Airborne backup navigation methods, systems and media for automatic flight planning synchronization

By using an airborne backup navigation system to achieve automatic synchronization of flight plans and display of rich navigation information, the reliability problem of the navigation system when there is a lack of ground beacons or the main display fails is solved, thereby improving flight safety and reducing costs.

CN114265099BActive Publication Date: 2026-03-10COMMERCIAL AIRCRAFT CORP OF CHINA LTD +1
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Patent Information

Authority / Receiving Office
CN · China
Patent Type
Patents(China)
Current Assignee / Owner
Filing Date
2021-12-31
Publication Date
2026-03-10

AI Technical Summary

Technical Problem

Existing aircraft navigation systems cannot provide reliable navigation information in the absence of ground beacons or when the main display malfunctions, resulting in insufficient flight safety and reliability, as well as high costs.

Method used

An airborne backup navigation system with automatic flight plan synchronization function was designed, including a synchronization unit, a control unit, a computing unit, and a display unit. It utilizes multiple navigation data sources and independent power supplies to achieve automatic synchronization of flight plans and display of rich navigation information.

Benefits of technology

It improves the safety and reliability of aircraft in the event of navigation system failure, and provides richer navigation data through multiple redundant navigation data sources and display units, reducing the risk of single point of failure.

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Abstract

This application relates to an airborne backup navigation system with automatic flight plan synchronization function, comprising: a synchronization unit configured to automatically synchronize flight plans with a flight management system; a control unit configured to control the airborne backup navigation system, wherein the control includes enabling the flight crew to manually input position information to execute a new flight plan; a calculation unit configured to calculate a corresponding navigation plan based on position information parsed from navigation information from a navigation data source and combined with the flight plan from the synchronization unit or the position information input from the flight crew; and a display unit configured to provide a display of backup navigation information.
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Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of aircraft navigation, and in particular to a solution for an airborne backup navigation system with automatic flight plan synchronization function. Background Technology

[0002] When aircraft are flying in remote areas or across oceans, there are no ground beacons available. Therefore, navigation methods based on automatic ranging systems and VHF omnidirectional range systems cannot provide navigation for aircraft due to the lack of ground beacons. In addition, navigation methods based on automatic ranging systems and VHF omnidirectional range systems are relatively outdated in technology, and the corresponding equipment may face the risk of being discontinued.

[0003] When primary display-based navigation methods (including radio navigation and flight management system navigation based on satellite or inertial positioning) experience certain malfunctions, they also fail to provide navigation information to the aircraft. For example, although existing aircraft typically provide two or more redundant primary displays, allowing other displays to take over navigation functions promptly if one fails, redundancy cannot improve safety in the event of a "common-mode failure" (i.e., all identical displays failing simultaneously due to the same failure mode). For instance, these primary display-based navigation methods often share the same power supply or display; therefore, a failure in the connection to the power supply or display will cause a complete system failure. Furthermore, if the software of the primary display-based navigation method malfunctions, the problem is likely to also occur in the backup system.

[0004] Therefore, none of the above navigation methods can meet the navigation safety and reliability requirements of aircraft, and they also increase the operating costs of aircraft.

[0005] To improve flight safety and aircraft reliability, an independent backup navigation method and system is needed to implement backup navigation for aircraft, serving as a useful supplement to the above navigation methods. Summary of the Invention

[0006] This application relates to an airborne backup navigation scheme with automatic flight plan synchronization function.

[0007] According to a first aspect of this application, an airborne backup navigation system with automatic flight plan synchronization function is provided, comprising:

[0008] The synchronization unit is configured to automatically synchronize flight plans with the flight management system.

[0009] The control unit is configured to control the airborne backup navigation system, wherein the control includes enabling the flight crew to manually input position information to execute a new flight plan;

[0010] The calculation unit is configured to calculate a corresponding navigation plan based on position information parsed from navigation information from a navigation data source and combined with a flight plan from the synchronization unit or position information input from the flight crew; and

[0011] The display unit is configured to provide a display of backup navigation information;

[0012] The synchronization unit further includes:

[0013] The flight plan synchronization logic judgment module is configured to determine whether an automatic synchronization operation needs to be performed between the flight management system and the airborne backup navigation system based on the data of the flight management system, and generate an automatic synchronization command based on the "yes" judgment result.

