Transparent OLED Standby Instrument Panel for Aircraft
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional aircraft electronic displays do not allow for a seamless transition to a single, accessible interface for all flight crew members, and they fail to ensure continuous availability of primary flight information during main power system failures, leading to cluttered and inefficient cockpits.
Innovation Solution
A touch-screen instrument panel system with a transparent OLED display that hides a standby instrument behind it, becoming visible only when power is lost or intentionally selected, allowing for a clean and organized cockpit with all necessary information accessible to the crew.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a single electronic display is used for all flight information, then cockpit organization is improved, but availability of standby instruments during power failure is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The standby instrument is physically nested behind the electronic display panel, allowing it to be hidden during normal operation but automatically revealed when the display loses power. This nesting arrangement resolves the contradiction by providing both a unified cockpit appearance and guaranteed standby availability.
Solution Approach 2:
The transparent OLED display panel acts as an intermediary between the electronic display system and the standby instrument. When powered, it provides the electronic interface; when unpowered, it becomes transparent to reveal the standby instrument, thus mediating between the two conflicting requirements.
2Reliability
If standby instruments are always visible, then reliability is improved, but cockpit clutter increases
Solution Approach 1:
The visibility of the standby instrument is made dynamic rather than static. The instrument automatically transitions between hidden and visible states based on the power status of the electronic display, providing visibility only when needed without contributing to permanent cockpit clutter.
Solution Approach 2:
The standby instrument follows a periodic visibility pattern, being hidden during normal powered operation and automatically revealed during power failure conditions. This periodic appearance ensures reliability without creating continuous visual clutter.
3Adaptability or versatility
If transparent OLED display is used, then seamless transition is achieved, but manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The display panel utilizes the inherent parameter change of OLED technology, where the material's optical properties naturally transition between opaque (when powered) and transparent (when unpowered). This leverages the material's intrinsic characteristics rather than requiring complex mechanical or electronic switching mechanisms.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The system provides a unified, clutter-free cockpit interface that ensures continuous access to primary flight information while maintaining a neat and organized cockpit environment, adhering to safety regulations by making standby instruments visible only when needed.
Implementation Method 1
The display interfaces with vehicle systems through a computing system, and a standby instrument is secured behind it so that it faces the back of the information panel display. If there is power to the display, the standby instrument is at least partially hidden from view, but when power is lost, the standby instrument becomes viewable through the display. In embodiments, the panel is an OLED display.
Data Source
AI summary
A system and method for displaying standby instrument information is disclosed. The touch-screen instrument panel system for a vehicle has a touch-screen information panel display configured to display vehicle operation information received from a computing system and a standby instrument display that is secured to an area located behind the information panel display. The standby instrument display is hidden from view when the information panel display is in a powered state but is in full view when the information panel display is in an unpowered state.