An electro-optical flight instrument is provided which accepts input signals from appropriate sensors and transducers on an aircraft to provide a visual display of the pitch angle of the aircraft, the visual display being established by means of a transparent screen positioned in the pilot's normal line of sight and focused at infinity. A servo reticle is driven in the instrument and is projected at infinity upon the transparent screen, the servo reticle displaying in degrees, the angle between the aircraft and the horizon.
In combination with head-up display apparatus for displaying aircraft navigational symbology to the pilot of the craft as a real world infinity overlay, means for displaying a three dimensional aircraft vertical path line appearing to the pilot to extend from a point just forward of the craft on out to infinity.
A display instrument for projecting aircraft flight data upon a transparent screen into the pilot's normal line of sight, wherein an optical objective projects images of luminous objects focused at infinity onto a combining glass; the luminous objects which represent the flight data to be displayed being carried out by means of electro-optical transducers such as electroluminescent diodes supplied by an associated supply circuit; servo means responsive to output signals of airborne sensor devices controlling the displacement of, and the selective supply to, the diodes representative of variable flight data.
A telltale is sufficiently small and sufficiently bright for use in a head-up display such that the image of the telltale is projected of the combiner, e.g., the vehicle front windshield, and is clearly visible to the vehicle operator, even on bright sunny days. The apparatus includes a housing and a light source. The housing has an inner reflective surface with a focal point outside the housing and an aperture located between the reflective surface and the focal point. A graphics plate is mounted in the aperture. The telltale is highly emissive when light from the light source reflects off of the inner surface and through the aperture.
A display apparatus for a vehicle of the type wherein a display image of a display device located near a focus of an optical system is projected on a front glass of the vehicle so that a virtual image of the display image may be focused at a position forwardly of the front glass. In the display apparatus, when external light entering the optical system has an intensity higher than a predetermined level, a light intercepting means prevents the external light from being received by the display device, thereby preventing thermal destruction of the display device which may possibly be caused by heat given to the display device by intense external light such as the sunlight which is condensed by the optical system.
The disclosed optoelectronic device is designed to facilitate the piloting of an aircraft under conditions of poor visibility, notably during landing at the stage when the aircraft approaches a runway. It consists of a collimator which displays, in addition to the artificial skyline, miniature aircraft index and attitude bars, a slope scale positioned across and on either side of the artificial skyline, at the position of the selected course chosen by the pilot. This slope scale, depicted in the form of a line of dots spaced out at one slope degree, enables the pilot to be presented simultaneously with information on selected course and slope and enables the determining of pitch attitude with high precision.
