JP3629160B2 - Flight position display device, airspace display method, and recording medium - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an airspace display device, an airspace display method, and a recording medium for displaying airspace such as training airspace and restricted airspace on an aircraft digital map device, for example.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In recent years, a highly accurate positioning system using GPS (Global Positioning System) or the like has been developed, and is known as a car navigation system, for example. Similarly, in the field of aircraft, there is a device (digital map device) that displays the current position on the display together with the surrounding map, and some of them display the surrounding airspace on the map. .
[0003]
By the way, the airspace often has a complicated shape according to the altitude. In addition, even if the map appears to cover the same area, the type of airspace (training airspace, restricted airspace, etc.) may differ depending on altitude. In other words, in order to distinguish the airspace, it is necessary to pay attention not only to the lateral (planar) spread but also to its height.
[0004]
However, the conventional way of displaying the airspace was only to surround the area where the airspace covers the ground with a line, so even if it appears to have entered the airspace on the display, it is not necessarily within that airspace (from the relationship with the altitude). May not be in. For this reason, in order to surely know the entry into and exit from the airspace, it is necessary for the pilot to check the altitude range of the airspace using a dedicated chart and compare it with the current altitude. In particular, in the case of an aircraft flying at a high speed, such troubles may be fatal, and there is a great risk of deviating from the airspace or conversely entering an unauthorized airspace. .
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
As described above, with the conventional airspace display method, it is difficult for the pilot to determine the target airspace at the current altitude. For this reason, the danger such as the departure from the airspace and the entry into the unauthorized airspace was great, and the safety was impaired.
[0006]
The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a flight position display device, an air space display method, and a recording medium that can easily determine a target air space at the current altitude.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, in the present invention, a storage means is provided, and in this storage means, a map database in which map information relating to an area where an aircraft flies is made into a database, and a position of an air area relating to the operation of the aircraft is set. An airspace database created in association with the altitude range is stored in advance. In addition, for example, a display such as an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) is provided. With reference to the current position information of the aircraft given from, for example, a GPS navigation device, a map of an area around the current position of the aircraft is displayed on the display. Based on the map database, it is displayed on the display device at a predetermined scale.
[0008]
At that time, referring to the current altitude information of the aircraft and the airspace database to be given, the airspace that includes the current altitude of the aircraft within the set altitude range among the airspaces existing in the area, The identified airspace and the other airspace are distinguished from each other and displayed on the display unit while being superimposed on the map.
[0009]
By taking such means, a map of the surrounding area centered on the current position of the aircraft is displayed on the display, for example. In addition, when an airspace such as a training airspace or a restricted airspace is set in this area, it is also displayed on the display together (for example, in the form of a square or a circle).
[0010]
At that time, the airspace related to the current altitude of the aircraft is displayed on the display unit, being distinguished from other airspaces (the airspace where the aircraft is out of the set altitude range). In order to distinguish these airspaces, only the airspace relating to the current altitude of the aircraft may be displayed, or the type of drawing line (straight line, dotted line, etc.) may be changed. Alternatively, each air space may be drawn with lines of different colors, or the inside thereof may be colored and painted.
[0011]
As a result, the pilot can easily determine the target airspace at the current altitude. Therefore, it is possible to obtain a good effect in terms of reducing the labor of the pilot and improving the safety.
[0012]
The “air area” in the text indicates not only a planar area but also a three-dimensional space area including the height, and is a concept including, for example, a voyage zone.
[0013]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a flight position display apparatus according to the present embodiment. This flight position display device is used by being mounted on an aircraft equipped with a navigation device such as GPS.
[0014]
In FIG. 1, aircraft altitude information and position information given from a navigation device (not shown) are input to the display processing unit 2 via the input unit 1. The display processing unit 2 is realized, for example, as a microcomputer, and reads data stored in the storage unit 3 based on a programmed processing procedure, and executes various controls related to image display on the display unit 4. .
[0015]
The storage unit 3 is a RAM (Random Access Memory), SRAM (Static Random Access Memory), or flash memory (Flash EEPROM: Flash Electrically Programmable Read Only Memory) that is generated temporarily. In addition to storing, a map database 31 and an airspace database 32 are stored.
[0016]
Among these, the map database 31 is a database of regional map information related to aircraft operation, and is, for example, graphic data in a bitmap format or a compressed format. For example, as shown in FIG. 2, the airspace database 32 associates each airspace with its position and its altitude (range in the vertical direction).
[0017]
By the way, the display processing unit 2 displays a map of an area around the current position of the aircraft based on the map database 31 (the size of this area varies depending on the display scale) on the display unit 4. As processing functions relating to the above, altitude range determination means 21 and airspace display control means 22 are provided. Among these, the altitude range determination means 21 refers to the airspace database based on the current altitude information of the aircraft given from the navigation device, and among the airspaces existing in the area displayed on the display 4, The airspace that includes the current altitude of the aircraft within the set altitude range is specified.
[0018]
The airspace display control means 22 displays the airspace existing in the display area on the display 4 so as to overlap the surrounding map. At this time, the airspace specified by the altitude range determination means 21 is distinguished from other airspaces. To display.
[0019]
Next, the operation in the above configuration will be described along the processing procedure of the display processing unit 2 shown in FIG. The display processing unit 2 refers to the airspace database 32 and the map database 31 and always monitors whether any airspace is set in the area currently displayed on the display 4 (step S1). If an airspace is found here (Y), the airspace database 32 and altitude information are then referenced to determine whether or not the current altitude of the aircraft is included within the set altitude range of the airspace (step S2). .
[0020]
Here, if it is determined that the image is included (Y), the display processing unit 2 next displays, on the map image data displayed on the display device 4, an airspace (two-dimensional The image indicating the range is synthesized (step S3), and the synthesized image data is output to the display 4 (step S4).
[0021]
By performing such processing, as shown in FIG. 4A, a graphic showing an airspace is drawn on the display 4 with a surrounding map (not shown) as the background. At this time, even if another airspace exists in the display area, it is not displayed. That is, only the current altitude target airspace is displayed on the display 4.
[0022]
Assume that airspaces A, B, and C in FIG. 2 exist around the current position of the aircraft. In addition, it is assumed that these airspaces are included in the display area of the display 4. At this time, if the aircraft is flying at an altitude of 600 m, the target airspace is airspace A, and the other airspaces B and C are not applicable. Therefore, at this time, only the airspace A is displayed on the display 4.
[0023]
Thus, in this embodiment, the air space database 32 in which the position and the altitude (range in the vertical direction) are associated with each air space related to the operation of the aircraft is stored in the storage unit 3. Then, referring to the airspace database 32 based on the current altitude information of the aircraft, the airspace including its own altitude is displayed on the display 4 among the airspaces present around the current position of the aircraft. Therefore, it is possible for the pilot of the aircraft to easily and reliably recognize the target airspace at the current altitude without bothering to refer to the paper map. For this reason, the stress on the pilot can be reduced, and the aircraft can be operated safely without taking risks such as departure from the airspace and entry into the non-accessible airspace.
[0024]
The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment.
For example, in the present embodiment, only the airspace (airspace A) including its own altitude is displayed. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, as shown in FIG. Airspaces (airspaces B and C) that do not correspond to the above may be displayed with dotted lines. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 3C, the airspace A may be displayed in a certain color (displayed as color a), and the airspaces B and C may be displayed in a different color (displayed as color b). At this time, the color of the line segment may be changed, or the inside may be filled with another color. Or you may make it hatch by a different pattern. In short, the object of the present invention is achieved if the target airspace can be distinguished from other airspaces.
[0025]
In addition, the methods described in the above-described embodiments are, for example, magnetic disks (floppy disk, hard disk, etc.), optical disks (CD-ROM, DVD, etc.), recording media such as semiconductor memory, etc. as programs that can be executed by a computer. Can be applied to various devices, or transmitted by a communication medium and applied to various devices. A computer that implements this apparatus reads the program recorded on the recording medium, and executes the above-described processing by controlling the operation by this program.
[0026]
In addition, various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.
[0027]
【The invention's effect】
As described above in detail, in the present invention, the airspace database in which the position of the airspace relating to the operation of the aircraft is associated with the set altitude range is stored in the storage means, and the map around the current position is displayed on the display. At the time, referring to the airspace database, the airspace in the display area that includes the current altitude of the aircraft in the set altitude range is identified, and the identified airspace is distinguished from other airspaces on the display. It is trying to display.
[0028]
Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to easily determine the target airspace at the current altitude.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a flight position display device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a view showing an example of an airspace database 32 stored in a storage unit 3;
FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of the display processing unit 2;
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a display example of the display device 4;
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Input part 2 ... Display processing part 21 ... Altitude range determination means 22 ... Airspace display control means 3 ... Storage part 31 ... Map database 32 ... Airspace database 4 ... Display

