UNITED STA TES p A TENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
APPLICATION NO. FILING DATE
13/089,431 04/19/2011
89953 7590
HONEYWELL/FOGG
Patent Services
115 Tabor Road
P.O. Box 377
MORRIS PLAINS, NJ 07950
08/29/2016
FIRST NAMED INVENTOR
Patrick Ludwig
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
United States Patent and Trademark Office
Address: COMMISSIONER FOR PATENTS
P.O. Box 1450
Alexandria, Virginia 22313-1450
www .uspto.gov
ATTORNEY DOCKET NO. CONFIRMATION NO.
H0029890-5435 1418
EXAMINER
KIM,EUNHEE
ART UNIT PAPER NUMBER
2123
NOTIFICATION DATE DELIVERY MODE
08/29/2016 ELECTRONIC
Please find below and/or attached an Office communication concerning this application or proceeding.
The time period for reply, if any, is set in the attached communication.
Notice of the Office communication was sent electronically on above-indicated "Notification Date" to the
following e-mail address( es):
patentservices-us@honeywell.com
docket@fogglaw.com
PTOL-90A (Rev. 04/07)
UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
BEFORE THE PATENT TRIAL AND APPEAL BOARD
Ex parte PATRICK LUDWIG, THOMAS D. JUDD, KARTHIK RAO, and
NEERAJ K. GANGW AR
Appeal2015-003397
Application 13/089,431
Technology Center 2100
Before BRUCE R. WINSOR, LINZY T. McCARTNEY, and
NATHAN A. ENGELS, Administrative Patent Judges.
PERCURIAM.
DECISION ON APPEAL
Appellants appeal under 35 U.S.C. § 134(a) from a final rejection of
claims 1, 3-5, 7, 8, and 15-20. We have jurisdiction under 35 U.S.C. § 6(b).
We REVERSE and enter a NEW GROUND OF REJECTION.
Appeal2015-003397
Application 13/089,431
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
Claim 1 illustrates the claimed invention:
1. A multifunction-control-display-unit emulator for use on
an aircraft the multifunction-control-display-unit emulator
compnsmg:
a display operationally positioned in a forward-field area
of a cockpit of the aircraft;
a processor communicatively coupled to the display;
a data-entry interface communicatively coupled to the
processor; and
at least one electronic interface to interface an avionics
host system in the aircraft to the processor, wherein the avionics
host system implements at least one application and at least one
protocol for use on the multifunction-control-display-unit
emulator, wherein the display, the data-entry interface, and the at
least one electronic interface are positioned within the aircraft to
emulate a multifunction control display unit in the aircraft, and
to function as one of: 1) a replacement multifunction control
display unit for another multifunction control display unit in the
aircraft; or 2) an additional multifunction control display unit in
the aircraft, the additional multifunction control display unit
being in addition to the other multifunction control display unit
in the aircraft.
App. Br. 12.
The Examiner rejected claims 1, 4, 5, 7, 8, 15-18, and 20 under 35
U.S.C. § 103(a) as unpatentable over Ellis et al. (US 6,789,007 B2; issued
Sept. 7., 2004) ("Ellis") and Bloch et al. (US 2005/02285 59 A 1; published
Oct. 13, 2005) ("Bloch"). Ans. 2---6.
2
Appeal2015-003397
Application 13/089,431
The Examiner rejected claims 3 and 19 under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a) as
unpatentable over Ellis, Bloch, and ARINC, The DSP Contract, CNS/ ATM
Conference 1-37 (2009) ("ARINC"). Ans. 7-8. 1
ANALYSIS
Claim 1 recites "a display operationally positioned in a forward-field
area of a cockpit of the aircraft." App. Br. 12. With respect to this
limitation, the Examiner found the specification "vaguely defines two
different forward-field areas within the cockpit." Ans. 9 (citing Spec. i-f 10).
Accordingly, the Examiner found that Appellants did not clearly define the
"forward field area of the cockpit" and concluded that the broadest
reasonable interpretation of the term "forward" "is a relative direction which
is a direction of a person looking toward." Id. Applying this interpretation,
the Examiner found that the display of Ellis' s maintenance terminal, which
is installed in the flight compartment of the aircraft, teaches or suggests the
"display" recited in claim 1. See id. at 3 (citing Ellis Fig. 1, col. 4, 11. 1-31 ),
8. According to the Examiner, Ellis's display is "operationally positioned in
a forward-field area of a cockpit of the aircraft" because Ellis' s display is
located in the flight compartment (i.e., the cockpit) such that the pilot is
looking in a "forward" field when looking at the display. See id. at 9.
Appellants contend the Examiner erred in finding that Ellis' s
maintenance terminal teaches or suggests the "display" recited in claim 1.
1 Appellants filed an amendment canceling claims 2, 6, and 9-14 and
rewriting claim 1 to include the limitations previously recited in claims 2
and 6. See App. Br. 1, 12-13. The Examiner entered the amendment and
modified the grounds of rejection accordingly. See Ans. 2-8. Therefore,
only the rejections claims 1, 3-5, 7, 8, and 15-20 are before us.
3
Appeal2015-003397
Application 13/089,431
Reply Br. 2-3. Appellants assert that the specification clearly defines "a
forward-field area of the cockpit" as "that area in the cockpit toward which
the pilot is looking when viewing the scene in front of the aircraft," where
"the bottom edge of the forward-field area of the cockpit begins at the top of
the consol [sic] in front of the pilot." App. Br. 7 (citing Spec. i-f 10); see
Reply Br. 2. Appellants argue that in light of this explicit definition of
"forward-field area of the cockpit," the Examiner's construction of the term
as "a relative direction which is a direction of a person looking toward" is
erroneous. See Reply Br. 2-3. Moreover, Appellants argue there is no
teaching or suggestion in Ellis that the disclosed maintenance terminal is "a
display operationally positioned in a forward-field area of a cockpit of the
aircraft." App. Br. 6-8; Reply Br. 1.
We find Appellants' arguments persuasive. The specification
discloses that "the forward-field area of a cockpit is that area in the cockpit
toward which the pilot is looking when viewing the scene in front of the
aircraft," where "the bottom edge of the forward-field area of the cockpit
begins at the top of the consol [sic] in front of the pilot." Spec. i-f 10. The
specification also discloses that, in some embodiments, "there is a second
forward-field area of the cockpit that begins at the top of the console in front
of the co-pilot." Id. Given these disclosures, the broadest reasonable
interpretation of "a display operationally positioned in a forward-field area
of a cockpit of the aircraft" includes a display located in the areas of cockpit
toward which the pilot or co-pilot looks when viewing the scene in front of
the aircraft, wherein the bottom edges of the forward-field areas of the
cockpit begin at the top of the console in front of the pilot or co-pilot.
4
Appeal2015-003397
Application 13/089,431
Therefore, although we agree with the Examiner that Ellis teaches
displaying a maintenance terminal in the cockpit of an aircraft, the cited
portions of Ellis do not disclose a particular location of the terminal within
the cockpit, much less that the terminal begins at the top of the console in
front of the pilot or co-pilot. See Ans. 3--4, 8-9. And the Examiner has not
shown why one of ordinary skill would position Ellis' s maintenance
terminal at or above the top of the console, rather than elsewhere in the
cockpit. See id. Accordingly, as Appellants contend, Ellis does not teach or
suggest "a display operationally positioned in a forward-field area of a
cockpit of the aircraft." See App. Br. 6-8; Reply Br. 1-3.
We therefore do not sustain the rejections of claim 1 and its dependent
claims (claims 3-5, 7, and 8). Because the Examiner's rejection of
independent claim 15 has a similar deficiency, we also do not sustain the
Examiners' rejection of claim 15 and claims 16-20, which depend from
claim 15.
NEW GROUND OF REJECTION WITHIN 37 C.F.R. § 41.50(b)
Claim 1
We enter a new ground of rejection for claim 1 under
35 U.S.C. § 103(a) as unpatentable over Ellis, Bloch, and Briffe et al. (US
6,112,141; issued Aug. 29, 2000) ("Briffe").
We adopt as our own the Examiner's findings, conclusions, and
reasoning regarding claim 1 except, as discussed above, we disagree that
Ellis' s maintenance terminal teaches or suggests "a display operationally
positioned in a forward-field area of a cockpit of the aircraft" as recited in
claim 1. However, positioning information in "forward-field area of the
5
Appeal2015-003397
Application 13/089,431
cockpit of the aircraft" was well-known in the art of aircraft display and
control systems at the time of Appellants' invention, as evidenced by Briffe.
See Briffe, Fig. 1, item 32; col. 4, 1. 65---col. 5, 1. 2 ("A glare shield 30 is
located above the control units 23,24,26,28. Above glare shield 30 and
superimposed on the captains' view through a windshield 31 is a Head-up
Display (HUD) area 32."); col. 30, 11. 52-59).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the
time of the invention to modify Ellis' s invention to include the recited
display in the "forward-field area of the cockpit of the aircraft." One of
ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this
modification for a number of reasons. For example, the modification would
result in placing a known element (a display) in a location known for
displaying data in an aircraft (the "forward-field area of the cockpit of the
aircraft") to achieve a predictable result-placing information on the display
in a pilot's line of sight. See KSR Int'! Co. v. Teleflex Inc., 550 U.S. 398,
416 (2007) ("The combination of familiar elements according to known
methods is likely to be obvious when it does no more than yield predictable
results."). Moreover, there are finite number of places to place a display in
an airplane cockpit, and as shown by Briffee, it is well known to place a
display in the "forward-field area of the cockpit of the aircraft." Therefore,
it would have been obvious to try placing the claimed display in this area.
See id. at 421 ("When there is a design need or market pressure to solve a
problem and there are a finite number of identified, predictable solutions, a
person of ordinary skill has good reason to pursue the known options within
his or her technical grasp.").
6
Appeal2015-003397
Application 13/089,431
Not to mention that placing a display in the "forward-field area of the
cockpit of the aircraft" is a logical, common sense solution to the problem of
making the displayed information easily accessible to pilots. See Perfect
Web Techs., Inc. v. InfoUSA, Inc., 587 F.3d 1324, 1329 (Fed. Cir. 2009)
(holding that an obviousness analysis "may include recourse to logic,
judgment, and common sense available to the person of ordinary skill that do
not necessarily require explication in any reference or expert opinion").
Finally, placing a display in the "forward-field area of the cockpit of the
aircraft" is simply a design choice that does not result in novel or unexpected
results and is not outside the abilities of those of ordinary skill in the art. See
Manual of Patent Examining Procedure§ 2144.04; see also In re Kuhle, 526
F.2d 553, 555 (CCPA 1975) (concluding the placement of an electrical
contact was an obvious matter of design choice); Leapfrog Enters., Inc. v.
Fisher-Price, Inc., 485 F.3d 1157, 1162 (Fed. Cir. 2007) (concluding a claim
would have been obvious when the appellant failed to present evidence that
the proposed modification "was uniquely challenging or difficult for one of
ordinary skill in the art").
Because this analysis deviates from the Examiner's rejection, we
designate our findings and conclusion to be a new ground of rejection for
claim 1 under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a) over Ellis, Bloch, and Briffe.
Claims 3-5, 7, 8, and 15-20
We have entered a new ground of rejection for claim 1. Should
prosecution continue, the Examiner may consider the patentability of the
remaining claims in light of the findings and conclusions discussed above.
The fact that we did not enter new grounds of rejection for claims 3-5, 7, 8,
7
Appeal2015-003397
Application 13/089,431
and 16-20 should not be interpreted to mean that we consider these claims to
be patentable over the prior art of record.
DECISION
The decision of the Examiner to reject claims 1, 3-5, 7, 8, and 15-20
is reversed.
We enter a new ground of rejection for claim 1 under 35 U.S.C.
§ 103(a) over Ellis, Bloch, and Briffe.
Section 41.50(b) provides that "[a] new ground of rejection ... shall
not be considered final for judicial review."
Section 41. 50(b) also provides that Appellants, WITHIN TWO
MONTHS FROM THE DATE OF THE DECISION, must exercise one of
the following two options with respect to the new ground of rejection to
avoid termination of the appeal as to the rejected claims:
(1) Reopen prosecution. Submit an appropriate amendment of
the claims so rejected or new Evidence relating to the claims so
rejected, or both, and have the matter reconsidered by the
examiner, in which event the prosecution will be remanded to
the examiner ....
(2) Request rehearing. Request that the proceeding be reheard
under§ 41.52 by the Board upon the same Record.
REVERSED
37 C.F.R. § 41.50(b)
8
Notice of References Cited
*
Document Number Date
Country Code-Number-Kind Code MM-YYYY
A US- 6112141 08-2000
B US-
c US-
D US-
E US-
F US-
G US-
H US-
I US-
J US-
K US-
L US-
M US-
*
Document Number Date
Country Code-Number-Kind Code MM-YYYY
N
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Application/Control No.
13/089,431
Examiner
U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS
Name
Briffe et al.
FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS
Country
NON-PATENT DOCUMENTS
Name
Applicant(s)/Patent Under Patent
Appeal No.
Art Unit
I Page 1 of 1
12100
Classification
Classification
* Include as applicable: Author, Title Date, Publisher, Edition or Volume, Pertinent Pages)
u
v
w
x
*A copy of this reference 1s not being furnished with this Office action. (See MPEP § 707.05(a).)
Dates in MM-YYYY format are publication dates. Classifications may be US or foreign.
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
PT0-892 (Rev. 01-2001) Notice of References Cited Part of Paper No.
United States Patent [19J
Briffe et al.
[54] APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR
GRAPHICALLY ORIENTED AIRCRAFT
DISPLAY AND CONTROL
[75] Inventors: Michel Briffe; Guy
Mitaux-Maurouard, both of Salon,
France
[73] Assignee: Dassault Aviation, France
[21] Appl. No.: 08/950,758
[22]
[51]
[52]
[58]
[56]
Filed: Oct. 15, 1997
Int. Cl.7 G09G 5/08; G06F 3/14;
G06F 17/00
U.S. Cl. .............................. 701/14; 701/211; 345/331
Field of Search .............................. 701/14, 202, 206,
4,999,782
5,041,982
5,057,835
5,086,396
5,179,638
5,216,611
5,227,786
5,287,451
5,299,417
5,331,562
5,337,982
5,340,061
5,358,199
5,359,890
5,408,413
5,412,382
5,414,631
5,445,021
5,450,323
5,475,594
5,508,928
5,510,991
5,519,392
5,560,570
701/11, 208, 211, 212, 201; 73/178 R;
340/995, 971, 973; 345/331, 332; 244/175
References Cited
U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS
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10/1991 Factor et al. ............................ 340/995
2/1992 Waruszewski, Jr ..................... 364/454
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6/1993 McElreath ............................... 364/454
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10/1994 Hayes et al. ............................ 244/1 R
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12/1995 Oder et al. ......................... 364/424.06
4/1996 Tran ........................................ 364/423
4/1996 Pierson et al. .......................... 364/434
5/1996 Oder et al. .............................. 340/995
10/1996 Pierson et al. .......................... 244/195
I lllll llllllll Ill lllll lllll lllll lllll lllll 111111111111111111111111111111111
US006112141A
[11] Patent Number:
[45] Date of Patent:
6,112,141
Aug. 29, 2000
5,561,811
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8/1998 Wyatt ...................................... 244/1 R
5/1999 Higashio ................................. 345/332
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OTHER PUBLICATIONS
Ulbrich et al.; Controls and Displays for Douglas Aircraft for
the 1990s; Digital Avionics Systems Conference, 1992;
IEEE/AIAA 11th; pp. 178-182.
