Airplane assisted landing system and method

Abstract

An auxiliary landing system for an aircraft having a landing light system with landing lights capable of emitting landing light beams, the auxiliary landing system being in communication with the landing light system and comprising: an image collecting device configured to collect information about a landing runway; a control device configured to control the rotation of the landing lights based on the information from the image collecting device to direct the landing light beams toward a centerline of the landing runway; and a processing device configured to obtain auxiliary landing information based on rotation information of the landing lights provided by the landing light system and provide the auxiliary landing information to a display device on the aircraft to assist a pilot in landing the aircraft. The auxiliary landing system of the present invention obtains auxiliary landing information by the image collecting device in cooperation with the landing light system to assist the pilot in landing. The present invention also provides an aircraft comprising the aforementioned auxiliary landing system and an auxiliary landing method for an aircraft.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to the field of assisting aircraft control. In particular, the present application proposes a system and method for assisting a pilot in landing an aircraft. BACKGROUND

[0002] The external lighting system on existing aircraft assists in landing an aircraft through landing lights and flight director. However, this approach is neither intuitive nor convenient to operate. More importantly, the use of landing lights relies on weather conditions. In poor weather conditions, the pilot cannot intuitively and accurately determine whether the landing conditions are met, which may affect the safety of flight landing.

[0003] Currently, the automatic pilot and instrument landing technology commonly used in the field of civil aviation is an instrument landing system, also known as an instrument landing system. The instrument landing system establishes a virtual path from the runway to the sky by realizing the heading path and glide path guidance through two radio signals emitted from the ground. The aircraft determines its relative position to the virtual path through the on-board receiving device, so that the aircraft flies in the correct direction to the runway and smoothly descends in height, and finally lands safely.

[0004] However, instrument landing not only relies on the guidance of ground-emitted signals, but also relies on the communication quality between the aircraft and the ground, and on the conditions of the airport where the aircraft is to land. For example, not all airports currently have the physical conditions to support instrument landing. If landing at such an airport, the pilot's landing under low weather standards becomes difficult.

[0005] Currently, some systems and methods for assisting landing have been proposed in the art, including:

[0006] Document CN 113071695 A (publication date: July 6, 2021) discloses an aircraft assisted landing system and method, in which the off-ground height of the main landing gear of the aircraft is monitored by means of light spots emitted on the ground by light sources installed on the two main landing gears of the aircraft, thereby assisting the pilot in landing.

[0007] Document CN 206789069 U (publication date: December 22, 2017) discloses a ground service system and an airborne guidance system for aircraft approach landing guidance, and an aircraft approach landing guidance system, wherein the ground service system comprises: an optoelectronic sensing device, a ground server and a ground communication device; the optoelectronic sensing device is arranged on the side of the airport, so as to shoot real-time images of the landing process of the aircraft from the side of the runway, and send the fusion guidance images generated by fusing the real-time images with the standard landing course of the runway to the airborne guidance system on the aircraft, so that the pilot can view the fusion guidance images in real time through the airborne guidance system and control the landing of the aircraft according to the fusion guidance images. The guidance system collects real-time images of the landing process of the aircraft by adding an optoelectronic sensor on the ground, so as to assist the pilot in controlling the landing of the aircraft according to the fusion guidance images. Therefore, in the system, the aircraft needs to receive the guidance image signal from the ground to land safely, and an additional ground service system needs to be added at the airport, that is, additional equipment is required for the airport, so the system is not suitable for all airports.

[0008] Document CN 105905309 A (publication date: August 31, 2016) discloses a laser-assisted aircraft night landing guidance system, comprising: a laser emitting device mounted on the outside of the aircraft, wherein the emitting direction of the laser emitting device is parallel to the fuselage of the aircraft; the control member of the laser emitting device is connected with the control device of the aircraft landing guidance system; by installing the laser emitting device on the front landing gear of the aircraft to emit laser parallel to the aircraft fuselage, the pilot can intuitively observe the horizontal and vertical angles between the aircraft and the runway to determine the position of the aircraft and assist the pilot in landing the aircraft. The system requires the pilot to visually observe the laser beam to determine the horizontal and vertical angles between the aircraft and the runway, which is prone to errors and increases the burden of the pilot.

