US 5,208,591 AGranted

Track extension for use with ATCRBS surveillance procedures

AssigneeHoneywell Inc.

InventorsKathryn W. Ybarra, Gregory T. Stayton

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Abstract

During ATCRBS surveillance procedures, a multiplicity of target aircraft are typically detected through target replies from interrogation signals. However, the nature of the target acquisition procedures are such that positive identification of the target aircraft is not available. Rather than ordering the target tracks with increasing range and correlating the target replies with tracks based on the ordering of the target tracks, the tracks are prioritized, based on confidence in the reliability of the identification of each track, into groups. An attempt to correlate the tracks of each group with the set of target replies is performed for the groups in order of decreasing priority. A target reply is assigned to a track when a correlation between a track and a target reply is determined.

Claims10

Dependent claims

A method of processing aircraft traffic target replies provided in response to interrogation signals from a monitoring aircraft for traffic in a vicinity of said monitoring aircraft, wherein positions of target aircraft traffic are represented by target reply signals in aircraft processing apparatus, said method comprising the steps of:

accumulating sets of target replies, each target reply including a time and a distance parameter, wherein said sets of target replies can include missing and inaccurate target replies;
based on a predetermined criterion for correlation between target reply parameters for a plurality of unassigned target replies, assigning unassigned correlated target replies to a target aircraft track;
based on a preselected relationship between parameters for each correlated target reply of a target aircraft track, determining a priority level for each target aircraft track;
providing an additional set of target replies along with parameters for each additional set of target replies;
assigning an unassigned additional set target reply to a target aircraft track when said additional set target reply has said predetermined criterion for correlation with target replies of said target aircraft track, wherein said assigning an unassigned additional set target reply step is performed in order of priority level of said target aircraft tracks;
accumulating unassigned additional set target replies with sets of target replies previously accumulated;
and
returning to said providing an additional set of target replies step.

5 more elements

The method of processing tracks for target aircraft in a vicinity of a surveillance aircraft, each track represented by target reply signals provided by target aircraft in response to interrogation signals by said surveillance aircraft, said method comprising the steps of:

periodically acquiring a set of target reply signals, each target reply signal indicating a position of a target aircraft relative to said surveillance aircraft, wherein a set of said target reply signals can include inaccurate target reply signals and can have missing target reply signals;
determining when a first predetermined correlation between unassigned target reply signals of different sets of target reply signals is present;
assigning each of unassigned target reply signals having said first predetermined correlation to a first group correlated track, each first group correlated track having a first level of priority;
repeating said assigning unassigned target reply signals having said first predetermined correlation for unassigned target reply signals until unassigned target reply signals no longer meet said first predetermined correlation;
performing said assigning step and said repeating step for a second predetermined correlation to provide second group correlated tracks having a second priority level;
for each new set of target reply signals, assigning an unassigned new set of target reply signals to a first group correlated track for each first group correlated track when said first predetermined correlation condition is present therebetween, said unassigned new set target signal and said first group correlated track forming an updated new first group correlated track;
after all first predetermined conditions have been identified between said unassigned new set target reply signals and said first group correlated tracks, assigning an unassigned new set target reply signal to a second group correlated track for each second group correlated track when said second predetermined correlation exists therebetween to form an updated second group correlated track;
and
returning to said assigning an unassigned new set of target reply signals step.

6 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.