Abstract:
An avionics messaging system comprises a memory configured to store a plurality of pre-defined avionics message elements; a display unit configured to display data; a user input device configured to receive input from a user; and a processing unit configured to output a user-customizable list of pre-defined avionics message elements to the display unit, the user-customizable list comprising at least a subset of the plurality of pre-defined avionics message elements; wherein the processing unit is further configured to update the user-customizable list based on input received from the user input device; wherein the processing unit is further configured to provide a message composition screen to the display unit based on user input received from the user input device; and wherein the message composition screen corresponds to a pre-defined avionics message element selected from the user-customizable list of pre-defined avionics message elements.

Description:
U.S. GOVERNMENT LICENSE RIGHTS 
     This invention was made with Government support under Government Contract No. DTFAWA-10-A-80003 awarded by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA AWA). The Government has certain rights in the invention. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND 
     In flying an aircraft, pilots are often required to compose and send messages either to other systems on the aircraft or to systems on the ground. For example, pilots and air traffic controllers typically communicate using a communication system in which they compose messages consisting of pre-defined phrases or message elements. One typical human machine interface which is used to communicate these messages is the Multifunction Control and Display Unit (MCDU). 
     SUMMARY 
     In one embodiment an avionics messaging system is provided. The avionics messaging system comprises a memory configured to store a plurality of pre-defined avionics message elements; a display unit configured to display data; a user input device configured to receive input from a user; and a processing unit configured to output a user-customizable list of pre-defined avionics message elements to the display unit, the user-customizable list comprising at least a subset of the plurality of pre-defined avionics message elements; wherein the processing unit is further configured to update the user-customizable list based on input received from the user input device; wherein the processing unit is further configured to provide a message composition screen to the display unit based on user input received from the user input device; and wherein the message composition screen corresponds to a pre-defined avionics message element selected from the user-customizable list of pre-defined avionics message elements. 
    
    
     
       DRAWINGS 
       Understanding that the drawings depict only exemplary embodiments and are not therefore to be considered limiting in scope, the exemplary embodiments will be described with additional specificity and detail through the use of the accompanying drawings, in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a block diagram of one embodiment of an avionics messaging system. 
         FIGS. 2A-2D  are block diagrams of one embodiment of a human machine interface. 
         FIG. 3  is a flow chart of one embodiment of a method of communicating a pre-defined avionics message element. 
     
    
    
     In accordance with common practice, the various described features are not drawn to scale but are drawn to emphasize specific features relevant to the exemplary embodiments. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     In the following detailed description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings that form a part hereof, and in which is shown by way of illustration specific illustrative embodiments. However, it is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and that logical, mechanical, and electrical changes may be made. Furthermore, the method presented in the drawing figures and the specification is not to be construed as limiting the order in which the individual acts may be performed. The following detailed description is, therefore, not to be taken in a limiting sense. 
     The embodiments described herein reduce the burden placed on pilots to compose avionics messages. In particular, the embodiments described herein enable quick navigation to the desired message composition screens which reduces the amount of time required to navigate through the hierarchal menu structure of conventional avionics messaging systems. 
       FIG. 1  is a block diagram of one embodiment of an avionics messaging system  100 . Avionics messaging system  100  includes a processing unit  102 , a memory  104 , a user input device  106 , and a display  108 . It is to be understood that each of the elements of system  100  can be implemented in separate devices. For example, in some embodiments, the processing unit  102  and memory  104  are implemented in a Communication Management Unit (CMU) or Flight Management Computer (FMC) whereas the display  108  and user input device  106  are implemented in a Human-Machine Interface (HMI) such as a Multifunction Control and Display Unit (MCDU) or Multi-input Interactive Display Unit (MIDU) coupled to the CMU or FMC. Additionally, as used herein, an avionics message is defined as a message that is communicated from a device onboard an aircraft to either another device onboard the aircraft or to a device located off of the aircraft. For example, in some embodiments, system  100  is used for transmission of Controller Pilot Data Link Communications (CPDLC) messages to exchange communication between an Air Traffic Control (ATC) and a pilot. The terms “Avionics message”, “pre-defined avionics message element”, and “pre-defined message element” are used interchangeably herein. 
