Aircraft surveillance and recording system
US5742336A · kind A · utility
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Dec 16, 1996 |
| Grant date | Apr 21, 1998 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Dec 16, 2016 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH04N7/181
- WIPO fieldAudio-visual technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
An aircraft surveillance and recording system adapted to monitor conditions prevailing in the course of a flight and provided for this purpose with video cameras placed at different sites on the plane. The output signals yielded by the video cameras are fed to an on-board radio-frequency transmitter to modulate a radio-frequency carrier that is radiated from the plane and intercepted by an active communication satellite. The satellite relays the signals to a ground recording station whose stored recording of the real time images from the cameras is available to investigators should an accident or other incident occur in the course of the flight. The system includes at least four video cameras, the first of which has an audio function and is trained on the flight crew in the cockpit of the plane. The second video camera is focused on the instrument panel and controls in the cockpit. The third camera which has an audio function looks into the passenger cabin, while the fourth camera is mounted on top of the aircraft rudder to observe exterior surface control movements, such as those of flaps, ailerons and elevators.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.