Method and system for automatically guiding an aircraft towards a landing runway.

Abstract

Method and system for automatically guiding an aircraft towards a landing runway.The method for automatically guiding an aircraft (1) comprises the following steps: - receiving (31) an ATIS message; - decoding (32) the contents of the ATIS message; - where the decoded contents of the ATIS message include a parameter relating to an in-use runway, creating (33) a message requesting confirmation of said decoded contents and commanding the transmission of said message on an air traffic control communication frequency; - receiving (34) a response from air traffic control and decoding the response to determine whether it is a confirmation of the decoded contents of the ATIS message; - where the response is a confirmation of the decoded contents of the ATIS message, determining (35) an emergency flight path for the aircraft, taking into account, at least in part, the decoded contents of the ATIS message; and - automatically guiding (36) the aircraft (1) along the determined emergency flight path. Figure for the abstract: Fig. 4.

Description

Title of the invention: Method and system for automatically guiding an aircraft to a landing runway.

[0001] The invention relates to the field of automatic landing of aircraft, in particular in a situation of incapacity of a pilot of the aircraft. It is known, in a situation of incapacity of a pilot of the aircraft preventing said pilot from controlling the aircraft, in particular when the aircraft has a single pilot, to determine a contingency trajectory making it possible to bring the aircraft to a diversion airport, and to guide the aircraft along this contingency trajectory. Document FR3121208A1 describes a method and a system allowing the generation of such an emergency trajectory. The determination of such an emergency trajectory assumes knowing at least one landing runway on which the aircraft could land.To this end, one solution envisaged by the inventors would consist of receiving on board the aircraft information from ATIS messages (Automatic Terminal Information Service) relating to at least one landing runway. ATIS is a service for continuously broadcasting information on airports. It broadcasts messages relating in particular to the landing runways in service, the state of the landing runways, etc. However, it is not possible to guarantee the integrity of the information from ATIS messages, especially since for most airports, these messages are generally only transmitted in voice form. There is therefore a need for a solution making it possible to have on board the aircraft complete information on a landing runway that can be used to determine an emergency trajectory allowing the aircraft to land on this landing runway. Statement of the invention

[0002] The present invention aims in particular to provide a solution to this problem. It relates to a method for automatically guiding an aircraft to a landing runway. The method is remarkable in that it comprises the following steps implemented automatically by electronic circuitry on board the aircraft:

[0003] - a first step consisting of receiving at least one ATIS message;

[0004] - a second step consisting of decoding the content of T at least one message ATIS received at the first stage;

[0005] - a third step implemented when the decoded content of T at least one ATIS message includes a parameter relating to a runway in service, consisting of creating a confirmation request message of said decoded content and order the sending of said message on a communication frequency with air traffic control;

[0006] - a fourth step consisting of receiving a response from air traffic control to message sent in the third step and decoding the response to determine whether or not it matches a confirmation of the decoded content of the at least one ATIS message;

[0007] - a fifth step implemented when the response corresponds to a confirmation of the decoded content of the at least one ATIS message, the fifth step comprising determining an emergency trajectory of the aircraft taking into account, at least in part, the decoded content of the at least one ATIS message; and

[0008] - a sixth step consisting of automatically guiding the aircraft along the trajectory relief determined in the fifth step.

[0009] Thus, the method according to the invention makes it possible to automatically obtain confirmation or non-confirmation, by air traffic control, of the content of an ATIS message received by the aircraft, then in the event of confirmation to automatically determine an emergency trajectory for the aircraft by taking into account, at least in part, the content of the ATIS message and then to automatically guide the aircraft along this emergency trajectory. This therefore makes it possible to secure the determination of the emergency trajectory, since it is determined on the basis of information contained in the ATIS message which is confirmed by air traffic control. In the event of an error in the ATIS message or during the decoding of the ATIS message on board the aircraft, this error is detected by air traffic control which then does not confirm the content of the message.

