Aircraft cockpit display

Abstract

Aircraft cockpit display showing: a flight display module (22), a display panel (24) arranged in the flight display module (22), the display panel (24) having a pixel matrix with pixels arranged in rows and columns and being configured to receive illumination from a backlight (40); a backlight (40) for illuminating the pixel matrix; a first and second independent video channel (42, 44), each video channel (42, 44) comprising (i) a row driver (52, 72) that is functionally connected to and controls all rows in the pixel matrix, (ii) a column driver (50, 70) that is connected to and controls the columns of a corresponding first or second part (82, 84) of the pixel matrix, the first part (82) being not identical to the second part (84), and (iii) a backlight driver (54, 74) that is functionally connected to the backlight (40) for controlling the backlight for the pixel matrix; where at any given time only one of the line drivers (52, 72) is activated; and a switch (46) for selecting one of the first and second independent video channels (42, 44) when an error occurs in the other of the first and second independent video channels (42, 44), wherein the selected independent video channel (42, 44) is able to enable control of its corresponding line driver (52, 72) and the line driver (52, 72) of the other of the first and second independent video channels (42, 44); wherein the switch (46) selects one of the first and second independent video channels (42, 44) in response to fault detection processing integrated in the flight display module (22), the fault detection processing being configured to detect faults in graphical information; wherein the selected independent video channel (42, 44) is configured to operate (i) the selected row driver (52, 72), (ii) a corresponding column driver (50, 70) and (iii) a corresponding backlight driver (54, 74), while the row driver (52, 72) of the other is disabled by the first and second independent video channels (42, 44) to display a video signal on the part (82, 84) of the display panel (24) corresponding to the selected independent video channel (42, 44).

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] Current aircraft cockpits incorporate an instrument console with multiple flight displays, providing the crew with a wide range of aircraft, flight, navigation, and other information used to operate and control the aircraft. There is a trend within the aviation industry toward the use of large, widescreen displays in the cockpit. This has the advantage of providing a larger, configurable display area to show more information to the crew and offers the ability to customize display formats and the information displayed. Because all primary flight information can be displayed on a single display instead of multiple displays or instruments, the failure of this single display is far more consequential than with the conventional approach.

[0002] US 2005 / 0 284 984 A1 discloses an aircraft cockpit display comprising a display panel with a liquid crystal matrix having pixels arranged in rows and columns, a backlight for illuminating the liquid crystal matrix, and first and second independent video channels, each video channel having a row driver operatively connected to and driving the rows in the liquid crystal matrix. The first video channel has a first column driver operatively connected to and driving the columns of a first portion of the liquid crystal matrix, while the second video channel has a second column driver operatively connected to and driving the columns of a second portion of the liquid crystal matrix. The first portion is not identical to the second portion, and the two row drivers are independent of each other and controlled by two different computer subassemblies.

[0003] US 2007 / 0 046 680 A1 discloses a dual display system of a flight display module with two LCD screens that operate simultaneously, so that one controller provides data for displaying images on one screen and another controller provides data for displaying images on the other screen. A routing device of the display system allows data from one of the controllers to be displayed on one of the screens or on both screens, so that in the event of a malfunction or failure of one of the controllers, the other, operational controller can provide image data for both screens simultaneously. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0004] According to the invention, an aircraft cockpit display is provided having the features of independent claim 1. Particularly preferred embodiments of the invention are specified in the dependent claims. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0005] In the drawings: Fig. 1 is a schematic view of a flight display module according to a previous embodiment. Fig. 2 a perspective view of a portion of an aircraft cockpit with multiple flight display modules according to an embodiment of the invention. Fig. 3 is a schematic view of one of the flight display modules of the aircraft cockpit of Fig. 2 according to an embodiment of the invention. DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

[0006] Fig. 1 illustrates a flight display module 2 according to a prior embodiment. The flight display module 2 includes a display panel 4, which may be a widescreen LCD display panel, and associated power and control electronics including a power supply circuit 6, timing controllers 7, display drivers in the form of column and row display drivers 8 and 9. Power and video data are fed into the flight display module 2, and any failure in the flight display module 2 according to the prior embodiment, be it in the power supply circuit 6, the timing controllers 7, or display drivers 8 and 9, would adversely affect the ability of the flight display module 2 to display pristine video data on the display panel 4. The corruption could manifest itself as either partial or full-screen video corruption on the LCD panel.If the display is a widescreen display, the impact of the loss of such a large-area display is significantly more critical than the loss of a single mechanical instrument or the loss of smaller electronic flight instrument displays on conventionally equipped aircraft.

