Device for reviewing the flight plan of an aircraft, in particular of a transport plane

• US 6,618,652 B2
• Filed: 02/06/2002
• Issued: 09/09/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 02/26/2001
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Airbus Operations SAS (Airbus SE)
• Original Assignee: Airbus France
• Inventors: Lafon, Jean-François, Ferro, Daniel
• Primary Examiner(s): Cuchlinski, Jr., William A
• Assistant Examiner(s): Hernandez, Olga
• Application Number:
  US10/066,774
• Publication Number:
  US 20020120373A1
• Time in Patent Office: 580 Days
• Field of Search: 701/3, 701/1, 701/4, 701/9, 701/14, 701/36, 244/1.R
• US Class Current: 701/3
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 23/005 Flight directors indicating arrangements specially adapted for rotary gyroscopes G01C19/32
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0039 Modification of a flight plan

Abstract

Device for reviewing the flight plan of an aircraft, in particular of a transport plane.

The device (1) includes display means (3) depicting, on a presentation screen (5), a flight plan page comprising a flight plan, and actuatable means of review (6) making it possible to carry out a review of said flight plan. The presentation screen (5) includes an interactive window (F) comprising responsive objects, and the flight plan page includes a characteristic sign indicating a review menu, first responsive objects provided at the level of waypoints and of the characteristic sign, the designating and the enabling of a first responsive object controlling the dropping down of a review menu, and second responsive objects associated with particular review pages and provided on the review menu when it has dropped down, the designating and the enabling of a second responsive object controlling access to the associated review page.

Claims

1. A device mounted on an aircraft, in particular a transport plane, for enabling a pilot or other operator of the aircraft to review during flight the flight plan of the aircraft, said device including:

display means including at least one presentation screen for depicting a flight plan page comprising a flight plan which includes at least waypoints which the aircraft is to overfly, as well as information relating to said waypoints; and

actuatable means operable by said pilot or other operator to carry out a review of said flight plan and comprising at least;

first control means to enable said pilot or other operator to access review pages, to enable reviews of said flight plan to be carried out; and

second control means for carrying out said reviews from said review pages, wherein;

said presentation screen includes at least one interactive window comprising plural responsive objects, said first control means provide for designation and enablement of a responsive object of said plural responsive objects, and said display means display, with respect to the flight plan depicted on said display screen;

at least one characteristic sign indicating a review menu;

first responsive objects of said plural responsive objects, said first responsive objects relating to a drop-down review menu and being provided at the level of said waypoints and said characteristic sign, the designation and enablement by said first control means of one of said first responsive objects automatically controlling the dropping down, over the flight plan page, of said drop-down review menu; and

second responsive objects of said plural responsive objects, said second responsive objects being associated respectively with particular ones of said review pages and being provided on said review menu when said review menu has dropped down, the designation and enablement by said first control means of one of said second responsive objects automatically controlling access to the one of said review pages which is associated with said one of said second responsive objects, and wherein;

said display means displays the flight plan page to include, in addition, information pertaining to segments between waypoints, displays the waypoints successively in one and the same direction on a first column, and displays said information successively in the same direction on a second column.

2. The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said display means displays one of said review pages, said one of said review pages being accessed by designation and enablement by said first control means of the one of said first responsive objects which is associated with said characteristic sign indicating the review menu, so as to include no preselected waypoint.

3. The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said display means displays one of said review pages, which is accessed by designation and enablement by said first control means of one of said first responsive objects which is associated with a particular waypoint of said flight plan, so as to include a preselection of said particular waypoint.

4. The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said display means displays the flight plan page to include, in addition, third responsive objects of said plural responsive objects, said third responsive objects being provided at the level of at least some of said information relating to the waypoints and corresponding to responsive objects associated respectively with particular review pages which enable carrying out the review of said information relating to the waypoints, the designation and enablement by said first control means of one of said third responsive objects automatically controlling access to the one of said particular review pages which enables carrying out the review of the information which is associated with said one of said third responsive objects.

5. The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said first control means include:

at least one actuatable means for displacing a cursor over said interactive window in such a way as to designate one of said responsive objects; and

at least one actuatable enabling means for enabling said one of said responsive objects which is designated by way of said cursor in such a way as to cause execution of a function which is associated with said one of said responsive objects.

6. A dialog system mounted on an aircraft, for enabling a pilot or other onboard operator of the aircraft to carry out during flight a plurality of actions relating to flying of the aircraft, said actions including review of the flight plan, said system including said device for reviewing the flight plan specified in claim 1, and

wherein said display means display on the presentation screen, permanently and independently of the one of said review pages which is depicted on said presentation screen, at least one menu bar including at least some of said plural responsive objects that are respectively associated with information pages, designation and enablement of one of said at least some of said plural responsive objects automatically controlling direct access to the information page which is associated with said one of said at least some of said plural responsive objects.