Control system providing perspective flight guidance

• US 7,010,398 B2
• Filed: 02/27/2003
• Issued: 03/07/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 10/11/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: The Boeing Co.
• Original Assignee: The Boeing Co.
• Inventors: Wilkins, Robert Ryan Jr., Harris, Kenneth Scott
• Primary Examiner(s): Hernandez, Olga
• Application Number:
  US10/376,869
• Publication Number:
  US 20030222887A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,104 Days
• Field of Search: 244/1.R, 244/75.R, 244/76.R, 342/29, 731/78.R, 701/3, 701/7, 701/8, 701/9, 701/10, 701/14, 701/200, 701/202, 701/210, 701/211, 701/1, 340/945
• US Class Current: 701/3
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 23/005 Flight directors indicating arrangements specially adapted for rotary gyroscopes G01C19/32

Abstract

A flight guidance system providing perspective flight guidance symbology using positioning and terrain information provides increased pilot situational awareness of the pilot'"'"'s aircraft. The guidance system uses a positioning system and a detailed mapping system to provide a perspective display for use in an aircraft. A precision pathway flight guidance (PFG) symbology set is thereby displayed on a pilot display. The PFG symbology set includes broken line symbols representing an open tunnel and providing flow field data, a half-bracket symbol to indicate that the aircraft is no longer in the open tunnel represented by the broken line symbols and a quickened flight path vector (QFPV) symbol to provide the pilot with predictive flight path information. A flight director system and tunnel generator component provide for updating the displayed PDFG symbology set based upon current aircraft conditions (e.g., aircraft position) and stored flight path information.

Claims

1. An aircraft guidance system comprising:

a flight guidance component configured to determine a current aircraft state;

a control component configured to receive information relating to the current aircraft state and comparing to a desired aircraft state; and

a tunnel generator component configured to receive navigation control inputs and determine a tunnel profile defining a virtual tunnel having a predetermined predictive time frame for display to control guidance of an aircraft and based upon the compared current aircraft state and desired aircraft state.

2. The aircraft guidance system according to claim 1 further comprising one or more navigation sensors to determine the current aircraft state and wherein the control component determines guidance errors based upon received current aircraft state information from the one or more navigation sensors and the desired aircraft state.

3. The aircraft guidance system according to claim 2, wherein the desired aircraft state is further based upon the navigation control inputs received by the tunnel generator component.

4. The aircraft guidance system according to claim 1, wherein the desired aircraft state comprises a required aircraft state.

5. The aircraft guidance system according to claim 1, wherein the flight guidance component is configured to determine user inputs changing the current aircraft state.

6. The aircraft guidance system according to claim 1, wherein the tunnel generator component is configured to determine a flight plan based upon the received navigation control inputs and to define the virtual tunnel based upon the flight plan.

7. The aircraft guidance system according to claim 1, wherein the received navigation control inputs comprise guidance and display information.

8. The aircraft guidance system according to claim 7, wherein the guidance information comprises waypoint information.

9. The aircraft guidance system according to claim 8, wherein the control component comprises a database having terrain information for use with the waypoint information to define the virtual tunnel in combination with a terrain following guidance profile.

10. The aircraft guidance system according to claim 1, wherein the virtual tunnel is configured to provide a perspective flight guidance display comprising a three-dimensional tunnel.

11. The aircraft guidance system according to claim 10, wherein the perspective flight guidance display comprises predictive navigation information.

12. The aircraft guidance system according to claim 10, wherein a shape of the three-dimensional tunnel changes to represent a predictive positional and attitude state of an aircraft.

13. The aircraft guidance system according to claim 1, wherein feedback information from the control component is used to control pitch and power cues.

14. The aircraft guidance system according to claim 13, wherein the pitch and power cues are configured for display as virtual triangles at the ends of a flight path vector symbol and generated based upon error signals determined from the difference between current aircraft state feedback information and tunnel guidance information from the tunnel generator component.

15. The aircraft guidance system according to claim 1, wherein one of the tunnel generator component or control component determines vertical and lateral quickening values to synchronize the motion of a flight path vector symbol with a tunnel command frame provided in connection with the virtual tunnel.

16. The aircraft guidance system according to claim 15, wherein the lateral quickening value is determined based upon an approximation of future cross track deviation.

17. The aircraft guidance system according to claim 1, wherein the tunnel generator component is configured to receive navigation control inputs in one of:

a flight plan mode adapted to receive a flight plan input; and

a core mode adapted to receive a hold input.

18. The aircraft guidance system according to claim 17, wherein the flight plan input comprises a plurality of waypoints.

19. The aircraft guidance system according to claim 17, wherein the hold input comprises at least one of heading hold information and altitude hold information.

20. The aircraft guidance system according to claim 19, wherein the tunnel generator generates a flight path based upon the hold input.

21. The aircraft guidance system according to claim 1, wherein the tunnel generator component comprises:

a flight plan component configured to generate a flight plan representing a shape of a current desired flight path based upon stored navigation information;

a display component configured to receive the generated flight plan and to generate a three-dimensional graphical representation of the generated flight plan; and

a rendering component configured to receive the three-dimensional graphical representation and to generate a predictive three-dimensional virtual tunnel for display.

22. The aircraft guidance system according to claim 21, wherein the flight plan component is configured to receive current aircraft state information and desired flight plan information to generate the flight plan.

23. The aircraft guidance system according to claim 22, wherein the flight plan comprises horizontal and vertical flight information.

24. The aircraft guidance system according to claim 21, wherein the display component is further configured to generate a three-dimensional graphical representation that changes shape based upon the shape of the current desired flight plan.

25. The aircraft guidance system according to claim 21, wherein the three-dimensional graphical representation comprises a plurality of line segments defining the bounds of a three-dimensional virtual tunnel.

26. The aircraft guidance system according to claim 21, wherein the rendering component is configured to generate two-dimensional navigation members in combination with the predictive three-dimensional virtual tunnel for display.

27. The aircraft guidance system according to claim 21, wherein the rendering component is configured to generate the predictive three-dimensional virtual tunnel in combination with terrain information.

28. The aircraft guidance system according to claim 27, wherein the terrain information comprises three-dimensional terrain view information.

29. An aircraft guidance system comprising:

means for determining a current aircraft state;

means for receiving information relating to the current aircraft state and comparing to a desired aircraft state based upon stored navigation data; and

means for receiving navigation control inputs and determining a tunnel profile defining a virtual tunnel having a predetermined predictive time frame for display to control guidance of an aircraft based upon the compared current aircraft state and the desired aircraft state.

30. The aircraft guidance system according to claim 29 further comprising means for providing feedback information for use in determining the tunnel profile.

31. The aircraft guidance system according to claim 30, wherein the feedback information comprises aircraft state information and further comprising means for determining an error value based upon the feedback information.

32. The aircraft guidance system according to claim 31, further comprising means for generating pitch and power cues for display based upon the error value.

33. The aircraft guidance system according to claim 30 further comprising means for generating a three-dimensional tunnel for display based in part upon the feedback information.

34. A method for providing aircraft guidance comprising:

determining a current aircraft state;

comparing the determined current aircraft state to a desired aircraft state; and

generating a predictive three-dimensional virtual tunnel having a predetermined predictive time frame for display based upon the comparison between the current aircraft state and the desired aircraft state, and based upon stored navigation information.