[0007] The inventive embodiments described below ensure that the flight display module has a high availability and that any single failure, excluding that of the LCD panel itself, has a reduced impact on the primary display functions. Fig. 2 illustrates a portion of an aircraft 10 having a cockpit 12 according to an embodiment of the invention. Although a conventional aircraft is illustrated, it is contemplated that embodiments of the invention may be used in any type of aircraft, including, without limitation, fixed-wing, rotary-wing, rocket-powered, private, and military aircraft. A first user (e.g., a pilot) may be located in a seat 14 on the left side of the cockpit 12, and another user (e.g., a co-pilot) may be located on the right side 12 in a seat 16. An instrument console 18 having various instruments 20 and a plurality of instrument console modules 22 may be located in front of the pilot and co-pilot and may provide the crew with information to assist in flying the aircraft 10.The flight display modules 22 can be either primary flight displays or multifunction displays and can display a wide range of aircraft, flight, navigation, system, and other information used to operate and control the aircraft 10. The flight display modules 22 are shown in a laterally spaced apart arrangement. The flight display modules 22 can be arranged in any manner with fewer or more displays. Furthermore, the flight display modules 22 need not be in a plane and do not need to be the same size. A display panel 24, on which the display representation can be provided, can be included in the flight display modules 22. This display panel can include any display panel having a matrix of individually controllable pixels, such as LCDs and LEDs.By way of non-limiting example, the display panel 24 may be a flat active matrix liquid crystal display (AM-LCD) panel.

[0008] It is contemplated that one or more cursor control devices 26 and one or more multifunction keyboards 28 may be included in the cockpit 12 and may also be used by one or more crew members to interact with the systems of the aircraft 10. A suitable cursor control device 26 may include any device for accepting input from a user and converting that input into a graphical position on one of the plurality of flight display modules 22. Various joysticks, multi-way toggle switches, mice, control balls, and the like are suitable for this purpose, and each user may have a separate control device(s) 26 and keyboard(s) 28.

[0009] A controller 30 may be operatively connected to the components of the aircraft 10, including the flight display modules 22, the cursor control devices 26, and the keyboards 28. The controller 30 may also be connected to additional controls (not shown) of the aircraft 10. The controller 30 may include memory and processing units that execute any suitable programs for operating the aircraft 10. The controller 30 may also include input signals from one or more additional sensors (not shown) that provide the controller 30 with various information to support the operation of the aircraft 10.

[0010] Fig.3 illustrates a schematic embodiment of the flight display module 22. The display panel 24, a backlight assembly 40, a first channel 42 consisting of a power source 60, timing controller 58, backlight controller 94, column driver 50, row driver 52, and an LED backlight driver 54, and a second channel 44 consisting of a power source 80, timing controller 78, backlight controller 96, column driver 70, row driver 72, and an LED backlight driver 74 are illustrated herein as being included in the flight display module 22. A switch 46 is illustrated as being operatively coupled to the flight display module 22.

[0011] The display panel 24 may include a liquid crystal matrix (not shown) having an array of pixels, each pixel consisting of a color group of multiple subpixels, each subpixel being addressable by rows and columns and programmable by the associated row and column drivers. Such a display panel 24 may have a horizontal dimension of 335 mm (13.2 inches), a vertical dimension of 201 mm (7.9 inches), i.e., an aspect ratio of 16:9, and a diagonal dimension of 389 mm (15.3 inches). It will be appreciated that different sized screens could be used, and the aspect ratio could be varied from the aforementioned widescreen format.

[0012] The backlight assembly 40 may be any suitable backlight assembly, including a light-emitting diode (LED) backlight assembly 40 having a matrix of LEDs (not shown). The backlight assembly 40 may be mounted behind the display panel 24. It is contemplated that the backlight assembly 40 may be of an LED variety, as LED assemblies reproduce color better and consume less electricity than cathode fluorescent lamps. The array of LEDs in the LED backlight assembly 40 may be mounted on a printed circuit board (not shown) to provide sufficient light to illuminate the liquid crystal matrix on the display panel 24.

[0013] The first channel 42 and the second channel 44 are two identical and independent video channels that can display a video signal on the LCD panel. The first channel 42 is shown including the column driver 50, the row driver 52, the backlight driver 54, a timing controller 58, a backlight controller 94, and a power supply 60. The second channel 44 is shown including the column driver 70, the row driver 72, the backlight driver 74, a timing controller 78, a backlight controller 96, and a power supply 80.