[0014] The flight plan synchronization module is configured to execute and update the flight plan of the airborne backup navigation system according to the automatic synchronization instruction from the flight plan synchronization logic judgment module.

[0015] According to a second aspect of this application with reference to the first aspect, the flight plan synchronization logic judgment module is further configured to, if the judgment result is "no", continue to use the current flight plan data of the airborne backup navigation system to perform backup navigation calculations, and continue to receive the next data from the flight management system.

[0016] According to a third aspect of this application with reference to the first aspect, the computing unit includes a data source selection module, which is configured to select a required navigation data source from navigation data sources of multiple external navigation systems according to a set data source priority.

[0017] The data source priority can be ranked according to the accuracy, completeness, continuity, and other quality data of the navigation data source.

[0018] According to a fourth aspect of this application with reference to the first aspect, the control unit is further configured to provide buttons that allow crew members to manually configure the type, style, and layout of navigation information displayed on the display unit.

[0019] According to the fifth aspect of this application with reference to the first aspect, the backup navigation information displayed by the display unit includes not only navigation information based on satellite positioning and inertial positioning, but also radio navigation information including automatic ranging system (DME), very high frequency omnidirectional beacon system (VOR), etc.

[0020] According to the sixth aspect of this application with reference to the first aspect, the flight plan synchronization module updates the flight plan of the airborne backup navigation system in the following two ways:

[0021] 1) If the data received by the flight plan synchronization logic judgment module from the flight management system is a power-on signal, then the flight plan data is received from the flight management system; or

[0022] 2) If the data received by the flight plan synchronization logic judgment module from the flight management system is updated data, then the corresponding update operation is performed on the flight plan already stored in the synchronization unit.

[0023] According to the seventh aspect of this application with reference to the first aspect, the power supply of the airborne backup navigation system is independent of the power supply of the main navigation system.

[0024] According to the eighth aspect of this application with reference to the first aspect, the display unit is a separate display independent of the display of the main navigation system.

[0025] According to the ninth aspect of this application, a backup navigation method with automatic flight plan synchronization function is provided, comprising:

[0026] It receives data from the flight management system and determines whether automatic synchronization is required based on the received data.

[0027] If it is determined that an automatic synchronization operation is required, then the flight plan of the airborne backup navigation system is updated according to the automatic synchronization operation instruction.

[0028] When the flight plan and navigation data source of the airborne backup navigation system are valid:

[0029] Select the desired navigation data source from multiple navigation data sources based on the set data source priority;

[0030] Receive navigation data from the selected navigation data source and parse the navigation data to obtain location information;

[0031] Based on the location information and flight plan data from the synchronization unit, a corresponding navigation planning scheme is calculated; and

[0032] Backup navigation information is displayed on the display unit.

[0033] According to a tenth aspect of this application with reference to the ninth aspect, the method further includes:

[0034] The system receives manually input position information from the flight crew and calculates the corresponding navigation planning scheme based on the position information and the current aircraft position information from the navigation data source.

[0035] According to the eleventh aspect of this application with reference to the ninth aspect, the step of updating the flight plan for the airborne backup navigation system includes:

[0036] 1) If the data received from the flight management system is a power-on signal, then receive flight plan data from the flight management system; or

[0037] 2) If the data received from the flight management system is updated data, then the stored flight plan is updated accordingly.

[0038] According to the twelfth aspect of this application with reference to the ninth aspect, if it is determined that automatic synchronization is not required, backup navigation calculations are performed using the current flight plan data of the airborne backup navigation system, and the system continues to receive the next data from the flight management system.

[0039] According to the thirteenth aspect of this application with reference to the ninth aspect, the method further includes selecting a desired navigation data source from navigation data sources of a plurality of external navigation systems according to a set data source priority;

[0040] The data source priority can be ranked according to the accuracy, completeness, continuity, and other quality data of the navigation data source.

