System and method for assisting the landing of an aircraft at an airport.

Abstract

System and method for assisting the landing of an aircraft at an airport. The system comprises a flight management system (14) and a collision avoidance system (20) installed on board the aircraft, as well as a transponder (38) installed at a predefined position on the airport and connected to a computer (40) in an air traffic control center (34). The transponder (38) is configured to receive environmental information transmitted by said computer (40). The collision avoidance system (20) is configured to query the transponder (38), to receive said environmental information in response, and to determine a position of the transponder.One of the collision avoidance systems (20) or the flight management system (14) is configured to compare the transponder position determined by the collision avoidance system with a theoretical position recorded on board the aircraft so as to authenticate the received environmental information only if the determined position corresponds to the theoretical position. The flight management computer (14) is configured to command a flight path for the aircraft based on the received environmental information when it is authenticated. Figure for the abstract: Fig. 3.

Description

Title of the invention: System and method for assisting the landing of an aircraft at an airport.

[0001] The invention relates to the field of aircraft landing assistance at an airport. In preparation for an aircraft landing at an airport, a crew member must prepare the aircraft's approach to a runway. To do this, the crew member must gather environmental information about the airport, in particular: meteorological information (temperature, wind, etc.), information about at least one of the aircraft's runways (runway open or closed, presence of obstacles, direction of travel, active runway heading, etc.), and / or other airport-related information. In practice, to obtain this information, the crew member communicates verbally with an airport air traffic control center.Based on the information obtained, the crew member selects a landing runway and an approach procedure for that runway. The aircraft pilot then commands a flight path to follow this approach procedure.

[0002] In order to reduce the workload of the aircraft crew, it would be desirable to automatically prepare the aircraft for the approach phase to an airport runway. However, this requires access to the aforementioned environmental information relating to the airport. Therefore, there is a need to enable the aircraft to automatically acquire this environmental information in a sufficiently reliable and secure manner. In particular, to avoid any risk of malicious intent, it is necessary to ensure that the aircraft acquires this environmental information only from an airport air traffic control center. Description of the invention

[0003] The present invention aims in particular to provide a solution to this problem. It relates to a landing assistance system for an aircraft at an airport, the landing assistance system comprising an aircraft flight management system and a TCAS type anti-collision system, both installed on board the aircraft.

[0004] The landing assistance system is notable in that it further comprises a transponder installed at a predefined position on the airport, the transponder being connected to a computer in an air traffic control center at the airport, and in that:

[0005] - the transponder is configured to receive and record in memory, environmental information transmitted by said computer of the airport's air traffic control center;

[0006] - the TCAS type anti-collision system is configured to interrogate the transponder and to receive in response the said environmental information recorded in the transponder's memory, as well as to determine a position of the transponder;

[0007] - at least one of the TCAS-type collision avoidance system or the management system The aircraft's flight is configured to compare the transponder position determined by the TCAS-type collision avoidance system with a theoretical transponder position recorded in an onboard aircraft database in order to determine if the transponder position determined by the TCAS-type collision avoidance system corresponds to the theoretical transponder position and to authenticate environmental information received from the transponder only if the transponder position determined by the TCAS-type collision avoidance system corresponds to the theoretical transponder position; and

[0008] - the flight management computer is configured in such a way that in the event that The environmental information received from the transponder is authenticated, the flight management computer commands a flight trajectory of the aircraft based at least on said environmental information.

[0009] The landing assistance system according to the invention makes it possible to verify whether the environmental information received by the aircraft originates from a transponder located at a position corresponding to a stored theoretical position associated with an air traffic control center at the airport where the aircraft is to land and, if so, to authenticate the environmental information received by the aircraft. It is assumed that the stored theoretical position of the transponder in the database corresponds to a secure area to which a malicious person could not gain access. Consequently, environmental data sent at the initiative of a malicious person would not be authenticated by the landing assistance system according to the invention since the position of the transponder would then not correspond to the stored theoretical position associated with the air traffic control center.This ensures the safety of an aircraft approach to the airport runway, based on environmental information received by the aircraft through the landing assistance system according to the invention.