[0014] The column drivers 50 of the first channel 42 may be operatively connected to the columns in a first portion 82 of the liquid crystal matrix of the display panel 24. The column drivers 70 of the second channel 44 may be operatively connected to the columns in a second portion 84 of the liquid crystal matrix of the display panel 24. The first and second portions 82 and 84 of the liquid crystal matrix of the display panel 24 are not identical. For illustrative purposes only, the first portion 82 is shown as the left half of the liquid crystal matrix of the display panel 24, while the second portion 84 is shown as the right half of the liquid crystal matrix of the display panel 24. It should be understood that the first and second portions 82 and 84 need not be one half of the liquid crystal matrix of the display panel 24.

[0015] The row drivers 52 and 72 of the first and second channels 42 and 44, respectively, can be operatively connected to all rows of the liquid crystal matrix of the display panel 24. In this way, each of the row drivers 52 and 72 can selectively drive all rows in the liquid crystal matrix of the display panel 24.

[0016] In the case where the backlight assembly is the LED variant, the backlight drivers 54 and 74 may be the LED drivers and may be operatively connected to the matrix of LEDs of the backlight assembly 40 to control the backlight assembly 40 to illuminate the liquid crystal matrix of the display panel 24. Each of the backlight drivers 54 and 74 may be capable of selectively controlling the matrix of LEDs of such a backlight assembly 40.

[0017] The timing controller 58 of the first channel 42 is operatively connected to the column drivers 50 and row drivers 52. The timing controller 58 is capable of outputting control signals to the column drivers 50 and row drivers 52. The timing controller 78 of the second channel 44 is operatively connected to the column drivers 70 and row drivers 72. The timing controller 78 is capable of outputting control signals to the column drivers 70 and row drivers 72.

[0018] The backlight controller 94 of the first channel 42 is operatively connected to the backlight driver 54. The backlight controller 94 is capable of outputting control signals to the backlight driver 54. The backlight controller 96 of the second channel 44 is operatively connected to the backlight driver 74. The backlight controller 96 is capable of outputting control signals to the backlight driver 74. It is contemplated that the timing and backlight control of each of the first and second independent video channels 42 and 44 may be implemented separately or may be implemented in a single device.

[0019] A first power supply input or power source 60 is included in the first channel 42 and supplies power to the components of the first channel 42. A second power supply input or power source 80 is included in the second channel 44 and supplies power to the components of the second channel 44.

[0020] The switch 46 provides a selection between the first and second independent video channels 42 and 44 for displaying a video signal from the selected first and second independent video channels 42 and 44 on the display panel 24. The switch 46 may be a manual switch located within reach of a pilot and / or co-pilot in the cockpit 12. The switch 46 may be integrated into the flight display module 22. For example, the switch is shown mounted externally of the flight display module 22.

[0021] It is contemplated that switch 46 may be a two-position manual switch that selects either the first channel 42 or the second channel 44 as the active channel. It is contemplated that manual switch 46 may also include an automatic switching position. When the automatic switching position is selected, a decision module (not shown) within flight display module 22 may default to a predefined channel when power is applied to flight display module 22 and may monitor the status of any function within the first and second independent video channels 42 and 44 that may affect the integrity of the video data stream. In the event of a failure being detected, the alternate channel would automatically be switched as the active channel.

[0022] Although the switch 46 is illustrated and described as a manual switch, it is contemplated that the switch 46 may be fully automatic. Such an automatic switch may be included in the flight display module 22. The automatic switch may be capable of switching between the first and second independent video channels 42 and 44 in response to a failure in one of the first and second independent video channels 42 and 44, and may operate in a similar manner to the automatic switch described above. Such an automatic switching mechanism or decision module may be duplicated in the flight display module 22.

[0023] During operation, the first channel 42 may provide display graphics to the first portion 82 of the display panel 24, and the second channel 44 may provide display graphics to the second portion 84 of the display panel 24. The first channel 42 and the second channel 44 may be synchronized, and only the channel selected as the active channel by the switch 46 controls the corresponding line drivers 52 and 72 of the display panel 24 and the corresponding backlight drivers 54 and 74. The first channel 42 and the second channel 44 provide display graphics for the display panel 24 to the first portion 82 and the second portion 84, respectively. An active channel may be initially selected automatically or manually upon powering up the flight display module 22.It is contemplated that the column driver 50 of the first channel 42 and the column driver 70 of the second channel 44 may each include a multiplexer to allow control of both the column driver 50 and the column driver 70 from either timing controller 58 or timing controller 78 as selected by the switch 46, and that the first channel 42 and the second channel 44 need not be synchronized.

