Electronic auxiliary flight management device for an aircraft, flight management system and associated aircraft

Abstract

Aircraft Auxiliary Flight Management Electronic Device, Flight Management System, and Associated Aircraft. This aircraft auxiliary flight management electronic device (20) (5) is intended to be installed on board the aircraft and connected to an electronic flight management system (15). It comprises a flight plan acquisition module (65) for acquiring a flight plan from equipment (60) external to the aircraft; a preprocessing module (70) for applying at least one preprocessing action to the acquired flight plan and generating a modified flight plan resulting from at least one preprocessing action; and a module (75) for transmitting the modified flight plan to the flight management system. Each preprocessing action is an action related to a meteorological variable, an action related to aircraft fuel consumption, an action related to aircraft takeoff performance, and / or an action related to a flight plan data format.Figure for the abbreviation: Figure 1.

Description

Title of the invention: Electronic device for auxiliary management of the flight of an aircraft, flight management installation and associated aircraft

[0001] The present invention relates to an electronic device for auxiliary flight management of an aircraft, the device being intended to be carried on board the aircraft and to be connected to an electronic flight management system.

[0002] The invention also relates to a flight management installation intended to be carried on board the aircraft, the installation comprising an electronic flight management system and such an auxiliary flight management device.

[0003] The invention also relates to an aircraft comprising such a flight management installation.

[0004] The invention relates more particularly to an airplane, while being applicable to any type of aircraft, such as a helicopter or a drone.

[0005] An aircraft conventionally comprises avionics systems to assist in piloting the aircraft, such as a flight management system, or FMS (from the English Flight Management System); a guidance system, or FG (from the English Flight Guidance); a flight control system, or FCS (from the English Flight Control System); etc. These avionics systems exchange information with each other using an aircraft communication network, which are part of a communication system within the aircraft, generally including systems other than the avionics systems. The communication system includes in particular systems implementing functions relating to the airline operating the aircraft, such as a maintenance system, or CMS (from the English Centralized Maintenance System); or a passenger cabin management system.

[0006] The avionics systems are grouped in a domain, called the avionics domain, to which corresponds a required security level (from the English "security level") that is the highest for the aircraft's communications system in order to guarantee that the operation of the functions implemented by the avionics systems does not risk being disrupted by communications with equipment outside the avionics domain. The security level required for the other equipment is lower than the security level required for the avionics domain.

[0007] The communication set is for example compliant with the ARINC 811 standard which defines different domains having different security levels in an aircraft communication set, in particular: an ACD domain (from the English Aircraft Control Domain) corresponding to the aforementioned avionics domain; an AISD domain (from the English Airline Information Services Domain) comprising equipment implementing airline-related functions (maintenance, cabin management, etc.); and a PIESD (Passenger Information and Entertainment Services Domain) relating to passenger entertainment and information.

[0008] In accordance with the ARINC 811 standard, the security level of the ACD domain corresponds to the highest security level of the aircraft communication system because the functions implemented by the equipment in the ACD domain may be essential for the control of the flight of the aircraft. The security level of the AISD domain is lower than that of the ACD domain, the functions implemented in the AISD domain being less essential, at least in the short term, for the control of the flight of the aircraft. The security level of the PIESD domain is lower than the security level of the AISD domain.

[0009] The invention then relates to the provision of information in the certified avionics domain, such as the ACD domain, from the non-certified open domain, in particular from the AISD domain.

[0010] However, the exchange of information from a domain having a lower security level to a domain having a higher security level is strongly restricted so as not to compromise the security of the domain having the highest security level. In particular, the transfer of information from a domain, called an open domain and corresponding to the outside of the ACD domain, to the ACD domain is restricted so as not to compromise the security of the ACD domain.

[0011] The aim of the invention is then to propose an electronic auxiliary flight management device making it possible to improve the precision of the flight management carried out by the electronic flight management system, the latter belonging to the certified avionics field.

[0012] To this end, the invention relates to an electronic device for auxiliary management of the flight of an aircraft, the device being intended to be carried on board the aircraft and to be connected to an electronic flight management system, the device comprising:

[0013] - an acquisition module configured to acquire a flight plan from a electronic equipment external to the aircraft;

[0014] - a preprocessing module connected to the acquisition module and configured to applying at least one preprocessing action to the acquired flight plan, and generating a modified flight plan resulting from the at least one preprocessing action;

[0015] the at least one pre-processing action being of a type chosen from a group of pre-processing action types consisting of: an action relating to a meteorological quantity, an action relating to a consumption of the aircraft, an action relating to a take-off performance of the aircraft and an action relating to a data format associated with the flight plan;

[0016] - a transmission module connected to the preprocessing module and configured to transmit the amended flight plan to the flight management system.

