Takeoff and landing guidance device, takeoff and landing guidance method, and takeoff and landing guidance system

Abstract

To provide a taking-off / landing guidance device for allowing a vertical taking-off / landing machine to safely perform taking-off / landing.SOLUTION: A taking-off / landing guidance device includes: a flying body position detection section for acquiring a position of each one of flying bodies within a control area; a guidance route setting section for setting a guidance route for each flying body; a virtual occupancy area setting section for setting a virtual occupancy area in the periphery of each flying body; a control area state management section for managing a control area state; and a communication section for communicating with the respective flying bodies. When a distance between the virtual occupancy areas is equal to or less than a warning state threshold, the control area state management section sets the control area state to a warning state and also the communication section transmits warning information to the flying bodies. When the virtual occupancy areas are overlapped or a distance between the virtual occupancy areas is equal to or less than an emergency state threshold being smaller than the warning state threshold, the control area state management section sets the control area state to an emergency state and also the communication section transmits information which indicates that the flying body is set as a non-control flying body to the flying body which largely deviates from the guidance route.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a takeoff and landing guidance device, a takeoff and landing guidance method, and a takeoff and landing guidance system that guide the takeoff and landing of an aircraft such as a vertical take-off and landing aircraft. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, there has been an increasing need for small electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft (eVTOL) in hopes of resolving various transportation issues, such as reducing traffic congestion and environmental load in urban areas, and securing transportation means to depopulated areas. This eVTOL is an aircraft that can fly various routes, including vertical takeoff and landing, by individually controlling the motors installed on each of the multiple rotors. Therefore, it is expected that multiple eVTOLs will fly on various routes, and in such a situation, flight control from the airport side will be essential to ensure that each eVTOL takes off and lands safely and stably at the airport.

[0003] Here, as a conventional technology related to ground equipment that controls general aircraft, there is a technology described in Patent Document 1. For example, claim 1 and paragraph 0039 of Patent Document 1 describe a landing aircraft approach warning device that issues a warning to multiple aircraft landing on multiple parallel runways when a distance predicted based on the distance between the aircraft or the speed and acceleration becomes smaller than a distance determined to be an abnormal approach, and stops the warning when the abnormal state is resolved. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 4043133 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] By using the landing aircraft approach warning device of Patent Document 1, an alert is issued in the event of abnormal proximity between landing aircraft based on trajectories predicted from the position, speed, acceleration, etc. of each aircraft, making it easier for airport controllers to assess the situation of landing aircraft.

[0006] However, as is clear from Figures 1 and 2 of the document, the landing aircraft approach warning device of Patent Document 1 is intended to control aircraft such as passenger jets that have limited directions of approach to runways, and does not assume flight control of eVTOLs, where multiple aircraft may take off and land simultaneously on various flight routes. In addition, the landing aircraft approach warning device of Patent Document 1 is limited to providing control information to airport controllers, and does not assume notification of safe flight routes to each flying object.

[0007] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a takeoff and landing guidance device, a takeoff and landing guidance method, and a takeoff and landing guidance system that can support flight control over airports and provide control information to each flying object in order to safely take off and land vertical takeoff and landing aircraft such as eVTOLs. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] In order to achieve the above object, the takeoff and landing guidance device of the present invention is a takeoff and landing guidance device that guides the takeoff and landing of an aircraft within a control area, and includes an aircraft position detection unit that acquires the position of each aircraft within the control area, a guidance route setting unit that sets a guidance route for each aircraft, a virtual exclusive area setting unit that sets a virtual exclusive area around each aircraft, a control area status management unit that manages the status of the control area, and a communication unit that communicates with each aircraft, and detects the distance between the virtual exclusive areas and detects the distance between the virtual exclusive areas. Precepts When the virtual exclusive areas overlap or the distance between the virtual exclusive areas is less than the state threshold, the control area state management unit sets the state of the control area to an alert state, and the communication unit transmits warning information to the flying object. PreceptsA takeoff and landing guidance device in which, when the state is equal to or less than an emergency state threshold which is smaller than the state threshold, the control area state management unit sets the state of the control area to an emergency state, and the communication unit transmits information indicating that the control area has been designated as an uncontrolled aircraft to the aircraft that has deviated more significantly from the guidance route. Effect of the Invention

