EP2513731B1 - Device intended for air traffic controllers to assist tracking of aircraft ascents and descents - Google Patents

Description

The invention lies in the field of man-machine interfaces of a civilian or military air traffic control station. More specifically, the field of the invention relates to devices for warning or alerting a controller that an aircraft will perform a landing at altitude.

Devices used in air control operations are described in WO 2007/072028 , EP1318492 and US 6393358 .

Currently, the air traffic controller authorizes aircraft to reach a certain level of flight. A flight level is often called landing or a CFL, whose acronym means in the English terminology used in aeronautics "Cleared flight Level". Generally, the crew defines a level of cruise that it wishes to join.

When the controller gives a CFL, the crew joins the latter whether it is uphill or downhill.

These procedures may occur throughout the flight, including after take-off or during flight due to a reprogramming of the flight plan to avoid bad weather or for some reasons that may occur.

If an aircraft is mounted, the controller may need to deliver the CFL requested by the crew, that is to say generally at the cruising level of an aircraft, but the controller may also assign a CFL less than the requested level by the pilot for security reasons.

For example, when another aircraft wishes to reach and fly a certain landing, the controller must wait to see the evolution of the situation before responding favorably to the request.

In this case, the controller should regularly check the situation to see if he can, or not, give permission to climb higher or lower than the current situation of the aircraft.

But it is also possible, for reasons of coordination given the organization of the control, that the controller must request authorization from the adjacent sector if the requested level is outside his area of responsibility. A sector is called a cut of the airspace to distribute the workload on several controllers.

Generally, air traffic controllers allocate space per zone, each zone comprising a given perimeter and an altitude slice. As the aircraft change slices, the controllers coordinate to track an aircraft crossing a landing.

As a result of this coordination, the air traffic controller may be required to give an intermediate level of flight to the aircraft crew. Although this intermediate level is not the one desired by the crew, it allows the controller to have time to coordinate.

In order to prevent the aircraft from making an intermediate landing at this altitude level which is not the desired one, the controller must send a new altitude setpoint before the aircraft reaches its intended intermediate level so that the new setpoint is taken into account.

But with the workload, a disadvantage is that the air traffic controller may have to focus on another point and forget to give a new instruction to the crew. This led to the aircraft stealing the landing planned in its flight plan while nothing prevented it to continue its rise. The aircraft is stopped in its rise or descent and therefore has unnecessary consumption.

A problem encountered is that there is no help to alert the controller that an aircraft will perform an intermediate level.

The only way is to periodically monitor the altitude of the aircraft. The controller must therefore monopolize much of his attention to the surveillance of an aircraft at the expense of other actions.

It can perform this monitoring from the radar tracks on a control screen or from the display indicating the tracking of the vertical trajectories of aircraft included in a portion of the space.

An object of the invention is to overcome the aforementioned drawbacks.

An object of the invention is in particular to relieve the air controller by means of a device for generating an alarm when the aircraft is approaching a landing or an altitude level at which a decision of the controller must be made .

• ■ des moyens de réception de données émises par un aéronef comprenant au moins sa position dans l'espace et des requêtes éventuelles émises par l'équipage ;
• ■ un afficheur permettant d'afficher la trajectoire d'un aéronef effectuant une manoeuvre en vue de rejoindre un premier niveau d'altitude et ;
• ■ des moyens pour donner une autorisation d'atteindre un second niveau d'altitude à l'équipage de l'aéronef.

For this purpose, the subject of the invention is a device for assisting the monitoring of climbs and descents of aircraft intended for air traffic controllers, comprising:

• Means for receiving data transmitted by an aircraft comprising at least its position in space and any requests made by the crew;
• A display for displaying the trajectory of an aircraft performing a maneuver to reach a first altitude level and;
• Means for giving an authorization to reach a second altitude level to the crew of the aircraft.

The device comprises an alarm manager configurable according to at least one flight condition of the aircraft calculated from the first altitude level for issuing an alarm at a time when the condition is met.

The condition may be an altitude threshold remaining to be traveled to the first altitude level, the alarm being triggered when the threshold value is crossed by the aircraft.

The condition can be a predefined duration before reaching the first altitude level, the alarm being triggered when the time remaining for the aircraft to reach the first altitude level is less than the predefined duration.

