Reactive windshear warning instrument
AssigneeSundstrand Data Control, Inc.
InventorCharles D. Bateman
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An instrument (10) is disclosed for an aircraft having a windshear warning system to vary the threshold alarm setting as a function of a thermodynamic property of the air and as a function of local geographic and seasonal conditions. Specifically, a function generator 16 and other circuitry is disclosed. The output from the function generator 16 and other circuitry is then added to a fixed threshold acceleration signal to produce a threshold alarm signal which has a value that is a function of the temperature of the air, in a basic embodiment.
Claims13
In an aircraft having means for providing a signal representative of a windshear condition;
- means for providing a temperature signal representative of the temperature of the air through which the aircraft is flying and the rate of change of the temperature representative signal;
- and means for providing a warning in the event that the signal representative of a windshear condition exceeds a threshold signal, the improvement comprising:
- threshold setting means for decreasing the value of the threshold signal when the rate of change of the temperature representative signal is decreasing. further including means for providing a signal representative of the time and date;
- and means for biasing said threshold setting means to lower said threshold signal for predetermined ranges of times and dates.
An instrument for an aircraft, having a source of signals representative of the temperature of the air, means responsive to flight path parameters for producing a signal representative of a windshear condition and means for producing a warning signal when said windshear representative signal exceeds a predetermined threshold signal, the improvement comprising:
- (a) rate means responsive to the air temperature representative signal for producing a rate signal representative of the rate of change of the temperature of the air;
- (b) combining means for combining said rate signal and said predetermined threshold signal and generating a variable threshold signal before said predetermined threshold signal for a predetermined range of rate signals;
- and
- (c) means for comparing said variable threshold signal to said windshear signal and for producing a warning in the event that said variable threshold signal is exceeded further including means for providing a signal representative of the time and date;
- and means for biasing said warning signal to lower said predetermined threshold signal for predetermined ranges of times and dates.
A method for enhancing the sensitivity of a windshear warning, wherein a warning signal is generated when a signal representative of a windshear conditions exceeds a threshold value;
- the improvement comprising the steps of:
- (a) producing a signal whose value is representative of the air temperature of the air in the flight path of the aircraft;
- (b) producing a rate signal whose value is representative of the rate of change of said air temperature;
- (c) generating a first signal whose value is a function of said signal representative of said air temperature;
- (d) generating a second signal whose value is a function of said rate signal;
- (e) adding said first signal and said second signal and said threshold value to produce a comparison signal;
- and
- (f) producing a warning in the event that the value of said windshear condition signal exceeds said comparison signal;
- further including means for providing a signal representative of the time and date;
- and means for biasing said warning signal to lower said threshold value for predetermined ranges of times and dates.
An aircraft instrument having means for providing a signal representative of a windshear condition and means for providing a warning in the event that the windshear representative signal exceeds a predetermined threshold signal, wherein said threshold signal is based on the geographic position of the aircraft, the improvement comprising:
- (a) means for providing a temperature signal representative of the temperature of the air through which the aircraft is flying;
- (b) means for providing a warning in the event that said signal representative of a windshear condition exceeds a threshold condition;
- and
- (c) threshold setting means for lowering the value of said threshold condition when said temperature is in a predetermined range further including means for providing a signal representative of the time and date;
- and means for biasing said threshold setting means to lower said threshold condition for predetermined ranges of times and dates.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.