Abstract:
Provided are methods, systems and devices for providing a synthetic window system for vehicles with limited visibility for passengers. Various embodiments include demountably affixing video display devices within one or more interior bulkheads such that all marginal edge portions of a viewing screen of the video display device are flushly surrounded by the first interior bulkhead. A video capture device provides a video signal to the video display device, the video capture device capturing a view from a vantage point located outside of the vehicle and in proximity to the video display device for viewing on the viewing screen of the video display device via the video signal.

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
       [0001]    The subject matter described herein relates to the use of a synthetic window within a vehicle with limited or no passenger visibility outside the vehicle. The synthetic window may be beneficial for the relief of motion sickness, claustrophobia and for general aesthetic enjoyment. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    The B-2 bomber is a blended wing aircraft, also known as a flying wing or a delta wing. Some aircraft manufacturers are considering the introduction of high capacity passenger aircraft based on the flying wing design. The flying wing design has a lower take off weight than conventional wide body aircraft, with a concomitantly lower fuel burn rate. In short, the flying wing design may be a more efficient vehicle for carrying a large number of passengers over long distances. Indeed, a new airframe based on the flying wing design may carry 800 passengers over a 7,100 nautical mile range. 
         [0003]    In a passenger airframe based on the flying wing design, all of the passengers may be seated inside the wing. Moreover, the surface of the wing may be used as flight control and lift surfaces. As a result, there may be no, or relatively few, passenger windows. If there are any passenger windows at all, those passengers seated well within the wing fuselage may still not have a view through a window. In most conventional airliners, even the very large Airbus A380F, passengers are only a few feet from a window allowing them to view the sky and the horizon. As such, passengers can readily obtain a sky up, ground down orientation to calm potential disturbances in their inner ears that may result from aircraft bank and roll maneuvers. Contrarily, visually uncorrelated maneuvers may increase the feeling of nausea and/or claustrophobia thus potentially making delta wing travel less attractive. 
         [0004]    Hence, for vehicles with limited passenger visibility, there is need for a means to provide passengers with an external view from the vehicle for a variety of psychological, physiological and/or ergonomic reasons. The subject matter presented herein addresses at least these needs. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0005]    It should be appreciated that this Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description. This Summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter. 
         [0006]    Provided are exemplary embodiments which include a synthetic window system that comprises a first interior bulkhead integral to a vehicle where a first video display device is demountably affixed within a cavity of the first interior bulkhead such that all marginal edge portions of a viewing screen of the first video device are flushly surrounded by the first interior bulkhead, the viewing screen of the first video display device being viewable by the user. The embodiment also includes a first video capture device providing a first video signal to the first video display device where the first video capture device capturing a view from a first vantage point located outside of the vehicle and in proximity to the first video display device for viewing on the viewing screen of the first video display device via the first video signal. 
         [0007]    Exemplary embodiments also include a viewing apparatus that comprises a means for detecting a first view from a first vantage point of a vehicle that is external to the skin of the vehicle and a means for rendering the first view to a user, the means for rendering the first view being embedded within a first interior bulkhead of the vehicle, wherein the first vantage point is located behind the means for rendering the first view. 
         [0008]    Other apparatuses, methods, and/or systems according to embodiments will be or become apparent to one with skill in the art upon review of the following drawings and Detailed Description. It is intended that all such additional apparatus, systems and/or methods be included within this description, be within the scope of the present invention, and be protected by the accompanying claims. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0009]      FIG. 1  is a rendition of an exemplary delta wing airframe. 
           [0010]      FIG. 2   a  is an overhead cutaway view of the upper deck of an exemplary passenger version of delta wing airframe. 
           [0011]      FIGS. 2   b  and  2   c  are a longitudinal cross sectional view and a cross sectional view looking aft of an exemplary passenger version of delta wing airframe. 
           [0012]      FIG. 3  are a frontal and a side view of a synthetic window in place according to embodiments described herein. 
           [0013]      FIG. 4  is a simplified synthetic window arrangement according to embodiments described herein. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0014]    The following disclosure is directed to devices and systems that provide passengers in a vehicle that has limited or no viewing opportunity with simulated views exterior to the vehicle. Such devices may be described as synthetic windows. 
