Computer graphics processing and selective visual display system – Display peripheral interface input device
Reexamination Certificate
2000-11-15
2004-08-31
Hjerpe, Richard (Department: 2674)
Computer graphics processing and selective visual display system
Display peripheral interface input device
C345S157000, C345S160000, C345S173000, C345S215000, C345S215000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06784869
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates generally to systems for multi-function control and display, and more particularly to a display based cursor system for implementing fully coupled display and cursor selection of a plurality of interactive and non-interactive displays of an aircraft flight deck.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The increasing trend on aircraft flight decks has been towards the use of more complex and numerous display and cursor based interactive functions. The display environments within various vehicles such as commercial and military aircraft will likely become even more display intensive in the following years. On present day flight decks, multiple functions (e.g. Electronic Checklist, Data Link, Navigation, FMC interface, Airframe System interfaces, Engine displays, Status displays, etc) can be displayed on multiple displays. The trend toward greater numbers of displays is almost certain because the use of dedicated control panels is limited by space constraints and cost considerations.
In general, the potential for operator display misselections, unintended/inadvertent input errors, and increased workload are associated with multiple display activity. It is believed that the root cause of such problems is associated with display and cursor management designs which are sometimes problematic for pilot(s) to operate, require multiple reaching motions by the pilot(s) to select the proper display, and which can occasionally lead to difficulty in managing the selection and/or use of shared and dedicated displays.
There are currently only two interactive functions in use on the Boeing 777 aircraft: the Electronic Checklist (ECL) function and the Comm Management (COMM) function. The remaining functions are non-interactive information interacts such as the system synoptic and the secondary engine instruments page. The interactive ECL and COMM functions are seldom, if ever, used concurrently by the same pilot. When pilot activity is limited to one pilot and a single display, the errors reported and investigated are truly rare. However, even today, when multiple displays are called into concurrent use by the same pilot or both pilots, there is always at least a small chance for inadvertently selecting or deselecting an unintended display or function. More significantly, when the current multi-function display design is employed in a highly display intensive environment where more shared and dedicated displays and more interactive functions exist, the additional workload that results for the pilots, as well as the risk of misselections by the pilots, increases significantly.
As shown in
FIG. 1
, the Boeing 777 aircraft has three multifunction 8″×8″ (20.32 cm×20.32 cm) displays, which are respectively Left
104
, Center
110
, and Right
108
. A single glare shield located 5″×5″ (12.7 cm×12.7 cm) display select panel (DSP)
102
is shared by both pilots and allows selection of the three multifunction displays. Display selection is mutually exclusive; only one display at a time can be selected. The desired one of several functions (e.g., Electronic Checklist, Data Link, Navigation display, Airframe system synoptic, Engine display, Status display, etc.) can then be selected to that display. Of the three multifunction displays, the Left
104
is currently dedicated exclusively to the left seat pilot, the Right
108
is currently dedicated exclusively to the right seat pilot, and the Center
110
is shared by the two pilots. A second center display
106
is dedicated to EICAS. Interface with these displays is via two 3″×5″ (7.62 cm×12.7 cm) cursor control devices (CCDs)
113
,
114
located on the center aisle stand. The left CCD
113
is dedicated to the left seat pilot and the right CCD
114
is dedicated to the right seat pilot. Switches
119
on the left CCD
113
allow the left cursor to be moved between the Left and Center multifunction displays
104
,
110
without affecting the display selected on the DSP
102
. Likewise, switches
118
on the right CCD
114
allow the right cursor to be moved between the Right and Center multifunction displays
108
,
110
without affecting the display selected on the DSP
102
.
Two types of system operating errors which have been noted are display misselection and input errors. Display misselections arise primarily because a user's cursor can be active on one display while a different display is selected on the DSP. Users then subsequently attempt to deselect or select a function and that function deselection or selection ends up unexpectedly on a display other than the display they are using—often displacing some other function. The user then has to recover both the unintended displaced function and the originally intended deselection or selection. In a high workload situation this can be extremely disruptive. Display misselections can arise whenever two or more displays are in concurrent use. The strategy used by pilots who generally manage to minimize such errors is to manually couple their cursor and display selection. At either the beginning or end of their interaction with a display, these pilots first select the display they are using on the DSP. While this manual coupling eliminates many of the potential display misselections, the cost is high in terms of added physical and cognitive workload. Display misselections can still occur when, under high workload, the pilot forgets to manually select the intended display before selecting or deselecting a function.
Input errors and increased workload arise primarily because of the shared display select panel (DSP). Because both pilots use the DSP, the DSP cannot tell which pilot is making DSP selections. In the case of the left multi-function display which is currently dedicated to the left seat pilot, and in the case of the right multifunction display which is currently dedicated exclusively to the right seat pilot, when these displays are selected the appropriate cursor (Left or Right) can be automatically placed on the display. This is known as “determinant” display and cursor coupling. However, in the case of the shared center display, the appropriate cursor is “indeterminate” because it is not known which pilot (left or right) is selecting from the shared DSP. The current Boeing 777 design is such that if one of the cursors (Left or Right) is active on one of the dedicated multifunction displays (Left or Right), then the opposite cursor will be automatically placed on the center display when an interactive function is selected to the center display. If neither one of the cursors (Left or Right) is active on one of the dedicated multifunction displays (L or R), then the last cursor that was active on the center display will be automatically placed on the center display when an interactive function is selected to the center display. This cursor coupling to the shared center display is appropriate only if the other pilot or last center display user is selecting the center display. This design is predicated on the assumption that the same user will not be interacting with two or more displays concurrently. It should be noted that this is an optimal design, given the current Boeing 777 design which has only two interactive functions, those being ECL and COMM, which are not generally used concurrently by the same pilot.
Input error problems occur when multiple displays are used concurrently. If the same user selects the shared display while their cursor is active on their dedicated display, the opposite cursor is automatically coupled to the shared display selection. In workload intensive environments or situations it is possible that this might cause confusion and/or frustration because previously, whenever the shared display is the only or first display a user has selected, his cursor has been coupled to that selection. In the case where the shared display is selected while the dedicated display is in use, user attempts to make an input on the shared display actually result in input actions on
Braune Rolf J.
Clark Samuel T.
Dinh Duc Q.
Harness & Dickey & Pierce P.L.C.
Hjerpe Richard
The Boeing Company
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