[0009] The takeoff and landing guidance device, takeoff and landing guidance method, and takeoff and landing guidance system of the present invention can support flight control above airports and provide control information to each flying vehicle to ensure the safe takeoff and landing of vertical takeoff and landing aircraft, such as eVTOLs. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram showing a takeoff and landing guidance system according to a first embodiment. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of the aircraft control device and the takeoff and landing guidance device of the first embodiment. [Diagram 3] 4 is a guidance flowchart for when the aircraft of the first embodiment enters a controlled area. [Figure 4] A conceptual diagram showing the relationship between the guidance route set by Figure 3 and the virtual exclusive area. [Diagram 5] 4 is a guidance flowchart for the flying object of the first embodiment in a virtual exclusive area. [Figure 6] A conceptual diagram showing the relationship between the guidance route reset using Figure 5 and the virtual exclusive area. [Figure 7] 11 is a state management flowchart when the controlled area is in a normal state. [Figure 8] A conceptual diagram showing the distance between virtual exclusive areas. [Figure 9] 13 is a state management flowchart when the controlled area is on alert. [Figure 10] A conceptual diagram showing the overlap between virtual exclusive regions. [Figure 11] 4 is a flowchart showing processing for an uncontrolled air vehicle during an emergency situation. [Figure 12] 4 is a flowchart showing processing for a controlled aircraft in an emergency situation. [Figure 13] FIG. 11 is a functional block diagram of an aircraft control device and a takeoff and landing guidance device according to a second embodiment. [Figure 14] FIG. 13 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of a display of a virtual exclusive area display device of the second embodiment. [Figure 15] FIG. 11 is a functional block diagram of an aircraft control device and a takeoff and landing guidance device according to a third embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0011] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the various components of the present invention do not necessarily have to exist independently of one another, and it is acceptable for one component to be made up of multiple members, for multiple components to be made up of one member, for one component to be a part of another component, or for part of one component to overlap with part of another component. EXAMPLES

[0012] <Outline of takeoff and landing guidance system> 1 is a conceptual diagram showing a takeoff and landing guidance system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. This takeoff and landing guidance system is a system that controls the flight of an aircraft 1 within a control area R set in the sky above an airport 2, and in particular, when multiple aircraft 1 take off and land in parallel, the system is a system for preventing contact between the aircraft by guiding each aircraft 1 to an appropriate route.

[0013] The aircraft 1 is a small vertical take-off and landing aircraft such as the above-mentioned eVTOL, and includes a main body 11 on which a pilot or the like boards and on which luggage is carried, a plurality of rotors 12 that are individually driven to rotate by a motor, and an aircraft-side communication unit 13 that communicates with the outside. The rotors 12 may be driven to rotate by an engine.

[0014] In Figure 1, aircraft 1 to be controlled by the takeoff and landing guidance system are exemplified by aircraft 1a and 1b flying toward airport 2 and aircraft 1c waiting at airport 2, but other aircraft 1 (for example, aircraft 1d that has taken off from airport 2) may also be controlled.

[0015] The airport 2 is provided with a landing strip 21 indicating the landing position of each aircraft 1. The airport 2 is also provided with a control facility 22 that controls the aircraft 1 within the controlled area R, an airport-side communication unit 23 that the control facility 22 uses to communicate with the aircraft 1, and an environmental information acquisition unit 24 that acquires environmental information around the airport 2. Here, the environmental information refers to meteorological information (weather, temperature, precipitation, wind speed, etc.) around the airport 2, information on the landing strip 21 (availability based on whether other aircraft are using it, whether there are physical obstacles, whether construction is performed, etc.), etc.

[0016] In addition, just as in Figure 1, landing strip 21 for aircraft 1a is designated as landing strip 21a, in this embodiment, the letters a, b, and c are added to the end of the symbols of each component to distinguish whether the component corresponds to aircraft 1a, 1b, or 1c.

[0017] A virtual exclusive area r, which is an individual dedicated area, is set for each of the aircraft 1 flying within the control area R in Fig. 1, as illustrated by the dashed line. This virtual exclusive area r is an area set by the takeoff and landing guidance device 200 in the control facility 22 so that multiple aircraft 1 do not fly in the same area at the same time, and is a virtual area used to safely guide the takeoff and landing of multiple aircraft 1.

[0018] Furthermore, as illustrated by the dashed-dotted line, the takeoff and landing guidance system 200 sets a guidance route G for guiding each landing aircraft 1 to the landing strip 21. Note that, although the guidance route G is represented by a continuous line in FIG. 1, the takeoff and landing guidance system 200 may set the guidance route G by a combination of multiple points specified by latitude, longitude, and altitude.

[0019] <Functional configuration of the aircraft control device 100 and the takeoff and landing guidance device 200> Next, the functional configuration of the aircraft control device 100 built into the aircraft 1 and the takeoff and landing guidance device 200 built into the control facility 22 will be described with reference to the functional block diagram of FIG.

[0020] As shown here, the flying object control device 100 has a guidance route display unit 101 and an alarm unit 102 in addition to the flying object side communication unit 13 described above. Also, the takeoff and landing guidance device 200 has a flying object position detection unit 201, a virtual exclusive area setting unit 202, a guidance route setting unit 203, and a control area status management unit 204 in addition to the airport side communication unit 23 described above. Each unit of each device will be described in detail below.

[0021] <Takeoff and Landing Guidance System 200> The aircraft position detection unit 201 individually detects the current position of each aircraft 1 within the control area R based on position information of the aircraft 1 received from the aircraft 1 and position information of the aircraft 1 acquired by a sensor such as a radar possessed by the control equipment 22.

