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US4196346A Expired / Lapsed US ⏱️ 0.0 years remaining

Laser guided blind landing system for aircraft

Assignee: Individual
•
Filing: 1978-08-22
•
Granted: 1980-04-01
•
Expires: 1998-08-22
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Abstract

Abstract A laser guided blind landing system for aircraft comprising in combination: a longitudinally extending runway, a plurality of laser beam generators mounted in longitudinally spaced alignment therewith at one end thereof, said generators being positioned to direct laser beams therefrom at progressively increasing coplanar inclinations away from said runway in progressive sequence from the nearest to the furthest therefrom, thereby to produce intersecting segments of said beams in pairs of each, of least slope adjacent said runway and of greatest slope remotest therefrom, the so intersecting laser beam segments thereby forming a continuous laser aircraft glide path of gradually decreasing slope from said segment remotest from said runway to that closest thereto. Preferably all of the laser generators radiate laser beams of distinctively different wavelengths or are tone modulated at different frequencies, except for the runway approach beam which may be of wavelength in the visible spectra.

Inventors

  • 👤 Raymond J. McElhannon

Bibliographic Details

Application Number —
Jurisdiction US
Data Source google_patents
Last Synchronized 2026-10-25 01:55
CPC Classifications
B; B64; B64F; B64F1/00; B64F1/18; B64F1/20; G; G01; G01S; G01S1/00; G01S1/02; G01S1/08; G01S1/14; G01S1/18; G01S1/70; G01S1/703; G01S1/7032; G01S2201/00; G01S2201/01; G01S2201/06

Claims Analysis

Total Claims: 6
Claim 1
Independent Claim 112 words
A laser guided blind landing system for aircraft comprising in combination: a longitudinally extending runway, a plurality of laser beam generators mounted in longitudinally spaced alignment therewith at one end thereof, said generators being positioned to direct laser beams therefrom at progressively increasing coplanar inclinations away from said runway in progressive sequence from the nearest to the furthest therefrom, thereby to produce intersecting segments of said beams in pairs of each, of least slope adjacent said runway and of greatest slope remotest therefrom, the so intersecting laser beam segments thereby forming a continuous laser aircraft glide path of gradually decreasing slope from said segment remotest from said runway to that closest thereto.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim 112 words
A laser guided blind landing system for aircraft comprising in combination: a longitudinally extending runway, a plurality of laser beam generators mounted in longitudinally spaced alignment therewith at one end thereof, said generators being positioned to direct laser beams therefrom at progressively increasing coplanar inclinations away from said runway in progressive sequence from the nearest to the furthest therefrom, thereby to produce intersecting segments of said beams in pairs of each, of least slope adjacent said runway and of greatest slope remotest therefrom, the so intersecting laser beam segments thereby forming a continuous laser aircraft glide path of gradually decreasing slope from said segment remotest from said runway to that closest thereto.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim 20 words
A blind landing system according to claim 1, wherein all of said generators produce laser beams having distinctively different wavelengths.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim 28 words
A blind landing system according to claim 2, wherein said laser beam wavelengths progressively increase in the order of the nearest to the furthest from said landing strip.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim 40 words
A blind landing system according to claim 3, wherein the generator remotest from said runway radiates a laser beam of up to one centimeter and more and wherein the remaining said generators radiate laser beams of distinctively different shorter wavelengths.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim 20 words
A blind landing system according to claim 1, wherein said laser beams are tone modulated at distinctively different audio frequencies.

References Cited (Backward Citations)

US2539405A Cited
US3523664A Cited
US3784968A Cited

USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows

Annuity Stage Window Opens Payment Deadline Surcharge Period Until Estimated Fee Status
3.5 Years (Year 4) 1983-04-01 1983-10-01 1984-04-01 $2000.00 Window Closed / Lapsed
7.5 Years (Year 8) 1987-04-01 1987-10-01 1988-04-01 $3760.00 Window Closed / Lapsed
11.5 Years (Year 12) 1991-04-01 1991-10-01 1992-04-01 $7700.00 Window Closed / Lapsed

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