Device for the continuous, automatic display of the current take-off and landing direction and the weather conditions at an airfield in the cockpit of aircraft.

Abstract

Device for the continuous, automatic display of the current take-off and landing direction and the weather conditions at an airfield in the cockpit of aircraft, characterized in that the device consists of a receiver installed in an aircraft (16) with a display (18), a loudspeaker (21), the connection of the receiver to a two-way radio, a transmitter (14) whose associated transmitting antenna is located at the airfield in question, the measuring instruments (12) required for measuring the weather data at the airfield and optionally one or more cameras (15) for detecting obstacles on the active runway (20) of the airfield.

Description

[0001] Device for the continuous, automatic display of the current take-off and landing direction and the weather conditions at an airfield in the cockpit of aircraft.

[0002] Aircraft, generally called airplanes, take off and land on a runway, which is generally oriented so that the wind component prevailing in the direction of the runway points against the direction of movement of the aircraft.

[0003] The wind direction, other weather data, the recommended runway, and any obstacles on the runway are usually recorded manually by a person, generally an air traffic controller or operations manager (formerly called flight director), using display devices or by visual inspection, and transmitted via radio communication on a radio frequency designated for the airfield to the aircraft whose pilot has requested this information via radio communication.

[0004] For cost reasons, at airfields that are not subject to an operating obligation, typically general aviation airfields, the operations managers are removed, which means that the establishment of a uniform take-off and, above all, landing direction is no longer guaranteed.

[0005] The managers of uncontrolled airfields may only transmit information about the weather to pilots in the form of general, classified information and not as numerical values, unless they have certified measuring instruments, facilities and personal licenses.

[0006] Pilots, especially those of aircraft intending to land at an airfield without an operations manager, must therefore obtain information about the prevailing wind direction and the absence of obstacles on the runway as a basis for determining their landing route by other means.

[0007] The state of the art is that the pilot, by sending a pulse sequence using the radio in the aircraft, requests automatically generated data and information on the radio frequency of the airfield and receives this, if available, on the radio frequency of the airfield in the form of a voice message or a data set (file number DPMA 20 2025 003 337.9).

[0008] The current state of the art is that the actual current wind direction on the ground is determined by an aircraft in the air without the assistance of a person on the ground, by visually detecting the windsock present at all airfields, for which the pilot of the aircraft must fly over the airfield in a prescribed manner.

[0009] For safety and noise reasons, aircraft must not fall below a minimum altitude above the ground when determining wind direction by flying over the airfield, so that the shortest distance to detect the windsock is this minimum altitude.

[0010] Visibility from an aircraft looking diagonally downwards is generally limited, which is why the aircraft must maintain a certain lateral distance to the windsock when flying past it, increasing the distance to the windsock and further complicating the determination of the wind direction.

[0011] Flying over an airfield to determine the position of the windsock is not always possible due to the presence of areas with flight restrictions, typically for noise abatement reasons, so that the distance to the windsock is higher than the minimum flight altitude and the required lateral distance, thus making detection even more difficult.

[0012] Since the speed of aircraft is generally high, the period of time in which the windsock is visible is short.

[0013] In addition to recognizing the windsock at uncontrolled airfields, the pilot must also monitor the airspace, which further limits the time available for recognizing the windsock.

[0014] Due to turbulence and other meteorological laws, the wind direction generally changes regularly by a certain amount around the mean direction.

[0015] If the wind blows approximately perpendicular, or crosswise, to the orientation of the runway, the pilots can no longer clearly determine the landing direction, a situation exacerbated by meteorological or topographical conditions.

[0016] Therefore, dangerous situations can arise when several aircraft are approaching an airfield simultaneously or intend to take off, especially if the wind is blowing almost perpendicular to the runway and is subject to fluctuations in direction, as in these cases the pilots may fly towards runways in opposite directions.

[0017] When transmitting data in response to a request via a signal sequence through radio communication, the risk of interference with data transmission by other aircraft is considerable, because several aircraft can approach simultaneously and other airfields may also use the same radio communication frequency.

[0018] The problems listed in

[0003] ,

[0008] ,

[0009] ,

[0010] ,

[0011] ,

[0012] ,

[0013] ,

[0014] ,

[0015] , and

[0016] are solved by the features listed in the claims.

