OPTICAL DISPLAY MEANS FOR AN ALL-WEATHER LANDING SYSTEM OF AN AIRCRAFT
First Claim
1. An optical display device for use on an aircraft to supply to the eyes of a person an image of a landing runway for the aircraft during low visibility conditions;
- said optical display device comprising means for supplying a pictorial image of substantial spacial identity to that of a physical array of beacons outlining the landing runway, partially reflecting mirror means carried by the display device and projecting from an underside of the display device at an obtuse angle relative To said underside of the display device toward said person so as to be positioned in an adjacent and underlaying relation to both of the eyes of said person and between the eyes of said person and the landing runway so that there may be viewed through the partially reflecting mirror means such of the beacons outlining the landing runway as may be viewable under prevailing low visibility conditions, other optical elements mounted in the display device, said other optical elements including a collimating optical system cooperating with said supply means and arranged between said image supply means and the partially reflecting mirror means so that the image presented by said supply means may be superimposed by the collimating optical system on so much of the image of said beacons as may be viewable through the partially reflecting mirror means under the prevailing low visibility conditions, a mechanism for supporting the optical display device, mounting means projecting from an interior surface of the aircraft for carrying the supporting mechanism so as to maintain the partially reflecting mirror means in alignment with a boresight of the aircraft, and releasable means for connecting the optical display device to a helmet to be worn by said person for permitting only a limited extent of motion of said person relative to the display device, and the extent of the motion of said person being so limited as to retain the partially reflecting mirror means in the underlaying relation with the eyes of said person and in alignment with the boresight of the aircraft during the extent of the limited motion of said person permitted by said supporting mechanism and connecting means.
0 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An optical means to display immediately before both eyes of a pilot of an aircraft in pictorial fashion an image of substantial spacial identity to that of a physical array of beacons on the ground combined with a view of real world information during conditions of low visibility as well as improved means in which a partially reflecting mirror means may be interposed in immediate juxtaposition before the eyes of a person in such a manner that there may be readily apprehended the real world information by looking through the mirror means, while information superimposed thereon for displaying to the pilot full data by which the landing of the aircraft may be effected or auxiliary data to that being actually used for landing to promote pilot confidence and provide a basis for the exercise of judgement on the part of the pilot in monitoring an automatic pilot system.
57 Citations
18 Claims
-
1. An optical display device for use on an aircraft to supply to the eyes of a person an image of a landing runway for the aircraft during low visibility conditions;
- said optical display device comprising means for supplying a pictorial image of substantial spacial identity to that of a physical array of beacons outlining the landing runway, partially reflecting mirror means carried by the display device and projecting from an underside of the display device at an obtuse angle relative To said underside of the display device toward said person so as to be positioned in an adjacent and underlaying relation to both of the eyes of said person and between the eyes of said person and the landing runway so that there may be viewed through the partially reflecting mirror means such of the beacons outlining the landing runway as may be viewable under prevailing low visibility conditions, other optical elements mounted in the display device, said other optical elements including a collimating optical system cooperating with said supply means and arranged between said image supply means and the partially reflecting mirror means so that the image presented by said supply means may be superimposed by the collimating optical system on so much of the image of said beacons as may be viewable through the partially reflecting mirror means under the prevailing low visibility conditions, a mechanism for supporting the optical display device, mounting means projecting from an interior surface of the aircraft for carrying the supporting mechanism so as to maintain the partially reflecting mirror means in alignment with a boresight of the aircraft, and releasable means for connecting the optical display device to a helmet to be worn by said person for permitting only a limited extent of motion of said person relative to the display device, and the extent of the motion of said person being so limited as to retain the partially reflecting mirror means in the underlaying relation with the eyes of said person and in alignment with the boresight of the aircraft during the extent of the limited motion of said person permitted by said supporting mechanism and connecting means.
