System and method for displaying a procedure to an aircrew member

• US 9,495,883 B2
• Filed: 08/02/2011
• Issued: 11/15/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 08/02/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
• Original Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
• Inventors: Burgin, Roger W., Malviya, Pramod Kumar, Pepitone, Dave, Hughes, Keith
• Primary Examiner(s): Lang, Michael D
• Application Number:
  US13/196,360
• Publication Number:
  US 20130035848A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,932 Days
• Field of Search: 701/14, 701/528
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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: G08G 5/0021 located in the aircraft
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/025 Navigation or guidance aids radar or analogous systems specially adapted for landing purposes G01S13/913
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 5/06 with both visual and audible presentation of the material to be studied

Abstract

A system and method is disclosed for displaying a procedure to an aircrew member of an aircraft. The system includes, but is not limited to, a moving map display, a position detecting unit, a flight management system, an electronic storage unit for storing navigation procedures associated with geographic locations, and a processor coupled with the moving map display, the position detecting unit, the flight management system, and the electronic storage unit. The processor is configured to receive a current location of the aircraft from the position determining unit and a flight path from the flight management system, to retrieve a navigation procedure from the electronic storage unit corresponding to the current location and the flight path of the aircraft, and to command the moving map display to display a graphic depiction of the flight path.

Claims

1. A system for displaying a procedure to an aircrew member of an aircraft, the system comprising:

a moving map display subsystem configured to display a map that moves in a manner that corresponds with a movement of the aircraft;

a position detecting subsystem that is configured to detect a current location of the aircraft with respect to a ground surface and to generate a first signal indicative of the current location of the aircraft;

a flight management subsystem configured to determine a flight path that will be taken by the aircraft and to generate a second signal indicative of the flight path of the aircraft;

an electronic storage unit configured to store a plurality of navigation procedures associated with a corresponding plurality of geographic locations, each navigation procedure representative of a navigation procedure contained on a paper-based chart; and

a processor operatively coupled with the moving map display subsystem, the position detecting subsystem, the flight management subsystem, and the electronic storage unit,

wherein the processor is configured to receive the first signal from the position detecting subsystem and to receive the second signal from the flight management subsystem, to retrieve a navigation procedure from the electronic storage unit, the navigation procedure corresponding with the current location of the aircraft and the flight path of the aircraft, and the processor is further configured to command the moving map display subsystem to display, on the map, a graphic depiction of an actual flight path that the aircraft will take when executing the retrieved navigation procedure.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to display an annotation together with the graphic depiction of the flight path, the annotation being derived from the retrieved navigation procedure.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the annotation comprises a flight level.

4. The system of claim 2, wherein the annotation comprises a course.

5. The system of claim 2, wherein the annotation comprises both a flight level and a course.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to command the moving map display subsystem to further display the retrieved navigation procedure.

7. The system of claim 1, further comprising an environmental condition sensor configured to sense an environmental condition around the aircraft, the environmental condition sensor being communicatively coupled with the flight management subsystem, and the flight management subsystem configured to determine the flight path of the aircraft based, at least in part, on the environmental condition.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the environmental condition sensor comprises an atmospheric pressure sensor.

9. The system of claim 7, wherein the environmental condition sensor comprises an atmospheric temperature sensor.

10. The system of claim 7, wherein the environmental condition sensor comprises a windspeed sensor.

11. The system of claim 7, wherein the environmental condition sensor comprises a wind direction indicator.

12. The system of claim 7, wherein the environmental condition sensor comprises an altitude sensor.

13. The system of claim 1, further comprising a dynamic condition sensor configured to sense a dynamic condition of the aircraft, the dynamic condition sensor being communicatively coupled with the flight management subsystem, and the flight management subsystem configured to determine the flight path of the aircraft based, at least in part, on the dynamic condition.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the dynamic condition sensor comprises a ground speed indicator.

15. The system of claim 13, wherein the dynamic condition sensor comprises a bank angle indicator.

16. The system of claim 13, wherein the dynamic condition sensor comprises a roll rate indicator.

17. The system of claim 1, wherein the flight path comprises an approach procedure.

18. The system of claim 1, wherein the flight path comprises a holding pattern.

19. A method for displaying a procedure to an aircrew member of an aircraft, the method comprising:

detecting with a position detecting system a current location of the aircraft;

determining with a flight management system a flight path that will be taken by the aircraft;

obtaining from an electronic storage device a navigation procedure for a geographic location corresponding with the current location and the flight path of the aircraft, the obtained navigation procedure representative of a navigation procedure contained on a paper-based chart; and

displaying on a display unit a moving map corresponding with the current location of the aircraft and further displaying, on the moving map, a depiction of an actual flight path that the aircraft will take when executing the obtained navigation procedure.

20. The method of claim 19, further comprising the step of displaying the obtained navigation procedure together with the depiction of the flight path of the aircraft on the moving map.