[0019] The data flow is schematically represented in Fig. 2 shown.

[0020] The invention specified in scope 1 is based on problems that are solved by automatically and continuously measuring the relevant weather data, deriving a recommendation for the most suitable runway, and optionally by automatically recording the condition of the airfield, processing the recorded information, and continuously and automatically transmitting the processed information via radio and finally displaying it on an output device in the aircraft as soon as the pilot has tuned the airfield frequency on the radio, or if a display device for information disseminated via the Internet is available in the cockpit of the aircraft, an automatic output of the data relevant for landing is made on the internet-enabled display device in conjunction with suitable software.

[0021] The invention ensures that, even without the intervention of an operations manager, or generally a person on the ground, all aircraft intending to land at an airfield during the same period receive uniform information about the recommended runway, obtained from the measurement of the current wind conditions, and thus the aircraft in question land in the same direction and are therefore not at risk of colliding.

[0022] The required weather data, essentially wind direction and wind speed, are continuously measured at the airfield using one or more weather stations, and optionally, visibility in the area of ​​the runway and optionally obstacles on the runway, typically other aircraft, are recorded using one or more cameras.

[0023] The measured weather data and the captured camera images are processed by a data processing device, hereinafter referred to as a computer, and converted into system-uniform data using suitable software, typically with artificial intelligence, or AI.

[0024] The measured weather data and the processed camera images are stored in the computer over a certain period of time, and from the stored values ​​an average value, as well as a trend and fluctuations around the average value, especially of the wind direction, are calculated, and strong increased deviations of the average wind speed are calculated as gustiness.

[0025] Based on the currently measured wind direction, the determined trend, and the fluctuations in wind direction and gustiness, a recommendation for the best landing direction is automatically derived, taking into account special features of the airfield in question, such as turbulence or downdrafts in the area of ​​the threshold, which mainly occur with the prevailing wind direction, or the position of the sun or organizational conditions such as operating hours of the airfield or temporary restrictions on flight operations, typically due to noise.

[0026] The information calculated in a computer is processed and then transmitted via radio to the aircraft in the form of coded and system-standardized data, binary numbers, or speech via a transmitter, which is typically located at the relevant airfield itself or whose transmitting antenna is located there.

[0027] The distributed data is stored in the computer or the sending device for a certain period of time.

[0028] The computer and the transmitting device can be implemented as separate devices or together in one device.

[0029] The transmission of data by a transmitting device can be carried out using radio waves on a radio frequency available to the general public, called a public frequency, or on a frequency specifically designated and reserved for this purpose, typically an aeronautical radio frequency, or on both frequencies together.

[0030] To prevent transmission stations broadcasting on the same frequency from interfering with each other, the entire Earth's surface is covered, as in Fig. 1. The area of ​​the Federal Republic of Germany is shown as an example, divided into approximately circular area types, whereby the final boundaries of the areas are adapted to geographical conditions and only include a certain number of airfields.

[0031] The area types are defined when the system is introduced, whereby the areas are chosen to be large enough that all transmitting devices in the area in question can broadcast the required data once within a time window, and the time window is further chosen so that a sufficiently frequent update of the data can take place, typically at intervals of a few minutes.

[0032] To prevent the transmitting stations from interfering with each other, each transmitting station continues to be assigned to an area type and receives a serial number within that area type.

[0033] Using the serial number and a higher-level time signal, each transmitter within a region type is assigned a period for broadcasting the data with the help of an algorithm that works uniformly for all transmitters.

[0034] To avoid mutual interference, which can occur when transmitters broadcasting on the same frequency are located close to each other, the transmitters are controlled by a higher-level system so that only one transmitter within the minimum distance is active at any given time.

[0035] The transmission power of the transmitting devices is measured by suitable measures, for example in the power section of the transmitter or via the design of the antenna, so that the signal of the transmitting device can only be received in a limited radius around the transmitting station, in order to avoid mutual interference between transmitters that are located in the same area but are assigned to a different area type.

[0036] The receiver in the aircraft is connected to the radio via a data line and can recognize, by means of the radio frequency set by the pilot, from which airfield the received data should be displayed.

