of a STAR Standard Arrival Arrivale Route and an airstrip 1.
• STAR trajectory initiates the transition from Cruise 3 to the finish.
• Each trajectory is established by the FMS from a procedure consisting of waypoints 7 ("waypoint" in English) connected by segments 9 and from transitions 5 calculated by the FMS to connect the segments together.
• Waypoint in English
• transitions 5 calculated by the FMS to connect the segments together.
• each STAR arrival procedure can be linked (possibly by a transition 5) to several approach procedures depending on the track, the landing direction on the track and the landing aid system chosen. There may also be a transition 5 to link each approach procedure to the track.
• an arrival sector determines the STAR trajectory to be used while the choice of the approach procedure is determined by the air traffic controller or the pilot according to the direction of the runway in use as well as the assistance system. chosen landing.
• a track is marked by its indicated orientation in tens of degrees, and possibly by a letter L, R or C (such as "Left”, “Right”, or “Central”) in the case of parallel tracks.
• L, R or C such as "Left", “Right”, or "Central”
• track a track and its direction of landing; thus in the figure, 4 parallel tracks are shown, tracks 26R, 26L, 08L and 08R.
• This figure also shows a radio-guide beam 11 by ILS beacons.
• the air controller asks the pilot to change the landing runway, for example because of a change of direction of the wind or a load shedding of traffic on another runway, whereas the approach phase has already started.
• the pilot must then manually re-program his flight plan that is to say enter the new runway (for example the runway 08L instead of 26L as shown in Figure 1), choose the associated landing aid system to this new runway, and verify that the approach lateral path and the vertical profile between the current position of the aircraft and the runway, are correct.
• This reprogramming which results for the pilot by the striking of several different keys can be unacceptable given his workload during the approach phase.
• the pilot has only a short time to reprogram the new flight plan.
• the most important object of the invention is therefore to accelerate the change of track before landing or more generally the change of approach, facilitating and minimizing the actions of the pilot.
• the invention proposes a method of changing the approach procedure of an aircraft, comprising steps of selecting a new landing strip of the destination airport and selecting a flight system.
• landing aid or approach procedure associated with this runway mainly characterized in that the selection steps comprise an automatic selection of a pair associating the new landing runway with the assistance system.
• landing or approach procedure the pair being derived from a database containing the pairs linked to the destination airport. This process allows the pilot to quickly change the runway before landing while minimizing his actions. It makes it possible to quickly replace the initially planned trajectory by a rejection trajectory of the axis of the track and the track itself with automatic selection of the landing aid system or the non-precision approach procedure.
• the selection of the pair advantageously consists in displaying on a man-machine interface, a set of pairs, and in validating by means of a command, the selected pair.
• it comprises a step of controlling the display by means of a man-machine interface.
• the pilot thus has a new function enabling him to control the display of the couples of the destination airport by means of a pilot interface.
• the selection of the pair consists in displaying on an interface intended for the crew a first pair coming from the database, to scroll through the couples as long as the couple to be selected is not displayed, and to validate by means of a command, the selected couple when displayed.
• the selection of the pair furthermore consists in controlling a step of automatically calculating a modified flight plan as a function of this selected pair, and calculating the approach trajectory from this plane modified flight, and a step of automatically displaying the approach path and the runway.
• the invention also relates to a navigation aid system comprising an onboard flight management computer, characterized in that it comprises connected to the computer, a database consisting of pairs each combining a landing strip and a landing assistance system or non-precision approach procedure, means for displaying the couples and means for selecting a pair.
• a man-machine interface comprising the means for displaying the couples and the means for selecting a pair and preferably means for controlling the display of the pairs.
• the human-machine interface is for example equipped with a selector adapted to scroll the couples on the interface and to select a couple. This selector can be a button with two concentric selections with a command to respectively select and validate the torque.
• the computer comprises means for calculating a modified flight plan according to the selected torque.
• FIG. 1 schematically illustrates a change of approach trajectory
• FIG. 2 diagrammatically represents an FMS calculator connected to various equipments
• FIG. 3 diagrammatically represents an example of an approach page
• FIG. 4 schematically represents an example of a selection page of a couple.
• FIG. 5 schematically represents an example of means for selecting a pair
• FIG. 6 schematically represents examples of pairs of a database, presented in the form of a stack
• FIG. 7 schematically represents an example of a new trajectory. approach.
• an aircraft is equipped with an FMS flight management computer (acronym for the English expression Flight Management System).