Description of Collins Pro Line 21 Cockpit Instrumentation,
3 pgs., No Date.
Ditter, Al, "An Epic in the Making", Commuter World, Dec.
96-Jan. 97, pp. 16-21.
''Collins Tests 3-D Free-Flight 1.AJ..\vareness Display'', _fllight
International, Jan. 1997, p. 19.
George, Fred, "Introducing Primus Epic", Business & Com-
mercial Aviation, Nov. 1996, pp. 116-120.
George, Fred, "Primus Epic Features Evolution of Integrated
Systems Plus Concepts Pioneered for B-777", Show News
NBAA '96, Nov. 10, 1996, 1 pg.
George, Fred, "Flying the Future of Avionics Today; Primus
Epic Makes Converts at Show", Show News NBAA '96, Nov.
21, 1996, p. 16.
(List continued on next page.)
Primary Examiner-Michael J. Zanelli
Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow,
Garrett & Dunner, L.L.P.
[57] ABSTRACT
An aircraft display and control system includes a computer,
a trackball and selection device, an aeronautical information
database, a geographic database, and a plurality of fiat panel
display devices. The aircraft crew can perform fiightplan
entry and modification by manipulating graphical informa-
tion on the display devices using cursor control.
21 Claims, 24 Drawing Sheets
6,112,141
Page 2
OIBER PUBLICATIONS
Holahan, James, "LCDs, Mice on the Flight Deck!", Avia-
tion International News, Midland Park, Nov. 1, 1996, pp.
56-58.
Holahan, James, "Honeywell's Primus Epic: avionics for the
millennium", NBAA Convention News, Orlando, FL, Nov.
20, 1996, p. 22.
Product Review entitled "New Glass for the Glass Cockpit",
2 pgs, No Date.
Nordwall, Bruce D., "Collins Pro Line 21 Features Adaptive
Flight Displays", Aviation Week & Space Technology, Nov.
18, 1996, pp. 63-66.
North, David M., "Gulfstream 5 Sets Pace for Long-Range
Bizjets",Aviation Week & Space Technology, Apr. 28, 1997,
pp. 46-51.
Phillips, Edward H., "Learjet 45 Avionics Includes EICAS
Display", Aviation Week & Space Technology, Sep. 22,
1997, p. 72.
Proctor, Paul, "Epic Avionics in Flight Test", Aviation Week
& Space Technology, Sep. 22, 1997, p. 70.
Scott, William B., "Pentium Powers 'Epic' Integrated Avi-
onics", Aviation Week & Space Technology, Nov. 18, 1996,
pp. 67-69.
Scott, William B., "Need for Value Sparks Avionics Revo-
lution", Aviation Week & Space Technology, Oct. 4, 1995, 2
pgs.
Trautvetter, Chad, "Next-century Avionics-Honeywell's
Primus Epic will change the way pilots work in the cockpit",
Professional Pilot, Nov. 1996, pp. 96-102.
"Pro Line 21 development driven by human factors", Van-
tage Point, vol. 2, No. 4, 3 pgs., No Date.
Weisberger, Harry, "Collins readies new avionics in a
hurry", Show News NBAA '95, Sep. 26, 1995, pp. 15-16.
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CHW > 250 > +2 22 00:10 240 2400 0:18 > 0.78 > -4 5709 133 6460 +30 06:18
ANG > 430 > ·21 93 00:24 0:42 > 0.86 t> -4 5616 237 06:42
CGC > 430 > +20 80 00:19 1:01 > 0.86 > .3 5536 180 07:01
BOX > 430 > +20 53 00:12 1 :13 > 0.86 > .3 5483 203 07:13
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U.S. Patent Aug. 29, 2000 Sheet 12 of 24 6,112,141
126
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6,112,141
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U.S. Patent Aug. 29, 2000 Sheet 16 of 24 6,112,141
WPTLIST
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U.S. Patent Aug. 29, 2000 Sheet 17 of 24
PAGE
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504
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VERTICAL
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U.S. Patent Aug. 29, 2000 Sheet 21 of 24 6,112,141
5 60
\ ... ~ I AUTO I I MANUAL I I FPL LIST l I LOAD I [§] [gJ
ORIGIN t> LFBD DEST t> LFBO ALTN t> LFBM
BASIC WEIGHT 22000 LBS 562
54 PASSENGERS 10 AT 200 LBS
I SHOW MAP I ' I SHOWLOG !/
\ CARGO WEIGHT 500 LBS FUEL REQUIRED 3100 LBS
5
AVERAGE WIND C> 10 KTS FUELATDEST 10000 LBS
RESERVES INBAA I LBS TIME TO DEST 0:25 H:M
FUEL lASREQ I 10220 LBS T/OWEIGHT 35900 LBS
SPEED I LRC I IMCRU IC> 0.780 INITIAL
~ I ACTIVATE ~ CRZFL !OPT It> 100 INITIAL 568 564
RWY IQ[] ~ [![] ~ !MORE I MAXWGT 48500 LBS
LENGTH:> 3100 I 10170 M/FT BFL 1790 M
SLOPE t> 0.1% V1 C> 138 KTS
ELEV C> 151 FT V2=VR C> 156 KTS
BARO PRESS 1007 HPA J ONH 1012 HPA VFR C> 181 KTS
5 56 OBSTACLE: HGT C> 0 FT DIST t> 0 NM VFT C> 205 KTS
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552
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U.S. Patent Aug. 29, 2000 Sheet 22 of 24 6,112,141
576
574
544
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572
570
U.S. Patent Aug. 29, 2000 Sheet 23 of 24 6,112,141
I DEST I> LFBO ARRIVAL ~I
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STAR IAGN-25 I IASPET-28 I ITAN-28 I ITB0-2S I !MOREi )0
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DH 1> FT MDA 1> FT I VRF I> 129 KTS I I REVIEW I I ACTIVATE I
LENGTH 1> 3550 / 11640 M/FT c MAXWGT 19290 LBS J
0
SLOPE I> 0.0% 608\. M LFL 2080 M " p
ELEV 1> 489 FT QNH I> 1013 HPA u VGA 1> 182 KTS
06
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LOG WEIGHT 35940 LBS IUPDATEI LOCTRK I> 134.0 DG
ONE ENG FAIL [N[J IYES I HUD SLOPE 1> 3.0 DG
LOG FLAPS [iD [U RWY ELEV I> 489 FT
AIRBRAKES [N[J ~
ANTI ICE lOFF I ~
LFL FACTOR @=] [Il[] OJ I ACTIVATE I
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544 RNG
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U.S. Patent Aug. 29, 2000 Sheet 24 of 24 6,112,141
SENSORS ~
IRS1 NAV 0.1N/013 IMOREI I GPS1 I RAIM O.ON1119lMOREl
IRS2 NAV 0.1N/137 IMOREI I GPS2 I RAIM O.ON/222 MORE
IRS3 NAV 0.1N/286 IMOREI I GPS3 I RAIM
VOR1 TBS 0.1N/297 IMOREI I DME1 I 0.2N/320 MORE
VOR2 TBS O.ON/269 IMOREI I DME2 I ---· 0.2N/303I MORE I
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6,112,141
1
APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR
GRAPHICALLY ORIENTED AIRCRAFT
DISPLAY AND CONTROL
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to aircraft control and,
more particularly, to an improved aircraft control interface.
2. Description of the Related Art
Since the days of the Wright brothers, aircraft pilots have
been faced with two major tasks. First, the pilot must
accurately determine and constantly be aware of the current
aircraft status, including location, direction, speed, altitude,
attitude, and the rate of change of all of the above. Second,
the pilot must be able to quickly and accurately control the
aircraft to bring about a change in the above parameters to
achieve a desired status of aircraft. In the early days of
aviation, the first task was achieved by pilot awareness of
visual and tactile stimulation. That is, the pilot looked
around to see where he was, felt the wind pressure, and kept
aware of acceleration forces pressing his body into the seat
and around the cockpit. The second task was achieved by
manually operating a mechanical pulley and lever arrange-
ment to bend and pivot the horizontal and vertical control
surfaces of the aircraft.
2
ground landmark, such as an airport, or may represent an
imaginary point in the sky where two radio signals intersect.
The location of these waypoints in stored in the database.
The pilot can enter a flight plan into the FMS by selecting
a sequential series of waypoints through which the aircraft
will travel.
Each waypoint is uniquely identified by a three-letter
designator or short name. For example, the designator for
Washington National Airport is DCA. A nearby waypoint
10
used by aircraft navigating in the Washington area is
HOAGE intersection, representing the intersection of two
radial lines respectively emanating from navigation trans-
mitters on the frequencies of 112.1 and 113.5 MHz.
Additional automation has been introduced into the cock-
15 pit through various types of automated systems and moni-
toring functions. Malfunctioning equipment or unsafe air-
craft operating parameters will generate a variety of warning
lights, audio signals, and even voice signals.
Although the present state of aircraft control systems has
provided a vast improvement over the systems of previous
20 eras, significant shortcomings still exist with respect to the
goal of providing the safest possible aircraft operation.
Many of these shortcomings relate to the vast proliferation
of data which is suppiied to the piiot and to the inefficient
way in which this data is provided. For example, many
25 cockpits have literally hundreds of warning lights scattered
all over the cockpit. Furthermore, pilot input devices for
specific functions are often dispersed in widely separated
positions with insufficient thought given to pilot conve-
nience. In addition, automated systems may provide
30 increased convenience and efficiency in one area but
increased pilot workload in another. For example, flight
management systems often require large amounts of time to
tediously enter desired waypoints and related parameters
through a keyboard. Furthermore, this massive data entry
35
process provides increased possibilities of error, sometimes
with disastrous consequences. For example, improperly
entering initial data into FMS at the beginning of a flight leg
may have been a source of error leading to the disastrous
course deviation and subsequent shooting down of Korean
Airlines Flight 007.
Initial developments to make the pilot's job easier
included the provision of a magnetic compass to provide an
indication of direction and pneumatic and mechanical instru-
ments including altimeters, turn-and-bank indicators, etc., to
provide indications of aircraft altitude and attitude. Subse-
quent refinements of these early instruments provided more
accurate indications of location and altitude through the use
of instruments and flight parameter displays such as gyro-
compasses and flight directors. Various types of radio signals
provided even more accurate determination of the aircraft
location through the use of devices such as automatic
direction finders (ADF), distance measuring equipment
(DME), VORTAC, LORAN, and inertial reference systems
(IRS). 40 Although automation in the cockpit can reduce the pilot's
workload, thereby increasing safety, a countervailing con-
sequence of increasing automation is a tendency to increase
a pilot's sense of isolation from intimate control of the
aircraft. To the extent the pilot does not have complete and
Increases in aircraft performance over the years also
increased the pilot's workload. To deal with this workload
increase, various types of automation were introduced into
the cockpit. One device, known as an automatic pilot
(autopilot or AP) relieves the pilot of the necessity to provide
continuous hands-on input to the control stick or yoke.
When activated while the aircraft is in a stable configuration
flying at a constant altitude, speed, and heading, the auto-
pilot will sense the tendency of the aircraft to deviate from
50
the established configuration and will automatically gener-
45 continuous knowledge of the functions of the automated
systems of the aircraft, there is a tendency for pilots to
initiate undesirable control inputs which conflict with the
inputs the aircraft is receiving from the automated systems,
ate inputs to the control surfaces to return and maintain the
aircraft in the preset configuration. This configuration will
thereby compromising safety.
Another problem with existing systems is that they do not
provide sufficient "situational awareness" to a pilot, thereby
increasing the probability of accidents of the type referred to
as "controlled flight into terrain" (CFiT). For example,
current systems permit a pilot to command the autopilot to
be maintained even in the face of changing wind conditions.
More elaborate autopilots permit the pilot to enter data
commanding a change in aircraft status, such as a command
to climb to a pre-set altitude or turn to a preset heading.
Another type of automation provided in modern cockpits
55 initiate a "Go to" command, causing the aircraft to imme-
diately steer toward a designated location, without providing
the pilot with adequate information regarding his current
location.
is the automatic throttle (autothrottle, or A1). The auto-
throttle will maintain a preset aircraft speed by varying the 60
power setting on the engines as the aircraft climbs or
descends.
A further refinement in cockpit automation occurred with
the introduction of the flight rnanagernent systern (Ftv1S).
The FMS, in reality a type of specialized computer, includes 65
a database of pre-stored navigation landmarks known as
waypoints. A waypoint may either coincide with an existing
In view of the above considerations, it is desirable to
provide an improved flight information and control system
which permit simplified flight planning and navigation
procedures, reduced cost, reduced pilot workload, and
improved safety.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Additional features and advantages of the invention will
be set forth in the description which follows, and in part will
6,112,141
3
be apparent from the description, or may be learned by
practice of the invention. The objectives and other advan-
tages of the invention will be realized and attained by the
apparatus and methods particularly pointed out in the written
description and claims hereof, as well as the appended
drawings.
To achieve these and other advantages, and in accordance
with the purpose of the invention as embodied and broadly
described, the invention provides an aircraft flight manage-
ment system. The system comprises a memory for storing a 10
geographical map database, an aeronautical information
database, and a flight plan; a fiat-panel color display device;
4
In the drawings:
FIG. 1 is a diagram of a flight deck which embodies the
present invention;
FIG. 2 is an electrical schematic diagram of the compo-
nents of the flight deck of FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a drawing of the display window of the Primary
Flight Display (PFD) PFD of FIG. 1, with the "full rose"
format;
FIG. 4 is a drawing of the attitude direction indicator
display window of the PFD of FIG. 3;
FIG. 5 is a drawing of the display window of the PFD of
FIG. 1, showing the "arc" format;
FIG. 6 is a drawing of the flight director symbol;
FIG. 7 is a drawing of the display window of the Primary
Flight Display (PFD) PFD of FIG. 1, with the TCAS format;
FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the configuration of the
cursors of the captain and first officer displayed on multi-
20 function display units (MFDs) of the flight deck of FIG. 1;
a cursor control device; a selection device; and a flight
computer. The computer simultaneously displays on the
display device selected portions of the map database as a 15
visible map display and portions of the aeronautical infor-
mation database as aeronautical information indicators such
that the geographic locations of aeronautical information
indicators are correlated on the display device with the
corresponding geographic locations of the map display. The
computer also generates a movable cursor on the display
device, the position of the cursor controlled by the cursor
control device; and responds to operation of the cursor
control device and selection device to highlight navigation
aid indicators at the current cursor location and to store 25
portions of the aeronautical information database corre-
sponding to the highlighted navigation aid indicators in the
memory. Sequential operation of the cursor control device
and selection device is thus operative to store a flight plan in
the memory. 30
In another aspect, the invention provides a method for
aircraft information display and control. The method com-
prises the steps of storing in a memory a geographical map
database and an aeronautical information database, simul-
taneously displaying on fiat-panel display device selected 35
portions of the map database as a visible map display and
portions of the aeronautical information database as aero-
nautical information indicators such that the geographic
locations of aeronautical information indicators are corre-
lated on the display device with the corresponding geo- 40
graphic locations of the map display, generating a movable
cursor on the display device, the position of the cursor
controlled by a cursor control device, and responding to
operation of the cursor control device and selection device
to highlight navigation aid indicators at the current cursor 45
location and to store portions of the aeronautical information
database corresponding to the highlighted navigation aid
indicators in the memory. Sequential operation of the cursor
control device and selection device is operative to store a
flight plan in the memory. 50
It is to be understood that both the foregoing general
description and the following detailed description are exem-
plary and explanatory and are intended to provide further
explanation of the invention as claimed.
