A display program to assist aircraft in determining their routes.

Abstract

This display program performs: a route acquisition process for acquiring a route; a weather risk acquisition process for acquiring weather risk as three-dimensional information; a first display process for displaying at least a plan view of each of the route and the weather risk together; and a second display process for displaying the route and the weather risk together on a cross section cut vertically along the route.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a display program for assisting aircraft route determination. [Background technology]

[0002] Weather has a significant impact on aircraft operations in terms of safety and costs such as fuel consumption. For example, lightning strikes occur frequently throughout the year. While the likelihood of an aircraft being struck by lightning directly leading to a serious accident is extremely low, it can damage the aircraft's outer skin, and repairs to this damage are said to cost hundreds of millions of yen annually. Furthermore, inspections and emergency repairs of aircraft struck by lightning take time, affecting flight schedules regardless of the scale of the damage, resulting in increased indirect costs in addition to the costs of repairing the damage caused by lightning.

[0003] In contrast to this, there is a method for assessing the risk of being struck by lightning, which uses observation data from weather radar and lightning data to assess the risk (Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2022-651 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, while such conventional technology can evaluate the risk of lightning strikes, it does not go so far as to set aircraft routes that take this risk into consideration.

[0006] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned problems, and provides a display program that supports aircraft route decisions taking into account meteorological risks such as the risk of lightning strikes. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The present invention includes a route acquisition process for acquiring a route, a weather risk acquisition process for acquiring weather risk as three-dimensional information, a first display process for displaying the route and the weather risk together in a planar view, and a second display process for displaying the route and the weather risk together in a cross section cut vertically along the route. To the computer execution the route acquisition process acquires a plurality of types of routes that share a common takeoff point and landing point, the first display process at least displays the plurality of types of routes together with the weather risks in a planar view, the second display process displays one selected from the plurality of types of routes together with the weather risks in a cross section cut vertically along the selected one of the plurality of types of routes, the weather risk acquisition process acquires a plurality of types of weather risks, the first display process displays the plurality of types of routes together with the plurality of weather risks in a three-dimensional image, and the second display process displays the one selected from the plurality of types of routes together with the plurality of weather risks in a cross section cut vertically along the selected one of the plurality of types of routes, and in an area of ​​the cross section where different types of weather risks overlap, displays one of the overlapping weather risks in priority to the remaining weather risks. It is a display program that assists aircraft in determining their flight routes. The present invention also provides a display program for assisting in aircraft route determination, which causes a computer to execute a route acquisition process for acquiring a route, a weather risk acquisition process for acquiring weather risks as three-dimensional information, a first display process for displaying the route and the weather risks together at least in a planar view, and a second display process for displaying the route and the weather risks together in a cross section cut vertically along the route, wherein the weather risk acquisition process acquires multiple types of weather risks, the first display process displays the route and the multiple types of weather risks together in a three-dimensional image, and some of the multiple types of weather risks can be switched from a three-dimensional image to a two-dimensional image, and the second display process displays the weather risks excluding some of the weather risks when some of the multiple types of weather risks are switched from a three-dimensional image to a two-dimensional image in the first display process. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a display program that supports aircraft route decisions that take weather risks into consideration. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] FIG. 1(a) is a flow chart showing the route display process, and FIG. 1(b) is a flow chart showing the cross section update process. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is an example of an image displayed on the display of the navigation route decision support device. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a schematic diagram of weather risks excluding precipitation intensity. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a diagram schematically showing a state in which the degree of danger of lightning strike is excluded from the weather risks. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is a flow chart showing the display switching process. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is an example of an image displayed on the display of the navigation route decision support device after some weather risks have been switched to a 2D display. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 shows the flow of the navigation playback process. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a display example during navigation playback. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a display example during navigation playback following FIG. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a display example during navigation playback, following FIG. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is a block diagram of the route decision support device. [Figure 12] FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing an outline of the route decision support system. [Figure 13] FIG. 13 is a flow diagram showing the alert processing. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0010] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In all the drawings, the same components are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted where appropriate.

[0011] <Outline of the display program for supporting route determination according to this embodiment> First, an overview of a display program for assisting in determining a route for an aircraft according to this embodiment (hereinafter, "display program for assisting in determining a route") will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4. FIG. The processes shown in Figure 1(a) and Figure 1(b) are included in the display program for supporting route determination according to this embodiment, with Figure 1(a) showing the flow of the route display process and Figure 1(b) showing the flow of the cross-section update process. In particular, the route display process is executed when the takeoff and landing airports are determined, and the cross-section update process is executed when the selected route is changed after the route display process is completed. Figure 2 is an example of an image displayed on the display of a route decision support device (display 25 shown in Figure 11). The route decision support device refers to a mobile terminal (route decision support device 10 shown in Figures 11 and 12) in which a display program for supporting route decision is installed, and details such as the hardware configuration of the device will be described later.

