Patent ID: 9076326
Filing Date: 2015-07-07
Classification: G08G

Abstract:
1. A system for traffic prioritization of surrounding air traffic on a display onboard an aircraft, the display being associated with a user input device that receives user input with respect to the display, wherein the user input designates a reference point relative to the aircraft, the system comprising: a traffic data source configured to supply surrounding traffic data, the surrounding traffic data including at least a range of the surrounding air traffic relative to the aircraft and a vertical speed of the surrounding air traffic; a traffic control module coupled to the traffic data source, the traffic control module receiving the user input and the surrounding traffic data, the traffic control module, configured, in response to receipt of the user input and the surrounding traffic data, to: (a) generate a prioritization zone based on the user input such that the prioritization zone is within a predetermined range of distance from the aircraft and centered around a reference line from the aircraft to the reference point, (b) generate a first set of traffic data that includes the surrounding traffic data within the prioritization zone, (c) generate a ranked list of air traffic within the prioritization zone, the air traffic in the list ranked based upon angular proximity to the reference line, the ranked list representing a plurality of priorities corresponding to a plurality of angular proximity segments, of a plurality of aircraft comprising the air traffic in the ranked list as a preceding aircraft, and (d) generate a second set of traffic data that includes the surrounding air traffic outside of the prioritization zone listed in received sequence; and a graphical user interface manager control module coupled to the traffic control module and configured to output a graphical user interface, for display on the display, that includes the ranked list and the second set of traffic data.