[0009] Document CN 109540153 A (publication date: March 29, 2019) discloses a method for guiding aircraft to fold line approach by microwave landing system, wherein a rectangular coordinate system of airport landing point is established, and a rectangular coordinate system is established with the airport landing point as the origin, the X-axis of the coordinate system is the runway centerline, the positive direction is the tail end of the runway, the Y-axis is in the same horizontal plane as the X-axis, and the Z-axis points to the sky. During the aircraft fold line approach, the azimuth, elevation and distance information of the aircraft are obtained: according to the planned route, the microwave landing system performs landing guidance in sections; the intersection of the extension line of the selected glide angle of the aircraft and the X-axis or Y-axis is the virtual landing point of this stage, and the elevation of the aircraft relative to the virtual landing point is calculated, and the azimuth and distance information of the aircraft relative to the airport landing point are reported to the pilot and the flight control system for reference. This method uses the virtual landing point of the segmented fold line approach landing to report the results to the pilot, which is only applicable to the state of aligning the runway.

[0010] Therefore, it is still desired in the industry to propose an improved system and method for assisting aircraft landing. In particular, it is desired that the proposed system and method can assist the pilot to implement the landing operation of the aircraft even without the condition of blind landing. SUMMARY

[0011] The present application is completed in view of the above technical problems, and aims to provide an auxiliary landing system for aircraft which is different from the prior art mentioned at the beginning of this paper and has lower requirements for the physical facility conditions of the landing airport.

[0012] In order to solve the above technical problems, the auxiliary landing system of the present application has an image collection device, a control device and a processing device, and communicates with the landing light system of the aircraft, wherein the landing light system has a landing light capable of emitting a landing light beam, and the landing light beam has an initial irradiation direction.

[0013] The image collection device of the auxiliary landing system is configured to collect information about the landing runway; the control device is configured to control the rotation of the landing light based on the information provided by the image collection device, so that the landing light beam is directed to the centerline of the landing runway; and the processing device is configured to obtain auxiliary landing information based on the rotation information of the landing light fed back by the landing light system, and provide the auxiliary landing information to the display device on the aircraft, so that the pilot lands the aircraft with the help of the auxiliary landing information.

[0014] Therefore, the auxiliary landing system of the present application obtains the information of the target landing runway through the image collection device, and processes the obtained information through cooperation with the landing light system on the aircraft, so as to obtain auxiliary landing information, so that the pilot can complete the landing of the aircraft with the help of the auxiliary information.

[0015] Whether the above landing light beam is aimed at the centerline of the landing runway can be confirmed by the image collecting device.

[0016] In a preferred embodiment of the present application, the image collecting device of the auxiliary landing system is configured to track and lock the target landing runway of the aircraft in low light conditions. The image collecting device capable of tracking and locking the landing runway and achieving runway-related image collection in low light conditions enables the auxiliary landing system to assist the pilot to land in poor visual conditions, especially to complete landing at an airport that does not support blind landing.

[0017] In a non-limiting embodiment of the present application, to achieve image shooting of the landing runway in low light conditions, the image collecting device comprises at least one infrared camera to shoot the runway by means of infrared imaging technology.

[0018] In another non-limiting embodiment of the present application, in addition to the infrared camera, the image collecting device further comprises at least one low-light amplification camera. The low-light amplification camera cooperates with the infrared camera to provide clearer and more accurate images of the landing runway, especially the centerline of the landing runway.

[0019] Preferably, the above auxiliary landing information comprises relative position information between the aircraft and the landing runway, especially angular position relationship, so that the pilot can adjust the deflection of the aircraft to align with the landing runway upon being aware of the above relative position information.

[0020] Therefore, the auxiliary landing system of the present application acquires the relative position relationship of the aircraft with respect to the landing runway by means of the image collecting device and the landing light system on the aircraft in the case that the pilot cannot determine the relative position of the aircraft with respect to the landing runway to be landed by visual observation, and provides the relative position information to the pilot to assist him to complete the landing action.

[0021] In a preferred embodiment of the present application, the processing device of the auxiliary landing system is further configured to calculate a recommended aircraft deflection angle based on the above relative position relationship of the aircraft with respect to the landing runway, and also provide it as auxiliary landing information to the pilot, for example, display it on the onboard display device.

[0022] In a non-limiting embodiment of the present application, the control device of the auxiliary landing system is configured to control the rotation of the landing light based on the motion information of the image collecting device in the process of tracking and locking the landing runway. For example, the image collecting device has a rotating mechanism for rotating, for example, the camera in the image collecting device to track the landing runway.

[0023] Here, the above motion information is the rotation motion information of the camera, for example, the angle of rotation of the camera.