[0012] As shown in FIG. 1(a), in step S10, which is the first step of the route display process for displaying both the route and the weather risk, candidate routes are acquired. Here, a candidate route is a route determined when a takeoff airport (takeoff point) and a landing airport (landing point) are determined, and although it depends on the determined takeoff and landing airports, there are generally multiple candidate routes. In particular, in this embodiment, the takeoff airport and landing airport are determined by input operations to the route decision support device (selecting an airport on a map), but these airports may also be acquired from a device other than the route decision support device (such as an external server), such as a weather risk derivation device described below. Furthermore, after the takeoff airport and landing airport are determined by these methods, a route connecting these airports may be drawn by input operations to the route decision support device, or the route may be acquired from a device other than the route decision support device.

[0013] In step S11, a 3D (three-dimensional) weather risk is acquired. 3D weather risk is information in which altitude distribution (in 100m increments) of weather risk is provided for multiple areas divided into a mesh-like pattern by latitude and longitude (in this embodiment, both latitude and longitude are divided into 0.005 degree increments). In this embodiment, the weather risk includes the lightning risk, which indicates the risk of an aircraft being struck by lightning, and precipitation intensity. In particular, the lightning risk is divided into two levels: "medium" and "high," and the precipitation intensity is divided into four levels: 0-5 mm / h, 10-20 mm / h, 20-50 mm / h, and 50 mm / h or more. In each case, the lower the level, the higher the risk to flight. In addition, although the present invention does not particularly limit the size of the multiple regions, in this embodiment, the multiple regions are defined as regions with a horizontal extent sufficient to cover the entire territory of Japan, including the waters off the coast of Japan. Furthermore, although the upper limit of the altitude is also not particularly limited, in this embodiment, the upper limit is set to 15,000 m.

[0014] In step S12, a default route from among the acquired candidate routes is set as the selected route. The default route may be any of the candidate routes, but is preferably the candidate route with the shortest cruising distance.

[0015] In step S13, the candidate routes and weather risks are displayed on a 3D map. As a result, multiple candidate routes and weather risks (lightning risk and precipitation intensity) are displayed together on a 3D map in the lower display area 251 (part of the display area of ​​the route decision support device's display), as shown in Figure 2. Details of the display content shown in Figure 2, including the display of cross sections described below, will be described later.

[0016] In step S14, the selected route and weather risk are displayed on a cross section obtained by cutting the 3D map vertically along the selected route, and then the route display process is terminated. As a result, as shown in Figure 2, the selected route and weather risk are displayed together in the cross-sectional view displayed in the upper display area 252 (which, like the lower display area 251, is part of the display area related to the display of the route decision support device). The above-mentioned "cross section cut vertically along the route" may be a realistic cut through the atmosphere or the Earth (containing information on the unevenness of the Earth's surface and the curvature of the Earth), but in this embodiment it is composed of a two-dimensional display of the route (horizontal axis) and altitude (vertical axis) on a horizontal plane from the departure point, drawn based on three-dimensional information about the route. The display relating to the lower display area 251 and the display relating to the upper display area 252 are not limited to being displayed simultaneously as in this embodiment, but may be displayed by switching between the former display and the latter display within one display area, such as by switching from the former display (display on a 3D map) to the latter display (display of a cross section).

[0017] In this way, the display program for supporting route determination in this embodiment executes a route acquisition process (step S10) for acquiring a route, a weather risk acquisition process (step S11) for acquiring weather risk as three-dimensional information, a first display process (step S13) for displaying the route and weather risk together in a three-dimensional image, and a second display process (step S14) for displaying the route and weather risk together in a cross section cut vertically along the route. This makes it easier to recognize the relationship between a route and weather risk by enabling the relationship between the route and weather risk in the horizontal direction and the relationship between the route and weather risk in the vertical direction to be checked separately, which contributes to the setting of a route that is less affected by weather risk. In order to achieve this effect, the display realized in step S13 may be a 2D (two-dimensional) display along the ground (horizontal plane). That is, the first display process may be a process that at least displays the course and the weather risk together in a planar view.

[0018] Next, as shown in Fig. 1(b), in step S20, which is the first step in the cross section update process executed when the selected route is updated, the selected route is updated. In this embodiment, the selected route is updated by tapping on a candidate route other than the currently selected route on the screen. In step S21, the selected route and weather risk are displayed on a cross section obtained by cutting the 3D map vertically along the updated selected route, and then the cross section update process is terminated, thereby updating the display content in the upper display area 252 to correspond to the updated selected route.

[0019] Thus, in the display program for assisting route determination according to this embodiment, the route acquisition process (step S10) acquires multiple types of routes that share common takeoff and landing points, the first display process (step S13) displays at least each of the multiple types of routes together with weather risks in a planar view, and the second display process displays one selected from the multiple types of routes together with weather risks in a cross section cut vertically along the selected one of the multiple types of routes (step S21). This makes it easier for the user to recognize the relationship between the route and weather risk when selecting one route from among multiple routes.

[0020] <Details of what is displayed on the navigation aid display> Next, with reference to FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 in addition to FIG. 2, details of images displayed on the display of the route decision support device by the display program for supporting route decision according to this embodiment will be described. Figures 3 and 4 are schematic diagrams showing the state in which some of the weather risks have been removed from the screen displayed on the display of the route decision support device, where Figure 3 shows the state in which the precipitation intensity has been removed from the weather risks, and Figure 4 shows the state in which the lightning risk has been removed from the weather risks.

