Patent Application
20200118447
The present disclosure generally relates to avionic information systems, and more particularly relates to an avionic information system including a flight management system.
Flight management systems (FMS) are commonly used in modern aircraft. An FMS is a computerized system that allows for various pilot tasks to be performed automatically or to assist the pilot in performing certain tasks.
One pilot task for which the FMS may assist the pilot is the management of the flight plan of the aircraft during the aircraft's flight. An aircraft's flight plan is generally pre-determined before aircraft take-off. However, the flight plan may be modified by a pilot mid-flight for various reasons. For example, the pilot may wish to re-route the aircraft during the flight in reaction to severe weather or airway congestion or simply to utilize a more efficient route.
Typically, the FMS includes a navigation database that stores various information related to the aircraft's surrounding environment and the aircraft's pre-determined flight plan, such as waypoint information and airway information about the waypoints and airways making up the flight plan. As used herein, an “airway” is defined in its conventional sense to mean a designated flight path to which an aircraft should adhere when travelling in that airspace. An airway is normally defined between, or traversing, two or more waypoints. As is known in the art, a “waypoint” typically corresponds to a known aircraft beacon or geographic feature with which pilots are familiar, but this is not always the case. The FMS generally also includes a terrain database (which may or may not be a separate database to the navigation database) which includes terrain information such as the location and size of obstacles, geographical landmarks, and so on.
Modern FMS systems are able to graphically represent all waypoints and airways within a certain distance from the aircraft on a display. However, since there are typically a large number of airways and waypoints in and around any given area of airspace, the display can normally only show a limited range of these airways and waypoints at an acceptable resolution. This displayed limited range is normally about 50 nautical miles from the aircraft's present position.
If the display were to instead show airways and waypoints within a larger range, for example 100 nautical miles from the aircraft's position, the display would be too cluttered with information and/or the resolution of the display would be too small, and the pilot would then have difficulty in locating a particular waypoint or airway on the display. This increased difficulty would lead to an increase in pilot “head-down” time and an associated decrease in the pilot's situational awareness. In particular, a large amount of pilot time and effort may be devoted to identifying certain information shown on the representation, such as aircraft entry and exit points to a particular airway, and then entering this data into the FMS when a flight plan modification is required. The correct identification and subsequent entry of airway and waypoint information into the FMS when modifying the flight plan is important in order for the aircraft to traverse a safe and fuel-efficient route from one destination to another.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to increase the effective range that can be displayed on the graphical display without increasing pilot workload. Other desirable features and characteristics will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description and appended claims.
This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the detailed description section.
In an exemplary embodiment, there is provided an avionic information system. The avionic information system includes a flight management system for providing a current designated waypoint. The avionic information system also includes a navigation database storing waypoint location information and airway location information and a display module. The avionic information system also includes a processor module operably connected to the flight management system, the navigation database and the display. The processor is configured to determine, from the stored waypoint location information and the stored airway location information, one or more airways that are connected to the current designated waypoint and to cause the display module to graphically represent only the current designated waypoint and the determined one or more airways that are connected to the current designated waypoint and to not display other nearby airways.
In another exemplary embodiment, there is provided a method of modifying a pre-determined flight plan. The method includes the step of graphically representing, using a processor module, a current designated waypoint and only airways that are connected to the current designated waypoint, and not other nearby airways. The method also includes the step of selecting, using a flight management system, an airway connected to the current designated waypoint. The method also includes the step of displaying, using the processor module, a list of potential subsequent designated waypoints and a graphical representation of the subsequent designated waypoints. The method also includes the step of selecting a subsequent designated waypoint from the list of potential subsequent designated waypoints.
A more complete understanding of the subject matter may be derived from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals denote like elements, and wherein:
The following detailed description is merely illustrative in nature and is not intended to limit the embodiments of the subject matter or the application and uses of such embodiments. As used herein, the word “exemplary” means “serving as an example, instance, or illustration.” Thus, any embodiment described herein as “exemplary” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments. All of the embodiments described herein are exemplary embodiments provided to enable persons skilled in the art to make or use the systems and methods defined by the claims. As used herein, the term “module” refers to any hardware, software, firmware, electronic control component, processing logic, and/or processor device, individually or in any combination, including without limitation: application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), an electronic circuit, a processor (shared, dedicated, or group) and memory that executes one or more software or firmware programs, a combinational logic circuit, and/or other suitable components that provide the described functionality. There is no intention to be bound by any expressed or implied theory presented in the preceding Technical Field, Background, Brief Summary or the following Detailed Description.
For the sake of brevity, conventional techniques and components may not be described in detail herein. Furthermore, any connecting lines and arrows shown in the various figures contained herein are intended to represent example functional relationships and/or physical couplings between the various elements. It should be noted that many alternative or additional functional relationships or physical connections may be present in an embodiment of the present disclosure.
