Patent ID: 9297895
Filing Date: 2016-03-29
CPC Classification: G01S,G08G

Claim Text:
1. A method for estimating an In-Trail procedure (ITP) altitude change by an ITP aircraft in an airspace occupied by a plurality of other aircraft that broadcast automatic dependent surveillance broadcast (ADS-B) information, wherein the ADS-B information comprises at least current location, bearing, altitude, and airspeed of the broadcasting plurality of other aircraft, the method comprising: receiving information corresponding to a desired ITP altitude for the ITP aircraft; receiving at the ITP aircraft the broadcast ADS-B information for each one of the plurality of other aircraft; estimating over a projected window period at least locations of the plurality of other aircraft based on the received ADS-B information, wherein the projected window period corresponds to a period of time during which a crew of the ITP aircraft desires to transition to the desired ITP altitude; estimating multiple ITP maneuver opportunity windows based on the estimated location of each aircraft of the plurality of other aircraft and based on a current airspeed and a current altitude of the ITP aircraft, wherein the ITP aircraft reaches the desired ITP altitude at the completion of two or more ITP maneuvers, and wherein each of the multiple ITP maneuver opportunity windows defines at least a soonest time for the ITP aircraft to initiate an ITP maneuver of the two or more ITP maneuvers and a latest time for the ITP aircraft to initiate the same ITP maneuver; and generating a graphical display that presents an ITP maneuver opportunity window icon for each of the multiple ITP maneuver opportunity windows, wherein the ITP maneuver opportunity window icon graphically indicates at least the soonest time and the latest time for the ITP aircraft to initiate the ITP maneuver associated with the ITP maneuver opportunity window icon.