[0010] According to one embodiment, the first step consists of receiving the ATIS message in voice form and the second step comprises a sub-step of voice recognition of the message received in voice form.

[0011] According to one embodiment, the third step comprises:

[0012] - convert the decoded content confirmation request message into a voice message by voice synthesis; and

[0013] - order the sending of the voice message on the communication frequency with the air traffic control.

[0014] According to one embodiment, the fifth step comprises a first sub-step of syntactic analysis on the one hand of the decoded content of the at least one ATIS message and on the other hand of the response from air traffic control decoded in the fourth step, as well as a second sub-step corresponding to the determination of the emergency trajectory, the second sub-step being implemented only if the decoded content of the at least one ATIS message complies with predefined syntactic rules and if the response from air traffic control decoded in the fourth step also complies with predefined syntactic rules.

[0015] According to one embodiment, the parameter relating to the landing runway in service comprises at least one of the following parameters:

[0016] - an identification of the landing runway in service;

[0017] - a state of the landing runway in service.

[0018] The invention also relates to a system for automatically guiding an aircraft to a landing runway. The guidance system is remarkable in that it comprises electronic circuitry configured to implement an automatic guidance method as mentioned above.

[0019] The invention also relates to an aircraft comprising such an automatic guidance system. Description of the embodiments

[0020] The invention will be better understood by reading the following description and examining the attached figures.

[0021] [Fig.l] represents an aircraft comprising an automatic guidance system.

[0022] [Fig. 2] schematically illustrates an automatic guidance system for an aircraft according to one embodiment of the invention.

[0023] [Fig. 3] illustrates a method for automatically guiding an aircraft according to one embodiment of the invention.

[0024] [Fig.4] functionally illustrates the automatic guidance method of [Fig.3],

[0025] The aircraft 1 shown in [Fig. 1] comprises an automatic guidance system 10 as shown in [Fig. 2]. The automatic guidance system 10 comprises electronic circuitry 14 connected at the input to an ATIS message receiver 12. The electronic circuitry 14 is also connected, bidirectionally, to a radio communication device 16 of the aircraft, for example of the VHF (“Very High Frequency” type), intended to communicate with air traffic control. The electronic circuitry 14 is also connected at the output to a guidance computer 18 of the aircraft. According to one embodiment, the electronic circuitry 14 corresponds to an avionics computer of the aircraft. According to another embodiment, the electronic circuitry 14 corresponds to a programmable logic circuit of the FPGA type. The automatic guidance system 10 is for example installed in an avionics bay 2 of the aircraft 1.

[0026] The electronic circuitry 14 and the aircraft guidance computer 18 are configured to implement the automatic guidance method illustrated by [Fig.3],

[0027] A first step 31 of the method, labeled El in the figure, consists of receiving at least one ATIS message from the receiver 12. The receiver 12 corresponds to a radio frequency receiver on board the aircraft and configured to receive messages from the ATIS information broadcast service.

[0028] Following the reception of the at least one ATIS message, in a second step 32 of the method, labeled E2 in [Fig. 3], the electronic circuitry 14 decodes the content of the at least one ATIS message received in the first step. The decoding of the content of the message comprises in particular the identification on the one hand of a type of parameter transmitted in the ATIS message and on the other hand of a value corresponding to this parameter. The type of parameter may for example correspond to an identification of a landing runway in service, to a state of a landing runway, to a temperature at an airport, to the wind at an airport, etc. The decoding of the content of the message in the second step 32 corresponds for example to a textual analysis of the message to identify a type of parameter and a value of said parameter. As illustrated in [Fig. 4], the second step 32 is for example implemented by a function 41 of the electronic circuitry 14.This function 41, labeled DECODE in [Fig.4], receives the ATIS message and decodes the content of the ATIS message.

[0029] In a particular embodiment, when the message received in the first step 31 is a voice message, the second step 32 further comprises a first sub-step of voice recognition of the message received in voice form so as to transform it into a text message. This first sub-step is implemented before decoding the content of the message.