[0010] In one embodiment, the environmental information includes at least a subset of the following environmental information:

[0011] - meteorological information;

[0012] - information relating to an airport runway;

[0013] - information relating to the airport.

[0014] In one embodiment, the transponder is connected to the computer of the airport air traffic control center by a communication link independent of a public communication network.

[0015] The invention also relates to an aircraft comprising an airport landing assistance system, the landing assistance system comprising an aircraft flight management system and a TCAS-type collision avoidance system. The aircraft is notable in that:

[0016] - The TCAS-type collision avoidance system is configured to:

[0017] . interrogate a transponder installed at a predefined position on the airport, the transponder being connected to a computer in an airport air traffic control center and being configured to receive and record in memory environmental information transmitted by said computer in the airport air traffic control center;

[0018] . receive in response the said environmental information recorded in the transponder memory; and

[0019] . determine a position of the transponder,

[0020] - at least one of the TCAS-type collision avoidance system or the management system The aircraft's flight is configured to compare the transponder position determined by the TCAS-type collision avoidance system with a theoretical transponder position recorded in an onboard aircraft database in order to determine if the transponder position determined by the TCAS-type collision avoidance system corresponds to the theoretical transponder position and to authenticate environmental information received from the transponder only if the transponder position determined by the TCAS-type collision avoidance system corresponds to the theoretical transponder position; and

[0021] - the flight management computer is configured such that in the event that The environmental information received from the transponder is authenticated, the flight management computer commands a flight trajectory of the aircraft based at least on said environmental information.

[0022] The invention also relates to a method for assisting the landing of an aircraft at an airport,

[0023] the aircraft comprising a flight management system and a TCAS-type collision avoidance system installed on board the aircraft,

[0024] a transponder being installed at a predefined position on the airport, the transponder being connected to a computer in an air traffic control center at the airport.

[0025] The process is remarkable in that it comprises the following steps:

[0026] - a step implemented by said computer of the air traffic control center of the airport, consisting of transmitting environmental information relating to the airport, to the transponder;

[0027] - a step implemented by the transponder consisting of receiving said environmental information and to record it in memory;

[0028] - a step implemented by the TCAS-type anti-collision system consisting to interrogate the transponder, to receive in response the said environmental information recorded in the transponder's memory, and to determine a position of the transponder;

[0029] - a step implemented by at least one of the type anti-collision system TCAS or the aircraft's flight management system, consisting of comparing the transponder position determined by the TCAS-type collision avoidance system with a theoretical transponder position recorded in an onboard aircraft database in order to determine whether the transponder position determined by the TCAS-type collision avoidance system corresponds to the theoretical transponder position and to authenticate the environmental information received from the transponder only if the transponder position determined by the TCAS-type collision avoidance system corresponds to the theoretical transponder position; and

[0030] - in the case where the environmental information received from the transponder is authenticated, a step implemented by the flight management computer consisting of commanding a flight trajectory of the aircraft based at least on said environmental information. Description of the implementation methods

[0031] The invention will be better understood upon reading the following description and examining the accompanying figures.

[0032] Fig. 1 is a simplified view illustrating an aircraft landing assistance system at an airport, according to an embodiment of the invention.

[0033] Fig. 2 illustrates an aircraft equipped with an airport landing assistance system, according to one embodiment of the invention.

[0034] Fig. 3 schematically illustrates the aircraft landing assistance system at an airport in Fig. 1.

[0035] Figure 4 illustrates a method for assisting the landing of an aircraft at an airport, according to an embodiment of the invention.

[0036] The landing aid system 2 illustrated in [Fig. 1] comprises an airport 30 and an aircraft 1. The airport 30 includes at least one runway 32 and an air traffic control center 34. A transponder 38 is installed at a predefined position on the airport, for example in a control tower 35 of the center air traffic control. The transponder 38 is connected to a computer 40 in the air traffic control center 34. The computer 40 is, for example, installed in a building 36 of the air traffic control center, this building 36 being either independent of the control tower 35 or integrated with it. Other locations for the transponder 38 at the airport are possible without departing from the scope of the invention, provided that the predefined position of the transponder corresponds to a location inaccessible to unauthorized persons. The transponder 38 is connected to the computer 40 by a communication link 42 independent of a public communication network such as, in particular, the internet. The transponder 38 is designed to communicate with a TCAS-type collision avoidance system 20 equipping the aircraft 1, as illustrated in [Fig. 2].

