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Procedure for guiding an aircraft in the approach phase and corresponding ground beaconProcedure for guiding an aircraft in the approach phase and corresponding ground beacon description/claimsThe Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20070090993, Procedure for guiding an aircraft in the approach phase and corresponding ground beacon. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
[0001] The invention relates to a procedure for guiding an aircraft in the approach phase and a ground beacon for implementing the procedure. [0002] The field of the invention is that of the guidance of an aircraft in the approach phase. [0003] The term final approach or precision approach is used to mean the guidance phase during which the aircraft is brought along a predetermined path and in well-defined conditions of visibility at a certain height relative to the landing runway. This approach is called category 1 when the aircraft is brought to 200 feet, category 2 when the aircraft is brought to 100 feet and category 3 if the aircraft is brought to 50 feet or less, as illustrated in FIG. 1. [0004] Above 250 feet, it is considered a non-precision approach to which an elevation guidance corresponds. [0005] Guidance in the final or non-precision approach phase is based on the use on the one hand of ground beacons and on the other hand of MMR (MultiMode Receiver) receiver on board the aircraft and receiving messages from these beacons. The MMR receiver is also linked to a differential positioning GNSS system. The ground beacons can be GBAS (Ground Based Augmentation System) or SBAS (Space Based Augmentation System) beacons. [0006] The GBAS and SBAS systems are systems for augmenting the accuracy of the positioning obtained by the GNSS system. [0007] The GBAS system is mainly intended for precision approaches as indicated in FIG. 1. As illustrated in FIG. 2a, it comprises a ground beacon subsystem GBAS-G and a receiver subsystem GBAS-A on board the aircraft. A GBAS ground beacon can be linked to an unlimited number of onboard receivers, included within its action radius. These ground beacons are installed according to requirements; they are typically located in airport areas. The GNSS system provides the aircraft and the ground beacons with information for calculating pseudo-ranges. The ground beacon provides the aircraft with: [0008] data on the ideal approach paths for each landing runway in the form of Final Approach Segments (FAS), [0009] information for correcting pseudo-ranges (to correct atmospheric effects, multiple paths, etc.) and, [0010] information on the integrity of the differential positioning for each GNSS satellite in sight. [0011] This data and information is used by the aircraft to determine more accurately its position relative to the approach path. [0012] The SBAS system is mainly intended for non-precision approaches. As illustrated in FIG. 2b, it comprises an SBAS-G ground infrastructure, SBAS geo-stationary satellites designated SBAS-S and an SBAS-A receiver on board each aircraft. The SBAS-G ground infrastructure comprises: [0013] a plurality of receiver stations distributed over a wide geographic area, which receive the data from the GNSS satellites and determine the pseudo-ranges, and [0014] a central control and processing station SC, which uses the pseudo-ranges transmitted by the receiver stations to determine the corrections and the integrity that are combined in an SBAS signal. [0015] The SBAS-S satellites relay this SBAS signal from the central station to the aircraft receivers. The aircraft receiver uses this SBAS signal to determine the integrity of its position and improve its accuracy. Examples of SBAS systems include the European Global Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS) system and the North American Wide Area Augmentation System (WMS). [0016] The MMR receiver on board the aircraft is designed to receive both the signals transmitted by the GBAS beacons and those transmitted by an SBAS-G central station and relayed by the SBAS-S satellites. [0017] The GBAS beacons provide more accurate corrections than those of an SBAS central station. Furthermore, the GBAS beacons come under the authority of the air traffic control service which can thus control the transmission from these beacons according to the required integrity and precision of the position. Furthermore, the GBAS beacons provide, in addition to the corrections, ideal approach path (FAS) information. [0018] The GBAS type ground beacons are therefore used for final approaches, whereas the SBAS (Space Based Augmentation System) type stations are used for non-precision approaches. [0019] There now follows a more detailed description of the guidance of an aircraft in the context of a final approach. [0020] In the final approach phase, the guidance is based on an ideal approach path and on the position of the aircraft relative to that path. The nearer the aircraft comes to the runway, the more accurate the position needs to be and the greater the integrity required. [0021] The MMR receiver receives differential positioning satellite radio signals from the GNSS system; it also receives, from the beacons, the