The accompanying drawings are included to provide a 55
further understanding of the invention and are incorporated
FIG. 9 is a drawing of the main menu of the MFD;
FIG. 10 is a drawing of the INIT window of the MFD;
FIG. 11 is a drawing of the NAVLOG window of the
MFD;
FIG. 12 is a drawing of the NAVDATA window of the
MFD;
FIG. 13 is a drawing of the MFD displaying an airport
map;
FIG. 14 is a drawing of the MFD displaying an SID chart;
FIG. 15 is a drawing of the MFD displaying an enroute
high-altitude chart;
FIG. 16 is a drawing of the MFD displaying enroute
high-altitude chart with a waypoint list;
FIG. 17 is a drawing of the Multifunction Control Unit of
the flight deck of FIG. 1, (MFCU) displaying the first menu
page in the captain's station;
FIG. 18 is a drawing of the MFCU displaying the second
menu page in the captain's station;
FIGS. 19 (a-g) are drawings of the MFCU displaying the
sub pages in the captain's station;
FIG. 20 is a drawing of the Auto pilot/Auto throttle
controller of the flight deck of FIG. 1, displaying all the soft
keys;
FIG. 21 is a drawing of the MFD displaying a "flight plan"
page;
FIG. 22 is a drawing of the MFD displaying a "manual
flight plan" page;
FIG. 23 is a drawing of the MFD displaying an "arrival"
page; and
FIG. 24 is a drawing of the MFD displaying a "sensor"
page.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE
PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Referring now to the drawings, FIG. 1 is a diagram of a
flight deck 10 for a business jet which embodies the present
in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate one/
several embodiment(s) of the invention and, together with
the description, serve to explain the principles of the inven-
tion.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in
and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate ernbodi-
ments of the invention and, together with the description,
serve to explain the objects, advantages, and principles of
the invention.
60 invention. Flight deck 10 includes an instrument panel 12
and a pedestal 14. Instrument panel 12 includes four 6x8
inch color LCD screens 16,18,20,22. An Autopilot/
Autothrottle (AP/AT) controller 23, 24 and a Multi Function
Control Unit (rv1FCU) 26, 28 arc each located above one of
65 the screens 16,18,20,22.
A glare shield 30 is located above the control units
23,24,26,28. Above glare shield 30 and superimposed on the
6,112,141
5
captains' view through a windshield 31 is a Head-up Display
(HUD) area 32. Outboard screens 16 and 22 each constitute
a Primary Flight Display (PFD). Thus, each pilot has a PFD
facing him, with AP/AT controller located above the PFD.
All flight information and short-range information is there-
fore located in the pilot's vertical line of sight to the view
through the windshield.
Inboard screens 18 and 20 each constitute a Multi-
Function Displays (MFD). Each MFD is located in front of
pedestal 14, with one MFCU 26 or 28 above each MFD.
Both captain and first officer can use both MFDs, which only
require coordinated management. This display configuration
allows take-off with one MFD out of order.
Instrument panel 12 also includes standby instruments
(not shown). The standby instrument may be of conventional
type, such as an altimeter, airspeed indicator, attitude
indicator, and ILS glide slope/localizer indicator.
Alternatively, they could be implemented as fiat panel
electronic instruments. These instruments are meant only as
a back-up to the screen displays.
6
preferably implemented as modules of modular avionics
units (MAU) 65a-65d interconnected by a high-speed com-
munications bus 66 such as the Avionics Standard Commu-
nications Bus of Honeywell. An example is the EPIC system
commercially available from Honeywell. Primary process-
ing power of each MAU 65 is provided by a microprocessor,
such as a Pentium processor. MAU 65a contains a processor
functioning as a flight management system computer 63,
including graphics drivers for LCD screens 16, 18, 20, 22.
10 MAU 65b contains communications modules for sensors 71
such as GPS ADF, VOR, ILS, and MLS receivers and VHF
and HF communications transceivers. The sensors them-
selves are connected to bus 66 via a radio interface unit 69.
MAU 65c contains modules for autopilot servos, AP/AT
15 control units 23,24, MFCUs 26,28, and aircraft utility sen-
sors. MAU 65d contains memory modules for storing data-
bases and for data input units such as a CD-ROM reader 67.
Other electrical configurations may of course be
employed depending on the specific application, as is well-
20 know to those skilled in the art. For example, the electronic
components of the flight deck may be implemented in
point-to-point architecture, such as the Pro-Line System
available fron1 Collins Radio.
Control Yoke
Pedestal 14 is located between the pilots' seats and has
been intentionally reduced in width over the prior art, so as
to give better visibility on all screens and to facilitate
communication between pilots. Pedestal 14 includes the
following controls: 25 The control yokes 58 and 60 for the captain and the first
officer are mounted on control columns of conventional
design. The control columns are pivotally hinged to allow
fore and aft movement, and the yokes are rotatable left and
right. The fore and aft movement of the control column is
A QWERTY keyboard 34 for each pilot, which includes
the alphabet, numbers from zero to nine, one touch ±,
decimal, CLR, ENT, SHOW, SPACE,"/", INCREASE
and DECREASE keys;
A five-position switch 38 to access check-lists;
Two independent power levers 40, with thrust reverser
controls, which include the AT disconnection and the
Take off/Go around (TOGA) palm-switches;
Two trackballs 44, one for each MFD, which each include
four special push-buttons: "Click" 48, "Centered" map
50, "Menu" 52, and "Plus/Minus" 53 (trackballs 44,
could also be implemented as a touch-pad, joystick, or
other type of cursor control);
A lever 54 for speed brakes with three positions (0°,
medium, fully extended); and
A lever 56 for flaps/slats with four positions (0°, 10°, 20°
and 40°).
Keyboards 34, trackballs 44, and switches 48, 50, 52, and
53 provide pilot input to a flight management system (FMS)
which performs conventional FMS functions as well as
improved functions to be described in greater detail.
The captain's area is fitted with a control yoke 58 includ-
ing several fast-access controls to be described in detail
below. Yoke 58 is the conventional type control handle to
receive manual pilot inputs to modify control surfaces of the
aircraft and alter the attitude of the aircraft. The first officer's
area is fitted with a similar control yoke 60.
Flight deck 10 also includes a simplified upper panel
(above the windshield, not shown), which includes only fire
panel and lights controls. Lateral panels (not shown) only
consist of an oxygen control panel and a disk or CD-ROM
driver which gives the capability to load data into the
avionics system, such as flight plan, navigation log, radio
management. Everything that is necessary for flight is set in
front of the pilots' seats and on narrow pedestal 14.
The flight deck is also fitted with three "master caution"
lights 62 above each PFD, a reconfiguration box 63 at the
bottorn left of the captain's PFD, and a reconfiguration box
64 at the bottom right of the copilot's PFD.
FIG. 2 shows a simplified electrical schematic diagram of
instrument panel 12. All components of flight deck 10 are
30 transmitted to the elevator surfaces to control the pitch
attitude of the aircraft, and the rotation of the yoke is
transmitted to the ailerons to roll the aircraft. Mechanical,
hydraulic, or electrical connections may be used to connect
the movement of the pilot controls to the control surfaces.
35 Alternatively, a stick or side stick controller able to pivot
along two axes can replace the control column and yoke.
Several electrical controls are mounted on the yoke or
stick. Conventional controls (not shown) include a push-to-
talk switch to activate communications radio transmitters, a
40 push-button autopilot disconnect switch, and switches to
electrically trim the aircraft. A five-position multi-axis con-
trol switch 70 is also included. Switch 70, is mounted on
yokes 58 and 60 and is thumb activated. This switch is used
to increase and decrease the value of the heading and the
45 flight path slope followed by the autopilot in a manner to be
described later in greater detail. Sideways motion changes
the heading or track, and fore/aft motion changes the slope.
Pressing the switch in its central position generates an
ENABLE signal which selects which course and slope is
50 followed by the A/P. Further details of multiaxis switch 70
are given in the section discussing the autopilot.
Navigation Sensors
Flight deck 10 uses receivers for the NAVSTAR and
GLONASS global positioning system satellites (GPS) and
55 inertial reference sensor (IRS) platforms as principal navi-
gation sensors. GPS receivers compute the aircraft's posi-
tion from radio signals transmitted from a constellation of
satellites. To provide greater accuracy, for example, when an
aircraft is landing in poor visibility, differential GPS
60 (D-GPS) is employed, using a separate receiver to receive
correction information from a ground station to increase the
accuracy of the position solution derived from satellite
signals.
Another navigation sensor is the inertial reference systern
65 (IRS), which employs sensitive gyroscopes to measure the
acceleration of the aircraft along three axes. By knowing the
point of departure and the magnitude and duration of accel-
6,112,141
7
eration in a given direction, the IRS can compute the current
location of the aircraft.
Traditional navigational aids ("navaids") are also used to
supplement GPS and IRS. These typically consist of various
types of ground-based radio stations which transmit signals
carrying encoded information, and an airborne receiver
which interprets the information. These range in complexity
and cost from the automatic direction finder (ADF) which
points towards a single non-directional radio beacon on the
ground, to LORAN which uses a worldwide chain of trans- 10
mitters to give exact location of the aircraft. VOR,
VORTAC, and VOR/DME give a bearing from a known
station, and with the appropriate equipment also give the
distance from the station. ILS (instrument landing system)
and MLS (microwave landing system) use specialized trans- 15
mitters located at many airports to enable landing in poor
visibility. All the traditional navaids require ground trans-
mission stations which are expensive to maintain and
operate, and several are likely to be phased out in the future.
In instrument panel 12, all navigation sensors, including 20
VOR/DME, GPS, ADF, ILS, MLS, IRS, LORAN, etc., are
coupled to the system via bus 66 and are provided as inputs
to the Ftv1S con1puter 63, residing as a n1odule in tv1AU 65a.
The FMS thus becomes the sole navigational interface with
the pilots, and conventional navigation aid receivers such as 25
the VOR/DME receiver become simple sensors for the FMS,
without providing direct pilot access to the deviation from a
VOR radial as in a conventional FMS. Guidance on a VOR
radial remains possible through the FMS by choosing the
VOR as a "TO" waypoint and by selecting a desired track to 30
that waypoint. The sensor that will provide guidance infor-
mation in this particular case, however, will be GPS, if
serviceable. Nevertheless, in addition to the permanent
bearing indication from the FMS, VOR and ADF, bearings
can be displayed on the PFD in order to survey an FMS 35
procedure. Both pilots can access the VOR, DME, andADF.
Alternatively, it may be preferred to provide access for
precision approach sources (DGPS, ICS, MLS, etc.) direct to
the autopilot and display devices.
8
Two rotary knobs 78, 80 and six push-buttons 82a-82f are
located at the bottom of each PFD. Knob 78 is a "RANGE"
rotary knob to adjust the range scale of the HSI in preset
increments, and includes a push-to-toggle function to switch
between map and plan display formats of PFD 16, 22. Knob
80 is a "barometric setting" knob to enable baroset adjust-
ments to the altimeter. Button 82a labeled "NAY DATA"
provides display of a navigation data screen in a manner to
be described later in greater detail. Button 82b labeled ET
provides elapsed time functions on a chronometer. Button
82c labeled "MAG/TRU" switches between magnetic and
true heading or track reference on all displays. Button 82d
displays TCAS symbology in place of the current horizontal
situation format on HSI 74. Button 82e labeled "RADAR"
displays a weather-radar image on HSI 74, and button 82/
labeled "M/Ft" selects an additional altitude display
expressed in meters. If preferred, some or all of buttons
82a-82f may be implemented as menu choices or soft keys.
ADI 72 displayed in PFD 16, 20 and shown in more detail
in FIG. 4 displays conventional information, but further
includes an aircraft velocity vector (flight path angle) reticle
84, an "acceleration rate along path" reticle 86, pitch reticle
88, a flight director reticle 90 showing desired aircraft
velocity vector, and a speed reticle 94. As set forth below,
these reticles provide the capability to fly the aircraft using
slope (path) guidance instead of pitch, in the same manner
as conventional HUD symbology.
Referring to the drawing of FIG. 4, a flight director reticle
90, which is computed by the autopilot function of computer
63 and can be displayed on PFD 16, 22 and on the HUD 32,
is a representation of the path desired aircraft velocity
vector, that is, the desired flight path angle, as calculated by
the autopilot to achieve the desired aircraft trajectory, or
slope. As shown in more detail in FIG. 6, reticle 9 consists
of two reticles, each one made of a pair of quarter-circles.
One reticle is devoted to the vertical guidance and the other
one to the horizontal guidance. Those are always displayed
magenta. FPA reticle 84 must be set within the quarter-
circles for the guidance to be followed correctly. Reticle 90
Communications Transceivers 40 is always displayed if the AP is coupled or if a higher mode
of the AP is selected and is active. The shape of flight
director reticle 90 is identical in both PFD 16, 22 and HUD
32.
Two VHF radio transceivers are provided, COMl and
COM2, in addition to the HF radio transceivers. Additional
VHF transceivers may be provided. These transceivers (not
shown) can be tuned manually, or can be tuned by "pointing
and clicking" with trackball 44 on a frequency in a digital 45
map displayed on the MFD or the PFD.
A radar transponder is also provided. It is used to amplify
and encode a signal returned to a ground-based radar, so that
the ground controller can identify the radar return from a
code issued to the pilot and entered in the transponder. The 50
altitude of the aircraft is also sent back to the radar, to
facilitate aircraft separation.
Flight path angle (FPA) FPA reticle 84 consists of stylized
aircraft symbol which shows the slope of the current path of
the inertial velocity vector of the aircraft, as supplied by the
inertial reference system (IRS). Lateral deviation of this
reticle due to slip-skid or to drift is neither computed nor
displayed in this reticle. To maintain coordinated flight by
adjusting the slip angle ~ to zero manually with rudder
control, a classical slip-skid indicator (not shown) remains
available at the top of AD .I.
Satellite communication (SATCOM) may also provided,
to permit telephone, fax, and other types of data transfer
from and to the aircraft, by way of orbiting satellites.
