Patent Description:
In one aspect, embodiments of the inventive concepts disclosed herein are directed to a system as defined by claim <NUM>.

In a further aspect, embodiments of the inventive concepts disclosed herein are directed to a method as defined by claim <NUM>.

Broadly, embodiments of the inventive concepts disclosed herein may be directed to a system and a method configured to display an SVS taxi mode exocentric view when an aircraft is performing taxi operations and when the aircraft is on ground and to display an SVS flight mode egocentric view based at least on a user input to switch from the SVS taxi mode exocentric view to the SVS flight mode egocentric view.

Referring now to <FIG>, an exemplary embodiment of an SVS flight mode egocentric view <NUM> according to the inventive concepts disclosed herein is depicted. The SVS flight mode egocentric view <NUM> may be used as a background for a primary flight display (PFD) (e.g., <NUM> or <NUM>) providing an egocentric view of the area in front of the aircraft (e.g., <NUM>). The SVS flight mode egocentric view <NUM> may provide a relatively narrow (e.g., as compared to an SVS taxi mode exocentric view <NUM>) field of view, which may be sufficient for take-off, flight, and landing operations. The SVS flight mode egocentric view <NUM> may be used during an SVS flight mode. The SVS flight mode egocentric view <NUM> may include primary flight display symbology overlaid on the SVS flight mode egocentric view <NUM>.

Referring now to <FIG>, an exemplary embodiment of an SVS taxi mode exocentric view <NUM> according to the inventive concepts disclosed herein is depicted. The SVS taxi mode exocentric view <NUM> may provide a wider field of view than the SVS flight mode egocentric view <NUM> for use during taxi operations. The SVS taxi mode exocentric view <NUM> may be used during an SVS taxi mode. The SVS taxi mode exocentric view <NUM> may improve support for taxi operations. The SVS taxi mode exocentric view <NUM> may provide an exocentric view of an area surrounding the aircraft (e.g., <NUM>). The eye-point of the synthetic imagery for the SVS taxi mode exocentric view <NUM> may be above and behind the aircraft. The SVS taxi mode exocentric view <NUM> may expand the field of view of the synthetic scenery. The location of the aircraft (e.g., <NUM>) within this scene may be represented by an aircraft outline projected onto the ground in the synthetic scene with the aircraft within the outline shown as transparent or translucent.

The SVS taxi mode exocentric view <NUM> may declutter much of the PFD symbology to emphasize the synthetic view of the world around the aircraft (e.g., <NUM>) such that the SVS taxi mode exocentric view <NUM> may have less of the PFD symbology overlaid on the SVS taxi mode exocentric view <NUM> than the SVS flight mode egocentric view <NUM>. Because of the decluttering of PFD symbology, the SVS taxi mode exocentric view <NUM> should only be used for taxi operations. The PFD should return to the SVS flight mode egocentric view <NUM> before or as the aircraft (e.g., <NUM>) begins a take-off run. The PFD may have logic to determine when automatic transitions between Flight Mode and Taxi Mode may occur. This ensures the PFD is returned to a proper configuration prior to take-off.

A PFD format control performed by at least one processor (e.g., at least one processor <NUM> and/or at least one processor <NUM>) onboard the aircraft may provide the means to enable or disable SVS taxi mode operations (e.g., via a configuration selection of "Auto" or "Off"). The Auto selection may allow the PFD logic to determine when the PFD may show the SVS flight mode egocentric view <NUM> or the SVS taxi mode exocentric view <NUM>. The Off selection may ensure that the SVS flight mode egocentric view <NUM> is always presented during taxi operations (within the logic that determines when SVS is operational or in a fault state). The flight crew may manually configure the PFD to SVS Taxi Mode Auto/Off via a menu selection on the PFD, via independent hardware or software control panels, or other user interfaces (e.g., an eye tracking user interface or a voice recognition system). The user interface for configuring SVS Taxi Mode Auto/Off may be designed to be selected once per flight during a normal start up routine.