[0017] With the auxiliary flight management device according to the invention, the modified flight plan transmitted to the certified flight management system has improved accuracy due to the at least one pre-processing action performed by the pre-processing module. The improvement in accuracy relates in particular to the management of the aircraft environment when the pre-processing action is an action relating to a meteorological quantity. This improvement relates to the management of the aircraft performance when the pre-processing action is an action relating to consumption or an action relating to the take-off performance of the aircraft. This improvement relates to the management of the exchanged data when the pre-processing action is an action relating to the data format associated with the flight plan.

[0018] Furthermore, by being carried on board the aircraft and arranged close to the flight management system and connected to it, the auxiliary flight management device also makes it possible to significantly reduce latency in the transmission of data between the open domain and the avionics domain, compared to data transmission from the ground.

[0019] In addition, the auxiliary flight management device is advantageously external to the avionics domain, such as the ACD domain, to which the flight management system belongs. This then allows the provision of additional information and / or functionalities in the certified avionics domain from the non-certified open domain, in particular from the AISD domain to which the auxiliary flight management device typically belongs.

[0020] Preferably, the modified flight plan is updated regularly, that is to say is generated regularly by the preprocessing module, in particular after a modification of a situation external to the aircraft, such as a modification of a meteorological situation, an air traffic situation, an airport situation, for example concerning a landing or takeoff runway. In addition, the modified flight plan is generated at regular time intervals, a time period between two generations of flight plan modified by the preprocessing module being for example between 15 seconds and 10 minutes, and preferably of the order of 5 minutes.

[0021] More preferably, the flight management installation further comprises a system for verifying the conformity of the flight plan and / or the trajectory making it possible to further facilitate the transfer of data between the open domain and the avionics domain, in particular to automate it as much as possible, with a minimum of human intervention, or even without human intervention. Advantageously, if the verified flight plan is compliant, the verification system also requires validation of said flight plan from a user, such as the pilot of the aircraft, with a view to merging said flight plan with a current flight plan of the flight management system. For said validation, the verification system preferably displays, to the user and on a display screen, such as the display screen of the flight management system, a report containing deviations between the current flight plan and the new flight plan generated by the auxiliary flight management device.

[0022] According to other advantageous aspects of the invention, the auxiliary flight management device comprises one or more of the following characteristics, taken individually or in all technically possible combinations:

[0023] - the preprocessing module is configured to apply several preprocessing actions processing to the acquired flight plan, each action being of a type chosen from the group of preprocessing action types;

[0024] - the preprocessing module is configured to apply, to the acquired flight plan, to the least one action of each of the types in the preprocessing action type group.

[0025] - the device further comprises a calculation module configured to calculate a tra aircraft jectory from a respective flight plan;

[0026] the calculation module preferably being configured to calculate the trajectory of the aircraft from the modified flight plan generated by the pre-processing module; and

[0027] - the calculation module is further configured to predict a set of quantities avionics relating to the aircraft during flight of the calculated trajectory;

[0028] the set of avionic quantities preferably comprising several quantities, and more preferably each of the quantities, from the group consisting of: a speed of the aircraft for each of the future segments of the trajectory, an altitude of the aircraft for each of the future segments of the trajectory, a remaining quantity of fuel for each future point of the trajectory, a remaining quantity of fuel at each future waypoint of the flight plan, a time of passage at each future waypoint of the flight plan and information relating to the expected wind at each future waypoint of the flight plan.

[0029] The invention also relates to an installation for managing the flight of an aircraft, intended to be carried on board the aircraft, the installation comprising an electronic flight management system and an electronic device for auxiliary management of the flight of the aircraft, the auxiliary flight management device being as defined above and connected to the electronic flight management system.

[0030] According to other advantageous aspects of the invention, the flight management installation comprises one or more of the following characteristics, taken individually or in all technically possible combinations:

[0031] - the flight management system belongs to an avionics domain, the device of auxiliary flight management is external to the avionics domain, and the installation includes furthermore a security gateway arranged between the auxiliary flight management device and the flight management system, the security gateway being configured to carry out at least one filtering of a data message(s) intended for the flight management system;

[0032] the avionics domain preferably being a domain corresponding to the highest level of safety on board the aircraft;

[0033] the avionics domain preferably still being the ACD domain according to the ARINC 811 standard of December 20, 2005;

[0034] - the installation further comprises an electronic verification system configured to verify the conformity, with a database of the flight management system and / or a flight domain of the aircraft, of a flight plan generated by an electronic device external to the avionics domain;

[0035] the flight plan verified by the verification system preferably being a flight plan originating from the auxiliary flight management device;

[0036] the verification system preferably being further configured, if the verified flight plan is compliant, to require validation of the verified flight plan, from a user, such as a pilot of the aircraft; then to transfer the verified and validated flight plan to the flight management system for the purpose of merging it with a current flight plan of the flight management system; and

[0037] - the verification system is further configured to verify compliance, with an aircraft flight envelope, of a trajectory calculated by an electronic device external to the avionics domain;

[0038] the auxiliary flight management device preferably being as defined above, and the verification system preferably being configured to verify the conformity, with the flight envelope of the aircraft, of the trajectory calculated by the auxiliary flight management device.

