초록 ▼

A system includes an aircraft radar system configured to perform at least one radar scan of a specific region and receives airborne radar return data from the at least one radar scan. The aircraft radar system transmits the airborne radar return data to a weather system via a wireless communication

A system includes an aircraft radar system configured to perform at least one radar scan of a specific region and receives airborne radar return data from the at least one radar scan. The aircraft radar system transmits the airborne radar return data to a weather system via a wireless communication link for supplementing the ground based radar return data with the airborne radar return data.

대표청구항 ▼

1. A system, comprising: a weather system;an aircraft radar system performing at least one first airborne radar scan of a specific region and receiving airborne radar return data from the at least one first airborne radar scan, the aircraft radar system transmitting the airborne radar return data to

1. A system, comprising: a weather system;an aircraft radar system performing at least one first airborne radar scan of a specific region and receiving airborne radar return data from the at least one first airborne radar scan, the aircraft radar system transmitting the airborne radar return data to the weather system via a wireless communication link for supplementing ground based radar return data with the airborne radar return data, wherein the aircraft radar system includes a database of gaps of radar coverage associated with ground based radar systems, wherein the aircraft radar system automatically performs second airborne radar scans at locations associated with the gaps of radar coverage in the database along a flight path of aircraft and provides data from the second airborne radar scans; andwherein the weather system is configured to receive the ground based radar return data and to generate a first command for directing a second airborne radar scan, the second airborne radar scan being directed to at least one gap in radar coverage associated with ground based radar return data. 2. The system of claim 1, wherein the weather system generates a second command for directing a third airborne radar scan, the third airborne radar scan being directed to a region of interest. 3. The system of claim 2, wherein the region of interest comprises at least one of a potential convective region, a potential severe storm, a potential turbulence region, a potential high icing region, a flight corridor, and an adjacent flight corridor. 4. The radar system of claim 2, wherein the at least one gap in radar coverage associated with ground based radar return data comprises a gap in airborne radar coverage due to attenuation or limited visibility. 5. The system of claim 2, wherein the at least one gap and the region of interest are predetermined by the weather system prior to any aircraft taking off, and wherein any radar return data received by the weather system that is not in the gap or the region of interest is not used by the weather system. 6. The system of claim 2, wherein the weather system generates a plurality of commands for transmission to a plurality of aircraft, each of the plurality of commands directing the respective aircraft to perform the at least one first airborne radar scan of the specific region and provide respective airborne radar return data to the weather system. 7. The system of claim 2, wherein the weather system generates at least one of a radar map, a weather threat assessment, and a weather alert based on the ground based radar return data and airborne radar return data. 8. The system of claim 7, wherein the weather system provides the at least one of a radar map, a weather threat assessment, and a weather alert to one or more aircraft or ground stations. 9. The system of claim 2, wherein the weather system is located on the ground, is located on the same aircraft as the aircraft radar system, or is located on another aircraft. 10. The system of claim 2, wherein the airborne radar return data received by the weather system is used to refine a weather assessment or derive a forecast. 11. The system of claim 1, wherein the aircraft radar system provides the airborne radar return data to an electronic display for use by the flight crew. 12. The system of claim 1, wherein the aircraft radar system further provides the airborne radar return data to at least one other aircraft. 13. A method for supplementing ground based radar return data with airborne radar return data, comprising: receiving the ground based radar return data at a weather system;generating a first command using the weather system for directing at least one first airborne radar scan of a specific region;generating a second command for directing a second airborne radar scan, the second airborne radar scan being directed to at least one gap in radar coverage associated with the ground based radar return data;transmitting the first and the second command from the weather system to at least one aircraft via a wireless communication link;automatically onboard the aircraft directing a third airborne radar scan of at least one gap stored in an aircraft database of gaps of ground based radar coverage;receiving airborne radar return data at one or more aircraft radar systems from the at least one first airborne radar scan of the specific region, the second airborne radar scan, and the third airborne radar scan;receiving the airborne radar return data from one or more aircraft radar systems at the weather system via the wireless communication link; andsupplementing the ground based radar return data with the airborne radar return data using the weather system. 14. The method of claim 13, wherein the weather system generates a third command for directing a fourth airborne radar scan, the fourth airborne radar scan being directed to a region of interest. 15. The method of claim 14, wherein the region of interest comprises at least one of a potential convective region, a potential severe storm, a potential turbulence region, a potential high icing region, a flight corridor, and an adjacent flight corridor. 16. The method of claim 13, further comprising: generating a plurality of commands at the weather system;transmitting the plurality of commands to a plurality of aircraft for performing at least one first airborne radar scan each of the plurality of aircraft of the specific region using each of the plurality of aircraft; andreceiving respective airborne radar return data to the weather system from each of the plurality of aircraft. 17. The method of claim 13, further comprising: generating at least one of a radar map, a weather threat assessment, and a weather alert using the weather system and based on the ground based radar return data and the airborne radar return data. 18. The method of claim 17, further comprising: providing the at least one of a radar map, a weather threat assessment, and a weather alert from the weather system to one or more aircraft or ground stations. 19. The method of claim 13, further comprising: refining a weather assessment or deriving a forecast using the weather system in response to the received airborne radar return data. 20. An aircraft radar system, comprising: means for receiving ground based radar return data at a weather system;means for generating a first command using the weather system for directing at least one first airborne radar scan of a specific region;means for generating a second command to direct the aircraft radar system to perform a second airborne radar scan of a gap in radar coverage associated with the ground based radar return data and a third airborne radar scan of a region of interest;means for transmitting the first and the second command from the weather system to an aircraft via a wireless communication link;means for performing the at least one first airborne radar scan of the specific region and the second airborne radar scan of the gap in radar coverage, the third airborne radar scan of the region of interest using an aircraft radar system, and automatically performing a fourth airborne radar scan of a gap in radar coverage associated with the ground-based radar return data stored in a database on the aircraft when the aircraft radar system is near the gap stored in the database;means for receiving airborne radar return data at the aircraft radar system from the at least one first airborne radar scan, the second airborne radar scan, the third airborne radar scan and the fourth airborne radar scan;means for transmitting the airborne radar return data from the aircraft radar system to the weather system via the wireless communication link; andmeans for supplementing the ground based radar return data with the airborne radar return data using the weather system.