Virtual Window Assembly for Aircraft Panoramic Viewing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Aircraft windows are limited by engineering constraints, restricting passenger views while increasing weight, drag, manufacturing costs, and maintenance efforts, necessitating a solution for enhanced panoramic viewing without physical windows.
Innovation Solution
A virtual window assembly using cameras to capture panoramic image data streams, splitting them into partial streams for display on electronic displays inside the aircraft, creating a realistic panoramic view by stitching neighboring images, potentially eliminating the need for physical windows and reducing associated costs and weight.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If physical windows are implemented in aircraft to provide passenger views, then passenger comfort and viewing capability are improved, but aircraft weight, drag, manufacturing costs, and maintenance efforts increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses cameras to capture external views and displays the captured images on electronic screens inside the aircraft cabin, creating a virtual copy of the external scene. This eliminates the need for physical windows while providing passengers with panoramic viewing capability, thereby reducing aircraft weight without compromising viewing experience
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical physical window structure with an electronic system consisting of cameras, image processing units, and display screens. This substitution eliminates the need for heavy glass windows and their associated mechanical support structures, significantly reducing aircraft weight and maintenance requirements
2Ease of operation
If physical windows are implemented in aircraft to provide passenger views, then passenger comfort and viewing capability are improved, but manufacturing costs and maintenance efforts increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates virtual window views by capturing external scenes with cameras and displaying them on electronic screens, eliminating the need for expensive physical window manufacturing and installation. This digital copying approach significantly reduces manufacturing costs compared to producing and installing actual window assemblies
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the complex mechanical window assembly (including glass panes, frames, seals, and support structures) with an electronic system comprising cameras, processors, and displays. This substitution simplifies manufacturing processes and reduces both direct manufacturing costs and ongoing maintenance expenses
3Ease of operation
If physical windows are implemented in aircraft to provide passenger views, then passenger comfort is improved, but aircraft drag increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the viewing function from the physical window structure itself and relocates it to electronic display surfaces inside the cabin. This allows the aircraft fuselage to maintain its aerodynamic shape without interruptions for window openings, eliminating the drag-increasing effect of physical windows while preserving the viewing capability
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces physical windows with an electronic display system that can be integrated into the fuselage skin without creating aerodynamic disruptions. The cameras and displays are positioned to provide viewing functionality without requiring traditional window openings, thereby eliminating the harmful drag effect
Data Source
AI summary
A virtual window assembly for an airborne vehicle includes at least one camera configured to capture a panoramic and time-resolved image data stream from the view to the outside of the airborne vehicle, an image data processor coupled to the camera and configured to receive the captured image data stream and split the image data stream into a plurality of partial image data streams corresponding to different viewing angles of the panoramic image data stream, and a plurality of electronic displays mounted to an inside of a hull of the airborne vehicle, coupled to the image data processor and configured to receive partial image data streams. Each of the electronic displays is configured to display one of the partial image data streams so that the physical mounting location of the electronic displays in the airborne vehicle corresponds to the associated camera viewing angle of the displayed partial image data stream.