The representation 10 in
In particular, as can be seen in
However, in conventional systems, although the dialog box 20 lists potential subsequent airways 13 and potential exit waypoints 12, the pilot is not able to easily determine which exit waypoint 12 corresponds to the exit point of each airway 13. In particular, the pilot may have to “switch” between views of the dialog box 20 and the representation 10 (over which the dialog box 20 is displayed) in order to determine which exit waypoint 12 is associated with each potential subsequent airway 13. This “switching” process increases the pilot's workload and the time taken to modify the flight plan.
Furthermore, because the dialog box 20 is overlaid on top of the representation 10 and thereby obscures the pilot's view of the airways 13 and waypoints 12 shown on the representation 10, the manner in which this information is viewed by the pilot increases the difficulty for the pilot in modifying the flight plan. In some situations, the pilot may have to remember which airways 13 and waypoints 12 are associated with each other when selecting the various airways 13 and waypoints 12 in the dialog box 20, because the pilot is unable to view the obscured information displayed on the representation 10. This necessity to memorize certain pieces of information increases the burden on the pilot when performing flight plan modifications.
In order to overcome the above-described disadvantages, exemplary embodiments of the invention present a reduced amount of information to the pilot.
In exemplary embodiments, the avionic information system 100 includes a navigation database 102. The navigation database 102 is configured to store information relating to the location of various waypoints 12 and the airways 13 connecting these waypoints 12. As defined herein, the terms “connecting” or “connected to” are used to mean that an airway crosses a particular waypoint or joins that particular waypoint. The navigation database 102 may also include terrain information, or a separate terrain database may be provided.
The avionic information system 100 further includes a flight management system 104. The flight management system 104 is configured to store a pre-determined flight plan, which includes a pre-determined number of designated waypoints 12 and designated airways 13 along which the aircraft was originally planned to travel.
Based on the aircraft's present location and the pre-determined flight plan, the flight management system 104 is configured to provide a current designated waypoint. The current designated waypoint is the waypoint to which the aircraft is presently travelling, typically along an airway.
In various exemplary embodiments, the flight management system 104 is operable for pilot interaction to modify the pre-determined flight plan. For example, in various embodiments, the flight management system 104 includes an input/output (I/O module) configured to receive pilot input, for example through the use of a keyboard and mouse, joystick, or other such input device as known in the art, and also to provide an output, for example via a printer or other such output device as known in the art.
As will be explained in more detail below, the pilot may interact with the flight management system 104 to change the current designated waypoint in order to modify the pre-determined flight plan. More specifically, the pilot may interact with the flight management system 104 to de-select the current designated waypoint and to select a different waypoint to become the current designated waypoint. Furthermore, the pilot may interact with the flight management system 104 to de-select a subsequent planned airway 13 and select a new subsequent airway 13.
In exemplary embodiments, the avionic information system 100 includes a display module 106. The display module 106 is operable to graphically display a representation (not shown in this figure) of the current designated waypoint and airways that are connected to the current designated waypoint, as will be explained in more detail below.
In exemplary embodiments, the avionic information system further includes a processor module 108. The processor module 108 is operably connected to the navigation database 102, the flight management system 104 and the display module 106. The processor module 108 is configured to determine, on the basis of the current designated waypoint and the waypoint and airway location information, which airways are connected to the current designated waypoint and to cause the display module 106 to graphically represent only those airways that are connected to the current designated waypoint.
By graphically representing only those airways that are determined to be connected to the current designated waypoint, and not representing other airways near to the location of the aircraft, less airway information can be graphically represented on the display module 106 as compared to conventional representations. As such, the amount of unnecessary airway information displayed to the pilot can be reduced, and the amount of “clutter” displayed on the display module 106 can also be reduced accordingly. The man-machine interface between the pilot and the avionic information system 100 is therefore improved, since the amount of pilot effort needed to locate and selecting a particular subsequent airway or waypoint airway is reduced. Importantly, airway and/or waypoint information that may otherwise have been obscured by airway and/or waypoint information on conventional representations is not obscured on the representation according to various exemplary embodiments due to the reduced amount of clutter on the representation.
Furthermore, since the amount of “clutter” presented to the pilot is reduced on the display module 106, the display module 106 may graphically represent airway location information over a larger effective range from the aircraft's present position as compared to conventional flight management systems. In particular, a larger range may be represented on the display module 106 because the reduced information represented on the display module 106 means that airway and waypoint information is less likely to overlap/overpost with other each other, even when the airway and waypoint information is shown over larger ranges from the aircraft's present position.
