Flight simulator with spaced visuals
First Claim
1. Visual display apparatus for use with a flight simulator system of a variety including a base supported aircraft trainer having a cockpit and front window-like opening for providing lines of sight from an eye location within said cockpit and having flight controls manipulative to cause said cockpit to move upon said base in roll, pitch and yaw attitudes about respective longitudinal, transverse and vertical axes, said system including a stationary display surface viewable from said eye location along said lines of sight, said surface being spaced from said eye location a predetermined distance, S, for displaying the video image of a fixed horizontal horizon below which extends the image of a runway of designated length, L, between the threshold and end thereof and half-width, w/2, defined between each lengthwise edge thereof, and a reference line, said system including means for generating altitude signals, y, substantially representative of the simulated height of said eye location above said imaged runway and means for generating velocity signals representative of the instantaneous simulated velocity and said trainer with respect to ground at the level of said runway, said apparatus comprising;
- first circuit means for developing slope signals corresponding with the slopes of the images of said runway lengthwise edges as a quotient of a constant of value representing the distance of a said edge from said reference line divided by a value, y, representative of said instantaneous altitude;
timing circuit means for generating video raster controls including horizontal scan information and control signals developed through a predetermined digital sequence and vertical information and control signals developed through a predetermined digital sequence;
second circuit means for generating signals representing the predetermined vertical location of a vanishing point upon said raster;
line generator circuit means responsive to said second circuit means signal, said timing circuit means horizontal scan information signals and said first circuit means slope signals for generating output signals representing the locations of said runway image lengthwise edges;
third circuit means for developing signals representing imaging data at said runway threshold and end; and
video processing means responsive to said line generator circuit means output signals, said third circuit means signals and said timing circuit means horizontal and vertical control signals for deriving video outputs.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A flight simulator arrangement wherein a conventional, movable base flight trainer is combined with a visual cue display surface spaced a predetermined distance from an eye position within the trainer. Thus, three degrees of motive freedom (roll, pitch and crab) are provided for a visual proprioceptive, and vestibular cue system by the trainer while the remaining geometric visual cue image alterations are developed by a video system. A geometric approach to computing runway image eliminates a need to electronically compute trigonometric functions, while utilization of a line generator and designated vanishing point at the video system raster permits facile development of the images of the longitudinal edges of the runway.
39 Citations
41 Claims
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1. Visual display apparatus for use with a flight simulator system of a variety including a base supported aircraft trainer having a cockpit and front window-like opening for providing lines of sight from an eye location within said cockpit and having flight controls manipulative to cause said cockpit to move upon said base in roll, pitch and yaw attitudes about respective longitudinal, transverse and vertical axes, said system including a stationary display surface viewable from said eye location along said lines of sight, said surface being spaced from said eye location a predetermined distance, S, for displaying the video image of a fixed horizontal horizon below which extends the image of a runway of designated length, L, between the threshold and end thereof and half-width, w/2, defined between each lengthwise edge thereof, and a reference line, said system including means for generating altitude signals, y, substantially representative of the simulated height of said eye location above said imaged runway and means for generating velocity signals representative of the instantaneous simulated velocity and said trainer with respect to ground at the level of said runway, said apparatus comprising;
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first circuit means for developing slope signals corresponding with the slopes of the images of said runway lengthwise edges as a quotient of a constant of value representing the distance of a said edge from said reference line divided by a value, y, representative of said instantaneous altitude; timing circuit means for generating video raster controls including horizontal scan information and control signals developed through a predetermined digital sequence and vertical information and control signals developed through a predetermined digital sequence; second circuit means for generating signals representing the predetermined vertical location of a vanishing point upon said raster; line generator circuit means responsive to said second circuit means signal, said timing circuit means horizontal scan information signals and said first circuit means slope signals for generating output signals representing the locations of said runway image lengthwise edges; third circuit means for developing signals representing imaging data at said runway threshold and end; and video processing means responsive to said line generator circuit means output signals, said third circuit means signals and said timing circuit means horizontal and vertical control signals for deriving video outputs. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 40, 41)
