Rockwell Collins, Inc.

Rockwell International Corporation

Thomas B Campbell

Lee M Paulsen

Dana J Jensen

Adrian A Hill

Alan M Kuefler

Roger A Dana

Bryan S McCoy

Clint L Gosch

Brian Grunewaldt

Donald E Mosier

Robert J Frank

Christian T Deloy

Dean C Karl

Amir Beganovic

Nicolas F Parilo

Stan Sandoval

Ke You Teh

A system and method for synchronizing two or more display elements of a multiple element display, is disclosed. The method includes embedding a frame count signal into the blanking portion of a video frame for each data stream received by the multiple display elements. Upon displaying the pixel data from a video frame, a frame count signal containing an identifying frame count is transmitted back to the computer. The computer compares the frame count signals to determine if the multiple display elements are synchronized. Upon a determination that the multiple display elements are not synchronized, the data stream for one or more display elements are adjusted accordingly. The system may be configurated as a federated system with two or more computers each communicatively coupled to each display element in a hierarchal system, where a secondary computer can control a display element if the primary computer or primary computer link fails.

Methodology for image synchronization to video imaging devices

Systems and apparatuses include an electronically scanned array system including a power supply system, a radiating element subarray, a plurality of beamformer chips, and a plurality of control buses. The radiating element subarray includes active radiating elements, and between about one percent and about twenty percent reserve radiating elements distributed throughout the active radiating elements. Each control bus includes a plurality of primary control paths providing communication from the control bus to the beamformer chips, and a reserve control paths structured to be remapped to provide communication from the control bus to the beam former chips in the event that one of the plurality of primary control paths fails.

Electronically scanned array

A touchscreen device utilizes digital scan to resolve a touch location with high precision. The touchscreen device includes touchells of about 3.175 mm by 3.175 mm (0.125 inches by 0.125 inches). An integrated circuit detects contacts in the touchells that resolve to touches on the touchscreen, and communicates those touches to a micro-controller via a serial bus. Silver epoxy interconnects for the tracks are reduced or eliminated. Multiple touchscreens having distinct touchell networks may be disposed to create a larger touchscreen area. Similarly, a single touchscreen may be divided quadrants, each with a distinct touchell network.

Eliminating interconnect induced inaccuracies and reducing scan time using a high granularity resistive touch screen

A satellite communication system for an aircraft communicates with multiple satellite constellations. The communication system includes a phased array antenna system and a transceiver. The transceiver is configured to communicate with a number of satellite constellations and configured to support simultaneously links to two or more constellations via the phased array antenna system. The satellite constellations can be micro-satellite, MEO, LEO, and GEO constellations.

System and method for an aircraft communicating with multiple satellite constellations

A system and method for detecting failures in a single-phase AC motor is disclosed. After a startup sequence, the motor is unpowered and a measurement is taken across terminals in the motor to detect a signal from residual magnetism in the iron core of the rotor. If the rotor was successfully started, the signal will be above a predetermined threshold. The signal may be measured across either a main stator winding or a start stator winding. Where the signal does not exceed the predetermined threshold, the startup sequence may be re-initiated and/or a failure message may be sent to an operator.

Failure detection in small AC motors

A method for reducing touch latency within a user interface of an aircraft display, the method including receiving, by a latency reduction unit, data from the aircraft display, where the data is of one or more data types, entering into one or more queues, by the latency reduction unit, the data based on the one or more data types, and sending, via a bus, the data asynchronously to a display processor of an aircraft display, where sending the data asynchronously includes transmitting the data by packets of data bits at an irregular rate.

Systems and methods for minimizing touchscreen display latency for aircraft

A system for optimizing warm-up time of a display device may include a display device including a display substrate configured to display at least one image, the display substrate including a first display zone and at least one additional display zone. The display device may further include one or more heating layers including a first heating layer portion and at least one additional heating layer portion. The system may further include a controller configured to: generate a first electrical current within the first heating layer portion in order to increase a temperature of the first display zone of the display substrate; and generate at least one additional electrical current within the at least one additional heating layer portion in order to increase a temperature of the at least one additional display zone of the display substrate.

System and method for optimizing warm-up time on large format displays

Systems and methods relate to an electronically scanned antenna array. A beamforming circuit includes a first input, a first output, a second input, a second output and an antenna interface. The antenna interface is coupled to the electronically scanned antenna array. A first control circuit is coupled to the first input and the first output and is configured to provide first beamforming data to the beamforming circuit via the first input. A second control circuit is coupled to the second input and the second output and is configured to provide second beamforming data to the beam forming circuit via the second input.

Control architecture for electronically scanned array

Systems and apparatuses include an electronically scanned array system including a power supply system, a radiating element subarray, a plurality of beamformer chips, and a plurality of control buses. The power supply system a first power converter structured to receive and condition mains power, a second power converter arranged in parallel with the first power converter, and a controller structured to monitor the first power converter and the second power converter and to operate one of a first switch or a second switch to provide conditioned power. The radiating element subarray includes active radiating elements, and between about one percent and about twenty percent reserve radiating elements distributed throughout the active radiating elements. Each control bus includes a plurality of primary control paths providing communication from the control bus to the beamformer chips, and a reserve control paths structured to be remapped to provide communication from the control bus to the beam former chips in the event that one of the plurality of primary control paths fails.

An aircraft includes a cursor control device having a defined return path for the touch sensor so that the impedance in the return path is known. The defined return path is embodied in a conductive feature in the cursor control device palm contact area to ground the user and improve the system's signal to noise ratio. The defined return path normalizes signal variability due to environmental factors and user specific factors such as finger size, skin moisture, contaminants, etc.

Increasing cursor control device sensitivity

A satellite system includes directional antenna with a gain pattern response having nulls where interfering adjacent satellite signals would be received. Using an electronically scanned array (ESA), sub-arrays of the ESA sample interfering adjacent satellite signals and then filter the sampled signals from the primary single received by the ESA. Digital signal processing increases the accuracy of the filtering process by analyzing the interfering adjacent satellite signal to determine the angle-of-arrival of the signal.

Adjacent signal interference mitigation

Systems and methods disclose a satellite communication system including a plurality of antenna elements, an interface circuit, and a transceiver circuit. Each antenna element communicates a first polarization signal and a second polarization signal. The interface circuit receives, amplifies, and splits the first polarization signals into a first polarization primary signal and a first polarization secondary signal. The interface circuit also receives, amplifies, and splits the second polarization signals into a second polarization primary signal and a second polarization secondary signal. A first summer circuit generates a first beam signal via a sum of the first and second polarization primary signals. A second summer circuit generates a second beam signal via a sum of the first and second polarization secondary signals. The transceiver includes a first splitter circuit that receives and splits the first beam signal into a first signal and a second signal, a second splitter circuit that receives and splits the second beam signal into a third signal and a fourth signal, a first beamformer that synthesizes a first beamformed signal, and a second beamformer that synthesizes a second beamformed signal.

Multi-beam phased array for first and second polarized satellite signals

A system and method are disclosed for measurement and reporting of signal quality in an optical data link in terms of Bit Error Rate (BER). The system and method of optical fiber signal quality measurement is highly accurate in early determination of signal degradation, is computationally simple in implementation, and is immune to instability with variable temperature and other environmental factors. Counting a number of error free Cyclic Redundancy Checks (CRC) of a plurality of video signals, the computationally simple method limits the data analysis required to determine a link OK, a link degraded and a link fault status of the optical data link.

Growing community of inventors

Cedar Rapids, IA, United States of America

Thomas B Campbell