US6859694B2
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
System and method for proxy filing and closing of flight plans
Assignee: Airbnb Inc
•
Filing: 2003-01-23
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Granted: 2005-02-22
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Expires: 2023-01-23
Abstract
Abstract The present invention provides a system and method for filing and closing of flight plans. With the present invention, a computing device is provided that includes a flight plan filing device that is capable of electronically transmitting a flight plan to an airport server. The flight plan filing device provides an electronic form, such as an electronic version of FAA Form 7233-1, which may receive input from a user, such as a pilot of an aircraft. The completed electronic form is then transmitted to an airport server which forwards the form to a regulatory agency server which assigns a transponder code to the flight plan and stores the flight plan in association with the transponder code. The airport server further monitors for transponder signals of aircraft within a predetermined distance of the airport. When the airport server receives a transponder signal, the airport server determines whether the aircraft has landed based on the altitude indicated in the transponder signal. If the aircraft has landed, the airport server attempts to close a flight plan associated with the transponder code sent in the transponder signal by sending a close flight plan message to the regulatory agency server.
Inventors
- 👤 James Neal Andrews
- 👤 David Bruce Kumhyr
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-06 16:26
CPC Classifications
G; G08; G08G; G08G5/00; G08G5/20; G08G5/26; G08G5/30; G08G5/34; G08G5/70; G08G5/72; G08G5/727; Y; Y10; Y10S; Y10S707/00; Y10S707/99931; Y10S707/99933; Y10S707/99934; Y10S707/99941; Y10S707/99944; Y10S707/99945
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 38
Claim 1
Independent Claim
68 words
A method, in a data processing system, for handling flight plans, comprising: receiving an electronic flight plan from a first computing device associated with an aircraft; transmitting the electronic flight plan to a second computing device associated with a regulatory agency responsible for tracking flight plans; and receiving a first confirmation of filing of the electronic flight plan from the second computing device associated with the regulatory agency.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
68 words
A method, in a data processing system, for handling flight plans, comprising: receiving an electronic flight plan from a first computing device associated with an aircraft; transmitting the electronic flight plan to a second computing device associated with a regulatory agency responsible for tracking flight plans; and receiving a first confirmation of filing of the electronic flight plan from the second computing device associated with the regulatory agency.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
28 words
The method of claim 1 , further comprising: transmitting a second confirmation of filing of the electronic flight plan to the first computing device associated with the aircraft.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
27 words
The method of claim 2 , wherein the first confirmation and the second confirmation include an identification of a transponder code assigned to the electronic flight plan.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
26 words
The method of claim 1 , wherein the electronic flight plan is an electronic form having input to fields of the form provided by a user.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
27 words
The method of claim 1 , wherein the electronic flight plan is received from the first computing device associated with the aircraft via a local wireless network.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
33 words
The method of claim 5 , wherein the local wireless network includes at least one of a Bluetooth network, an infrared communication network, a packet radio communication network, and a cellular communication network.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
19 words
The method of claim 1 , wherein the electronic flight plan is an electronic version of FAA Form 7233-1.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
49 words
The method of claim 1 , wherein the electronic flight plan is received by the second computing device associated with the regulatory agency, the second computing device assigns the transponder code to the electronic flight plan, and stores the electronic flight plan in association with the assigned transponder code.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
22 words
The method of claim 3 , wherein the first computing device automatically sets a transponder of the aircraft to the transponder code.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
53 words
The method of claim 1 , further comprising: receiving a transponder signal from an aircraft transponder; determining if the aircraft has landed based on the transponder signal; and sending a request to close a flight plan associated with the aircraft to the second computing device if the aircraft is determined to have landed.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
26 words
The method of claim 10 , further comprising: receiving a response from the second computing device indicating whether the flight plan has been closed or not.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
35 words
The method of claim 11 , wherein if the response includes an indication that the flight plan has not been closed, the response further includes a reason why the flight plan could not be closed.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
26 words
The method of claim 11 , further comprising: transmitting a message to the first computing device based on the response received from the second computing device.
Claim 15
Independent Claim
94 words
A system for handling flight plans, comprising: a first computing device associated with an aircraft; and a second computing device associated with an airport coupled to the first computing device via a local wireless communication network, wherein the second computing device receives an electronic flight plan from the first computing device and transmits the electronic flight plan to a third computing device associated with a regulatory agency, and wherein the second computing device receives a first confirmation of filing of the electronic flight plan from the third computing device associated with the regulatory agency.