[0039] The invention also relates to an aircraft comprising a flight management installation, as defined above.

[0040] These characteristics and advantages of the invention will appear more clearly on reading the description which follows, given solely by way of non-limiting example, and made with reference to the appended drawings, in which:

[0041] [Fig-1] [Fig.l] is a schematic representation of an aircraft according to the invention comprising an aircraft flight management facility, the flight management facility comprising an electronic flight management system and an auxiliary electronic flight management device.

[0042] The expressions “substantially equal to” and “of the order of” define a relationship of equality to plus or minus 20%, preferably to plus or minus 10%, and more preferably to plus or minus 5%.

[0043] In [Fig.l], an aircraft 5 comprises an installation 10 for managing a flight of the aircraft 5, the flight management installation 10 comprising an electronic flight management system 15 and an electronic auxiliary flight management device 20 connected to the flight management system 15.

[0044] More generally, the aircraft 5 comprises a communication assembly 25 compartmentalized into an avionics domain 30 and an open domain 35, external to the avionics domain 30, as shown in [Fig.l]. The communication assembly 25 then comprises several computers or avionics systems, including the flight management system 15, belonging to the avionics domain 30; as well as electronic devices or apparatuses, including the auxiliary management device 20, external to the avionics domain 30 and belonging to the open domain 35.

[0045] In the example of [Fig.l], the flight management installation 10 comprises the flight management system 15, also called FMS (from the English Flight Management System), the auxiliary flight management device 20, also called complementary flight management device, and in addition a security gateway 40 arranged between the auxiliary flight management device 20 and the flight management system 15. In other words, the security gateway 40 is a gateway between the open domain 35 and the avionics domain 30, the auxiliary flight management device 20 belonging to the open domain 35 and the flight management system 15 belonging to the avionics domain 30.

[0046] As an optional addition, the flight management installation 10 further comprises an electronic system 45 for verifying the conformity of a flight plan and / or a trajectory originating from an electronic device external to the avionics domain 30, such as an electronic device belonging to the open domain 35. The electronic verification system advantageously belongs to the avionics domain 30.

[0047] In addition, the flight management installation 20 further comprises a communication server 50 communicating via a communication link 55 with at least one piece of electronic equipment 60, external to the aircraft 5.

[0048] Each avionics system is on board the aircraft 5 and belongs to the avionics domain 30. Each avionics system is known per se, and is configured to implement one or more respective avionics functions.

[0049] Each avionics system is for example chosen from the group consisting of: the flight management system 15 of the aircraft 5, also called FMS (Flight Management System); a guidance system, or FG (Flight Guidance); a flight control system, or FCS (Flight Control System); a satellite positioning system, such as a GPS (Global Positioning System); an inertial reference system, also called 1RS (Inertial Reference System); a navigation assistance system the ILS (Instrument Landing System) or a MLS (Microwave Landing System) landing aid system; an active runway excursion prevention system, also called a ROPS (Runway Overrun Prevention System); and a radio altimeter, also known as a RA (RadioAltimeter).

[0050] In particular, the electronic flight management system 15 is an electronic system incorporating a flight management functionality, in particular via the implementation of one or more flight management functions. The flight management system 15 is, for example, a certified avionics system.

[0051] The flight management functions are known per se, and include, for example, a navigation function for performing optimal localization of the aircraft 5 based on geolocation means, such as satellite geopositioning means, VHF radio navigation beacons, or even inertial units. The flight management functions typically also include a flight plan function for entering geographical elements constituting a skeleton of the route to be followed, such as points imposed by the departure and arrival procedures, waypoints, air corridors.The flight management functions also include a lateral trajectory function for constructing a continuous trajectory from the points of the flight plan and respecting the performance of the aircraft 5, as well as confinement constraints, also called RNP (from the English Required Navigation Performance); a prediction function for constructing an optimized vertical profile on the lateral and vertical trajectory and giving estimates of distance, time, altitude, speed, fuel and wind in particular on each point, at each change of piloting parameter and at the destination, these estimates being intended to be displayed on a display screen, not shown. The flight management functions also include, for example, a guidance function for guiding the aircraft 5 in lateral and vertical planes on its three-dimensional trajectory, while optimizing its speed, using the information calculated by the prediction function.