[0021] As shown in Figure 2, the display program for supporting route determination according to this embodiment displays multiple candidate routes and multiple weather risks together in the lower display area 251, and also displays the selected route and multiple weather risks together in the upper display area 252. These are as described above. The unit of the left vertical axis in the upper display area 252 is FL (Flight Level), with 1 FL equivalent to 100 feet. Here, in the lower display area 251 (3D map), the lightning strike risk and precipitation intensity overlap, making it difficult to see each weather risk in FIG. 2. Therefore, for ease of explanation, these are displayed separately, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. Specifically, in FIG. 2, the lightning strike risk is distributed as shown in FIG. 3, and the precipitation intensity is distributed as shown in FIG. 4. As shown in these figures, each weather risk is displayed in the form of a cube of a color corresponding to the division to which each unit space belongs, for each unit space. Furthermore, in this embodiment, even if multiple weather risks overlap, each is transparent, so the presence of each weather risk can be identified. In this embodiment, the selected route among the candidate routes is displayed with a thicker line than the other candidate routes.

[0022] Also provided in the lower display area 251 are a first tap button tb1 and a second tap button tb2 that are tapped to toggle between displaying and hiding part of the weather risk. Although not shown in the figure, when the first tap button tb1 is tapped, the outer frame of the button display disappears and the lightning risk level disappears. Similarly, when the second tap button tb2 is tapped, the outer frame line of the button display disappears, and the precipitation intensity disappears in the lower display area 251 and the upper display area 252. Furthermore, when the first tap button tb1 is tapped while the lightning risk level is not displayed, the lightning risk level is displayed again in the lower display area 251 and the upper display area 252. Similarly, when the second tap button tb2 is tapped while the precipitation intensity is not displayed, the precipitation intensity is displayed again in the lower display area 251 and the upper display area 252. It should be noted that some or all of the above-mentioned tap buttons may be realized by physical buttons (such as the various buttons 31 shown in Figure 11) provided on the route decision support device, rather than being provided on the display area of ​​the route decision support device's display.

[0023] In addition, the lower display area 251 displays a scroll bar sb that shows the past and future in 5-minute intervals based on the current date and time (in this example, Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) is 2:30 AM on February 3rd), as well as a third tap button tb3 for executing the navigation playback process described below.

[0024] The scroll bar sb is displayed with the current time as the reference, with an area corresponding to past times and an area corresponding to future times being displayed in different colors. Furthermore, although not shown in the figures, in this embodiment, by dragging the scroll bar sb left or right, it is possible to display the weather risk at the time corresponding to the center of the scroll bar sb (the position of the memory indicated by the thick line) (for example, in FIG. 2, 2:30 is located at the position of the memory indicated by the thick line). More specifically, by dragging the scroll bar sb to the right, past weather risks (actual results) can be displayed, and by dragging the scroll bar sb to the left, future weather risks (forecasts) can be displayed.

[0025] In this embodiment, the viewpoint of the image displayed in the lower display area 251 can be rotated or moved by dragging an area of ​​the lower display area 251 that is not involved in the above-mentioned operations (first tap button tb1, second tap button tb2, scroll bar sb, candidate route). Rotating the viewpoint can trigger the execution of a display switching process, which will be described later in detail.

[0026] Furthermore, as mentioned above, in the display in the lower display area 251, i.e., on the 3D map, multiple weather risks may overlap, but in the display in the upper display area 252, one of these weather risks is displayed in the area where multiple weather risks overlap. Specifically, in the above-mentioned steps S14 and S21, in an area where the lightning risk and the precipitation intensity overlap, the lightning risk is displayed without displaying the precipitation intensity. This makes it easier for the user to recognize the relationship between the route and weather risk when selecting one route from among multiple routes. To achieve this effect, one of the weather risks may be displayed as a non-transparent image in the area where multiple weather risks overlap in upper display area 252, with the remaining weather risks displayed in front of it as transparent images. That is, in the area where multiple weather risks overlap in upper display area 252, one of the weather risks may be displayed with priority over the remaining weather risks. In particular, it is preferable to use a weather risk that is highly important (high risk) for aircraft navigation as the weather risk that is displayed with priority.

[0027] 2, all of the candidate routes are made up of so-called waypoints (points indicated by a circled star in the lower display area 251, and points indicated by a black triangle in the upper display area 252). Although illustrations of the flow and the like are omitted, the display program for supporting route determination according to this embodiment allows the altitude of the selected route to be adjusted by individually dragging the waypoints shown in the upper display area 252 up and down. This makes it possible to avoid weather risks that cannot be avoided by simply selecting a candidate route. When the altitude of the selected route is adjusted in the upper display area 252, the result of the altitude adjustment is reflected in the selected route in the lower display area 251 at that time, and the altitude of the route on the 3D map is also updated. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the only points on the candidate route where altitude adjustment is possible are waypoints, but other points may be provided in addition to or instead of waypoints. For example, the other points may be distributed more in areas with high weather risk than in areas with low weather risk.

