Perspective vertical situation display system and method

• US 20050182528A1
• Filed: 05/27/2004
• Published: 08/18/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 11/25/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
• Original Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
• Inventors: Little, Michael C., Nichols, Troy A., Dwyer, David B., Hilbert, Matthew
• Granted Patent: US 7,603,209 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/3
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 23/00 Combined instruments indicating more than one navigational value, e.g. for aircraft; Combined measuring devices for measuring two or more variables of movement, e.g. distance, speed or acceleration
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0013 with a ground station
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0021 located in the aircraft
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0052 for cruising combined instruments indicating more than one navigational value G01C23/00
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0086 for monitoring terrain radar or analogous systems specially adapted for terrain avoidance G01S13/935
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 29/007 using computer methods
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 9/05 the view from a vehicle being simulated G09B9/052, G09B9/058 take precedence

Abstract

A display system and method for an aircraft simultaneously displays the terrain under the flight plan, or under the current track of the aircraft, as both a two-dimensional lateral situation view image and as a perspective vertical situation view image. This provides improved tactical flight planning, and that does not erroneously show the flight plan passing through the displayed terrain.

Claims

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

a processor adapted to receive terrain data and operable, in response thereto, to supply one or more image rendering display commands; and

a display device coupled to receive the image rendering display commands and operable, in response thereto, to simultaneously render a two-dimensional lateral situation view image representative of the terrain data and a perspective vertical situation view image representative of the terrain data.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein:

the processor is further adapted to receive flight plan data and is further operable, in response thereto, to supply one or more flight plan image rendering display commands; and

the display device is further coupled to receive the flight plan image rendering display commands and is further operable, in response thereto, to display flight plan indicia representative of the flight plan data.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein at least a portion of the flight plan indicia are rendered on the perspective vertical situation view image as a substantially transparent ribbon.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the transparent ribbon is rendered with dimensions based at least in part on aircraft lateral uncertainty error and aircraft vertical accuracy.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein:

the rendered transparent ribbon has a width and a height;

the rendered transparent ribbon width is based at least in part on the aircraft lateral uncertainty error; and

the rendered transparent ribbon height is based at least in part on the aircraft vertical accuracy.

6. The system of claim 2, wherein at least a portion of the flight plan indicia are rendered on the perspective vertical situation view image as a number of spaced-apart geometric shapes.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein each rendered geometric shape is rendered with a size based at least in part on predetermined navigational performance requirements.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein:

each rendered geometric shape has a width and a height;

the width of each rendered geometric shape is based at least in part on required navigational performance data; and

the height of each rendered geometric shape is based at least in part on operational airspace maximum allowed vertical error.

9. The system of claim 6, wherein:

the flight plan data includes data representative of aircraft flight phase; and

the number of geometric shapes that are rendered on the perspective vertical situation view image varies based at least in part on the aircraft flight phase.

10. The system of claim 2, wherein:

at least a portion of the flight plan indicia are rendered on the perspective vertical situation view image as a substantially transparent ribbon and as a series of spaced-apart geometric shapes; and

the substantially transparent ribbon extends through each of the rendered geometric shapes.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein:

the processor is further adapted to receive data representative of actual aircraft flight path direction and is further operable, in response thereto, to supply one or more flight path image rendering display commands; and

the display device is further coupled to receive the flight path image rendering display commands and is further operable, in response thereto, to render an image of a flight path vector on the perspective vertical situation view image, the flight path vector representative of the actual aircraft flight path direction.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the perspective vertical situation view image is centered about the flight path vector.

13. The system of claim 11, wherein:

the processor is further coupled to receive maneuver data representative of at least aircraft turn, pitch, and roll maneuvers;

the flight path image rendering display commands are based at least in part on the maneuver data; and

the flight path vector is rendered at a position on the perspective vertical situation view image that is based at least in part on the maneuver data.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the position at which the flight path vector is rendered on the perspective vertical situation view image is opposite that of the aircraft maneuver.

15. The system of claim 13, wherein the perspective vertical situation view image is rendered relative to a direction of a ground track.

16. The system of claim 1, wherein:

the processor if further coupled to receive data representative of an integrated landing system (ILS) feather and is further operable, in response thereto, to supply ILS feather image rendering display commands; and

the display device is further coupled to receive the ILS feather image rendering display commands and is further operable, in response thereto, to render at least a perspective view image of the ILS feather on the perspective vertical situation view image.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein:

the terrain data includes data representative of one or more airport runways; and

the perspective vertical situation view images representative of the terrain data include images representative of one or more airport runways.

18. The system of claim 1, wherein the processor is further adapted to receive data indicating that the aircraft is on the ground and is further operable, in response thereto, to cause the display device to render the perspective vertical situation view such that it is centered about a fixed point located above the aircraft and with a negative pitch.