[0024] Preferably, in order to facilitate automatic tracking and locking of the landing runway, the rotating mechanism can adopt a micro-gimbal technology.

[0025] The present application also provides an airplane with the auxiliary landing system according to any of the above-mentioned solutions.

[0026] Preferably, in order to facilitate the image collecting device to accurately determine whether the landing light beam is aligned with the center line of the landing runway, and to improve the accuracy of the determination especially in poor illumination conditions, a laser beam can be arranged in the middle of the landing light beam of the airplane. In this way, the image collecting device can more accurately and quickly determine whether the landing light beam is aligned with the center line of the landing runway by means of the irradiation point of the laser beam.

[0027] Furthermore, the present application also provides an auxiliary landing method for an airplane, wherein the airplane has a landing light system with landing lights capable of emitting landing light beams, and the airplane also has an on-board display device for displaying information to the pilot. The method comprises:

[0028] collecting information about the landing runway by means of an image collecting device;

[0029] controlling the rotation of the landing lights of the landing light system based on the information provided by the image collecting device, so that the landing light beams are directed towards the center line of the landing runway; and

[0030] providing auxiliary landing information based on the rotation information of the landing lights, to assist the landing of the airplane.

[0031] In this way, the auxiliary landing method of the present application obtains the auxiliary landing information by obtaining the information of the target landing runway on which the airplane is to land, and by controlling the rotation of the landing lights of the landing light system on the airplane, and processing the obtained rotation information of the landing lights. The pilot can complete the landing of the airplane with the help of the auxiliary information.

[0032] In a preferred embodiment of the present application, the auxiliary landing information comprises relative position information between the airplane and the landing runway. This information is used to assist the alignment of the airplane with the landing runway. In the case that the pilot cannot determine the spatial position relationship of the airplane relative to the runway by visual observation, the relative position information is displayed on the on-board display device, preferably in real time and dynamically, so as to provide the pilot with reference information for adjusting the airplane to face the landing runway.

[0033] In another preferred embodiment of the present application, the rotation of the landing lights is controlled based on the motion information of the image collecting device during the process of collecting information about the landing runway. The motion information can be the rotation information of the image collecting device, and by means of the rotation information of the image collecting device, the angle through which the landing lights need to be deflected from the initial irradiation angle to the irradiation angle that is directly opposite the center line of the landing runway can be calculated. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0034] The above mentioned features and other features of the present application will be further elucidated hereinafter with reference to the drawings shown as non-limiting examples in which:

[0035] Figure 1 An embodiment of a night vision aid of the assisted landing system according to the present application is shown;

[0036] Figure 2 The principle of landing of an aircraft with the aid of the assisted landing system according to the present application is shown in a schematic view;

[0037] Figure 3 A screen displayed on a display or HUD during landing with the aid of the assisted landing system according to the present application is shown schematically; and

[0038] Figure 4 A flow chart of an embodiment of the assisted landing method according to the present application is shown.

[0039] LIST OF REFERENCE NUMBERS:

[0040] 1 rotation mechanism

[0041] 2 panel

[0042] 3 infrared camera

[0043] 4 low-light amplification camera

[0044] 5 mounting plate

[0045] A initial direction of irradiation of the landing light beam

[0046] A' direction of irradiation of the landing light beam after deflection

[0047] B angle of deflection of the landing light beam

[0048] B' angle of deflection of the aircraft

[0049] C angle of deflection of the camera

[0050] F aircraft

[0051] IB laser light beam

[0052] LB landing light beam

[0053] P position of the ground projection of the aircraft

[0054] R target landing runway

[0055] RC center line (of the target landing runway)

[0056] T steering trend line. Detailed Implementation

[0057] Reference will now be made in detail to various embodiments of the invention, which are illustrated and described below in the accompanying drawings. Although the invention will be described in conjunction with exemplary embodiments, it should be understood by those skilled in the art that this specification is not intended to limit the invention to these exemplary embodiments. Rather, the invention is intended to cover not only these exemplary embodiments, but also various alternatives, modifications, equivalents, and other embodiments that may be included within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. For ease of interpretation and precise definition in the appended claims, the terms “upper,” “lower,” “inner,” and “outer” are used to describe features with reference to their location in the embodiments shown in the figures.

[0058] The aircraft F is equipped with an auxiliary landing system that assists the pilot in aligning the aircraft F with the target landing runway R by providing auxiliary information, thereby assisting the aircraft in landing under conditions such as poor weather conditions or at airports that do not support instrument landing systems.

