JP2004157887A - Position recognition system for commercial airplane - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a system for allowing the pilot of a commercial airplane to recognize the positions of its own airplane and nearby airplanes. <P>SOLUTION: This position recognizing system is configured of an airplane and a controller device. The airplane is provided with a GPS receiver, a transmitting/receiving means for transmitting the position data of the airplane acquired from the GPS to the controller device, and for receiving display data transmitted from the controller device and a display means for displaying the contents of the display data received from the controller device. Also, the controller device is provided with a transmitting/receiving means for transmitting/receiving data with the airplane, a display data generation means for adding the position data of nearby airplanes within the flight airspace or restricted area information of the airspace acquired from a radar site for air traffic control or a control information processing system of the position data of the airplane and for displaying the positions of the airplane and the nearby airplanes, and a returning means for returning the display data to the airplane. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides a method for a pilot of a commercial aircraft to operate in real time in an airspace (such as an air route, a control zone, a control zone or a special control zone) or / and a restricted zone, in addition to information provided by a control information system from a control agency. The present invention relates to a position recognition system for a commercial aircraft capable of ascertaining the position of its own aircraft and surrounding aircraft.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, commercial aircraft that fly in control airspace or travel within restricted areas are generally provided with instruction information on the order and route of takeoff and landing from control, instruction information on weather and emergency response, etc., and the aircraft will follow this instruction. Flying.
Various types of information from such control are determined and provided by a controller based on a control information processing system including a flight plan information processing system, an air route radar information processing system, an air route radar, and a terminal radar information processing system. Is what it is.
[0003]
Specifically, the flight plan information processing system (FDP) intensively processes flight plans of commercial aircraft nationwide by a large-scale computer and manages them online. The system functions as a flight plan information database for supply, update and recording of flight plan information, and an air route radar information processing system and a terminal radar information processing system described later.
[0004]
Next, the air route radar information processing system (RDP) includes a secondary surveillance radar (SSR) including an interrogator operated on the ground and a transponder mounted on an aircraft, and an air route surveillance radar (ARSR). It performs detection and digitization of information from radar signals obtained by processing both radar information, position prediction and tracking, and display of aircraft identification information by comparing radar information with flight plan information.
[0005]
The terminal radar information processing system (ARTS) is for terminal radar control, digitizes a signal from an aeronautical surveillance radar (ASR), performs a calculation process, and displays an aircraft flight number on a radar screen. , Altitude, ground speed, assigned controller seat, position prediction and tracking, collation of radar information with flight plan information, and the like are displayed in the same manner as the aeronautical radar information processing system (RDP).
Controllers individually judge the information obtained from each of these systems and transmit the information to the pilot of the aircraft.Flight or movement of the aircraft in accordance with the guidance of the controller prevents accidents such as collisions from occurring. ing.
[0006]
By the way, it takes some time for the controller to make a decision based on the information of the system and to transmit the instruction to the aircraft. You are traveling a considerable distance.
Therefore, if the controller finds that another aircraft is approaching the vicinity of a certain aircraft and issues an avoidance instruction, there is a risk that the two aircraft will come close to each other and cause a near miss due to the time difference.
Furthermore, it is undeniable that even though the aircraft is flying normally, an aircraft whose traveling direction has been changed by an incorrect instruction from a controller may cause a near miss with a nearby aircraft.
[0007]
Furthermore, some aircraft (for example, small airplanes such as small Cessna) may be performing a visual flight without receiving information from air traffic controllers. Since the field of view is extremely narrow, there is a possibility that a near miss with the surrounding aircraft similarly occurs.
The aircraft measures the azimuth line from a fixed point on the ground using an automatic direction finder (ADF) or a VHF-based omnidirectional radio beacon (VOR) in order to recognize the correct position of the aircraft. Auxiliary navigation, which measures the distance from a fixed point on the ground using a device (DME) or the like and can recognize the position of the own aircraft by a combination of two or more of these azimuth lines and / or distances, may be used. Since the position of the surrounding airplane cannot be recognized by the navigation, after all, the situation of the surrounding airplane must be recognized by relying on guidance of the control or visually by the pilot.