Claims (6)

Storage means for storing a map database in which map information related to a region where an aircraft flies is stored as a database, and an airspace database in which a position of an airspace related to the operation of the aircraft is associated with the set altitude range;
An indicator,
Map air space display control means for displaying a map of an area around the current position of the aircraft on the display at a predetermined scale based on the map database, with reference to the current position information of the aircraft given;
Altitude range determination means for identifying an airspace that includes the current altitude of the aircraft within the set altitude range from among the airspaces existing in the area with reference to the current altitude information of the aircraft and the airspace database. ,
Airspace display control means for displaying the airspace existing in the area on the display in an overlapping manner on the map while distinguishing the airspace specified by the altitude range determination means from other airspaces. A flight position display device characterized by the above. 2. The flight position display device according to claim 1, wherein the air space display control means displays only the air space specified by the altitude range determination means among the air spaces existing in the area. . 2. The flight position display according to claim 1, wherein the airspace display control means displays the airspace specified by the altitude range determination means and the other airspace on the display using different types of lines. apparatus. 2. The flight position display device according to claim 1, wherein the airspace display control means displays the airspace specified by the altitude range determination means and the other airspace in different colors on the display. 3. Storage means for storing a map database in which map information relating to a region where an aircraft flies is databased, and an airspace database in which a position of an airspace relating to the operation of the aircraft is associated with the set altitude range and stored as a database, and a display And map air space display control means for displaying a map of an area around the current position of the aircraft on the display at a predetermined scale based on the map database with reference to the current position information of the aircraft given. An air space display method in a flight position display device comprising:
With reference to the current altitude information of the given aircraft and the airspace database, among the airspaces existing in the area, the airspace including the current altitude of the aircraft within the set altitude range is specified,
An air space display method, wherein an air space existing in the area is displayed on the display unit while being overlapped on the map while distinguishing the identified air space from other air spaces. Storage means for storing a map database in which map information relating to a region where an aircraft flies is stored, and an airspace database in which a position of an airspace relating to the operation of the aircraft is associated with the set altitude range and stored therein, And map air space display control means for displaying a map of an area around the current position of the aircraft on the display at a predetermined scale based on the map database with reference to the current position information of the aircraft given. A recording medium recording a program to be executed by a computer in a flight position display device comprising:
In the computer,
A function for referring to the current altitude information of the aircraft and the airspace database to be given, and for identifying an airspace including the current altitude of the aircraft within the set altitude range among airspaces existing in the area;
A recording medium on which a program for executing a function of displaying an airspace existing in the area on the display while being superimposed on the map while distinguishing the specified airspace from other airspaces is recorded.

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