[0052] The auxiliary flight management device 20 comprises a module 65 for acquiring data, in particular a flight plan, from the at least one electronic device 60, external to the aircraft 5; a pre-processing module 70 connected to the acquisition module 65 and configured to apply at least one pre-processing action to the flight plan acquired by the acquisition module 65, and then generate a modified flight plan resulting from the at least one pre-processing action; and a module 75 for transmitting the modified flight plan to the flight management system 15, the transmission module 75 being connected to the pre-processing module 70.

[0053] As an optional addition, the auxiliary flight management device 20 further comprises a calculation module 80 connected to the output of the acquisition module 65 and / or the preprocessing module 70, and at the input of the transmission module 75. The calculation module 80 is notably configured to calculate a trajectory of the aircraft 5 from a respective flight plan, such as the flight plan acquired by the acquisition module 65 or the modified flight plan generated by the preprocessing module 70.

[0054] The auxiliary electronic flight management device 20 comprises, for example, an information processing unit typically formed of a memory and a processor associated with the memory.

[0055] According to this example, the acquisition module 65, the pre-processing module 70 and the transmission module 75, as well as optionally the calculation module 80, are each produced in the form of software, or a software brick, executable by the processor. The memory of the auxiliary electronic flight management device 20 is then capable of storing data acquisition software, in particular a flight plan, from the at least one external electronic equipment; pre-processing software capable of applying at least one pre-processing action to the flight plan acquired by the acquisition software, then generating the modified flight plan resulting from the at least one pre-processing action; and software for transmitting the modified flight plan to the flight management system 15.As an optional addition, the memory of the electronic auxiliary flight management device 20 is capable of storing calculation software, in particular capable of calculating the trajectory of the aircraft 5 from the respective flight plan. The processor of the electronic auxiliary flight management device 20 is then capable of executing each of the software among the acquisition software, the pre-processing software and the transmission software, as well as, as an optional addition, the calculation software.

[0056] In a variant not shown, the acquisition module 65, the pre-processing module 70 and the transmission module 75, as well as the optional addition the calculation module 80, are each produced in the form of a programmable logic component, such as an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), or an integrated circuit, such as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit).

[0057] When the electronic auxiliary flight management device 20 is produced in the form of one or more software programs, that is to say in the form of a computer program, also called a computer program product, it is furthermore capable of being recorded on a medium, not shown, readable by a computer. The computer-readable medium is for example a medium capable of storing electronic instructions and of being coupled to a bus of a computer system. By way of example, the readable medium is an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, a ROM memory, a RAM memory, any type of non-volatile memory (for example EPROM, EEPROM, FLASH, NVRAM), a magnetic card or an optical card. On the readable medium is then stored a computer program comprising ins- software instructions.

[0058] The avionics domain 30 is a domain corresponding to the highest security level on board the aircraft 5, in particular the highest required security level of the communication assembly 25 of the aircraft 5.

[0059] The avionics domain 30 is then a domain for limiting a risk of disruption - by at least one communication with an electronic device or apparatus external to the avionics domain 30 - of function(s) implemented by the at least one avionics system of the avionics domain 30. The avionics domain 30 includes the avionics system(s) 20, in particular the flight management system 15.

[0060] The avionics domain 30 is typically the ACD domain according to the ARINC 811 standard of December 20, 2005.

[0061] The open domain 35 is a domain to which corresponds a lower security level than the security level of the avionics domain 30. The open domain 35 includes the electronic devices or apparatus, in particular the electronic auxiliary flight management device 20.

[0062] The security gateway 40 is configured to carry out at least one filtering of a data message(s) intended for the flight management system 15.

[0063] Each respective message filtering, performed by the security gateway 40, is typically a syntactic filtering or a semantic filtering.

[0064] Syntactic filtering advantageously includes the verification of at least one syntactic criterion chosen from the group consisting of: the membership of the sender of the message in a list of authorized senders, the membership of the recipient of the message in a list of authorized recipients, and the conformity of the message to one of the authorized predefined formats.

[0065] Semantic filtering advantageously comprises the verification of at least one semantic criterion chosen from the group consisting of: the membership of one or more data items of the message to a range of authorized values, the consistency of at least one data item of the message with respect to a predefined reference, and the consistency between at least two data items of the message.

[0066] By this filtering of messages, the security gateway 40 fulfills a cyber security functionality.