[0041] According to the fourteenth aspect of this application with reference to the ninth aspect, the method further comprises:

[0042] The system provides buttons that allow crew members to manually configure the type, style, and layout of navigation information displayed on the display unit.

[0043] According to the fifteenth aspect of this application with reference to the ninth aspect, the backup navigation information displayed includes, in addition to navigation information based on satellite positioning and inertial positioning, radio navigation information including DME, VOR, etc.

[0044] According to the sixteenth aspect of this application, a computer-readable storage medium storing instructions is provided, which, when executed, cause a machine to perform the backup navigation method as described in any one of the ninth to fifteenth aspects.

[0045] This overview is provided to introduce, in a simplified form, some of the concepts further described in the detailed description below. This overview is not intended to identify key or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter. Attached Figure Description

[0046] To describe how the above and other advantages and features of the invention are obtained, a more detailed description of the invention, which has been briefly described above, will be presented with reference to specific embodiments of the invention shown in the accompanying drawings. It will be understood that these drawings depict only exemplary embodiments of the invention and are therefore not intended to limit its scope. The invention will be described and explained using the drawings and with the aid of additional features and details, in which:

[0047] Figure 1 An example of a navigation information view displayed on the monitor of an existing backup navigation system is shown.

[0048] Figure 2 An example view of rich navigation information that can be displayed on the display unit of an airborne backup navigation system according to one embodiment of this application is shown.

[0049] Figure 3 An example system block diagram of an airborne backup navigation system with automatic flight plan synchronization function according to an embodiment of this application is shown.

[0050] Figure 4 An example flowchart of a backup navigation method 400 with automatic flight plan synchronization function according to an embodiment of this application is shown. Detailed Implementation

[0051] First, this application proposes an airborne backup navigation scheme for automatically synchronizing flight plans. This scheme automatically synchronizes the flight plan from the flight management system to the airborne backup navigation system. Simultaneously, it can acquire and select navigation information from multiple different navigation data sources based on priority, calculate and display the true track, distance, and required time from the aircraft's current position to the next designated waypoint, thereby achieving navigation from the current position to the next designated waypoint. Furthermore, when the main display fails, the system can continue backup navigation using the flight plan; when the flight management system fails, the system can still use navigation data acquired from one of three existing navigation data sources—such as satellite navigation systems, inertial navigation systems, and radio navigation—to continue backup navigation. Additionally, the system has a power supply and display unit relatively independent of the main navigation system, and the display unit can display richer navigation data than existing displays. This application's scheme overcomes the "single point of failure" problem of existing navigation systems, makes greater redundant use of navigation data sources, and ensures the continuity of data source acquisition by setting priorities in the data source selection module within the control calculation module. Moreover, using the improved display unit, this scheme can display richer navigation data information than existing backup displays.

[0052] To ensure the safe passage of an aircraft from its current waypoint to its target waypoint, existing backup navigation systems typically display only basic navigation-related information, which should include, but is not limited to, the following navigation information:

[0053] 1) Display the current ground speed;

[0054] 2) Display the current track angle;

[0055] 3) Displays the latitude and longitude information of the current location;

[0056] 4) Enter the latitude and longitude information of the target waypoint;

[0057] 5) Calculate and display the azimuth angle from the current position to the target waypoint;

[0058] 6) Calculate and display the distance between the current location and the target waypoint;

[0059] 7) Displays the time required to travel from the current location to the target waypoint based on the current ground speed.

[0060] According to the above requirements, Figure 1 The example shown is a view of navigation information displayed on a monitor of an existing backup navigation system.

[0061] As shown in the figure, from top to bottom, the first view displays a title called "ALTN NAV (Backup Navigation)".

[0062] Below the title is displayed "PRESENT POSITION", indicating the current position.

[0063] Below it, the mark "1" shows "N47°32W122°18", which is the current latitude and longitude, indicating the current location of the aircraft.