         [0015]    The subject matter now will be described more fully below with reference to the attached drawings which are illustrative of various embodiments disclosed herein. Like numbers refer to like objects throughout the following disclosure. The attached drawings have been simplified to clarify the understanding of the systems, devices and methods disclosed. The subject matter may be embodied in a variety of forms. The exemplary configurations and descriptions, infra, are provided to more fully convey the subject matter disclosed herein. 
         [0016]    The subject matter herein will be disclosed below in the context of a large passenger aircraft utilizing a delta wing architecture that is currently embodied by the B-2 Bomber. (See,  FIG. 1 ). However, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that the subject matter is similarly applicable to many vehicle types. Non-limiting examples of other vehicle types in which the subject matter herein below may be applied includes aircraft, spacecraft, submarines and ships. Other possible applications may include undersea and extraterrestrial habitats utilizing pressure bulkheads. Such habitats are considered to be vehicles for purposes of the disclosure herein. 
         [0017]      FIGS. 2   a  and  2   b  depict an exemplary passenger configuration for an aircraft  100  using a flying wing architecture. The depicted configuration includes two passenger levels with  26  columns of passenger seats  103  in each level. Because the fuselage  101  is the aerodynamic wing, the fuselage surface area available for windows is very small or non-existent. In such an enclosed space where both aerial maneuvers and turbulence is likely, high incidences of claustrophobia and motion sickness may occur among the passengers and crew. 
         [0018]    However, in these circumstances synthetic windows may prove beneficial to the passengers and crew. Synthetic windows may be provided by creating a fuselage within the fuselage  101  using internal bulkheads  104 , and inserting the synthetic windows (not shown in  FIGS. 2   a  and  2   b ) within the bulkheads  104 . The interior bulkheads  104  may be structural bulkheads or they may false bulkheads installed to contain a plurality of synthetic windows. 
         [0019]    Each of the number, length and type of bulkheads  104  to be installed is a design choice. However, factors to be considered may include the number of seats in a row, the size of the synthetic windows to be installed and the number to be installed. As a non-limiting example, it may be desirable to simulate the fuselage of a smaller, conventional passenger aircraft. In  FIG. 2   b,  the aircraft  100  includes six interior bulkheads  104 , creating five faux fuselages  106 . Each faux fuselage  106  contains 4, 5 or 6 seats per row which is a traditional number of seats per row and results in a size that approximates a conventional passenger jet. In the exemplary configuration illustrated in  FIG. 2   a/   2   b,  the aircraft designer one synthetic window may be installed at one or both ends of each row in each faux fuselage. (See also,  FIG. 4 ). However, one of ordinary skill in the art would recognize that any number, size, shape, type, location and configuration of synthetic windows may be used. 
         [0020]    In another exemplary embodiment, in a spacecraft context, a synthetic window may be placed in all or part of an interior or an exterior bulkhead. In the weightlessness of space, one may become disoriented, claustrophobic or suffer from motion sickness. Particularly with passenger spacecraft, it is desirable to provide passengers with a visual orientation reference such as the earth, the moon or the stars. As such, a synthetic window as further disclosed herein may provide an efficient means to provide a number of passengers with synthetic windows without penetrating the pressure bulkhead  102  with actual windows. It should be noted that the terms “exterior bulkhead”, “skin” and “pressure bulkhead” may be synonymous when used in the context of some types of vehicles such as submarines, spacecraft and aircraft. Synthetic windows  50  may be provided individually to small groups of passengers that simulates a traditional aircraft. Alternatively, an entire bulkhead ( 102 , 104 ), or portion thereof, may be presented as a synthetic window as may be desirable. It should be kept in mind that a bulked in a space context may be a wall, an over head or a floor in a terrestrial context. 
         [0021]      FIG. 3  illustrates a non-limiting exemplary embodiment wherein a synthetic window of an aircraft is located next to a seat (S). The skilled artisan, foe psychological reasons, may choose to exactly recreate the size and shape of a conventional window using a video display device  50 . Commonly, an aircraft window is double paned with an external pane set within the outer skin of the aircraft  102  and an internal pane (not shown) that is proximate to the passenger (i.e. the user). This same arrangement may be replicated by insetting the video display device  50  into an interior bulkhead  104 , thereby replicating the typical exterior window pane, which is then protected by an inside window pane (not shown). To further the replication, a conventional window shade  51  may be included. 
