Aircraft NAV Tuning Panel with Automatic Frequency Extraction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Legacy aircraft require pilots to manually enter navigation radio frequencies, which is time-consuming and error-prone, and updating these systems can be costly and require re-training pilots.
Innovation Solution
A line-replaceable unit (LRU) for aircraft that includes an interface to couple with an aircraft data bus and processors to monitor communications between a pilot interface device and another LRU. The LRU extracts target data associated with a particular page from the data bus and stores it in memory, allowing the NAV tuning panel to automatically update its standby frequency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If pilots manually enter navigation frequencies, then they can verify and control the data, but the process is time-consuming and error-prone
Solution Approach 1:
The NAV tuning panel automatically monitors the data bus, extracts frequencies, and populates its own display without pilot intervention. The system serves itself by autonomously capturing navigation frequencies from FMC/CDU communications and presenting them for pilot verification, eliminating manual entry while maintaining control.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the manual mechanical process of reading and writing frequencies with an automated electronic data extraction and transfer system. The LRU uses data bus monitoring and automated parsing to substitute the manual pilot action of transcribing frequencies from CDU to NAV panel.
2Ease of operation
If legacy aircraft systems are updated with automated features, then pilot workload is reduced, but the cost of updating and re-training increases
Solution Approach 1:
The NAV tuning panel LRU acts as an intermediary component that bridges existing legacy systems (FMC, CDU, NAV radios) with automated frequency management capabilities. By monitoring the existing data bus and interfacing with existing pilot displays, it adds automation without requiring complete system replacement or pilot retraining on new procedures.
Solution Approach 2:
The LRU performs multiple functions: monitoring data bus communications, extracting frequency information, storing frequencies in memory, displaying them on the pilot interface, and transferring frequencies to NAV radios. This multi-functionality consolidates what would otherwise require multiple separate systems into a single versatile component.
3Reliability
If automated frequency extraction is implemented, then data entry errors are reduced, but the complexity of the system increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system is divided into distinct functional modules: data bus monitoring module, frequency extraction module, memory storage module, display module, and frequency transfer module. This segmentation allows each component to perform a specific function, making the overall automated system more manageable and easier to integrate into existing aircraft architectures.
Data Source
AI summary
A line-replaceable unit (LRU) for an aircraft includes an interface configured to couple to an aircraft data bus. The LRU further includes one or more processors coupled to the interface. The one or more processors are configured to monitor communications over the aircraft data bus between a pilot interface device and a second LRU. The LRU is distinct from the second LRU and is distinct from the pilot interface device. The one or more processors are further configured to, in response to detecting a particular page being transmitted over the aircraft data bus, extract target data associated with the particular page from the aircraft data bus. The one or more processors are further configured to store the target data at a memory associated with the one or more processors.