The present invention will hereinafter be described in conjunction with the appended drawing figures, wherein like numerals denote like elements, and in which:
The following detailed description is merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the invention or the application and uses of the invention. Furthermore, 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. In this regard, the present invention may be described in terms of functional block diagrams and various processing steps. It should be appreciated that such functional blocks may be realized in many different forms of hardware, firmware, and/or software components configured to perform the various functions. For example, the present invention may employ various integrated circuit components, e.g., memory elements, digital signal processing elements, look-up tables, and the like, which may carry out a variety of functions under the control of one or more microprocessors or other control devices. Such general techniques are known to those skilled in the art and are not described in detail herein. Moreover, it should be understood that the exemplary process illustrated may include additional or fewer steps or may be performed in the context of a larger processing scheme. Furthermore, the various methods presented in the drawing Figures or the specification are not to be construed as limiting the order in which the individual processing steps may be performed. It should be appreciated that the particular implementations shown and described herein are illustrative of the invention and its best mode and are not intended to otherwise limit the scope of the invention in any way.
In one embodiment, the flight deck 12 includes a user interface 16, a plurality of display devices 18 and 20, a communications radio 22, a navigational radio 24, and an audio device 26. The user interface 16 is configured to receive input from a user 28 (e.g., a pilot) and, in response to the user input, supply command signals to the avionics/flight system 14. The user interface 16 may be any one, or combination, of various known user interface devices including, but not limited to, a cursor control device (CCD) 30, such as a mouse, a trackball, or joystick, and/or a keyboard, one or more buttons, switches, or knobs. In the depicted embodiment, the user interface 16 includes a CCD 30 and a keyboard 32. The user 28 uses the CCD 30 to, among other things, move a cursor symbol on the display screen, and may use the keyboard 32 to, among other things, input textual data.
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The communication radio 22 is used, as is commonly understood, to communicate with entities outside the vehicle 10, such as air-traffic controllers and pilots of other aircraft. Although not illustrated, the communications radio 22 may include a microphone and speaker, such as on a headset which the user 28 operates to receive and send vocal messages. The navigational radio 24 is used to receive from outside sources and communicate to the user various types of information regarding the location of the vehicle, such as Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) system and Automatic Direction Finder (ADF) (as described below).
The audio device 26 is, in one embodiment, an audio speaker mounted within the flight deck 12. As shown, the audio device 26 is, in one embodiment, separated from the communications radio 22 and the navigational radio 24, and thus provides an audio indication, or signal, separate from any information or messages being transmitted to the user via the communications radio 22 and/or the navigational radio 24. In another embodiment, the audio device 26 is a headet, similar to the headset used with the communications radio 22.
The avionics/flight system 14 includes a runway awareness and advisory system (RAAS) 36, an instrument landing system (ILS) 38, a flight director 40, a weather data source 42, a terrain avoidance warning system (TAWS) 44, a traffic and collision avoidance system (TCAS) 46, a plurality of sensors 48, one or more navigational databases 50, one or more terrain databases 52, a navigation and control system 54, and a processor 56. The various components of the avionics/flight system 14 are in operable communication via a data bus 58 (or avionics bus).
The RAAS 36 provides improved situational awareness to help lower the probability of runway incursions by providing timely aural advisories to the flight crew during taxi, takeoff, final approach, landing and rollout. The ILS 38 is a radio navigation system that provides aircraft with horizontal and vertical guidance just before and during landing and, at certain fixed points, indicates the distance to the reference point of landing. The flight director 40, as is generally known, supplies command data representative of commands for piloting the aircraft in response to flight crew entered data, or various inertial and avionics data received from external systems. The weather data source 42 provides data representative of at least the location and type of various weather cells. The TAWS 44 supplies data representative of the location of terrain that may be a threat to the aircraft, and the TCAS 46 supplies data representative of other aircraft in the vicinity, which may include, for example, speed, direction, altitude, and altitude trend. Although not illustrated, the sensors 48 may include, for example, a barometric pressure sensor, a thermometer, and a wind speed sensor.
The navigation databases 50 include various types of navigation-related data, and the terrain databases 52 include various types of data representative of the terrain over which the aircraft may fly. These navigation-related data include various flight plan related data such as, for example, waypoints, distances between waypoints, headings between waypoints, data related to different airports, navigational aids, obstructions, special use airspace, political boundaries, communication frequencies, and aircraft approach information.
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For example, the indications 88 may include data from the TAWS 44 concerning an elevation increase along the current flight path due to a mountain, or other terrain, or data from the TCAS 46 regarding the location of another aircraft. The elevator, aileron, and rudder positions 90, 92, and 94, may be readings from navigation and control system 54 indicating the positions of those respective flight control surfaces. The engine reading 98 may be an indication of the current throttle setting (e.g., half or full) of the engine 80. The engine reading 80, along with the positions of the flight control surfaces, may define a current configuration of the vehicle 10. The airspeed 100, the altitude 102, and the temperature 104 may be readings taken from various sensors on the vehicle, as is commonly understood. The readings from such sensors may define a current a current atmospheric condition (i.e., the condition of the portion of the atmosphere through which the vehicle 10 is currently traveling). The combination of the vehicle configuration and the atmospheric conditions may define a current or present operational state of the aircraft, as will be discussed in greater detail below.