         [0022]    Because a high degree of realism may be desired to satisfy the psychological and/or physical needs of passengers, the bulkhead may need to flushly surround the marginal edges of the viewing screen of the visual display device  50  to more completely mask its true nature and more easily perfect the illusion of a window. In some embodiments, the image to be displayed on the video display device  50  may be a real time view that a passenger sitting in the seat (S) may otherwise see through an actual window penetrating the aircraft&#39;s skin or pressure bulkhead  102 . It should be noted that the terms “exterior bulkhead”, “skin” and “pressure bulkhead” may be synonymous when used in the context of some types of vehicles such as submarines, spacecraft and aircraft. 
         [0023]    The view to be displayed may be captured by a video capture device  111  mounted externally to the pressure bulkhead  102  of the aircraft using methods known in the art. The captured image may be fed directly into the video display device  50  comprising the synthetic window through cable  112 . One of ordinary skill in the art would also recognize other alternative views may be utilized. Such alternatives may include real time views from other vantage points within or exterior to the vehicle. In other embodiments, the view may be pre-recorded and when combined with other digital video technology may be designed to move the image in simulation of the aircraft&#39;s maneuvers. For example, inertial detectors (not shown) (e.g. accelerometers, gyroscopes, etc) may detect a banking turn. In response to the detected attitude change, a video processor  105  (see,  FIG. 4 ) may query a data file that, when transmitted to the synthetic window  50 , may cause the displayed image to change to include more sky, more terrain or change the relative position of the sun, moon or stars in the simulated view. 
         [0024]    The video capture device  111  may be any video camera known in the art suitable for use in an environment normally found external to the vehicle upon which it is installed. Such exemplary environments may include underwater environments, vacuum environments and environments with high wind speeds. The video capture device  111  may be an analog video camera or a digital video camera. The video capture device  111  may be located anywhere on the aircraft including directly behind the video display device  50  and outside the skin  102  of the aircraft. The video capture device  111  may use any type of lens as may be needed or desired to reproduce the desired view or achieve the desired quality of the view. If the desired views are pre-recorded, a video capture device  111  is not necessary. Further, the video capture device  111  may be mounted such that it may pan or move in order to produce the view desired, using technology that is well known in the art. 
         [0025]    Similarly, the video display device  50  may be any type of suitable video display. Non-limiting examples of suitable video display devices may include a liquid crystal display (LCD), a plasma array screen, a television, a computer monitor or any other video display devices that may be developed in the future and be suitable for the purpose. The video display device  50  may be a flat screen or it may have a contoured form or surface that best reproduces the view or achieves the quality of the view desired. 
         [0026]    For video capture devices  111  and video display devices  50  that are electronically compatible, analog-to-digital conversion or other signal processing may not be needed. In such cases, a direct cable connection  112  between the output of the video capture device  111  and the input of the video display device  50  may be used to transfer a signal of the captured view from the video camera  111  to the video display device  50 . Leading the cable  112  through the pressure bulkhead  102  may be a much simpler task than installing a window in the pressure bulkhead  102 . Alternatively, the connection may be wireless, using such non-limiting exemplary wireless protocols as Wi-fi, Zigbee, Bluetooth or any other suitable standard in existence now or in the future. If signal processing is required, then the video signals from the video capture device  111  may processed and distributed to the video display device  50  through a suitable video processor/router  105  (see,  FIG. 4 ). Alternatively, any needed signal processing may be performed locally within the video display device  50 . 
         [0027]    Processor  105  may also contain computer readable instructions that, when executed, may perform casualty recovery or redundancy actions. Such actions may include automatically switching in a redundant or alternate video capture device  111  for a video capture device  111  that may fail. Processor  105  may include a central processing unit, an embedded processor, a specialized processor (e.g. digital signal processor), or any other electronic element responsible for interpretation and execution of instructions, performance of calculations and/or execution of voice recognition protocols. Processor  105  may communicate with, control and/or work in concert with other functional components, including the video capture device  111 , the video display device  50 , and/or any digital router. Communication between components may be in the form of multiple parallel paths, a single serial path, or any other communication scheme via cable runs or data busses as may be found to be useful. 