[0067] The electronic verification system 45 is configured to verify the conformity, with a flight phase of the aircraft 5 and / or a database of the flight management system 15 and / or a flight domain of the aircraft 5 and / or at least one predefined operational rule, of a flight plan generated by an electronic device external to the avionics domain 30. The device external to the avionics domain 30 is advantageously the auxiliary flight management device 20, and the verification system 45 is then configured to verify the conformity, with the database of the flight management system 15 and / or a flight domain of the aircraft 5 and / or at least one predefined operational rule, of a flight plan generated by an electronic device external to the avionics domain 30. flight management 15 and / or the flight envelope of the aircraft 5, of the flight plan generated by said auxiliary management device 20.

[0068] For the conformity of the generated flight plan with the flight phase of the aircraft 5, the verification system 45 is for example configured to verify that an update or modification included in the generated flight plan is authorized with regard to the flight phase associated with said update or modification. For example, for a ground phase of the aircraft 5, also called pre-flight phase, the flight plan is authorized to contain an update of the departure runway, an update of the SID (Standard Instrument Departure) and / or an update of the SID TRANS (Standard Instrument Departure TRANSition), as well as associated constraints. The SID TRANS is known per se, and is a regulatory procedure for leaving the SID to evacuate the airport area and residential areas. This becomes more restrictive depending on the progress in the flight.For example, a change to the departure runway is prohibited if aircraft 5 is in flight, i.e. if the flight phase is equal to flight. Similarly, updating a departure procedure (SID or SID TRANS) that has already been flown is not permitted.

[0069] For the conformity of the generated flight plan with the database of the flight management system 15, the verification system 45 is for example configured to verify the format of the waypoint(s) inserted in the generated flight plan. If the flight plan contains a point identified by a name that is not included in the database or by a name corresponding to several points in the database (i.e. the name of the point is not a unique key), then the verification system 45 is configured to reject the flight plan. If the flight plan contains a point identified by its name and its geographical position, and the point closest to the position corresponding to this name is more than a distance threshold away from this position, then the verification system 45 is configured to reject the flight plan. The distance threshold is typically between 0.0001 Nm and 5 Nm, for example of the order of 0.1 Nm.The distance threshold is advantageously configurable by a user, such as a pilot of the aircraft 5. .

[0070] For the conformity of the generated flight plan with the flight envelope of the aircraft 5, the verification system 45 is for example configured to reject the generated flight plan, if a speed, altitude and / or time constraint, inserted in the generated flight plan, does not respect the flight envelope of the aircraft 5. By flight envelope, we mean an altitude and a speed flyable by the aircraft 5. In other words, if the speed, altitude and / or time constraint, inserted in the generated flight plan, is not compatible with the altitude and the speed flyable by the aircraft 5, then the verification system 45 is configured to reject said flight plan.

[0071] For the conformity of the generated flight plan with T at least one operational rule predefined, the verification system 45 is for example configured to check whether a point inserted in the flight plan increases the length in the flight plan such that the fuel on board is not sufficient to fly the new flight plan. If necessary, the verification system 45 is for example configured to require pilot validation and / or automatically reject the flight plan, depending on the implementation of this verification.This is applicable to a point inserted in the flight plan and identified by a position, such as a position in latitude and longitude, a PBD position (Place Bearing Distance; Place defining a geographical point, Bearing defining a direction or bearing, and Distance defining a distance, the position then being calculated from the geographical point defined by Place, in the direction defined by Bearing at a distance defined by Distance), and a PBPB position (Place Bearing Place Bearing; Place defining a geographical point, Bearing defining a direction or bearing, the position then being calculated via the intersection of the two directions each defined by Bearing starting from the two geographical points each defined by Place).As an additional example, the verification system 45 is for example configured to reject a point inserted by an Along Track Offset function and positioned beyond the end of the flight. As another additional example, the operational rule is an ecological rule for airliners, and the verification system 45 is for example configured to prohibit a flight plan including loops. This being dependent on the domain, or even the mission, the at least one operational rule is advantageously configurable, and / or the activation of said at least one operational rule is configurable.

[0072] As an optional addition, if the prior conformity check is positive, that is to say if the verified flight plan is compliant with the database and / or the flight domain, the verification system 45 is further configured to require validation of the verified flight plan from the user; then in the event of validation by the user, to transfer the verified and validated flight plan to the flight management system 15. The verified and validated flight plan is then capable of being merged with a current flight plan by the flight management system 15. In the absence of validation by the user, the verification system 45 is configured to reject the verified flight plan. In other words, in the absence of validation, the flight plan previously verified by the verification system 45 is abandoned, and is then not merged with the current flight plan of the flight management system 15.For said validation, the verification system 45 is preferably configured to display, on a display screen, such as the display screen of the flight management system 15, a report containing deviations between the current flight plan of the flight management system 15 and the new flight plan generated by the auxiliary flight management device 20. This report presenting. advantageously all the differences between the two flight plans are displayed to the user, and then allows him to more easily make his decision whether or not to validate the flight plan generated by the auxiliary flight management device 20.