-
2. An optical display device for use on an aircraft to supply to the eyes of a person an image of a landing runway for the aircraft during low visibility conditions;
- said optical display device comprising means for supplying a pictorial image of substantial spacial identity to that of a physical array of beacons outlining the landing runway, partially reflecting mirror means carried by the display device and projecting from an underside of the display device at an obtuse angle relative to said underside of the display device toward said person so as to be positioned in an adjacent and underlaying relation to both of the eyes of said person and between the eyes of said person and the landing runway so that there may be viewed through the partially reflecting mirror means such of the beacons outlining the landing runway as may be viewable under prevailing low visibility conditions, other optical elements mounted in the display device, said other optical elements including a collimating optical system cooperating with said supply means and arranged between said image supply means and the partially reflecting mirror means so that the image presented by said supply means may be superimposed by the collimating optical system on so much of the image of said beacons as may be viewable through the partially reflecting mirror means under the prevailing low visibility conditions, a mechanism for supporting the optical display device so as to maintain the partially reflecting mirror means in the underlaying relation with the eyes of said person, the image supply means including a single cathode-ray tube having a screen for supplying an image of substantial spacial identity to that of the physical array of beacons outlining the landing runway for the aircraft, a rotatable element including a plurality of reflecting shutters arranged in a spaced relation, means for rotating the reflecting shutters of the element in operative relation to the screen of said cathode-ray tube for alternately reflecting from said shutters and permitting the passage through the spaces between said shutters of light rays supplied from said screen, and said collimating optical system including a first collimating optical means operatively arranged between the rotatable element and the partially reflecting mirror means for transmitting the reflected light rays from said shutters to said partially reflecting mirror means, a second collimating optical means operatively arranged between said rotating device and the partially reflecting mirror means for transmitting the light rays passing through the spaces between said shutters to said partially reflecting mirror means so that a pictorial image of the physical array of beacons supplied by the cathode-ray tube screen may be viewed in the partially reflecting mirror means during such low visibility conditions, and wherein the means for rotating the reflecting shutters includes motor means carried by the display device for driving said rotatable shutter element at such a speed that the shutters and the spaces therebetween may be divided timewise into light ray reflective and transmissive areas so that an unattenuated view of the image supplied by the cathode-ray tube screen may be viewed in the partially reflecting mirror means.
-
3. An optical display device for use on an aircraft to supply to the eyes of a person an image of a landing runway for the aircraft during low visibility conditions;
- said optical display device comprising means for supplying a pictorial image of substantial spacial identity to that of a physical array of beacons outlining the landing runway, partially reflecting mirror means carried by the display device and projecting from an underside of the display device at an obtuse angle relative to said underside of the display device toward said person so as to be positioned in an adjacent and underlaying relation to both of the eyes of said person and between the eyes of said person and the landing runway so that there may be viewed through the partially reflecting mirror means such of the beacons outlining the landing runway as may be viewable under prevailing low visibility conditions, other optical elements mounted in the display device, said other optical elements including a collimating optical system cooperating with said supply means and arranged between said image supply means and the partially reflecting mirror means so that the image presented by said supply means may be superimposed by the collimating optical system on so much of the image of said beacons as may be viewable through the partially reflecting mirror means under the prevailing low visibility conditions, a mechanism projecting from an interior surface of the aircraft for supporting the optical display device so as to maintain the partially reflecting mirror means in alignment with a boresight of the aircraft and in operative relation to said person on the aircraft, and means for releasably fastening the display device to said person with the partially reflecting mirror means being positioned in alignment with the eyes of said person and the boresight of the aircraft, the supporting mechanism and fastening means permitting only a limited extent of motion of said person relative to the display device, and the extent of the motion of said person being so limited as to retain the partially reflecting mirror means in the underlaying relation with the eyes of said person and in alignment with the boresight of the aircraft.
