Method and device for generating a speed profile for an aircraft during a taxiing

1. A method for aiding the piloting of an aircraft, comprising:

generating a speed profile which is associated with a ground rolling trajectory of the aircraft on an airport domain by carrying out the following steps:

a) receiving said ground rolling trajectory which comprises a series of successive elements of the airport domain, each element representing a distinct and delimited part of said airport domain;

b) entering, by an operator, first constraints relating to rolling of the aircraft on the airport domain;

c) automatically determining, for each of said elements of said ground rolling trajectory, a plurality of values of maximum speed by taking account of said first constraints, and automatically selecting a minimum value from among said plurality of values of maximum speed as a maximum speed associated with the corresponding element;

d) entering, by an operator, second constraints relating to the rolling of the aircraft on the airport domain, and which comprise at least time constraints, load factor constraints and jerk constraints;

e) automatically determining said speed profile which is suited to each element of the ground rolling trajectory and which complies with a set of the maximum speeds and second constraints by taking account of the maximum speeds automatically selected in step c) and of said second constraints, said speed profile providing a variation of longitudinal speed as a function of the time which elapses during the rolling of the aircraft along said ground rolling trajectory; and

f) providing the automatically determined speed profile to a pilot aiding unit; and

said pilot aiding unit using the provided speed profile to aid the piloting of the aircraft,

wherein step c) further comprises adjusting said maximum speed for at least one of the elements of the ground rolling trajectory, as a function of required accelerations and decelerations, and

wherein the adjusting of said maximum speed comprises:

if the length corresponding to the at least one element is not sufficient to attain a speed below the maximum speed corresponding to the at least one element during deceleration, adjusting the set of maximum speeds, beginning with a maximum seed at the end of the ground rolling trajectory and backtracking to the at least one element, and

if the length corresponding to the at least one element is not sufficient to attain a speed above the maximum speed corresponding to the at least one element during acceleration, adjusting the set of maximum speeds, beginning with the maximum speed at the at least one element and going through the maximum speed at the end of the ground rolling trajectory.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein step e) further comprises configuring said speed profile so as to obtain a longitudinal speed variation as a function of the position (s) of the aircraft, which is expressed in the form of a normed curvilinear abscissa, along said ground rolling trajectory.

3. The method as claimed in claim 1 ,

wherein step c) further comprises automatically selecting a speed which is a minimum from among at least said following speeds as the maximum speed associated with the corresponding element of the ground rolling trajectory:

an admissible maximum speed while turning so as to ensure comfort of passengers of the aircraft;

a maximum yaw rate that is supported by the aircraft;

a regulatory speed in a straight line;

a regulatory speed while turning;

a maximum speed complying with admissible load limits on various landing gear of the aircraft; and

a maximum speed dependent on a grip of tires of the aircraft.

4. The method as claimed in claim 1 ,

wherein step e) further comprises, for each element of the ground rolling trajectory:

determining switching times which define time intervals, during which a given equation is considered;

calculating speed variations between the various successive switching times; and

constructing the speed profile corresponding to the element of the ground rolling trajectory, taking account of said speed variations and said switching times.

5. The method as claimed in claim 1 ,

wherein step e) further comprises taking into account at least one time constraint to determine said speed profile, the at least one time constraint defining a particular time at which the aircraft passes a particular point of said ground rolling trajectory.

6. The method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein step e) further comprises taking into account a response time of engines of the aircraft, following a speed control, to determine said speed profile.

7. The method as claimed in claim 1 , further comprising predicting at least one of the following predictions for said ground rolling trajectory:

a prediction of travel time;

a prediction of distance traveled; and

a prediction of energy stored in brakes of the aircraft, as well as a temperature at a destination.

8. A method for aiding the piloting of an aircraft, comprising:

generating a speed profile which is associated with a ground rolling trajectory of the aircraft on an airport domain by carrying out the following steps:

a) receiving said ground rolling trajectory which comprises a series of successive elements of the airport domain, each element representing a distinct and delimited part of said airport domain;

b) entering, by an operator, first constraints relating to rolling of the aircraft on the airport domain;

c) automatically determining, for each of said elements of said ground rolling trajectory, a plurality of values of maximum speed by taking account of said first constraints, and automatically selecting a minimum value from among said plurality of values of maximum speed as a maximum speed associated with the corresponding element;

d) entering, by an operator, second constraints relating to the rolling of the aircraft on the airport domain, and which comprise at least time constraints, load factor constraints and jerk constraints;

