The present invention relates to an avionic display architecture which is provided in air and/or space vehicles and allows flight data to be displayed.

In air and/or space vehicles, data received from the physical environment by means of sensors should be read and processed, and flight information required to be provided to the pilot should be generated and displayed on a screen. In air and/or space vehicles, multi-functional Smart Large Area Displays are used, which enable said data to be processed and reflected on the screen and have many flight-critical information display functions. Said display architectures are subjected to testing and certification processes in case of a structural change in their systems.

The United States patent document no. US20200089476, which is included in the known- state of the art, describes improvement of real-time control systems such as avionic systems and automation of certification processes. According to the invention, in order to improve the long certification processes, a pre-certified system consisting of pre-certified hardware and pre-certified software is developed.

Thanks to an avionic display architecture developed with this invention, certification processes are accelerated and costs are reduced.

Another object of the present invention is to produce a faster, more reliable and low-cost avionic display architecture.

The avionic display architecture realized to achieve the object of the invention and defined in the first claim and the claims dependent thereon comprises at least one screen which allows flight status information, graphic and/or video images contained in air and/or space vehicles to be displayed to a user; at least one data source consisting of data received from a physical environment by sensors; at least one processor unit which is physically connected with the screen, receives data from the data source and processes the flight data, and transmits the process output to the screen. The avionic display architecture of the invention comprises a processor unit which enables the data received from the data source to be displayed on the screen by processing only with field programmable gate arrays (FPGA), without using special integrated circuit-type (ASIC) processors.

In an embodiment of the invention, the avionic display architecture comprises a processor unit in which a central processing unit (CPU) and/or a graphics processing unit (GPU) is not used for the data processing function.

In an embodiment of the invention, the avionic display architecture comprises multiple data sources which are physically independent from each other and contains flight information, graphic and/or video image data displayed on the screen and obtained from the data received from the physical environment by means of sensors; multiple processor units which are physically independent from each other, receive and process data from data sources, wherein in case of a failure in any of the processor units, they continue to operate such that they are not affected by the failure. Thanks to the processors, each processor unit processes data, allowing images from other image sources such as central control computer, payloads (EO camera, radar images, etc.) to be displayed and, when necessary, flight critical data to be written on these images.

In an embodiment of the invention, the avionic display architecture comprises multiple processors which are physically connected to each other, and in case of a failure in any of the processor units, take over the function of the failed processor and continue the data processing function. Processors can exchange data with each other to check that the other processor is failed or malfunctioned. Thus, a processor can take over the function of a failed processor by detecting the failed processor.

In an embodiment of the invention, the avionic display architecture comprises at least one interface which allows data to be sent and read between the data source and the processor unit. In an embodiment of the invention, the avionic display architecture comprises a screen with multiple interfaces which allow data to be sent and read between data sources and processor units.

In an embodiment of the invention, the avionic display architecture comprises a screen which allows a split screen image or an overlaid image to be displayed.

In an embodiment of the invention, the avionic display architecture comprises a screen having a touch screen feature.

In an embodiment of the invention, the avionic display architecture comprises a screen with a display keyboard.

In an embodiment of the invention, the avionic display architecture comprises at least one memory unit which enables storage of data processed by the processor unit and access to the stored data by the processor unit.

In an embodiment of the invention, the avionic display architecture comprises a solid-state drive (SSD) type memory unit.

The avionic display architecture realized to achieve the object of the present invention is illustrated in the attached drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a block diagram of an avionic display architecture.

Figure 2 is a block diagram of the processor units operating independently.

Figure 3 is a block diagram of the processor units operating in connection with each other.

All the parts illustrated in figures are individually assigned a reference numeral and the corresponding terms of these numbers are listed below:

1. Avionic Display Architecture

2. Screen 3. Data Source

4. Processor Unit

5. Interface

6. Memory Unit

The avionic display architecture (1) comprises at least one screen (2) which is provided in air and/or space vehicles and displays graphic and/or video images created with flight data of the air and/or space vehicles; at least one data source (3) containing data obtained from a physical environment by means of sensors; at least one processor unit (4) which is provided in connection with the screen (2), receives arithmetical and/or graphical flight data from the data source (3), processes the data, and transmits the process output to the screen (2) (Figure 1).