[0037] After the pilot sets a radio frequency, the receiver checks at regular intervals whether the received data also contains the data of the set radio frequency and, if so, displays the current data and information of the flying site on the display device.

[0038] A receiver in the aircraft converts the information transmitted by the transmitter as radio waves into data, checks it for plausibility using a transmitted check digit, and stores valid data in its internal memory for a certain period of time.

[0039] The data belonging to the selected radio frequency is decoded by the receiving device after a successful plausibility check and then presented in the form of speech, text, graphics, or a mixture of these formats in a way that is easily understandable for the pilot, for example as a graphic, as exemplified in Fig.3 is displayed on the output device and optionally output acoustically via a loudspeaker and optionally made available via an interface for other devices.

[0040] The data can be passed on to a navigation system independent of the device and used, for example, to display the recommended runway, wind direction and wind speed on an electronic approach chart, for example in the form of arrows.

[0041] The overall control of the transmission time of the participating transmitters is carried out using a database located on a central computer, usually referred to as a server. All transmitters access this database to coordinate their transmissions using the information stored therein, which includes, for each participating airfield, at least the airfield's radio frequency, an identifier for the area type, a unique sequential number for the airfield within the area type, the airfield's international ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization) identification or the airfield's name or abbreviation, the presence of a transmitter, information on the validity of the measured data (typically whether the weather data was measured by a certified or non-certified device), available runways at the airfield, and the airfield's operating hours.and an algorithm applicable to all transmitting devices can determine a time with which the assigned transmission time of the transmitting device of each participating airfield is uniquely calculated.

[0042] Each transmitting device has a unique and unchangeable identifier, such as its serial number or the number of a processor, which allows it to register with the server where the data of all participating airfields is stored and to receive data.

[0043] To coordinate the exact transmission time, the transmitting devices access a higher-level time signal, for example the time signal of a GPS or Galileo satellite or another navigation system, or an official time signal, for example in Germany the time signal of the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt, broadcast via the transmitter DCF77, and also a built-in clock that ensures sufficient accuracy in the minute range.

[0044] The broadcast cycle for each area type typically begins at a full minute; from this point on, the associated transmitters broadcast their information, with the start of a transmitter's broadcast time consisting of the number assigned to it in the database, the time required for transmitting the information, and a time interval for signal separation between two transmitters.

[0045] The signal from the transmitting devices contains at least the following information about the airfield in the form of an ICAO identifier, the full name or an abbreviation of the full name of the airfield, the radio frequency of the airfield, the last determined wind direction and wind speed, the transmission time, the recommended runway, information about any warnings, information about the significance of the measurement data, typically whether the weather data was measured by a certified or a non-certified device, an introductory sequence, and a check digit.

[0046] Unless the data is marked as certified, the wind data will be displayed on the receiving device as classified text, for example, the value for wind direction “030” as text “NO” (abbreviation for North-East) and the value for wind speed of “10 kt” as text “MOD” (abbreviation for moderate).

[0047] If the data is marked as certified, it can be output as numerical values.

[0048] The receiver and display unit can be designed as standalone devices or integrated into another piece of the aircraft's avionics (electronic equipment).

[0049] The sent warning messages can be stored in coded form on the central server and transmitted in binary code with the other data, or they can be stored in the receiving devices and updated there regularly.

[0050] The information determined by the computer can also be used by the transmitting devices to control signals on the ground, for example for light signals or ground indicators, typically called "landing T", via a suitable interface.

[0051] In the event of a change in the take-off or landing direction, or technical or organizational problems, the broadcast of the recommended runway will be interrupted for a predetermined time and a corresponding message will be broadcast.