e) automatically determining said speed profile which is suited to each element of the ground rolling trajectory and which complies with a set of the maximum speeds and second constraints by taking account of the maximum speeds automatically selected in step c) and of said second constraints said speed profile providing a variation of longitudinal speed as a function of the time which elapses during the rolling of the aircraft along said ground rolling trajectory; and

f) providing the automatically determined speed profile to a pilot aiding unit; and

said pilot aiding unit using the provided speed profile to aid the piloting of the aircraft,

wherein step c) further comprises adjusting said maximum speed for at least one of the elements of the ground rolling trajectory, as a function of required accelerations and decelerations, and

wherein the adjusting of said maximum speed comprises:

if the length corresponding to the at least one element is not sufficient to attain a speed below the maximum speed corresponding to the at least one element during deceleration, adjusting the set of maximum speeds, beginning with a maximum speed at the end of the ground rolling trajectory and backtracking to the at least one element, and

if the length corresponding to the at least one element is not sufficient to attain a speed above the maximum speed corresponding to the at least one element during acceleration, adjusting the set of maximum speeds, beginning with the maximum speed at the at least one element and going through the maximum speed at the end of the ground rolling trajectory, and

wherein step e) further comprises, in the absence of a time constraint, taking into account a cost index to determine said speed profile, said cost index making a compromise between a maximum speed on each element of the ground rolling trajectory and a limitation of use of engines and brakes of the aircraft.

9. The method as claimed in claim 8 , wherein:

the cost index comprises a value between 0, which corresponds to a minimum use of actuators, and 1, which corresponds to a minimum occupancy time of a taxiway;

when the value is 0, the method further comprises calculating switching times such that at the end of deceleration, the aircraft is exactly at the end of the last element of the ground rolling trajectory; and

when the value is 1, the method further comprises directly attaining a maximum speed of a final plateau by an acceleration or a deceleration, without constructing a complete type profile.

10. The method as claimed in claim 8 , wherein:

the cost index comprises a value between 0, which corresponds to a minimum use of actuators, and 1, which corresponds to a minimum occupancy time of a taxiway;

when the value is 1, the method further comprises keeping an admissible speed envelope unchanged, such that the speed profile to be followed fulfills the admissible speed envelope precisely; and

when the value is 0, the method further comprises modifying the admissible speed envelope so as to limit the use of the actuators.

11. A system for aiding the piloting of an aircraft, said system comprising:

a device for generating a speed profile which is associated with a ground rolling trajectory of the aircraft on an airport domain, said device comprising:

a trajectory receiving unit for receiving said ground rolling trajectory which comprises a series of successive elements of the airport domain, each element representing a distinct and delimited part of said airport domain;

a first input unit configured to enable an operator to input first constraints relating to rolling of the aircraft on the airport domain;

a maximum speed determining unit for automatically determining, for each of said elements of said ground rolling trajectory, a plurality of values of maximum speed by taking account of said input first constraints, and for automatically selecting, as a maximum speed associated with each corresponding element, a minimum value from among said plurality of values of maximum speed;

a second input unit configured to enable the operator to input second constraints relating to the rolling of the aircraft on the airport domain, said second constraints comprising at least time constraints, load factor constraints and jerk constraints;

a speed profile determining unit for automatically determining, by taking account of said maximum speeds and of said second constraints, said speed profile which is suited to each element of the trajectory and which complies with a set of the maximum speeds and second constraints, said speed profile providing a variation of longitudinal speed as a function of time which elapses during the rolling of the aircraft along said ground rolling trajectory; and

a speed profile transmitting unit for transmitting the automatically determined speed profile to a pilot aiding unit; wherein

said pilot aiding unit uses said speed profile received from said device, to aid the piloting of the aircraft, and

wherein the maximum speed determining unit further adjusts said maximum speed for at least one of the elements of the ground rolling trajectory, as a function of required accelerations and decelerations, such that:

if the length corresponding to the at least one element is not sufficient to attain a speed below the maximum speed corresponding to the at least one element during deceleration, the maximum speed determining unit adjusts the set of maximum speeds, beginning with a maximum speed at the end of the ground rolling trajectory and backtracking to the at least one element, and

if the length corresponding to the at least one element is not sufficient to attain a speed above the maximum speed corresponding to the at least one element during acceleration, the maximum speed determining unit adjusts the set of maximum speeds, beginning with the maximum speed at the at least one element and going through the maximum speed at the end of the ground rolling trajectory.