[0059] The landing assistance system carried by aircraft F includes a night vision aid. The night vision aid is mainly used to detect the location of the target landing runway R, acquire image information about the target landing runway R, process the information, and send it to the control unit of the landing assistance system, as well as the onboard display device (such as a monitor or HUD (Head-Up Display)) and the flight data system.

[0060] Figure 1 An embodiment of such a night vision assist device is shown. In this embodiment, the night vision assist device includes cameras 3 and 4 mounted on a panel 2 and a rotation mechanism 1 for rotating the cameras 3 and 4. Furthermore, the night vision assist device includes a processing module (not shown) for comprehensively processing various image information collected by the cameras 3 and 4 and communicating with the control device of the assisted landing system.

[0061] like Figure 1 As shown, panel 2 is equipped with a pair of infrared cameras 3 and a pair of low-light magnification cameras 4. The infrared cameras 3 use infrared thermal imaging technology to capture the target landing runway R when weather conditions are unfavorable, while the low-light magnification cameras 4 are ultra-low-light cameras that use low-light magnification technology to enhance the overall image collection of the night vision auxiliary device.

[0062] In embodiments not shown, the camera of the night vision assist device may also include a night-light telephoto lens.

[0063] In an embodiment not shown, the night vision aid can also comprise more types of cameras, or only infrared cameras 3, depending on the type of aircraft to which the aid is applied, and on the specific needs for aiding the landing.

[0064] The rotation mechanism 1 is movably connected to the infrared camera 3 and the low-light camera 4, so as to rotate the infrared camera 3 and the low-light camera 4. In particular, in the embodiment shown, the rotation mechanism 1 is a micro-pan-tilt mechanism. Figure 1 In the embodiment shown, the infrared camera 3 and the low-light camera 4 are mounted on a mounting plate 5, two by two. The rotation mechanism 1 is a micro-pan-tilt mechanism, so as to lock the target runway R.

[0065] In an embodiment not shown, the rotation mechanism 1 can also be implemented by other means, so as to rotate the infrared camera 3, the low-light camera 4, or the mounting plate 5 by a given angle, and to keep the cameras 3, 4 tracking the target runway R by communication and control of the processing module and the controller of the rotation mechanism 1.

[0066] When the night vision aid is in operation, the infrared camera 3 and the low-light camera 4 cooperate to collect images, and send the images collected by them to the processing module for processing. Since the technical means for processing the images collected by such night vision cameras are known in the art, the processing module and the processing method thereof will not be explained in more detail herein.

[0067] The processing module then processes the image information collected by the cameras 3, 4, and sends the processing result to the controller of the rotation mechanism 1, so as to instruct the controller of the rotation mechanism 1 by the information of the target runway R extracted from the image information. The controller of the rotation mechanism 1 drives the infrared camera 3 and / or the low-light camera 4 to deflect according to the instruction, so that the cameras 3, 4 lock and track the target runway.

[0068] After the cameras 3, 4 complete the locking and tracking of the runway, the night vision aid sends the rotation information of the cameras 3, 4, such as the angle C by which they are deflected, to the aid landing system and the flight data system.

[0069] The control device of the aid landing system further sends the relative position between the target runway R and the aircraft F in the above information to a display or a HUD, so as to be visually displayed thereon, so that the pilot can understand the positional relationship between the aircraft F and the target runway R, for the pilot to control the aircraft F to turn towards the runway.

[0070] The above-mentioned display will be explained in more detail below. Figure 3 how the pilot can use the display to control the aircraft F to turn towards the target runway R, and finally land on the target runway R.

[0071] However, before that, turning first to Figure 2 , the principle of the assisted landing system is explained.

[0072] Figure 2 The position relationship between the aircraft F which is about to enter the approach phase and the runway R is schematically shown. The airport landing runway R is schematically shown in this figure by two thick solid lines from top to bottom. The aircraft F is expected to land on this runway. The center line RC of the runway R is shown in dotted line between the two thick solid lines. Before the final landing procedure starts, the aircraft F must be aligned with the center line RC of the runway R. The assisted landing system is just to provide relative position information to help the aircraft F align with the center line RC of the landing runway R in case the autopilot or the instrument landing cannot be established.