Display Screens
Acceleration reticle 86 consists of a chevron ">" which
moves vertically on an imaginary line running from top to
55 bottom of ADI 72. It provides an analog indication of
acceleration rate along the flight path.
PFD Speed reticle 94 provides speed guidance during flight
phases such as the approach. It consists of a bracket on the
left of FPA reticle 84. To hold the desired speed, the pilot
60 aligns the FPA reticle 84 with bracket 94. The difference in
vertical position of reticle 94, above or below reticle 84,
indicates the error between current speed and desired speed,
as specified by the FMS. In addition, alignment of longitu-
dinal acceleration chevron 86 with reticle 84 and 94 ensure
Most of the information provided to the pilots in flight
deck 10 is displayed on PFDs 16, 22 and MFDs 18, 20. Each
PFD is driven by a graphical driver and processing module
located in MAU 65a. Preferably, it encompasses at least a
6x8 inch color liquid crystal display (LCD) screen. As
shown in FIG. 3, each PFD principally displays an attitude
direction indicator (ADI) 72 in the rniddle part of the screen
and horizontal situation indicator (HSI) 74 in the lower part. 65
Basic engine parameters are also displayed in an engine area
76 (upper portion) in case of a MFD failure.
that the speed will remain constant. Of course, the required
speed depends on aircraft's configuration, and will be manu-
ally set by pilot using the autothrottle (AT). The pilot can
6,112,141
9
refer to parameters computed by the FMS to compute a
required landing speed (Vref), given the approach slope,
aircraft weight, temperature on ground, and flaps configu-
ration. A corresponding cyan colored bug (marker) 96 is
displayed on an air speed indicator tape 98 (FIG. 3). The
pilot simply selects the desired speed value on AT control 23,
24, and the system will provide him with the corresponding
bracket 94 in ADI display 72.
10
eating the radio navigation aid represented by each needle,
a label indicating which of MAG(fRU references is used,
desired track or preselected track symbol when the AP is in
the corresponding mode, and current track.
The "right window" 74c of HSI 74 provides: air data
computer (ADC) information, including TAS, TAT, SAT,
ISA and GS; weights, including GO, FR and QTY; wind
direction and velocity; and landing runway elevation, which
starts flashing when passing TOD to remind the pilot to HSI 74 (FIG. 3) displays short-range navigation informa-
tion in the lower portion of PFD 16, 22. It is divided in three
areas, which are a "left window" 74a, a "pure horizontal
situation" 74b, and a "right window" 74c.
The "left window" provides FMS navigation information
which can be displayed in two different formats. First is a
"TO-DEST" format, shown in FIG. 3, displaying a "TO"
waypoint with its name, distance and time to go to next
waypoint, plus "DEST" airport with name, distance and
ETA Second is a FROM(fO/NEXT format displaying the
name of these three points plus the time of overflight of the
"FROM" waypoint and the expected arrival time at the "TO"
waypoint. The pilot can toggle between both formats using
the "NAY DATA" push-button 82a at the bottom of PFD.
10 check the pressurization system. Power-up value of landing
runway elevation is 0 (sea level), but the pilot can modify it.
If the pilot does not modify the zero value when passing to
within 30 Nm of the destination airport, the value of the
destination airport runway elevation from the stored data
15 base is automatically displayed and flashes for 10 seconds.
The pilot can subsequently modify this value.
All information in this window is permanent, except
landing elevation which is displayed only once when manu-
ally entered, or when a destination airfield is selected and the
20 aircraft is less than 200 miles from the destination.
TI1e "left window" also provides the present tin1e, in
magenta, and a chronometer with analog and digital values,
only used to compute elapsed time. A first push on the "ET" 25
push-button 82b makes the chronometer appear and start
from zero. A second push stops it. A third push restarts it
from zero.
The "pure horizontal situation" area 74b is located at the
center of HSI 74 and can be displayed in three different 30
formats. FIG. 3 shows the first format, which is a "full rose"
format (conventional HSI symbology) displaying a full 360
degree compass rose centered on an aircraft symbol. On
request, bearings to selected points can be displayed in the
rose. FMS or ILS Course/deviation is always displayed as a 35
bug 101 while in this format. The ILS course deviation is
displayed when a precision approach is selected on the AP
controller, or when an ILS frequency and course are manu-
ally tuned. ILS course deviation can also be automatically
selected when passing within 30 miles of the initial approach 40
fix (IAF).
The second HSI format is an "arc" format, which displays
a ±60 degrees sector in front of the aircraft and is shown in
FIG. 5. This format provides the position of waypoints that
are inside the selected range-scale entered with rotary knob 45
78 at the planned path of the FMS flight plan. FMS bearing
and course deviation are always displayed in this format.
Area 74b will display the full Traffic Collision Avoidance
System (TCAS) format (FIG. 7) either automatically in case
of traffic alert or by pressing the "TCAS" push-button 82d. 50
The TCAS display is a full 360 degree rose centered on the
aircraft. The range of the TCAS display can be adjusted
using the rotary knob 78 on the left bottom of PFD 16, 22.
MFD
In prior art flight decks, the aircraft crew was required to
n1anage the flight and perforn1 path n1odification by using
the control and display unit (CDU) of the FMS, which
involved manually typing in desired waypoints and other
data. This was a boring, fastidious task, which could affect
safety in unpredictable ways, to the point that some aircraft
operators prohibited the use of the CDU below an altitude of
10,000 ft. (FLlOO). To remedy this problem, a method to
manage the FMS functions by using the MFD has been
developed, eliminating the previously existing CDU on the
flight management system unit.
The MFDs 18, 20 are truly the "workstations" of the flight
deck. They are used for managing the flight, carrying out
flight path modification, and checking aircraft systems and
sensors availability. The corresponding procedures involve
the intensive use of track-ball 44 controlling a cursor of
MFDs 18, 20 and, in a less important manner, use of
keyboards 34. Alternatively, the functions of keyboards 34
may be replaced by a direct voice input, and the function of
the trackball could be performed by other cursor control
devices, such as a touch-panel.
An important aspect of the design of MFDs 18, 20 is the
ability for each pilot to access both the right MFD 20 and the
left MFD 18 from each seat, using a distinctive cursor, as
shown in FIG. 8. However, both MFDs provide the same
options and are coupled to synchronized FMS processors.
Both MFDs are synchronized so that, for example, when
the captain is working on an enroute high altitude chart on
MFD 18, the first officer can work on the same chart in his
own MFD 20, using a different range scale or type of format.
However, the pilots can also work together on the same
page, on the same MFD, each one using his own trackball
44, to move his own cursor, and his own keyboard 34. The A second pressing of the "TCAS" push-button 82d of the
PFD calls back the previous HSI format.
VOR and ADF bearings can be displayed on the PFD in
addition to the bearing indication of the FMS, as a backup.
Both pilots can access the VOR, DME, and ADF.
55 principal constraint to joint access of the MFD is that once
a modification has been initiated using one cursor, it must be
finished with that same cursor.
Access to each MFD 18,20 is implemented by a "cursor
skip" function, which selectively permits each cursor to
move about each MFD. In the preferred embodiment, the
cursor skip function is selectively implemented by trackball
velocity. For example, if the captain slowly operates his
trackball 44 to move his cursor to the right, the cursor will
ILS approaches and differential global positioning system
(D-GPS) are some of the approach options of the FMS 60
functions of computer 63. Both are automatically set up by
computer 63 without requiring pilot entry of frequencies,
except in abnormal operations, when it is possible to manu-
ally tune an ILS frequency and course by using the tv1FCU. stop at the right edge of tv1FD 18 to prevent inadvertently
65 "skipping" to MFD 20. Subsequent slow movement of the
trackball to the right will not result in further movement of
the cursor. However, rapid operation of the captain's track-
In addition, the pure horizontal situation area 74b of HSI
74 displays the following information: distances to DME 1
& 2 with name of these radio navigation aids, labels indi-
6,112,141
11
ball to the right will cause the captain's cursor to "skip over"
to MFD 20. The captain can then use his cursor and related
buttons to implement any feature available on right-hand
MFD 20. Similarly, the first officer can selectively move his
cursor to left-hand MFD 18.
The cursor skip function could, of course, be implemented
using a selector other than trackball speed. For example, a
dedicated push button could be provided, operation of which
would be required to permit "cursor skip" to the other MFD.
Moreover, the cursor skip function could be implemented
over more than two fiat panel displays.
12
To "select" the captured point, the action button 48 of the
track-ball is operated. This causes data stored for this point
in system memory to appear as an information window
displayed at the place of the cursor. From this moment, the
pilot can begin a modification of a parameter displayed in
the window, using the keyboard, for instance. It is also
possible to designate soft keys and labels, which will cause
the corresponding function or option to be selected.
Which parameters are displayed for the point depends on
10 the category of the symbol corresponding to the designated
point. The category of the symbol itself depends on the
background of the displayed chart, but not on the magnifi-
cation. A first click on the symbol displays a window beside
The following functions are redundantly included in both
screens to permit a flight to depart even if one MFD is
inoperable: display engine parameters and warning/caution
messages; display all aircraft electrical, fuel, air 15
conditioning, hydraulics systems; display horizontal situa-
tion and vertical profile; manage FMS and AFIS; manage
normal and abnormal check-lists; and display general main-
tenance items in flight that can be easily understood by the
crew.
it. A second one outside this window erases it.
There is no priority given to either pilot in using either
MFD. Each pilot can work with his cursor on both MFD, and
both pilots can also work together on the same MFD, or on
the same function on different MFD. In this latter case, the
system takes into account the chronological order of actions.
20 There is only one exception: If one pilot has already begun
a modification, the other pilot cannot interfere on this
parameter as long as the procedure is not terminated. But the
second pilot can fill another parameter on the same MFD.
Hence, it is possible to get both cursors on the same display.
The functions of the MFD are founded on the basic idea
of displaying desired portions of at least two data bases
stored in tv1AU 65d (FIG. 2), highlighting (or "capturing")
specific features of the displayed data with the cursor, and
"selecting" the captured features to permit modification of
the displayed feature or storing into a flight plan. The first
data base is a geographic map data base which provides
basic geographic features of a standard paper map, or chart,
including terrain elevation. This database, which may be the
same as utilized in the Enhanced Ground Proximity Warning
Systems (EGPWS), is stored in a first portion of system
memory. The EGPWS database is commercially available
from the Sundstrand Corporation.
The second database is an aeronautical information
database, which includes a complete list of available navi-
gation aids such as VOR, GPS, ILS, MLS, ADF, as well as
airports, airways, intersections, reporting points, etc. The
aeronautical information database includes locations and
frequencies of each navaid. It is obtained from standard
sources such as Jeppesen Publications, and is stored in a
second portion of system memory.
The background or default image of the MFD is the
horizontal situation, consisting of the superposition of data
from the aeronautical information database (such as navaid
location) on geographic map data, such as water land/
boundaries. However, the MFD can display several function
pages thanks to a menu driven system. The surface of the
screen is divided into six windows of% the total screen size.
The different windows displayed will encompass a total size
that is a multiple of% the available surface, i.e. %, 1/3, Yi, 2/3,
516 and 1 times the available surface. The horizontal situation
is displayed on the part of the screen unused by the window
(s) requested by the pilot. Furthermore, one MFD 16,18
includes a permanent ENGINE/TRIMS display 120 which
continuously occupies the top % as shown in FIG. 9.
25 The cursors for each pilot are graphically different, as shown
in FIG. 8. Both cursors have the same size, but the angle
between the cursor legs is different so as to be able to
differentiate them even when superimposed.
30
MFDs have provisions to let the pilots modify selected
parameters displayed as a window. A small triangle is
displayed in front of each parameter that is likely to be
modified. When the cursor captures one of these parameters,
its background becomes brown and a modification can take
35
place by entering the new value with the keyboard. While
being modified, the parameter is displayed cyan with cyan
framing. When the modification is completed, the pilot to
presses the "ENT" key, or clicks the button of the trackball.
If the pilot presses "ENT" or clicks without entering data,
40
the cursor automatically skips to the following parameter. It
is possible to exit the modification process by double-
clicking the button of the track-ball, so that the system
returns to the previous status.
The main menu 122 of the MFD can be accessed directly
45
by using devoted push-button 52 located on the trackball
(FIG. 1) to directly call up the main menu of the MFD, as
shown in FIG. 9. The main menu 122 includes a plurality of
entries. Clicking on one of these entries displays the corre-
sponding page on the MFD. The system always accepts the
50
last pilot choice and erases all that is necessary so as to be
able to display the requested page. Some windows such as
engine performance, or the checklist, are not erased. The
erasures are first carried out at the bottom of the MFD. If two
aircraft systems pages are requested, the horizontal situation
55
indicator is no longer displayed on the MFD, for lack of
sufficient room. The trackballs 44 and switches 48, 50, 52 are the main
means to operate the MFD. Operation of the cursor involves
the actions of cursor "capture" and "selection", commonly
known in the personal computer world as "point and click."
For example, when the pilot is interacting with the HSI, the 60
cursor is movably superimposed upon points on the map by
action of the trackball. Certain of these points on the map
constitute special positions recognized by the system:
The main menu of FIG. 9 has four columns. The first
column provides access to FMS management pages. The
second column includes mainly aircraft systems windows.
The third column controls the display of sensors data, for
example, selection of a weather radar image to be superim-
posed on the horizontal situation display. The fourth column
controls access to various charts and maps, which in current
Rt~AV points, routes, airports, and so on. When the cursor
is superimposed upon such points, the point is "captured",
that is, the background around the captured point becomes
brown, and the cursor is displayed behind this background.
aircraft are usually provided on paper, such as by Jeppesen
65 publications.
A description of some of the entries of the Main Menu is
set forth below.
6,112,141
13
First Column:
This column mainly includes Flight Management System
pages. These pages allow the pilot to perform the following
procedures:
Initialization
14
following legs are erased. Finally, "CLEAR" and "COM-
PUTE" soft keys are displayed under the log. "CLEAR"
allows the pilot to clear the modification and go back to
previous status. "COMPUTE" re-starts a computation of
predictions regarding the new assessments, respecting the
eventual mandatory times. As soon as new predictions are
displayed, the "COMPUTE" soft key is removed and an
"ACTIVATE" one is displayed. Pressing this key activates
the new values of FL, ALT and M/IAS in the vertical flight
This page is selected by the "INIT" label in the main
menu. As shown in FIG. 10 it encompasses the entire screen,
except the area occupied by the permanent engine/trim
window. It consists of one window with dates and times and
of the airport chart. This latter is initially displayed in a 1
NM range-scale, north oriented. It lets the pilots check and
10
plan.
The page also provides the following keys:
set current date and time and the database's effective date,
check position on the aircraft on apron and the FMS refer-
ence position, load contents of CD-ROM to update the
database if necessary, and tune the MFCUs on airport 15
frequencies by clicking first the desired station frequency
and then the "TUNE 1" or "TUNE2" softkey.