[0064] The label “2” indicates “TO LAT N47°06”, representing the latitude of the selected target waypoint.

[0065] The mark "3" shows This indicates the choice between the Northern and Southern Hemispheres.

[0066] The marker "4" indicates "GTK 098°T", representing the current track angle.

[0067] The mark "5" indicates "GS 250KT", representing the current ground speed.

[0068] The label "6" indicates "TO LONG W119°18", representing the longitude of the selected target waypoint.

[0069] The marker "7" indicates that "TRK TO 100°T" represents the azimuth angle from the current position to the target waypoint.

[0070] The mark "8" shows This indicates the choice between the Eastern and Western Hemispheres.

[0071] The marker "9" indicates "TTG 00:29", representing the time required to travel from the current location to the target waypoint based on the current ground speed.

[0072] The marker "10" indicates "DTG 123NM", representing the distance between the current location and the target waypoint, where "NM" stands for nautical miles.

[0073] As seen above, the navigation information view of this existing backup navigation system only displays basic navigation-related information.

[0074] Below, in conjunction with Figure 2 This describes an example view of rich navigation information that can be displayed on the display unit of an airborne backup navigation system according to an embodiment of this application.

[0075] As shown in the figure, the airborne backup navigation system of this application enriches the navigation information displayed on the display unit.

[0076] The mark "11" indicates "GS 250", representing the current ground speed.

[0077] The marking "12" indicates "DME 123 NM", meaning the aircraft's current position is 123 nautical miles from the ground DME beacon.

[0078] The marker "13" displays "PPOS N48 14.15 / E003 32 30", indicating the latitude and longitude of the current location.

[0079] The marker "14" indicates "FROM N4814 / E00332", representing the latitude and longitude of the previous waypoint.

[0080] The marker "15" displays an "airplane" icon, which provides a visual indication of the aircraft's current route from the previous waypoint to the target waypoint.

[0081] The marker "16" indicates "TO N5522 / E00441", representing the latitude and longitude of the next target waypoint.

[0082] The marker "17" indicates "NEXT N5012 / E01020", representing the latitude and longitude of the next waypoint location.

[0083] The mark "18" shows a deviation bar in the shape of a long bar with an arrow, which indicates the VOR deviation bar.

[0084] The marker "19" shows a cross and "VOR1", indicating VOR.

[0085] The marking "20" indicates "283 NM", representing the required distance.

[0086] The marking "21" indicates "352°", representing the required track angle.

[0087] The mark "22" indicates a hollow diamond arrow to indicate the desired track angle on the compass.

[0088] The mark "23" displays a solid diamond arrow to indicate the current track angle on the compass.

[0089] It should be understood that the above view is merely an example of the navigation information displayed on the display unit of the airborne backup navigation system of this application. In fact, the navigation view may display more or less information depending on the aircraft type, the pilot's personal preferences, aviation regulations, etc., all of which fall within the scope of protection of this application.

[0090] In a preferred embodiment, pilots can personalize some navigation information displayed on the onboard backup navigation system via a control panel on the cockpit to meet their individual driving needs and habits.

[0091] By comparison Figure 2 The navigation information view provided in this application and Figure 1 From the existing backup navigation information view, it is not difficult to find that in Figure 2 The display includes at least the marking "12" (i.e., "DME 123 NM") and marking "15" (i.e., a cross and "VOR1"). This information helps pilots understand the additional navigation information provided by both DME and VOR, two different types of navigation technologies, simultaneously on the same screen for flight reference.

[0092] After understanding the improvements made to the navigation information view of the display unit by the solution in this application, we will then proceed to... Figure 3 Here is an example system block diagram of an airborne backup navigation system 300 with automatic flight plan synchronization function according to one embodiment of this application.

[0093] As shown in the figure, the airborne backup navigation system 300 mainly includes a synchronization unit 310, a computing unit 320, a control unit 330, and a display unit 340. Each unit contains many smaller modules. These units and modules can communicate with each other via various communication media, such as wired connections like cables or buses, or wireless network connections like cellular, Bluetooth, LAN, or WAN. For flight safety reasons, it is generally recommended to connect them using wired cables.

