Displays and display systems

• US 5,329,277 A
• Filed: 06/18/1993
• Issued: 07/12/1994
• Est. Priority Date: 12/05/1990
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Smiths Group plc (Smiths Group International Holdings Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Smiths Industries Public Limited Company
• Inventors: Dougan, Keith G., O'Sullivan, Peter F.
• Primary Examiner(s): Williams, Hezron E.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Oda, Christine K.
• Application Number:
  US08/078,064
• Time in Patent Office: 389 Days
• Field of Search: 340/971, 340/977, 340/979, 340/973, 340/961, 340/701, 340/734, 364/439, 342/36, 342/44
• US Class Current: 340/971
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/933 of aircraft or spacecraft
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/06 Cathode-ray tube displays or other two dimensional or three-dimensional displays

Abstract

An aircraft display system has a display unit comprising a matrix array of LED'"'"'s mounted in the glareshield. Air traffic command signals received by a datalink processor produce a visual indication on the display unit which is visible to the pilot when looking through the window. A button on the display unit is pressed by the pilot to acknowledge receipt of instructions. Other important messages are displayed by the display unit at different times. Radar altimeter height is displayed in a color which changes when the aircraft descends below its flare height. When on the ground, the display unit displays alphanumerically the distance-to-go to the end of the runway, and simultaneously displays stripes that move horizontally to indicate deviation of the aircraft from the runway center line.

Claims

1. An aircraft display system comprising a visual display unit mounted in the glareshield of an aircraft and including an array of electrically-energizable elements, a processing unit, means for providing a first signal to said processing unit representative of aircraft attitude, means for providing a second signal to said processing unit representative of distance-to-go of the aircraft from a point on a runway to the end of the runway, said processing unit being responsive to said first and second signals to provide a display driver signal to said display unit after the aircraft has landed to cause said array of elements to produce an alphanumeric representation taking the form of symbols moving horizontally in a direction and at a rate dependent on displacement of the aircraft from a runway centerline and a simultaneous numerical representation of said distance-to-go, said alphanumeric representation being in one color on a contrasting background when the variable value of information being displayed is in a predetermined range, and the color of at least one of the alphanumeric representation and the contrasting background being changed when the variable value of information being displayed falls outside said predetermined range so that a viewer'"'"'s attention is drawn to the display unit as a whole by said change in color.