[0028] <About the process of switching part of the 3D weather risk to 2D display> As described above, the lower display area 251 is configured to be able to display multiple 3D weather risks, and in order to make it easier to visually recognize these weather risks individually, the display program for supporting route determination according to this embodiment is configured to be able to execute a process to switch some of the weather risks displayed in 3D to 2D display. Details of this function will be explained below using Figures 5 and 6. FIG. 5 is a flow chart showing the display switching process, and FIG. 6 is an example of an image displayed on the display of the route decision support device after some weather risks have been switched to 2D display.

[0029] 5, in step S30, which is the first step of the display switching process for switching a portion of the weather risk displayed in 3D to a 2D display, it is determined whether the angle of the viewpoint in the lower display area 251 is 45 degrees or more, and if this condition is met, the process proceeds to step S31, and if this condition is not met, the display switching process ends. Here, the angle of the viewpoint refers to the acute angle of the angle defined by a line drawn imaginarily from the viewpoint to the center of the lower display area 251 and the ground (horizontal plane). In step S31, it is determined whether or not the precipitation intensity (3D) is displayed in the lower display area 251, and if the condition is met, the process proceeds to step S32, and if the condition is not met, the display switching process is terminated.

[0030] In step S32, the 3D precipitation intensity is switched to a 2D display (two-dimensional display on the ground surface), and then the display switching process ends. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 6, when the process of step S32 is executed, the precipitation intensity, which is one of the weather risks, is switched from 3D display to 2D display in the lower display area 251, and the precipitation intensity is hidden in the upper display area 252. That is, the upper display area 252 displays only the weather risks excluding the weather risks that have been switched from 3D display to 2D display in the lower display area 251. Note that in this embodiment, switching the weather risk from 3D display to 2D display refers to vertically integrating the altitude distribution (values ​​every 100 m) of the weather risk to be switched for each of multiple areas and changing the display mode (e.g., color) of each area according to the integrated value. However, when switching the weather risk from 3D display to 2D display, the integrated value may be replaced with another value corresponding to the integrated value (e.g., hourly precipitation if the target weather risk is precipitation intensity). This makes it easier to select a route that takes into account weather risks while maintaining the 3D display in the lower display area 251. Note that, to achieve this effect, the trigger for executing the process in step S32 is not limited to that according to this embodiment, and various triggers may be adopted, such as tapping a dedicated tap button, etc. However, by adopting the trigger for execution according to this embodiment, it is possible to make it easier to confirm the existence of multiple weather risks when the viewpoint angle becomes large, making it difficult to see multiple weather risks three-dimensionally. Furthermore, it is preferable to use weather risks that are less important (low risk) for aircraft navigation as the weather risks that can be switched from 3D display to 2D display.

[0031] <About navigation playback processing> Next, the navigation reproduction process will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. FIG. 7 shows a flow of the navigation playback process, and FIGS. 8 to 10 show examples of displays during navigation playback.

[0032] As shown in FIG. 7, in step S40, which is the first step of the navigation playback process, it is determined whether the third tap button tb3 has been tapped. If the condition is met, the process proceeds to step S41; if the condition is not met, the navigation playback process ends. In step S41, navigation reproduction is executed, and then the navigation reproduction process ends. Here, navigation playback means, as shown in Figures 8 to 10, sailing (moving) the aircraft along the selected route in the lower display area 251 and the upper display area 252, and displaying the predicted weather risk results in accordance with the movement.

[0033] 8, the aircraft's position (takeoff airport, New Chitose Airport (RJCC)) at 2:30 AM (Coordinated Universal Time (UTC)), which is the start time (current time) of navigation playback, and the weather risk (risk of lightning strikes, precipitation intensity) at that time are displayed in both lower display area 251 and upper display area 252. In this example, the state at the start of navigation playback is shown, so the elapsed time displayed above the word "NOW" is "00:00." In Figure 9, the aircraft position at 2:40 AM, 10 minutes later, and the forecast results for the weather risk at that time are displayed in both the lower display area 251 and the upper display area 252. In this example, the state 10 minutes after the start of navigation playback is shown, so "00:10" is displayed above the characters "FCST (short for Forecast)" as the elapsed time. 10, the aircraft position at 2:50 AM, 10 minutes later, and the predicted weather risk at that time are displayed in both the lower display area 251 and the upper display area 252. In this example, the state 20 minutes after the start of navigation playback is shown, so the elapsed time "00:20" is displayed above the characters "FCST."

[0034] Note that the navigation playback process starts when the third tap button tb3 is tapped and the tapped button reaches the center of the scroll bar sb. Therefore, the start time of the navigation playback can be changed by dragging the scroll bar sb before tapping the third tap button tb3. However, in this embodiment, if the third tap button tb3 is tapped while the scroll bar sb is dragged to the left to display past weather risks, the playback process is executed with the current time as the reference (starting point).

[0035] In this way, the display program for supporting route determination in this embodiment executes a navigation playback process to navigate the aircraft along the selected route in the lower display area 251 and the upper display area 252, and displays the predicted weather risk results in accordance with the movement. This allows the vessel to visually recognize which navigation positions are affected by weather risks, making it easier to select a route that reduces weather risks.