[0052] The receivers can optionally issue a warning about a possible incorrect landing direction if the pilot does not fly towards the runway recommended by the computer, in the case of a connection with an automatic position, speed and altitude measurement system. Reference symbol list 1 area type with number 2. Boundary of an area type 3 transmitting stations 4 Signal strength of a transmitting station 5 Minimum distance between two transmission stations 6 navigation satellites 7 Data flow in general 8 time signal transmitters 9 servers with database 10 Scheme of area types 11 participating airfields 12 Wind and weather measuring stations 13 computers with unique identifiers 14 Transmitter with receiving and transmitting antennas and internal clock 15 cameras for recording the runway 16 airplanes 17 Two-way radio in the cockpit 18 Receiving and display device 19 Pilot 20 Runway / relevant airfield 21 Speakers / Headphones 22 Display in the cockpit 23 Compass rose 24 Runway 25. Transmitted wind direction with mean and gusts 26 Recommended Runway 27 Example of text output

Claims

[1] Device for the continuous, automatic display of the current take-off and landing direction and the weather conditions at an airfield in the cockpit of aircraft characterized by , that the device consists of a receiver installed in an aircraft (16) with a display (18), a loudspeaker (21), the connection of the receiver to a two-way radio, a transmitter (14) whose associated transmitting antenna is located at the airfield in question, the measuring instruments (12) required for measuring weather data at the airfield and optionally one or more cameras (15) for detecting obstacles on the active runway (20) of the airfield. [2] Device for the continuous, automatic display of the current take-off and landing direction and the weather conditions at an airfield in the cockpit of aircraft characterized by, that the current wind and weather conditions are measured by a weather station (12) and, taking into account local geographical conditions, the optimal direction of the runway (20) is automatically and continuously calculated by a computer (13) and then the direction of the runway is broadcast in the form of data by the transmitter (14), whereby the computer and the transmitter can be separate devices or combined in one unit. [3] Device for the continuous, automatic display of the current take-off and landing direction and the weather conditions at an airfield in the cockpit of aircraft according to claim 1 characterized by , that optionally obstacles on the runway are detected with one or more cameras, processed in a computer (13) and incorporated into the runway recommendation according to claim 2. [4] Device for continuously, automatically displaying the current take-off and landing direction and the weather conditions at an airfield in the cockpit of aircraft according to claim 1 characterized by , that all transmitting devices (14) in the entire area exemplified in Fig. 1 is shown for the territory of the Federal Republic of Germany and which in turn comprises several smaller areas, called area types (1), which transmit the data required for claim 5, after processing in a computer (13), on a single frequency of aeronautical radio which is reserved for the transmission of the data according to the preceding claims, or on a frequency of public radio generally accessible to the territory or on both of the aforementioned frequencies. [5] Device for the continuous, automatic display of the current take-off and landing direction and the weather conditions at an airfield in the cockpit of aircraft characterized by, that the data transmitted according to claims 2 and 4, at least the runway (20) in operation, the wind direction and wind speed measured by a weather station (12), optionally additionally the air temperature, dew point, visibility and precipitation at an airfield, as well as optionally additionally obstacles on the runway (20) automatically detected by cameras (15), are displayed on the receiving and displaying device of the device (18) as soon as the user has set the frequency of the airfield (20) on the two-way radio (17) in the cockpit of the aircraft (16). [6] Device for continuously, automatically displaying the current take-off and landing direction and the weather conditions at an airfield in the cockpit of aircraft according to one of the preceding claims characterized by, that the participating transmitting devices (14) according to claim 4 transmit in a time-staggered manner to avoid mutual interference, in that each transmitting device is assigned to an area type (1), (10), has a consecutive number in its area type and the individual transmission time of a transmitting device (14) is calculated in all transmitting devices (14) with the same algorithm stored in the transmitting device (14) together with the use of a time signal according to claim 10 and the transmission power of the transmitting devices (14) is additionally limited by suitable technical measures. [7] Device for continuously, automatically displaying the current take-off and landing direction and the weather conditions at an airfield in the cockpit of aircraft according to one of the preceding claims characterized by, that the data relevant for the airfield (11) are filtered out from the data transmitted according to claim 4 by the receiving and displaying device (18) of the device by connecting the radio device (17) for voice communication and the receiving and displaying device (18) of the device, and the radio device (17) provides the frequency set for voice communication at the interface to the receiving device (18) and the receiving device uses the frequency as a selection criterion for the data. [8] Device for continuously, automatically displaying the current take-off and landing direction and the weather conditions at an airfield in the cockpit of aircraft