The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) continues to require airborne Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) applications to provide improved benefits to operators. One of the benefits of ADS-B is the In-Trail Procedures (ITP). In addition to increasing flight crew awareness of the traffic around them, ITP displays offer information for safely climbing or descending through altitudes.
Currently, datalinking allows digital text messaging between controllers and pilots. ITP using Controller-Pilot Datalink Communication (CPDLC) for datalinking requires the use of structured and defined message sets consisting of uplink and downlink messages. A major concern with using CPDLC in general is the amount of heads-down time in the cockpit. It is critical that heads-down time be mitigated. Part of this mitigation is a requirement that pilots be able to quickly find, compose, and send ITP requests to Air Traffic Control (ATC). Also, wrongly formulating the ITP datalink messages by, for example, not adhering to the standard message formats, not providing all required ITP information, or entering the wrong variables will result in communication errors and delays. Evidence of this problem is mentioned in a NASA study titled “Enhanced Oceanic Operations Human-In-The-Loop In-Trail Procedure Validation Simulation Study” (NASA/TP-2008-215313).
Currently a touch panel display on an Electronic Flight Bag (EFB) display device is used for composing and sending ITP altitude change requests to ATC. The setting up and sending of an ITP clearance via an Electronic Flight Bag (EFB) device is cumbersome and because free text is used, it can be prone to error.
The present invention provides systems and methods for improving the reception and delivery of an In-Trail Procedures (ITP) altitude change request. An example system is located on board a host aircraft. The system includes a communication component, a display device and a processor unit that is in signal communication with the communication component and the display device. The processor unit presents a user interface on the display device. The user interface includes a plurality of fields for receiving In-Trail Procedures (ITP) altitude change request information. The processor sends the ITP altitude change request information received within the plurality of fields to an Air Traffic Control (ATC) facility via the communication component.
In one aspect of the invention, the system includes an ITP unit having a display. The ITP unit receives an altitude selection and presents ITP altitude change request information if the received altitude selection is determined to be valid.
In another aspect of the invention, the display device includes a Multipurpose Control Display Unit (MCDU).
In still another aspect of the invention, the plurality of fields include the selected altitude, direction of the host aircraft to the selected altitude, aircraft identification for one or more reference aircraft, distance of the one or more reference aircraft from the host aircraft and location information of the one or more reference aircraft relative to the host aircraft.
Preferred and alternative embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below with reference to the following drawings:
The ATC comm page 112-1 includes left and right columns of selectable items/fields. The selectable items/fields are populated by desired data entered into the scratch pad after activation of an associated button from one of the first or second button columns 120, 130. This interface construct is used throughout operation of the MCDU 38. The ATC comm page 112-1 includes a first selectable item 142 that is selected upon activation of a first button 131 in the second column of buttons 130. The activation of the first selectable item 142 titled “WHEN CAN WE” opens a template for sending acceptable clearances to ATC, e.g. WE CAN ACCEPT FL340.
The user interface 112-1 includes a second selectable item 144 titled “ITP” that is associated with a second button 132 in the second column of buttons 130. Activation of the second button 132 presents a Controller-Pilot Datalink Communications (CPDLC) template 112-2, as shown in
The other fields in the user interface 112-1 allow for quick sending of a request to ATC (including concatenated ones e.g. ALT+SPEED) without having to go through detail pages which may require further information such as reasons for the request.
The ITP CPDLC template 112-2 includes fields 184, 186, 190 for entering information for a second reference aircraft. The fields 184, 186, 190 are associated with buttons in the first and second columns of buttons 120, 130 and function in a similar manner as the fields associated with the first reference aircraft, as described above.
While the preferred embodiment of the invention has been illustrated and described, as noted above, many changes can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the scope of the invention is not limited by the disclosure of the preferred embodiment. Instead, the invention should be determined entirely by reference to the claims that follow.
The invention described herein was made in the performance of work under U.S. Government Contract No. DTFAWA-09-A-00001 with the FAA. The Government may have rights to portions of this invention.
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