[0030] Following the decoding of the content of the received message, in a third step 33, labeled E3 in [Fig. 2], the electronic circuitry 14 verifies whether the decoded content of the ATIS message includes a parameter relating to a runway in service. In particular, such a parameter relating to a runway in service corresponds to an identification of the runway in service or to a state of the runway in service. The state of the runway corresponds for example to one of the following values: dry, wet, presence of snow, icy, etc. When the decoded content of the ATIS message includes a parameter relating to a runway in service, the electronic circuitry 14 creates a message requesting confirmation of said decoded content and commands the sending of said message, by the radiocommunication device 16, on a communication frequency with air traffic control.In a particular embodiment, the electronic circuitry 14 creates the message in text form and then transforms it, by voice synthesis, into a voice message before ordering the sending of the voice message on the communication frequency with air traffic control. As illustrated in [Fig. 4], the third step 33 is for example implemented by a verification function 42, labeled RWY (for “Runway” in English), and by a message sending function 43, labeled MSG. The verification function 42 verifies whether the decoded content of the ATIS message, resulting from the function of . decoding 41, includes a parameter relating to a landing runway in service. The function 43 for sending a message creates the message requesting confirmation of said decoded content and controls the sending of said message on the communication frequency with ATC (for “Air Traffic Control” in English).

[0031] In a fourth step 34, labeled E4 in [Fig. 2], the electronic circuitry 14 receives from the radiocommunication device 16, a response from air traffic control to the message sent in the third step 33. The electronic circuitry decodes the response received so as to determine whether this response corresponds or does not correspond to a confirmation of the decoded content of the at least one ATIS message. In a particular embodiment, the response from air traffic control is received by the radiocommunication device 16 in the form of a voice message. The fourth step 34 then comprises a first sub-step of voice recognition of the received voice message, at the end of which the voice message is transformed into a text message.The decoding, by the electronic circuitry 14, of the received response corresponds for example to an analysis of the text message so as to identify key words corresponding to a confirmation or a non-confirmation of the decoded content of the at least one ATIS message. As illustrated in [Fig.4], the fourth step 34 is for example implemented by a function 44 of the electronic circuitry 14. This function 44, labeled DECODE in [Fig.4], receives the response from ATC air traffic control and carries out the decoding of the response.

[0032] Following the decoding of the response received from air traffic control in the fourth step 34, a fifth step 35 is implemented by the electronic circuitry 14 if the response from air traffic control corresponds to a confirmation of the decoded content of the at least one ATIS message. The fifth step comprises the determination of an emergency trajectory of the aircraft taking into account, at least in part, the decoded content of the at least one ATIS message. The decoded content of the at least one ATIS message comprising a parameter relating to a landing runway in service, the emergency trajectory is determined taking into account said parameter corresponding for example to an identification of the landing runway in service or to a state of the landing runway in service. As illustrated in [Fig.4], the fifth step 35 is for example implemented by a confirmation verification function 47, labeled CONF in the figure, and by a function 48 for determining an emergency trajectory, labeled TRAJ in the figure. The function 47 receives the decoded content of the at least one ATIS message, from the function 41 via the function 42. The function 47 also receives the response from air traffic control decoded by the function 44. The function 47 transmits the decoded content of the at least one ATIS message to the function 48 only if the decoded response from air traffic control corresponds to a confirmation of the decoded content of the at least one ATIS message. The function 48 carries out the deter- . mination of the emergency path.