[0036] <Hardware configuration of the navigation route decision support device> Next, the hardware configuration of a route determination support device having a display program for supporting the above-mentioned route determination will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 11 is a block diagram of the route decision support device.

[0037] As shown in Fig. 11, the route determination support device 10 according to this embodiment includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 20, a north bridge 21, a south bridge 22, a main memory 23, a display controller 24, a display 25, a storage 26, a sound controller 27, a speaker 28, a network controller 29, a touch panel 30, and various buttons 31. The components in Fig. 11 are connected via a bus. In other words, the route determination support device 10 is a computer equipped with a memory and a processor, and may be a mobile terminal such as a tablet, or a stationary personal computer.

[0038] The CPU 20 is a processor provided to control the operation of the computer, and executes various programs loaded from the storage 26 into the main memory 23, such as an operating system (OS) and the display program for supporting route determination described above. The northbridge 21 is connected to the CPU 20, main memory 23, display controller 24, and southbridge 22. The northbridge 21 controls the timing and speed of data transfer. The northbridge 21 acts as a bridge for data transfer between devices that operate at high speed. The northbridge 21 incorporates a memory controller (not shown) that controls access to the main memory 23. The northbridge 21 also has the function of communicating with the display controller 24 via a PCIe (Peripheral Component Interconnect Express) bus or the like. The main memory 23 is configured, for example, by a dynamic random access memory (DRAM). The main memory 23 is used as a work area for the CPU 20. The main memory 23 stores various programs loaded from the storage 26, such as an operating system (OS) and a display program that supports route determination. The display controller 24 controls the display 25. The display controller 24 transmits a video signal to the display 25. The display 25 is configured by an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) or the like. The southbridge 22 is connected to the storage 26, sound controller 27, network controller 29, touch panel 30, and various buttons 31. The southbridge 22 controls the timing and speed of data transfer. The southbridge 22 acts as a bridge for data between devices that operate at a slower speed than the northbridge 21. The southbridge 22 also has a built-in memory controller that controls the storage 26. The storage 26 is a nonvolatile storage device that stores various programs such as an OS and a display program that supports route determination in a nonvolatile manner. The sound controller 27 is a sound source device that outputs an audio signal to be reproduced to a speaker 28 . The network controller 29 includes a controller that executes wireless communication via an external network such as the Internet. This enables the route decision support device 10 to exchange information with a meteorological risk derivation device, which will be described later. Note that the network controller 29 may be a device for connecting to a wired network, and exchange information with the meteorological risk derivation device via a wired connection. The touch panel 30 and the various buttons 31 are input devices for inputting data into the route decision support device 10 and for issuing instructions to the route decision support device 10 to execute processing.

[0039] The route determination support device 10 includes a route acquisition unit that executes the processes shown in steps S10 and S20 (see FIGS. 1(a) and 1(b)), a weather risk processing unit that executes the processes shown in step S11 (see FIG. 1(a)), a first display processing unit that executes the processes shown in step S13 (see FIG. 1(a)), a second display processing unit that executes the processes shown in steps S14 and S21 (see FIGS. 1(a) and 1(b)), an altitude adjustment processing unit that executes the processes related to altitude adjustment of the selected route (see FIG. 2), a navigation playback processing unit that executes the processes shown in steps S40 and S41 (see FIG. 7), an alert processing unit that executes the processes shown in steps S52 to S54 (see FIG. 13), and a message generation processing unit that executes the processes shown in step S51. The programs for the processes executed by these processing units are stored in the main memory 23, and these processing units are realized by the CPU 20 reading the programs stored in the main memory 23.

[0040] <Outline of the Route Decision Support System> Next, an outline of a route decision support system including the above-mentioned route decision support device will be explained with reference to FIG. FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing an outline of the route decision support system.

[0041] As shown in Figure 12, the route decision support system 1 of this embodiment is composed of a route decision support device 10 and a weather risk derivation device 50, and the weather risk derivation device 50 derives past, present, and future (predicted) weather risks from weather information acquired from the weather information acquisition device 100, and transmits them to the route decision support device 10 as necessary.

[0042] The weather information acquisition device 100 includes, for example, weather radars such as AMeDAS and the C-band radar under the jurisdiction of the Japan Meteorological Agency, which emits a single C-band radio wave into the atmosphere and observes the strength of the reflected wave (hereinafter referred to as echo strength), weather models such as the MSM weather model, and nowcasts under the jurisdiction of the Japan Meteorological Agency, and an appropriate one is adopted depending on the content of the weather risk derived by the weather risk derivation device 50.

[0043] The weather risk deriving device 50 derives current weather risks using weather information transmitted from the weather information acquiring device 100, predicts future weather risks, and stores past weather risks. For example, in this embodiment, the meteorological risk derivation device 50 derives the above-mentioned lightning risk from the echo intensity (observed by a weather radar or the like) and the altitude distribution of air temperature (derived by a meteorological model) transmitted from the meteorological information acquisition device 100. The above-mentioned precipitation intensity corresponds to the echo intensity. In addition, the lightning risk level listed as a weather risk derived by the weather risk derivation device 50 in this embodiment is a weather risk that should be taken into consideration in order to avoid the risk of lightning strikes on aircraft, and the precipitation intensity is a weather risk that should be taken into consideration in order to avoid icing that may occur during navigation. Furthermore, in addition to the meteorological risks mentioned in the description of this embodiment, any indicator that could pose a risk to navigation, such as turbulence, air currents, volcanic ash, etc., may be used in the present invention, and the number of meteorological risks to be used is not important.