[0022] The virtual exclusive region setting unit 202 sets a virtual exclusive region r for each aircraft 1 based on information on the current position of the aircraft 1 detected by the aircraft position detection unit 201. The method of setting the virtual exclusive region r will be described in detail later.

[0023] The guidance route setting unit 203 sets a guidance route G for landing for the aircraft 1 (aircraft 1a, 1b in the example of FIG. 1) landing on the landing strip 21, and sets a guidance route G (not shown) for takeoff for the aircraft 1 (aircraft 1c in the example of FIG. 1) taking off from the landing strip 21. The method of setting the guidance route G will be described in detail later.

[0024] The controlled area status management unit 204 generates status information of the controlled area R and generates management information (such as alarm information, which will be described later) to be transmitted to the aircraft 1, based on the position of the aircraft 1 within the controlled area R, the virtual exclusive area r, the guided route G, and information obtained from the aircraft 1. The method of generating this information will be described in detail later.

[0025] <Aircraft control device 100> The guidance route display unit 101 is a human interface that allows a pilot or the like to recognize the guidance route G transmitted from the takeoff and landing guidance system 200, and is, for example, a display.

[0026] The warning unit 102 is a human interface that notifies the pilot, etc. of the warning information transmitted from the takeoff and landing guidance system 200 in the form of voice, light emission, characters, images, etc. The guidance route display unit 101 and the warning unit 102 may share one display.

[0027] <An example of the initial setting process for the guided route G and the virtual exclusive area r> Next, using Figures 3 and 4, we will explain how the takeoff and landing guidance device 200 initially sets the virtual exclusive area r and guidance route G when the aircraft 1 enters the control area R from outside the control area, and how this information is used by the aircraft 1.

[0028] First, the operation of the takeoff and landing guidance system of this embodiment will be described with reference to the flow chart of FIG. 3, taking as an example the situation before and after the flying object 1a of FIG.

[0029] In step S11, the aircraft side communication unit 13 of the aircraft control device 100 built into the aircraft 1a transmits an application for entry into the controlled area R before entering the controlled area R. As a result, the airport side communication unit 23 of the takeoff and landing guidance system 200 receives the application for entry into the controlled area R from the aircraft 1a approaching the controlled area R.

[0030] In step S12, the flying object position detection unit 201 detects the current position of the flying object 1a by any of the methods described above.

[0031] In step S13, the takeoff and landing guidance system 200 compares the current position of the aircraft 1a with the control region R. If the aircraft 1a has already entered the control region R, the process proceeds to step S14, and if the aircraft 1a has not yet entered the control region R, the process repeats step S13.

[0032] In step S14, the takeoff and landing guidance system 200 collates the flight plan information of the aircraft 1a that has been applied for in advance and authenticates the aircraft 1a. Note that, if there is a system for controlling the entire flight plan, the flight plan information may be obtained from the system.

[0033] In step S15, the guidance route setting unit 203 sets a guidance route Ga for the aircraft 1a to land safely on the landing strip 21a based on the current position of the aircraft 1a and the position of the landing strip 21a prepared for the aircraft 1a. Note that when setting the guidance route Ga, it is advisable to design it taking into consideration the structure and capabilities of the aircraft 1a, other aircraft 1b in the control area R and their virtual exclusive areas rb, the weather conditions in the control area R, the conditions of the surrounding areas, and the like.

[0034] In step S16, the virtual exclusive area setting unit 202 sets a virtual exclusive area ra around the aircraft 1a based on information about the aircraft 1a, such as at least the position, speed, and aircraft status of the aircraft 1a, the guidance route Ga, and information about the virtual exclusive area rb of another aircraft 1b already flying within the control area R.

[0035] Here, the relationship between the guidance route Ga and the virtual exclusive area ra set by the processing of steps S15 and S16 will be described with reference to the schematic diagram of Fig. 4. When the guidance route Ga is set as shown in the figure, the virtual exclusive area ra is set so as to include the current position of the aircraft 1a and to follow the guidance route Ga. As a result, the virtual exclusive area ra has a shape that is long in the traveling direction of the aircraft 1a.

[0036] As shown in Fig. 1, when another aircraft 1b is present around the aircraft 1a, the virtual exclusive area ra is basically set to be at least a certain distance from the virtual exclusive area rb of the other aircraft 1b. The virtual exclusive area ra is set to a size that allows the aircraft 1a to turn around and avoid an obstacle with a certain degree of freedom if the aircraft 1a finds one within the area, and the size should be set taking into account the structure and capabilities of the aircraft 1a, the weather conditions in the control area R, the conditions of the surrounding area, etc. However, if it is not possible to set a virtual exclusive area ra that satisfies all of the conditions, it is also permissible to set a virtual exclusive area ra that partially overlaps with the virtual exclusive area rb (details will be explained in Fig. 10).

[0037] Next, in step S17, the airport side communication unit 23 transmits the set guidance route Ga to the aircraft side communication unit 13 of the aircraft 1a.

[0038] In step S18, the guidance route display unit 101 of the aircraft 1a displays the guidance route Ga received from the takeoff and landing guidance device 200, and urges the pilot to fly along the guidance route Ga.