An exemplary representation 400 in accordance with various embodiments is shown in
In exemplary embodiments, the representation 400 includes a divergence line 45 showing the divergence between the aircraft's present path of travel and the airway 13 upon which the aircraft is supposed to be traversing.
Comparing the representation 400 in accordance with various embodiments as shown in
Since less information is presented on the exemplary representation 400 in accordance with various embodiments as compared to the conventional representation 10, the representation 400 in accordance with various embodiments can show information over a larger effective range than the conventional representation 10. As explained above, conventional representations 10 are limited to displaying an area of about 50 nm from the aircraft's present location due to the increased clutter and resolution issues encountered at larger effective ranges.
In contrast, in the exemplary representation 400, the reduced information presented allows for a larger effective range from the aircraft's present location to be displayed. The representation 400 show in
Displaying airway information over a larger effective range to the pilot is advantageous in terms of pilot workload, since a greater amount of one particular airway 13 can be displayed to the pilot on the exemplary representation 400 as compared to conventional representations 10. For example, if a particular airway 13 has a sharp turn located at a point in the airway 13, which sharp turn would require maneuvering of the aircraft, this sharp turn is more likely to be shown in the representation 400 in accordance with various embodiments than the conventional representation 10 due to the increased effective range of the representation 400 in accordance with various embodiments. As such, the pilot is forewarned about the sharp turn and associated maneuvering of the aircraft earlier with the avionic information system according to various embodiments as compared to conventional representations, thereby increasing the pilot's situational awareness and reducing pilot workload.
Still further, yet another problematic issue associated with conventional representations 10 is that the airway 13 and waypoint 12 information can overpost or otherwise obscure other types of information shown on the representation 10, such as terrain information, weather information or traffic information, which can be selectively displayed by the pilot through interaction with the FMS. This can lead to the pilot having to selectively “switch-off” the airway information in order to view the other types of information, which operation requires additional pilot effort and an associated increase in pilot “head-down” time, thereby reducing situational awareness.
In contrast, with the representation 400 in accordance with exemplary embodiments, the reduced airway information means that the airway information is less likely to overpost or otherwise obscure the other types of information that may be displayed on the representation 400, thereby reducing pilot “head-down” time.
Still further, since the airway information shown on the representation 400 is reduced, the displaying of a dialog box 20 for selecting subsequent airways 12 and waypoints on the representation 400 is less likely to obscure airway information. This means the pilot is able to easily cross-reference the airway information shown on the representation 400 with the options shown in the dialog box 20 without needing to “switch” between the view of the dialog box 20 and the view of the representation 400.
In exemplary embodiments, the processor module 108 is configured to, in reaction to the pilot interacting with the flight management system 102 to call up the dialog box 20, determine a location on the representation 400 where the dialog box does not obscure any airway information. For example, the processor module 108 determines the X, Y positions of each pixel forming an airway or waypoint on the display module 106, and then select a location on the display module 106 for displaying the dialog box 20 that does not cover any of these determined X, Y positions.
As the dialog box 20 does not obscure the airway information displayed on the representation 400, the pilot is able to use the waypoint and airway information graphically displayed on the representation 400 concurrently with the information in the dialog box 20, to thereby have a visual aid when selecting subsequent airways 13 and exit waypoints 12 from the lists in the dialog box 20.
Another exemplary representation 500 in accordance with various embodiments is shown in
One additional disadvantage associated with conventional representations 10 is that the exit points from each airway are not normally clearly displayed on the representation 10. As used herein, an “exit point” defines a designated location where an aircraft may exit an airway, for example when traversing between airways and/or waypoints. In particular, an exit point from an airway is normally an exit waypoint. In conventional systems, exit points are typically only displayed in a dialog box that can be temporarily displayed by the pilot. The lack of a graphical representation of the exit points close to a particular waypoint may cause the pilot to plan a longer or otherwise less efficient route than may be required, or may add an additional workload onto the pilot when the pilot is performing the task of selecting multiple exit points along the overall flight plan.
Representations according to exemplary embodiments overcome this issue. In particular, the representation 500 includes a “direct route” navigational aid 551 which graphically displays a direct route to a selected exit point on a potential subsequent airway from the present airway along which the aircraft is travelling. In this manner, the pilot is able to easily visualize the direct route from a present position to a selected exit point.
In exemplary embodiments, the pilot is able to operate the flight management system 104 to display additional information about a selected exit point or selected airway. An example of such additional information can be seen in
The dialog box 70 may be displayed in a similar manner to the dialog box 20, such that the dialog box 70 does not obscure information shown on the representation 400. In this manner, the pilot is able to compare and contrast performance data for each potential exit point and can select a desirable exit point with the benefit of the information shown on both of the graphical representation 400 and also the dialog box 70 without “switching” between these two different sources of information. For example, the pilot is able to assess, on the basis of the performance data shown in the dialog box 70, whether enough fuel remains in the aircraft fuel tanks to reach a specific selected exit point shown on the graphical representation.
