Patent Application
20200378791
The technical field relates generally to vision systems for an aircraft, and more particularly, relates to an enhanced flight vision system, an aircraft including an enhanced flight vision system, and a method for displaying an approaching runway area using an enhanced flight vision system.
Pilots or other aircraft crew members may use one or more visual systems in lieu of or in addition to natural vision during flight and/or to descend, for example, below a decision height/altitude (DH/DA) or minimum decision altitude (MDA) towards an approaching runway area. A synthetic imaging system such as a Synthetic Vision System (SVS) and/or a real imaging system such an Enhanced Vision System (EVS) may be used to assist pilots or other aircraft crew members during flight and/or landing of the aircraft.
Synthetic Vision System (SVS) imaging considerably enhances the awareness of the situation of the crew by displaying an image of the outside scene that is independent of the meteorological conditions. But the inaccuracies of satellite location and/or the lack of integrity of databases do not allow this system to be adequate for its use during low-altitude flight or landing. As such, the use of SVS imaging is therefore relevant for displaying terrain relatively distant from the aircraft.
An Enhanced Vision System (EVS) is an electronic means for providing an image of the outside scene that is enhanced with respect to natural vision via the use of an imaging sensor, such as an infrared (IR) sensor(s) and/or visual light sensor(s) or camera(s). The pilot therefore has real-time information of the outside. EVS increases visibility at night and in bad weather but, in the latter case, its effectiveness is limited and variable as a function of the types and density of fog and therefore, is used when the aircraft is relatively close to the terrain in relatively non-foggy conditions, for example. As such, during descent towards an approaching runway area in relatively foggy and/or bad weather conditions, pilots or other aircraft crew members unfortunately still need to rely significantly on natural vision on deciding whether visibility of the runway area is suitable for a safe landing.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide an enhanced flight vision system, an aircraft including an enhanced flight vision system, and a method for displaying an approaching runway area using an enhanced flight vision system that address one or more of the foregoing issues. Furthermore, other desirable features and characteristics of the various embodiments described herein will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and this background.
Various non-limiting embodiments of an aircraft, an enhanced flight vision system and a method for displaying an approaching runway area, are provided herein.
In a first non-limiting embodiment, the aircraft includes, but is not limited to, a fuselage. The fuselage supports wings and a tail and has a cockpit area for a crew member. The aircraft further includes, but is not limited to, a display that is disposed in the cockpit area. The aircraft further includes, but is not limited to, a radar imaging and post-processing arrangement that is in communication with the display via a processor. The radar imaging and post-processing arrangement is operative to generate a radar image of an approaching runway area in an airport environment. The radar imaging and post-processing arrangement is further operative to generate a symbology corresponding to the approaching runway area from the radar image and/or compare the radar image to a synthetic vision (SV) airport environment including an SV runway area from an SV database to align the SV airport environment including the SV runway area with the radar image to define an aligned SV runway area. The radar imaging and post-processing arrangement is further operative to communicate the symbology corresponding to the approaching runway area and/or the aligned SV runway area to the display.
In another non-limiting embodiment, the enhanced flight vision system (EFVS) includes, but is not limited to, a display. The enhanced flight vision system further includes, but is not limited to, a radar imaging and post-processing arrangement that is in communication with the display via a processor. The radar imaging and post-processing arrangement is operative to generate a radar image of an approaching runway area in an airport environment. The radar imaging and post-processing arrangement is further operative to generate a symbology corresponding to the approaching runway area from the radar image and/or compare the radar image to a synthetic vision (SV) airport environment including an SV runway area from an SV database to align the SV airport environment including the SV runway area with the radar image to define an aligned SV runway area. The radar imaging and post-processing arrangement is further operative to communicate the symbology corresponding to the approaching runway area and/or the aligned SV runway area to the display.
In another non-limiting embodiment, the method includes, but is not limited to, generating a radar image of the approaching runway area in an airport environment. The method further includes, but is not limited to, generating a symbology corresponding to the approaching runway area from the radar image and/or comparing the radar image to a synthetic vision (SV) airport environment including an SV runway area from an SV database to align the SV airport environment including the SV runway area with the radar image to define an aligned SV runway area. The method further includes, but is not limited to, communicating the symbology corresponding to the approaching runway area and/or the aligned SV runway area to a display.
The various embodiments will hereinafter be described in conjunction with the following drawing figures, wherein like numerals denote like elements, and wherein:
The following Detailed Description is merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the various embodiments or the application and uses thereof. Furthermore, there is no intention to be bound by any theory presented in the preceding background or the following detailed description.
Various embodiments contemplated herein relate to an enhanced flight vision system, an aircraft including an enhanced flight vision system, and a method for displaying an approaching runway area using an enhanced flight vision system. In an exemplary embodiment, an aircraft includes a fuselage that supports wings and a tail and has a cockpit area for a pilot and/or other crew member(s). The aircraft includes an enhanced flight vision system that includes a display, a processor, and a radar imaging and post-processing arrangement. The processor is in communication with the display, which is disposed in the cockpit area for viewing by the pilot and/or other crew member(s). The radar imaging and post-processing arrangement is in communication with the processor. The radar imaging and post-processing arrangement is operative to generate a radar image of an approaching runway area in an airport environment. In an exemplary embodiment, the radar imaging and post-processing arrangement includes a radar sensor(s) capable of detecting one or more features of the approaching runway area, such as, for example, the edges of the runway and/or approaching lighting structure, in relatively dense fog and/or bad weather conditions. As such, the radar image will include such features, e.g., the edges of the runway, regardless of fog and other weather conditions.