[0039] In this way, each aircraft 1 that enters the control area R is assigned a unique guidance route G and virtual exclusive area r, and the route by which the aircraft 1 can land safely is managed by the takeoff and landing guidance device 200.

[0040] <An example of updating the guide route G and the virtual exclusive area r> Next, using Figures 5 and 6, we will explain how the takeoff and landing guidance device 200 resets the virtual exclusive area r when the aircraft 1, to which the guidance route G and virtual exclusive area r have been assigned according to the flowchart of Figure 3, flies further within the control area R, and how the information is used by the aircraft 1.

[0041] First, the operation of the takeoff and landing guidance system of this embodiment will be described with reference to the flow chart of FIG. 5, taking as an example a situation in which the flying object 1a of FIG. 1 approaches further to the landing strip 21a.

[0042] In step S21, the aircraft position detection unit 201 of the takeoff and landing guidance system 200 detects the current position of the aircraft 1a flying within the control area R.

[0043] In step S22, the control area status management unit 204 calculates the shortest distance L from the aircraft 1a to the edge of the virtual exclusive area ra based on the current position of the aircraft 1a and the boundary shape of the virtual exclusive area ra, and determines whether the distance L is greater than or equal to a threshold value L th Then, it is determined whether L ≧ L th If so, return to step S21. <L th If so, proceed to step S23.

[0044] In step S23, the guidance route setting unit 203 resets the guidance route Ga based on the current position of the flying object 1a. th functions as a threshold value for resetting the virtual exclusive area ra. When resetting the guidance route Ga, it is advisable to set the direction to land on the landing strip 21a designated when entering the controlled area R, taking into consideration the structure and capabilities of the aircraft 1a, other aircraft 1b in the controlled area R and their virtual exclusive areas rb, the weather conditions in the controlled area R, the conditions of the surrounding area, and the like.

[0045] In step S24, the virtual exclusive area setting unit 202 resets the virtual exclusive area ra on the basis of the guide route Ga reset in step S23. Note that when resetting the virtual exclusive area ra, the same circumstances as those in step S16 are taken into consideration.

[0046] By the processing of steps S23 and S24, for example, as shown in FIG. 6, for the flying object 1a that deviates from the original guidance route Ga, <L th At this point, the guided route Ga' and the virtual exclusive area ra' are reset. Note that, although Fig. 6 shows an example in which the guided route Ga' and the virtual exclusive area ra' are reset as a result of the aircraft 1a deviating from the guided route Ga, it goes without saying that even if the aircraft 1a flies along the guided route Ga, the virtual exclusive area ra' is reset at the point when the aircraft 1a approaches the edge of the virtual exclusive area ra.

[0047] In step S25, the airport side communication unit 23 transmits the reset guidance route G' to the aircraft side communication unit 13 of the aircraft 1. As a result, the latest guidance route G' is notified to the pilot, similar to step S18 in FIG. 3 described above.

[0048] In this way, by resetting the guidance route G and the virtual exclusive area r according to the positional relationship between the aircraft 1 and the virtual exclusive area r, a state in which other aircraft 1b does not exist around the aircraft 1a can be created, and multiple aircraft 1 can be managed to prevent approaching each other. Therefore, by each pilot flying the aircraft 1 according to the latest guidance route G', each aircraft 1 can take off and land safely.

[0049] <When multiple virtual exclusive areas r exist within a control area R> Next, the state of a control area managed by the takeoff and landing guidance system 200 when a plurality of virtual exclusive areas r exist within the control area R will be described with reference to FIG. 7 and FIG.

[0050] First, the operation of the takeoff and landing guidance system of this embodiment will be described using the flowchart of Fig. 7, taking as an example a situation in which virtual exclusive areas ra and rb are set for the flying bodies 1a and 1b in Fig. 1. Note that the control area state at the start of this flowchart is assumed to be the "normal state."

[0051] In step S31, the control area state management unit 204 of the takeoff and landing guidance system 200 monitors the state of the virtual exclusive areas ra, rb within the control area R.

[0052] In step S32, the control area state management unit 204 calculates the distance X between the virtual exclusive areas ra and rb, and determines whether the distance X is equal to or smaller than the alert state threshold X. th Then, determine whether X ≥ X th If so (if the virtual exclusive regions ra and rb are sufficiently far apart), steps S31 and S32 are repeated, and X <X th If so (if the virtual exclusive regions ra and rb are adjacent to each other), the process proceeds to step S33.

[0053] In step S33, the control area status management unit 204 changes the management status of the control area R from "normal status" to "alert status." Note that the processing in the alert status will be described later.

[0054] In this way, the control area status management unit 204 can change the management status of the control area R depending on the distance between multiple virtual exclusive areas.

[0055] <Operation of takeoff and landing guidance system under alert conditions> Figure 9 is a flowchart showing the processing of the takeoff and landing guidance system when the control area R transitions to an alert state as a result of the processing of Figure 7, and Figure 10 is a schematic diagram showing a state in which the flying object 1a deviates significantly from the guidance route Ga, resulting in the virtual exclusive area ra that has been reset accordingly overlapping with the virtual exclusive area rb.