[0037] As illustrated in [Fig. 3], the aircraft 1 includes a landing aid system 10. This landing aid system comprises a flight management system 14, in particular of the FMS (Flight Management System) type, as well as the aforementioned TCAS (Traffic Collision Avoidance System) 20. The landing aid system 10 is connected to a database 16 installed on board the aircraft, this database containing at least transponder addresses from various airports. According to a first alternative, the database 16 also contains theoretical position values ​​associated with each of said transponders. According to a second alternative, the landing aid system 10 is also connected to another database 16' (not shown in the figure) containing said theoretical position values.Without departing from the scope of the invention, the database 16 (respectively 16') can correspond to a memory of an avionics computer equipping the aircraft 1. The TCAS type anti-collision system 20 is connected to an antenna 18 of the aircraft by a link 19. Advantageously, the flight management system 14 is connected to an aircraft guidance system 15, for example of type FG (“Flight Guidance” in English).

[0038] In operation, in a step 51 as illustrated in [Fig.4], the computer 40 of the air traffic control center 34 transmits environmental information relating to the airport 30 to the transponder 38 via the link 42. In particular, this environmental information includes at least one of the following: an "open" or "closed" status of the runway 32, the presence of an obstacle on the runway, the condition of the runway (dry, wet, presence of snow or ice, etc.), a direction of landing on the runway (for example, an active heading), meteorological information (temperature, wind, etc. at the airport), information relating to the airport (for example, the name of the airport as defined in a nomenclature managed by the International Civil Aviation Organization).

[0039] In a step 52, the transponder 38 receives the environmental information transmitted by the computer 40.

[0040] The two steps 51 and 52 can be implemented asynchronously with respect to the following steps.

[0041] In step 53, the TCAS-type collision avoidance system 20 queries the transponder 38 of airport 30. In one embodiment, the flight management system 14 knows airport 30 as the intended destination airport in a current flight plan of the aircraft. The flight management system acquires, from the database 16, the address of the transponder 38 corresponding to airport 30 and sends a request to the TCAS-type collision avoidance system asking it to query this transponder. After querying the transponder 38, the TCAS-type collision avoidance system receives in response the environmental information relating to airport 30 and determines, in the usual way, a theoretical position of the transponder 38, in the same way that it is able to determine the position of a transponder installed on board another aircraft.

[0042] A subsequent step 54 is implemented by either the TCAS-type collision avoidance system or the flight management system 14. When this step is implemented by the flight management system, the TCAS-type collision avoidance system first transmits to the flight management system 14 the environmental information received from the transponder 38, as well as the position of said transponder that it has determined. This step 54 consists of acquiring a theoretical position of the transponder 38 recorded in the database 16 or 16' and comparing the position of the transponder 38 determined by the TCAS-type collision avoidance system with this theoretical position in order to determine whether the position determined by the TCAS-type collision avoidance system corresponds to the theoretical position and to authenticate the environmental information received from the transponder only if the position determined by the TCAS-type collision avoidance system corresponds to the theoretical position of the transponder.In the event that a malicious individual attempts to send information to the aircraft using a different transponder, this transponder could not be located at the theoretical position of transponder 38 corresponding to the airport, since the malicious individual would not be authorized to access this position, which is inaccessible to unauthorized persons. Consequently, a discrepancy would be detected at step 54 between the transponder position determined by the TCAS-type collision avoidance system and the theoretical position of transponder 38. The environmental data received would then not be authenticated.

[0043] In a step 55, implemented only if the received environmental data has been authenticated in step 54, the flight management system 14 commands an aircraft flight path based on at least one of the received environmental factors. The resulting trajectory is then transmitted, for example, to the aircraft guidance system 15.