In some embodiments, the crew may select SVS Taxi Mode to Auto during a pre-flight checklist. From this point forward, the system may decide when to present the SVS Taxi Mode or the SVS Flight Mode. The SVS may be in Taxi Mode from the time the aircraft leaves the ramp or gate until beginning a take-off run. However, typically, there are at least two points in the taxi operation when the crew should verify the integrity of PFD symbology that may be decluttered during SVS Taxi Mode operations. Thus, it would be desired for the crew to have a means to force the PFD into SVS Flight Mode so that the crew can complete the operational checks of the PFD and then return to SVS Taxi Mode. Typically, these operational checks only take a few seconds and occur during periods of high crew workload. Using the normal means of changing the PFD configuration between SVS Taxi Mode Auto/Off may be undesirable in these conditions.

Some embodiments include a switch (e.g., a momentary switch <NUM>) that changes (e.g., momentarily changes for a duration of a user input, such as a press and hold event) the PFD image from the SVS taxi mode exocentric view <NUM> to the SVS flight mode egocentric view <NUM> when the switch is engaged and then returns the PFD image to the SVS taxi mode exocentric view <NUM> when the switch is disengaged (e.g., released). In some embodiments, this switch does not alter the Auto configuration of the PFD format selections. The PFD can remain in the SVS Taxi Mode Auto configuration.

Referring now to <FIG>, an exemplary embodiment of a system according to the inventive concepts disclosed herein is depicted. In some embodiments, the system may include the aircraft <NUM>, which may include at least one user <NUM>, at least one user interface <NUM>, at least one display unit computing device <NUM>, sensors <NUM>, at least one computing device <NUM>, and/or at least one switch (e.g., momentary switch <NUM>), some or all of which may be communicatively coupled at any given time. In some embodiments, the at least one display unit computing device <NUM> and/or the at least one computing device <NUM> may be implemented as a single computing device or any number of computing devices configured to perform any or all of the operations disclosed throughout.

The user <NUM> may be a pilot or crew member. The user <NUM> may be configured to interface with the system via the at least one user interface <NUM> and/or the switch (e.g., the momentary switch <NUM>), for example, to select SVS taxi mode to be Auto or Off and/or to switch the PFD image from the SVS taxi mode exocentric view <NUM> to the SVS flight mode egocentric view <NUM>. The at least one user interface <NUM> may be implemented as any suitable user interface, such as a touchscreen (e.g., of the display unit computing device <NUM> and/or another display unit), a multipurpose control panel, a cursor control panel, a keyboard, a mouse, a trackpad, a button, a switch, an eye tracking system, and/or a voice recognition system. In some embodiments, the at least one user interface <NUM> may include the switch (e.g., the momentary switch <NUM>). The user interface <NUM> may be configured to receive a user selection and to output the user selection to a computing device (e.g., the display unit computing device <NUM>). For example, a pilot of the aircraft <NUM> may be able to make an auto or off selection for a SVS taxi mode, wherein the auto selection of the SVS taxi mode enables at least one processor to automatically transition between the SVS taxi mode exocentric view <NUM> and the SVS flight mode egocentric view <NUM>, wherein the off selection of the SVS taxi mode enables the at least one processor to only output the SVS flight mode egocentric view <NUM>.

