Flight display network for an aircraft

• US 10,577,120 B1
• Filed: 07/26/2017
• Issued: 03/03/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 07/26/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Rockwell Collins, Inc. (Raytheon Technologies Corporation d/b/a RTX)
• Original Assignee: Rockwell Collins, Inc. (Raytheon Technologies Corporation d/b/a RTX)
• Inventors: Nelson, Brent J., Crawford, Gregory A., Underwood, Darin M., Nagawiecki, Daniel R., Horaney, Jessica L.
• Primary Examiner(s): Boomer, Jeffrey C
• Application Number:
  US15/660,838
• Time in Patent Office: 951 Days
• Field of Search: 701 3, 701 14, 701409, 702121, 710 15, 713150, 725 76, 726 4, 345156, 345157, 345581, 340 564, 340313, 340436, 340945, 37524012, 370216, 370230
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 43/00 Arrangements or adaptations of instruments arrangements of cameras B64D47/08; aeronautical measuring instruments per se G01C
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 43/02 for indicating aircraft speed or stalling conditions
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0021 located in the aircraft
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0086 for monitoring terrain radar or analogous systems specially adapted for terrain avoidance G01S13/935
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0091 for monitoring atmospheric conditions radar or analogous systems specially adapted for meteorological use G01S13/95; meteorology G01W
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks

Abstract

A flight display system for a cockpit of an aircraft. The flight display system includes a first plurality of flight display units configured to communicate with each other in a daisy chain network. Each of the first plurality of flight display units includes a first physical network interface configured to communicate with one of the first plurality of flight display units, a second physical network interface configured to communicate with another of the first plurality of flight display units, and a flight display circuit. The flight display circuit is configured to receive avionics data via the first physical network interface and determine whether the avionics data is destined for the flight display unit receiving the data. The flight display circuit is configured to send the avionics data to the other flight display unit of the plurality of the first plurality of flight display units via the second physical network interface.

Claims

1. A flight display system for an aircraft, the flight display system comprising:

a plurality of touch-screen units configured to communicate with each other in a daisy chain network, wherein each of the plurality of touch-screen units comprises a physical network interface configured to communicate with one of the plurality of flight display units, another physical network interface configured to communicate with another of the plurality of touch-screen units, and a circuit, wherein a first touch-screen unit of the plurality of touch-screen units is configured to;

receive avionics data via a first physical network interface of the first touch-screen unit, the avionics data comprising user input received via at least one of the plurality of touch-screen units;

determine whether the avionics data is destined for the first touch-screen unit;

send the avionics data to a second touch-screen unit of the plurality of touch-screen units via a second physical network interface of the first touch-screen unit in response to determining that the avionics data is not destined for the first touch-screen unit;

perform ingress rate limiting by rate limiting the avionics data at a first predefined interval to meet a first data rate, wherein rate limiting the avionics data comprises discarding a portion of the avionics data;

receive an indication that the aircraft is on ground; and

disable the ingress rate limiting in response to determining that the aircraft is on the ground.

2. The flight display system of claim 1, wherein the indication that the aircraft is on the ground is a weight on wheels signal.

3. The flight display system of claim 1, further comprising a user selector that provides a signal that disables the rate limiting.

4. The flight display system of claim 1, wherein the circuit of each of the plurality of touch-screen units is configured to perform egress rate limiting by sending the avionics data at a second data rate.

5. The flight display system of claim 4, wherein the circuit of each of the plurality of touch-screen units is configured to:

receive the indication that the aircraft is on the ground; and

disable the egress rate limiting in response to determining that the aircraft is on the ground.

6. The flight display system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of touch-screen units are located on a left side of a cockpit;

and

wherein the flight display system further comprises a second plurality of touch-screen units configured to communicate via a second daisy chain network, wherein the second plurality of touch-screen units are located on a right side of the cockpit.

7. The flight display system of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of touch-screen units comprises a touch screen display, wherein the circuit of each of the plurality of touch-screen units is configured to cause the touch screen display to display information to a pilot based on the avionics data.

8. The flight display system of claim 1, wherein the first touch-screen unit is connected to a first avionics unit via the first physical network interface of the first touch-screen unit, wherein the first touch-screen unit of the plurality of flight display units receives the avionics data from the first avionics unit;

wherein a second flight display unit is connected to a second avionics unit via a particular second physical interface of the second touch-screen unit, wherein the second touch-screen unit is configured to receive second avionics data via the second avionics unit.

9. The flight display system of claim 1, wherein the flight display system further comprises one or more sensors configured to determine whether the aircraft has weight on wheels of the aircraft, wherein the avionics data comprises an indication of whether the aircraft has weight on the wheels of the aircraft;

and

wherein the circuit of each of the plurality of touch-screen units is configured to disable ingress and egress rate limiting of the avionics data in response to determining that the avionics data indicates that the aircraft has weight on the wheels of the aircraft.