• the FMS calculator 50 is connected at least to a human-machine interface, for example an MCDU 52 (an acronym for the Multi Purpose Control and Display Unit) called a "head-down" interface, on a screen navigation ND 54 (acronym for the English expression Navigation Display), various on-board equipment 56 (sensors 56a, autopilot 56b, terrain database 56c, ...) -
• This interface includes an associated display screen a selection device allowing the pilot to check, select and / or modify certain displayed fields. The method of the invention allows the pilot to quickly change the runway before landing while minimizing his actions.
• a runway of an airport associated with a landing aid system constitutes a pair.
• a track may be associated with several landing aid systems, for example being equipped with several types of beacons. In this case, several pairs have the same track but are distinguished from each other by the landing aid system or the non-precision approach procedure. Examples of couples are shown in Figures 4 and 5. All couples at the destination airport are stored in a 56d database. This database connected to the FMS calculator also includes all couples from other airports.
• the method according to the invention takes place in the approach phase, while an approach page as shown in FIG. 3 is statutorily displayed on the man-machine interface 52.
• On this interface appears the active torque that is to say as originally planned, before the change.
• the pilot can then directly modify the selected torque by entering the field corresponding to the new runway, as well as one of the landing assistance systems or a landing procedure. non-precision approach associated with the track, of his choice. For practical reasons, as seen in the preamble, given the pilot's load during the approach phase, typing several different keys on the alphabetical keypad can be unacceptable.
• the pilot has a new function enabling him to control the display of the couples of the destination airport by means of a pilot interface.
• the FMS allows the crew to display beforehand on an interface that is intended for all the existing pairs for the current destination. This display is initiated by calling the pilot of the function associated with the quick change of track. The pilot must then validate his selection so that the new approach corresponding to this new pair is enslaved by the aircraft systems. This validation of the selected pair is performed by means of a command depending on the interface used.
• the activation of the function can be performed by two different and complementary means, one being accessible via the head-to-bottom interface of the FMS (for example the MCDU), the other by a so-called "head-high" pilot interface. that is the selection strip FCU 58 also connected to the FMS as illustrated in FIG.
• the control of the display is implemented by means of the MCDU interface. For this purpose, he selects the field of the initially planned track as indicated in the approach page example (ILS26L) of FIG. 3, for example by means of the corresponding line key (1 R).
• the control of the display has the effect of displaying a summary page of all couples of the destination airport, for example on this interface MCDU as shown on the screen page shown in Figure 4.
• This page presents the 8 runways of CDG Roissy airport in France, respectively associated with a landing aid system, in this case the ILS system.
• the arrow symbol indicates that several landing aid systems are available on the corresponding runway; this is the case of tracks 08L, 09R, 26R and 27L because they are also equipped with a VOR system.
• the driver validates the selected torque, by means of the selection device which can be a line key 52a as shown in the figure.
• the selection device can be a line key 52a as shown in the figure.
• This way of selecting a torque from a line key of the MCDU 50 interface is ergonomic, which is advantageous in an environment where the pilot's workload is high.
• the "Select Approach" key also displayed on this page remains available to the pilot when he wishes to access the usual page for programming the arrival procedure. This page is more complete because it includes all the arrival procedures of the destination airport but induces heavier actions in terms of workload and attention.
• the display of the current torque (before change) and the possible selection of another torque by the driver are proposed on a pilot interface 58 also connected to the FMS, for example on a screen in the form of bandeau as shown in Figure 5.
• This selection is proposed to the driver through a drop-down menu (continuous stack) which displays all the couples that the driver can scroll through a command.
• the driver can scroll through the couples that can be selected using a selector.
• the driver validates this selection by means of another command. This selection can be accelerated by using a two-selector selector.
• the selector and this other command are for example grouped in a button 58a.
• the validation of this selection is performed by an action on the same button (for example by an action to push).
• the selections correspond respectively to a first and a second pointer in the couples database as shown in FIG. 6.
• the pairs of the database are represented in the form of an ordered stack of pairs.
• the first location is that of a first runway associated with a landing aid system, in this case 08L / ILS; the second location is that of the same runway associated with another landing aid system in this case 08L / VOR; the third and fourth locations are respectively those of a second and third runways associated with a single landing aid system, namely 08R / ILS and 09L / ILS; the fifth and sixth locations are respectively those of a fourth track respectively associated with a first and second landing aid systems in this case 09R / ILS and 09R / VOR; etc. Couples with the same track form a subset.
• the first pointer 561 points only to the first location of a subset, while the second pointer 562 points only to the locations of the subset already pointed by the first pointer.
• FIG. 2 shows the two pilot interfaces 52 and 58; the interface 58 is not necessary for the first embodiment. Whether it is one or the other embodiment, the track being imposed by the air controller, or even by the pilot himself, the pilot selects the pair corresponding to this track and the help system. landing that the aircraft is equipped with. If several landing aid systems are at his disposal, he chooses the most interesting at the operational level. This is for example the most accurate for landings "All-time", the most delicate configuration for a pilot, the most demanding in terms of category (eg ILS CAT III) which becomes the preferential approach for which the pilot actions must be the most reduced.