     The processing unit  102  includes or functions with software programs, firmware or other computer readable instructions for carrying out various methods, process tasks, calculations, and control functions, used in providing avionics message screens to a user and transmitting the user selected messages as described herein. 
     These instructions are typically stored on any appropriate computer readable medium used for storage of computer readable instructions or data structures. The computer readable medium can be implemented as any available media that can be accessed by a general purpose or special purpose computer or processor, or any programmable logic device. Suitable processor-readable media may include storage or memory media such as magnetic or optical media. For example, storage or memory media may include conventional hard disks, Compact Disk-Read Only Memory (CD-ROM), volatile or non-volatile media such as Random Access Memory (RAM) (including, but not limited to, Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory (SDRAM), Double Data Rate (DDR) RAM, RAMBUS Dynamic RAM (RDRAM), Static RAM (SRAM), etc.), Read Only Memory (ROM), Electrically Erasable Programmable ROM (EEPROM), and flash memory, etc. Suitable processor-readable media may also include transmission media such as electrical, electromagnetic, or digital signals, conveyed via a communication medium such as a network and/or a wireless link. For example, in the embodiment shown in  FIG. 1 , message navigation instructions  112  are stored on memory  104  and executed by the processing unit  102 . 
     Also stored on memory  104  is a plurality of pre-defined avionics message elements  110 . Thus, the avionics system  100  is a data dictionary based messaging system. The pre-defined avionics message elements  110  can be determined by a standards organization or a regulatory agency. For example, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has defined over 150 CPDLC message elements for use on aircraft flying within the United States of America. The FAA will also likely add additional pre-defined message elements in the future. Similarly, Eurocontrol, the European Organization for the Safety of Air Navigation, has defined a plurality of pre-defined CPDLC message elements for the Link2000+ program used in Europe and will continue to add message elements in the future. Either or both of these exemplary message elements can be stored as pre-defined message elements  110  on memory  104 . In addition, other pre-defined message elements can be stored on memory  110  in some embodiments. It should also be noted that, although message navigation instructions  112  and pre-defined avionics message elements  110  are depicted in  FIG. 1  as being stored on the same memory  104 , each can be stored on a separate memory device in other embodiments. 
     To aid a pilot in composing a message comprised of one or more of the pre-defined message elements  110 , the processing unit  102  instructs the display  108  to display an option for selecting a message navigation screen. For example, the exemplary MCDU  200  of  FIG. 2A  displays an option entitled “DLK MESSAGE.” The exemplary MCDU  200  includes pre-defined function buttons  205 - 1  . . .  205 -M, action buttons  201 - 1  . . .  201 -N, and alpha-numeric keypad  203 . In addition, the MCDU  200  includes display  208 . In some embodiments, the display  208  uses touch-screen technology for user input, as known to one of skill in the art. In some such embodiments, the pre-defined buttons  205 - 1  . . .  205 -M, action buttons  201 - 1  . . .  201 -N, and/or alpha-numeric keypad  203  are implemented as buttons on the touch-screen technology rather than as buttons separate from the display  208 . 
     The pre-defined function buttons  205 - 1  . . .  205 -M are buttons which are permanently associated with a particular functionality, such as moving to the next or previous page, displaying a menu, etc. Action buttons  201 - 1  . . .  201 -N are buttons which are associated with different functions depending on the message or information displayed on the display  208 . For example, in the embodiment shown in  FIG. 2A , the display  208  presents the text “DLK MESSAGE” next to action button  201 - 2 . Upon pressing the action button  201 - 2 , the message navigation screen is displayed. Action button  201 - 2  is, thus, temporarily associated with the function of selecting the message navigation screen. After selection of the message navigation screen, the action button  201 - 2  may be associated with a different function for a different screen. 
     An exemplary message navigation screen is shown in  FIG. 2B . The message navigation screen displays a user-customizable list of pre-defined avionics message elements. As used herein, the term “user-customizable list” is defined to mean a list that is updated or changed at run-time during operation of the system based on user input received via the user input device  106 . For example, as described in more detail below, the user-customizable list can be updated by user input to change the sort order of the list and by user input to change the contents of the list. This also includes changing the content of a list of most recently used message elements based on user input that selected the pre-defined message elements. 
     In the embodiment shown in  FIG. 2A , when the message navigation screen is loaded, a list of all of the available pre-defined message elements  110  is displayed. If all of the pre-defined message elements do not fit on the display  208 , pre-defined function buttons  205  for navigating through multiple pages of pre-defined message elements can be used, such as “PREV” and “NEXT” shown in  FIGS. 2A-2D . Furthermore, in this exemplary embodiment, the pre-defined message elements  110  are sorted in alphabetical order. However, in other embodiments, the pre-defined message elements  110  are sorted based on other criteria, such as, but not limited to, frequency of use and how recently each pre-defined message element has been used. For example, the most recent message elements are shown first in some embodiments. 
     Additionally, in other embodiments, a subset of the total number of pre-defined message elements is displayed on display  208  when the message navigation screen is loaded. For example, in some embodiments, only the most recently used messages are displayed. In other embodiments, the subset of pre-defined message elements is determined based on the flight phase of the aircraft. For example, in some such embodiments, a first subset of pre-defined messages is displayed when the aircraft is on the ground and a second subset of pre-defined messages is displayed when the aircraft is in the air. In other embodiments, the sub-set of pre-defined message elements is determined based on the location of the aircraft. For example, in some embodiments, only pre-defined message elements defined by the FAA are displayed when the aircraft is flying within or near the United States. When the aircraft is flying within or near Europe, in such embodiments, only pre-defined message elements defined by Eurocontrol are displayed. 
     Furthermore, combinations of the above criteria are also used in some implementations. For example, the first subset of pre-defined message when the aircraft is on the ground can be sorted by frequency of use. Similarly, the second subset of pre-defined messages can be sorted by frequency of use. Additionally, in some embodiments, options are displayed on display  208  to enable the pilot to change the sort criteria used to sort the displayed pre-defined message elements. For example, an action button  201  can be associated with frequency of use, whereas another action button  201  can be associated with displaying the list in reverse alphabetical order. 
     Notably, action button  201 - 2 , in this exemplary embodiment, is associated with a search function on the message navigation screen. In particular, the pilot is able to enter a search term to further refine the list of pre-defined message elements displayed on display  208 . In some implementations, a full word is entered as a search term. For example, if the word “altitude” is entered, only the pre-defined message elements containing the word “altitude” are displayed after pressing the action button  201 - 2 . The alpha-numeric key pad  203  can be used to enter the search term. In other implementations, a single character, partial words, full/complete words, or two or more initials can be entered as search terms. For example, if the single character “A” is entered, only pre-defined message elements beginning with the letter “A” are displayed. Similarly, if a partial word, such as “REQ” is input as the search term, only the pre-defined message elements beginning with “REQ” are displayed. 
     Alternatively, two or more initials are entered as a search term. The initials are separated by a special character or delimiter. For example, in some embodiments, a space is the delimiter between the initials. In other implementations, other special characters such as an asterisk “*” or forward slash “/” are used as the delimiter. The processing unit  102  searches for pre-defined message elements that have two or more words with the first letter of each of the two or more words matching a respective one of the two or more characters in the search term. In other words, the processing unit  102  searches for pre-defined message elements that have a first word that starts with the first initial and a second word that starts with the second initial and so forth. For example, if the search term “R V” is entered, all of the pre-defined message elements which have a first word beginning with “R” and a second word beginning with “V” are displayed. However, if the search term “R V C” is entered, only the pre-defined message elements having a first word that begins with “R”, a second word that begins with “V”, and a third word beginning with “C” are displayed. 