[0056] In step S40 of FIG. 9, the control area status management unit 204 transmits warning information to the aircraft side communication unit 13 of each of the aircraft 1a and 1b via the airport side communication unit 23. The destination of the warning information may be only the aircraft 1a that has deviated significantly from the guidance route Ga. In this case, the warning unit 102 of the aircraft 1a that has received the warning information uses sound, light, or other units based on the warning information to inform the pilot that the virtual exclusive areas r are approaching each other, and urges the pilot to return to the guidance route Ga set by the takeoff and landing guidance device 200. Here, the warning unit 102 may be designed to increase the intensity of sound or light depending on the amount of approach to inform the degree of urgency. The pilot transmits a response to the warning information to the takeoff and landing guidance system via the aircraft side communication unit 13 and the airport side communication unit 23.

[0057] In step S41, the controlled area status management unit 204 monitors the status of the virtual exclusive area r in the controlled area R even after transmitting the alarm information.

[0058] In step S42, the control area state management unit 204 calculates the distance X between the virtual exclusive areas ra and rb, and determines whether the distance X is greater than or equal to the alert threshold X th Then, determine whether X ≥ X thIf so, proceed to step S43. <X th If so, proceed to step S46.

[0059] In step S43, the control area status management unit 204 checks whether a response has been received from the flying object 1a. If no response has been received, the process returns to step S40, and if a response has been received, the process proceeds to step S44. The presence or absence of a response can be determined based on, for example, whether the pilot of the flying object 1a has responded by voice to the voice call of the airport air traffic controller, whether the flying object 1a has returned to the given guidance route Ga, etc.

[0060] In step S44, the control area status management unit 204 stops transmitting the warning information.

[0061] In step S45, the control area status management unit 204 changes the status of the control area R from "alert status" to "normal status", and then returns to the monitoring process of FIG.

[0062] On the other hand, when the process moves from step S42 to step S46, the control area status management unit 204 checks whether the virtual exclusive areas ra and rb overlap. If they do not overlap, the process returns to step S40, and if they overlap, the process proceeds to step S47. As described in step S16 above, the virtual exclusive area setting unit 202 basically sets the virtual exclusive area ra so that it does not overlap with the virtual exclusive area rb. However, when the aircraft 1a and 1b approach each other or when the state of the aircraft changes (such as a malfunction), the virtual exclusive area ra that is the minimum required for the flight of the aircraft 1a is set, and it becomes necessary to set the virtual exclusive area rb and the virtual exclusive area ra to overlap (see FIG. 10), and in such a case, the process proceeds from step S46 to step S47.

[0063] In step S47, the control area status management unit 204 sets the flying object 1a that caused the virtual exclusive areas r to overlap to a non-controlled flying object. Here, a non-controlled flying object is a flying object that is flying within the control area R but is considered not to be following the instructions of the takeoff and landing guidance system 200.

[0064] In addition, instead of the conditions of this step, an aircraft whose virtual exclusive area has been reset more times than the number of times the virtual exclusive area r was reset when it entered the controlled area R, or an aircraft whose deviation from the guidance route G set when it entered the controlled area R is greater, or an aircraft whose most recent deviation is greater may be designated as a non-controlled aircraft.

[0065] In step S48, the control area status management unit 204 changes the status information of the control area R from "alert status" to "emergency status" indicating a status with a higher degree of urgency. Note that the processing in an emergency status will be described later.

[0066] By carrying out the process in the alert state in this manner, the flying object 1a, which has deviated significantly from the guided route G, is made aware of the state and is prompted to return to the direction of the guided route, so that the flying objects 1a and 1b in the control area R can be guided with sufficient spacing. In addition, it is possible to determine from the distance between the virtual exclusive areas ra and rb that the flying object 1a is forced to deviate significantly from the guided route for some reason (obstacle, malfunction, etc.), and in that case, the state of the control area R can be shifted to an emergency state and guidance can be performed in the emergency state. In addition, in this embodiment, the state is shifted to an emergency state when the virtual exclusive areas r overlap, but it is also possible to set a threshold distance and shift to the emergency state by comparing it with the threshold distance.

[0067] <Operation of the takeoff and landing guidance system in an emergency> Next, we will explain an example of the processing of the takeoff and landing guidance system when the controlled area R is in an emergency state, the aircraft 1a is a non-controlled aircraft (an aircraft that is not following control instructions), and the aircraft 1b is a controlled aircraft (an aircraft that is following control instructions).

[0068] <<Processing for uncontrolled aircraft (aircraft 1a)>> FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the processing performed for an uncontrolled air vehicle (air vehicle 1a) when the controlled area R is in an emergency state.

[0069] In step S50, the controlled area status management unit 204 notifies the non-controlled aircraft (e.g., aircraft 1a) that it has been designated as a non-controlled aircraft. At this time, the notification may be indicated by the intensity of sound or light of the alarm unit 102 of the aircraft 1a.

