Aircraft Display System Screen Failure Recovery
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Solution Overview
Problem
Aircraft display systems are complex, costly, and restrictive in their use model when one or more screens fail, often failing to provide immediate access to critical flight information and requiring pilots to manually navigate through multiple screens, which can increase workload and risk of missing critical alerts.
Innovation Solution
A method for operating a display system with at least two screens in a cockpit, where the control unit detects screen failures and automatically displays critical flight information on the remaining operational screen, with timers to ensure visibility of critical data and optional messages prompting operators to switch to critical information, reducing the need for manual navigation and minimizing the dashboard size.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the display system uses multiple screens with manual navigation for critical information, then the system provides comprehensive flight information, but the pilot workload increases and access time to critical information delays
Solution Approach 1:
The display system automatically detects screen failures and reconfigures itself without pilot intervention. The control unit monitors screen status and autonomously redirects critical flight information to remaining functional screens, eliminating the need for manual navigation through multiple screens during failure scenarios.
Solution Approach 2:
The system pre-establishes priority levels for different flight information and pre-configures fallback display arrangements. When a screen failure is detected, the system has already determined which critical information should be displayed first on remaining screens, enabling immediate access without manual reconfiguration.
2Ease of operation
If the display system automatically reconfigures on screen failure, then access to critical information is immediate, but the system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The control unit performs automatic detection and reconfiguration functions without requiring additional complex pilot actions. The system self-monitors screen functionality and autonomously manages the redistribution of display windows, keeping the pilot interface simple while maintaining sophisticated backend automation.
Solution Approach 2:
The monitoring, detection, and reconfiguration functions are integrated into the existing control unit that already manages normal display operations. This consolidation avoids adding separate complex subsystems while achieving automatic failure response through enhanced capabilities of the existing control architecture.
3Loss of information
If multiple screens are used in normal operation, then comprehensive flight information is displayed, but the dashboard size and system cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
Each display screen is designed to be multi-functional, capable of displaying different types of flight information depending on operational needs. The control unit dynamically assigns different display windows to screens based on priority and availability, allowing fewer screens to handle more functions when failures occur, reducing overall dashboard complexity while maintaining information completeness.
Data Source
AI summary
Controlling and reconfiguring a display system that includes at least two screens that are installed in a cockpit of an aircraft in case of a failure of one of the screens. For example, a control unit of the display system may detect occurrence of a screen failure. In response to detecting the screen failure, the control unit may determine whether a critical flight relevant information has not been displayed on an operational screen during a predetermined period of time, and in response to determining that the critical flight relevant information has not been displayed on the operational screen during the predetermined period of time, command display of a message on the operational screen that suggests displaying the critical flight relevant information on the operational screen.