corrections applicable to these signals and information concerning the ideal paths. On instruction from the air traffic control service, the crew of the aircraft selects the desired ideal path and then the receiver calculates the guidance deviation between this ideal path and the corrected position of the aircraft. This guidance deviation is then transmitted to the automatic pilot which adjusts the path of the aircraft accordingly. [0022] The corrections and the ideal path information come from the GBAS beacons. A GBAS ground beacon 100, as shown in FIG. 3, comprises a VHF transmitter 1 preceded by a data formatting element 10, linked to a device 2 designed to provide the ideal path (FAS) information that is transmitted by the transmitter 1 in the form of a message M4; the formatting element 10 is also linked to a device 3 designed to calculate the corrections that are transmitted by the transmitter 1 in the form of a message The device 2 comprises a database 21 containing the ideal paths for the landing runways. The ideal paths are transmitted to the transmitter 1 after formatting. [0023] The device 3 comprises reference receivers designed to receive differential positioning satellite radio signals from the GNSS system, normally four receivers 31a, 31b, 31c, 31d respectively equipped with their antennas 32a, 32b, 32c, 32d. Each reference receiver calculates the corrections for all the satellites in sight. The device 3 also comprises a computer 33 which checks these corrections and eliminates the deviant measurements then calculates an average correction for all the satellites. These corrections are then transmitted to the transmitter 1 after formatting. [0024] The beacon also preferably comprises a device 4 for controlling the transmission of the messages M1 and M4, also called a position monitor. It comprises receivers for differential positioning satellite radio signals from the GNSS system, for example two receivers 41a and 41b respectively equipped with their antennas 42a and 42b and which determine the position of the beacon and a VHF receiver 44 for the message M1 comprising the corrections. These corrections are supplied to the receivers 41a and 41b which determine the corrected position of the beacon. Moreover, the position of the beacon is known and stored in memory 47 in the beacon. A computer 43 calculates the difference between this known position and the corrected position to determine the integrity of the position calculation. The parameters representing the integrity are linked to the corrections in the message M1 so they can also be transmitted to the aircraft receiver. [0025] This device 4 is linked to the air traffic control service 400 by wire or radio link: the messages M1 and M4 are transmitted under the authority of this service. When the integrity is sufficient, that is, greater than a value defined by this service, the messages M1 and M4 are transmitted by the transmitter 1; when it is not sufficient, a switch controlled by the computer 43 cuts off the transmission. This service can also decide to cut off the transmission typically in the case of wind, fog, etc., even when the integrity seems to be sufficient. [0026] The aircraft which no longer receives these messages repeats its approach later or uses other means of approach. [0027] This control device 4 preferably comprises more than one GNSS receiver on the one hand to reinforce the integrity and on the other hand so that, if one of the receivers fails, the other can take over. [0028] An MMR receiver 200 on board the aircraft is diagrammatically represented in FIG. 4. It comprises various signal reception devices including a device 51 for receiving GBAS signals M1 and M4, a device 52 for receiving GNSS differential positioning signals designed also to receive the corrections M1 from the device 51 and to determine the corrected position of the aircraft, a computer 6 which uses the message M4 supplied by the device 51 and the corrected position CP supplied by the device 52 to determine the guidance deviation GD and transmits it to the automatic pilot 300. This guidance deviation GD includes the vertical deviation, the horizontal deviation and the distance between the aircraft and the next compulsory check-point. [0029] The SBAS satellites have the same characteristics as the GNSS satellites. This is why the SBAS signal reception device 53 is part of the GNSS signal reception device 52. This SBAS signal reception device 53 is inactive in the final approach phase. Continue reading about Procedure for guiding an aircraft in the approach phase and corresponding ground beacon... Full patent description for Procedure for guiding an aircraft in the approach phase and corresponding ground beacon Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims Click on the above for other options relating to this Procedure for guiding an aircraft in the approach phase and corresponding ground beacon patent application. ###  How KEYWORD MONITOR works... a FREE service from FreshPatents1. Sign up (takes 30 seconds). 2. Fill in the keywords to be monitored. 3. Each week you receive an email with patent applications related to your keywords. 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