[0070] In step S51, the virtual exclusive area setting unit 202 resets the virtual exclusive area ra under an emergency state around the uncontrolled aircraft 1a. This virtual exclusive area ra under an emergency state is an area set to avoid collision between the uncontrolled aircraft 1a and another aircraft 1b that is a controlled aircraft, and may be set, for example, as a virtual exclusive area larger than normal around the uncontrolled aircraft 1a so that the other controlled aircraft 1b can maintain a sufficient distance to avoid collision with the uncertain operation of the uncontrolled aircraft 1a.

[0071] In step S52, the controlled area status management unit 204 checks again whether the virtual exclusive area ra reset for the non-controlled flying object 1a overlaps with the virtual exclusive area rb of another flying object. If they overlap, the process returns to step S50. If they do not overlap, the process proceeds to step S53.

[0072] In step S53, the controlled area status management unit 204 checks whether there is a response from the non-controlled aircraft 1a. If there is no response, the process returns to step S50, and if there is a response, the process proceeds to step S54. The presence or absence of a response can be checked in a manner similar to that of step S43.

[0073] In step S54, the controlled area status management unit 204 determines that the aircraft 1a that was considered to be uncontrolled has returned to a controlled area, and removes the designation of the aircraft 1a as an uncontrolled aircraft.

[0074] In step S55, the control area status management unit 204 changes the status information of the control area R from "emergency state" back to "alert state" and resumes the processing under the alert state shown in FIG.

[0075] <<Processing related to the controlled aircraft (aircraft 1b)>> FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing the processing performed with respect to the controlled aircraft (aircraft 1b) when the controlled area R is in an emergency state.

[0076] In step S61, the control area status management unit 204 notifies all controlled aircraft within the control area R that the control area R has entered an emergency state.

[0077] In step S62, the virtual exclusive area setting unit 202 and the guidance route setting unit 203 re-set the guidance route Gb and virtual exclusive area rb for the controlled aircraft 1b as well, if necessary, for example, when they overlap with the virtual exclusive area ra of the uncontrolled aircraft 1a.

[0078] In step S63, the control area status management unit 204 reports the status of the control area R to other nearby airports or a server that manages the entire flight operations. Although not shown here, it is preferable to transmit information to other airports or the overall flight operations management server via communication. At the same time, information such as the availability of takeoff and landing strips at other airports and the control area R is collected.

[0079] In step S64, the control area status management unit 204 inquires of the aircraft 1b under control as to whether it wishes to remain within the control area R or to evacuate outside the control area R.

[0080] In step S65, the control area status management unit 204 checks whether there is a request for waiting of the controlled aircraft 1b within the control area R. If there is a request for waiting, the process proceeds to step S66, and if there is no request for waiting, the process proceeds to step S75.

[0081] In step S66, the control area status management unit 204 acquires internal information about the controlled flying object 1b. The internal information includes the flight time of the controlled flying object 1b, the remaining amount of battery and fuel, and the presence or absence of a malfunction.

[0082] In step S67, the control area status management unit 204 judges the status of the controlled aircraft 1b based on the acquired internal information. Specifically, it judges whether the controlled aircraft 1b can fly normally and whether there is enough time left for flight. If it is judged that the status of the controlled aircraft 1b is normal, it proceeds to step S68, otherwise it proceeds to step S75.

[0083] In step S68, the aircraft position detection unit 201 determines the flight state of the controlled aircraft 1b. If the controlled aircraft 1b is descending, the process proceeds to step S69, and if not, the process proceeds to step S72.

[0084] In step S69, the guidance route setting unit 203 continues guiding the controlled flying object 1b to descend.

[0085] In step S70, the virtual exclusive area setting unit 202 and the guided route setting unit 203 reset the guided route Gb and the virtual exclusive area rb for the controlled aircraft 1b in accordance with the flowchart shown in FIG.

[0086] In step S71, the aircraft position detection unit 201 determines whether the landing of the controlled aircraft 1b has been completed. If the landing of the controlled aircraft 1b has been completed, the process ends, and if the landing has not been completed, steps S70 and S71 are repeated until the landing is completed.

[0087] On the other hand, if it is determined in step S68 that the aircraft is not descending and the process proceeds to step S72, the takeoff and landing guidance device 200 continues to guide the controlled aircraft 1b away from the uncontrolled aircraft 1a if it is close to the uncontrolled aircraft 1a, and waits or continues the previous guidance if it is far from the uncontrolled aircraft 1a.

[0088] In step S73, the virtual exclusive area setting unit 202 and the guided route setting unit 203 reset the guided route Gb and the virtual exclusive area rb for the controlled aircraft 1b in accordance with the flowchart shown in FIG.

[0089] In step S74, the control area state management unit 204 checks whether the state of the control area R has returned from the emergency state to a normal state or an alert state, and repeats steps S73 and S74 until the state transitions to either of these states.

