Apparatus for the display of weather and terrain information on a single display

• US 6,653,947 B2
• Filed: 02/20/2002
• Issued: 11/25/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 02/20/2002
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
• Original Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
• Inventors: He, Gang, Dwyer, David B.
• Primary Examiner(s): SWARTHOUT, BRENT
• Application Number:
  US10/081,601
• Publication Number:
  US 20030156046A1
• Time in Patent Office: 643 Days
• Field of Search: 340/961, 340/968, 340/970, 340/949, 340/963, 701/4, 701/9, 701/14, 342/26, 342/65
• US Class Current: 340/970
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 23/00 Combined instruments indicating more than one navigational value, e.g. for aircraft; Combined measuring devices for measuring two or more variables of movement, e.g. distance, speed or acceleration
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/87 Combinations of radar systems, e.g. primary radar and secondary radar
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/933 of aircraft or spacecraft
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/935 for terrain-avoidance
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/953 mounted on aircraft
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/22 Producing cursor lines and indicia by electronic means
• CPC Class Codes: Y02A 90/10 Information and communication technologies [ICT] supporting adaptation to climate change, e.g. for weather forecasting or climate simulation

Abstract

A display system having a display screen for graphical display of data, a graphics processor for receiving data from at least a terrain data base and data from a weather radar and for converting the received data into a single data stream to provide an input data stream to the display screen. The single display displays the weather data on one portion of the display screen and displays the terrain data on a second portion of the display screen. The weather data is displayed as a two-dimensional graphic and the terrain data is displayed as a three-dimensional graphic, thus providing a user with the necessary flight information while keeping processing resources to a reasonable level. The terrain data is displayed as an out the window display graphic, and the weather data and the terrain data displays are scaled such that the displays are dimensionally juxtaposed to allow rapid recognition of the data by a user of the display system.

Claims

1. A flight deck display system comprising:

a display having a display screen for graphical display of data,

a graphics processor for receiving terrain data from at least a terrain data base and weather data from a weather data source and for converting the received data into a single data stream to provide an input data stream to the display screen, the display screen having two display areas, a lateral two-dimensional display area and a three dimensional display area,

the display displaying the weather data only on the lateral two dimensional area of the display screen and displaying the terrain data at least on the three dimensional area of the display screen, thus contributing to the clarity and ease of interpretation of the display;

the weather data being displayed most efficiently solely as a two-dimensional graphic and the terrain data being displayed as a three dimensional graphic.

2. A flight deck display system as set forth in claim 1 wherein the terrain data is displayed as an out the window display graphic.

3. A flight deck display system as set forth in claim 1 wherein the terrain data is displayed relative to the altitude of an aircraft.

4. A flight deck display system as set forth in claim 2 wherein the terrain data is displayed relative to the altitude of an aircraft.

5. A flight deck display system as set forth in claim 1 wherein the weather data and the terrain data represented on the display are scaled such that the displays of the data are dimensionally juxtaposed to allow rapid recognition of the data by a user of the display system.

6. A flight deck display system as set forth in claim 5 wherein the terrain data is displayed as an out the window display graphic.

7. A flight deck display system in an aircraft comprising:

a display having a display screen for graphical display of data,

a terrain data base,

a weather sensor,

a source for providing data representing the position, heading and velocity of the aircraft, and

a source of terrain avoidance warning data;

a graphics processor for receiving terrain data from the terrain data base, weather data from the weather sensor, position, heading, and velocity data from the source of position, heading and velocity data, and terrain avoidance warning data from the source of terrain avoidance warning data, and for converting the received data into a data stream to provide an input data stream to the display screen,

the display simultaneously displaying the data on the display screen such that the weather data is displayed solely as a two-dimensional graphic, thus contributing to the clarity and ease of interpretation of the display, and the terrain data is displayed primarily as a three dimensional graphic.

8. A flight deck display system as set forth in claim 7 wherein the terrain data is displayed as an out the window display graphic.

9. A flight deck display system as set forth in claim 7 wherein the terrain data is displayed relative to the altitude of an aircraft.

10. A flight deck display system as set forth in claim 8 wherein the terrain data is displayed relative to the altitude of the aircraft.

11. A flight deck display system as set forth in claim 7 wherein the weather data and the terrain data represented on the display are scaled such that the displays of the data are dimensionally juxtaposed to allow rapid recognition of the data by a user of the display system.

12. A flight deck display system as set forth in claim 11 further comprising superimposing aircraft altitude and path markers on the terrain data such that the marker represents a position a fixed distance ahead of the actual position of the aircraft.

13. A flight deck display system for use in an aircraft comprising:

a display having a display screen for graphical display of data,

a graphics processor for receiving terrain data from at least a terrain data base and weather data from a weather sensor and for converting the received data into a single data stream to provide an input data stream to the display screen, the display screen having two display areas, a lateral two-dimensional display area and a three dimensional display area,

the display displaying the weather data only on the lateral two-dimensional area of the display screen in a lateral display format and displaying the terrain data on at least the three dimensional area of the display screen as an out-the-window view,

thus contributing to the clarity and ease of interpretation of the display.

14. A fight deck display system as set for in claim 13 wherein the terrain display is represented in colors to show features of the terrain relative to the altitude of the aircraft.

15. A flight deck display system as set forth in claim 13 wherein the weather display is represented in colors to show features of the weather relative to the severity of the weather.

16. A flight deck display system as set forth in claim 13 wherein terrain features are displayed in a color format in which terrain features substantially below the altitude of the aircraft are colored green, terrain features at substantially the altitude of the aircraft are colored yellow, and terrain features at or above the altitude of the aircraft are colored red.

17. A method for simultaneously displaying terrain and weather data on a unitary display screen, comprising;

providing a graphics processor for receiving terrain data from at least a terrain data base and weather data from a weather data source and for converting the received data into a single data stream to provide an input data stream to the display screen, the display screen having two display areas, a lateral two dimensional display area and a three dimensional display area,

displaying the weather data only on the lateral two dimensional are of the display screen, thus contributing to the clarity and ease of interpretation of the display, and displaying the terrain data at least on the three dimensional area of the display screen,

the weather data being displayed most efficiently solely as a two-dimensional graphic and the terrain data being displayed as a three dimensional graphic.

18. A method as set forth in claim 17 wherein the terrain data is displayed as an out the window display graphic.

19. A method as set forth in claim 17 wherein the terrain data is displayed relative to the altitude of an aircraft.

20. A method as set forth in claim 18 wherein the terrain data is displayed relative to the altitude of an aircraft.