Avionic Display Abstraction for ARINC 739 Compatibility
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Solution Overview
Problem
Aircraft avionic devices and line replaceable units (LRUs) face challenges in interacting with flight crews through display devices that are not compatible with the ARINC 739 standard, requiring modifications to either the display unit or the aircraft system component, which can be cumbersome and inefficient.
Innovation Solution
A system comprising a physical display unit and an abstraction component that generates a virtual display page according to the ARINC 739 protocol, mapping it into modified pages compatible with non-ARINC 739 display formats, allowing seamless interaction without modifying the aircraft system component or physical display unit, and managing line select buttons to simulate user input.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the display unit is modified to support non-ARINC 739 formats, then compatibility with various display devices is improved, but device complexity and modification cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
An abstraction component is introduced as an intermediary between the aircraft system component and the physical display unit. This component receives data in ARINC 739 format, converts it to virtual display pages, maps these to modified pages suitable for non-ARINC 739 displays, and outputs the converted data. This mediator enables format compatibility without modifying the original aircraft system component or display unit, resolving the contradiction by adding versatility while keeping modification complexity localized to the abstraction layer.
Solution Approach 2:
The display output is segmented into virtual display pages that can be independently mapped to different physical display formats. The abstraction component divides the ARINC 739 data stream into discrete page elements, allowing flexible reconfiguration and mapping to various display formats without requiring comprehensive modification of the entire display system.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the aircraft system component is modified to support multiple display formats, then adaptability is improved, but ease of operation and maintenance deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The abstraction component serves as a mediator that handles all format conversion logic, keeping the aircraft system component unchanged. This separation ensures that software modifications are confined to the abstraction layer, which can be independently updated without affecting the core aircraft system component, thereby maintaining ease of operation and maintenance while achieving format versatility.
Solution Approach 2:
Virtual display pages are created as digital representations of the ARINC 739 data structure. These virtual pages can be copied, mapped, and transformed without modifying the original data source, enabling flexible adaptation to different display formats while preserving the integrity and simplicity of the aircraft system component.
3Adaptability or versatility
If display data is converted to multiple formats in real-time, then compatibility is improved, but processing time and productivity are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The abstraction component performs preliminary conversion of ARINC 739 data into virtual display pages before output to the physical display unit. By pre-processing the data into a standardized virtual page format, the system eliminates the need for complex real-time format conversion during display operations, thereby maintaining compatibility while improving processing efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
Data is segmented into discrete virtual display pages that can be independently processed and mapped. This segmentation allows for efficient batch processing and caching of page data, reducing the real-time processing burden while maintaining the ability to adapt to different display formats through pre-computed mappings.
4Ease of manufacture
If existing products are used in new environments without modification, then ease of manufacture is improved, but adaptability to different display standards deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The abstraction component acts as a universal intermediary that enables existing aircraft system components to interface with various display standards without modification. By placing the format conversion logic in the abstraction layer, existing products can be deployed in new environments with different display standards simply by configuring the abstraction component, thereby maintaining ease of manufacture while achieving broad adaptability.
Data Source
AI summary
A system comprises a physical display unit and an aircraft system component. The aircraft system component is configured to output a first signal for display according to a first display format. The system also includes an abstraction component configured to generate a virtual display page according to the first protocol based on the signal received from the aircraft system component and to map the virtual display page into two or more modified pages. Each of the modified pages is configured according to a second display format and corresponds to a respective portion of the virtual display page. The abstraction component is further configured to output a second signal comprising a first of the two or more modified pages to the physical display unit for display according to the second display format. The abstraction component is configured to output a signal comprising a second modified page based on user input.