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26. The method for simulating visual aircraft flight cues comprising the steps of:
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providing a base supported aircraft trainer having a cockpit and front window like opening for providing lines of sight from an eye location within said cockpit and having flight controls manipulative to cause said cockpit to move upon said base in roll, pitch and yaw attitudes about respective longtitudinal, transverse and vertical axes, said trainer generating altitude signals, y, substantially representative of the height of said eye location above an imaged runway within said lines of sight, said runway having an assigned half-width, w/2, defined between each lengthwise edge thereof and a reference line, said runway having a designated length, L, and means for generating velocity signals representative of the instantaneous velocity of said trainer with respect to ground at the level of said runway; providing a stationary display surface viewable from said eye location along said lines of sight, said surface being spaced from said eye location a predetermined distance, S; generating a video raster and displaying said raster at said display surface; generating a fixed, horizontal horizon line image signal; generating slope signals corresponding with the slopes of the said lengthwise edges of said runway image in correspondence with a quotient of the value representing the distance of a said edge from said reference line divided by a value representative of said instantaneous altitude, y; generating signals representing the predetermined vertical location of a vanishing point within the periphery of said raster; generating signals representing the position of increments of said runway longitudinal edges extending from said vanishing point at the slopes defined by said slope signals; generating signals representing imaging data of said runway threshold and end; processing said generated signals to generate video outputs; and treating said video outputs to provide an image at said raster. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35)
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36. A system for aircraft flight simulation comprising:
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a base supported aircraft trainer having a cockpit and front window-like opening for providing lines of sight from an eye location within said cockpit and having flight controls manipulative to cause said cockpit to move upon said base in roll, pitch and yaw attitudes about respective longitudinal, transverse and vertical axes, said trainer including means generating altitude signals, y, substantially representative of the height of said eye location above an imaged runway within said line of sight, said runway having edges spaced from a reference line a width, w/2 and a designated length, L, and means for generating velocity signals representative of the instantaneous velocity of said trainer with respect to ground at the level of said runway; a stationary, generally vertically oriented display surface viewable from said eye location along said lines of sight, said surface being spaced from said eye location a predetermined distance, S; video imaging means for imaging a video raster at said display surface; first circuit means for developing slope signals corresponding with the slopes, with respect to vertical, of the images of said runway lengthwise edges, said slope signals being developed substantially as the quotient of the expression;
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w/2y;timing circuit means for generating video raster controls including horizontal scan information and control signals developed through a predetermined digital sequence and vertical information and control signals developed through a predetermined digital sequence; second circuit means responsive to said timing circuit vertical information and to a signal substantially representing a predetermined vertical position upon said raster for developing a signal representing the predetermined vertical location of a vanishing point upon said raster; line generator circuit means responsive to said timing circuit means horizontal scan information signals and said first circuit means slope signals for accumulatively summing said slope signals with signals representing the raster horizontal location of a substantially next preceding image increment of a said runway lengthwise edge, said accumulation commencing substantially with a correspondence of said second circuit means signals and said timing circuit means vertical information signals for generating output signals representing the locations of said runway lengthwise edges; integrator circuit means responsive to said trainer velocity signals for developing a distance signal, x, representing the instantaneous horizontal distance extending substantially from said eye position to a predetermined threshold related location upon said runway; runway threshold circuit means for developing runway threshold imaging data signals corresponding with the image location of said runway threshold substantially as a quotient of the product of said altitude signal, y, and a signal corresponding with said predetermined distance, S, divided by said distance signal, x; runway end circuit means for developing runway end imaging data signal corresponding with the image location of said runway end substantially as a quotient of the product of said altitude signal, y, and a signal corresponding with said predetermined distance, S, divided by a signal representing the sum of said distance signal, x, and a signal corresponding with said runway length, L; and video processing means responsive to said line generator circuit means output signals, said runway threshold signals, said runway end signals and said timing circuit means horizontal and vertical control signals for deriving video outputs for assertion at said video imaging means. - View Dependent Claims (37, 38, 39)
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Specification