System and method for validating rotorcraft position coordinates

• US 10,279,893 B2
• Filed: 02/16/2017
• Issued: 05/07/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 02/16/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Bell Helicopter Textron Incorporated (Textron Inc)
• Original Assignee: Bell Helicopter Textron Incorporated (Textron Inc)
• Inventors: Melton, John Wesley, Baynham, Stephanie
• Primary Examiner(s): Ismail, Mahmoud S
• Application Number:
  US15/435,033
• Publication Number:
  US 20180229831A1
• Time in Patent Office: 810 Days
• Field of Search: 701 3, 342125, 73862046
• CPC Class Codes: B64C 13/503 Fly-by-Wire
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 43/00 Arrangements or adaptations of instruments arrangements of cameras B64D47/08; aeronautical measuring instruments per se G01C
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/13 Receivers
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0077 using redundant signals or controls
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/102 specially adapted for vertical take-off of aircraft

Abstract

In accordance with an embodiment, a method of operating a rotorcraft includes receiving a first sensor value comprising a first coarse resolution portion and a first fine resolution portion, receiving a second sensor value comprising a second coarse resolution portion and a second fine resolution portion, and determining that the second coarse resolution portion corresponds with the second fine resolution portion when a difference between the second sensor value and the first sensor value is within a first threshold.

Claims

1. A flight control system for a rotorcraft comprising:

a processor and a non-transitory computer readable storage medium with an executable program stored thereon, the executable program including instructions for;

asynchronously receiving position coordinates of a rotorcraft from a position sensor, each received position coordinate comprising a coarse resolution position coordinate and a fine resolution position coordinate; and

determining whether the coarse resolution position coordinates and the fine resolution position coordinate of the received position coordinates correspond with each other, determining comprising calculating a difference between a presently received position coordinate and a previously received position coordinate, and comparing the calculated difference to a threshold, wherein the threshold is based on a velocity of the rotorcraft.

2. The flight control system of claim 1, wherein each position coordinate comprises a latitude coordinate and a longitude coordinate.

3. The flight control system of claim 2, wherein the threshold is 3.5×

10-5 degrees.

4. The flight control system of claim 2, wherein determining whether the coarse resolution position coordinate and the fine resolution position coordinate of the received position coordinates correspond with each other comprises independently determining whether a coarse resolution latitude of the latitude coordinate corresponds with a fine resolution latitude of the latitude coordinate and whether a coarse resolution longitude coordinate corresponds with a fine resolution longitude coordinate of the longitude coordinate.

5. The flight control system of claim 2, wherein the executable program further includes instructions for:

determining a difference between the received position coordinate and a reference coordinate to form a delta latitude coordinate and a delta longitude coordinate; and

performing a coordinate transformation on the delta latitude coordinate and the delta longitude coordinate to produce a delta x coordinate representing a distance in an x direction and a delta y coordinate representing a distance in a y direction perpendicular to the x direction.

6. The flight control system of claim 1, wherein the executable program further includes instructions for discarding the presently received position coordinate when the calculated difference is greater than the threshold, discarding comprising using the previously received position coordinate in place of the presently received position coordinate.

7. The flight control system of claim 1, wherein the position sensor comprises at least one global positioning system (GPS) receiver.

8. The flight control system of claim 1, wherein asynchronously receiving the position coordinates comprises asynchronously receiving the position coordinates via an ARINC-429 bus.

9. The flight control system of claim 1, wherein the executable program further includes instructions for producing a correction data signal according to the received position coordinate and a reference coordinate.