according to claim 1 characterized bythat the data required for controlling the system, the transmitting devices (14) and the airfield (11) are stored on a central computer (9), typically called a server, which is accessible to all stations, and that each data record contains at least the frequency for the airfield's radio communication, the airfield's ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization) identifier, the airfield's full name or an abbreviation thereof, the area type to which the airfield is assigned, the possible runways of the airfield, the airfield's operating hours, the significance of the data, a system-standardized list of indicators for describing potential hazards, a sequential number of the airfield within the area type (1) for determining the transmission time according to claim 6, and a unique identifier for identifying the transmitting device (14). [9] Device for continuously, automatically displaying the current take-off and landing direction and the weather conditions at an airfield in the cockpit of aircraft according to claim 1 characterized by, that each transmitting device (14) participating in the system according to one of the preceding claims, in order to obtain the consecutive number of the airfield (11), which is necessary for calculating the transmission time provided for the transmitting device (14) according to claim 6, sends a unique and unchanging identifier, for example its serial number or an unchanging identifier incorporated into a processor, which may for example be a number or a code consisting of digits, characters and letters, to the central server (9) according to claim 8, by the transmitting device (14) registering with the server (9) according to claim 8 via the Internet at least after being switched on or regularly at intervals of specified times and receiving the data listed in claim 8 after being released by the server (9). [10] Device for continuously, automatically displaying the current take-off and landing direction and the weather conditions at an airfield in the cockpit of aircraft according to one of the preceding claims characterized by , that the transmitting devices (14) according to the preceding claims access a higher-level public time signal (8) valid for the area according to drawing 1, for example for Germany and neighboring countries of the transmitter DCF77, or access the time signal of a GPS satellite (6), which the algorithm according to claim 6 then uses in conjunction with the area types (1) according to claim 6 to determine a unique time and time window for the transmitting device (14). [11] Device for continuously, automatically displaying the current take-off and landing direction and the weather conditions at an airfield in the cockpit of aircraft according to one of the preceding claims characterized by that the measured values ​​are either displayed and output as numerical values ​​or are uniformly classified within the system using aviation terminology and abbreviations, for example by using the cardinal direction in words for wind direction and not degrees, and that the classified values ​​and information are provided by the device, such as in Fig. 3 schematically shown to the pilot in the language of his choice in the form of text(27), additionally with symbols or graphics, for example in a compass rose as wind arrow (25) and direction arrow for the landing direction (26), and optionally also acoustically output in the form of speech via a loudspeaker (21). [12] Device for continuously, automatically displaying the current take-off and landing direction and the weather conditions at an airfield in the cockpit of aircraft according to one of the preceding claims characterized by , that the receiving and displaying device (18) is optionally additionally connected to a device for determining position and issues a warning, for example in the form of a flashing display or an acoustic signal, about a possibly incorrect runway if the device detects from the current direction of flight, position, altitude, speed, position of the flaps, air brakes or landing gear of the aircraft that the aircraft is not heading for the runway recommended according to claim 2. [13] Device for continuously, automatically displaying the current take-off and landing direction and the weather conditions at an airfield in the cockpit of aircraft according to one of the preceding claims characterized by , that the data processed by the computer (13) and sent by the transmitter (14) according to claim 2 can be continuously used by devices that operate independently of the device according to claim 2 via an interface on the transmitter (14) or on the receiver (18) and displayed on these devices, incorporated into another program, or used as a signal for controlling other devices, for example signal lamps, or that the external devices can request the data from the transmitter (14) at an interface. [14] Device for continuously, automatically displaying the current take-off and landing direction and the weather conditions at an airfield in the cockpit of aircraft according to one of the preceding claims characterized by, that the receiving and displaying device (18) displays the data for a certain period of time unless more recent data is received, and after the expiry of this period, if no new data has been received, the device issues a message of a malfunction. [15] Device for continuously, automatically displaying the current take-off and landing direction and the weather conditions at an airfield in the cockpit of aircraft according to one of the preceding claims characterized by , that, typically in an emergency, as an alternative to the automatic measurement and processing of the weather data, the landing direction is manually set on the transmitter (14) and then the landing direction is broadcast by the transmitter (14) with or without the weather data.

Images