The inputs 86-104 are each supplied, via the data bus 58, to the warning generator 106. The warning generator 106, which in one embodiment is implemented via instructions stored on a computer-readable medium accessible by the processor 56, includes an input/output (I/O) module 108, a monitor warning module 110, a graphics generator function (GGF) 112, and an aural warnings module 114. The I/O module 108 includes a plurality of interfaces to receive the various signals and data from the other components of the vehicle and to send the appropriate information to the monitor warning module 110. The monitor warning module 110 monitors the inputs 86-104 for situations (e.g., faults 86 and indications 88) that indicate that an appropriate warning should be provided to the user 28 of the vehicle 10. When such a condition occurs, the monitor warning module 110 sends an appropriate signal to the GGF 112 which generates an appropriate visual warning that is sent to, and displayed by, the display device 18 (and/or 20). As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, some warning situations will result in both visual and audio warnings (or aural warnings) being provided to the user 28. Examples of such warning situations include, but are not limited to, an autopilot disconnect, overspeed, engine failure, low fuel, fire, and low altitude.
In a situation in which an aural warning is supplied, the monitor warning module 110 also sends an appropriate signal to the aural warning module 114. As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, the aural warning module 114 generates an appropriate aural warning signal based on the inputs 86-104. The aural warning signal is then sent to the gain amplifier 83, which applies a gain, or gain factor, to the aural warning signal before sending the aural warning signal to the audio device. The audio device 26 receives the aural warning signal and emits an appropriate audible indication, or aural warning. For example, if the vehicle 10 is on approach for landing and is traveling at an undesirably high speed, the aural warning may be a repeated announciation of the word “overspeed.” Likewise, if the vehicle 10 is running low on fuel, the aural warning may be a repeated announciation of the word “low fuel.” The volume at which the aural warning is emitted from the audio device 26 is dependent upon the gain factor applied by the gain amplifier 83.
The aural warning module 114 also receives the various inputs 86-104 from the data bus 58 and signals the gain amplifier 83 to apply a specific, predetermined gain factor based on the current state of the vehicle 10. The current state of the vehicle 10 is determined by the combination of the particular inputs 86-104 that are present on the data bus 58. In one embodiment, the aural warning module 114 includes an algorithm that determines (or predicts) the ambient noise level present on the flight deck 12 based on the inputs 90-104. In another embodiment, the aural warning module 114 includes a database of measured ambient noise levels on the flight deck 12 for particular combinations of inputs 90-104. As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, the measurements for the ambient noise levels on the flight deck may be taken during test flights of the type and model of aircraft. Of particular interest is that fact that, in at least one embodiment, the ambient noise level on the flight deck is not detected, such as via a microphone, but is rather calculated or determined by the current state of the vehicle 10.
However, for higher levels of ambient noise, the gain factor is increased based on the particular inputs 90-104 present on the data bus 58, and thus the determined state of the aircraft. One example of a situation, or aircraft state, with a high level of ambient noise is the aircraft flying at a high altitude, at full throttle, at a high speed. High ambient noise levels also occur, for example, during take off with the engines at full throttle and the flaps of the aircraft completely activated. In such situations, the gain factor is appropriate increased such that the aural warning is emitted on the flight deck at a volume sufficient for the warning to be heard by the user.
In one embodiment, as the determined ambient noise level increases, the gain factor is automatically increased to the next predetermined level. That is, for an ambient noise level that falls between gain factor 122 and gain factor 124, gain factor 124 is automatically applied, as opposed to applying a gain factor that is greater than gain factor 122 but less than gain factor 124. As such, as the gain factor, as well as the volume of the aural warning, increases as a series of steps as the ambient noise level increases to further ensure that the aural warning is at a volume sufficient to be heard by the pilot over the ambient noise on the flight deck 12.
One advantage of the system and method described above is that because the volume of the aural warnings is adjusted based on the ambient noise level on the flight deck, the aural warnings are sounded at volumes loud enough to be heard by the user over the ambient noise on the flight deck without being uncomfortably loud when the ambient noise on the flight deck is low. As a result, the comfort level of the user is improved. Another advantage is that because the gain factors, and thus volumes of the aural warnings, are set at predetermined levels based on the ambient noise level on the flight deck, the possibility that the user could tamper with the volume settings of the aural warnings is reduced. A further advantage is that because the volume of the aural warnings is adjusted without actively detecting the ambient noise level in the cockpit, the reliability of the system is improved.
Other embodiments may be utilized in vehicles other than aircraft, such as automobiles and watercraft. It should also be understood that the audio indication provided by the audio device is not intended to be limited to warnings, but may be any audible signal that is intended to be heard by a user of the vehicle regardless of the situation.
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 invention 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 invention as set forth in the appended claims and the legal equivalents thereof.