The NAVLOG page (FIG. 11) provides all information
necessary for fuel and time management, including:
Check mission preparation
Generate reminders of flight conditions, planned fuel
consumption and flight time for each leg
Automatic updating of these values according to current
conditions
20
25
Carry out a "what-if": asking the system to display the
consequences of changing one or several flight condi-
tions.
Make research of optimal flight conditions
This page lets the pilots modify the NAY LOG manually, 30
only for the vertical plane. The window size is the same as
for the FLT PLAN window. It further provides the usual
navigation log with a list of navigation legs for which are
given the following parameters:
PRINT
FLT PLAN (to return to FLT PLAN page if one comes
from it)
Scroll-up and down keys, so as to scroll the entire LOG.
The scroll soft keys are displayed only if the number of
waypoints is too large to fit on one screen. The current
leg is initially shown at the top of the LOG, so long as
pilot has not made any scroll. If the pilot does scroll, he
will have to reset back the highlight to the desired leg
because this is not automatically carried out.
Note that if any SID, STAR or APP has been activated, all
corresponding waypoints are displayed in the log.
The pilots can optimize the flight conditions by using the
lower part of the page. The pilot chooses ISA DEV
(initialized to the planned value on the leg which is dis-
played in the LOG); Mach number by using the LRC or
MCRU soft key, or by inserting a value manually; and flight
level with OPT or MAX or CRT soft keys, or by inserting
a value manually.
As soon as Mach number and FL are chosen, the corre-
sponding flight parameters (mach, FL, TAS, Nm/Lb.) are
displayed based on the present weight, and are permanently
updated even if NAY LOG page is deselected and reselected
"To" waypoint with its name
Required flight level or altitude on the leg
Required Mach and TAS on the leg
Wind component on the leg (plus if back) and delta with
ISA temperature on the leg
35 later. Then, a "N LOG" key appears which allows crew to
accept the computed values and transfer the data to the FMS.
In addition, an optimization for the following legs is carried
out, according to the chosen criteria. During computation,
relevant parameters are erased. They are re-displayed cyan
Distance and distr (total distance of leg and remaining
distance after this leg)
40 at the end of computation. The "CLEAR" and "ACTIVATE"
keys are displayed so as to allow return to previous status or
confirm computed values.
Second Column Time on the leg (ETE, in hours and minutes) and true
track
Fuel used on the leg and fuel remaining on the last
waypoint of leg (in Lb.)
The second column of menu 122 allows access to engine
45 and mechanical systems pages, clicking on ENG/CONF;
FUEL/ENV; HYDRAULICS; ELECTRIC:NAV DATA:
FF on the leg and DFR (delta fuel remaining, i.e. differ-
ence between FR planned in mission preparation and
currently computed FR. This item is not filled if flight
path has been modified.)
Flight time (time that has been done when reaching the
waypoint) and ETA on this waypoint.
The NAY DATA window (FIG. 12) consists of an extract
of NAY LOG providing only a few lines of TO/NEXT legs,
and provides the amount of fuel remaining, the difference
50 with fuel predicted in mission preparation, and TTG and
ETA on DEST. No modification can be carried out.
Note that all planned values (ETE, FU, FR, FF, ll_FR,
FT, ETA) are continuously updated by the FMS computer 63
regarding: current weight, detotalizer values, position on the 55
path, current FL and Mach number, current wind and tem-
perature. When the aircraft reaches the end of the leg, all
parameters of the leg are set either to the average value
computed for the leg (FL/ALT, M/IAS, WD COMP, ISA
DEV, ETE, FU, FF) or to the actual value when passing over 60
the waypoint at the end of the leg ( FR, ll_FR, FT, ETA).
If any modification of FL/ALT or M/IAS or WD COMP
or ISA DEV occurs, the modified value is instantaneously
passed on to following legs for which the sarne value of
FL/ALT or M/IAS was planned. No automatic pass occurs 65
for WD COMP or TEMP. All predicted parameters (ETE,
FU, FR, FF, ll_FR, FT, ETA) of the relevant leg and of the
Sensors
This page (FIG. 24) displays navigation sensors modes
and current status, with their estimated localization error,
given in bearing and range from FMS reference position. It
includes two series of four columns. For each series, the
columns include:
First Column:
Selecting keys for each sensor, with name of sensor. They
are not displayed if the sensor has failed. They are
white framed if not selected, green framed green if
selected.
Second Column: Status or Mode Indications:
TDC. l\.T A"\.T AT T~l\.T C'UV ,...,.. ... DATT
.l.l'->J• l'lr-\..V, r-1L.1Ul'I, >JLJ.l Ul .l'r-\...lL
GPS: RAIM, 4 SAT, ACQ or FAIL
To discover an anomalous condition of a satellite, the
RAIM concept provides use of redundant satellite
6,112,141
15
data to generate reliable position information even if
one received satellite signal is incorrect. It requires at
least 5 satellites to be tracked simultaneously with
good geometry. Six satellites simultaneously tracked
can isolate the anomalous satellite. The RAIM status
indicated in the sensors page is related to a 5 satel-
lites status (without baroalt) that is planned to be
kept at least for five minutes.
4 SAT is displayed while acquiring GPS constellation
or while not able to track at least four satellites.
ACQ is displayed while acquiring GPS constellation or
while unable to track at least four satellites.
VOR: NAME OF STATION, FAIL
DME: NAME OF STATION, FAIL
Dashes are displayed when NCD, and these labels have
the same color as sensor's name.
Third Column:
Localization error given in bearing and range from FMS
reference position.
Fourth Column:
For each sensor, a "MORE " soft key allows pilot to get
more information by calling up an additional page
which displays:
Name of sensor
sensor status
position localization in geographic coordinates
value of ground speed supplied by this sensor and
estimated drift of the sensor
Third Column (Main Menu, FIG. 9):
This column of MAIN MENU entries includes sensor
information related to the horizontal situation.
Weather:
This entry allows selection of weather radar image for
display on the MFD. It is superimposed on the current
horizontal situation indicator, in whatever the format (track
or north oriented) the latter might be. Radar is managed
using the MFCU to select the desired elevation and mode.
TCAS:
16
10° climb. This pull up must begin (at the latest)
between 3 and 15 seconds after the warning is received.
Continuous red sectors: terrain that can no longer be
avoided by performing a pull up, avoidance must be
achieved by changing course laterally.
The two first formats (amber and flashing red points) can be
superimposed on the rest of the symbology, including
weather-radar image. The third one has priority over others.
GCAS is inhibited when aircraft is within a range of 2 NM
to destination airport. A red warning will be displayed on
10
PFD (and in HUD) if a red area appears in the ±45° azimuth
sector in front of the aircraft.
LSS
The lightning sensor system CLSS of the weather radar
provides location of detected lightning areas. For each one,
15 a small red symbol will be displayed in the horizontal
situation indicator.
W/CNTR:
This weather and control area window provides the crew
with the location of both the weather forecast and the control
20 areas symbols on the MFD. With the former, pilots can get
access to a window giving the name and frequencies of
VOLMET stations. (These are indicated by a circled "W"
syn1bol, colored purple). The latter provides then1 with
control areas on the different charts likely to be displayed on
25 the MFD. These are indicated by a circled "C" symbol,
colored purple. Clicking on it displays the corresponding
window that gives the name of the station, used frequencies
and any relevant information.
30
GEO
This entry is actually a soft key that controls display/
erasure of geographical information on the chart currently
displayed on the MFD. This information consists of sea-
ocean, lakes and main rivers. These geographical elements
are colored dark blue. Earth regions are uncolored and hence
35 shores clearly appear at the limit of earth/water.
Airports:
This soft key controls display/erasure of airports symbols
on the currently displayed chart.
Airways:
This soft key controls display/erasure of airways symbols
on the currently displayed chart.
Fourth Column:
This column of Main Menu entries provides display of
maps and charts (occupying 516 of the screen) with vertical
The traffic alert and collision avoidance system (TCAS) 40
provides location of traffic approaching the aircraft too
closely and displays corresponding symbols on PFD and
MFD, with digital indication of their level and their vertical
velocity (only up or down and only if greater than 500
ft/mn). These symbols can be displayed in any one of the
charts of horizontal and vertical situation. In addition, a "full
TCAS" symbology can be displayed in the PFD, by pressing
the TCAS push-button of PFD or automatically in case a
serious threat occurs.
45 profile (occupying Y4 of the screen, that can be automatically
compressed to % ) usually provided by Jeppesen
publications, with the current location of the aircraft repre-
sented by an aircraft symbol similar to the symbol on the
PFD. For all these charts, the bearings and radials are with
GCAS:
GCAS (Ground Collision Avoidance System) is actually
a software function and not a sensor. It does not use any
radar functionality such as ground mapping. Instead, it
derives the potential ground collisions that could occur from
the built-in terrain database and from the knowledge of the
accurate aircraft position. To achieve this, the system com-
pares future possible paths with the elevation of ground that
could be overflown. It provides the profile of terrain that is
planned to be overflown (up to 2 minutes) in the vertical
situation page and highlights dangerous areas on the hori-
zontal situation chart, according to the following rules:
Amber points: terrain which is less than 100 meters below
the current path, assuming that slope will remain
unchanged.
50 respect to magnetic or true north, according to the MAG/
TRU selection; enroute distances are in nautical miles;
vertical measurements of elevation are in feet above mean
sea level; enroute altitudes are either in feet above mean sea
level or clearly expressed as flight levels. All times are UTC
55 unless labeled local time. These charts can be displayed in
two different formats, map and plan (also known respec-
tively as "heading up" and "north up"), and are centered on
aircraft position. This rule is always true in "heading up"
format and in "north up" without flight plan. While in "north
60 up" format with flight plan, the chart is centered on a "TO"
waypoint.
In map format (heading or track oriented), a heading rose
Flashing red points: terrain that aircraft can still avoid 65
with a vertical margin of 100 meters at least, if pilots
performs a full-power pull up at 1.3 G followed by a
provides a cyan bug (steering course) and the corresponding
cyan line that joins aircraft syrnbol and bug. It also includes
a circle located at half-range, with the digital value of the
corresponding range-scale. Both circle and rose are centered
on the aircraft symbol.
6,112,141
17
In plan format (north oriented), two circles centered on a
reference point (default point is the "TO" waypoint) are
displayed. Therefore, while using certain range-scales, air-
craft symbol can be hidden. The central circle includes
range-scale value and right-left 45° tick marks.
For these two formats, a magenta line showing the pre-
dictive path up to one minute in the future, computed from
present speed and bank angle, will be displayed in front of
the aircraft symbol.
As shown in FIGS. 13-16, MFD 18,20 can display an 10
Airport map, a SID chart, an enroute low altitude chart, and
an enroute high altitude chart. Other displayable charts
include STAR and approach charts. Each of these charts can
be displayed with a vertical profile. For both map and plan
formats, a magenta predictive path is displayed in front of 15
the aircraft symbol, indicating the expected path up to one
minute in the future, computed from present speed and bank
angle. Computer 63 responds to operation of trackball 44 to
highlight a waypoint indication when the cursor coincides
with the waypoint indication on the vertical profile and 20
simultaneously highlights the corresponding indication of
the waypoint on the horizontal situation display.
FIG. 13 shows an available airport n1ap, sin1ilar to the
standard Jeppesen airport diagram. It includes a window 536
with the name of the airport, and country and name of the 25
closest city; a window 538 with radio frequencies, including
ATIS, clearance delivery, ground, tower and departure fre-
quencies; and an airport map 540 containing ground
facilities, terminals, control tower, runways, taxiways,
aprons and stands, elevation of particular points on and 30
around the airfield. Additional information related to any
particular point, like a runway or parking stand of the
airport, can be displayed by designating the point with the
cursor. The information will be displayed in a special
window in place of the cursor. This page is automatically 35
displayed on MFD 18,20 in a 1 NM range-scale, north-
oriented, at initialization as shown in FIG. 10.
The standard instrument departure (SID) chart is shown in
FIG. 14. This chart displays the standard instrument depar-
ture data for the selected SID procedure. It includes a 40
window 584 containing name of procedure and name of the
corresponding airport; and a window 542 containing the
chart that displays runways, radio navigation aids related to
the procedure, radials defining the SID path, FMS waypoints
and planned path. The default range-scale for this chart is 5 45
NM, centered on the departure airport. No accurate vertical
profiles are published in traditional SIDs. Instead, vertical
information is generally limited to mandatory altitudes over
particular points. In the present invention, however, altitude
information is obtained from the terrain database, and is 50
used by the FMS computer 63 to supply the vertical profile
that can be displayed in the vertical profile page.
Enroute low altitude charts can also be displayed on MFD
18,20. These navigation charts are for routes located up to
flight level 190 (FL 190). They include airways, waypoints, 55
report points, R-NAV aids, airports (without any name) and
limits of control and forecasting areas. For all these symbols,
a window can provide additional information. This content
varies according to the selected range-scale. Moreover,
selected portions of the map database can be simultaneously 60
displayed as a visible map display with portions of the
aeronautical information database as navigation aid indica-
tors such that the geographic locations of navigation aid
indicators are correlated on the display device with the
corresponding geographic locations of the map display. 65
Portions of the display device can then be designated as a
control active region, such that computer 63 responds to
18
operation of the cursor control device and selection device
to highlight navigation aid indicators at the current cursor
location and to retrieve and display database parameters of
the highlighted navigation aid indicators from the aeronau-
tical information database.
Enroute high altitude charts, shown on MFD 18,20 of
FIG. 15, can be displayed, and provide the same information
as low altitude enroute charts, for routes located above FL
190. FIG. 15 shows an enroute high altitude chart 545 and
a vertical profile 546 for the route selected.
Another displayable chart is the "STAR" chart. This chart
provides the standard terminal arrival route which has been
selected in the FLIGHT PLAN page, to be described below.
It includes required path, corresponding waypoints and
references such as radials of other waypoints when those
radials define the path.
Finally, approach charts can be displayed on MFD 18,20.
These charts provide approach procedures which are chosen
in the ARRIVAL page, to be described below. The charts
include all the information usually provided in the paper
Jeppesen approach charts. The approach can belong to one
of the following categories: VOR, VOR/DME, LOC, ILS,
ILS/LOC, ILS/DME, MLS, NDB, NDBNOR, RADAR,
GPS, D~GPS, or VFR. The VFR approach, though it is
usually not published in IFR documentation, is often carried
out when VMC (visual meteorological conditions) exist. It
consists of two phases. First, from the end of enroute flight
plan or STAR, the aircraft rejoins a point located on runway
axis at 4.55 NM from runway threshold and 1500 ft above
ground. This point is known as VFR FAF. Secondly, the
aircraft rejoins a point located at 50 ft above runway
threshold, with a slope of 3° (5%) with DTK=RTH. The
autopilot can follow this procedure in LNAV and VNAV
modes. Radius of alignment turn will be computed for a
ground speed value of 150 Kts. The corresponding go
around (GIA) procedure consists of a climb on the runway
axis up to pilot's intervention. Note that it is possible to cross
ASEL in descent after passing VFR FAF, without any audio
alarm, just like for other approaches. ASEL remains dis-
played in cyan when passing VFR FAF.
