Device for Flight Plan Display with Displacement Based on Jumps

• US 20100250117A1
• Filed: 03/26/2010
• Published: 09/30/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 03/27/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Thales SA
• Original Assignee: Thales SA
• Inventors: Deker, Guy, Roux, Emmanuel, Roger, Michel
• Granted Patent: US 8,825,401 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/202
• 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: G01C 23/005 Flight directors indicating arrangements specially adapted for rotary gyroscopes G01C19/32
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/03549 Trackballs G06F3/03541 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0485 Scrolling or panning
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0017 Arrangements for implementing traffic-related aircraft activities, e.g. arrangements for generating, displaying, acquiring or managing traffic information head-up displays G02B27/01; ground or aircraft-carrier-deck-installations B64F
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0026 located on the ground
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/003 Flight plan management
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0047 Navigation or guidance aids for a single aircraft details of equipment G08G5/0017
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0052 for cruising combined instruments indicating more than one navigational value G01C23/00

Abstract

The subject of the invention is a device for displaying flight plans of an aircraft comprising a control unit with at least one first display area comprising a textual list of identifiers of points, of pseudo-points and/or of segments that is representative of a portion of the flight plan, the display of the said list being centred around a central display point, the said point corresponding to a point, a pseudo-point or a segment of the flight plan, the said device being characterized in that it comprises means for displacing by jumps the flight plan portion displayed in the first display area by selecting a different central display point from the current central display point, the said selected point becoming the new central display point.

Claims

1. - A device for displaying flight plans of an aircraft comprising a control unit with at least one first display area comprising a textual list of identifiers of points, of pseudo-points and/or of segments that is representative of a portion of the flight plan, the display of the said list being centred around a central display point, the said point corresponding to a point, a pseudo-point or a segment of the flight plan, the said device comprising means for displacing by jumps the flight plan portion displayed in the first display area by selecting a different central display point from the current central display point, the said selected point becoming the new central display point.

2. - The device according to claim 1, further comprising means for selecting a new central display point from among the points of the textual list of the flight plan portion displayed in the first display area.

3. - The device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit comprises a second display area comprising a textual list of the navigation procedures representative of the flight plan as well as means for changing the central display point by selecting one of the said navigation procedures.

4. - The device according to claim 3, wherein when the current navigation procedure is selected, the central display point is the next point of the flight plan situated just in front of the current position of the aircraft.

5. - The device according to claim 1, wherein when a different navigation procedure from the current procedure is selected, the central display point is the first point of the said procedure.

6. - The device according to claim 1, wherein the central display point (202, 205) is emphasized by using one of the following display techniques:

framing, underlining, application of a colour contrasting with that used for the other points, reverse video, display in bold.

7. - The device according to claim 1, wherein the navigation procedure to which the central display point belongs is emphasized by using one of the following display techniques:

framing, underlining, application of a colour contrasting with that used for the other navigation procedures, reverse video, display in bold.

8. - The device according to claim 1, wherein the current navigation procedure is emphasized by using one of the following display techniques:

framing, underlining, application of a colour contrasting with that used for the other navigation procedures, reverse video, display in bold.

9. - The device according to claim 1, further comprising a navigation screen, the said screen making it possible to graphically display at least one portion of at least one flight plan, the display of the said portion being centred around a central display point, the said device comprising means for selecting a point of the flight plan portion displayed on the navigation screen, the said selected point becoming the new central display point.

10. - The device according to claim 9, further comprising a scrolling key whose activation makes it possible to advance the displayed portion of the flight plan in the downstream direction from the current central display position, doing so as far as the last displayed point of the flight plan situated at a distance equal to at most a display radius from the said current central display position.

11. - The device according to claim 9, further comprising a scrolling key whose activation makes it possible to advance the displayed portion of the flight plan as far as the last point of the said flight plan.

12. - The device according to claim 9, further comprising a scrolling key whose activation makes it possible to retreat the displayed portion of the flight plan in the upstream direction from the current central display position as far as the remotest displayed point situated at a distance equivalent to at most a display radius from the said current central display position.

13. - The device according to claim 9, further comprising a scrolling key whose activation makes it possible to retreat the displayed portion of the flight plan as far as the point corresponding to the current position of the aircraft.

14. - The device according to claim 1, further comprising a pointing ball associated with at least one selection key making it possible to select by displacing a cursor and by pressing the said key an element of the first display area of the control unit, a navigation procedure for the second display area, or a point of the portion of flight plan displayed on the navigation screen.