System for detecting obstacles in the vicinity of a touchdown point
원문보기
IPC분류정보
국가/구분
United States(US) Patent
등록
국제특허분류(IPC7판)
G01S-013/93
G01S-013/06
G01S-013/00
출원번호
UP-0765464
(2007-06-20)
등록번호
US-7839322
(2011-01-22)
우선권정보
FR-06 05480(2006-06-20)
발명자
/ 주소
Filias, François-Xavier
Sequeira, Jean
출원인 / 주소
Eurocopter
대리인 / 주소
Young & Thompson
인용정보
피인용 횟수 :
11인용 특허 :
19
초록▼
A method of detecting obstacles on board an aircraft while in the vicinity (44) of a touchdown point (27, 42), includes the following operations: selecting/determining a path (41) to be followed by the aircraft overflying the touchdown point; the aircraft overflying the to
A method of detecting obstacles on board an aircraft while in the vicinity (44) of a touchdown point (27, 42), includes the following operations: selecting/determining a path (41) to be followed by the aircraft overflying the touchdown point; the aircraft overflying the touchdown point following the overflight path, and during the overflight recording signals/data delivered by an on-board rangefinder observing a portion of space extending below the aircraft; analyzing the rangefinder data to detect the presence of obstacles and to determine their positions in a terrestrial frame of reference, where appropriate to determine their dimensions; and recording the detected obstacle position data, and dimensions, if any, in a memory.
대표청구항▼
What is claimed is: 1. A method of detecting on board an aircraft obstacles in a vicinity of a touchdown point, the method comprising the following operations: determining an overflight path for the aircraft to overfly the touchdown point, a horizontal projection of the overflight path comprising t
What is claimed is: 1. A method of detecting on board an aircraft obstacles in a vicinity of a touchdown point, the method comprising the following operations: determining an overflight path for the aircraft to overfly the touchdown point, a horizontal projection of the overflight path comprising two arcs or segments that cross at a point of intersection close to the touchdown point; the aircraft overflying the touchdown point following the overflight path so that the aircraft performs in succession two overflights of the touchdown point following two different headings, and during the overflight, recording data delivered by an on-board rangefinder observing a portion of the space extending below the aircraft; analyzing the data from the rangefinder to detect the presence of obstacles and to determine their positions in a terrestrial frame of reference; and recording the position data of the detected obstacles in a memory, and wherein a value of an angle formed by the arcs or segments at the cross-point lies in a range from about 40° to about 140°. 2. The method according to claim 1, in which the aircraft performs only two overflights of the touchdown point. 3. The method according to claim 1, in which the value of the angle is situated in a range from about 75° to about 105°. 4. The method according to claim 3, wherein the value of the angle is about 90°. 5. The method according to claim 1, in which a horizontal projection of the overflight path includes one closed loop having the point of intersection, the loop including the crossing arcs or segments. 6. The method according to claim 5, in which an altitude of the aircraft is maintained substantially constant while overflying along the arcs or segments or the loop. 7. The method according to claim 1, in which, at least during a portion of the overflight path, an altitude of the aircraft is maintained at about 300 m or less. 8. The method according to claim 7, wherein, at least during a portion of the overflight path, the altitude of the aircraft is maintained at about 200 m or less. 9. The method according to claim 8, wherein, at least during a portion of the overflight path, the altitude of the aircraft is maintained at about 100 m or less. 10. The method according to claim 1, in which, at least during a portion of the overflight path, a speed of the aircraft is maintained at a range of about 10 m/s to about 50 m/s. 11. The method according to claim 1, in which the rangefinder has an aiming axis forming an angle relative to a vertical lying in a range from about 0° to about 45°. 12. The method according to claim 1, in which the rangefinder is a laser scanning rangefinder that is used to detect obstacles. 13. The method according to claim 1, in which the rangefinder presents an aiming axis of adjustable orientation. 14. The method according to claim 1, in which a Hough transform or a Radon transform is used for analyzing the data from the rangefinder in order to improve detection of threadlike objects comprising wires, cables, masts, or poles. 15. The method according to claim 1, in which a first symbol representative of the touchdown point and a second symbol representative of a detected obstacle that does not form part of a database are displayed on a display device together with map data relating to a region surrounding the touchdown point. 16. The method according to claim 1, in which control signals are delivered to controls of the aircraft in order to cause the aircraft to follow the overflight path. 17. The method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising analyzing the data of the rangefinder to determine dimensions of said detected obstacles and recording the dimensions in the memory. 