-
4. An optical display device for use on an aircraft to supply to the eyes of a person an image of a landing runway for the aircraft during low visibility conditions;
- said optical display device comprising a pair of cathode-ray tubes carried by the display device, each cathode-ray tube including a screen for supplying a pictorial image of substantial spacial identity to that of a physical array of beacons outlining the landing runway, partially reflecting mirror means carried by the display device and projecting from an underside of the display device at an obtuse angle relative to said underside of the display device toward said person so as to be positioned in an adjacent and underlaying relation to both of the eyes of said person and between the eyes of said person and the landing runway so that there may be viewed through the partially reflecting mirror means such of thE beacons outlining the runway as may be viewable under prevailing low visibility conditions, a first field lens operative to transmit light rays therethrough from the image appearing on the screen of one of said pair of cathode-ray tubes, a second field lens operative to transmit light rays therethrough from the image appearing on the screen of the other of said pair of cathode-ray tubes, a first collimating lens system and a second collimating lens system, said first and second collimating lens systems being operatively arranged for transmitting in parallel form light rays to said partially reflecting mirror means, a first mirror angularly positioned in relation to said first field lens so as to reflect the light rays transmitted through the first field lens to the first collimating lens system, a second mirror angularly positioned in relation to said second field lens so as to reflect the light rays transmitted through the second field lens to the second collimating lens system, the partially reflecting mirror means being positioned in an operative relation to the first and second collimating lens systems so as to reflect the light rays transmitted by the collimating lens systems to the eyes of said person so that each eye of said person may obtain a clear and unattenuated view of the image supplied by the screens of the respective pair of cathode-ray tubes, and separatedly adjustable means to angularly position the first and second mirrors in relation to the respective first and second field lenses and in relation to the first and second collimating lens systems so that the positions of the reflected light rays on the partially reflecting mirror means may substantially coincide with a position of so much of the light rays from an image of the physical array of beacons as may be viewable through the partially reflecting mirror means during prevailing low visibility conditions.
-
5. In an optical display means by which a person on an aircraft may view landing conditions for the aircraft in flight, the optical display means being of a type including light projecting means having a screen for supplying an image of a landing runway for the aircraft, means for transmitting variable intensity light rays from the image on the screen, partially reflecting mirror means for reflecting the light rays transmitted from the image supplied by the screen, whereby said person may view on the mirror means the reflected image of the landing runway for the aircraft provided by the screen of the light projecting means while at the same time said person may view through the partially reflecting mirror means other variable intensity ambient light rays from an image of so much of the true landing runway as may be discerned by said person from the aircraft during prevailing low visibility conditions;
- the improvement comprising light filter means, operator-operative means to selectively render the light filter means effective to reduce the intensity of the light rays from at least one of said images so that the variable intensity light rays from the respective images and effective in the optical display means may be maintained within a predetermined brightness ratio range.
-
6. The improvement defined by claim 5 in which the light filter means includes means which may be rendered selectively effective by the operator-operative means to reduce the intensity of the light rays from the image on the screen of the light projecting means under night operating conditions, whereupon the variable intensity light rays from the respective images and effective in the optical display means may be maintained within the predetermined brightness ratio range.
-
7. The improvement defined by claim 5 in which the light filter means includes means which may be rendered selectively effective by the operator-operative means to reduce the intensity of the other light rays from the image of the true landing runway under daytime operating conditions in which the intensity of the ambient light rays may exceed a predetermined iNtensity, whereupon the variable intensity light rays from the respective images and effective in the optical display means may be maintained within the predetermined brightness ratio range.
-
8. The improvement defined by claim 5 in which the light filter means includes a first light filter device and a second light filter device, and the operator-operative means includes a first manually operable means to selectively render the first light filter device operative to reduce intensity of the light rays from the image on the screen of the light projecting means under night operating conditions, and a second manually operable means to selectively render the second light filter device operative to reduce intensity of the other light rays from the image of the true landing runway under daytime operating conditions in which the ambient light conditions may exceed a predetermined intensity.
-
9. The improvement defined by claim 5 in which the light filter means includes a light filter device carried by the optical display means and slidably positioned relative to the screen of the light projecting means from a first operative to a second inoperative position, and the operator-operative means includes a manually operable arm to selectively position the light filter device to the first operative position to reduce the intensity of the light rays from the image on the screen of the light projecting means and alternately to the second inoperative position relative to the screen of the light projecting means.