Advantageously, the display generates an indicator on the trajectory of the aircraft indicating the moment when the alarm will be triggered.

Advantageously, the alarm is a visual alarm displayed on the air traffic controller display or an alarm is an audible alarm.

Advantageously, the alarm is displayed in superposition of the trajectory of the aircraft at the symbol representing the aircraft.

• ■ La figure 1 représente un écran de contrôle aérien indiquant la position de certains aéronefs, leur plan de vol et un indicateur d'alarme selon l'invention.
• ■ La figure 2 représente un écran de contrôle aérien indiquant une alarme visuelle autour du symbole de l'aéronef surveillé.
• ■ La figure 3 représente une coupe verticale du plan de vol et un marqueur indiquant au contrôleur la présence d'une alarme.
• ■ La figure 4 représente une coupe verticale du plan de vol modifié après réception d'une consigne du contrôleur.

The invention will be better understood and other advantages will become apparent on reading the description which follows given by way of non-limiting example and by virtue of the appended figures among which:

• ■ The figure 1 represents an air control screen indicating the position of certain aircraft, their flight plan and an alarm indicator according to the invention.
• ■ The figure 2 represents an air control screen indicating a visual alarm around the symbol of the monitored aircraft.
• ■ The figure 3 represents a vertical section of the flight plan and a marker indicating to the controller the presence of an alarm.
• ■ The figure 4 represents a vertical section of the modified flight plan after receiving a command from the controller.

In the rest of the description, when an aircraft flies its flight plan, the next landing to be reached by the aircraft is called whatever its situation: the "next landing" and is called the landing after the next landing: the "second tier".

In the following description is indifferently called a landing and altitude level to be reached, the latter being generally given by the air controller.

The figure 1 represents a visualization screen allowing an air traffic controller to monitor a portion of the airspace that corresponds to his sector.

As the aircraft change slices, the controllers coordinate to track an aircraft crossing a landing.

In the display, an aircraft 1, noted AE1 in block 2, follows a flight plan 3. It flies at an altitude of 17000 feet and must reach an altitude of 20000 feet. This information is given in block 2 so as to inform the controller of the trajectory followed by the aircraft 1. For example, on the figure 1 , the aircraft 1 makes a rise of a bearing at 17000 feet to a landing at 20000 feet.

A second aircraft 4, noted AE2 in a second block 5 flies at a fixed altitude of 38000 feet according to its flight plan 6.

The controller thus visualizes the trajectories of different aircraft whose flight plans cross his sector.

The invention makes it possible to generate an alarm at a time determined by a marker 7 represented on the flight plan 3. The marker 7 is an indication calculated by the system and indicating the point at which the alert will be triggered. This indication is visible only from the controller in charge of the sector. It indicates the presence of an alarm which aims to inform the controller of the imminence of the arrival of the aircraft at its next landing which in the example of the figure 1 at 20000 feet.

In particular, the invention makes it possible to generate an alarm when the aircraft approaches its next landing, the latter being inputted by the controller.

In one embodiment, this alarm can be triggered a number of seconds before reaching the next landing of the aircraft, for example 60 seconds before reaching it.

In the case of an alarm triggered a number of seconds before reaching the next level of the flight plan of the aircraft 1, a calculation from the radar tracks makes it possible to estimate the vertical speed of the aircraft and thus to calculate the time remaining to reach said landing.

In another embodiment, the alarm can be triggered at a certain altitude before reaching the next landing, for example 1500 feet before the landing.

In the example of the figure 1 the alarm will sound at 18500 feet before the landing reaches 20000 feet.

The figure 2 represents the same seen but a few minutes later. When the aircraft 1 approaches its landing at 20000 feet, it passes through the point indicated by marker 7 in this example to 1500 feet below the landing at 20000 feet, ie at an altitude of 18500 feet.

In this example, the symbol 1 representing the aircraft is surrounded by a second symbol 20 representing a halo. The visual alarm captures the attention of the controller to drive him to act to communicate a command to the pilot.

The controller can then send a command to the pilots indicating that the aircraft can continue its climb to the second stop, the second stop being the landing defined after the next landing. For example, it may be a second landing at 30000 feet, without marking the next landing at 20000 feet.

