Aircraft collision pilot warning indicating system

Claim 1

A passive aircraft warning system for warning a host aircraft, having a heading in an azimuthal bearing system, of the presence of an object, comprising: (a) a conventional warning flashing light having the conventional characteristics of flashing at a substantially uniform rate of approximately 50 to 150 times per minute with substantially uniform flash durations of approximately 100 to 400 microseconds positioned on said object; (b) a plurality of light detectors each providing an independent electrical output responsive to their respective light input; (c) means for positioning on said host aircraft the said plurality of light detectors such that each detector is optically shielded to view a predetermined independent sector area in relation to said azimuthal heading and said plurality of detectors provide substantially 360° panoramic light detection; (d) a plurality of electronic amplification and control channels, in one-to-one correspondence with said plurality of light detectors, each amplifier and control channel primarily responsive to said warning light characteristics substantially providing an electrical output signal only when its associated detector detects light having said warning light characteristics, and wherein each of said electronic amplification and control channels includes a comparator, a noise-averaging circuit, and a threshold adjust circuit with said noise-average circuit and said threshold adjust circuit providing input signals of opposite polarity to said comparator whereby the said comparator provides an output signal of one polarity when a warning light is detected and an output signal of the opposite polarity from averaged pulses; (e) means for inhibiting the said input of any said channel when the associated said light detector of said channel receives direct sunlight with an intensity above a predetermined value; (f) means for providing a plurality of indicators in one-to-one correspondence with said plurality of electronic and control channels for providing a respective indication responsive to the said electrical output of a respective channel; and (g) means for correlating each of the said indicators with its associated detector viewing a respective section in azimuth whereby the direction of a detected warning light is indicated.