[0094] First, the synchronization unit 310 is configured to automatically synchronize the flight plan with the flight management system. It may include a flight plan synchronization logic judgment module 312 and a flight plan synchronization module 314.

[0095] The flight plan synchronization logic judgment module 312 is configured to determine, based on data from the flight management system, whether an automatic synchronization operation needs to be performed between the flight management system and the airborne backup navigation system 300.

[0096] Specifically, the flight management system receives and / or generates data that will notify the flight plan synchronization logic judgment module 312. The flight plan synchronization logic judgment module 312 will analyze and judge this data to determine whether the data involves an update to the flight plan.

[0097] For example, when the flight management system (FMS) is powered on for the first time to execute a flight plan, or when the pilot updates the original flight plan through the control panel (e.g., the pilot adjusts the destination or waypoints in the original flight plan according to tower instructions), the FMS simultaneously sends a corresponding power-on signal or updated data to the flight plan synchronization logic judgment module 312. The flight plan synchronization logic judgment module 312 determines whether to initiate automatic synchronization based on whether the received data indicates a power-on or involves an update to the flight plan (e.g., new latitude and longitude coordinates). If the received data is a power-on signal or involves an update to the flight plan, the flight plan synchronization logic judgment module 312 sends a command to the flight plan synchronization module 314 to initiate automatic synchronization. If the received data is merely ordinary operational data, the flight plan synchronization logic judgment module 312 discards the data and continues to use the current flight plan data from the onboard backup navigation system to perform backup navigation calculations until new data is received from the flight management system, at which point a new round of judgment begins, and this cycle continues indefinitely.

[0098] The advantage of doing this is that it requires virtually no modification to the original flight management system; only one signal needs to be sent to the flight plan synchronization logic judgment module 312.

[0099] In a preferred embodiment, the flight plan synchronization logic judgment module 312 can also integrate its functions into the flight management system through, for example, hardware, software, or firmware programming. That is, for example, by modifying the software portion of the flight management system to add the aforementioned synchronization logic judgment function, a command to initiate automatic synchronization operation can be directly sent to the flight plan synchronization module 314. This also falls within the scope of protection of this application.

[0100] The flight plan synchronization module 314 is configured to update the flight plan of the airborne backup navigation system 300 according to the automatic synchronization command from the flight plan synchronization logic judgment module 312. The update includes receiving flight plan data from the flight management system (when the flight management system adds a flight plan for the first time upon power-up), or updating the flight plan already stored in the synchronization unit 310 (stored during previous synchronization) according to the update data of the flight plan data received from the flight management system.

[0101] In this way, the flight plan is automatically synchronized between the flight management system and the airborne backup navigation system 300 by using the synchronization unit 310.

[0102] The calculation unit 320 is configured to calculate the corresponding navigation plan based on the position information parsed from navigation information from the navigation data source and combined with the flight plan from the synchronization unit 310 or the position information input from the flight crew. Specifically, it may include a data source selection module 322, a position parsing module 324, an input waypoint data parsing module 326, and a navigation calculation module 328.

[0103] The data source selection module 322 is configured to select the required navigation data source from multiple external navigation systems (such as satellite positioning system (GNSS), inertial positioning system (IRS), VHF omnidirectional beacon system (VOR) and automatic ranging system (DME) as shown in the figure) according to the set data source priority.

[0104] As is well known, there are many navigation systems in the field of aircraft navigation. These systems vary in age and have different levels of navigation accuracy, completeness, continuity, and other quality data. Aircraft typically use multiple navigation systems simultaneously as data sources and can switch between them as needed.

[0105] The data source selection module 322 can prioritize various available navigation data sources. For example, based on the navigation accuracy of each system, navigation data sources with higher accuracy have higher priority, while those with lower accuracy have lower priority. Similarly, the completeness, continuity, and other quality data of the navigation can be used as sorting criteria. Alternatively, these navigation quality data can be combined for comprehensive priority ranking. Using this module, automatic selection of navigation data sources can be achieved, ensuring that the navigation data source used for subsequent navigation is always optimal.

