Display of aircraft altitude

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9989378-B2
Application number	US-201414761865-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 15, 2014
Priority date	Jan 18, 2013
Publication date	Jun 5, 2018
Grant date	Jun 5, 2018

Abstract

A method for displaying an attitude of an aircraft includes receiving a roll angle, a pitch angle and a yaw angle of the aircraft, generating a display image indicating the roll angle, the pitch angle and the yaw angle, and displaying the display image on a display device. The display image includes a spherical shell with a track angle scale projected onto the spherical shell along a latitude line of the spherical shell and with a pitch angle scale projected onto the spherical shell along a longitude line of the spherical shell. Furthermore, the display image includes a graphical aircraft attitude indicator inside the spherical shell rotated with respect to the spherical shell such that the graphical aircraft attitude indicator indicates the roll angle, the pitch angle and the yaw angle of the aircraft with respect to the spherical shell.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method of operating an attitude indicator unit of an aircraft so as to display an attitude of the aircraft, the method comprising the steps of:
receiving at a processor a roll angle, a pitch angle and a yaw angle of the aircraft;
generating via the processor a display image indicating the roll angle, the pitch angle and the yaw angle;
displaying the display image on a display device, wherein the display image is a virtual object that comprises:
a spherical shell with a track angle scale projected onto the spherical shell along a latitude line of the spherical shell and with a pitch angle scale projected onto the spherical shell along a longitude line of the spherical shell, the track angle scale and the pitch angle scale defining coordinates on the spherical shell, and
a graphical aircraft attitude indicator inside the spherical shell and rotated with respect to the spherical shell according to a viewing perspective such that the graphical aircraft attitude indicator indicates the roll angle, the pitch angle and the yaw angle of the aircraft with respect to the spherical shell, wherein the graphical aircraft attitude indicator comprises a graphical pitch angle indicator that identifies a coordinate on the spherical shell, the coordinate corresponding to the pitch angle and the track angle according to the pitch angle scale and the track angle scale; and

rotating via the processor the spherical shell so as to adjust the viewing perspective while maintaining the identification of the coordinate on the spherical shell by the graphical pitch angle indicator.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the graphical aircraft attitude indicator further comprises a graphical roll angle indicator that indicates the roll angle with a line along a pitch axis defined by a coordinate system of the aircraft attitude indicator rotated by the roll angle, pitch angle and yaw angle.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the graphical aircraft attitude indicator comprises a three-dimensional aircraft model positioned at the center of the spherical shell and rotated with respect to the spherical shell such that the three-dimensional aircraft model has the roll angle, the pitch angle and the yaw angle of the aircraft with respect to the spherical shell.

4. The method of claim 1 ,
wherein a flight path vector of the aircraft is received, and
wherein the display image comprises a graphical flight path vector indicator pointing to a point on the spherical shell corresponding to the flight path vector.

5. The method of 1 , further comprising the acts of:
choosing a virtual camera perspective for generating the display image; and
generating the display image with respect to the chosen virtual camera perspective.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the virtual camera perspective is chosen by an operator of the aircraft by entering a command into a control element.

7. The method of claim 5 , wherein the virtual camera perspective is chosen automatically dependent on the flight state of the aircraft.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the display image comprises at least one gauge with a scale bending around a part of a border of the spherical shell.

9. The method of claim 1 , further comprising the acts of:
acquiring aircraft attitude data with a sensor system adapted for measuring the attitude of the aircraft;
determining the roll angle, the pitch angle and the yaw angle from the aircraft attitude data.

10. A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising processor readable instructions, which when executed via at least one processor causes the at least one processor to carry out a method of operating an attitude indicator unit of an aircraft so as to display an attitude of the aircraft, the method comprising the steps of:
receiving at the processor a roll angle, a pitch angle and a yaw angle of the aircraft;
generating via the processor a display image indicating the roll angle, the pitch angle and the yaw angle;
displaying the display image on a display device, wherein the display image is a virtual object that includes:
a spherical shell with a track angle scale projected onto the spherical shell along a latitude line of the spherical shell and with a pitch angle scale projected onto the spherical shell along a longitude line of the spherical shell, the track angle scale and the pitch angle scale defining coordinates on the spherical shell, and
a graphical aircraft attitude indicator inside the spherical shell and rotated with respect to the spherical shell according to a viewing perspective such that the graphical aircraft attitude indicator indicates the roll angle, the pitch angle and the yaw angle of the aircraft with respect to the spherical shell, wherein the graphical aircraft attitude indicator comprises a graphical pitch angle indicator that identifies a coordinate on the spherical shell, the coordinate corresponding to the pitch angle and the track angle according to the pitch angle scale and the track angle scale; and

rotating via the processor the spherical shell so as to adjust the viewing perspective while maintaining the identification of the coordinate on the spherical shell by the graphical pitch indicator.

11. An attitude indicator unit configured to display an attitude of an aircraft, the attitude indicator unit comprising a controller and a display device, wherein the controller is configured to:
receive a roll angle, a pitch angle and a yaw angle of the aircraft;
generate a display image indicating the roll angle, the pitch angle and the yaw angle; and
cause the display device to display the display image, wherein the display image is a virtual object that comprises:
a spherical shell with a track angle scale projected onto the spherical shell along a latitude line of the spherical shell and with a pitch angle scale projected onto the spherical shell along a longitude line of the spherical shell, the track angle scale and the pitch angle scale defining coordinates on the spherical shell, and
a graphical aircraft attitude indicator inside the spherical shell and rotated with respect to the spherical shell according to a viewing perspective such that the graphical aircraft attitude indicator indicates the roll angle, the pitch angle and the yaw angle of the aircraft with respect to the spherical shell, wherein the graphical aircraft attitude indicator comprises a graphical pitch angle indicator that identifies a coordinate on the spherical shell, the coordinate corresponding to the pitch angle and the track angle according to the pitch angle scale and the track angle scale; and

rotate the displayed spherical shell so as to adjust the viewing perspective while maintaining the displayed identification of the coordinate on the spherical shell by the graphical pitch indicator.

Assignees

• Airbus Defence & Space Gmbh

Inventors

• Vernaleken Christoph
• Opitz Marco
• Neujahr Harald
• Ferreira Eugenio
• Broszio Lutz

Classifications

• G01C23/00 Primary

  Combined instruments indicating more than one navigational value, e.g. for aircraft; Combined measuring devices for measuring two or more variables of movement, e.g. distance, speed or acceleration · CPC title

• B64D45/00

  Aircraft indicators or protectors not otherwise provided for · CPC title

• G01C21/00

  Navigation; Navigational instruments not provided for in groups G01C1/00 - G01C19/00 (measuring distance traversed on the ground by a vehicle G01C22/00; control of position, course, altitude or attitude of vehicles G05D1/00; traffic control systems for road vehicles involving transmission of navigation instructions to the vehicle G08G1/0968) · CPC title

• G01C23/005 Primary

  Flight directors (indicating arrangements specially adapted for rotary gyroscopes G01C19/32) · CPC title