초록 ▼

A method and system for providing taxiway navigational information to a crewmember of an airplane taxiing at an airport. An airport taxiway navigation system (“ATNS”) that executes on an onboard computer system that displays a map of the taxiways of an airport, receives the name of eac

A method and system for providing taxiway navigational information to a crewmember of an airplane taxiing at an airport. An airport taxiway navigation system (“ATNS”) that executes on an onboard computer system that displays a map of the taxiways of an airport, receives the name of each taxiway of the taxi route specified by the taxi clearance, and highlights the taxiways on a displayed map to provide a visual indication of the cleared taxi route for the crewmembers.

대표청구항 ▼

We claim: 1. A computer-readable medium containing instructions executable by a computer for controlling a computer system to provide information to a crewmember of an aircraft, by a method comprising: displaying an airport map on a display in the aircraft; receiving a first taxi route segment from

We claim: 1. A computer-readable medium containing instructions executable by a computer for controlling a computer system to provide information to a crewmember of an aircraft, by a method comprising: displaying an airport map on a display in the aircraft; receiving a first taxi route segment from a crewmember providing input to an input device on board the aircraft, wherein the first taxi route segment is received by the crewmember though a voice communications channel; highlighting the first taxi route segment on the displayed airport map; determining a plurality of possible next taxi route segments based on the first taxi route segment; receiving a second taxi route segment from the crewmember providing input to the input device, wherein the second taxi route segment is received by the crewmember through the voice communications channel and wherein the second taxi route segment is selected from the plurality of possible next taxi route segments; and highlighting the second taxi route segment on the displayed airport map. 2. The computer-readable medium of claim 1 wherein the method comprises receiving a definition of a preferred taxi route. 3. The computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the map is displayed in an align-to-runway mode. 4. The computer readable medium of claim 1 wherein the method comprises receiving from a crewmember annotations for the displayed map. 5. The computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the method further comprises automatically changing the map display between heading up mode and align-to-runway mode based on behavior of the aircraft. 6. The computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the method further comprises: receiving position information of the aircraft; and when the received position information indicates that the aircraft is on a current taxiway, further highlighting the current taxiway on the map of the airport. 7. The computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the method further comprises activating the computer system in response to changes in aircraft status corresponding to aircraft descent or landing approach. 8. The computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the method further comprises: allowing the crewmember to select only major taxiways; and automatically identifying minor taxiways based on the major taxiways. 9. The computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the input device is a touch panel. 10. The computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the input device is a keypad. 11. The computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the input device includes a pointing device. 12. A computer-readable medium containing instructions executable by a computer for controlling a computer system to provide information to a crewmember of an aircraft, by a method comprising: receiving first position information indicating a first position of the aircraft; identifying an airport based on the received first position information; displaying an airport map associated with the airport on a display in the aircraft; receiving information specifying a runway, wherein the runway represents a starting point or an ending point of a taxi route specifying taxiways on which the aircraft is to taxi at the airport; highlighting the runway on the displayed airport map; receiving, from an input device on the aircraft, a plurality of taxiways specifying portions of the taxi route, including an individual taxiway, wherein the plurality of taxiways are provided by a crewmember on board the aircraft in response to a voice communication and wherein receiving the individual taxiway of the plurality of taxiways comprises: determining a set of logically possible taxiways for the taxi route based on previously received taxiways or the runway; providing the set of logically possible taxiways to the crewmember; and receiving a user input selecting the individual taxiway from the set of logically possible taxiways; highlighting the plurality of taxiways on the displayed airport map; while the aircraft is navigating the taxi route, receiving second position information indicating a second position of the aircraft; displaying an indicator of the second position of the aircraft on the displayed airport map; and providing a notification to the crewmember in response to determining that the aircraft has deviated from the taxi route. 13. The computer-readable medium of claim 12, wherein the input device is a touch panel. 14. The computer-readable medium of claim 12, wherein the input device is a keypad. 15. The computer-readable medium of claim 12, wherein the input device includes a pointing device. 16. The computer-readable medium of claim 12 wherein the map is displayed in an align-to-runway mode. 17. The computer readable medium of claim 12 wherein the method further includes receiving from a crewmember annotations for the displayed map. 18. The computer-readable medium of claim 12 wherein the method further comprises automatically changing the map display between heading up mode and align-to-runway mode based on behavior of the aircraft. 19. The computer-readable medium of claim 12, wherein the method further comprises: when the received second position information indicates that the aircraft is on a current taxiway, further highlighting the current taxiway on the map of the airport. 20. The computer-readable medium of claim 12, wherein the method further comprises activating the computer system in response to changes in aircraft status corresponding to aircraft descent or landing approach. 21. The computer-readable medium of claim 12 wherein the method further comprises: allowing the crewmember to select only major taxiways; and automatically identifying minor taxiways based on the major taxiways.