In an exemplary embodiment, the radar imaging and post-processing arrangement is further operative to generate a symbology corresponding to the approaching runway area based on the radar image and/or to compare the radar image to a synthetic vision (SV) airport environment including an SV runway area to align the SV runway area with the radar image. The SV airport environment is provided from an SV database stored, for example, in the aircraft avionics. In an exemplary embodiment, the symbology corresponding to the approaching runway area and/or the aligned SV runway area is communicated to the processor for communication to the display.
In an exemplary embodiment, advantageously it has been found that by using a radar sensor(s) that is configured to detect one or more features of the approaching runway area in relatively dense fog and/or bad weather conditions, the radar image will include such runway area features, e.g., the edges of the runway, regardless of fog and/or other weather conditions. Further, advantageously by displaying the symbology corresponding to the approaching runway area based on the radar image and/or the aligned SV runway area on the display, the pilot or other aircraft crew member(s) may use the symbology and/or the aligned SV runway area in lieu of or in addition to natural vision during descent, for example, below a decision height/altitude (DH/DA) or minimum decision altitude (MDA) towards the approaching runway area regardless of relatively foggy and/or bad weather conditions.
As illustrated, the aircraft 10 is descending along a flight path 26 towards the approaching runway area 12. As the aircraft 10 advances along the flight path 26, the aircraft 10 will pass a decision height/altitude (DH/DA) 28 and over a touchdown zone elevation (TDZE) 30 to touchdown 32 onto the approaching runway area 12 at the end portion of the flight path 26 for landing the aircraft 10. In an exemplary embodiment and referring also to
The EFVS 34 is configured to display enhanced images to the pilot and/or other crew members in the cockpit area 24. As illustrated, the EFVS 34 includes a synthetic vision system (SVS) 36, an enhanced vision system (EVS) 38, a radar imaging and post-processing arrangement 40, a processor 42 that is in communication with the SVS 36, the EVS 38, and the radar imaging and post-processing arrangement 40, and a display 44. The display 44 is disposed in the cockpit area 24 and is in communication with the processor 42. Although various block diagram elements shown in
In an exemplary embodiment, the EVS 38 is configured to provide IR images of real-time information of outside the aircraft 10 that is enhanced with respect to natural vision. For example, and as illustrated in
The SVS 36 is configured to render an image based on pre-stored database information from a synthetic vision (SV) database 46. The SVS 36 includes a processor (not shown) that communicates with the SV database 46, and further, that communicates with an inertial reference unit (IRU) 48a, a global positioning system (GPS) 48b, and a flight management system (FMS) 50 via communication path 52. The SV database 46 includes data related to, for example, terrain, objects, obstructions, airport environments including corresponding runway areas, and navigation information for output to the display 44 via lines 56 and 58 and the processor 42. The IRU 48a, GPS 48b, and the FMS 50 provide data such as aircraft positioning, heading, attitude, and a flight plan to the SVS 36. As illustrated and will be discussed in further detail below, the IRU 48a, GPS 48b, and the FMS 50 are also indirectly in communication with the radar imaging and post-processing arrangement 40 through the SVS 36 via communication path 54.
As discussed above, the processor 42 is in communication with the SVS 36, EVS 38, and the radar imaging and post-processing arrangement 40. The processor 42 may be a general purpose processor, a content addressable memory, a digital signal processor, an application specific integrated circuit, a field programmable gate array, any suitable programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination designed to perform the functions described herein. A processor device may be a microprocessor, a controller, a microcontroller, or a state machine. Moreover, a processor device may be implemented as a combination of computing devices, e.g., a combination of a digital signal processor and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a digital signal processor core, or any other such configuration.
Also, as discussed above, the display 44 is in communication with the processor 42. The display 44 is configured to provide the enhanced images from the EFVS 34 to the pilot and/or other crew members. The display 44 may be any one of numerous known displays suitable for rendering textual, graphic, and/or iconic information in a format viewable by the pilot and/or other crew members. Non-limiting examples of such displays include various flat panel displays such as various types of LCD (liquid crystal display) and TFT (thin film transistor) displays. The display 44 may additionally be implemented as a panel mounted display, a HUD (head-up display) projection, or any one of numerous known technologies. It is additionally noted that the display 44 may be configured as any one of numerous types of aircraft flight deck displays.
In an exemplary embodiment and with reference to
In an exemplary embodiment, the one or more radar sensors 60 are configured to detect one or more features of the approaching runway area 12, such as, for example, the edges 68 and/or ends of the runway area 12, in relatively dense fog and/or bad weather conditions. The one or more radar sensors 60 may be active radar sensors, passive radar sensors, or a combination of active and passive radar sensors. Further, the one or more radar sensors may be dedicated solely for generating the radar image 64, or alternatively, may form part of another aircraft system, such as, for example, the aircraft weather radar system. In an exemplary embodiment, the one or more radar sensors 60 operate within the 8 to 100 Ghz radar range.
Referring to
In an exemplary embodiment, the symbology 74 corresponding to the radar image 64 is communicated from the post-processing processor 70 to the processor 42 via communication path 78. The processor 42, which is in communication with the EVS 38, is configured to overlay the symbology 74 onto the visual image from the EVS 38. In one example and with reference also to
In another example and with reference also to
In another exemplary embodiment and with reference to
Referring to
While at least one exemplary embodiment has been presented in the foregoing detailed description of the disclosure, it should be appreciated that a vast number of variations exist. It should also be appreciated that the exemplary embodiment or exemplary embodiments are only examples, and are not intended to limit the scope, applicability, or configuration of the disclosure in any way. Rather, the foregoing detailed description will provide those skilled in the art with a convenient road map for implementing an exemplary embodiment of the disclosure. It being understood that various changes may be made in the function and arrangement of elements described in an exemplary embodiment without departing from the scope of the disclosure as set forth in the appended claims.