-
10. The improvement defined by claim 5 in which the light filter means includes a plurality of light filter devices carried by the optical display means, each of said filter devices being selectively positioned angularly relative to the partially reflecting mirror means from a first raised inoperative position to a second lowered operative position intermediate the mirror means and the image of the true landing runway so as to reduce the intensity of the other light rays from so much of the true landing runway as may be discerned by said person on the aircraft through the partially reflecting mirror means.
-
11. The improvement defined by claim 5 in which the light filter means includes a light filter device carried by the optical display means and slidably positioned relative to the screen of the light projecting means from a first operative to a second inoperative position, and the operator-operative means includes a manually operable arm to selectively position the light filter device to the first operative position to reduce the intensity of the light rays from the image on the screen of the light projecting means and alternately to the second inoperative position relative to the screen of the light projecting means, a plurality of other light filter devices carried by the optical display means, each of said other light filter devices being selectively positioned angularly relative to the partially reflecting mirror means from a first raised inoperative position to a second lowered operative position intermediate the mirror means and the image of the true landing runway so as to reduce the intensity of the other light rays from so much of the true landing runway as may be discerned by said person on the aircraft through the partially reflecting mirror means.
-
12. The improvement defined by claim 5 in which the means for transmitting variable intensity light rays includes a field lens operative to transmit light rays therethrough from the image appearing on the screen of the light projecting means, a collimating lens system operatively arranged for transmitting in parallel form light rays to said partially reflecting mirror means, a mirror device angularly positioned in relation to said transmitted light rays so as to reflect the light rays transmitted through the field lens to the collimating lens system, the partially reflecting mirror means being positioned in an operative relation to the collimating lens system so as to reflect the light rays from the image transmitTed by the collimating lens system to the eyes of said person, and adjustable means to angularly position the mirror device in relation to the collimating lens system and the light rays transmitted through the field lens so that the position of the reflected light rays on the partially reflecting mirror means may substantially coincide with a position of so much of the light rays from an image of the physical array of beacons as may be viewable through the partially reflecting mirror means during prevailing low visibility conditions.
-
13. The improvement defined by claim 12 in which the partially reflecting mirror means projects from an underside of the optical display means at an obtuse angle relative to said underside of the display means toward said person so as to be positioned in an adjacent and underlaying relation to both of the eyes of said person and between the eyes of said person and the landing runway so that there may be viewed through the partially reflecting mirror means such of the beacons outlining the runway as may be viewable under prevailing low visibility conditions, the light filter means includes a first light filter device carried by the optical display means and slidably positioned relative to the screen of the light projecting means from a first operative to a second inoperative position, and the operator-operative means includes a first manually operable arm to selectively position the first light filter device to the first operative position to reduce the intensity of the light rays from the image on the screen of the light projecting means under night operating conditions and alternately to the second inoperative position relative to the screen of the light projecting means under daytime operating conditions, a plurality of other second light filter devices carried by the optical display means and pivotally mounted relative to said partially reflecting mirror means, each of said other second light filter devices being selectively positioned angularly relative to the partially reflecting mirror means from a first raised inoperative position to a second lowered operative position intermediate the mirror means and the image of the true landing runway under daytime operating conditions in which the ambient light conditions may exceed a predetermined intensity, and each of said other second light filter devices in the lowered operative position being effective to reduce the intensity of the other ambient light rays from the image of so much of the true landing runway as may be discerned by said person on the aircraft through the partially reflecting mirror means.