A vertical profile can be displayed on MFD 18,20 using
the "VER PROF" label in the main menu 522 (FIG. 9), but
under the condition that at least 1/3 of screen size remains
available to show the horizontal situation. The vertical
profile is located at the bottom of the MFD, in a Y4 screen
size format that can be reduced to % screen. As displayed in
window 546 of FIG. 15, the vertical profile includes:
Aircraft symbol, always at the extreme left, with 5 sec-
onds in a continuous line, plus an extrapolated path of
up to 30 seconds shown as a magenta discontinuous
line.
Current vertical flight plan if VNAV mode is selected or
can be selected on AP. A vertical flight plan must be
filed and the aircraft must not be too far from horizontal
flight plan (in distance and track). Note that the path
displayed herein is only made of lines without any
circle-arcs. Names of waypoints, altitude and slope
constraints are always displayed.
Current slope.
AP slope when in basic mode on vertical plane.
ASEL, indicated by a cyan horizontal line and the corre-
sponding digital value, or a cyan arrow giving its
direction (up only) if it is out of field.
Marks corresponding to 0.5 and 1 times the range scale of
r-v1FD.
Profile of terrain which is likely to be overflown, if GCAS
is selected, up to 2 minutes in the future, extrapolated
from present flight parameters.
6,112,141
19
The vertical range-scale is automatically set, while the
horizontal range-scale depends on the range of the currently
displayed horizontal situation. The former is automatically
computed so as to display zero altitude at the bottom of the
profile and the highest of the following points at the top of
the profile: Aircraft symbol; Highest part of displayed por-
tion of current vertical flight plan; ASEL (if vertical flight
plan is not displayed); 2000 ft altitude. (To avoid a too large
a scale when aircraft is close to the ground.)
In the vertical profile, the cursor can capture waypoints 10
and altitude constraint readouts.
Several controls are available for charts management.
These include range-zoom rotary knobs 544 on MFD 18,20
and an off center push-button 48 located on track-balls 44,
(FIG. 1). The range-zoom rotary knob includes two knobs. 15
With the outer one, the pilot can adjust the range-scale up to
4000 NM. 600, 1000, 2000 and 4000 NM range scales are
also available. The inner knob allows adjustment of zoom.
The range-zoom rotary knob is also fitted with a push-
button. Pressing it causes the currently displayed chart to 20
toggle between map and plan options. The plan (heading up)
option is available only if the currently displayed chart is the
"systen1 chart" (i.e., the chart of the current flight phase) or
"enroute chart".
When the range-zoom scale is toggled, current range- 25
scale is kept and the chart is centered on the aircraft. Thus,
20
heading up) and centering remain identical to the value they
had at the last call-up (or default values if it is the first
selecting). When the pilot requests a chart that is not the
system chart, it will always be displayed in "north up"
format. When an airport chart is manually called up, it is
displayed north-up oriented with a range-scale such that it
encompasses the whole airport. If destination airport exists,
this chart consists of the destination airport chart, if not, the
closest airport chart shall be displayed.
When a SID, STAR, or APPROACH chart is manually
called up (assuming that the corresponding procedure is
defined and activated), the chart is displayed north oriented
with a range scale and centering such that the format
encompasses the whole procedure. If no procedure has been
activated, only the upper window of the chart, including the
name of the airport is displayed. This name consists either of
the destination airport if known, or of the closest airport if
not. A pilot can display the chart of any SID, STAR, or
approach different from the activated one (but still corre-
sponding to the same airport) by replacing the procedure
name 543 (FIG. 14) with the name of the desired new
procedure. If a chart of a procedure of another airport is
desired, the same actions are performed but the name of
corresponding airport must also be entered. In this latter
case, the path of the procedure will be displayed magenta in
both the PFD and MFD.
When enroute charts are manually called up (assuming
that the corresponding flight plan is defined and activated),
they are displayed north-oriented with a range scale and
a double pressing performed on this knob while in map
(north up) setting of the system or enroute charts centers the
format back on the aircraft without any range-scale or chart
change. 30 centering such that the format encompasses the whole flight
plan. In case no flight plan should be defined, the chart is
displayed in a 50 NM range-scale, north-oriented and
aircraft-centered.
For each of the charts, range/zoom controls can specify a
desired discrete map scale for display on the display device.
Moreover, the data items of the map and aeronautical
information databases are each classified as one of a plu-
rality of priority levels each corresponding to a different map 35
scale. The flight computer responds to operation of range-
zoom rotary knob 544 to display the map and aeronautical
information databases at the desired scale and perform a
de-clutter function to display only those data items corre-
sponding to the desired scale. In contrast, computer 63 40
responds to the operation of the inner knob 544 to provide
a continuously variable range scale adjustment without
de-clutter, thus continuing to display all data items that were
displayed prior to the zoom operation.
Also available for each chart, except the system chart, is 45
a fast-deselecting soft-key. It consists of a little white square
with a white cross inside. This key is situated at the top right
of the chart and enables the pilot to erase the chart by
clicking on it. Each time a chart is deselected this way, the
system chart will replace it. In addition to the deselect key, 50
some charts are fitted with a key that enables the pilot to
directly go back to the previous chart. This kind of key is
always located at the top right of the chart and it contains the
name of the chart to which it provides access.
All the charts provide the capability to select displayed
frequencies. Clicking one of the frequencies in the map
displays the TUNE 1 and TUNE 2 soft keys. Clicking on one
of these keys, e.g., TUNE 1, assigns the selected frequency
to the chosen radio unit, e.g. COM 1.
Several miscellaneous windows are available for use with
the MFD charts. To display these windows, pilot selects the
particular point of interest with the cursor. The correspond-
ing window appears at the place of cursor. Its size depends
on the number of parameters related to the point of interest.
Some of these windows includes labels that allows access to
sub-windows. The pilot can click on them to cause sub-
windows to appear. The following list gives all the special
points which allow access to additional information win-
dows.
All types of waypoints (Published waypoints of any chart,
FMS waypoints (i.e. TOD & TOC), pilot-built
waypoints, radio reporting points.); RNAV aids (VOR,
DME, ADF, NDB, TACAN, LOC, markers, D-GPS.);
runways (when !LS-fitted, both runway and ILS infor-
mation will be merged in a single window, allowing
access to two different sub-windows.); airport reference
points; control towers; stands; taxiways; parking &
aprons; airways; holding patterns; control areas; fore-
casting areas; airports; waypoints of current navigation;
legs of current navigation or airways; aircraft; TOC/
TOD.
Note that the only symbols that can be consulted on a
vertical profile are waypoints, and in this particular
case just the slope constraint will be displayed.
Direct access keys to other charts or pages are also 55
available for some MFD display pages. These keys have no
fixed location, but rather are situated at the location where
they might be needed. The label of these keys is not
necessarily the name of the chart that it calls up, but has been
chosen so as to mean something very specific in the pilot's 60
mind. The pages having this feature are: the FLT PLN page,
the ARRIVAL page, the SENSOR page, the INIT page, and
the FPL LIST page. The charts can be manually centered
with off center button 48 on track-balls 44, 46. This button
centers the chart on the current position of cursor.
The information provided for the various points is as
65 follows:
If the selected chart is the "system chart", that is, the chart
covering the current flight phase, the format (north or
NAY AID: Provided information consists of: Name of
station, Category (VOR, DME . . . ), Class (high
6,112,141
21
altitude, low altitude, terminal, unrestricted) or ILS
category (I, II, III, IIIA), Frequency, Corresponding
Morse code, Coordinates (L,G).
In addition, if the point consists of a VOR or an ADF,
two soft keys "TUNE 1" and "TUNE 2" allow pilot to
tune radios and hence to get the bearing to this station.
22
points. In case this list becomes too long, two <>
keys will be displayed at the bottom right of the list.
Throughout this list, crew can also call up and use the
window related to each waypoint, by clicking on the name
of the waypoint in the list, even if this waypoint is not
currently displayed on the chart. In addition, all usual
actions that are available for the manual flight plan chart
remain available for the waypoint list. It includes modifi-
cation of desired speed and altitudes, addition of a waypoint
10 in the list, removal or change of a waypoint.
Check-List
The check list management system provides access to the
AIRPORT: Consultation of any airport symbol displays a
window with a single key that allows access to the
corresponding Jeppesen chart and aids for approach
(ILS, ... ). Cursor is automatically displayed on a
"RETURN" soft key so as to allow pilot to return to the
navigation chart. Thus, it is possible to consult any of
the airport's charts, under the condition that its symbol
is displayed on the screen.
15
Note that airport charts can be directly accessed from
multitude of status and operational procedures that must be
managed to provide safe and efficient operation of the
aircraft. The check lists are grouped by function into
"chapters", "pages" within each chapter, and "instructions"
"AIRPORT MAP" soft key in the main menu.
RUNWAY: If the designated point is a runway threshold,
the window gives the following information: Runway
true heading, with an accuracy of 0.1 degrees; Mag-
netic heading; Threshold elevation; Runway mean
slope (average slope between both thresholds); runway
length.
WAYPOINT: (Flight plan waypoints) displayed informa-
tion is: Name of point; Nature of point (NAVAID,
AIRPORT, ... ); range; estimated altitude; estimated
fuel on this point; E.T.A; Time constraint; track con-
straint; Altitude constraint (AT, ABOVE, BELOW);
Speed constraint; Slope constraint; Flyover constraint
and/or HOLD (holding pattern); Offset.
LEGS: (Flight plan's legs or airway outside flight plan)
displayed information is: Name of airway; true track;
Length; MSA (minimum safety altitude).
AIRCRAFT: designation of aircraft takes a snapshot of
present L/G coordinates and displays them in a win-
dow. This one also includes useful parameters so as to
define an immediate holding pattern, with an "ACTI-
VATE" (or "DELETE") key, just like for a waypoint.
within each page, and are stored in memory of MAU 65d.
The chapters include: normal, abnormal, user, and emer-
gency. The normal chapter is semi-automatic, it is displayed
20 on pilot's request by switch 38 but provides direct access to
check lists pertinent to the current flight phase. The abnor-
mal chapter is displayed on request but with direct access to
the relevant page in case of a failure. The user chapter is on
request only. The emergency chapter is automatically dis-
25 played when any failure occurs, but the pilot can also access
it while in normal operations.
The entire check list system is managed solely by using
the special check list button switch 38 located on pedestal
14. The switch is a two-axis rocker switch with orthogonal
30 axes. Each axis has a pair of momentary contact side
positions and a center return position. Switch 38 can thus be
moved between four positions to access the check list
function. The four positions of the switch are labeled
UP/RCL, RTN, ON/ENTER, and DOWN/SKIP. Operation
35 of the switch positions cause computer 63 in MAU 65a to
execute different functions depending on where in the check
list menu it is activated.
TOC/TOD: displayed information is: Range to this point;
40
TTG to this point;
When the check list has not yet been requested, movement
of switch 38 to the UP/RCL position calls back the last
displayed page. Movement of switch 38 to the ON/ENTER
position displays a "chapter" menu on MFD 16,18 which has
WEATHER: It is always displayed on the screen. It
provides access to VOLMET frequencies with capabil-
ity to automatically tune MFCU on them ("TUNE 1"
and "TUNE 2" softkeys).
MEANINGLESS AREA: Any designation outside one of
these special points displays a window with latitude/
longitude position of designated point.
If one point has several functions (e.g. NAVAID located
on an airport that belongs to flight plan), the system auto-
matically proposes a menu to let pilot choose the category of
information he wishes.
Windows related to parking stands on an airport apron
include special instructions for parking and all the informa-
tion related to clearance deliveries, alignment, start up,
push-back, tow-out, parking
Waypoints List:
When a flight plan has been built, a <>
soft-key is available at the top left of each chart, as shown
in FIG. 16, to let the pilot display the list of waypoints that
define the flight plan, just beside the chart. Each waypoint is
displayed with its name, desired altitude and speed. Refer-
ring to FIG. 16, the list 550 is displayed on the left side of
the chart 545, without covering the vertical profile 546, if
displayed. As long as the flight goes on, this list is updated
so as to always display the <> waypoint at the top,
followed by the < runway length, both EFL
& runway length are red).
V1 (can be modified but must remain within aircraft's
limitations)
Vr (can be modified but must remain within aircraft's
limitations)
V2 (can be modified but must remain within aircraft's
limitations)
V FR (can be modified but must remain within aircraft's
limitations)
V FT (can be modified but must remain within aircraft's
limitations)
ACCELERATION AT 20 KTS
ATTITUDE (required pitch for take-off)
Nl REDUCED (for reduced power T/0)
LOC TRACK (runway true heading in 1/w degree, it is
displayed as soon as QFU is chosen)
TOSA (displayed as soon as QFU is chosen)
The computed value of "acceleration at 20 Kts" is known
36
as the SID is chosen, displays the SID on the horizontal
situation indicator in map format, with an appropriate scale-
range that offers a global vision of the SID, and a path which
is displayed cyan if the SID is not activated, and green and
yellow if it is activated. The SID is also displayed in the
vertical profile.
Once the SID is chosen, the pilot can directly call up the
corresponding navigational chart on MFD 18,20 by clicking
on the "SID MAP" key in main menu. The same information
10
is available for the airport map, which is called up by using
"APT MAP" key. If a take off runway has not been selected,
a special message "NO RUNWAY SELECTED FOR TIO"
is displayed.
If it is not possible to take-off because the runway is
insufficiently long, or the obstacle is too high, a red boxed
15 "IMPOSSIBLE TAKE-OFF" appears instead of an ACTI-
VATE label. The EFL, length, and maximum weight are
displayed in red, until one of the input parameters is modi-
fied.
Once the flight plan is entered and the flight progresses,
20 flight computer 63 receives inputs from the GPS, IRS, and
other navigation devices to establish current position of the
aircraft in relation to flight phases of a stored flight plan.
Moreover, computer 63 responds to transition of the aircraft
from a position corresponding to one flight phase to a
25 position corresponding to another flight phase by automati-
cally displaying map and aeronautical information database
information corresponding to the new flight phase.
Referring to the drawing ofMFD 18,20 shown in FIG. 23,
an ARRIVAL page 600 of the flight management system can
30 be displayed using the "ARRIVAL" label in the main menu
122 of MFD 18,20. It is basically very similar in its design
to FPL page 552 described above. Whereas FPL page 552 is
basically used during initialization and at the beginning of a
flight, the ARRIVAL page 600 is related to the last phases of
35 flight, including STAR (standard terminal arrival route),
approach and landing. The format of this page consists of
two parts. These are a runway and procedure part 602, at the
top of the page, whereby one can choose the landing runway,
the arrival procedure and the approach; and a performance
40 part 604, at the bottom of the page, whereby one can insert
data for the computation of landing performance.
as Jrefand causes the current value of acceleration in the ADI
(attitude direction indicator) to be displayed in green or in
flashing amber. The display will be in flashing amber if 45
acceleration is less than Jref' engine fan speed is greater than
80%, and ground speed is less than 40 Kts. Once this occurs,
the display will remain flashing amber as long as engine fan
speed is greater than 80%, and the wheels support the
aircraft's weight. If the above conditions are not true, the 50
acceleration on the ADI will be displayed in green. Clicking
Runway and procedure part 602 provides for:
choice of the runway for the destination airport;
choice of STAR;
choice of transition;
choice of approach with a default choice of an ILS
approach if available and of a "VFR" approach if not;
a "REVIEW" softkey,
an ACTIVATE softkey;
V RF (the bug corresponding to this airspeed is displayed
on the speed tape when approach is activated and range
to destination is less than 30 NM); and
on the flashing ACTIVATE key causes all cyan values to be
displayed in green, displays the speed bugs on speed scale
of the ADI, activates the color logic for acceleration, allow
TOGA mode, displays N 1 reduced bug on N 1 scale if crew has 55
chosen a reduced power takeoff, and sets the AWO (all
weather operations) symbology of HUD 32.