[0073] As a further addition, the electronic verification system 45 is configured to verify the conformity, with a flight envelope of the aircraft 5, of a trajectory calculated by an electronic device external to the avionics domain 30. The device external to the avionics domain 30 is advantageously the auxiliary flight management device 20, and the verification system 45 is then configured to verify the conformity, with the flight envelope of the aircraft 5, of the trajectory calculated by said auxiliary management device 20. According to this addition, the verification system 45 is then configured to verify that the calculated trajectory respects the flight envelope of the aircraft 5, that is to say that the radii of curvature of the turns, the climbs and descents, as well as the speeds are compatible with the performances of the aircraft 5.The verification system 45 is also configured to verify that the calculated trajectory is continuous, that is, that all segments of the calculated trajectory are contiguous with their preceding and following segments. The verification system 45 is also configured to verify that the trajectory complies with the associated flight plan, in particular that it passes through the waypoints included in the flight plan.

[0074] The communication server 50 is configured to communicate via the communication link 55 with the at least one external electronic device 60, said at least one external electronic device 60 being for example a ground station, or even cloud computing equipment.

[0075] The communication server 50 is known per se, and notably comprises a transceiver, not shown, compatible with the communication link 55. The communication link 55 is typically a radio link, i.e. a radio wave link, such as a satellite link. The transceiver is then a radio transceiver.

[0076] The external electronic equipment 60 is typically connected to a computer infrastructure of an operational control center, also called OCC (from the English Operational Control Center). The external electronic equipment 60 is then advantageously configured to transmit data, such as for example a flight plan of the aircraft 5 and information relating to the aircraft 5, such as its mass, its configuration, its balancing, or even its identifier.

[0077] The acquisition module 65 is configured to acquire the flight plan from the external electronic equipment 60. The acquisition module 65 is typically configured to acquire this flight plan via the communication server 50.

[0078] The preprocessing module 70 is configured to apply at least one preprocessing action to the flight plan acquired by the acquisition module 65, then to generate a modified flight plan resulting from at least one preprocessing action.

[0079] The at least one pre-processing action is for example of a type chosen from a group of pre-processing action types consisting of: an action relating to a meteorological quantity, an action relating to a consumption of the aircraft, an action relating to a take-off performance of the aircraft and an action relating to a data format associated with the flight plan.

[0080] The preprocessing module 70 is advantageously configured to apply several preprocessing actions to the acquired flight plan, each action being of a type chosen from said group of preprocessing action types.

[0081] The preprocessing module 70 is advantageously further configured to apply, to the acquired flight plan, at least one action of each of the types of the group of preprocessing action types.

[0082] When the pre-processing action is of the type action relating to a meteorological quantity, the pre-processing module 70 is for example configured to associate with at least one waypoint of the flight plan, preferably with each waypoint of the flight plan, a quantity relating to the wind, such as a wind direction or a wind force, the value of said quantity associated with each waypoint being advantageously the most up-to-date value, typically obtained from a corresponding external electronic equipment 60.

[0083] When the pre-processing action is of the type action relating to a meteorological quantity, the pre-processing module 70 is advantageously configured to associate said quantity relating to the wind with points of the trajectory of the aircraft which are distinct from the waypoints of the flight plan, that is to say with one or more points of the trajectory between two successive waypoints of the flight plan. According to this addition, the precision of the flight management is then further improved, the flight management system 15 having meteorological information only for the waypoints of the flight plan.

[0084] When the pre-processing action is of the type action relating to a meteorological quantity, the pre-processing module 70 is, in addition or as a variant, configured to identify meteorological risks, such as storm risks, also called RDT (Rapidly Developing Thunderstrom), throughout the flight plan thanks to one or more updated meteorological models, typically obtained from corresponding external electronic equipment 60.