[0106] The location parsing module 324 is configured to parse navigation data received from a selected navigation data source to extract navigation-related location information. This location information may include, for example, current speed, latitude and longitude, and direction angle. This location information can be used by the subsequent navigation calculation module 328 to perform navigation planning calculations to achieve backup navigation.

[0107] The waypoint data parsing module 326 is configured to receive manually input position information (such as new waypoint position data) from the flight crew via the control unit 330, parse it into corresponding position information, and provide it to the navigation calculation module 328. This provides the flight crew with a means to manually modify the flight plan in the onboard backup navigation system to replan navigation.

[0108] Whether the position information comes from the position resolution module 324 or the input waypoint data resolution module 326, it is ultimately provided to the navigation calculation module 328.

[0109] The navigation calculation module 328 is configured to combine the received position information with flight plan data from the synchronization unit 310 to calculate a corresponding navigation planning scheme. This navigation calculation module 328 can be implemented directly using existing navigation calculation modules in existing navigation systems, and will not be described in detail here.

[0110] In this way, the computing unit 320 can generate the most reasonable navigation plan using optimal navigation information or manual input from the crew. Therefore, even if the aircraft's main navigation system fails, the computing unit 320 can still perform subsequent flight navigation tasks, improving the aircraft's safety.

[0111] The control unit 330 is primarily configured to control the onboard backup navigation system. This control may include enabling the flight crew to manually input waypoints to execute new flight plans.

[0112] Therefore, the control unit 330 can be equipped with physical or virtual input buttons such as longitude input, latitude input, and direct flight input for the crew to input new flight parameters.

[0113] In some embodiments, the control unit 330 may be configured with more buttons to enable additional control of the airborne backup navigation system. For example, a display unit configuration interface and buttons may be provided to allow crew members to configure the type, style, and layout of navigation information displayed on the display unit 340. Furthermore, the control unit 330 may also provide priority adjustment buttons to adjust the data source priority order in the data source priority configuration file of the data source selection module 322 in the calculation unit 320. These improvements are all within the scope of this application.

[0114] Display unit 340 is configured to provide a display of backup navigation information. The display unit 340 should provide at least the latitude and longitude of the current location, the latitude and longitude of the target waypoint, the heading and track information, and indications of arrival at the target waypoint, as well as other related information. (As previously stated...) Figure 1 and 2 As described above, unlike existing backup navigation displays, this display unit 340 can display richer navigation data information, including radio navigation information such as DME and VOR. Figure 2 As shown. Displaying this information helps pilots simultaneously understand the navigation information provided by both DME and VOR, two different types of navigation technologies, on the same screen for flight reference.

[0115] In addition to the components mentioned above, in the attached Figure 3 The specific locations of the power supply and display unit of the airborne backup navigation system 300 are not shown in the diagram. However, as mentioned earlier, in order to avoid problems such as "single point of failure," the airborne backup navigation system 300 is usually powered by a separate power supply independent of the main navigation system, and the display unit 340 is also provided separately from the display of the main navigation system.

[0116] After understanding the example structure of the airborne backup navigation system 300 in this application, the following will be combined with... Figure 4 Here is an example flowchart describing a backup navigation method 400 with automatic flight plan synchronization function according to an embodiment of this application.

[0117] As shown in the figure, the method includes:

[0118] First, in step 410, data is received from the flight management system. As mentioned earlier, all data received or generated by the flight management system during operation is simultaneously transmitted to the flight plan synchronization logic judgment module.

[0119] Subsequently, in step 412, the system determines whether an automatic synchronization operation needs to be performed based on the received data from the flight management system. Specifically, the flight plan synchronization logic judgment module analyzes the received data to determine whether an update to the flight plan is required, and thereby determines whether to generate and send an automatic synchronization operation command.

[0120] If it is determined in step 412 that no flight plan update is needed, that is, the data received from the flight management system is unrelated to the flight plan, the method ends and returns to step 410 to continue waiting for the next data reception from the flight management system.

[0121] If, in step 412, it is determined that a flight plan update is needed and an automatic synchronization operation command is sent, then the process proceeds to step 414. In this step, according to the automatic synchronization operation command, an update to the flight plan of the airborne backup navigation system is performed. This update includes downloading the flight plan from the flight management system (if the received signal is the flight plan signal from the flight management system's first power-on), or downloading update data for a previously stored flight plan from the flight management system (if the flight plan has already been stored and an update input has been received from the flight management system).

[0122] In this way, the solution proposed in this application achieves automatic synchronization of flight plans in the flight management system, and the entire synchronization process does not require manual intervention.

[0123] Subsequently, when the flight plan and navigation data source of the airborne backup navigation system are valid, the method begins to execute the backup navigation function. First, in step 416, the required navigation data source is selected from multiple navigation data sources according to the set data source priority. The data source priority can be automatically set based on the accuracy, completeness, continuity, and other quality data of each navigation data source, or it can be manually set by the crew through the control unit.

[0124] Subsequently, in step 418, navigation data is received from the selected navigation data source and parsed to obtain location information. The parsing of the navigation data can be achieved using existing navigation data parsing methods, which will not be elaborated upon here.

[0125] Alternatively, at (optional) step 420, in some cases, manually entered data (such as new waypoint data) may also be received from the flight crew via the control unit and parsed into the corresponding position information. This step is unnecessary if no crew member input is received.

[0126] In step 422, a corresponding navigation planning scheme is calculated based on the position information obtained from the navigation data source, combined with flight plan data from the synchronization unit or position information manually input by the flight crew. The navigation planning calculation process is similar to that of existing navigation systems and therefore will not be described in detail here.

[0127] Finally, at step 424, backup navigation information is displayed on display unit 340. As previously mentioned, the navigation information displayed on this display unit is richer than that in existing display modes. For example, it also includes radio navigation information such as DME and VOR. The display of this information helps pilots to understand the navigation information provided by two different types of navigation technologies, DME and VOR, simultaneously on the same screen for flight reference.

[0128] This concludes the described method flow.

[0129] Compared to existing backup navigation systems, the airborne backup navigation system of this application provides the function of automatically synchronizing flight plans with the flight management system, and can still perform backup navigation when the flight management system fails or the main display is unavailable. Furthermore, the airborne backup navigation system is largely independent of the main navigation system, utilizing multiple redundant navigation data sources and redundant display units. When the main display loses functionality, the airborne backup navigation system can still use its own display unit to continue backup navigation using the flight plan; when the flight management system fails, the airborne backup navigation system can still use the synchronized flight plan to continue backup navigation. In addition, the system's display unit can display richer navigation data than existing display modes, making greater redundant use of navigation data sources, and the data source selection module in the control calculation module sets priorities to ensure the continuity of data source acquisition.

[0130] A computer-readable storage medium storing instructions that, when executed, cause a machine to perform actions such as Figure 3 The method described.

[0131] While different embodiments have been described above, it should be understood that they are merely examples and not limitations. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications in form and detail may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims. Therefore, the breadth and scope of the invention disclosed herein should not be limited by the exemplary embodiments disclosed above, but should be defined solely by the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. An airborne backup navigation system with automatic synchronization of flight plan function, comprising: a synchronization unit configured to automatically synchronize flight plan with a flight management system; a control unit configured to implement control of the airborne backup navigation system, wherein the control includes enabling flight crew to manually input position information to execute a new flight plan; a calculation unit configured to calculate corresponding navigation plan according to position information parsed from navigation information from a navigation data source, in combination with flight plan from the synchronization unit or manually input position information from the control unit; and a display unit configured to provide display of backup navigation information; wherein the synchronization unit further comprises: a flight plan synchronization logic judging module configured to judge whether automatic synchronization operation needs to be performed between the flight management system and the airborne backup navigation system according to whether data from the flight management system is a power-on signal or involves update of flight plan, and generate automatic synchronization instruction according to a "yes" judgment result; a flight plan synchronization module configured to perform update of flight plan of the airborne backup navigation system according to the automatic synchronization instruction of the flight plan synchronization logic judging module. The flight plan synchronization logic judging module is further configured to continue to perform backup navigation calculation using current flight plan data of the airborne backup navigation system and continue to receive next data from the flight management system if the judgment result is "no".

