System and method for aiding the landing of an aircraft

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10908292-B2
Application number	US-201816143714-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 27, 2018
Priority date	Oct 17, 2017
Publication date	Feb 2, 2021
Grant date	Feb 2, 2021

Abstract

The system for aiding the landing of an aircraft on a landing runway of an airport equipped with an Instrument Landing System (“ILS”) corresponding to an axis of a predetermined approach, includes: an ILS signals receiver and a processing unit. The processing unit is configured to, when the ILS signals receiver) has not yet captured a Glide signal corresponding to a Glide axis of the approach as a function of items of information relating to the predetermined approach, acquired from a database, determine a protection volume in which there is no risk of the ILS signals receiver detecting a replica of the Glide signal; and when a current position of the aircraft is above the protection volume, inhibit the capture of the Glide signal by the ILS signals receiver and instruct the emission of an alert item of information in the cockpit of the aircraft.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A system for aiding the landing of an aircraft on a landing runway of an airport equipped with an Instrument Landing System (“ILS”), the ILS system corresponding to an axis of a predetermined approach to the landing runway, the landing aid system comprising:
an ILS signals receiver;
a set of information sources configured to determine items of information in respect of current position of the aircraft; and
a database comprising items of information relating to the said predetermined approach,
wherein the landing aid system further comprises a processing unit configured to, when the ILS signals receiver has not yet captured a Glide signal corresponding to a Glide axis of the approach:
acquire, from the set of information sources, an item of information in respect of current position of the aircraft;
acquire, from the database, items of information relating to the predetermined approach;
determine, as a function of the items of information relating to the predetermined approach, a protection volume comprising an upper limit corresponding to a predetermined approach slope to the landing runway, the predetermined approach slope determined as being equal to the slope of a replica of the Glide axis minus a predetermined margin, wherein the slope of the replica corresponds to a multiple of the slope of the Glide axis;
determine whether the current position of the aircraft is above the protection volume; and
when the current position of the aircraft is above the protection volume, inhibit the capture of the Glide signal by the ILS signals receiver and instruct the emission of an alert item of information in the cockpit of the aircraft.

2. The system according to claim 1 , wherein said margin is a predetermined margin defined in such a way that detecting of the replica of the Glide signal by the ILS signals receiver is avoided when the current position of the aircraft is situated in the protection volume.

3. The system according to claim 1 , wherein the set of information sources comprises a receiver of satellite navigation data and a barometric altitude measurement system.

4. An aircraft comprising a landing aid system according to claim 1 .

5. A method for aiding the landing of an aircraft on a landing runway of an airport equipped with an Instrument Landing System (“ILS”), the ILS system corresponding to an axis of a predetermined approach to the landing runway, the aircraft comprising:
an ILS signals receiver;
a set of information sources configured to determine items of information in respect of current position of the aircraft; and
a database comprising items of information relating to the said predetermined approach,
wherein the method comprises the following steps implemented by a processing unit when the ILS signals receiver has not yet captured the Glide signal:
acquire, from the set of information sources, an item of information in respect of current position of the aircraft;
acquire, from the database, items of information relating to the predetermined approach;
determine, as a function of the items of information relating to the predetermined approach, a protection volume comprising an upper limit corresponding to a predetermined approach slope to the landing runway, the predetermined approach slope determined as being equal to the slope of a replica of the Glide axis minus a predetermined margin, wherein the slope of the replica corresponds to a multiple of the slope of the Glide axis;
determine whether the current position of the aircraft is above the protection volume; and
when the current position of the aircraft is above the protection volume, inhibit the capture of the Glide signal by the ILS signals receiver and instruct the emission of an alert item of information in the cockpit of the aircraft.

6. The method according to claim 5 , wherein the margin is a predetermined margin defined in such a way that detecting the replica of the Glide signal by the ILS signals receiver is avoided when the current position of the aircraft is situated in the protection volume.

7. The method according to claim 5 , wherein in the step of acquiring the item of information in respect of current position of the aircraft, the item of information in respect of current position of the aircraft is acquired in part from a receiver of satellite navigation data and in part from a barometric altitude measurement system.

Assignees

• Airbus Operations Sas

Inventors

• Bazile Jerôme
• Rouquette Patrice
• Raynaud Sylvain
• Marconnet Nicolas
• Discours Guillaume
• Etchebarne Kevin

Classifications

• G08G5/54

  for approach or landing · CPC title

• G08G5/22 Primary

  located on the ground · CPC title

• G01S1/18 Primary

  Elevational guidance systems, e.g. system for defining aircraft glide path · CPC title

• G05D1/0676

  specially adapted for landing · CPC title

• B64D45/04

  Landing aids; Safety measures to prevent collision with earth's surface · CPC title