• category eg ILS CAT III
• the FMS proposes by default as the first pair of a subset, the one whose landing aid system is the most accurate, IMLS for example, as shown in Figure 4.
• the displayed pairs have been pre-selected by the FMS: these are the couples that can be selected, that is to say those whose landing aid system can be put implemented because the aircraft and the airport are equipped with the corresponding means or those comprising an approach procedure available.
• This selection aid is accompanied by a new optimized calculation of the lateral as well as the vertical trajectory, making it possible to present the aircraft in the best conditions of safety and comfort and in compliance with the regulations (respect of navigation constraints).
• the selection of the pair has the effect of automatically controlling the calculation by the FMS calculator of a new modified flight plan according to the new selected pair; it also controls the display on the ND screen, the track and the approach path corresponding to this new flight plan and calculated by the FMS, and preferably the display on the man-machine interface (for example a MCDU) the conditions of the new approach procedure (exact heading of the runway, parameters related to the landing aid system, etc.).
• the flight plan is developed taking into account the speed and altitude profiles required for the approach and landing. As long as the new flight plan is not validated by the pilot, the runway and the approach path are displayed with a code, for example a color code, indicating that it is a temporary selection.
• the new flight plan calculated by the FMS comprises for example two lateral segments as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 7.
• a first segment 13 joining the current position of the aircraft to a point AAA making it possible to intercept the axis of the track 1; this segment is of DF type "Direct to Fix” that is to say a type of segment standardized by the ARINC 424 standard corresponding to a direct trajectory towards a turning point, with an additional characteristic of interception of the axis of Track ; in the general case, this segment consists of a first turn 13a, a straight path 13b and a last turn 13c.
• DF segment 13 is calculated to reduce maneuvering and distance.
• the calculation shall take into account: (a) the maximum roll angle that the aircraft will aim to optimize the time and turning radius but will not exceed for reasons of safety and comfort of the passengers, and (b) the distance required to the turning of the aircraft to create the corresponding right trajectory 13b, before the turn 13c, c) of the current ground speed and the expected roll angle of the aircraft during the first turn 13a, (itself depending on a possible transition path and the maximum angle of roll) for calculating the turning radius of this possible 1 turn and build if necessary, d) ground speed under item AAA and angle expected roll of the aircraft, to calculate the turn radius of the eventual last turn 13c and build it if necessary, e) the sequence with a CF-type segment which requires the end of the segment DF with the travel of the next CF segment, f) because the distance to the point AAA is as short as possible and allows the aircraft to decelerate from its current speed to the landing speed.
• the FMS calculator proposes another segment 13 'of the length necessary to respect these constraints, as illustrated in FIG. Once these lateral segments are determined, the FMS calculator calculates a vertical trajectory allowing the aircraft to intercept in good conditions of safety and comfort of the passengers, the final vertical axis.
• This trajectory generally consists in maintaining a landing until a point of descent calculated to intercept the final axis without deviating from the lateral trajectory (without "overshoot” in English).
• the vertical trajectory optionally includes a climb segment allowing the aircraft to reposition itself at a minimum altitude to intercept the final axis. This is the case for example when the approach on the previous track was already well underway.
• the lateral and vertical trajectories being calculated the FMS displays them on the ND screen. It also activates the selected landing aid system by sending to the aircraft sensor the frequency of the associated ground beacon. The pilot can then validate the new flight plan by means of, for example, an "activate" key of the MCDU as represented in FIG. 4. The flight plan is then activated.
• the landing aid system is armed by the pilot and as soon as the capture and tracking conditions according to the landing system are satisfied, the FMS authorizes the autopilot to enter the approach phase.
• the airstrip can no longer be "sequenced", that is to say removed from the flight plan; similarly, the selection of the landing aid system or the approach procedure is maintained.

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• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Aviation & Aerospace Engineering (AREA)
• Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• Traffic Control Systems (AREA)
• Navigation (AREA)

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• 2004
  • 2004-06-29 FR FR0407154A patent/FR2872316B1/fr not_active Expired - Fee Related
• 2005
  • 2005-06-28 WO PCT/EP2005/053022 patent/WO2006000590A1/fr not_active Ceased
  • 2005-06-28 EP EP05761150A patent/EP1761829A1/de not_active Withdrawn
  • 2005-06-28 CA CA002572186A patent/CA2572186A1/fr not_active Abandoned
  • 2005-06-28 US US11/571,484 patent/US20070225876A1/en not_active Abandoned

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