[0073] As can be seen in Figure 2 , the aircraft F which is about to enter the approach phase is not aligned with the runway R. The vertical projection point P of the aircraft F on the ground is located outside the two thick solid lines which indicate the target landing runway R.

[0074] At this time, if the pilot confirms that the landing airspace has been reached, and cannot determine the position of the aircraft F relative to the landing runway R by visual observation, and thus cannot determine whether the aircraft F is aligned with the center line RC of the landing runway R, the assisted landing system is started.

[0075] The night vision assisting device of the assisted landing system first detects the position of the target landing runway R through its image capturing device, specifically the infrared camera 3 and the low-light amplification camera 4, carries out image processing through the processing module in the night vision assisting device, and thus obtains relative position information about the landing runway R. The controller of the rotating mechanism 1 of the night vision assisting device drives the cameras 3, 4 to rotate, locks and tracks the landing runway R, for example, makes the infrared camera 3 and the low-light amplification camera 4 rotate through a certain angle C.

[0076] After the cameras 3, 4 complete the lock and tracking of the runway, the control device of the assisted landing system receives the rotation information of the cameras 3, 4 from the night vision assisting device.

[0077] When the aircraft F is preparing to land, the landing lights in the landing light system are turned on, and the light beams LB are irradiated to the ground. As can be seen in Figure 2 , the landing light beams have an initial irradiation direction A. In Figure 2 , the initial irradiation direction A does not point to the runway center line RC of the runway R, but to a point outside the runway R. At this time, the landing lights of the landing light system need to be deflected by a certain angle to align with the center line RC of the landing runway R.

[0078] The control device of the landing aid system determines the relative position of the aircraft F with respect to the landing strip R, in particular the angular position, by processing the rotation information of the cameras 3, 4. By processing the rotation information of the cameras 3, 4, a deflection angle B is determined, by which the landing light beam LB of the landing light system of the aircraft F is to be deflected in order to be aligned with the center line RC of the landing strip R.

[0079] The control device of the landing aid system thus directly controls the deflection angle B of the landing light beam LB or indirectly controls the deflection angle B of the landing light beam by communicating with the control device of the landing light system, if present, so that the direction of illumination A' of the landing light beam LB is brought to the direction of illumination which is expected to be aligned with the center line RC of the landing strip R.

[0080] Next, it is determined by means of the cameras 3, 4 of the night vision aid whether the landing light beam LB, after being deflected by the angle B to the direction of illumination A', is actually aligned with the center line RC of the landing strip R.

[0081] In order to facilitate a more accurate determination of whether the direction of illumination A' of the deflected landing light beam LB is aligned with the center line RC of the landing strip R from the images collected by the cameras 3, 4 in poor lighting conditions, a laser beam IB can also be provided in practice in the middle of the landing light beam LB.

[0082] The following description will be given with reference to the exemplary display shown in Figure 3 in the display or the HUD.

[0083] Figure 3 The circular contour schematically represents the outer contour of the display or the HUD. The content outside the circular contour is not displayed on the display or the HUD, but is merely indicated here for the sake of explanation. For the sake of simplicity, it is assumed here that the display content of a display is shown. However, the following description also applies to a description of the display content of a HUD, unless specifically stated otherwise.

[0084] In the center of the display shown in Figure 3 a rectangular block schematically represents the illuminated spot of the landing light beam LB emitted by the landing light system of the aircraft F, and in the middle of the rectangular block a further solid line is visible, which represents the laser beam IB. As can be seen in the figure, the illuminated spot of the landing light beam LB is relatively "thick", while the laser beam IB in the middle thereof is relatively "thin".

[0085] In this embodiment, both the landing light and the laser emitter for emitting lasers are mounted on the aircraft's nose landing gear to track and lock onto the runway, assisting the aircraft F in flying toward the landing runway R.

[0086] In addition, Figure 3 In the upper right corner of the display, the aircraft's real-time altitude information, extracted from the aircraft data system, is also shown. In this embodiment, the aircraft's flight altitude is obtained directly from the flight database.

[0087] As aircraft F gradually approaches runway R, the landing lights on aircraft F's landing light system will, as described above... Figure 2 The explained principle of turning continues until the initial illumination direction A of the landing light beam LB is directly aligned with runway R, and the aircraft F is descending directly towards runway R. During this process, the turning trend of the landing light beam LB is dynamically displayed on the screen as a turning trend line T. Figure 3 In the middle, the turning trend line T is an arrowed vector line pointing from the landing light beam LB to the center line RC of the landing runway R in the lower right corner of the display.

