Patents by Inventor Laurent Flotte

Laurent Flotte has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 8498755
    Abstract: A device for the coherent management of data deriving from different surveillance systems of an aircraft includes: a flight management system, the function of which is to assist the crew in following a flight plan of the aircraft and an associated trajectory; a surveillance system, the function of which is to detect any obstacles in proximity to the aircraft; a warning management system, the function of which is to detect abnormal situations and to display for the crew, where appropriate, warnings, such as potentially critical alarms or non-critical alerts, and the associated procedures to be followed when such exist; in which said flight management system, said surveillance system and said warning management system are interconnected and cooperate so that at least the warning management system has access to the flight plan of the aircraft, and is configured to display for the crew a summary of the situation when the surveillance system detects an obstacle that the aircraft should avoid according to the fligh
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 20, 2010
    Date of Patent: July 30, 2013
    Assignee: Thales
    Inventors: Gabrielle De Brito, Laurent Flotte, Gilles Francois, Fabien Guilley, Nicolas Marty
  • Publication number: 20120316705
    Abstract: The subject of the present invention is a method for processing alerts by an avionic system FWS that makes it possible to optimize the processing of these alerts without unnecessarily consuming “processor time”. The method according to the invention is characterized in that it consists in having processed, on each processing cycle of the processor of the FWS, only the operations relating to alerts for which the result has been modified since the preceding processing cycle.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 8, 2012
    Publication date: December 13, 2012
    Applicant: THALES
    Inventors: Laurent FLOTTE, Fabien GUILLEY, Nicolas VALOT
  • Publication number: 20120215436
    Abstract: The invention relates to a device for monitoring obstructions for an aircraft including data storage, an anticollision device and viewing devices, wherein the monitoring device comprises a detector to detect in real-time obstructions, of terrain type and of human constructions type, in a close environment of the aircraft in a flight situation, a sensor to identify the obstructions at risk calculating identification parameters, a circuit to calculate criticality of the obstructions, a display to display both the obstructions with the identification and criticality parameters of the obstructions, and a generator of alerts to describe the situation according to a combination of the identification and criticality parameters. One or more embodiments of the invention is a monitoring system adapted for zones close to the aircraft and in the flight zones not visible to the crew. One or more embodiments of the invention applies particularly to helicopters executing low-altitude flights.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 4, 2009
    Publication date: August 23, 2012
    Applicant: Thales
    Inventors: Laurent Flotte, Nicolas Marty, Pascal Gayraud
  • Patent number: 8249762
    Abstract: The invention relates to a device for monitoring obstructions for an aircraft including data storage, an anticollision device and viewing devices, wherein the monitoring device comprises a detector to detect in real-time obstructions, of terrain type and of human constructions type, in a close environment of the aircraft in a flight situation, a sensor to identify the obstructions at risk calculating identification parameters, a circuit to calculate criticality of the obstructions, a display to display both the obstructions with the identification and criticality parameters of the obstructions, and a generator of alerts to describe the situation according to a combination of the identification and criticality parameters. One or more embodiments of the invention is a monitoring system adapted for zones close to the aircraft and in the flight zones not visible to the crew. One or more embodiments of the invention applies particularly to helicopters executing low-altitude flights.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 4, 2009
    Date of Patent: August 21, 2012
    Assignee: Thales
    Inventors: Laurent Flotte, Nicholas Marty, Pascal Gayraud
  • Patent number: 8249799
    Abstract: The invention relates to a method of presenting zones at risk for an aircraft comprising a system of databases, a processor, an anticollision device and a viewing device, wherein to display on the viewing device the zones at risk in relation to the obstacles, the processor carries out the steps of: acquiring obstacle data, the data corresponding to obstacles situated in the aircraft's close displacement zone; calculating the risk of collision with each of the obstacles of the displacement zone; calculating the limits of the zones at risk of collision in the close displacement zone, these limits representing the positions from which the anticollision device might possibly produce collision alerts in relation to the obstacles if the aircraft were to steer towards the obstacle while maintaining the instantaneous flight parameters; and displaying the limits of zones at risk.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 8, 2009
    Date of Patent: August 21, 2012
    Assignee: Thales
    Inventors: Laurent Flotte, Nicolas Marty, Fabien Vittoz
  • Patent number: 8145365
    Abstract: The invention relates to a calculation method for an aircraft navigation aid system making it possible to maintain a vertical safety margin with an obstruction profile, the aircraft comprising a navigation system, an automatic piloting system, a database system and a display device, characterized in that the method comprises the following steps: calculation of an obstruction altitude profile, calculation of a vertical safety margin with respect to the obstruction profile, of a plurality of vertical safety trajectories and of the respective flight setpoints for the aircraft to execute the trajectories, selection of the flight setpoints making it possible to maintain the aircraft as close as possible to the obstruction profile while maintaining between the aircraft and the obstruction profile at least the vertical safety margin, filtering of the flight set point values so that the variation of the values of the setpoints does not exceed a variation difference in a duration predefined in the system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 19, 2009