Claims

Demands

1. 1) Landing assistance system (2) of an aircraft (1) at an airport (30), the landing assistance system comprising an aircraft flight management system (14) and a TCAS type collision avoidance system (20) both installed on board the aircraft, characterized in that it further comprises a transponder (38) installed at a predefined position on the airport, the transponder being connected to a computer (40) of an air traffic control center (34) of the airport, and in that: - the transponder (38) is configured to receive and record in a memory, environmental information transmitted by said computer (40) of the airport air traffic control center; - the TCAS type anti-collision system (20) is configured to interrogate the transponder (38) and to receive in response the said environmental information recorded in the memory of the transponder, as well as to determine a position of the transponder;- at least one of the TCAS type anti-collision system (20) or the aircraft flight management system (14) is configured to compare the transponder position determined by the TCAS type anti-collision system with a theoretical transponder position (38) recorded in a database (16, 16') on board the aircraft so as to determine whether the transponder position determined by the TCAS type anti-collision system corresponds to the theoretical transponder position and to authenticate environmental information received from the transponder only if the transponder position determined by the TCAS type anti-collision system corresponds to the theoretical transponder position;and - the flight management computer (14) is configured such that in the event that the environmental information received from the transponder is authenticated, the flight management computer commands a flight trajectory of the aircraft based at least on said environmental information.;

2. 2) A system according to claim 1, characterized in that the environmental information comprises at least a subset of the following environmental information: - weather information; - information relating to an airport runway; - information relating to the airport.

3. 3) System according to claim 1 or claim 2, characterized in that the transponder (38) is connected to the computer (40) of the airport air traffic control center by a communication link (42) independent of a public communication network.

4. 4) Aircraft (1) comprising a landing aid system (10) for use at an airport (30), the landing aid system comprising an aircraft flight management system (14) and a TCAS-type collision avoidance system (20), characterized in that: - the TCAS-type collision avoidance system is configured to: . query a transponder (38) installed at a predefined position at the airport, the transponder being connected to a computer (40) of an air traffic control center (34) at the airport and being configured to receive and record in memory environmental information transmitted by said computer of the airport air traffic control center; . receive in response said environmental information recorded in the memory of the transponder (38);and . determine a transponder position, - at least one of the TCAS type anti-collision system (20) or the aircraft flight management system (14) is configured to compare the transponder position (38) determined by the TCAS type anti-collision system with a theoretical transponder position recorded in a database (16, 16') on board the aircraft so as to determine if the transponder position determined by the TCAS type anti-collision system corresponds to the theoretical transponder position and to authenticate environmental information received from the transponder only if the transponder position determined by the TCAS type anti-collision system corresponds to the theoretical transponder position;and - the flight management computer (14) is configured such that in the event that the environmental information received from the transponder (38) is authenticated, the flight management computer commands a flight trajectory of the aircraft based at least on said environmental information.;

5. 5) A method for assisting the landing of an aircraft (1) at an airport (30), the aircraft comprising a flight management system (14) and a TCAS-type collision avoidance system (20) installed on board the aircraft, a transponder (38) being installed at a predefined position at the airport, the transponder being connected to a computer (40) of an air traffic control center at the airport, the method being characterized in that it comprises the following steps: - a step (51) implemented by said computer (40) of the air traffic control center at the airport, consisting of transmitting environmental information relating to the airport to the transponder (38); - a step (52) implemented by the transponder (38) consisting of receiving said environmental information and storing it in a memory;- a step (53) implemented by the TCAS type anti-collision system (20) consisting of interrogating the transponder, receiving in response the said environmental information recorded in the memory of the transponder, and determining a position of the transponder;- a step (54) implemented by at least one of the TCAS-type collision avoidance system (20) or the aircraft flight management system (14), consisting of comparing the position of the transponder (38) determined by the TCAS-type collision avoidance system with a theoretical position of the transponder recorded in a database (16, 16') on board the aircraft so as to determine whether the position of the transponder determined by the TCAS-type collision avoidance system corresponds to the theoretical position of the transponder and to authenticate the environmental information received from the transponder only if the position of the transponder determined by the TCAS-type collision avoidance system corresponds to the theoretical position of the transponder; and - in the case where the environmental information received from the transponder is authenticated, a step (55) implemented by the flight management computer (14) consisting of commanding; an aircraft flight trajectory based at least on the aforementioned environmental information.

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