         [0028]      FIG. 4  illustrates another exemplary embodiment of the subject matter disclosed herein. The number of interior bulkheads  104 , exterior bulkheads  102 , video display devices  50 , video capture devices  111  and video processor and/or routers  105  depicted are merely exemplary and may vary depending on the size of the vehicle, type of vehicle and design choices made by the aircraft designer. The mix of components disclosed herein has been limited solely for the sake of clarity. Each faux fuselage in this non-limiting example is depicted as being identical merely for simplicity of explanation. 
         [0029]    In this exemplary embodiment, a portion of a simplified aircraft fuselage  100  comprises four video capture devices  111 , two exterior bulkheads  102 , two interior bulkheads  104 ,  12  seats (S) arranged in two rows and six columns making up three faux fuselages ( 106 - 1 ,  106 - 2 ,  106 - 3 ). However, there may be any number of rows, seats and bulkheads in any configuration and not necessarily arranged in rows and columns. 
         [0030]    In this non-limiting example, each row in a faux fuselage  106  happens to have a port synthetic window  50  and a starboard synthetic window using a video display device  50 . To identify the locations of the synthetic windows more clearly, each video display device  50  is further identified by a code which includes a letter S for the starboard side of its faux fuselage  104  or exterior bulkhead  102  or P for the port side of its faux fuselage  104  or exterior bulkhead  102  followed by a number for the row, and followed by a number for a faux fuselage  106 . For example, the identifying code for the most forward synthetic window  50  to the port side of the aircraft would be P 11 . 
         [0031]    Each row of seats (S) across a faux fuselage may include a synthetic window (e.g, P 11  and S 11 ) comprising a properly affixed video display  50  at each end of the row with a passenger access aisle between the seats (S). As such, there are six video display devices ( 50 ) in the first row of fuselage  100  including the six synthetic windows (P 11 -P 13  and S 11 -S 13 ). Each of the port synthetic windows (P 11 -P 13 ) in the first row of fuselage  100  may be connected to receive the video signals transmitted by the port side video capture device P 1  and each of the port synthetic windows (S 11 -S 13 ) in the first row may be connected to receive the video signals transmitted by the port side video capture device S 1 . A similar arrangement may be mimicked for the second row with synthetic windows P 21 -P 23  and S 21 -S 23  displaying the view captured by the video capture devices P 2  and S 2 , respectively. One of ordinary skill in the art would recognize after reading this disclosure that each row of seats may observe views captured by a port and starboard video capture device ( 50 ) affixed to capture the view that normally would have been seen through an actual window in that row, or the closest achievable view to it. However, a particular view display device  50  may display a view from any other video capture device  111  as well. Similarly, all video display devices  50  may display the same view from a single video capture device  111 . 
         [0032]    As discussed above, should the video capture devices  111  be electronically compatible with the video display devices  50  each video capture device (e.g. P 1 ) may be directly coupled to each video display device  50  of its synthetic windows (e.g. P 1 X). However, in alternative arrangements, the output of several video capture devices (e.g. P 1 , P 2 , S 1 , S 2 ) may be received, processed and rerouted to selected video display devices (P 11 -P 13 ; S 11 -S 13 ) using a video processor and/or a digital router  105 . This routing may be accomplished over a wired network or may be accomplished wirelessly. Video processing and digital routing are well known in the art but are beyond the scope of this disclosure. 
         [0033]    Any of the instructions for carrying out the methods described herein may be read and/or executed from a computer readable medium. A computer readable medium may comprise any electronic memory device, memory disk or electronic signal capable of recording and/or conveying the instructions to a computing device. Non-limiting examples of a computer readable medium include volatile memory devices such as random access memory and computer processors and non-volatile memory devices such as optical disks, flash memory, magnetic disks and read only memory. 
         [0034]    The subject matter described above is provided by way of illustration only and should not be construed as limiting. Various modifications and changes may be made to the subject matter described herein without following the example embodiments and applications illustrated and described, and without departing from the true spirit and scope of the present invention, which is set forth in the following claims.