[0044] <About alert processing> The display program for supporting route determination described above also includes an alert process for displaying a warning. Details of this process will be explained below with reference to FIG. 13 is a flow chart showing the alert processing, which is executed after the route display processing is completed and then whenever a predetermined condition is met. In particular, the predetermined condition refers to an update of the weather risk or a change in the weather risk to be displayed by operating the scroll bar sb.

[0045] As shown in Figure 13, in step S50, the first step of the alert processing, it is determined whether there is a lightning risk (which refers to the displayed lightning risk, and includes not only "high lightning risk" but also "medium lightning risk") within a specified distance (50 km in this embodiment) from the takeoff or landing airport.If this condition is met, the process proceeds to step S51; if this condition is not met, the alert processing ends. Here, the distance between the airport and the lightning risk that is compared with the predetermined distance in this judgment is the shortest distance viewed horizontally, but the shortest distance viewed three-dimensionally may also be used. Furthermore, the predetermined distance is not limited to 50 km, and may be changed as appropriate depending on external factors such as the climate and season of the area where the display program for assisting route determination is used, and the type of aircraft (size, shape, etc.).

[0046] In step S51, a telegram regarding the risk of lightning strike within a predetermined distance is generated. More specifically, if there is a lightning risk within a predetermined distance from the takeoff airport but not within a predetermined distance from the landing airport, a telegram corresponding to that takeoff airport is generated. Also, if there is a lightning risk within a predetermined distance from the landing airport but not within a predetermined distance from the takeoff airport, a telegram corresponding to that landing airport is generated. Furthermore, if there is a lightning risk within a predetermined distance from the takeoff airport and also within a predetermined distance from the landing airport, both a telegram corresponding to that takeoff airport and a telegram corresponding to that landing airport are generated. Here, the telegram is composed of text data that can be transmitted to a target aircraft (an aircraft navigating the displayed route) via the Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System (ACARS). In particular, in this embodiment, the telegram regarding the lightning risk within a predetermined distance includes information identifying the target airport (takeoff airport or landing airport) within the predetermined distance of the lightning risk (or information identifying a location near the target airport), information identifying the time (UTC) at which the lightning risk exists, and information identifying the location (latitude and longitude) of the unit space that is closest horizontally to the target airport within the unit space where the lightning risk exists. The location of the unit space is not limited to latitude and longitude, but can also be replaced with the direction and horizontal distance from the target airport. Furthermore, the information included in the telegram is not limited to these, and any information related to the lightning risk within the predetermined distance, such as the altitude range of the lightning risk at the unit space, may be used.

[0047] In step S52, a warning icon is displayed on the 3D map. Although not shown in the drawings, the warning icon is composed of an image that resembles a lightning bolt, and is displayed near airports where there is a risk of lightning strike within a predetermined distance. More specifically, if there is a risk of lightning strike within a predetermined distance from the takeoff airport, but no risk of lightning strike within a predetermined distance from the landing airport, a warning icon is displayed only near the takeoff airport. Also, if there is a risk of lightning strike within a predetermined distance from the landing airport, but no risk of lightning strike within a predetermined distance from the takeoff airport, a warning icon is displayed only near the landing airport. Furthermore, if there is a risk of lightning strike within a predetermined distance from the takeoff airport, and a risk of lightning strike within a predetermined distance from the landing airport, a warning icon is displayed near both the takeoff airport and the landing airport. This also applies when displaying a message (details will be described later).

[0048] In step S53, it is determined whether or not a tap operation has been performed on the warning icon. If the condition is met, the process proceeds to step S54, and if the condition is not met, the alert process ends. In step S54, the message regarding the lightning risk generated in S51 is displayed on the 3D map in place of the tapped warning icon, and then the alert process is terminated.

[0049] In this way, the display program that supports route determination in this embodiment allows the user to visually understand whether there is a risk of lightning strike near the airport (takeoff airport or landing airport) that makes up the displayed route by displaying a warning (displaying a warning icon or displaying a message) as a result of executing an alert process.

[0050] Furthermore, as mentioned above, by generating a message regarding the risk of lightning within a specified distance, even if the route decision support device cannot be brought on board due to security or other reasons, information regarding the risk of lightning within a specified distance of the airport that makes up the displayed route can be transmitted to the target aircraft via ACARS, allowing the pilot or other onboard personnel to know whether there is a risk of lightning on the route currently being navigated. In particular, when sending a generated message to a target aircraft via ACARS, a tap button that can be tapped to copy the text of the message may be provided near the displayed message, allowing the message to be pasted into the ACARS input screen for accurate input.