Claim 16
Independent Claim
94 words
A system for handling flight plans, comprising: a first computing device associated with an aircraft; and a second computing device associated with an airport coupled to the first computing device via a local wireless communication network, wherein the second computing device receives an electronic flight plan from the first computing device and transmits the electronic flight plan to a third computing device associated with a regulatory agency, and wherein the second computing device receives a first confirmation of filing of the electronic flight plan from the third computing device associated with the regulatory agency.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
31 words
The system of claim 14 , wherein the second computing device transmits a second confirmation of filing of the electronic flight plan to the first computing device associated with the aircraft.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
27 words
The system of claim 15 , wherein the first confirmation and the second confirmation include an identification of a transponder code assigned to the electronic flight plan.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
26 words
The system of claim 14 , wherein the electronic flight plan is an electronic form having input to fields of the form provided by a user.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
33 words
The system of claim 14 , wherein the local wireless network includes at least one of a Bluetooth network, an infrared communication network, a packet radio communication network, and a cellular communication network.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
22 words
The system of claim 16 , wherein the first computing device automatically sets a transponder of the aircraft to the transponder code.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
56 words
The system of claim 14 , wherein the second computing device receives a transponder signal from an aircraft transponder, determines if the aircraft has landed based on the transponder signal, and sends a request to close a flight plan associated with the aircraft to the third computing device if the aircraft is determined to have landed.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
53 words
The system of claim 20 , wherein the second computing device receives a response from the third computing device indicating whether the flight plan has been closed or not, and wherein the second computing device transmits a message to the first computing device based on the response received from the second computing device.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
35 words
The system of claim 21 , wherein if the response includes an indication that the flight plan has not been closed, the response further includes a reason why the flight plan could not be closed.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
79 words
A computer program product in a computer readable medium for handling flight plans, comprising: first instructions for receiving an electronic flight plan from a first computing device associated with an aircraft; second instructions for transmitting the electronic flight plan to a second computing device associated with a regulatory agency responsible for tracking flight plans; and third instructions for receiving a first confirmation of filing of the electronic flight plan from the second computing device associated with the regulatory agency.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
79 words
A computer program product in a computer readable medium for handling flight plans, comprising: first instructions for receiving an electronic flight plan from a first computing device associated with an aircraft; second instructions for transmitting the electronic flight plan to a second computing device associated with a regulatory agency responsible for tracking flight plans; and third instructions for receiving a first confirmation of filing of the electronic flight plan from the second computing device associated with the regulatory agency.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
59 words
A computer program product in a computer readable medium for filing a flight plan, comprising: first instructions for generating an electronic flight plan form; second instructions for receiving input to the electronic flight plan form to thereby generate a completed electronic flight plan form; and third instructions for transmitting the completed electronic flight plan form to an airport server.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
59 words
A computer program product in a computer readable medium for filing a flight plan, comprising: first instructions for generating an electronic flight plan form; second instructions for receiving input to the electronic flight plan form to thereby generate a completed electronic flight plan form; and third instructions for transmitting the completed electronic flight plan form to an airport server.
Claim 29
Independent Claim
47 words
A method, in a data processing system, for filing a flight plan, comprising: generating an electronic flight plan form; receiving input to the electronic flight plan form to thereby generate a completed flight plan form; and transmitting the completed electronic flight plan form to an airport server.
Claim 30
Independent Claim
47 words
A method, in a data processing system, for filing a flight plan, comprising: generating an electronic flight plan form; receiving input to the electronic flight plan form to thereby generate a completed flight plan form; and transmitting the completed electronic flight plan form to an airport server.
Claim 31
Dependent Claim
33 words
The method of claim 25 , wherein the method is implemented in one of an on board computer of an aircraft, a portable computing device, a laptop computer, and a personal digital assistant.
Claim 32
Independent Claim
57 words
A method, in a data processing system, of closing a flight plan, comprising: receiving a transponder signal from a transponder of an aircraft; determining if the aircraft has landed based on the transponder signal; and sending a request to a regulatory agency computing device to close a flight plan if the aircraft is determined to have landed.
Claim 33
Independent Claim
57 words
A method, in a data processing system, of closing a flight plan, comprising: receiving a transponder signal from a transponder of an aircraft; determining if the aircraft has landed based on the transponder signal; and sending a request to a regulatory agency computing device to close a flight plan if the aircraft is determined to have landed.
Claim 34
Independent Claim
94 words
A method, in a data processing system, of closing a flight plan, comprising: receiving a request to close a flight plan, the request including an identification of a transponder code associated with the flight plan and an identification of an airport at which the aircraft is present; comparing the transponder code to stored flight plan information; determining if a flight plan associated with the transponder code exits in the stored flight plan information; and attempting to close the flight plan associated with the transponder code if it exists in the stored flight plan information.
Claim 35
Independent Claim
94 words
A method, in a data processing system, of closing a flight plan, comprising: receiving a request to close a flight plan, the request including an identification of a transponder code associated with the flight plan and an identification of an airport at which the aircraft is present; comparing the transponder code to stored flight plan information; determining if a flight plan associated with the transponder code exits in the stored flight plan information; and attempting to close the flight plan associated with the transponder code if it exists in the stored flight plan information.
Claim 36
Dependent Claim
50 words
The method of claim 28 , wherein attempting to close the flight plan includes: determining if the identification of the airport corresponds to a destination identified in the flight plan; and closing the flight plan if the identification of the airport corresponds to a destination identified in the flight plan.
Claim 37
Dependent Claim
30 words
The method of claim 29 , wherein if the identification of the airport does not correspond to a destination identified in the flight plan, the flight plan is not closed.
Claim 38
Dependent Claim
56 words
The method of claim 28 , further comprising: transmitting a response message to a source of the request to close the flight plan, wherein the response message indicates whether or not the flight plan has been closed and reasons as to why the flight plan could not be closed if the flight plan was not closed.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2008-02-22 | 2008-08-23 | 2009-02-22 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2012-02-22 | 2012-08-23 | 2013-02-22 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2016-02-22 | 2016-08-23 | 2017-02-22 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |