Aircraft Cabin Fault Location GUI via Distributed Control
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current aircraft cabin control systems operate independently for environmental and passenger comfort functions, lacking flexibility and consolidation, which limits the ability to efficiently manage cabin settings from a centralized or user-friendly interface.
Innovation Solution
A distributed architecture with a crew IO node and passenger IO node system, utilizing touch-sensitive interfaces and mobile devices, allows for centralized control of environmental and comfort functions, including lighting, temperature, entertainment, and seating, through a unified graphical user interface.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If environmental and passenger comfort functions are controlled independently through separate systems, then system reliability is maintained, but device complexity increases and ease of operation deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges environmental control functions and passenger comfort control functions into a single unified graphical user interface displayed on a mobile device. This consolidation allows crew members to access and control both types of functions through one interface rather than separate systems, improving ease of operation while the modular architecture maintains system reliability
Solution Approach 2:
The unified graphical user interface serves multiple functions by providing control over both environmental parameters (temperature, lighting) and passenger comfort settings (seat positioning, entertainment) through a single platform. This multi-functional approach reduces the number of separate control systems needed while maintaining comprehensive control capabilities
2Ease of operation
If control functions are consolidated into a unified interface, then ease of operation improves, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The mobile device with graphical user interface acts as an intermediary between the control systems and the user. It provides a unified, user-friendly interface that simplifies operation while the underlying complex control logic remains managed by the system's modular architecture, effectively decoupling interface simplicity from system complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses a graphical user interface that presents simplified representations and controls for the underlying complex cabin control systems. This interface layer copies essential control functions in an accessible format without requiring the physical complexity of the full control architecture to be visible or accessible to the user
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
A method and a distributed architecture for representing a location of a fault in an aircraft cabin, comprising: a controller operatively connected to a processor; a crew IO node operatively connected to the controller; the processor being configured to perform: detecting, by the controller, that an event of a system of the aircraft cabin corresponding to a fault has occurred; determining, by the processor, which aircraft cabin section amongst a plurality of aircraft cabin sections is associated with the system for which the event corresponding to the fault has occurred; and displaying, on the crew IO node, (i) a graphical user interface (GUI) component representing at least a portion of the aircraft cabin comprising at least some of the plurality of aircraft cabin sections and (ii) a visual indication identifying the aircraft cabin section associated with the system for which the event corresponding to the fault has occurred.