Process and device for aiding aerial navigation, with display of navigation instruments used

• US 6,236,912 B1
• Filed: 08/10/1998
• Issued: 05/22/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 02/09/1996
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sextant Avionique
• Original Assignee: Sextant Avionique
• Inventors: Bomans, Muriel, Grand-Perret, Sylvie
• Primary Examiner(s): LOUIS JACQUES, JACQUES H
• Application Number:
  US09/125,018
• Time in Patent Office: 1,016 Days
• Field of Search: 701/3, 701/4, 701/11, 701/13, 701/14, 701/120, 701/35, 701/29, 701/31, 701/34, 701/200, 701/202, 701/204, 701/206, 434/43, 434/42, 434/49, 244/181, 244/182, 244/183, 244/227, 244/76.A, 244/75.R, 244/220, 244/221, 714/46, 714/3, 714/31, 340/971, 340/973, 340/976, 340/980, 345/326, 345/333-335, 345/339, 345/348-349, 345/355-357
• US Class Current: 701/3
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 23/005 Flight directors indicating arrangements specially adapted for rotary gyroscopes G01C19/32

Abstract

A process and device for assisting aerial navigation. The system affords the pilot of the aircraft greater knowledge regarding the situation which results from automatic decisions of a flight management system. A central zone is displayed on a viewing screen which represents the overall use of the navigation instruments. Peripheral zones of the screen represent the individual instruments with a visible plot of the relationship between the central zone and a particular peripheral zone when the latter corresponds to a navigation instrument actually being used. For example, the central zone is a disk whose diameter represents the mean error in position given by the use of the various instruments and the visible plots of relationship are color radial sectors which extend between the central zone and certain peripheral zones. The names of the instruments are indicated in the peripheral zones.

Claims

1. Process for aiding aerial navigation of an aircraft having a flight management system carrying out a dialogue with the pilot by means of several interfaces including at least one display screen, said process comprising:

simultaneously displaying on the display screen a central zone indicating an operational state of aircraft navigation relative to a plurality of navigation tools available on the aircraft and peripheral zones distributed around the central zone, wherein each peripheral zone is associated with one of the navigation tools available for use on the aircraft and the display of the peripheral zones indicates if the associated navigation tool is actually used by the flight management system in navigating the aircraft; and

displaying the peripheral zone associated with at least any of the navigation tools actually being used linked to the central zone by a linking plot.

2. Process according to claim 1, wherein the process further comprises displaying each linking plot as a colored radial zone extending between the central zone and the peripheral zone.

3. Process according to claim 2, wherein the process further comprises displaying the radial zone as a triangular or frustoconical shape that narrows towards the central zone and becoming wider towards the peripheral zone.

4. Process according to claim 3, wherein the process further comprises displaying the central zone as a disk with a diameter having a value that represents an estimated value of mean error in position based upon the navigation tools used and error calculated by the flight management system.

5. Process according to claim 2, wherein the process further comprises displaying the radial zone as an arrow shape.

6. Process according to claim 5, wherein the process further comprises displaying the central zone as a disk with a diameter having a value that represents an estimated value of mean error in position based upon the navigation tools used and error calculated by the flight management system.

7. Process according to claim 2, wherein the process further comprises displaying the central zone as a disk with a diameter having value that represents an estimated value of mean error in position based upon the navigation tools used and error calculated by the flight management system.

8. Process according to claim 1, wherein the process further comprises displaying the central zone as a disk with a diameter that has a value that represents an estimated value of mean error in position based upon the navigation tools and associated error calculated by the flight management system being used.

9. Process according to claim 8, wherein the process further comprises displaying a circular line around the disk, the circular line having a diameter that has a value that represents a maximum acceptable mean position error.

10. Process according to claim 1, wherein the process further comprises displaying the peripheral zone in direct contact with the central zone as the linking plot and a colored portion of the central zone adjacent to the peripheral zone so it is immediately evident the navigation tools being used and the navigation tools which are not used.

11. Process according to claim 10, wherein the process further comprises displaying the central zone as a polygon having a number of vertices equal to a number of navigation tools which are theoretically necessary in a current flight phase, and wherein the entire polygon is colored if the system actually uses all of theoretically necessary navigation tools.

12. Process according to claim 11, wherein the process further comprises displaying a peripheral zone corresponding to a navigation tool recognized as valid by the flight management system but which is not currently being used by the flight management system as at least a frame.

13. Device for aiding aerial navigation of an aircraft having a flight management system configured to perform a dialogue with the pilot by means of several interfaces including at least one display screen, said device further comprising:

a control portion configured to provide simultaneous display on the display screen of a central zone indicating an operational state of the flight management system as determined by the flight management system relative to the plurality of navigation tools available on the aircraft and actually used to navigate the aircraft, peripheral zones distributed around the central zone, and linking plots between the central zone and particular ones of the peripheral zones representing the actual use of a particular navigation tool by the flight management system as to the particular linked peripheral zone, so that the simultaneous displaying of the central zone and associated peripheral zones with linking plots indicates the navigation tools actually used by the flight management system.

14. Device according to claim 13, wherein the display screen is a screen associated with an input console configured to allow selection of specified zones of the screen for the execution of operations related to these zones, and separate control elements are provided and configured to control data display on the screen pertaining to the navigation tool corresponding to a particular peripheral zone when the particular peripheral zone is selected.

15. Device according to claim 14, wherein the separate control elements are also configured to control display of the peripheral zones associated with the navigation tools in a satisfactory state of operation differently from the peripheral zones associated with the navigation tools which cannot operate correctly.

16. Device according to claim 13, wherein the separate control elements are also configured to control display of the peripheral zones associated with the navigation tools in a satisfactory state of operation differently from the peripheral zones associated with the navigation tools which cannot operate correctly.