19. The system of claim 1, wherein the processor is further operable to selectively supply image rendering display commands to the display device that cause the display device, in response to the image rendering display commands, to render a profile vertical situation view image representative of the terrain data.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein the processor is further operable to cause the device, in response to the image rendering display commands, to simultaneously render the profile vertical situation view image of the terrain data and the perspective vertical situation view image of the terrain data.

21. The system of claim 2, wherein:

the flight plan indicia include one or more user selectable waypoints;

the processor is further adapted to receive waypoint selection commands representative of a user selected waypoint and is further operable, in response thereto, to supply image rendering display commands that cause the display device to (i) render the lateral situation view image centered about the user selected waypoint and (ii) render the perspective vertical situation view image representative of terrain data at the user selected waypoint.

22. The system of claim 21, wherein:

the processor is further operable to supply image rendering display commands that cause the display device to render images that simulate flying of the flight plan at the user selected waypoint on the perspective vertical situation view image.

23. A method of displaying terrain on an aircraft flight deck display system, the method comprising the steps of:

processing terrain data; and

simultaneously displaying a two-dimensional lateral situation view image representative of the terrain data and a perspective vertical situation view image representative of the terrain data.

24. The method of claim 23, further comprising:

processing flight plan data; and

displaing flight plan indicia representative of the flight plan data.

25. The method of claim 24, further comprising:

displaying at least a portion of the flight plan indicia on the perspective vertical situation view image as a substantially transparent ribbon.

26. The method of claim 25, further comprising:

displaying the transparent ribbon with dimensions based at least in part on aircraft lateral uncertainty error and aircraft vertical accuracy.

27. The method of claim 26, wherein the rendered transparent ribbon has a width and a height, and wherein the method further comprises:

displaying the transparent ribbon with a width that is based at least in part on the aircraft lateral uncertainty error; and

displaying the transparent ribbon with a height that is based at least in part on the aircraft vertical accuracy.

28. The method of claim 24, further comprising:

displaying the flight plan indicia on the perspective vertical situation view image as a number of spaced-apart geometric shapes.

29. The method of claim 28, further comprising:

displaying each geometric shape with a size that is based at least in part on predetermined navigational performance requirements.

30. The method of claim 29, wherein each rendered geometric shape has a width and a height, and wherein the method further comprises:

displaying each geometric shape with a width that is based at least in part on required navigational performance data; and

displaying each geometric shape with a height that is based at least in part on operational airspace maximum allowed vertical error.

31. The method of claim 28, wherein the flight plan data includes data representative of aircraft flight phase, and wherein the method further comprises:

varying the number of geometric shapes that are rendered on the perspective vertical situation view image based at least in part on the aircraft flight phase.

32. The method of claim 24, further comprising:

displaying at least a portion of the flight plan indicia on the perspective vertical situation view image as a number of spaced-apart geometric shapes and as a substantially transparent ribbon that extends through each of the geometric shapes.

33. The method of claim 23, further comprising:

processing data representative of actual aircraft flight path direction; and

displaying an image of a flight path vector on the perspective vertical situation view image that is representative of the actual aircraft flight path direction.

34. The method of claim 33, further comprising:

centering the perspective vertical situation view image about the flight path vector.

35. The method of claim 33, further comprising:

processing maneuver data representative of at least aircraft turn, pitch, and roll maneuvers; and

displaying the flight path vector at a position on the perspective vertical situation view image that is based at least in part on the maneuver data.

36. The method of claim 35, further comprising:

displaying the flight path vector on the perspective vertical situation view image at a position that is opposite that of the aircraft maneuver.

37. The method of claim 35, further comprising:

displaying the perspective vertical situation view image relative to a direction of a ground track.

38. The method of claim 23, further comprising:

processing data representative of an integrated landing system (ILS) feather; and

displaying at least a perspective view image of the ILS feather on the perspective vertical situation view image.

39. The method of claim 38, wherein the terrain data includes data representative of one or more airport runways, and wherein the method further comprises:

displaying one or more images representative of one or more airport runways on the perspective vertical situation view images representative of the terrain data.

40. The method of claim 23, further comprising:

processing data indicating that the aircraft is on the ground; and

displaying the perspective vertical situation view such that it is centered about a fixed point located above the aircraft and with a negative pitch.

41. The method of claim 23, further comprising:

selectively displaying a profile vertical situation view image representative of the terrain data.

42. The method of claim 41, further comprising:

simultaneously displaying the profile vertical situation view image of the terrain data and the perspective vertical situation view image of the terrain data.

43. The method of claim 24, wherein the flight plan indicia include one or more user selectable waypoints, and wherein the method, in response to a user selecting a user selectable waypoint, further comprises:

displaying the lateral situation view image such that it is centered about a user selected waypoint; and

displaying the perspective vertical situation view image representative of terrain data at the user selected waypoint.

44. The method of claim 43, further comprising:

displaying images that simulate flying of the flight plan at the user selected waypoint on the perspective vertical situation view image.