[0024] A failure in the active channel may result in a failure of the display panel 24, with some display functionality being restored following selection of the other channel. Selection of the other channel makes that channel the active channel and enables operation of the appropriate row drivers, column drivers, and backlight drivers to produce a video display on the corresponding portion of the display panel 24. Switching between the first channel 42 and the second channel 44 may be performed manually, such as by the pilot or co-pilot using the setting of switch 46. Alternatively, switching could be performed by an automatic switch in response to fault detection processing incorporated into the flight display module 22.By way of non-limiting example, a display monitor may be provided that performs error detection processing to determine whether any of the graphical information (e.g., text information, graphical symbols, and maps) is faulty.

[0025] When a channel is selected as active, the row drivers of the inactive channel can be disabled. As a non-limiting example, power to the row drivers of the deselected channel can be removed. Alternatively, or in addition to removing power, the row drivers of the deselected or inactive channel can be placed in an open or high-impedance (tri-state) state to prevent corruption of the active channel.

[0026] Although the foregoing embodiments have been illustrated and described with reference to a cockpit 12 having a flight display module 22 and a first video channel 42 having a first column driver 50 operatively connected to and driving the columns of one portion 82 of the liquid crystal matrix, and a second video channel 44 having a second column driver 70 operatively connected to and driving the columns of another portion of the liquid crystal matrix, it should be understood that alternative embodiments are also contemplated. For example, the first channel may have a row driver operatively connected to and driving the rows in the liquid crystal matrix and a column driver operatively connected to and driving the columns of a first portion and a second portion.Likewise, the second channel may have a row driver operatively connected to and driving the rows of the liquid crystal matrix, and a column driver operatively connected to and driving the columns of a third portion and a fourth portion. The first, second, third, and fourth portions need not be identical to any of the other portions, and portions controlled by the first channel may be interleaved with the portions controlled by the second channel. Such an embodiment may operate similarly to the embodiment described above, except that multiple portions of the display screen may be driven by only a single channel at any one time.

[0027] As a further example, the embodiment described above may include additional video channels capable of driving corresponding additional portions of the flight display. As a non-limiting example, a third independent video channel may be included, wherein the third video channel has a row driver operatively connected to and driving the rows in the liquid crystal matrix and a third column driver operatively connected to and driving the columns of a third portion of the liquid crystal matrix, the third portion not being identical to one of the first portion 82 or the second portion 84, and in which the switch 46 is configured to select between the first, second, and third independent video channels to display a video signal on the LCD panel.

[0028] Furthermore, it should be understood that rows and columns are interchangeable, as they are relative reference elements with respect to a user's orientation to the display. Thus, since the cockpit may include alternative flight display modules, the first and second video channels may be included such that the first video channel may have a first line driver operatively connected to and driving the lines of one portion of the liquid crystal matrix, and the second video channel may have a second line driver operatively connected to and driving the lines of a different portion of the liquid crystal matrix, the second portion not being identical to the first portion. In this way, part of the display panel may still be used. This may be of additional advantage where the flight display is vertically oriented.

[0029] The embodiments described above enable several advantages. For example, the embodiments described above ensure that the flight display module has high availability, and that any single failure, excluding the LCD panel itself, cannot affect more than a portion of the flight display module's primary display functions. While some conventional displays may have redundancy in some portions of the display using a dedicated LCD panel, current aircraft displays do not maximize availability as described above. Due to the high availability design of the embodiments described above, operation of portions of the screen is still possible upon failure of a graphics channel, and the integrity of the display's video data is ensured in the event of a failure in the active channel.Such improved system availability is vital given that a failure of such a flight display would result in a total loss of primary flight instruments on one side of the cockpit. The embodiments described above limit the number of individual failures that can cause a loss of the entire display on the flight display module. The only remaining single-channel element in the flight display module is the LCD panel itself, but by far the largest number of failures result in a loss of a single pixel or a single row or column of pixels, which has a minimal impact on display readability as opposed to a total failure of the LCD. Individual LEDs of the backlight assembly can also fail, but have only a minimal impact on backlight uniformity and display readability.The high availability of the flight display module also enables the reduction or elimination of maintenance delays due to electronic flight instrument system-related problems associated with the display.

[0030] This description uses examples to disclose the invention, including its best mode, and to enable any person skilled in the art to practice the invention, including making and using all elements and systems and performing all incorporated methods. The patentable scope of the invention is defined by the claims, and may include other examples that would be apparent to one skilled in the art. Such other examples are intended to be included within the scope of the invention if they contain structural elements that do not differ from the language of the claims, or if they contain equivalent structural elements with insubstantial changes from the language of the claims.