[0085] When the pre-processing action is of the type action relating to a consumption of the aircraft, the pre-processing module 70 is for example configured to calculate a consumption performance of the aircraft 5, such as an instantaneous consumption at a waypoint or a cumulative consumption from the start of the flight to the waypoint, according to the route of the flight plan and the meteorological data, in particular wind data. The calculation of the consumption of the aircraft 5 is carried out using a consumption model of the aircraft 5, preferably a personalized consumption model taking into account specific characteristics of the aircraft 5, such as a date of the last overhaul of the aircraft 5 which may have an impact on the engine settings, the age of the aircraft 5, installed options (satellite antenna, in-flight refueling system for a military aircraft), and a layout of the seats within an airliner, with an associated type of each seat. The mass of the seat varies from one type to another, and the layout of the seats then has an influence on the overall mass of the aircraft 5, as well as on the distribution of masses within the aircraft 5. In addition, the consumption model is updated taking into account previous flights of the aircraft 5.

[0086] Those skilled in the art will then observe that the consumption model used by the auxiliary flight management device 20, in particular by the preprocessing module 70, is then more precise than that of the flight management system 15, and is furthermore updated more regularly. Indeed, the consumption model used by the flight management system 15 does not take into account, in particular, the meteorological data or even the previous flights of the aircraft 5, and is also not customizable with specific characteristics of the aircraft 5.

[0087] When the pre-processing action is of the type action relating to a consumption of the aircraft, the pre-processing module 70 is, in addition, configured to calculate a quantity of fuel to be loaded into the aircraft, using the consumption model of the aircraft 5.

[0088] When the pre-processing action is of the type action relating to a take-off performance of the aircraft, the pre-processing module 70 is for example configured to calculate a distribution of the masses in the aircraft 5 as a function of the number of passengers, the quantity of baggage and a quantity of fuel to be taken on board.

[0089] When the preprocessing action is of the type of action relating to a takeoff performance of the aircraft, the preprocessing module 70 is, in addition, configured to calculate a takeoff performance, such as a takeoff roll distance, a climb rate, this as a function of the calculated mass distribution, of data relating to the corresponding takeoff runway. The data relating to the takeoff runway include for example a slope of the runway, a level of wear of the runway (likely to influence the rolling resistance of the runway), an altitude of the runway, an atmospheric pressure near the runway, a temperature near the runway.

[0090] When the preprocessing action is of the type action relating to a data format associated with the flight plan, the preprocessing module 70 is for example configured to transform the acquired flight plan into a flight plan according to a data format compatible with the flight management system 15. The acquired flight plan is typically generated by a flight planner, and the transformation includes in particular compliance with aeronautical databases. The compatible format of the flight management system 15, corresponding to the format of the modified flight plan, that is to say the format according to which the flight plan is transformed, is for example compliant with the ARINC 424 standard, also noted A424.

[0091] The transmission module 75 is configured to transmit the modified flight plan to the flight management system 15. In the example of [Fig.l], the transmission module 75 is then configured to deliver the modified flight plan to the security gateway 40 which then transmits it to the flight management system 15.

[0092] The calculation module 80 is configured to calculate a trajectory of the aircraft 5 from a respective flight plan.

[0093] The calculation module 80 is preferably configured to calculate the trajectory of the aircraft 5 from the modified flight plan generated by the preprocessing module 70. The calculation module 80 is configured to calculate said trajectory passing through the waypoints of the modified flight plan, from for example updated data of the instantaneous position of the aircraft 5, direction and / or force of the wind, instantaneous consumption and / or cumulative consumption of the aircraft 5. The trajectory of the aircraft 5 is typically calculated using a performance model of the aircraft 5, known per se. The calculation module 80 is advantageously configured to calculate the lateral and vertical segments forming the trajectory of the aircraft 5, and furthermore the speed setpoints associated with these segments.The information on the lateral and vertical segments, and on the speed instructions, are then provided to the transmission module 75, with a view to their transmission to the flight management system 15.

[0094] As an optional addition, the calculation module 80 is further configured to predict a set of avionic quantities relating to the aircraft 5 during the flight of the calculated trajectory. The set of avionic quantities predicted by the calculation module 80 typically comprises a speed and an altitude of the aircraft 5 for each of the future segments of the trajectory, a remaining quantity of fuel for each future point of the trajectory, a remaining quantity of fuel, a time of passage and information relating to the expected wind at each point of passage of the flight plan. The predicted set of avionic quantities advantageously further comprises information on whether or not any existing constraints in the flight plan are respected and the positions of notable points of the flight, such as a top of climb point and a top of descent point.

[0095] It is then understood that the auxiliary flight management device 20 according to the invention makes it possible to improve the precision of the flight management carried out by the flight management system 15, by transmitting to it the modified flight plan resulting from the at least one pre-processing action, as well as advantageously by calculating a new trajectory of the aircraft 5 from the modified flight plan, or even by predicting the set of avionic quantities relating to the aircraft 5 along the calculated trajectory.