The display unit computing device <NUM> may be implemented as any suitable computing device, such as a PFD computing device. As shown in <FIG>, the display unit computing device <NUM> may include at least one display <NUM>, at least one processor <NUM>, at least one memory <NUM>, and/or storage <NUM>, some or all of which may be communicatively coupled at any given time. For example, the at least one processor <NUM> may include at least one central processing unit (CPU), at least one graphics processing unit (GPU), at least one field-programmable gate array (FPGA), at least one application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), at least one digital signal processor, at least one virtual machine (VM) running on at least one processor, and/or the like configured to perform (e.g., collectively perform) any of the operations disclosed throughout. For example, the at least one processor <NUM> may include a CPU and a GPU configured to perform (e.g., collectively perform) any of the operations disclosed throughout. The processor <NUM> may be configured to run various software applications (e.g., a PFD application <NUM>) or computer code stored (e.g., maintained) in a non-transitory computer-readable medium (e.g., memory <NUM> and/or storage <NUM>) and configured to execute various instructions or operations. The processor <NUM> may be configured to perform any or all of the operations disclosed throughout. For example, the processor <NUM> may be configured to: output, to the at least one display <NUM>, an SVS taxi mode exocentric view <NUM> of an aircraft <NUM> when the aircraft <NUM> is performing taxi operations and when the aircraft <NUM> is on ground; receive a user input (e.g., from the switch (e.g., the momentary switch <NUM>)) to switch the output of the SVS taxi mode exocentric view <NUM> to an SVS flight mode egocentric view <NUM> from the aircraft <NUM>; switch the output of the SVS taxi mode exocentric view <NUM> to output, to the at least one display <NUM>, the SVS flight mode egocentric view <NUM> when the aircraft <NUM> is performing taxi operations and when the aircraft <NUM> is on ground based at least on the user input (e.g., a press and hold event) to switch from the SVS taxi mode exocentric view <NUM> to the SVS flight mode egocentric view <NUM>; and/or switch the output of the SVS flight mode egocentric view back to the SVS taxi mode exocentric view once the duration of the user input is complete. The display <NUM> may be configured to: display the SVS taxi mode exocentric view <NUM> when the aircraft is performing taxi operations and when the aircraft is on ground; and/or display the SVS flight mode egocentric view <NUM> based at least on the user input (e.g., via the switch (e.g., the momentary switch <NUM>)) to switch from the SVS taxi mode exocentric view <NUM> to the SVS flight mode egocentric view <NUM>, such as for a duration of the user input.

The sensors <NUM> may be any suitable sensors, such as at least one global positioning system (GPS) sensor, at least one inertial reference system (IRS) sensor, and/or any other sensors commonly installed in aircraft. The sensors <NUM> may be configured to output sensor data (e.g., position, velocity, and/or attitude) to some or all of the computing devices (e.g., <NUM> and/or <NUM>).

The at least one computing device <NUM> may be implemented as any suitable computing device, such as an SVS computing device. As shown in <FIG>, the computing device <NUM> may include at least one processor <NUM>, at least one memory <NUM>, and/or storage <NUM>, some or all of which may be communicatively coupled at any given time. For example, the at least one processor <NUM> may include at least one central processing unit (CPU), at least one graphics processing unit (GPU), at least one field-programmable gate array (FPGA), at least one application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), at least one digital signal processor, at least one virtual machine (VM) running on at least one processor, and/or the like configured to perform (e.g., collectively perform) any of the operations disclosed throughout. For example, the at least one processor <NUM> may include a CPU and a GPU configured to perform (e.g., collectively perform) any of the operations disclosed throughout. The processor <NUM> may be configured to run various software applications (e.g., an SVS application) or computer code stored (e.g., maintained) in a non-transitory computer-readable medium (e.g., memory <NUM> and/or storage <NUM>) and configured to execute various instructions or operations. The processor <NUM> of the computing device <NUM> may be configured to perform any or all of the operations disclosed throughout. For example, the processor <NUM> of the computing device <NUM> may be configured to: output, to the at least one display <NUM>, an SVS taxi mode exocentric view <NUM> of an aircraft <NUM> when the aircraft <NUM> is performing taxi operations and when the aircraft <NUM> is on ground; switch the output of the SVS taxi mode exocentric view <NUM> to output, to the at least one display <NUM>, the SVS flight mode egocentric view <NUM> when the aircraft <NUM> is performing taxi operations and when the aircraft <NUM> is on ground based at least on the user input to switch from the SVS taxi mode exocentric view <NUM> to the SVS flight mode egocentric view <NUM>; and/or switch the output of the SVS flight mode egocentric view <NUM> back to the SVS taxi mode exocentric view <NUM> once the duration of the user input is complete.