The avionic display architecture (1) of the invention comprises a processor unit (4) which enables the data to be displayed on the screen (2) by processing the data received from the data source (3) only with field programmable gate arrays (FPGA) (Figure 1).

Multi-functional Smart Large Area Displays are used to display the flight-critical data of air and/or space vehicles during flight. There is provided a data source (3) containing flight information, graphic and/or video image data displayed on the screen (2) and obtained from the data received from the physical environment by means of sensors. The data received from the data source (3) are processed in the processor unit (4) and transmitted to the screen (2). The processor unit (4) is required to operate fast in order to display the data on the screen (2) simultaneously.

Central processing units (CPU) and/or graphic processing units (GPU) are used in the processor units (4) that are provided in the known-state of the art. In case of a structural change in the avionic display architecture (1), CPU and GPU usage in the processor unit (4) requires system software and electronic hardware to be retested and subjected to certification processes. Since these processes are highly labor intensive and require long processes, avionic display architecture (1) becomes difficult to produce and develop. However, since new CPU and GPU processor models are rapidly released due to rapidly developing technologies, finding old models for use in avionic systems (1) poses a major problem for the production processes of the systems. In order to solve these problems, instead of CPU and GPU processors, data processing function is carried out with systems using FPGA entirely, so that these problems are solved. Due to the fact that the FPGA structure can be reconfigured, problems arising in the certification process while changing the system are solved and the process is accelerated. As a result of faster data processing by FPGAs, simultaneous data processing operations can be performed faster and more reliably. In addition, since no software is used in the processor unit (4) using FPGA, there is no need to use real-time operating systems (RTOS) used in flight-critical hardware. Thus, savings are provided from external dependency due to such operating systems as well as from DO-178 DAL A certification processes and costs.

In an embodiment of the invention, the avionic display architecture (1) comprises multiple data sources (3) which operate independently from each other and contain flight information, graphic and/or video image data displayed on the screen (2) and obtained from the physical environment by means of sensors; multiple processor units (4) which operate independently from each other, and in case of a failure in any of the processor units (4), continue to perform data processing function without being affected by the failure. Thanks to the processor units (4) that receive data from the data source (3) separately from each other and process the data independently, in case of a failure in any of the processor units (4), they continue data processing function without being affected by the changes in the system (Figure 2).

In an embodiment of the invention, the avionic display architecture (1) comprises multiple processor units (4) which are provided in connection with each other, and in case of a failure or a fault in any of the processor units (4), take over the function of the other processor unit (4) and continue the data processing function. Thus, the processor unit (4) operating properly is enabled to take over the function of the failed or faulty processor unit (4) such that flight critical data are displayed on the screen (2) (Figure 3).

In an embodiment of the invention, the avionic display architecture (1) comprises at least one interface (5) which allows data exchange between the data source (3) and the processor unit (4).

In an embodiment of the invention, the avionic display architecture (1) comprises a screen (2) with multiple interfaces (5) which enable data exchange between data sources (3) and processor units (4). As in the processor units (4), the interfaces (5) operate independently, as well. Thus, the systems are completely isolated from each other.

In an embodiment of the invention, the avionic display architecture (1) comprises a processor unit (4) which enables the outputs transmitted as a result of the processed data to be displayed on the screen (2) in the form of a split screen as video/video or graphic/video or graphic/graphic or in the form of an overlaid image. In this way, different types of images and data are combined or overlaid to interpret data and to facilitate access to data.

In an embodiment of the invention, the avionic display architecture (1) comprises a screen (2) with a touch screen feature.

In an embodiment of the invention, the avionic display architecture (1) comprises at least one memory unit (6) which enables storage of data processed by the processor unit (4) and access to the stored data by the processor unit (4). Thus, the flight information and images are stored in the memory unit (6) such that the data stored are accessible by the processor unit (4). In an embodiment of the invention, the avionic display architecture (1) comprises a solid- state drive (SSD) type memory unit (6).