Collision avoidance apparatus

Claim 1

Apparatus for assessing maneuvers of a first vehicle to avoid collision with other vehicles comprising sensing means for providing signals representative of the positions and velocities of the first vehicle and the other vehicles, computing means responsive to said signals for computing closed regions respectively associated with said other vehicles, which regions if avoided by said first vehicle assure that said first vehicle will not pass closer to said other vehicles than a predetermined distance for all relative positions and velocities thereof, the periphery of each of said regions being defined by lines joining the following points: the point at which said first vehicle would be at said predetermined distance (CPA) from the other vehicle in question when on a heading to cause the other vehicle to pass ahead (ahead CPA point); the possible point of collision (PPC) of said first vehicle and the other vehicle in question based on the present speeds of the two vehicles and the present heading of the other vehicle; the point at which said first vehicle would be at said predetermined distance (CPA) from the other vehicle in question when on a heading to cause the other vehicle to pass astern (astern CPA point); and the points of intersection of a line parallel to the heading of the other vehicle in question, and spaced from it by said predetermined distance (CPA) on the side nearest to said first vehicle, with said astern and ahead headings of said first vehicle, said computing means comprising means for computing said lines, and display means coupled to said computing means for displaying said regions relative to the position of said first vehicle, said display means comprising means for displaying said lines, thereby providing indicia to assess maneuvers of said first vehicle to avoid collision with said other vehicles.