[0008]
The present invention has been made in view of the near-miss problem as described above, and a commercial aircraft pilot can recognize the position of its own aircraft and peripheral aircraft without relying on information from a controller. In particular, it is an object of the present invention to provide a position recognition system that can be easily used even by a pilot of a small aircraft such as a small airplane.
[0009]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention includes an aircraft and a control device that creates display data for displaying the positions of the aircraft and surrounding aircraft. The aircraft includes a GPS receiver, a GPS Transmitting and receiving the position data of the aircraft obtained from the control device to the control device and receiving the display data transmitted from the control device, and displaying the contents of the display data received from the control device on a screen. Display means, the control device, the transmitting and receiving means for transmitting and receiving data to and from the aircraft, the position data of the aircraft, the radar site for control obtained from the control radar site or control information processing system By adding the position data of each aircraft in the flight airspace or restricted area, display data that can display the position of the aircraft and surrounding aircraft is created Location system commercial aircraft and a returning means and the display data generating means, for the display data is returned to the aircraft that.
It is preferable to use a mobile phone as the transmitting / receiving means of the aircraft.
[0010]
According to the above system, the position of the aircraft is specified using the GPS, and the position data is added to the position data of the surrounding aircraft in the flight airspace or the restricted area of the aircraft obtained from the control radar site or the control information processing system. Display data, which can be displayed by adding the position data and can display the position of the aircraft and the surrounding aircraft, is displayed on the display means in the aircraft, so that the pilot of the aircraft can visually recognize the position of the aircraft and the surrounding aircraft. Can be recognized.
According to such a system, since the processing is performed mechanically through a controller, there is no determination error or time loss required for providing instruction information, and the pilot can be accurately and in real time (at least information from the controller). (It is much faster than the provision), the position of the own aircraft and the surrounding aircraft can be recognized.
[0011]
If a mobile phone is used as the transmission / reception means of the aircraft, it is inexpensive and easy to handle because of its versatility, and can be easily constructed on a small-scale aircraft.
[0012]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
<First embodiment>
In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a position recognition system according to the present invention.
The position recognition system 1 mainly includes a main aircraft 2 on which the system is mounted, and a control device 3 that creates and transmits control information to the main aircraft 2, and uses a GPS (global positioning system). I have.
[0013]
The GPS is a precision satellite navigation system using satellites having an effective range of the whole world. Transmission of radio signals from four satellites out of 24 GPS satellites orbiting about 20,000 km on the ground. In this system, a sphere having a radius of the distance between the satellite and the user obtained by measuring time is assumed for each satellite, and a position is specified from the intersection of the imaginary spheres.
[0014]
The aircraft 2 (hereinafter simply referred to as an “aircraft”) includes a GPS receiver 21 that receives a distance measurement signal and orbit data from a GPS satellite 5 and a device that performs arithmetic processing on the GPS receiver 21 and a display unit A (liquid crystal display). A computer 22 (e.g., a fixed personal computer or a portable (laptop) personal computer) having devices such as a display unit, a transmitting unit B and a receiving unit C, and a mobile phone 23 as a transmitting / receiving unit to the control device 3. Is provided.
Specifically, the GPS receiver 21 is connected to an electronic computer 22 via a transmitting means B, and the electronic computer 22 transmits the distance measurement signal and the orbit data transmitted from the GPS receiver 21. A program for processing according to the GPS system theory and calculating the position data of the own device is input.
Further, a mobile phone 23 is connected to the electronic computer 22, and the electronic computer 22 transmits the position data of the own device calculated via the mobile phone 23 to the control device 3 and transmits the position data to the control device 3. The transmitted display data to be described later can be received.
[0015]
As the mobile phone 23, a non-geostationary satellite communication is preferable because the mobile phone 23 has an advantage in data transmission and reception during flight because the propagation delay time is short and the propagation loss is small. The non-geostationary satellite communication launches a plurality of orbiting satellites 6 in a low orbit (for example, 760 km) on six polar orbits (passing the North Pole and the South Pole). 6 can communicate with each other, and by communicating via these orbiting satellites 6, it is possible to communicate from any place on the earth.
[0016]
Then, the radio wave transmitted from the mobile phone 23 is put on the telephone line network 8 (corresponding to a transmitting / receiving means for the aircraft 2) on the ground through the gateway 7, and transmitted to the control device 3. I have.