     As described above, after entering the search term using the alpha-numeric keypad  203 , a pilot presses the action button  201  associated with the search. In the example shown in  FIG. 2B  action button  201 - 2  is associated with the search. Thus, after pressing the action button  201 - 2 , the processing unit  102  performs the search of pre-defined message elements based on the input search term. The processing unit  102  then provides the results to the display  208  for display to the user. Alternatively, in other implementations, the message navigation instructions are configured to cause the processing unit  102  to update the search results after each character of the search term is input. In other words, after the first character is input, the list of pre-defined elements is updated automatically without requiring the pilot to press the action button  201 - 2 . As additional characters are input, the list is dynamically updated. For example, after entering the letter “A” the list is updated to display all pre-defined message elements beginning with the letter “A”. Then after entering the letter “T”, the list is updated to display all pre-defined message elements beginning with “AT”. 
     From the message navigation screen, a pilot can select from the list of pre-defined message elements to compose a message by pressing the action button  201  associated with the selected pre-defined message element. After pressing the associated action button  201 , the processing unit  102  causes the message composition screen corresponding to the selected message element to be displayed. As used herein, a message composition screen is defined as a screen from which the user can enter addition information related to the message and/or cause the message comprising the selected pre-defined message element to be sent. Exemplary message composition screens are shown in  FIGS. 2C and 2D . In particular,  FIG. 2C  depicts an exemplary message composition screen which does not require additional pilot input. Thus, an action button  201  (action button  201 - 2  in this example) is associated with the command to send the pre-defined message element. The exemplary message composition screen depicted in  FIG. 2D  requests input from the pilot prior to sending the message. For example, in the example in  FIG. 2D , the pilot enters the altitude and then selects the action button  201  associated with the “VERIFY” command. The pilot is then able to send the message after verifying the user input data. 
     Thus, the system  100  avoids the multiple levels of navigation through a hierarchal menu structure of typical avionics messaging systems. Thus, the embodiments described herein reduce the burden on a pilot to compose and send messages. Additionally, the time required to compose a message is also reduced as compared to the time required to navigate through a hierarchal menu structure. 
     It is to be understood that the MCDU  200  depicted in  FIGS. 2A-2D  is provided by way of example and not by way of limitation. In particular, in other embodiments, other human-machine interface devices are used. In addition, the specific layout of the action buttons  201 - 1  . . .  201 -N, the pre-defined function buttons  205 - 1  . . .  205 -M, and the alpha-numeric keypad  203  can be implemented in various configurations and the layout is not limited to the layout depicted in the exemplary embodiment shown in  FIGS. 2A-2D . Additionally, the exemplary pre-defined message elements discussed above and shown in  FIGS. 2A-2D  are provided by way of example. It is to be understood that system  100  is not limited to CPDLC messages and that other CPDLC pre-defined message elements are included in various embodiments. Furthermore, the labels displayed on the display of MCDU  200  are also provided by way of example. For example, the titles “DLK MESSAGE”, “DLK ATC MENU”, etc. can be replaced with other labels in other embodiments. 
       FIG. 3  is a flow chart depicting an exemplary method  300  of communicating a pre-defined avionics message element. Method  300  can be implemented with an avionics messaging system such as avionics messaging system  100  described above. At block  302 , a user-customizable list of pre-defined avionics message elements is displayed. For example, the user-customizable list can be displayed in response to user-input selecting display of the user-customizable list. At  304 , the user-customizable list is updated based on user input. For example, user input can be used to update the order in which the pre-defined avionics message elements are sorted in the user-customizable list. Additionally, user input can be used to update the contents of the user-customizable list as described above. 
     At block  306 , a message composition screen is displayed in response to user input. The displayed message composition screen corresponds to a pre-defined message element selected from the user-customizable list. The message composition screen is a screen used to complete and or send the message comprised of the corresponding pre-defined message element, as described above. Thus, the embodiments described herein avoid the multiple levels of hierarchal menu structure by going directly from the user-customizable list to the message composition screen. At block  308 , the message is transmitted in response to user input. 
     Although specific embodiments have been illustrated and described herein, it will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that any arrangement, which is calculated to achieve the same purpose, may be substituted for the specific embodiments shown. Therefore, it is manifestly intended that this invention be limited only by the claims and the equivalents thereof.