[0096] The security gateway 40 also makes it possible to improve the security, in particular the cybersecurity, of the data exchanges between the auxiliary flight management device 20 and the flight management system 15.

[0097] The verification system 45 also makes it possible to facilitate the use, within the flight management system 15, of the flight plan and / or the trajectory transmitted by the auxiliary flight management device 20, by carrying out a prior verification of said flight plan and / or of said trajectory. In addition, in the event of conformity of the verified flight plan, the verification system 45 also makes it possible to require validation from the pilot of the aircraft 5, with a view to a possible merging of said flight plan with the current flight plan of the flight management system 15. The verification system 45 then participates in at least partial automation of the transfer of data between the auxiliary flight management device 20 and the flight management system 15.

Claims

Claims

1. Installation (10) for managing the flight of an aircraft (5) intended to be carried on board the aircraft (5), the installation (10) comprising an electronic flight management system (15) and an electronic device (20) for auxiliary management of the flight of an aircraft (5), the device (20) being intended to be carried on board the aircraft (5) and being connected to the electronic flight management system (15), the auxiliary management device (20) comprising: - an acquisition module (65) configured to acquire a flight plan from electronic equipment (60) external to the aircraft (5); - a pre-processing module (70) connected to the acquisition module (65) and configured to apply at least one pre-processing action to the acquired flight plan, and generate a modified flight plan resulting from the at least one pre-processing action;the at least one pre-processing action being of a type chosen from a group of pre-processing action types consisting of: an action relating to a meteorological quantity, an action relating to a consumption of the aircraft, an action relating to a take-off performance of the aircraft and an action relating to a data format associated with the flight plan; - a transmission module (75) connected to the pre-processing module (70) and configured to transmit the modified flight plan to the flight management system (15); and the installation (10) further comprising an electronic verification system (45) configured to verify the conformity, with a database of the flight management system (15) and / or a flight domain of the aircraft (5), of a flight plan generated by the auxiliary management device (20).;

2. Installation (10) according to claim 1, in which the preprocessing module (70) is configured to apply several preprocessing actions to the acquired flight plan, each action being of a type chosen from the group of preprocessing action types.

3. Installation (10) according to claim 2, in which the preprocessing module (70) is configured to apply, to the acquired flight plan, at least one action of each of the types of the group of preprocessing action types.

4. Installation (10) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the device (20) further comprises a calculation module (80) configured to calculate a trajectory of the aircraft (5) from a respective flight plan; the calculation module (80) preferably being configured to calculate the trajectory of the aircraft (5) from the modified flight plan generated by the pre-processing module (70).

5. Installation (10) according to claim 4, in which the calculation module (80) is further configured to predict a set of avionic quantities relating to the aircraft (5) during the flight of the calculated trajectory; the set of avionic quantities preferably comprising several quantities, and more preferably each of the quantities, from the group consisting of: a speed of the aircraft (5) for each of the future segments of the trajectory, an altitude of the aircraft (5) for each of the future segments of the trajectory, a remaining quantity of fuel for each future point of the trajectory, a remaining quantity of fuel at each future waypoint of the flight plan, a time of passage at each future waypoint of the flight plan and information relating to the expected wind at each future waypoint of the flight plan.

6. Installation (10) according to any one of the preceding claims, in which the flight management system (15) belongs to an avionics domain (30), the auxiliary flight management device (20) is external to the avionics domain (30), and the installation (10) further comprises a security gateway (40) arranged between the auxiliary flight management device (20) and the flight management system (15), the security gateway (40) being configured to carry out at least one filtering of a data message(s) intended for the flight management system (15); the avionics domain (30) preferably being a domain corresponding to a highest level of security on board the aircraft; the avionics domain (30) more preferably being the ACD domain according to the ARINC 811 standard of December 20, 2005.

7. Installation (10) according to any one of the preceding claims, in which the verification system (45) is further configured, if the verified flight plan is compliant, to require validation of the verified flight plan, from a user, such as a pilot of the aircraft (5); then to transfer to the flight management system (15) the verified and validated flight plan with a view to merging it with a current flight plan of the flight management system (15).

8. Installation (10) according to any one of the preceding claims, in which the verification system (45) is further configured to verify the conformity, with a flight envelope of the aircraft (5), of a trajectory calculated by an electronic device (20; 60) external to the avionics domain (30); the auxiliary flight management device (20) preferably being according to claim 4, and the verification system (45) preferably being configured to verify the conformity, with the flight envelope of the aircraft (5), of the trajectory calculated by the auxiliary flight management device (20).

9. Aircraft (5) comprising an installation (10) for managing the flight of the aircraft (5), characterized in that the flight management installation (10) is according to any one of the preceding claims.

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