[0017]
The control device 3 includes a transmission / reception unit D, a display data creation unit E, and a return unit F.
Specifically, the transmission / reception means D is a device for transmitting / receiving various data to / from the mobile phone 23 of the aircraft 2 via the telephone network 8, such as a modem, a TA, a router connected to a terrestrial telephone network. And the like.
[0018]
The display data creating means E is an electronic computer connected to the control radar site 9 (SSR, ARSR) by communication means, and displays predetermined contents on the display means A of the electronic computer 22 in the aircraft 2 in the following procedure. It is programmed to create the display data to be displayed.
That is, based on the position data (radio wave) of the aircraft 2 received via the transmission / reception means D, the display data creating means E generates the display information of the peripheral aircraft to which the flight data such as the flight prediction of the peripheral aircraft in this flight airspace is added. Display data is created by acquiring position data from the radar site 9 and adding flight data obtained from the radar site 9 to the position data of the aircraft 2. Then, on the screen of the computer 22 of the aircraft 2 that has received the display data, as shown in FIG. 2, the same display contents (altitude, speed, traveling direction, flight direction, etc.) as when each aircraft position is displayed on the radar screen are displayed. Is displayed.
[0019]
The return means F sequentially returns the display data to the mobile phone 23 of the aircraft 2 via the telephone network 8 (transmission / reception means). For example, the return means F automatically returns the display data every time the display data is updated. Has become.
[0020]
In the aircraft position recognition system of the present invention having the above configuration, first, during a flight, the GPS receiver 21 receives a GPS signal from the GPS satellite 5 at predetermined time intervals, and the electronic computer 20 calculates position data of the own aircraft. At the same time, the position data is sent to the satellite 6 from the mobile phone 23 in a communicable state. Then, this data is received by the control device 3 via the network 8, and the display data creating means E analyzes the data. Based on the analysis, the radar site 9 transmits radar information (flight data) of the flight airspace from the radar site 9. get. Further, the display data creating means E adds the position data of the aircraft 2 to the obtained radar information, thereby obtaining the positions (and altitude, speed, traveling direction, flight number, etc.) of the own aircraft 2 and the surrounding aircraft 2 ′,. Create display data that can display). The created display data is returned in the order of the returning means F, the transmitting / receiving means D, the line network 8, the gateway 7, the satellite 6, the mobile phone 23 and the receiving means C, and a screen display as shown in FIG. Is displayed.
[0021]
As described above, the positions of the own aircraft 2 and the surrounding aircraft 2 'are displayed on the screen of the display means provided in the aircraft 2, so that the pilot can recognize the position of the surrounding aircraft 2' (self The vertical direction, the rearward direction, and the side direction of the machine) can be accurately recognized in real time.
This is not only extremely meaningful for the flight of the aircraft 2 which does not receive the control guidance, that is, the aircraft 2 which relies only on the visual flight, but also for the aircraft 2 which receives the control guidance, it is necessary to determine whether or not the instruction from the control is appropriate. It is a source of judgment that you can make yourself. For example, if the instruction from the controller and the display on the screen of the aircraft 2 do not match, the pilot can perform an act of confirming the instruction to the controller, and if the pilot approaches the surrounding aircraft 2 'suddenly, In this case, since the pilot knows the flight position of the surrounding aircraft 2 'in advance, it is easy to make a flight prediction, and it is possible to avoid a near miss with accurate judgment.
[0022]
In particular, according to the system of the present invention, a general-purpose personal computer 22 can be used as an electronic computer mounted on the aircraft 2, and a general-purpose mobile phone 23 can be used as a communication device. There is also an advantage that handling is simple.
[0023]
The position recognition system of the present invention is not limited to a system for recognizing the positions of the own device and peripheral devices during a flight, and may be used as a system for recognizing the positions of the own device and peripheral devices in a restricted area. it can. For example, for an aircraft moving on the ground (airfield), if the same system as described above is used, the positions of the own aircraft and peripheral aircraft can be recognized. Thus, the system of the present invention can be used to recognize a flight location within a flight zone or / and a location within a restricted zone.
