The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Feb. 22, 2005
Filed:
Jan. 23, 2003
James Neal Andrews, Austin, TX (US);
David Bruce Kumhyr, Austin, TX (US);
James Neal Andrews, Austin, TX (US);
David Bruce Kumhyr, Austin, TX (US);
International Business Machines Corporation, Armonk, NY (US);
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.