System and method for electronic moving map and aeronautical context display

• US 8,645,056 B2
• Filed: 01/11/2012
• Issued: 02/04/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 11/29/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: The Boeing Co.
• Original Assignee: The Boeing Co.
• Inventors: Wipplinger, Patrick Ralf, Schiefele, Jens, Wiesemann, Thorsten
• Primary Examiner(s): Mawari, Redhwan K
• Application Number:
  US13/347,964
• Publication Number:
  US 20120123680A1
• Time in Patent Office: 755 Days
• Field of Search: 701/408
• US Class Current: 701/408
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 23/005 Flight directors indicating arrangements specially adapted for rotary gyroscopes G01C19/32
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0021 located in the aircraft
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0039 Modification of a flight plan
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 29/106 using electronic means
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/00 Arrangements for maintenance, administration or management of data switching networks, e.g. of packet switching networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/12 Discovery or management of network topologies
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/22 comprising specially adapted graphical user interfaces [GUI]

Abstract

A system and method for controlling a display of geographical data on a primary display device to assist in navigating a mobile platform such as an aircraft, ship, train, land-based motor vehicle, etc. The system includes a graphical user interface module (GUI) for receiving a plurality of user inputs, and an image control module. The GUI generates a primary display of the complete route being traveled on the primary display device. If the entire route does not fit on the display device, then the image control module generates data that the GUI uses to generate a context display on the primary display device. The context display presents the entire route as a smaller image on the primary display device, simultaneously with the primary display. The user inputs for the GUI enable the user to zoom, pan and perform other image control operations on either the primary display or the context display.

Claims

1. A system for controlling a display of geographic data to assist in the navigation of a mobile platform comprising:

a graphical user interface module that generates a primary display and a context display on a display screen;

a user input that enables a user to select geographic data to be used by the primary display and the context display;

an image control module responsive to the geographic data that uses the geographic data to generate information used to populate the primary display and the context display, with the context display being presented as an overlay over a minor portion of the primary display and illustrating a complete route of the mobile platform, and with the information shown on the primary display being presented at a first magnification level and the information shown on the context display presented at a second magnification level that is lower than the first magnification level; and

the image control module further generating an indicator displayed on the context display, and which is moveable within the context display, that indicates that specific portion of the geographic data being shown in the context display that is to be displayed in the primary display, and the indicator of the context display able to be panned through a command input by the user to any subarea of the context display, which causes a corresponding panning of the geographic information presented on the primary display at the first magnification level.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the geographic data comprises an airport map.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the geographic data comprises a terminal chart associated with an airport.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the geographic data includes a planned route of travel of the mobile platform from a departure location to a destination location.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the image control module comprises an input for receiving a zoom request from the user which enables a user to change a magnification level being used to display the geographic data on the primary display.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the user input is applied via a joystick control element.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the image control module is responsive to a zoom button input and a joystick control element, and where the zoom button input and the joystick control element cooperatively enable the user to draw, on the primary display, an indication of a specific portion of the geographic data being display on the primary display that is to be magnified.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein dimensions of the indicator are enlarged and reduced in accordance with a zoom command provided by the user to the image control module.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the image control module automatically generates the context display when all of the geographic data cannot be displayed on the primary display at a selected level of magnification.

10. The system of claim 4, wherein the image control module automatically generates the context display when the planned route of travel is not able to be shown completely on the primary display, and wherein the indicator circumscribes that portion of the planned route of travel that is being displayed on the primary display.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein the image control module automatically removes the indicator if an entirety of the geographic data can be displayed on the primary display.

12. A system for controlling a display of geographic data to assist in the navigation of a mobile platform comprising:

a graphical user interface module that generates a primary display and a context display on a display screen;

a user input that enables a user to select geographic data to be used by the primary display and the context display;

an image control module responsive to the geographic data that uses the geographic data to generate information used to populate the primary display and the context display, with the context display being presented as an overlay over a portion of the primary display and displaying a complete route of the mobile platform;

the image control module further generating an indicator displayed on the context display that is moveable within the context display, and which indicates a specific portion of the geographic data being shown in the context display which is to also be presented in the primary display, and with the information shown on the primary display being presented at a first magnification level and the information shown on the context display presented at a second magnification level that is lower than the first magnification level, and the indicator able to be panned by;

inputting a first pan command to pan a scene of the geographic data displayed on the primary display, which causes a corresponding panning movement of the indicator;

or

inputting a second pan command to directly pan the indicator, which causes a corresponding panning movement of the scene of the geographic data in the primary display.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein dimensions of the indicator are controlled in accordance with a magnification selected for displaying the scene in the primary display.

14. The system of claim 12, wherein the context display and the indicator are both automatically generated and displayed by the image control module when an entirety of the scene of the geographic data is not able to be displayed on the primary display.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the indicator is automatically removed by the image control module when the entirety of the scene of the geographic data is able to be displayed on the primary display.

16. The system of claim 12, wherein the indicator comprises a rectangular line forming a box that is overlayed on the context display.

17. The system of claim 12, wherein the image control module determines if additional detail is able to displayed on the primary display when a magnification of the scene of the geographic data is increased, and displays the additional detail on the primary display.

18. The system of claim 12, wherein the geographic data comprises a terminal chart associated with an airport.

19. The system of claim 12, wherein the geographic data comprises a line overlayed on the geographic data on the primary display representing a route of the mobile platform.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein a corresponding line is overlayed on the context display.