[0088] As the aircraft F adjusts its position, when the landing light beam LB is aligned with the centerline RC of runway R and the aircraft F is directly facing runway R, the display will show the message "Angle B = 0, Altitude H = Y0', Landing lights are on" in real time. This display will alert the pilot and assist the aircraft in landing.

[0089] After the aircraft has landed, the display will show "Angle B=0, Altitude H=0, Landing lights on" to inform the pilot that the aircraft has landed successfully. If the landing lights have been manually or automatically turned off at this time, the display will show "Angle B=0, Altitude H=0".

[0090] Throughout the landing process, the relative position of runway R and aircraft F will be displayed on the monitor and updated dynamically. This provides the pilot with a visual indication of the relative position of runway R and aircraft F, helping to dynamically guide the pilot to steer aircraft F toward runway R until the landing lights are aligned with the centerline RC of runway R and aircraft F is directly facing runway R. At this point, aircraft F is aligned with runway R and the landing procedure can begin.

[0091] The above combination Figures 1 to 3 It explains how the landing assistance system provides information to the pilot to provide dynamic guidance on aircraft steering, thereby assisting in landing.

[0092] The following is combined with Figure 4 The flowchart shown illustrates how a pilot lands with the help of an assisted landing system.

[0093] When the aircraft F is about to enter the approach phase, the on-board system performs an electrical self-test and the system runs a flight data check. First, the system or the pilot manually determines whether the aircraft F has already reached the landing airspace.

[0094] If the landing airspace has been reached and due to weather conditions and / or airport conditions it is confirmed that the use of the assisted landing system is required, the night vision assisted landing system first detects the target landing runway R using the infrared camera 3 and the low-light camera 4 and the processing module of the night vision assisted landing system processes the image information collected by the cameras 3, 4 and sends it to the controller of the rotating mechanism 1 of the night vision assisted landing system. The controller of the rotating mechanism 1 instructs the rotating mechanism 1 to rotate the cameras 3, 4 according to the position information about the target landing runway R obtained by processing, so as to lock the target landing runway R.

[0095] The assisted landing system calculates the angle B of deflection required for the landing light beam LB of the landing light system of the aircraft F to be deflected in order to align with the center line RC of the landing runway R according to the rotation information of the cameras 3, 4, such as the angle C through which the cameras 3, 4 are rotated.

[0096] The control device of the assisted landing system directly controls the landing light beam LB of the landing light system to rotate through the angle B or indirectly instructs the landing light beam LB to rotate through the angle B by communicating with the control device of the landing light system.

[0097] After the landing light beam LB is deflected, the cameras 3, 4 of the night vision assisted landing system are used again to determine whether the landing light beam LB has been aligned with the center line RC of the landing runway R. If it has not been aligned, the control device of the assisted landing system automatically repeats the above steps until the landing light beam LB is confirmed to have been aligned with the landing runway R by the night vision assisted landing system.

[0098] When the landing light beam LB is confirmed to have been aligned with the landing runway R by the night vision assisted landing system after being deflected, the processing device or the control device (if the processing device is integrated in the control device) of the assisted landing system calculates a rotation angle B' based on the final information of the angle through which the landing light beam LB is rotated in the above-mentioned cycle, and the aircraft F is expected to be aligned with the landing runway R after being deflected through the rotation angle B'. The processing device or the control device of the assisted landing system then sends the rotation angle B' executable by the pilot to the flight control interface.

[0099] At this time, if the deflection angle B' is zero, i.e. the assisted landing system has determined that the aircraft F does not need to be deflected through any angle based on the landing light beam LB being aligned with the center line RC of the landing runway R, it means that the aircraft F is already aligned with the landing runway R, and the aircraft F does not need to be deflected any more, and the landing procedure can be started directly at this time.

[0100] Conversely, if the deflection angle B' is not zero, i.e. the angle calculated by the auxiliary landing system based on the deflection of the landing light beam LB indicates that the aircraft F is not yet aligned with the runway R, and therefore the aircraft F still needs to be deflected. Then the pilot controls the deflection angle B' of the aircraft according to the angle B' given by the flight control interface.

[0101] After the deflection angle B', the auxiliary landing system again locks the landing runway R by means of the cameras 3, 4 of the night vision aid and repeats the previous steps, i.e. calculates the deflection angle B of the landing light beam LB by means of the rotation information of the cameras 3, 4 and then calculates the deflection angle B' of the aircraft from the final rotation of the landing light beam LB.