[0031] An aircraft cockpit display includes, among other things, an LCD panel 24 with a liquid crystal matrix and a backlight assembly 40 for illuminating the liquid crystal matrix. The remainder of the display 22 allows for individual failures within the assembly that affect only a portion of the primary display functions of the LCD panel 24. LIST OF REFERENCE SYMBOLS: 2 Flight display module 4 Scoreboard 6 Power supply circuit 7 time clock controls 8 column display drivers 9 Column display drivers 10 aircraft 12 Cockpit 14 seats 16 seats 18 Instrument console 20 instruments 22 flight display modules 24 scoreboard 26 cursor controls 28 multifunction keyboard 30 Control 40 Backlight arrangement 42 first channel 44 second channel 46 switches 50 column drivers 52 line drivers 54 backlight drivers 58 Time control 60 Power source 70 column drivers 72 line drivers 74 backlight drivers 78 Time control 80 Power source 82 first part 84 second part 94 Backlight control 96 Backlight control

Claims

[1] Aircraft cockpit display, comprising: a flight display module (22), a display panel (24) arranged in the flight display module (22), the display panel (24) comprising a pixel matrix with pixels arranged in rows and columns and being arranged to receive illumination from a backlight (40); a backlight (40) for illuminating the pixel matrix; a first and second independent video channel (42, 44), each video channel (42, 44) including (i) a row driver (52, 72) operatively connected to and driving all rows in the pixel matrix, (ii) a column driver (50, 70) operatively connected to and driving the columns of a respective first or second portion (82, 84) of the pixel matrix, the first portion (82) not being identical to the second portion (84), and (iii) a backlight driver (54, 74) operatively connected to the backlight (40) for controlling the backlight for the pixel matrix; wherein at any given time only one of the row drivers (52, 72) is activated; and a switch (46) for selecting one of the first and second independent video channels (42, 44) upon the occurrence of an error in the other of the first and second independent video channels (42, 44), the selected independent video channel (42, 44) being capable of enabling control of its corresponding line driver (52, 72) and the line driver (52, 72) of the other of the first and second independent video channels (42, 44); wherein the switch (46) selects one of the first and second independent video channels (42, 44) in response to error detection processing integrated in the flight display module (22), the error detection processing being configured to detect errors in graphic information; wherein the selected independent video channel (42, 44) is arranged to operate (i) the selected row driver (52, 72), (ii) a corresponding one of the column drivers (50, 70) and (iii) a corresponding one of the backlight drivers (54, 74) while the row driver (52, 72) of the other of the first and second independent video channels (42, 44) is deactivated to display a video signal on the portion (82, 84) of the display panel (24) corresponding to the selected independent video channel (42, 44). [2] An aircraft cockpit display according to claim 1, wherein the switch (46) is an automatic switch. [3] An aircraft cockpit display according to claim 2, wherein the automatic switch (46) switches between the first and second independent video channels (42, 44) in response to a failure in one of the first and second independent video channels (42, 44). [4] An aircraft cockpit display according to any preceding claim, wherein each of the first and second independent video channels (42, 44) further comprises an independent power supply source. [5] An aircraft cockpit display according to claim 4, wherein when a video channel (42, 44) is deselected, the power supply source to that video channel (42, 44) is interrupted. [6] An aircraft cockpit display according to any preceding claim, wherein the first part (82) is one half of the display panel (24) and the second part (84) is the other half of the display panel (24). [7] An aircraft cockpit display according to claim 6, wherein the halves are the left and right halves of the display panel (24). [8] An aircraft cockpit display according to claim 1, wherein the first and second parts (82, 84) do not overlap. [9] An aircraft cockpit display according to claim 8, wherein when a video channel (42, 44) is deselected, the associated line driver (52, 72) is placed in a high-impedance (tri-state) state. [10] An aircraft cockpit display according to claim 1, wherein when a video channel (42, 44) is deselected, the associated line driver is placed in a high-impedance (tri-state) state. [11] An aircraft cockpit display according to any preceding claim, wherein each of the first and second independent video channels (42, 44) further comprises a timing controller (58, 78). [12] The aircraft cockpit display of claim 11, further comprising first and second independent backlight control channels, each including a respective one of the backlight drivers (54, 74), and wherein each of the first and second independent video channels (42, 44) further comprises a backlight controller operatively connected to the backlight driver (54, 74). [13] An aircraft cockpit display according to claim 12, wherein the timing control (58, 78) and the backlight control of at least one of the first and second independent video channels (42, 44) are implemented in only a single device.

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