The instruction can be transmitted orally by the controller to the crew.

In other embodiments, the alarm may for example be a sound / audible alarm emitting a specific sound to warn the controller of the imminence of his arrival at the next level mentioned on the flight plan of the aircraft.

The invention also makes it possible to indicate in the controller's calendar the moment at which the alarm will be triggered. The controller can at any time consult his diary and see how much time he has left to assess whether it is possible or not to continue the climb or descent without the aircraft flying to the next level.

This moment can also be displayed on the flight plan by a graphic symbol.

An advantage of the invention is that this alarm allows the controller to focus on the other tasks. It no longer needs to periodically monitor the ascent or descent of the aircraft, because the alarm will indicate the moment at which it must make a decision.

An advantage of the invention is to be able to overcome unnecessary bearings provided in the flight plan and which may not be stolen by an aircraft wishing to continue its climb.

The figure 3 represents the vertical section of a flight plan 36 in a coordinate system whose axes represent in ordinate the altitude, denoted ALT, and in abscissa the time, noted t. The flight plan 36 is generally programmed on the ground by the pilots to perform a flight corresponding to a given mission.

In the flight plan 36, the aircraft 1 starts a first climb phase making it possible to reach a first landing 32 'after crossing a waypoint 32. The aircraft in theory continues to a new departure point. passage 33 to start a second climbing phase. The aircraft then climbs to a landing 34 'passing through a waypoint 34 before reaching another waypoint 35.

If the aircraft is upstream of point 32 as shown in figure 3 the next bearing is the 32 'bearing and the second bearing is the bearing 34' with the definitions specified previously.

The marker 7 indicates when the alarm recorded by the controller will be generated to remind him that at that moment he will eventually have to send a direction to the crew of the aircraft 1.

Indeed, the figure 4 represents the case of figure 3 when the aircraft crosses point 7 of its flight plan. It is not very far from reaching its point of passage 32 and the controller considers that nothing prevents the climb of the aircraft directly to the landing 34 '.

The controller sends a command to the crew of the aircraft 1 indicating that it can continue its climb directly to the second level.

In this case, the crew redefines a flight plan sequence that suppresses the level 32 '. A new flight plan 36 'is thus generated and the crossing point 32 becomes a simple point 40 located on the flight path of the aircraft.

This solution has the advantage of saving flight time, simplifying the management operations of aircraft flying bearings, including this maneuver reduces the number of steps. In addition the invention reduces fuel consumption throughout the flight.

The invention also applies to downhill bearings according to the same principle.

Claims (5)

1. A device for assisting in the tracking of aircraft ascents and descents, intended for air traffic controllers, comprising:

   ■ means for receiving data transmitted by an aircraft comprising at least its position in space and possible queries transmitted by the crew;

   ■ a display for displaying the trajectory of an aircraft carrying out a manoeuvre in order to attain a first altitude level; and

   ■ means for giving the crew of the aircraft authorisation to reach a second altitude level,

   characterised in that said device comprises an alarms manager configurable according to at least one flight condition of the aircraft calculated on the basis of the first altitude level allowing an alarm to be transmitted at a time when said condition is fulfilled, and in that said condition is:

   - a threshold of altitude remaining to be covered until the first altitude level, with the alarm being triggered when the value of the threshold is exceeded by said aircraft, or

   - a predefined duration before reaching the first altitude level, the alarm being triggered when the time remaining for the aircraft to attain the first altitude level is less than the predefined duration.
2. The device for assisting in the tracking of aircraft ascents and descents, intended for air traffic controllers, according to any one the preceding claims, characterised in that said display generates an indicator on the trajectory of said aircraft indicating the time at which the alarm will be triggered.
3. The device for assisting in the tracking of aircraft ascents and descents, intended for air traffic controllers, according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that said alarm is a visual alarm displayed on the display of the air traffic controller.
4. The device for assisting, intended for air traffic controllers, in the tracking of aircraft ascents and descents according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that said alarm is an audible alarm.
5. The device for assisting in the tracking of aircraft ascents and descents, intended for air traffic controllers, according to claim 4, characterised in that said alarm is displayed superimposed on the trajectory of said aircraft at the level of the symbol that represents said aircraft.

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