Emergency Locator Transmitter Activation Device for Enhanced Emergency Location Performance
AssigneeThe Boeing Company
InventorsTimothy A. Murphy, Charles O. Adler, Fadl I. Khalil
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An aircraft avionics unit that enhances the emergency location capability of existing Emergency Locator Transmitters (ELTs). This aircraft avionics unit can be integrated with a wide range of existing ELTs and their existing aircraft interfaces by changes to a small number of the signal wires between the ELT and the aircraft systems and the addition of limited inputs from aircraft systems. This system requires no changes to either the current ELTs or the associated aircraft systems. The integrated system maintains the current ELT concept of operations while providing significantly enhanced ELT activation triggering with a low-impact, low-cost approach.
Claims21
A method for enhancing an emergency locator transmitter system on an aircraft, the emergency locator transmitter (ELT) system comprising an antenna, an emergency locator transmitter having a radio frequency signal port connected to the antenna, and an ELT remote panel that has a manually operable switch, the method comprising:
- (a) connecting the switch of the ELT remote panel to a first input data port of an activation/trigger device by wiring;
- and
- (b) connecting a first output data port of the activation/trigger device to an input data port of the emergency locator transmitter by wiring.
A system onboard an aircraft comprising:
- an ELT remote panel on a flight deck of the aircraft, the ELT remote panel comprising a switch;
- an antenna that is attached to an exterior of a fuselage skin of the aircraft;
- an emergency locator transmitter connected to the antenna;
- and
- an activation/trigger device connected to the switch of the ELT remote panel and to the emergency locator transmitter.
A system onboard an aircraft comprising:
- a manually operable switch incorporated in a flight deck panel;
- an antenna that is attached to an exterior of a fuselage skin of the aircraft;
- an emergency locator transmitter having a radio frequency signal port connected to the antenna;
- and
- an activation/trigger device connected to the switch of the ELT remote panel by wiring and connected to the emergency locator transmitter by wiring.
An emergency locator transmitter (ELT) activation/trigger device comprising:
- first processing means comprising ELT activation logic;
- and
- an input interface comprising first, second and third terminals and second processing means configured to output an ELT ON state signal to the ELT activation logic if an impedance between the first and third terminals is effectively zero or if an impedance between the first and second terminals is effectively zero.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.