DH & MDA window.
If the publication of the selected approach includes values
for decision height (DH), they are automatically filled,
unless they have already been filled by the crew. They can
be erased so as to inhibit corresponding alarms. DH is
related to a precision approach and MDA is related to a
non-precision approach. Nevertheless, the pilot can always
set a value of MDA, even for a precision approach. If the DH
(MDA) is filled in this window, the corresponding readout
will be displayed in both the ADI and the HUD as soon as
the radar altirneter indicates below 2500 ft. The DH (tv1DA)
A "SID" (standard instrument departure) label on the
flight plan page (FIG. 21) allows the pilot to choose the
departure procedure. If departure airport has more than 4 60
SIDs, a "MORE" label lets the pilot choose four more SIDs
until all have been displayed. The choice of SID can be
performed before or after inserting the take off parameters.
This departure will be included in the flight plan path, and
will configure the radio-navigation sensors in the HSI. The
pilot can activate the selected SID with the ACTIVATE key
65 annunciation shall be displayed in both the ADI and the
HUD as soon as the radar altimeter indicates below the value
entered by the pilot. in the SID window. A REVIEW key, which appears as soon
6,112,141
37
Landing performance part 604 of the page includes fields
for the following parameters:
length of runway in meters or feet, displayed automati-
cally once QFU is selected;
runway slope given in percentage, displayed automati-
cally once QFU is selected;
runway elevation, automatically displayed once QFU is
selected;
QNH;
wind direction and velocity;
temperature on ground;
landing weight;
engine status for landing;
flaps position ( 40 or 20°, 40 being the default value);
air brakes position (retracted or half-extended, retracted is
the default value);
anti-ice status (default value is off);
LFL factor; and
ACTIVATE label.
38
(LFL>LENGTH) AND (LFL/LFL factor> soft-key,
which will cause the runway and approach to be activated.
A deactivation of the approach procedure will be auto-
matically performed when one of the following events
occurs: a destination change if the approach procedure had
been prepared though the ARRIVAL page 600, weight on
wheels, approach reconfiguration, and manual tuning of
If a runway and a non-precision approach are selected,
and if the ACTIVATE soft-key is selected, the APP soft-key
of the AP controller becomes selectable. The name of the
activated approach is displayed within the LNAV soft-key
531.
Activation of an ILS approach causes the multi functional
displays (MFD) 18, 20 to display the LOC (localizer) axis as
a white dotted line that starts at the runway threshold and is
10 miles long, using the scale of the currently displayed
chart. The localizer line is displayed below the line repre-
senting the flight plan, if it exists.
With the ILS approach activated, the MFD's 16, 18 also
show the approach glide slope, known from the aeronautical
information database, in the vertical profile depicted as a
white doffed line that reaches the runway threshold and is 10
miles long.
In case perfonnance of the aircraft is insufficient to
perform the specified landing, a red boxed flashing message
is displayed above ACTIVATE label, indicating "ILLEGAL
LANDING" if:
50 VOR frequencies on both MFCU 26, 28.
When the approach procedure is deactivated, the
approach mode on AP controller 23, 24 is also deactivated
and no longer selectable. The approach symbology will be
erased, and the "APP" key of AP controller 23, 24 will be
55 colored cyan.
If the pilot tunes MFCU 26, 28 to a VOR frequency when
an ILS approach is selected, the approach symbology or the
corresponding PFD 16, 22 will be erased. The course
displayed within the "CRS" readout of the corresponding
60 MFCU 26, 28 will also be erased, but the approach proce-
dure will not be deactivated.
If the pilot tunes both MFCU's 26, 28 to a VOR
frequency, the approach procedure that had been prepared
through the arrival page will be deactivated. The approach
65 mode will be erased on both PFD 16, 22 and the "APP" soft
key of the AP controller 23, 24 will become unselectable and
colored cyan.
6,112,141
39
If pilot tunes one MFCU 26, 28 to another ILS frequency,
the approach procedure that had been prepared through the
arrival page will not be deactivated nor disengaged (if it was
selected) and will remain selectable (if it was not selected).
The ILS symbology remains available on both PFD 16, 22
but each one will refer to the ILS frequency tuned on the
respective MFCU 26, 28. In addition, on the PFD 16, 22
corresponding to the side where the new ILS frequency was
tuned, preselected course and information displayed right of
the HSI will flash slowly, so as to indicate the discrepancy. 10
Despite the discrepancies, the autopilot and flight director
will continue to hold the ILS approach that was foreseen by
the approach procedure prepared in the arrival page, which
is still active.
If the pilot tunes both MFCU 26, 28 to another ILS 15
frequency, the approach procedure that had been prepared
from the arrival page will not be deactivated but the
approach mode will no longer be selectable. The ILS sym-
bology will remain available on both PFD 16, 22, but each
one will refer to the respectively tuned ILS frequency. In 20
addition, the preselected course and information situated to
the right of the HSI of both PFD will slowly flash so as to
indicate the discrepancy of frequencies tuning.
40
the point selected; and flight plan modification keys on the
left of the sub-menu.
This window can be erased either by clicking on another
symbol or by clicking on a blank area of the screen. In the
latter case, the cursor automatically returns to the designated
point. There are three categories of symbols: those that
belong to the flight plan, those that do not belong to the flight
plan, and aircraft symbols.
In the vertical profile (e.g., 546, FIG. 15), the pilot can
only modify altitude and slope constraints on a waypoint.
When a waypoint is highlighted by operation of the cursor
and selection button 48 and a vertical parameter is inserted
into the window, the vertical parameter is stored, along with
portions of the aeronautical information database memory as
a part of the flight plan. In addition, a vertical profile is
immediately displayed, if not already displayed, to provide
a graphical indication of the vertical flight path of the flight
plan. Correspondingly, movement of the cursor to a way-
point in a displayed vertical profile and subsequent operation
of the selection button and keyboard is operative to modified
stored vertical parameters of the flight plan.
In the horizontal situation, for all categories of symbols
except aircraft and ain,vays, the pilot can select the follovving
functions appearing as choices in a window displayed in
MFD 18,20 below the selected symbol: DIRECT TO LNAV,
DIRECT TO LNAV/VNAV, VIA TO, DELETE, HOLD,
CONSTRAINTS, EXIT XXX, CLICK OUTSIDE.
Interactive Charts
If the pilot wants to prepare an approach through MFCU
26, 28, he will have to de-activate the approach prepared in 25
arrival page 600 to be prompted for an MFCU-prepared
approach. If the pilot wants to return to the approach
prepared in the arrival page 600, he must tune both MFCU
26, 28 to the planned frequency to make the approach mode
selectable.
While in flight, the crew can modify one or more of the
input data to update wind conditions or to display conse-
quences of a cruise Mach number change or level change. As
soon the "COMPUT" label is clicked, the system recom-
putes the unchanged initial parameters (BOW, PAX, cargo), 35
the new parameters (average wind and/or speed and/or
cruise altitude), the present fuel on board obtained from the
detotalizer, and the remaining path to destination point.
As noted above, clicking on a waypoint displayed on a
30 chart results in a small window display for the waypoint. The
options selectable from this window are as follows:
The crew can directly display the results of the modifi-
cations and, if so desired, may activate the flight plan with 40
these new parameters. Note that the ACTIVATE label
becomes selectable again as soon as one of the active flight
plan's parameters is modified. These modifications, if not
activated, are lost as soon as the pilot exits FLIGHT PLAN
page 552. The pilot can return to the active flight plan by 45
exiting FLIGHT PLAN page 552 and recalling it using two
double clicks on "MENU" key, one to erase the page and the
other one to re-display it. Parameters of any active flight
plan are displayed green. If the flight plan has not been
activated, the parameters are displayed magenta to make 50
clear that the flight plan shown is not activated.
The pilot can operate the flight plan functions graphically
on the MFD display 18, 20 using track-ball 44, 46 and
"ACTION" push-button 48, applied to the manual flight
plan page, FIG. 22. Using these devices, the pilot can consult 55
all symbols currently displayed on the screen to get infor-
mation about them, modify the flight plan and the constraints
for vertical navigation, create holding patterns, and can
display and tune radio or radio-navigation frequencies. The
pilot simply makes the cursor capture the symbol or perti- 60
nent point of the image, and pushes on "ACTION" push
button 48. This displays a window including available
information and possible choices. This window may include
the narne of syrnbol (at the top of the window); a sub-rnenu
indicating the symbol's options (WPT, HOLD/NAVAID, 65
RWY, coordinates) just below the name; corresponding
information, parameters to be filled, and soft keys specific to
DIR TO LNAV
This is the classical "direct to" function of previously
existing FMS systems. It operates only in the horizontal
plane. Nevertheless, if the waypoint has no altitude
constraint, a default value equal to ASEL (altitude selected)
will be taken into account. Computer 63 thus displays
graphical indications on the MFD of geographic locations of
waypoints and the current geographic position of the aircraft
with respect to the waypoints. Computer 63 responds to
operation of trackball 44 and selection button 48 to highlight
a waypoint and to implement a "direct go-to" operation by
providing a graphical indication of the aircraft trajectory
required to proceed direct to the selected waypoint.
Moreover, computer 63 responds to selection of a "direct
go-to" operation by retrieving terrain data from the geo-
graphic database and displaying the vertical terrain profile
between the current aircraft position and the selected way-
point (FIG. 15). Moreover, a displayed vertical profile will
also include a graphical indication of the vertical path of the
stored flight plan between the current aircraft location and
the selected waypoint, superimposed over the terrain profile.
If the designated point belongs to a flight plan, after passing
this point the system will resume navigation on the rest of
the flight plan. The skipped part of the flight plan is drawn
with discontinuous lines.
If the designated point does not belong to a flight plan,
even if it exists in the database, the system will not resume
navigation according to the rest of the flight plan.
If the pilot performs a "DIR TO LNAV" while no flight
plan exists, a new flight plan is created. The new flight plan
goes from the aircraft position when selecting the relevant
waypoint, to the waypoint selected.
By providing the Direct To function in this graphical
manner, the pilot has greatly increased situational aware-
ness. The pilot sees the current location of the aircraft on a
map and sees the relative location of the waypoint to which
6,112,141
41
the pilot is directing the aircraft. The waypoint is not merely
a three-letter abstraction, but a specific geographic location
whose relationship to the current aircraft position can be
readily seen. The pilot therefore has increased relational
information, reducing the probability of an unintended
unsafe command to the autopilot.
DIR TO LNAV/VNAV
42
value is direct), right or left turn (default value is right), and
required altitude for the pattern.
For the FMS computer 63 to take this holding pattern into
account in navigation, the pilot has to activate it with
ACTIVATE key displayed at the bottom of the sub-menu. To
exit the holding pattern, the pilot has to perform a "DIR TO"
on the following waypoint, or click the "ABORT" key in the
sub-menu. The "Hold" function can also be performed on
the present position, to do so the pilot has to click on the
This function performs a "direct to" in both the vertical
and horizontal planes. The designated point must have an
altitude constraint. If not, the pilot has to provide it, or the
system will take into account a default value equal to current
ASEL value. A read-out with cursor on it will be displayed
to prompt altitude entry. In addition, a special label will
provide the capability to use ASEL as the altitude constraint.
If the required action is not performed, a special message
"MODIFICATION NOT TERMINATED" will be dis-
played. When the pilot performs a "DIR TO LNAV/VNAV",
both the LNAV and VNAV become selectable if not already
selected, and remain in the same status (selected or not
selected) if that status was already selected.
10 aircraft symbol with the modification key.
The holding pattern is shown in true scale on the hori-
zontal situation display. In contrast, holding patterns on
paper Jeppesen charts are always displayed in a conven-
tional size which does not reflect the real scale.
15 CONSTRAINTS
This function operates on a waypoint and allows the pilot
to insert constraints for a waypoint belonging to a flight plan
(active or being built). Entry of data onto appropriately
labeled lines in a displayed CONSTRAINTS window using
VIA TO
This function allows building a flight plan graphically,
waypoint after waypoint, or to n1odify the current flight plan.
If the first point on which this function is performed is a
flight plan point not yet reached, the preceding part of the
flight plan is kept. If not, this point will become a "TO"
waypoint as soon as the modification is activated. After this,
the pilot must designate all the waypoints that he wants to fly
20 the keyboard causes the newly entered data to be stored in
memory in association with data corresponding to the way-
point in the aeronautical information database to store
modified altitude and/or speed/time parameters of the flight
plan in memory. The CONSTRAINTS window displays a
25 sub-menu including:
ALT + constraint: Altitude on this point and on the following leg
until new constraint to, click on the modification key, and click on "VIA TO". At
each step, created legs are displayed in discontinuous
magenta lines. An ACTIVATE key allows termination of the
input procedure. This will activate the new flight plan which
30 SLOPE + constraint: Slope to rejoin the point at the required altitude
(default value is +/-3°)
is displayed with continuous lines, whereas the previous
flight plan is displayed with discontinuous lines. If any point
belonging to the flight plan is designated (except the first 35
designated point), the rest of flight plan is kept. If an
interruption occurs in the modification process, without any
activation, a MODIFICATION NOT TERMINATED mes-
sage will be displayed. When the pilot performs a "VIA TO",
the system supplies a vertical profile based on the altitude of 40
the last waypoint of "VIA TO" if an altitude constraint
exists. Otherwise the system will set this altitude constraint
at the current value of ASEL. When the pilot performs a
"VIA TO", both the LNAV and VNAV becomes selectable
if not already so, and remain in the same status (selected or 45
not selected) if they were selectable.
DELETE
SPEED + constraint:
DTK + constraint:
SXTK + constraint:
FLYOVER
Speed from this point up to the following
one
Desired track to rejoin the point
Offset from this point and up to the following
one
Fly over constraint point (Y/N)
"SXTK" line is immediately displayed if aircraft symbol
is clicked, to allow immediate activation of an offset.
The pilot can thus modify altitude and speed/time param-
eters of the flight plan.