18. A method of piloting an aircraft in a vicinity of a touchdown point, the method comprising the following operations: acquiring on board the aircraft rangefinder measurement data of a region of ground surrounding the touchdown point, while the aircraft is overflying said region following an overflight path having a horizontal projection that includes two arcs or segments that cross at a point of intersection close to the touchdown point, a value an angle formed by the arcs or segments at the cross-point lying in a range from about 40° to about 140°; analyzing said data on board the aircraft to identify, position, and then determine dimensions of relief or obstacles; recording data relating to the positions and the dimensions of the obstacles detected by the rangefinder; and after landing in the vicinity of the touchdown point, using said recorded data to determine a takeoff flight path. 19. A method of piloting an aircraft in a vicinity of a touchdown point, the method comprising the following operations: i) selecting a candidate path having a horizontal projection that comprises a closed loop having a cross-point in the vicinity of the touchdown point, the loop including two crossing arcs or segments, a value of the angle formed by the arcs or segments at the cross-point lying in a range from about 40° to about 140°; ii) associating the candidate path with an altitude chosen by an operator; iii) comparing data relating to relief of terrain and to obstacles in the vicinity of the touchdown point as recorded in an on-board memory with the candidate path associated with the altitude chosen by the operator in order to detect any interference between the relief and the candidate path; iv) in the event of such interference being detected, modifying at least one of the candidate path and the altitude chosen by the operator, and then repeating the comparison operation iii); and v) in the event that no interference is detected, detecting obstacles by determining an overflight path for the aircraft to overfly the touchdown point, a horizontal projection of the overflight path comprising two arcs or segments that cross at a point of intersection close to the touchdown point; the aircraft overflying the touchdown point following the overflight path so that the aircraft performs in succession two overflights of the touchdown point following two different headings, and during the overflight, recording data delivered by an on-board rangefinder observing a portion of the space extending below the aircraft; analyzing the data from the rangefinder to detect the presence of obstacles and to determine their positions in a terrestrial frame of reference; and recording position data of the detected obstacles in a memory, and wherein a value of an angle formed by the arcs or segments at the cross-point lies in a range from about 40° to about 140°, while selecting the candidate path as the overflight path. 20. The method according to claim 19, in which, in order to modify the candidate path, at least one of the following operations is performed: increasing or decreasing the value of the angle at the cross-point of the loop; modifying the direction of a bisector of the angle at the cross-point of the loop; increasing or decreasing a value of a span of the loop; and displacing the candidate path by rotation centered on a point close to the touchdown point. 21. The method as claimed in claim 19, further comprising analyzing the data from the rangefinder to determine dimensions of said detected obstacles and recording the dimensions in the memory. 22. A system for assisting landing and takeoff of an aircraft at a touchdown point, the system comprising: an on-board display for displaying map data and symbols representative of obstacles; an on-board database containing terrain or obstacle data; an on-board positioning instrument for determining a current position of the aircraft; an on-board memory for recording terrain or obstacle data in addition to the data in the database; an on-board rangefinder for acquiring terrain or obstacle data; and a computer connected to the display, to the database, to the positioning instrument, to the rangefinder, and to the memory, the computer being programmed to i) control overflight of the touchdown point following an overflight path having a horizontal projection comprising two arcs or segments that cross at a point of intersection close to the touchdown point, a value of an angle formed by the arcs or segments at the cross-point lying in a range from about 40° to about 140°, ii) analyze the data delivered by the rangefinder and record the analyzed data in the memory, and iii) display data extracted from the database together with at least one symbol representative of an obstacle detected by analyzing the data delivered by the rangefinder. 23. A computer readable storage medium readable by a computer of an aircraft, said computer readable storage medium tangibly embodying a computer program therein, the program serving to detect obstacles in a vicinity of a touchdown point, and comprising: a code segment for determining a path to be followed by the aircraft overflying the touchdown point, a horizontal projection of the overflight path having two arcs or segments that cross at a point of intersection close to the touchdown point, a value of an angle formed by the arcs or segments at the cross-point lying in a range from about 40° to about 140°; a code segment for acting during the overflight to record data delivered by an on-board rangefinder observing a portion of the vicinity of the touchdown point; a code segment for analyzing the data from the rangefinder, to detect a presence of obstacles and to determine their positions in a terrestrial frame of reference; and a code segment for recording detected obstacle position data in a memory. 24. The computer readable storage medium of claim 23, wherein said code segment for recording detected obstacle position data in the memory records detected obstacle dimensions in the memory. 25. The computer readable storage medium as claimed in claim 23, wherein the code segment for analyzing the data from the rangefinder determines dimensions of said obstacles; and wherein the code segment for recording detected obstacle position data in the memory records dimension data in the memory.
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이 특허에 인용된 특허 (19)
Shiomi Kakuichi,JPX ; Oda Etsuko,JPX ; Tanaka Seiichiro,JPX ; Nakaue Keiichiro,JPX, Aerodrome control support system.
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