Helicopter Mobile Display Screens for Unobstructed External View
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current helicopter cockpit display systems obstruct the pilot's view of the external landscape, especially during visual flight rules (VFR), and existing solutions like lateral vision spaces or camera-based systems suffer from parallax issues that can deceive the pilot regarding distance and object position.
Innovation Solution
A system with mobile and retractable display screens that can be adjusted to minimize obstruction, featuring mechanical slides allowing screens to translate and change positions based on operational contexts, with electronic symbology adapting to each screen's position.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If display screens are installed in the instrument panel, then piloting information is provided, but the pilot's view of the external landscape is obstructed
Solution Approach 1:
The display screens are made mobile rather than fixed, allowing them to move between different positions. The screens can be retracted into the instrument panel or positioned at different locations, enabling the pilot to adjust the display configuration dynamically based on whether visual flight or instrument flight is being performed, thus resolving the contradiction between providing piloting information and obstructing the external view
Solution Approach 2:
The display screens are positioned in multiple planes (first predetermined plane, second predetermined plane, third predetermined plane) rather than a single fixed plane. This multi-planar arrangement allows screens to be distributed in three-dimensional space, enabling the pilot to have unobstructed views in certain directions while still accessing piloting information on screens positioned in other planes or retracted positions
2Object-affected harmful factors
If lateral vision spaces are created, then external view is improved, but the pilot must change normal piloting position
Solution Approach 1:
The mobile display screens serve multiple functions: they can be positioned to provide piloting information during instrument flight, retracted or positioned differently during visual flight to improve external views, and adjusted to accommodate different pilot preferences and operational contexts. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for separate lateral vision spaces that would require changing piloting position
3Object-affected harmful factors
If camera-based systems are used, then external landscape is displayed, but parallax deceptions occur
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of using camera-based synthetic images that create parallax deceptions, the system uses actual physical display screens that can be positioned in multiple planes. The screens display real-time or recorded information without creating false depth perceptions, as they are physical objects in the cockpit space rather than optical illusions generated by cameras. This eliminates the parallax measurement errors while still providing external landscape information
Data Source
AI summary
The general field of the invention is that of helicopter cockpit display systems. The system according to the invention comprises at least a first mobile display screen. Depending on the mission and in order to optimize the vision of the external landscape, the mobile screen or screens are moved so that they are either in the field of vision of the pilot, or out of his field of vision. The symbologies displayed are adapted according to the mission and to the position of the screen.