[0090] In addition, in step S75, which is reached if there is no request to wait within the control area R in step S65, or if a malfunction or insufficient flight condition is detected in step S67, the takeoff and landing guidance system 200 guides the aircraft 1b under its control to a nearby port or to land in an open area within the airport, depending on the condition of the aircraft 1b.

[0091] In step S76, the virtual exclusive region setting unit 202 and the guided route setting unit 203 set a guided route Gb and a virtual exclusive region rb for the controlled aircraft 1b in accordance with the flowchart shown in FIG.

[0092] In step S77, the takeoff and landing guidance system 200 repeats steps S76 and S77 until it is confirmed that the aircraft 1b has left the control area R.

[0093] The takeoff and landing guidance system 200 having such a configuration and processing allows for safer takeoff and landing by maintaining a sufficient distance between aircraft 1 within the control area R to prevent collisions. The description of landing in this embodiment can also be applied to takeoff to obtain the same effect of improving safety. This is particularly applicable to cases where multiple aircraft fly within the control area R, and to vertical takeoff and landing aircraft that have a high degree of freedom in operations during descent and ascent, and can improve the efficiency of takeoff and landing and the efficiency of guidance operations.

[0094] In addition, in this embodiment 1, the state transition of the control area R was based on the distance of the virtual exclusive area r, but approximately the same effect can be obtained by transitioning the state based on the amount of deviation from the guidance route G set when entering the control area R, instead of the distance of the virtual exclusive area r.

[0095] In addition, in this embodiment, when determining whether to transition from the alert state to the emergency state, the overlap between the virtual exclusive regions r is set as the determination criterion, but the distance X between the virtual exclusive regions and the emergency state threshold Xem Compare and X <X em If the state transitions to the emergency state when em is the alert state threshold X for transitioning to the alert state. th is set to a value smaller than EXAMPLES

[0096] Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Fig. 13 and Fig. 14. Fig. 13 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an aircraft control device 100 and a takeoff and landing guidance device 200 of a landing guidance system according to the second embodiment. Note that the same reference numerals are used to designate the same components as those in the first embodiment, and detailed descriptions thereof will be omitted.

[0097] The second embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that a virtual exclusive area display unit 103 is added so that the aircraft 1 can also grasp and display information about the virtual exclusive area G in the control area R, which was grasped only by the takeoff and landing guidance device 200 on the airport side in the first embodiment. For example, the virtual exclusive area display unit 103 may display the positions of the aircraft 1a and 1b, information about the virtual exclusive areas ra and rb, and guidance routes Ga and Gb, and the distance X between the virtual exclusive areas r, as shown in FIG.

[0098] According to this embodiment, the pilot of the flying object 1 can grasp the distance X between the virtual exclusive areas r and the positional relationship of the flying object 1 before the takeoff and landing guidance system 200 issues warning information, and can therefore consider a trajectory to avoid obstacles taking into account the virtual exclusive areas.

[0099] According to the second embodiment, in addition to the effects of the first embodiment, the possibility of entering an alert state or an emergency state can be reduced, and therefore, an effect of enabling efficient takeoff and landing can be obtained. EXAMPLES

[0100] Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Fig. 15. Fig. 15 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an aircraft control device 100 and a landing guidance device 200 of a landing guidance system according to the third embodiment of the present invention. Note that the same reference numerals are used to designate the same components as those in the above-mentioned embodiments, and detailed descriptions thereof will be omitted.

[0101] In the first and second embodiments, the flying object 1 is assumed to be operated by an on-board pilot or remotely operated by a person, but in this embodiment, an autonomous flying object 1 is assumed. Therefore, instead of the configurations in the first and second embodiments, the flying object control device 100 is provided with a system for autonomous flight consisting of a guidance route recognition unit 111, an information recognition unit 112, a situation recognition unit 113, an automatic flight control unit 114, and a situation judgment unit 115.

[0102] The guidance route recognition unit 111 is a processing unit for recognizing the guidance route G information transmitted from the takeoff and landing guidance device 200 in the flying object 1.

[0103] The information recognition unit 112 is a processing unit that recognizes the warning information transmitted from the takeoff and landing guidance system.

[0104] The situation recognition unit 113 is a processing unit that recognizes the situation inside and outside the aircraft 1, such as the charging status and device status inside the aircraft 1, external obstacle information acquired by an external sensor not shown, and weather information.

[0105] The automatic flight control unit 114 is a processing unit that determines the flight trajectory of the aircraft 1 based on information on the guidance path G provided by the takeoff and landing guidance device 200 and information inside and outside the aircraft 1 obtained by the situation recognition unit 113, and controls the aircraft 1 to fly.

[0106] The situation judgment unit 115 is a processing unit that judges the destination, responses to the takeoff and landing guidance system, etc. based on information provided by the takeoff and landing guidance device 200, information collected by the situation recognition unit 113, and control information from the automatic flight control unit 114.