[0033] In a particular embodiment, the fifth step 35 comprises a first sub-step 35a, labeled E5a in [Fig. 2], of syntactic analysis on the one hand of the decoded content of the at least one ATIS message and on the other hand of the decoded response from air traffic control. In the first sub-step 35a, the electronic circuitry 14 analyzes the syntax of the decoded content of the at least one ATIS message so as to verify whether the decoded content of the at least one ATIS message complies with predefined syntactic rules. The electronic circuitry 14 also analyzes the syntax of the response from air traffic control decoded in the fourth step, so as to verify whether this response also complies with predefined syntactic rules. As illustrated in [Fig. 4], the first sub-step 35a is for example implemented by two syntactic analysis functions 45 and 46 of the electronic circuitry 14, each labeled SYNT in the figure.The function 45 analyzes the syntax of the decoded content of the at least one ATIS message and transmits the decoded content of the at least one ATIS message to the function 47 only if this content complies with the predefined syntactic rules. The function 46 also analyzes the syntax of the air traffic control response decoded by the function 44 and transmits the decoded response to the function 47 only if the decoded response complies with the predefined syntactic rules. The fifth step 35 also comprises a second substep 35b, labeled E5b in [Fig. 2], corresponding to the determination of the emergency trajectory. However, the second substep 35b is implemented only if the decoded content of the at least one ATIS message complies with the predefined syntactic rules and if the decoded response from air traffic control also complies with the predefined syntactic rules.This avoids determining the emergency trajectory by taking into account the parameter relating to the runway in use when this parameter is likely to be corrupted. This further guarantees the safety of the aircraft flight according to the determined emergency trajectory.

[0034] Following the determination of the emergency trajectory in the fifth step 35, the electronic circuitry 14 transmits the determined emergency trajectory to the aircraft guidance computer 18 and in a sixth step 36, labeled E6 in [Fig.2], the aircraft guidance computer 18 controls the automatic guidance of the aircraft according to the emergency trajectory determined in the fifth step.

Claims

Claims

1. 1) Method for automatically guiding an aircraft (1) to a landing runway, characterized in that it comprises the following steps implemented automatically by electronic circuitry (14, 18) on board the aircraft: - a first step (31) consisting of receiving at least one ATIS message; - a second step (32) consisting of decoding the content of the at least one ATIS message received in the first step; - a third step (33) implemented when the decoded content of the at least one ATIS message includes a parameter relating to a landing runway in service, consisting of creating a message requesting confirmation of said decoded content and ordering the sending of said message on a communication frequency with air traffic control;- a fourth step (34) consisting of receiving a response from air traffic control to the message sent in the third step and decoding the response so as to determine whether or not it corresponds to a confirmation of the decoded content of the at least one ATIS message; - a fifth step (35) implemented when the response corresponds to a confirmation of the decoded content of the at least one ATIS message, the fifth step comprising determining an emergency trajectory of the aircraft taking into account, at least in part, the decoded content of the at least one ATIS message; and - a sixth step (36) consisting of automatically guiding the aircraft along the emergency trajectory determined in the fifth step.;

2. 2) Method according to claim 1, characterized in that the first step (31) consists of receiving the ATIS message in voice form and the second step (32) comprises a sub-step of voice recognition of the message received in voice form.

3. 3) System according to one of claims 1 or 2, characterized in that the third step (33) comprises: - converting the message requesting confirmation of the decoded content into a voice message by voice synthesis; and - controlling the sending of the voice message on the communication frequency with air traffic control.

4. 4) Method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the fifth step (35) comprises a first sub-step (35a) of syntactic analysis on the one hand of the decoded content of the at least one ATIS message and on the other hand of the response from air traffic control decoded in the fourth step, as well as a second sub-step (35b) corresponding to the determination of the emergency trajectory, the second sub-step being implemented only if the decoded content of the at least one ATIS message complies with predefined syntactic rules and if the response from air traffic control decoded in the fourth step (34) also complies with predefined syntactic rules.

5. 5) Method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the parameter relating to the landing runway in service comprises at least one of the following parameters: - an identification of the landing runway in service; - a state of the landing runway in service.

6. 6) Automatic guidance system (10) of an aircraft towards a landing runway characterized in that it comprises electronic circuitry (14, 18) configured to implement an automatic guidance method according to any one of the preceding claims.

7. 7) Aircraft (1), characterized in that it comprises an automatic guidance system (10) according to the preceding claim.

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