    Date of Patent: March 27, 2012
    Assignee: Thales
    Inventors: Laurent Flotte, Nicolas Marty, Aurélie Sallier
  • Publication number: 20110251741
    Abstract: The invention relates to a method of alert calculation for an aircraft obstruction proximity warning system including a step for detecting a hazardous flight situation capable of triggering an alert as a function of a data signal representing the change in height below the aircraft, including, prior to the step of detection, a step for converting the data signal representing the change in height as a function of information representative of the vertical profile of the obstructions below the aircraft.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 8, 2010
    Publication date: October 13, 2011
    Applicant: THALES
    Inventors: Stéphane FLEURY, Laurent FLOTTE, Nicolas MARTY, Erick RAKOTOARISOA
  • Publication number: 20110210871
    Abstract: The invention relates to an aircraft navigational aid system with 3D display including an anti-collision device, with means of storing data representing obstructions, means for calculating a representation of the obstructions in a three-dimensional space and a device for displaying the obstructions data in three dimensions. The system includes means for augmenting the display of the representation of the area of hazardous obstructions with at least two indicator objects for the said area of hazardous obstructions disposed together in such a manner as to form a third object targeting the localization of the point in the area of hazardous obstructions closest to the aircraft. The invention also relates to the method of display of the indicator objects in a three-dimensional display.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 27, 2010
    Publication date: September 1, 2011
    Applicant: Thales
    Inventors: Laurent Flotte, Gabrielle De Brito, Christian Nouvel, Nicolas Marty
  • Publication number: 20110153212
    Abstract: A device for the coherent management of data deriving from different surveillance systems of an aircraft includes: a flight management system, the function of which is to assist the crew in following a flight plan of the aircraft and an associated trajectory; a surveillance system, the function of which is to detect any obstacles in proximity to the aircraft; a warning management system, the function of which is to detect abnormal situations and to display for the crew, where appropriate, warnings, such as potentially critical alarms or non-critical alerts, and the associated procedures to be followed when such exist; in which said flight management system, said surveillance system and said warning management system are interconnected and cooperate so that at least the warning management system has access to the flight plan of the aircraft, and is configured to display for the crew a summary of the situation when the surveillance system detects an obstacle that the aircraft should avoid according to the fligh
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 20, 2010
    Publication date: June 23, 2011
    Applicant: THALES
    Inventors: Gabrielle DE BRITO, Laurent FLOTTE, Gilles FRANCOIS, Fabien GUILLEY, Nicolas MARTY
  • Publication number: 20100318295
    Abstract: A method of displaying, for a system for anti-collision monitoring of an aircraft, the limits of flight margins in relation to obstructions located in a flight zone, and a device for displaying the limits of operational flight margins and the limits of alert zones, is provided. The operational flight margins in the flight zones not initially envisaged, and the limits of the alert zones around the trajectory of the aircraft, are presented.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 14, 2010
    Publication date: December 16, 2010
    Applicant: THALES
    Inventors: Laurent Flotte, Nicolas Marty, Eric Laurent
  • Publication number: 20100106419
    Abstract: The invention relates to a method of presenting zones at risk for an aircraft comprising a system of databases, a processor, an anticollision device and a viewing device, wherein to display on the viewing device the zones at risk in relation to the obstacles, the processor carries out the steps of: acquiring obstacle data, the data corresponding to obstacles situated in the aircraft's close displacement zone; calculating the risk of collision with each of the obstacles of the displacement zone; calculating the limits of the zones at risk of collision in the close displacement zone, these limits representing the positions from which the anticollision device might possibly produce collision alerts in relation to the obstacles if the aircraft were to steer towards the obstacle while maintaining the instantaneous flight parameters; and displaying the limits of zones at risk.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 8, 2009
    Publication date: April 29, 2010
    Applicant: Thales
    Inventors: Laurent Flotte, Nicolas Marty, Fabien Vittoz
  • Publication number: 20100004801
    Abstract: The invention relates to a calculation method for an aircraft navigation aid system making it possible to maintain a vertical safety margin with an obstruction profile, the aircraft comprising a navigation system, an automatic piloting system, a database system and a display device, characterized in that the method comprises the following steps: calculation of an obstruction altitude profile, calculation of a vertical safety margin with respect to the obstruction profile, of a plurality of vertical safety trajectories and of the respective flight setpoints for the aircraft to execute the trajectories, selection of the flight setpoints making it possible to maintain the aircraft as close as possible to the obstruction profile while maintaining between the aircraft and the obstruction profile at least the vertical safety margin, filtering of the flight set point values so that the variation of the values of the setpoints does not exceed a variation difference in a duration predefined in the system.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 19, 2009
    Publication date: January 7, 2010
    Applicant: Thales
    Inventors: Laurent Flotte, Nicolas Marty, Aurelie Sallier