Concave quadratic aircraft attitude reference display system
First Claim
1. A graphics display system for displaying aircraft flight information comprising:
- a. a screen for displaying graphic data,b. an optical system for transmitting an image of said screen display to a position within a field of view of a pilot of the aircraft,c. means for sensing a pitch angle of said aircraft and generating a signal indicative of said pitch angle,d. means for selecting a pitch ladder bar display sequence based on said pitch angle signal,e. means for generating said pitch ladder bar display sequence such that each pitch ladder bar possesses a generally different radius of curvature, andf. means for displaying said generated pitch ladder bar display sequence on said screen.
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Abstract
A Heads-Up Display system which displays an attitude reference to pilots in order to provide a reference display system as a primary flight instrument. The Heads-up Display system uses a pitch ladder system based on Euler angle data which eliminates the erratic motion or "flip-flop" of the typical pitch ladder which is inherent and unavoidable when pitching near plus or minus 90°, by utilizing a flexible graphics display which presents the pilot with a heads-up view as if he were located inside and at the center of an imaginary sphere which has heading and pitch angle information marked on its inner surface. The display of appropriately curved bars as opposed to a straight bar pitch ladder for attitude reference more realistically depicts to the pilot the aircraft situation relative to the outside world. This presentation is more easily and more reliably interpreted by the pilot and simplifies the recognition and recovery from unusual attitudes. In addition, ground track, yaw rate, turn rate information is available over the entire HUD field-of-view, thus there is no need for the pilot to redirect his attention away from his primary point of interest, the velocity vector, to obtain heading and track information. Appropriate equations are evaluated to obtain line-of-sight angles from the aircraft longitudinal axis to the desired pitch and heading points on the pitch ladder display. Such equations are solved by computer techniques for a sufficient number of intersecting points to complete the display and the graphics hardware connects the points to form the segments of the pitch ladder which represent the imaginary lines on the sphere and displays the same in the pilot'"'"'s field-of-view.
42 Citations
28 Claims
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1. A graphics display system for displaying aircraft flight information comprising:
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a. a screen for displaying graphic data, b. an optical system for transmitting an image of said screen display to a position within a field of view of a pilot of the aircraft, c. means for sensing a pitch angle of said aircraft and generating a signal indicative of said pitch angle, d. means for selecting a pitch ladder bar display sequence based on said pitch angle signal, e. means for generating said pitch ladder bar display sequence such that each pitch ladder bar possesses a generally different radius of curvature, and f. means for displaying said generated pitch ladder bar display sequence on said screen. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A graphics display system for displaying aircraft attitude information comprising:
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a. screen for displaying graphic data, b. an optical system for coupling an image of said displayed graphic data to a position within a field of view of a pilot of the aircraft, c. means for detecting a pitch angle of said aircraft and generating a signal proportional thereto, d. means for selecting a plurality of pitch ladder bars for display based on said pitch angle signal, e. means for generating said pitch ladder bar display, each of said pitch ladders comprising a plurality of coordinate points interconnected by straight line segments, said segments having different slopes for different pitch angles, and f. a means for displaying said generated pitch ladder bar display on said screen. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. A display system for viewing aircraft flight information comprising:
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a. means for sensing pitch and roll angles of an aircraft; b. means for generating a reference spherical surface with an origin at the position of the aircraft, said surface having a vertical polar axis and latitudinal reference markings corresponding to different pitch angles from -90°
to 90°
;c. means for calculating, from said pitch and roll angles, an intersection of a projected flight path of the aircraft with the surface based on said angles; and d. means for displaying to an operator of said aircraft an effective segment of such surface surrounding the intersection from the perspective of the aircraft at the origin. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
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Specification