[0051] In this embodiment, the lightning risk is cited as a target of alert processing, but in addition to or instead of this, other weather risks such as precipitation intensity may also be targeted for alert processing. Furthermore, just as the lightning risk levels in this embodiment include "high lightning risk" and "medium lightning risk," if the weather risk that is the target of alert processing has multiple levels of risk, alert processing may be performed without distinguishing between different risk levels, as in the alert processing in this embodiment, or alert processing may be performed only for the risk level with the highest risk.

[0052] Furthermore, although the alert processing according to this embodiment targets both the take-off airport and the landing airport, the alert processing may be executed by focusing on either one of these airports.

[0053] The alert process is configured to display a message about the risk of lightning strikes within a predetermined distance instead of the warning icon, but is not limited to this. For example, when a tap operation is performed on the warning icon, the warning icon and the message may be displayed in parallel, or the message may be displayed from the beginning without displaying the warning icon.

[0054] In addition, the alert processing involves displaying a warning icon and a message regarding the risk of lightning strikes within a specified distance on a 3D map. In addition to this, or instead of this, at least one of these displays may be displayed on a cross section cut vertically along the route (see the upper screens of Figures 2 and 6).

[0055] The above description is an example of the present invention, and various other configurations may be adopted. Furthermore, the above-described configurations may be combined as appropriate within the scope of the gist of the present invention.

[0056] The present embodiment encompasses the following technical ideas. (1) a route acquisition process for acquiring a route; a weather risk acquisition process for acquiring weather risks as three-dimensional information; a first display process for displaying at least the route and the weather risk together in a planar view; a second display process for displaying the route and the weather risk together on a cross section cut vertically along the route; A display program that assists aircraft in determining flight routes. (2) the route acquisition process acquires a plurality of types of routes that have common takeoff and landing points; the first display process at least displays the plurality of types of routes and the weather risk together in a planar view, the second display process displays the selected one of the plurality of types of routes together with the weather risk in a cross section cut vertically along the selected one of the plurality of types of routes; A display program for assisting in determining the route of an aircraft as described in (1) above. (3) The weather risk acquisition process acquires a plurality of types of weather risks, the first display process displays the plurality of types of routes and the plurality of types of weather risks together in a three-dimensional image; The second display process includes: a cross section cut vertically along one of the plurality of types of routes, the selected route and the plurality of types of weather risks being displayed together; In an area of ​​the cross section where different types of weather risks overlap, one of the overlapping weather risks is displayed in priority to the remaining weather risks. A display program for assisting aircraft route determination as described in (2) above. (4) The weather risk acquisition process acquires a plurality of types of weather risks, The first display process includes: Displaying the plurality of types of routes and the plurality of types of weather risks together in a three-dimensional image; Some of the weather risks among the plurality of types of weather risks can be switched from a three-dimensional image to a two-dimensional image, When some of the weather risks of the plurality of types of weather risks are switched from three-dimensional images to two-dimensional images in the first display process, the second display process displays the weather risks excluding the some of the weather risks. A display program for assisting in determining the route of an aircraft according to any one of (1) to (3) above. (5) an altitude adjustment process for adjusting the altitude of the route displayed by the second display process; A display program for assisting in determining the route of an aircraft according to any one of (1) to (4) above. (6) the route acquisition process acquires a plurality of types of routes that have common takeoff and landing points; executing a navigation playback process for playing back a navigation on one of the routes selected from the plurality of types of routes; the navigation playback process displays a navigation position in accordance with the progress of navigation playback, and also displays a forecast of the weather risk in accordance with the progress of navigation playback; A display program for assisting in route determination according to any one of (1) to (5) above. (7) When the weather risk exists within a predetermined distance from at least one of the takeoff point and the landing point of the route, an alert process is executed to display a warning (a warning icon, a message about the risk of lightning strike within a predetermined distance). A display program for assisting in route determination according to any one of (1) to (6) above. (8) When the weather risk exists within a predetermined distance from at least one of a takeoff point and a landing point of the route, a message generation process is executed to generate a message regarding the weather risk existing within the predetermined distance. A display program for assisting in route determination according to any one of (1) to (7) above. (9) a route acquisition processing unit that acquires a route; a weather risk acquisition processing unit that acquires weather risks as three-dimensional information; a first display processing unit that displays at least the route and the weather risk together in a planar view; a second display processing unit that displays the route and the weather risk together on a cross section cut vertically along the route; A route decision support device for supporting route decisions of an aircraft, comprising: (10) the route acquisition processing unit acquires a plurality of types of routes that have common takeoff and landing points; the first display processing unit at least displays the plurality of types of routes and the weather risk together in a planar view, the second display processing unit displays the selected one of the plurality of types of routes together with the weather risk in a cross section cut vertically along the selected one of the plurality of types of routes; A route determination support device that supports route determination for an aircraft as described in (9) above. (11) The weather risk acquisition processing unit acquires a plurality of types of weather risks, the first display processing unit displays the plurality of types of routes and the plurality of types of weather risks together in a three-dimensional image; The second display processing unit a cross section cut vertically along one of the plurality of types of routes, the selected route and the plurality of types of weather risks being displayed together; In an area of ​​the cross section where different types of weather risks overlap, one of the overlapping weather risks is displayed in priority to the remaining weather risks. A route determination support device that supports route determination for an aircraft as described in (10) above. (12) The weather risk acquisition processing unit acquires a plurality of types of weather risks, The first display processing unit Displaying the plurality of types of routes and the plurality of types of weather risks together in a three-dimensional image; Some of the weather risks among the plurality of types of weather risks can be switched from a three-dimensional image to a two-dimensional image, When some of the weather risks of the plurality of types of weather risks are switched from three-dimensional images to two-dimensional images in the first display process, the second display processing unit displays the weather risks excluding the some of the weather risks. A route determination support device for supporting route determination of an aircraft according to any one of (9) to (11) above. (13) an altitude adjustment processing unit that adjusts the altitude of the route displayed by the second display processing; A route determination support device for supporting route determination of an aircraft according to any one of (9) to (12) above. (14) the route acquisition processing unit acquires a plurality of types of routes that have common takeoff and landing points; a navigation playback processing unit that plays back navigation on one of the multiple types of routes, the navigation playback processing unit displays the navigation position in accordance with the progress of the navigation playback, and also displays the forecast of the weather risk in accordance with the progress; A route determination support device for supporting route determination of an aircraft according to any one of (9) to (13) above. (15) an alert processing unit that displays a warning (a warning icon, a message about the risk of lightning strike within a predetermined distance) when the weather risk exists within a predetermined distance from at least one of the takeoff point and the landing point of the route; A route determination support device for supporting route determination of an aircraft according to any one of (9) to (14) above. (16) a message generation processing unit that generates a message regarding the weather risk present within a predetermined distance range when the weather risk is present within the predetermined distance range from at least one of a takeoff point and a landing point of the route; A route determination support device for supporting route determination of an aircraft according to any one of (9) to (15) above.