[0024]
In the above embodiment, the position data and the display data include the altitude, speed, traveling direction, flight number, and the like in addition to the planar positions of the own device and the peripheral device. Does not have to be handled. However, in order to recognize the aircraft during the flight, it is preferable that the position, altitude, speed, and direction of travel are added. In addition, the recognition of the aircraft while traveling in the restricted area (ground) is preferable. Therefore, it is preferable that the position and the traveling direction are added.
[0025]
Further, in the present embodiment, the display data creation means E of the control device 3 is configured to acquire the radar information from the control radar site 9, but for example, as shown in FIG. The display data creating means E may access the aeronautical radar information processing system 10 (RDP) of the traffic control information processing system. Even in this case, a position recognition system can be constructed similarly to the above.
[0026]
In the present embodiment, a non-geostationary satellite communication type mobile phone is used as a communication device. However, a similar position recognition system can be constructed using a geostationary satellite type mobile phone.
[0027]
Instead of a mobile phone using a satellite, a next-generation mobile phone or a normal mobile phone may be used as shown in FIG.
In FIG. 3, reference numeral 11 denotes a radio base of the mobile phone 23 (in place of a satellite). When the control device 3 is accessed through the mobile phone 23 of the aircraft 2, the position data received by the radio base 11 is transmitted to the network 8 The display data from the control device 3 is transmitted to the aircraft 2 in the reverse order.
Although this system has the advantage of being more inexpensive, the system according to the present invention cannot be used in places where the radio base station 11 is not provided (for example, offshore). However, small aircraft have relatively low flight altitude so they can communicate with the radio base, and small aircraft generally do not move far from the coast. .
[0028]
Further, in the above embodiment, the signal and the orbit data obtained from the GPS satellites 5 via the GPS receiver 21 are processed by the computer 22 of the aircraft 2 into position data for specifying the position of the own device. However, without performing this processing in the aircraft 2, the signal and the orbit data obtained from the GPS satellite 5 are transmitted to the control device 3 via the transmission / reception means, and the process of specifying the position by the control device 3 is performed. May go.
Therefore, the position data in the present invention is a concept including both the data in which the position of the own device is specified and the unprocessed data obtained from the GPS satellite 5.
[0029]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, by using the system according to the present invention, the pilot can accurately and in real time grasp the positions of the own aircraft and the peripheral aircraft.
Therefore, not only the pilot of the visual flight but also the pilot of the commercial aircraft receiving the control guidance have more accurate information for judging the situation, and therefore, the present invention can be used for safe flight or movement.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a schematic reference diagram showing one embodiment of a position recognition system for a commercial aircraft according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a schematic reference diagram showing a screen in a state where display data is displayed on display means in a commercial aircraft.
FIG. 3 is a schematic reference diagram showing another embodiment of the position recognition system for a commercial aircraft according to the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Position recognition system, 2 ... Aircraft, 3 ... Control device, 5 ... GPS satellite, 6 ... Orbiting satellite, 7 ... Gateway, 8 ... Transmission / reception means (telephone network) of control device, 9 ... Radar site for control, 21 ... GPS receiver, 22 ... Electronic computer, 23 ... Aircraft transmission / reception means (mobile phone), A ... Display means, B ... Transmission means, C ... Reception means, D ... Transmission means, E ... Display data creation means, F ... Return means

Claims (2)

Aircraft, and a control device that creates display data to display the position of the aircraft and surrounding aircraft,
The aircraft has a GPS receiver, transmitting and receiving means for transmitting position data of the aircraft obtained from GPS to the control device, receiving display data transmitted from the control device, and receiving from the control device. Display means for displaying the contents of the display data on the screen,
The control device includes a transmitting / receiving means for transmitting / receiving data to / from the aircraft, and a position data of the aircraft in a flight airspace or a restricted area of the aircraft acquired from a control radar site or a control information processing system. Display data creating means for creating display data capable of displaying the position of the aircraft and the surrounding aircraft by adding the position data of the surrounding aircraft to be provided, and return means for returning the display data to the aircraft. And position recognition system for commercial aircraft. 2. The position recognition system for a commercial aircraft according to claim 1, wherein a mobile phone is used as said aircraft transmission / reception means.

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