EXIT XXX
This function permits the pilot to exit a flight plan
following a preset course from a waypoint. Air traffic
controllers often ask aircraft to leave or terminate a flight
plan by following an accurate course from a waypoint. The
crew can perform this instruction by waiting to pass over this
waypoint and then using the basic mode of AP (TRK) after
having pre-displayed the required course. Alternatively, this
This function allows deletion of one point from the active
flight plan or from the flight plan being built. It is available
only in these conditions. The system automatically links
navigation between the prior and subsequent points. The
skipped part of the flight plan remains displayed with
discontinuous lines if this plan was active, but if it was being
built the skipped part is erased. When pilot deletes a
waypoint on which he was currently performing a "DIR TO
(LNAV OR LNAV/VNAV)" the autopilot reverts to basic
mode if it was coupled. If it was not coupled, lateral and
vertical navigation guidance are lost. In both cases, LNAV
and VNAV become unselectable.
50 instruction can also be carried out by selecting EXIT XXX.
HOLD
This function sets a holding pattern on the designated
point if the point belongs to an active flight plan. Clicking
The pilot enters a value for the course XXX, and the skipped
part of flight plan is shown with discontinuous lines on the
display. A discontinuous cyan line is displayed on the
horizontal situation display, starting from the chosen
55 waypoint, and continuing on the chosen course. It is possible
to return to the initial flight plan at any moment, by clearing
the XXX value.
Click Outside Every Point
If the designated point does not belong to a database, it
60 will be given a default name (PWPTl for the first one) which
can be modified by the crew. "DIR TO LNAV" and "VIA
TO" options will be displayed simultaneously.
on the "HOLD" option displays a sub-menu that allows to
define the features of the holding pattern. These features are
the inbound course (default value is arrival track on 65
waypoint), the leg time (default value is 1 NM), the type of
entry procedures (direct, parallel, or "tear-drop," the default
SHOW
The pilot rnay want to perforrn a "DIR TO" or "VIA TO"
for a point which is not currently displayed on the screen.
This often happens when ATC issues a "direct to XXX"
instruction. The pilot has to find or display this point very
6,112,141
43
fast, and can use the "SHOW" key of the keyboard by
clicking on this key (displays a scratch-pad on MFD), then
typing the name of WPT or its coordinates, followed by the
"ENTER" key of the keyboard. Computer 63 determines a
map scale that will permit simultaneous display of the
waypoint and the current aircraft position and by displaying
a geographic map display containing the specified waypoint,
the current aircraft position, and an identification of the scale
of the displayed map.
It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various 10
modifications and variations can be made in the disclosed
process and product without departing from the scope or
spirit of the invention. Other embodiments of the invention
will be apparent to those skilled in the art from consideration
44
generating a movable cursor on the display device, the
position of the cursor controlled by the cursor control
device; and
responding to operation of the cursor control device
and selection device to highlight navigation aid
indicators at the current cursor location and to store
portions of the aeronautical information database
corresponding to the highlighted navigation aid indi-
cators in the memory;
whereby sequential operation of the cursor control device
and selection device is operative to store a horizontal
and vertical flight plan and speed/time parameters in
the memory.
of the specification and practice of the invention disclosed
herein. It is intended that the specification and examples be
considered as exemplary only, with a true scope and spirit of
the invention being indicated by the following claims.
6. An aircraft flight management system as recited in
claim 5, comprising;
15
an input device for receiving pilot-entered vertical param-
What is claimed is:
1. An aircraft display and control system, comprising:
a plurality of fiat-panel color display devices disposed on
an aircraft flight deck control panel and comprising a
con1111011 work area;
at least two cursor control devices for receiving pilot-
entered cursor movement commands;
20
25
a display computer coupled to the display devices and the
cursor control devices for generating a plurality of
movable cursors upon the display devices, each cursor
being controlled by one of the cursor control devices to
move independent of all other cursors across all display 30
devices of the entire work area; and
a flight computer for executing control operations in
response to movement of the cursors.
2. An aircraft display and control system as recited in
claim 1, wherein each cursor has a distinctive shape different 35
from the shape of all other cursors.
3. An aircraft display and control system as recited in
claim 1, wherein:
the cursor control devices are operative between first and
second control modes; 40
the display computer is responsive to operation of a cursor
control device in the first mode to limit movement of
the respective cursor to a single display device and is
responsive to operation of a cursor control device in the
45
second mode to permit movement of the respective
cursor from one to another of the display devices.
4. An aircraft display and control system as recited in
claim 3 wherein the first control mode comprises movement
of the cursor at a velocity below a threshold value and the
50
second control mode comprises movement of the cursor at
a velocity above the threshold value.
5. An aircraft flight management system, comprising:
a memory for storing a geographical map database, an
aeronautical information database, and a flight plan;
a fiat-panel color display device;
a cursor control device;
a selection device; and
a flight computer for:
55
simultaneously displaying on the display device 60
selected portions of the map database as a visible
map display and portions of the aeronautical infor-
mation database as aeronautical information indica-
tors such that the geographic locations of aeronau-
tical information indicators are correlated on the 65
display device with the corresponding geographic
locations of the map display;
eters; and
wherein the flight computer responds to a highlighted
navigation aid indicator and entry of a vertical param-
eter to store the entered vertical parameter in associa-
tion with the portions of the aeronautical information
database corresponding to the highlighted navigation
aid indicator to store vertical parameters of the flight
plan in the memory and display a graphical indication
of a vertical flight path of the flight plan.
7. An aircraft flight management system as recited in
claim 6, wherein:
the flight computer responds to operation of the cursor
control device and selection device to highlight por-
tions of the vertical flight path indication and respond
to operation of the selection device to modify vertical
parameters of the stored flight plan.
8. An aircraft flight management system as recited in
claim 5, comprising;
an input device for receiving pilot-entered speed/time
parameters; and
wherein the flight computer responds to a highlighted
navigation aid indicator and entry of a speed/time
parameter to store the entered speed/time parameter in
association with the portions of the aeronautical infor-
mation database corresponding to the highlighted navi-
gation aid indicator to store speed/time parameters of
the flight plan in the memory and display a graphical
indication of a flight path of the flight plan.
9. An aircraft flight management system as recited in
claim 8, wherein:
the flight computer responds to operation of the cursor
control device and selection device to highlight por-
tions of the flight path indication and respond to
operation of the selection device to modify speed/time
parameters of the stored flight plan.
10. A method for aircraft information display and control,
comprising the steps of:
storing in a memory a geographical map database and
an aeronautical information database;
simultaneously displaying on a fiat-panel display
device selected portions of the map database as a
visible map display and portions of the aeronautical
information database as aeronautical information
indicators such that the geographic locations of aero-
nautical information indicators are correlated on the
display device with the corresponding geographic
locations of the map display;
generating a rnovable cursor on the display device, the
position of the cursor controlled by a cursor control
device and the engagement of the cursor control
device controlled by a selection device; and
6,112,141
45
responding to operation of the cursor control device
and selection device to highlight navigation aid
indicators at the current cursor location and to store
portions of the aeronautical information database
corresponding to the highlighted navigation aid indi-
cators in the memory;
whereby sequential operation of the cursor control device
and selection device is operative to store a horizontal
and vertical flight plan and speed/time parameters in
the memory. 10
11. A display and control system for an aircraft including
a plurality of navigation and communication devices, com-
prising:
a memory for storing a geographic map database and an
aeronautical information database, including geo- 15
graphic location and frequency parameters of naviga-
tion aids;
a fiat-panel color display device;
a cursor control device;
a selection device; and
a flight computer for:
20
simultaneously displaying on the display device
selected portions of the map database as a visible
map display and portions of the aeronautical infor- 25
mation database as navigation aid indicators such
that the geographic locations of navigation aid indi-
cators are correlated on the display device with the
corresponding geographic locations of the map
display, and for designating portions of the display 30
device as a control active region;
generating a movable cursor on the display device, the
position of the cursor controlled by the cursor control
device; and
responding to operation of the cursor control device 35
and selection device to highlight navigation aid
indicators at the current curser location and to
retrieve and display database parameters of the high-
lighted navigation aid indicators from the aeronau-
tical information database, 40
wherein the flight computer is responsive to further opera-
tion of the cursor control device and selection device to
transfer frequency parameters of the highlighted navi-
gation aid to associated navigation or communication
devices. 45
12. A display and control system as recited in claim 11,
wherein:
the memory stores a plurality of portions of the aeronau-
tical information and map databases each correspond-
50
ing to a flight phase of the aircraft;
the flight computer receives inputs from navigation
devices to establish current position of the aircraft in
relation to flight phases of a stored flight plan, and
responds to transition of the aircraft from a position 55
corresponding to one flight phase to a position corre-
sponding to another flight phase by automatically dis-
playing map and aeronautical information database
information corresponding to the new flight phase.
13. A display and control system for an aircraft including 60
a plurality of navigation and communication devices, com-
prising:
a memory for storing a geographic map database and an
aeronautical information database, including geo-
graphic location and frequency parameters of naviga- 65
tion aids;
a fiat-panel color display device;
a cursor control device;
a selection device; and
a flight computer for:
46
simultaneously displaying on the display device
selected portions of the map database as a visible
map display and portions of the aeronautical infor-
mation database as navigation aid indicators such
that the geographic locations of navigation aid indi-
cators are correlated on the display device with the
corresponding geographic locations of the map
display, and for designating portions of the display
device as a control active region;
generating a movable cursor on the display device, the
position of the cursor controlled by the cursor control
device; and
responding to operation of the cursor control device
and selection device to highlight navigation aid
indicators at the current cursor location and to
retrieve and display database parameters of the high-
lighted navigation aid indicators from the aeronau-
tical information database;
wherein: the system comprises a scale control device for
specifying a desired discrete map scale for display on
the display device;
the data items of the map and aeronautical information
databases are each classified as one of a plurality of
priority levels each corresponding to a different map
scale; and
the flight computer responds to operation of the scale
control device to display the map and aeronautical
information databases at the desired scale and performs
a de-clutter function to display only those data items
corresponding to the desired scale.
14. A display and control system as recited in claim 13,
wherein:
the system comprises a zoom control device for specify-
ing a continuously variable desired display scale; and
the flight computer responds to operation of the zoom
control device to display the map and aeronautical
information databases at the desired scale and avoid the
de-clutter function by continuing to display all data
items that were displayed prior to operation of the
zoom control.
15. A navigation and control system for an aircraft having
apparatus for determining current aircraft geographic
position, comprising:
a first memory for storing a plurality of navigation way-
points;
a second memory for storing a geographic database
including terrain altitude information;
a color fiat panel display device having a movable cursor;
a cursor control device;
a selection device; and
a flight computer for displaying graphical indications on
the display device of geographic locations ofwaypoints
and the current geographic position of the aircraft with
respect to the waypoints, the flight computer respond-
ing to operation of the cursor control device and
selection device to highlight a waypoint and to imple-
ment a "direct go-to" operation by providing a graphi-
cal indication of the aircraft trajectory required to
proceed direct to the selected waypoint;
wherein the flight cornputer responds to selection of a
"direct go-to" operation by displaying the terrain pro-
file between the current aircraft position and the
selected waypoint.
6,112,141
47
16. A system as recited in claim 15, comprising a third
memory for storing a flight plan including vertical naviga-
tion information and wherein the flight computer responds to
selection of a "direct go-to" operation by graphically dis-
playing the vertical path of the stored flight plan between the
current aircraft position and the selected waypoint and
simultaneously displaying the terrain profile between the
current aircraft position and the selected waypoint.
48
operation of the selection device by displaying a poten-
tial aircraft position, and
entry of information identifying a waypoint stored in
the memory by determining a map scale that will
permit simultaneous display of the identified poten-
tial position and the current aircraft position and by
displaying a geographic map display containing:
the identified potential position,
the current aircraft position, and
17. A system for modifying a flight plan which includes
horizontal position data, vertical position data, and time
10
data, comprising: an identification of the scale of the displayed map.
19. A flight management system for an aircraft having an
autopilot for receiving a selected altitude and desired slope,
and apparatus for determining current location and flight
15 path, the system comprising:
a memory for storing data representing a plurality of legs
of a flight plan,
each leg including a plurality of navigation and aircraft
performance parameters;
a color fiat panel display device;
a cursor control device;
a selection device;
a keyboard;
a flight computer coupled to the memory and display 20
device, the flight computer responding to:
a first operation of the cursor control and selection
devices to display in a first type style on the display
device a navigation log containing a plurality of
entries each corresponding to one leg of the stored 25
flight plan and including computed parameters for
each leg,
a second operation of the cursor control and selection
devices to highlight a selected entry,
operation of the keyboard to modify the selected entry, 30
recompute the computed parameters of the entry, and
display the modified and
recomputed entry in a second type style, and any one of
a third operation of the cursor control and selection
devices to change the modified portion of the navi- 35
gation log to the first type style and to store in the
memory modified parameters corresponding to the
modified navigation log, and
a fourth operation of the cursor control and selection
devices to restore the modified navigation log to the 40
original configuration and maintain the stored flight
plan in the original condition.
a memory for storing a geographic map database includ-
ing terrain elevation information, an aeronautical infor-
mation database, and a flight plan;
a fiat-panel color display device; and
a flight computer for:
displaying on the display device:
a vertical profile of the stored flight plan, the vertical
profile display having vertical and horizontal
scales,
an indicator representing the current aircraft
position, altitude, and predicted trajectory using
the stored flight plan and status of the autopilot,
selected portions of the map database to provide an
indication of altitude of obstacles along the pre-
dicted flight trajectory,
portions of the flight plan data from the memory to
indicate waypoints of the flight plan and desired
aircraft altitude at the flight plan waypoints, and
an indication of autopilot selected altitude and
desired slope; and
selecting the vertical scale so as to accommodate the
highest altitude of a displayed item.
20. A system as recited in claim 19, comprising a cursor
control device and wherein the computer generates a hori-
zontal situation display on the display device and a movable
cursor, the computer responding to operation of the cursor
control device to highlight a waypoint indication when the
cursor coincides with the waypoint indication on the vertical
18. A navigation system for an aircraft having apparatus
for displaying potential and current aircraft geographic
position, comprising:
a memory for storing a geographic map database contain-
ing geographic map information at a plurality of scales,
and a waypoint database;
45 profile and simultaneously highlighting the corresponding
indication of the waypoint on the horizontal situation dis-
play.
a color fiat panel display device;
a dedicated selection device;
a flight computer for displaying graphical indications on
the display device of geographic locations ofwaypoints
and the current geographic position of the aircraft with
respect to the waypoints, the flight computer respond-
ing to:
21. A system as recited in claim 20, comprising a
keyboard, wherein the computer responds to keyboard data
50 entry when a waypoint is highlighted by receiving modified
altitude information for the highlighted waypoint and storing
the modified altitude information in the flight plan as a
modified flight plan.
* * * * *
UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION
PATENT NO.
DATED
INVENTOR(S) :
6,112,141
August 29, 2000
Michel BRIFFE et al.
It is certified that error appears in the above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent is hereby
corrected as shown below:
Claim 4, col. 43, line 48, after "claim 3" insert --,--.
Claim 11, col. 45, line 37, change "curser" to --cursor--.
Attest:
Attesting Officer
Signed and Sealed this
Fifteenth Day of May, 2001
NICHOLAS P. GODICI
Actin.~ Director c~f the United Stares Patenr and Trademark Offfce