2. The airborne backup navigation system of claim 1, wherein, The calculation unit comprises a data source selection module configured to select required navigation data source from navigation data sources of multiple external navigation systems according to set data source priority; 3. The airborne backup navigation system of claim 1, wherein, wherein the data source priority can be prioritized according to navigation accuracy, integrity, continuity and other quality data of navigation data sources. The control unit is further configured to provide keys for crew personnel to manually configure navigation information type, style and layout displayed on the display unit.

4. The airborne backup navigation system of claim 1, wherein, The backup navigation information displayed by the display unit can simultaneously display radio navigation information including DME, VOR, in addition to navigation information based on satellite positioning and inertial positioning.

5. The airborne backup navigation system of claim 1, wherein, The flight plan synchronization module updates flight plan of the airborne backup navigation system in the following two ways:

6. The airborne backup navigation system of claim 1, wherein, 1) if the data received by the flight plan synchronization logic judging module from the flight management system is the power-on signal, flight plan data is received from the flight management system; or 2) if the data received by the flight plan synchronization logic judging module from the flight management system is update data, corresponding update operation is performed on flight plan stored in the synchronization unit. The power supply of the airborne backup navigation system is independent of the power supply of the main navigation system.

7. The airborne backup navigation system of claim 1, wherein, The display unit is an additional display independent of the display of the main navigation system.

8. The airborne backup navigation system of claim 1, wherein, 9. A backup navigation method with automatic synchronization of flight plan function, comprising: ​ receiving data from the flight management system, and determining whether an automatic synchronization operation is required based on whether the received data is a power-on signal or an update related to the flight plan; if it is determined that the automatic synchronization operation is required, performing an update of the flight plan of the onboard backup navigation system according to the automatic synchronization operation instruction; when the flight plan of the onboard backup navigation system and the navigation data source are valid: selecting a required navigation data source from a plurality of navigation data sources according to a set data source priority; receiving navigation data from the selected navigation data source and parsing the navigation data to obtain position information; calculating a corresponding navigation planning scheme according to the position information and flight plan data from the synchronization unit; and providing display of backup navigation information on a display unit. The method further comprises:

10. The method for backup navigation of claim 9, wherein, receiving manually input position information from the flight crew, and calculating a corresponding navigation planning scheme according to the position information and current aircraft position information from the navigation data source. The step of performing the update of the flight plan of the onboard backup navigation system comprises:

11. The method for backup navigation of claim 9, wherein, 1) if the data received from the flight management system is the power-on signal, receiving flight plan data from the flight management system; or 2) if the data received from the flight management system is update data, performing a corresponding update operation on the stored flight plan. If it is determined that the automatic synchronization operation is not required, backup navigation calculation is continued to be performed using current flight plan data of the onboard backup navigation system, and the next data from the flight management system is continued to be received.

12. The method for backup navigation of claim 9, wherein, The method further comprises selecting a required navigation data source from navigation data sources of a plurality of external navigation systems according to a set data source priority; 13. The method for backup navigation of claim 9, wherein, wherein the data source priority can be prioritized according to navigation accuracy, integrity, continuity and other quality data of the navigation data source. The method further comprises:

14. The method for backup navigation of claim 9, wherein, providing a button for manually configuring, by the crew, a type, style and layout of navigation information displayed on the display unit. The displayed backup navigation information includes radio navigation information including DME, VOR in addition to satellite positioning and inertial positioning based navigation information.

15. The method for backup navigation of claim 9, wherein, 16. A computer readable storage medium storing instructions that, when executed, cause a machine to perform the backup navigation method of any one of claims 9-15. ​

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