In some embodiments, the switch (e.g., the momentary switch <NUM>) may be a physical device in the cockpit, such as a spring-operated button or toggle that engages when pushed or pressed and disengages when released. In some embodiments, the momentary switch <NUM> may be a dedicated device that is used solely for performing the necessary PFD flight check or may be a device that controls more than one flight deck function depending on the operational context (commonly referred as "overloading"). In some embodiments, the switch (e.g., the momentary switch <NUM>) may be a display icon (e.g., on the display <NUM> or another display) that is selected, such as with a cursor control device, where the crew may press and hold on the icon to perform the operational check while the PFD image is switched from the SVS taxi mode exocentric view <NUM> to the SVS flight mode egocentric view <NUM>. In some embodiments, the switch (e.g., the momentary switch <NUM>) may be a display icon on a touch screen display (e.g., the display <NUM>) where the crew may press and hold on the icon to perform the operational check. The switch may be configured to interface with a user, receive the user input, and output the user input to one or more of the at least one processor (e.g., <NUM> and/or <NUM>).

For example, at least one processor (e.g., the at least one processor <NUM> and/or the at least one processor <NUM> of the at least one computing device <NUM>) may be configured to: output, to the at least one display <NUM>, an SVS taxi mode exocentric view <NUM> of an aircraft <NUM> when the aircraft <NUM> is performing taxi operations and when the aircraft <NUM> is on ground; receive a user input (e.g., from the switch (e.g., the momentary switch <NUM>)) to switch the output of the SVS taxi mode exocentric view <NUM> to an SVS flight mode egocentric view <NUM> from the aircraft <NUM>; switch the output of the SVS taxi mode exocentric view <NUM> to output, to the at least one display <NUM>, the SVS flight mode egocentric view <NUM> when the aircraft <NUM> is performing taxi operations and when the aircraft <NUM> is on ground based at least on the user input (e.g., a press and hold event) to switch from the SVS taxi mode exocentric view <NUM> to the SVS flight mode egocentric view <NUM>; and/or switch the output of the SVS flight mode egocentric view back to the SVS taxi mode exocentric view once the duration of the user input is complete.

For example, the at least one processor <NUM> (e.g., at least one PFD processor) of the display unit computing device <NUM> may be configured to execute a PFD application <NUM>. The processor <NUM> may further be configured to: receive sensor data from the sensors <NUM>; receive an auto or off selection from the user interface <NUM> for a SVS taxi mode; output a scene selection to at least one SVS processor instructing the SVS processor to generate the SVS taxi mode exocentric view <NUM> or the SVS flight mode egocentric view <NUM>; and/or receive the SVS taxi mode exocentric view <NUM> or the SVS flight mode egocentric view <NUM> from the at least one SVS processor.

For example, the at least one processor <NUM> (e.g., at least one SVS processor) of the computing device <NUM> (e.g., an SVS computing device) may be configured to execute an SVS application. The processor <NUM> (e.g., an SVS processor) may further be configured to: receive sensor data from the sensors <NUM>; receive the scene selection from the at least one PFD processor <NUM>; and/or output the SVS taxi mode exocentric view <NUM> or the SVS flight mode egocentric view <NUM> to the at least one PFD processor <NUM>.

At least one processor (e.g., the at least one processor <NUM> and/or the at least one processor <NUM> of the aircraft <NUM> may be configured to perform (e.g., collectively perform) any or all of the operations disclosed throughout.

Referring now to <FIG>, an exemplary embodiment of a method <NUM> according to the inventive concepts disclosed herein may include one or more of the following steps. Additionally, for example, some embodiments may include performing one or more instances of the method <NUM> iteratively, concurrently, and/or sequentially. Additionally, for example, at least some of the steps of the method <NUM> may be performed in parallel and/or concurrently. Additionally, in some embodiments, at least some of the steps of the method <NUM> may be performed non-sequentially.

A step <NUM> may include outputting, to at least one display, a synthetic vision system (SVS) taxi mode exocentric view of an aircraft when the aircraft is performing taxi operations and when the aircraft is on ground.

