TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure generally relates to display systems, and more particularly relates to display systems for displaying critical information on uncertified displays.

BACKGROUND

In many safety critical and/or regulated industries, such as avionics, maritime, rail, medical devices, nuclear, and others, display systems that display mission critical information may need to be certified that they can provide adequate integrity, continuity, and availability (ICA) for the mission critical information to be displayed thereon. The certification process may be costly and time-consuming and, therefore, may deter the implementation of new applications, such as new applications that use personal electronic devices (PEDs) to display mission critical information.

In the avionics industry, low-cost PEDs, such as tablet computers and smartphones, are being used for non-critical applications, such as charts and maps applications and weight and balance calculators. Operators may also want to have the freedom to display aeronautical information, such as airport moving maps, air traffic (Cockpit Display of Traffic Information or CDTI), advanced weather radar information, and others, on tablet computers instead of having to make costly modifications and upgrades to their existing avionics displays. Long-standing regulatory policy prohibits the display of critical aeronautical information during flight on uncertified displays because adequate integrity, continuity, and availability (ICA) cannot be assured.

Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a certifiable system for displaying critical information on uncertified displays or displays not approved for the display of data requiring high ICA. Furthermore, other desirable features and characteristics will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and the foregoing technical field and background.

SUMMARY

This summary is provided to describe select concepts in a simplified form that are further described in the Detailed Description. This summary is not intended to identify key or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter

Systems and method are provided for allowing the use of uncertified displays to display mission critical information. In one embodiment, an addressable display system configured for use in a mounting adapter configured to mount a personal electronic device (PED) on an aircraft is disclosed. The display system includes a transparent surface configured to overlay the display surface of a PED when the PED is mounted in the mounting adapter. The transparent surface includes a region that occupies a substantial portion of the transparent surface that is uniformly coated with one or more coating layers that when activated with a select excitation wavelength are configured to emit visible light to annunciate a message. The display system further includes a lighting source mounted on the mounting adapter and configured to provide light in the excitation wavelength when activated to illuminate the transparent surface; a MEMS (microelectromechanical systems) module mounted on the mounting adapter, trained on the display screen, and controllable to write desired symbology for annunciation using the select excitation wavelength on the one or more coating layers at different addressable locations on the transparent surface; and an imaging device mounted in the mounting adapter and configured to capture an image of the PED display for transmission to a server that transmitted data for display on the PED display for performing an integrity check of the displayed data and for activating the lighting source when a problem is detected with the image of the PED display.

In another embodiment, a method of providing an addressable display system in a mounting adapter configured to mount a personal electronic device (PED) on an aircraft is disclosed. The method includes overlaying the display surface of a PED display with a transparent surface when the PED is mounted in the mounting adapter wherein the transparent surface includes a region that occupies a substantial portion of the transparent surface that is uniformly coated with one or more coating layers that when activated with a select excitation wavelength are configured to emit visible light to annunciate a message. The method further includes capturing, using a camera mounted in the mounting adapter, an image of the PED display for transmission to a server that transmitted data for display on the PED display for performing an integrity check of the displayed data and for causing the annunciation of a message when a problem is detected with the image of the PED display; receiving a message from the server to annunciate a message indicating a problem with the image displayed on the PED display; activating a lighting source housed in the mounting adapter to provide light in a select excitation wavelength responsive to receipt of the message; directing the light at the select excitation wavelength to select locations on the transparent surface using a dual-axis scanned MEMS micro-mirror attached to the mounting adaptor to annunciate the message; activating the one or more coating layers at the select locations with the light at the select excitation wavelength to emit visible light at the select locations; and displaying the message indicating a problem with the image displayed on the PED display.

In another embodiment, an addressable display system configured for use on an aircraft is disclosed. The display system includes a surface configured to overlay a display in the aircraft. The surface includes a region that occupies a substantial portion of the surface that is uniformly coated with one or more coating layers that when activated with a select excitation wavelength are configured to emit visible light to annunciate a message. The display system further includes a lighting source configured to provide light in the excitation wavelength when activated to illuminate the surface; a MEMS (microelectromechanical systems) micro-mirror that is controllable to scan the excitation wavelength in the x-y directions to write different annunciation symbology using the select excitation wavelength on the one or more coating layers at different addressable locations on the surface; a MEMS controller that is configured to control the movement of the MEMS micro-mirror in the x-y directions to allow different annunciation symbols to be written onto the surface at different addressable locations and including a geometric compensation module that is configured to perform geometric compensation of the MEMS micro-mirror scan angles to direct a geometric compensated excitation waveform image onto the surface; and an imaging device configured to capture an image of the display for transmission to a server configured to analyze the image and configured to activate the lighting source when predetermined conditions are detected.

Furthermore, other desirable features and characteristics will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and the preceding background.