[0057] This application claims priority based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2022-117938, filed on July 25, 2022, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein in their entirety. [Explanation of symbols]

[0058] 1. Route Decision Support System 10 Route determination support device 20 CPU 21 Northbridge 22 Southbridge 23 Main Memory 24 Display Controller 25 Display 26 Storage 27 Sound Controller 28 Speaker 29 Network Controller 30 Touch Panel 31 Various buttons 50 Weather risk derivation device 100 Weather information acquisition device tb1 First tap button tb2 Second tap button tb3 3rd tap button sb scrollbar

Claims

1. a route acquisition process for acquiring a route; a weather risk acquisition process for acquiring weather risks as three-dimensional information; a first display process for displaying at least the route and the weather risk together in a planar view; a second display process for displaying the route and the weather risk together on a cross section cut vertically along the route; on the computer, the route acquisition process acquires a plurality of types of routes that have common takeoff and landing points; the first display process at least displays the plurality of types of routes and the weather risk together in a planar view, the second display process displays the selected one of the plurality of types of routes together with the weather risk on a cross section cut vertically along the selected one of the plurality of types of routes; The weather risk acquisition process acquires a plurality of types of weather risks, the first display process displays the plurality of types of routes and the plurality of types of weather risks together in a three-dimensional image; The second display process includes: a cross section cut vertically along one of the plurality of types of routes, the selected route and the plurality of types of weather risks being displayed together; In an area of ​​the cross section where different types of weather risks overlap, one of the overlapping weather risks is displayed in priority to the remaining weather risks. A display program that assists aircraft in determining their routes.

2. a route acquisition process for acquiring a route; a weather risk acquisition process for acquiring weather risks as three-dimensional information; a first display process for displaying at least the route and the weather risk together in a planar view; a second display process for displaying the route and the weather risk together on a cross section cut vertically along the route; on the computer, The weather risk acquisition process acquires a plurality of types of weather risks, The first display process includes: Displaying the route and the plurality of types of weather risks together in a three-dimensional image; Some of the weather risks among the plurality of types of weather risks can be switched from a three-dimensional image to a two-dimensional image, When some of the weather risks of the plurality of types of weather risks are switched from three-dimensional images to two-dimensional images in the first display process, the second display process displays the weather risks excluding the some of the weather risks. A display program that assists aircraft in determining their routes.

3. causing the computer to execute an altitude adjustment process for adjusting the altitude of the route displayed by the second display process; 3. The display program for assisting in determining an aircraft route according to claim 2.

4. the route acquisition process acquires a plurality of types of routes that have common takeoff and landing points; causing a computer to execute a navigation playback process for playing back a navigation on one of the plurality of types of routes; the navigation playback process displays a navigation position in accordance with the progress of navigation playback, and also displays a forecast of the weather risk in accordance with the progress of navigation playback; 3. A display program for assisting in route determination according to claim 2.

5. causing the computer to execute an alert process for displaying a warning when the weather risk exists within a predetermined distance from at least one of the takeoff point and the landing point of the route; 3. A display program for assisting in route determination according to claim 2.

6. causing a computer to execute a message generation process for generating a message regarding the weather risk present within a predetermined distance from at least one of a takeoff point and a landing point of the route, when the weather risk exists within the predetermined distance; 3. A display program for assisting in route determination according to claim 2.

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