[0107] Each process flow is the same as that shown in the first embodiment, but the process flow in Fig. 9 or Fig. 11 is executed based on the response of the situation determination unit 115 instead of the pilot. Therefore, even when the system on the aircraft 1 side flies in automatic flight, it is possible to obtain substantially the same effect as in the first embodiment. [Explanation of symbols]

[0108] 1...Flying object, 11...Main body, 12...rotor, 13...Aircraft communication unit, 100...Flying vehicle control device, 101...guidance route display unit, 102...Alarm section, 103...Virtual exclusive area display unit, 111...guidance route recognition unit, 112...Information recognition unit, 113… Situational Awareness Division, 114...Automatic flight control unit, 115… Situation Assessment Department, 2. Airport, 21…Landing strip, 22...Control equipment, 23…Airport side communication section, 24...Environmental Information Acquisition Department, 200…Takeoff and landing guidance system, 201...aircraft position detection unit, 202...virtual exclusive domain setting unit, 203...guidance route setting unit, 204…Control Area Status Management Unit G: Guidance route, R…Control area r...Virtual exclusive area

Claims

1. A takeoff and landing guidance device that guides the takeoff and landing of an aircraft within a controlled area, an aircraft position detection unit for acquiring the position of each aircraft within the control area; A guide route setting unit that sets a guide route for each of the flying objects; A virtual exclusive area setting unit that sets a virtual exclusive area around each of the aircraft; A control area status management unit for managing the status of the control area; A communication unit that communicates with each of the aircraft, When the distance between the virtual exclusive regions is equal to or less than the alert state threshold, the control area state management unit sets the state of the control area to an alert state, and the communication unit transmits warning information to the flying object; A takeoff and landing guidance device characterized in that when virtual exclusive areas overlap, or when the distance between the virtual exclusive areas is equal to or less than an emergency state threshold which is lower than the alert state threshold, the control area state management unit sets the state of the control area to an emergency state, and the communication unit transmits information indicating that the control area has been designated as an uncontrolled flying object to the flying object that has deviated significantly from the guidance route.

2. The takeoff and landing guidance system according to claim 1, A takeoff and landing guidance device characterized in that the virtual exclusive area includes the current position of the aircraft and is set along the guidance route.

3. The takeoff and landing guidance system according to claim 1 or 2, The virtual exclusive area has a size necessary for the aircraft to take evasive action, A takeoff and landing guidance device, characterized in that when the aircraft approaches the edge of the virtual exclusive area by more than a certain amount, the virtual exclusive area is reset by a virtual exclusive area setting unit.

4. The takeoff and landing guidance system according to claim 1, The takeoff and landing guidance device is characterized in that the communication unit transmits the warning information to the flying object that has caused the virtual exclusive area to approach.

5. The takeoff and landing guidance system according to claim 1, A takeoff and landing guidance device characterized in that, when the controlled area is set to an emergency state, the virtual exclusive area setting unit sets a virtual exclusive area around the uncontrolled aircraft that is larger than the virtual exclusive area in a normal state.

6. The takeoff and landing guidance system according to claim 1, A takeoff and landing guidance device characterized in that, when the controlled area is set to an emergency state, the guidance route setting unit sets a guidance route for the aircraft under control that is in accordance with the emergency state and the state of the aircraft.

7. The takeoff and landing guidance system according to claim 6, The guide route setting unit, When the flying object under control is about to descend, a guidance route is set to guide the flying object out of the control area; A takeoff and landing guidance system characterized in that, when the aircraft under control is descending, a guidance route is set for landing the aircraft.

8. The takeoff and landing guidance system according to claim 6, The takeoff and landing guidance device is characterized in that the guidance route setting unit sets a guidance route for the controlled aircraft to guide it in a direction away from the uncontrolled aircraft.

9. The takeoff and landing guidance system according to claim 1 ; A takeoff and landing guidance system having an aircraft, The flying object is a guidance route display unit that displays the guidance route received from the takeoff and landing guidance device; An alarm unit that notifies the alarm information received from the takeoff and landing guidance system; A takeoff and landing guidance system comprising:

10. 10. The takeoff and landing guidance system according to claim 9, A takeoff and landing guidance system characterized in that the aircraft is equipped with a virtual exclusive area display unit that displays the virtual exclusive area received from the takeoff and landing guidance device.

11. A takeoff and landing guidance method for guiding the takeoff and landing of an aircraft within a control area by a landing guidance device, comprising: obtaining a position of each air vehicle within the controlled area; setting a guidance route for each of the aircraft; establishing a virtual exclusive area around each of the aircraft; managing the state of the controlled area; communicating with each of the air vehicles; When the distance between the virtual exclusive regions is equal to or less than an alert state threshold, setting the state of the control region to an alert state and transmitting warning information to each of the flying objects; If virtual exclusive areas overlap, or if the distance between the virtual exclusive areas is equal to or less than an emergency threshold that is smaller than the alert threshold, setting the state of the control area to an emergency state and transmitting to the flying object that has deviated more from the guidance route that the control area has been designated as an uncontrolled flying object; A takeoff and landing guidance method comprising:

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