[0102] The above steps are repeated until the deflection angle B' given by the auxiliary landing system is zero. At this point, the aircraft F should be aligned with the landing runway R and the direction of irradiation A' of the landing light beam LB after deflection is aligned with the center line RC of the landing runway R and the landing procedure can be started.

[0103] In particular, during the above-mentioned auxiliary landing procedure, in order to improve the safety of landing, the rotation information of the cameras 3, 4 of the night vision aid and the information on the deflection of the landing light beam LB are sent to the flight database of the aircraft F in order to check the above-mentioned rotation information and the deflection angle B' controlled by the pilot of the aircraft F and to detect whether the entire auxiliary landing system is functioning correctly.

[0104] If, through the check, it is found that the auxiliary landing system can be malfunctioning or faulty, for example, the rotation information of the cameras 2, 3 and the information on the deflection of the landing light beam LB do not correspond, the pilot can also determine whether to refer to the deflection angle B' information given by the auxiliary landing system or to turn the aircraft by means of the image information displayed in the display or in the HUD, for example, the dynamic relative position information of the aircraft F and the landing runway R, in order to align the aircraft F with the landing runway R and to land safely.

[0105] The aircraft auxiliary landing system and method according to the present application complete the procedure of aligning the aircraft with the landing runway by means of infrared imaging technology for detecting the target landing runway of the aircraft and by means of the landing light system of the aircraft for tracking and turning the irradiation of the landing runway of the aircraft.

[0106] The embodiments of the present application can be freely combined or appropriately modified or omitted within the scope of the present application.

Claims

1. An auxiliary landing system for an aircraft, the aircraft having a landing light system with landing lights capable of emitting a landing light beam having a laser beam disposed in a middle position, and the aircraft further having an on-board display device; the auxiliary landing system being in communication with the landing light system, and the auxiliary landing system comprising: an image collecting device configured to collect information about a landing runway, wherein the information about the landing runway includes information of a centerline of the landing runway, and the image collecting device judges whether the landing light beam has been aimed at the centerline of the landing runway by means of irradiation of the laser beam; a control device configured to control the landing lights to turn so as to direct the landing light beam toward the centerline of the landing runway based on information from the image collecting device; a processing device configured to obtain auxiliary landing information based on turning information of the landing lights provided by the landing light system, and to provide the auxiliary landing information to the on-board display device to assist a pilot in landing the aircraft, wherein the auxiliary landing information includes relative angular position information between the aircraft and the landing runway and a suggested aircraft deflection angle calculated based on the relative angular position relationship to assist the pilot in aligning the aircraft with the landing runway.

2. The supplemental landing system of claim 1, wherein, the image collecting device is configured to track and lock the landing runway under low illumination.

3. The supplemental landing system of Claim 2, wherein, the control device is configured to control the landing lights to turn based on motion information of the image collecting device in tracking and locking the landing runway.

4. The landing aid system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the image collecting device includes at least one infrared camera.

5. The supplemental landing system of claim 4, wherein, the image collecting device further includes at least one low-light amplification camera.

6. The supplemental landing system of claim 5, wherein, the image collecting device further has a turning mechanism configured to turn the camera so as to track the landing runway.

7. An aircraft, characterized in that the aircraft has the auxiliary landing system as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 6, and the landing light beam of the aircraft has a laser beam disposed in a middle position.

8. A method for assisted landing of an aircraft, wherein, the aircraft has a landing light system with landing lights capable of emitting a landing light beam having a laser beam disposed in a middle position, and the aircraft further has an on-board display device, the auxiliary landing method comprising: collecting information about a landing runway by means of an image collecting device, the information about the landing runway including information of a centerline of the landing runway; judging whether the landing light beam has been aimed at the centerline of the landing runway by means of an irradiation point of the laser beam; controlling the landing lights to turn so as to direct the landing light beam toward the centerline of the landing runway based on information provided by the image collecting device; and providing auxiliary landing information based on turning information of the landing lights to land the aircraft, wherein the auxiliary landing information includes relative angular position information between the aircraft and the landing runway and a suggested aircraft deflection angle calculated based on the relative angular position relationship to assist the pilot in aligning the aircraft with the landing runway.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein, Controlling the rotation of the landing light based on information provided by the image collection device includes controlling the rotation of the landing light based on motion information of the image collection device during collection of the information of the landing strip.

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