Aircraft display management system for flight envelope protection

• US 9,587,961 B2
• Filed: 08/06/2015
• Issued: 03/07/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 08/06/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Airbus
• Original Assignee: Airbus
• Inventors: Toumazet, Jean-Jacques, Vadillo, Mlanie
• Primary Examiner(s): NGUYEN, LEON VIET Q
• Application Number:
  US14/819,956
• Publication Number:
  US 20170038223A1
• Time in Patent Office: 579 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 45/00 Aircraft indicators or protectors not otherwise provided for camouflage F41H3/00
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 23/005 Flight directors indicating arrangements specially adapted for rotary gyroscopes G01C19/32

Abstract

A display management system is provided for displaying a graphical representation of flight envelope information of an aircraft. Included in the display management system is a control module being coupled to the display management system and programmed to control the graphical representation including at least one flight envelope protection attribute. A signal detection module receives signals from a plurality of sensors of the aircraft, and the received signals include associated parameter values for the at least one flight envelope protection attribute. A protection selection module selects the at least one flight envelope protection attribute based on the received signals and parameter values. A display module displays the at least one flight envelope protection attribute on a display screen in relation to a flight control law state stored in a database using a display model of the aircraft from an elevational view based on the received signals and parameter values.

Claims

1. A display management system for providing a graphical representation of flight envelope information of an aircraft, comprising:

a control module configured to be coupled to the display management system and programmed to control the graphical representation including at least one flight envelope protection attribute;

a plurality of sensors associated with the flight envelope information of the aircraft;

a signal detection module configured to receive signals from the plurality of sensors of the aircraft, the received signals including associated parameter values for the at least one flight envelope protection attribute;

a protection selection module configured to select the at least one flight envelope protection attribute based on the received signals and the parameter values;

a database configured to store data related to the flight envelope information of the aircraft;

a display module configured to display the at least one flight envelope protection attribute on a display screen in relation to a flight control law state stored in the database using a display model of the aircraft from an elevational view based on the received signals and the parameter values included in the received signals; and

at least one animated indicator related to a corresponding flight envelope protection attribute and flight control law of the aircraft, the at least one animated indicator being displayed onto or adjacent to a longitudinal axis of the display model in the elevational view on the display screen,

wherein the graphical representation of the at least one animated indicator is dynamically modified based on a change of the corresponding flight envelope protection attribute and flight control law of the aircraft.

2. The display management system of claim 1, wherein the at least one flight envelope protection attribute includes at least one of:

a pitch protection attribute, a bank protection attribute, an airspeed protection attribute, an acceleration visualization attribute, and an angle of attack protection attribute.

3. The display management system of claim 1, wherein a pitch protection attribute of the aircraft is displayed on the display screen using a cone-shaped zone.

4. The display management system of claim 1, wherein a bank protection attribute of the aircraft is displayed on the display screen using a hue and color technique.

5. The display management system of claim 4, wherein the bank protection attribute is displayed by changing a color of wings of the display model based on a sensed bank angle of the aircraft.

6. The display management system of claim 1, wherein a bank angle tendency of a sensed bank angle of the aircraft is displayed by using at least one directional icon being animated on a virtual path relative to a navigational direction axis of the aircraft.

7. The display management system of claim 6, wherein the at least one directional icon on the virtual path is displayed in different colors based on a roll rate of the aircraft.

8. The display management system of claim 1, wherein an airspeed protection attribute is displayed by using a vector arrow being extended near a center of the display model relative to a navigational direction axis of the aircraft.

9. The display management system of claim 8, wherein a length of the vector arrow is variably adjusted based on an actual sensed airspeed of the aircraft.

10. The display management system of claim 8, wherein the vector arrow is animated in a vertical plane of the display model to illustrate a velocity direction of the aircraft.

11. The display management system of claim 8, wherein the vector arrow is displayed in different colors based on an actual sensed airspeed of the aircraft.

12. The display management system of claim 8, wherein the airspeed protection attribute is displayed by using a set of first and second brackets, the first bracket being disposed near a starting point of the vector arrow, the second bracket being disposed near an opposite ending point of the vector arrow.

13. The display management system of claim 12, wherein at least one of the first and second brackets is displayed in different colors based on an actual sensed airspeed of the aircraft.

14. The display management system of claim 8, wherein an acceleration visualization attribute is displayed by using at least one directional icon being animated along the vector arrow of the display model.

15. The display management system of claim 1, wherein an angle of attack protection attribute is displayed by using a scale having an indicator mark relative to the longitudinal axis of the aircraft.

16. The display management system of claim 15, wherein a position of the indicator mark on the scale is adjusted based on a corresponding angle of attack of the wing.

17. The display management system of claim 1, wherein the control module is configured to compare the received signals from the plurality of sensors with the flight control law state stored in the database to determine whether the at least one flight envelope protection attribute should be displayed on the display screen.

18. A display management method for providing a graphical representation of flight envelope information of an aircraft, comprising:

controlling the graphical representation including at least one flight envelope protection attribute based on a flight control law state stored in a database;

receiving signals from a plurality of sensors of the aircraft, the received signals including associated parameter values for the at least one flight envelope protection attribute;

selecting the at least one flight envelope protection attribute based on the received signals and the parameter values;

displaying the at least one flight envelope protection attribute on a display screen in relation to the flight control law state using a display model of the aircraft from an elevational view based on the received signals and the parameter values included in the received signals;

providing at least one animated indicator related to a corresponding flight envelope protection attribute and flight control law of the aircraft, the at least one animated indicator being displayed onto or adjacent to a longitudinal axis of the display model in the elevational view on the display screen; and

modifying dynamically the graphical representation of the at least one animated indicator based on a change of the corresponding flight envelope protection attribute and flight control law of the aircraft.

19. An aircraft having a display management system for providing a graphical representation of flight envelope information of the aircraft, the display management system comprising instructions to:

control the graphical representation including at least one flight envelope protection attribute based on a flight control law state stored in a database;

receive signals from a plurality of sensors of the aircraft, the received signals including associated parameter values for the at least one flight envelope protection attribute;

select the at least one flight envelope protection attribute based on the received signals and the parameter values;

display the at least one flight envelope protection attribute on a display screen in relation to the flight control law state using a display model of the aircraft from an elevational view based on the received signals and the parameter values included in the received signals; and

provide at least one animated indicator related to a corresponding flight envelope protection attribute and flight control law of the aircraft, the at least one animated indicator being displayed onto or adjacent to a longitudinal axis of the display model in the elevational view on the display screen; and

modify dynamically the graphical representation of the at least one animated indicator based on a change of the corresponding flight envelope protection attribute and flight control law of the aircraft.