-
14. An optical display device for use on an aircraft to supply to the eyes of a person an image of a landing runway for the aircraft during low visibility conditions;
- said optical display device comprising a pair of partially reflecting mirror devices carried by the display device and arranged to be positioned in an underlaying relation to both eyes of said person and in juxtaposition thereto between the eyes of said person and the landing runway so that through the partially reflecting mirror devices true landing conditions for the aircraft may be discerned, other optical elements mounted in the display device and offset from the view of said person, said other optical elements including a cathode-ray tube having a screen for supplying an image of substantial spacial identity to that of a physical array of beacons outlining the landing runway for the aircraft, a rotatable device including a plurality of reflecting shutters arranged in a spaced relation and in operative relation to the screen of said cathode-ray tube for reflecting light rays supplied from said screen, a first collimating optical device operatively arranged between the rotatable device and one of the reflecting mirror devices for transmitting reflected light rays from said shutters to one of said reflecting mirror devices, a second collimating optical device between said rotating device and the other of said mirroR devices for transmitting light rays passing from said cathode-ray tube screen through the spaces between said shutters to said other mirror device so that a pictorial image of the physical array of beacons supplied by the cathode-ray tube screen may be viewed in the mirror devices during such low visibility conditions, motor means carried by the display device for driving said rotatable device at such a speed that the shutters and the spaces therebetween may be divided timewise into light ray reflective and transmissive areas so that an unattenutated view of the image supplied by the cathode-ray tube screen may be reflected by the mirror devices, a mechanism projecting from an interior surface of the aircraft for supporting the optical display device in operative relation to the eyes of said person and in alignment with a boresight of the aircraft, and means forreleasably fastening the display device to said person with the mirror devices being positioned in alignment with the boresight of the aircraft and the eyes of said person.
-
15. An optical display device for use on an aircraft to supply to the eyes of a person an image of a landing runway for the aircraft during low visibility conditions;
- said optical display device comprising means for supplying a pictorial image of substantial spacial identity to that of a physical array of beacons outlining the landing runway, a partially reflecting mirror means, in the direct view of the eyes of the person and the true landing runway, cooperating with said supply means, said supply means including a collimating optical system, said collimating optical system being so arranged that the image superimposed on said mirror means by said supply means may have a reflected size corresponding to that of such of the beacons as might be viewable through the partially reflecting mirror means under such low visibility conditions, and a mechanism integral with the aircraft for supporting the optical display device in an adjustable operative relation therein so as to maintain the partially reflecting mirror means in alignment with the eyes of said person, and releasable means for connecting the optical display device to a helmet to be worn by said person.
-
16. In an optical display means by which a person on an aircraft may view landing conditions for the aircraft in flight, the optical display means being of a type including light projecting means having a screen for supplying an image of a landing runway for the aircraft, means for transmitting variable intensity light rays from the image on the screen, partially reflecting mirror means for reflecting the light rays transmitted from the image supplied by the screen, whereby said person may view on the mirror means the reflected image of the landing runway for the aircraft provided by the screen of the light projecting means while at the same time said person may view through the partially reflecting mirror means other variable intensity ambient light rays from an image of so much of the true landing runway as may be discerned by said person from the aircraft during prevailing low visibility conditions;
- the improvement comprising light filter means, operator-operative means to selectively render the light filter means effective to reduce the intensity of the light rays from at least one of said images, and brightness ratio control means operatively connected to said light projecting means;
said control means including first means responsive to the variable intensity light rays from the image on the screen of said light projecting means, and second means responsive to said other variable intensity light rays from the image viewed through said partially reflecting mirror means; and
said brightness ratio control means regulating the light projecting means so as to maintain a predetermined brighness ratio between said first and second mentioned variable intensity light rays.
- the improvement comprising light filter means, operator-operative means to selectively render the light filter means effective to reduce the intensity of the light rays from at least one of said images, and brightness ratio control means operatively connected to said light projecting means;
-
17. The improvement defined by claim 16 in which the light filter means includes means which may be reNdered selectively effective by the operator-operative means to reduce the intensity of the light rays from the image on the screen of the light projecting means under night operating conditions so that the control means may thereupon regulate the light projecting means so as to effect the predetermined brightness ratio.
-
18. The improvement defined by claim 16 in which the light filter means includes means which may be rendered selectively effective by the operator-operative means to reduce the intensity of the other light rays from the image of the true landing runway under daytime operating conditions in which the ambient light conditions may exceed a predetermined intensity so that the control means may thereupon regulate the light projecting means so as to effect the predetermined brightness ratio.
Specification