In various exemplary embodiments, additional airway information may be shown in a waypoint selection dialog box.
Also shown in
In exemplary embodiments, the dialog box 80 is displayed concurrently with the exemplary representation such that the pilot does not need to “switch” between viewing the information on the exemplary representation and the information in the dialog box 80. In exemplary embodiments, the pilot is able to interact with the dialog box 80 using the flight management system 104 to display the airway which is shown as being connected to a certain waypoint in the dialog box 80 on the exemplary representation, as will be explained in more detail with reference to
When the pilot selects the airway having the connected airway indicator marker 86, the processor module 108 is configured to display a prompt 92 for the pilot to display the connected airway on the graphical representation 100. When the pilot uses the flight management system 104 to select the prompt 92, the associated connected airway is highlighted on the simultaneously displayed representation 400. By concurrently highlighting the connected airway on the graphical representation 100 when the prompt 92 is selected, the pilot is able to easily identify the connected airway on the graphical representation 100 and plot the modification in the flight plan with reduced effort.
In the scenario shown in
After selection of the subsequent airway “V549”, the processor module 108 is then configured to display, in the dialog box 95 shown in
In exemplary embodiments, waypoint performance data is also displayed concurrently with the list of exit waypoints, in the same manner as detailed above. The pilot may use the flight management system 104 to select a preferred exit waypoint 12. When the pilot selects a new preferred exit waypoint, that exit waypoint becomes the current designated waypoint on the graphical representation, and the airways connected to the new current designated waypoint are shown on the graphical representation.
In this manner, the pilot may select and confirm a sequential series of airways and subsequent exit waypoints in an intuitive manner, using the performance data associated with each waypoint and the visual information presented on the simultaneously-displayed exemplary representation.
Referring now to
At Step S1101, a graphical representation is created, using a processor module, showing a current designated waypoint and airways which are connected to the current designated waypoint. The graphical representation is displayed on a display module. The graphical representation further shows airways connected to the current designated waypoint, and the airway which forms part of the pre-determined flight plan is highlighted to the pilot in some manner. If the pilot wishes to modify the flight plan, the method progresses to step S1102.
At step S1102, the pilot selects, using a flight management system, an airway from the airways which are represented as being connected to the current designated waypoint. In exemplary embodiments, the pilot selects the airway from a dialog box displayed simultaneously with the graphical representation, the dialog box listing airways which are connected to the current designated waypoint. The method then progresses to step S1103.
At step S1103, waypoints associated with the selected airway are graphically represented, using the processor module, on the display module. In exemplary embodiments, the waypoints associated with the selected airway comprise exit waypoints for the selected airway. In exemplary embodiments, a dialog box showing performance data for each one of the waypoints associated with the selected airway is displayed simultaneously with the graphical representation of the waypoints associated with the selected airway. The method then progresses to step S1104.
At step S1104, the pilot is able to select, using the flight management system and on the basis of the graphical representation of the associated waypoints and, if shown, waypoint performance data, a subsequent designated waypoint for the selected airway. After the pilot selects a subsequent waypoint for the selected airway, the method progresses to step S1105.
At step S1105, the pilot confirms, using the flight management system, the selection of the selected airway and selected subsequent designated waypoint. The method then progresses to Step S1106.
At step S1106, the pilot can choose whether to further modify the flight plan. If the pilot wishes to further modify the flight plan, the method reverts to Step S1101, and the airways connected to the selected subsequent designated waypoint are graphically represented to the pilot, by the processor module, in the same manner the airways which were connected to the current designated waypoint were graphically represented to the pilot.
If the pilot does not want to further modify the flight plan, the pilot may, as step S1107, confirm all of the selected waypoints and airways to thereby modify the flight plan accordingly.
In this manner, the pilot may modify the flight plan by selecting a series of connected airways and associated waypoints on the basis of the graphical representation in an efficient and intuitive manner. In exemplary embodiments, the performance data and other navigational aid data shown alongside the graphical representation also assists the pilot in selecting an optimum waypoint from the list of waypoints associated with the selected airway.
While at least one exemplary embodiment has been presented in the foregoing detailed description, it should be appreciated that a vast number of variations exist. It should also be appreciated that the exemplary embodiment or exemplary embodiments are only examples, and are not intended to limit the scope, applicability, or configuration of the disclosure in any way. Rather, the foregoing detailed description will provide those skilled in the art with a convenient road map for implementing the exemplary embodiment or exemplary embodiments. It should be understood that various changes can be made in the function and arrangement of elements without departing from the scope of the disclosure as set forth in the appended claims and the legal equivalents thereof.