10. A rotorcraft comprising:

a body;

a power train coupled to the body and comprising a power source and a drive shaft coupled to the power source;

a main rotor system coupled to the power train and comprising a plurality of main rotor blades;

a GPS receiver system configured sense a physical position and produce position coordinates based on the sensed physical position, wherein each position coordinate comprises

a latitude coordinate split into a coarse resolution latitude coordinate comprising the most significant bits of the latitude coordinate and a fine resolution latitude coordinate comprising the least significant bits of the latitude coordinate, and

a longitude coordinate split into a coarse resolution longitude coordinate comprising the most significant bits of the longitude coordinate and a fine resolution longitude coordinate comprising the least significant bits of the longitude coordinate;

a flight control system operable to change at least one operating condition of the main rotor system;

a pilot control assembly configured to receive commands from a pilot, wherein the flight control system is a fly-by-wire flight control system in electrical communication with the pilot control assembly; and

a flight control computer in electrical communication between the flight control system, the GPS receiver system, and the pilot control assembly, the flight control computer configured to

asynchronously receive the position coordinates from the GPS receiver system via a bus,

determine whether the coarse resolution latitude coordinate corresponds with the fine resolution latitude coordinate by comparing a difference between the latitude coordinate and a previously received latitude coordinate to a first threshold, and

determine whether the coarse resolution longitude coordinate corresponds with the fine resolution longitude coordinate by comparing a difference between the longitude coordinate and a previously received longitude coordinate to a second threshold, wherein the first threshold and the second threshold are based on a velocity of the rotorcraft.

11. The rotorcraft of claim 10, wherein the first threshold and the second threshold is 3.5×

10-5 degrees.

12. The rotorcraft of claim 10, wherein:

the bus comprises an ARINC-429 bus; and

the coarse resolution latitude coordinate, the fine resolution latitude coordinate, the coarse resolution longitude coordinate, and the fine resolution longitude coordinate each comprise 19 bits.

13. The rotorcraft of claim 10, wherein:

the flight control computer is configured to utilize the latitude coordinate when the difference between the latitude coordinate and the previously received latitude coordinate is within the first threshold and to discard the latitude coordinate when the difference between the latitude coordinate and the previously received latitude coordinate is not within the first threshold; and

the flight control computer is configured to utilize the longitude coordinate when the difference between the longitude coordinate and the previously received longitude coordinate is within the second threshold and to discard the longitude coordinate when the difference between the longitude coordinate and the previously received longitude coordinate is not within the second threshold.

14. The rotorcraft of claim 10, wherein the flight control computer is further configured to produce a correction data signal according to the received position coordinates and a reference coordinate.

15. The rotorcraft of claim 14, wherein the flight control computer is configured to produce the correction data signal by

determining a difference between the received position coordinate and the reference coordinate to form a delta latitude coordinate and a delta longitude coordinate;

and

performing a coordinate transformation on the delta latitude coordinate and the delta longitude coordinate to produce a delta x coordinate representing a distance in an x direction and a delta y coordinate representing a distance in a y direction perpendicular to the x direction.

16. A method of operating a rotorcraft, the method comprising:

asynchronously receiving position coordinates of a rotorcraft from a position sensor, each received position coordinate comprising a coarse resolution position coordinate and a fine resolution position coordinate; and

determining whether the coarse resolution position coordinates and the fine resolution position coordinate of the received position coordinates correspond with each other, determining comprising calculating a difference between a presently received position coordinate and a previously received position coordinate, and comparing the calculated difference to a threshold, wherein the threshold is based on a velocity of the rotorcraft.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein each position coordinate comprises a latitude coordinate and a longitude coordinate.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the threshold is 3.5×

10-5 degrees.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein determining whether the coarse resolution position coordinate and the fine resolution position coordinate of the received position coordinates correspond with each other comprises independently determining whether a coarse resolution latitude of the latitude coordinate corresponds with a fine resolution latitude of the latitude coordinate and whether a coarse resolution longitude coordinate corresponds with a fine resolution longitude coordinate of the longitude coordinate.

20. The method of claim 17, further comprising:

determining a difference between the received position coordinate and a reference coordinate to form a delta latitude coordinate and a delta longitude coordinate; and

performing a coordinate transformation on the delta latitude coordinate and the delta longitude coordinate to produce a delta x coordinate representing a distance in an x direction and a delta y coordinate representing a distance in a y direction perpendicular to the x direction.

21. The method of claim 16, further comprising discarding the presently received position coordinate when the calculated difference is greater than the threshold, discarding comprising using the previously received position coordinate in place of the presently received position coordinate.

22. The method of claim 16, further comprising producing a correction data signal according to the received position coordinate and a reference coordinate.