A step <NUM> may include receiving a user input to switch the output of the SVS taxi mode exocentric view to an SVS flight mode egocentric view from the aircraft.

A step <NUM> may include switching the output of the SVS taxi mode exocentric view to output, to the at least one display, the SVS flight mode egocentric view when the aircraft is performing taxi operations and when the aircraft is on ground based at least on the user input to switch from the SVS taxi mode exocentric view to the SVS flight mode egocentric view.

A step <NUM> may include displaying the SVS taxi mode exocentric view when the aircraft is performing taxi operations and when the aircraft is on ground.

A step <NUM> may include displaying the SVS flight mode egocentric view based at least on the user input to switch from the SVS taxi mode exocentric view to the SVS flight mode egocentric view.

As will be appreciated from the above, embodiments of the inventive concepts disclosed herein may be directed to a system and a method configured to display an SVS taxi mode exocentric view when an aircraft is performing taxi operations and when the aircraft is on ground and to display an SVS flight mode egocentric view based at least on a user input to switch from the SVS taxi mode exocentric view to the SVS flight mode egocentric view.

As used throughout and as would be appreciated by those skilled in the art, "at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium" may refer to as at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium (e.g., memory <NUM>, memory <NUM>, storage <NUM>, and/or storage <NUM>; e.g., at least one computer-readable medium implemented as hardware; e.g., at least one non-transitory processor-readable medium, at least one memory (e.g., at least one nonvolatile memory, at least one volatile memory, or a combination thereof; e.g., at least one random-access memory, at least one flash memory, at least one read-only memory (ROM) (e.g., at least one electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM)), at least one on-processor memory (e.g., at least one on-processor cache, at least one on-processor buffer, at least one on-processor flash memory, at least one on-processor EEPROM, or a combination thereof), or a combination thereof), at least one storage device (e.g., at least one hard-disk drive, at least one tape drive, at least one solid-state drive, at least one flash drive, at least one readable and/or writable disk of at least one optical drive configured to read from and/or write to the at least one readable and/or writable disk, or a combination thereof), or a combination thereof).

Claim 1:
A system, comprising:
at least one display (<NUM>, <NUM>); and
at least one processor (<NUM>, <NUM>) communicatively coupled to the display, the at least one processor configured to:
output, to the at least one display, a synthetic vision system, SVS, taxi mode exocentric view (<NUM>) of an aircraft (<NUM>) when the aircraft is performing taxi operations and when the aircraft is on ground;
receive, from a user of the aircraft, an auto selection of an auto or off selection for a SVS taxi mode, wherein the auto selection of the SVS taxi mode enables the at least one processor to automatically transition between the SVS taxi mode exocentric view and an SVS flight mode egocentric view except for a duration of any user input causing the at least one processor to switch the output of the SVS taxi mode exocentric view to output, to the at least one display, the SVS flight mode egocentric view of the duration of any such user input;
receive a user input to switch the output of the SVS taxi mode exocentric view to the SVS flight mode egocentric view (<NUM>) from the aircraft;
switch the output of the SVS taxi mode exocentric view to output, to the at least one display, the SVS flight mode egocentric view for a duration of the user input when the aircraft is performing taxi operations and when the aircraft is on ground based at least on the user input to switch from the SVS taxi mode exocentric view to the SVS flight mode egocentric view; and
wherein the at least one processor is further configured to switch the output of the SVS flight mode egocentric view back to the SVS taxi mode exocentric view once the duration of the user input is complete.
wherein the at least one display is configured to: display the SVS taxi mode exocentric view when the aircraft is performing taxi operations and when the aircraft is on ground; and display the SVS flight mode egocentric view based at least on the user input to switch from the SVS taxi mode exocentric view to the SVS flight mode egocentric view;
wherein the SVS taxi mode exocentric view has an eyepoint above and behind the aircraft; and
wherein primary flight display symbology is overlaid on the SVS flight mode egocentric view.