10. A method for a fault tolerant flight display system for a cockpit of an aircraft, the method comprising:

receiving, by a first touch-screen unit of a plurality of touch-screen units, avionics data via a first physical network interface of the first touch-screen unit, wherein the plurality of touch-screen units are configured to communicate with each other in a daisy chain network, the avionics data comprising user input received via one of the plurality of touch-screen units;

performing, by the first touch-screen unit, ingress rate limiting by rate limiting the avionics data at a first predefined interval to meet a first data rate, wherein rate limiting the avionics data comprises discarding a portion of the avionics data;

determining, by the first touch-screen unit, whether the avionics data is destined for the first touch-screen unit;

sending, by the first touch-screen unit, the avionics data to a second touch-screen unit of the plurality of the touch-screen units via a second physical network interface of the first touch-screen unit in response to determining that the avionics data is not destined for the first touch-screen unit;

receiving, by the first touch-screen unit, an indication that the aircraft is on ground; and

disabling, by the first touch-screen unit, the ingress rate limiting in response to determining that the aircraft is on the ground.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

receiving a signal provided by user selection that disables the rate limiting, by the first touch-screen unit, the indication that the aircraft is on the ground; and

disabling, by the first touch-screen unit, the ingress rate limiting in response to determining that the aircraft is on the ground.

12. The method of claim 10, further comprising performing egress rate limiting by sending the avionics data at a second data rate.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

receiving, by the first touch-screen unit, the indication that the aircraft is on the ground; and

disabling, by the one of the plurality of touch-screen units, the egress rate limiting in response to determining that the aircraft is on the ground.

14. The method of claim 10, further comprising causing, by the first touch-screen unit, a touch screen display to display information to a pilot based on the avionics data, wherein each of the plurality of touch-screen units comprises a particular touch screen display.

15. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

receiving, by the first touch-screen unit of the plurality of flight display units, the avionics data from a first avionics unit, wherein the first touch-screen unit is connected to the first avionics unit via the first physical network interface of the first touch-screen unit; and

receiving, by the second touch-screen unit, second avionics data from a second avionics unit, wherein the second touch-screen unit is connected to the second avionics unit via a second physical interface of the second touch-screen unit.

16. A fault tolerant flight display system for a cockpit of an aircraft, the fault tolerant flight display system comprising:

a plurality of touch-screen units configured to communicate with each other in a daisy chain network, wherein each of the plurality of touch-screen units comprises a physical network interface configured to communicate with one of the plurality of touch-screen units, another physical network interface configured to communicate with another of the plurality of touch-screen units, and a circuit, wherein a first touch-screen unit of the plurality of touch-screen units is configured to;

receive avionics data via a first physical network interface of the first touch-screen unit, the avionics data comprising user input received via one of the plurality of touch-screen units;

perform ingress rate limiting by rate limit the avionics data at a first predefined interval to meet a first data rate, wherein rate limiting the avionics data comprises discarding a portion of the avionics data;

determine whether the avionics data is destined for the first touch-screen unit;

send the avionics data to a second touch-screen unit of the plurality of touch-screen units via a second physical network interface of the first touch-screen unit in response to determining that the avionics data is not destined for the first touch-screen unit, wherein sending the avionics data to the second touch-screen comprises sending the avionics data at a second data rate;

receive an indication that the aircraft is on ground;

disable the ingress rate limiting in response to determining that the aircraft is on the ground.

17. The fault tolerant flight display system of claim 16, wherein the first touch-screen unit is configured to:

receive the indication that the aircraft is on the ground;

disable the ingress rate limiting in response to determining that the aircraft is on the ground; and

disable egress rate limiting in response to determining that the aircraft is on the ground.

18. The fault tolerant flight display system of claim 16, wherein the plurality of touch-screen units are located on a left side of the cockpit;

and

wherein the fault tolerant flight display system further comprises a second plurality of touch-screen units configured to communicate via a second daisy chain network, wherein the second plurality of touch-screen units are located on a right side of the cockpit.

19. The fault tolerant flight display system of claim 16, wherein each of the plurality of touch-screen units comprises a touch screen display, wherein the circuit of each of the plurality of flight display units is configured to cause the touch screen display to display information to a pilot based on the avionics data.

20. The fault tolerant flight display system of claim 16, wherein the first touch-screen unit is connected to a first avionics unit via the first physical network interface of the first touch-screen unit, wherein the first touch-screen unit receives the avionics data from the first avionics unit;

wherein the second touch-screen unit is connected to a second avionics unit via a particular second physical interface of the second touch-screen unit, wherein the second touch-screen unit is configured to receive second avionics data via the second avionics unit.