METHOD FOR ASSISTANCE WITH THE CONSTRUCTION AND VALIDATION OF AN AVIONICS PLATFORM

• US 20100292979A1
• Filed: 05/17/2010
• Published: 11/18/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 05/18/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Airbus Operations (European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company EADS NV)
• Original Assignee: Airbus Operations (European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company EADS NV)
• Inventors: Minot, Frederic
• Granted Patent: US 8,818,767 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 703/21
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 30/15 Vehicle, aircraft or watercraft design

Abstract

The invention concerns a method for assisting the construction and validation of an avionics platform. It uses, on the one hand, a functional description of the platform using avionics functions, software modules suitable for executing these functions, and functional link occurrences between these modules and, on the other hand, a material description of this platform using calculation or communication items of equipment and physical links between these equipment. The method according to the invention enables to generate paths between the various items of equipment by using direct physical links and/or physical links belonging to one or more network(s), and subsequently to associate at least one such path to be each functional link occurrence. It also enables to associate to each software module an item of equipment adapted to host it.

Claims

1. A method for assisting the construction of an avionics platform, using a tool comprising a first functional database in which is stored a functional description of the said platform, a second material database in which is stored a material description of the said platform, and a workstation, linked to the first and second databases, said method being intended to implement a set of avionics functions, where each avionics function (Function) comprises one or more software modules (SystemFunctionOc), where any two software modules can exchange messages by means of a link (FctLinkOc), known as a functional link occurrence, where said avionics platform also comprises items of equipment (EquipmentOc) linked together by unidirectional or bidirectional physical links (PhysicalLink) belonging to different types of networks, paths (Path) enabling to link said equipment where each path consists either of a single direct physical link between a source equipment and a destination equipment, or of a first physical link between said source equipment and a first network node, a second physical link between said destination equipment and a second network node, and at least a third physical link between said first and second nodes (NetPath), characterised in that each software module is associated with an item of equipment onto which it is intended to be hosted, and each functional link occurrence is associated with at least one path intended to let pass through it the messages of this link, and in that a check is made for each equipment (m) as to whether it has sufficient material resources (β

_m(α

_j)) to allow execution of the software module or modules which is/are associated with it.

2. A method for assisting the construction of an avionics platform according to claim 1, characterised in that, for each item of equipment, a check is also made as to whether the connection resources (CnxResource) of its connectors are sufficient to receive the paths (Path) associated with the functional links of the software modules associated with it.

3. A method for assisting the construction of an avionics platform according to claim 1, characterised in that the physical links can be of a first type (11) enabling an item of equipment to be linked in unidirectional fashion to one sole other item of equipment, or of a second type (1N) enabling an item of equipment to be linked in unidirectional fashion to several other items of equipment, of a third type (11) enabling two items of equipment to be linked in bidirectional fashion, or of a fourth type (NN) enabling multiple items of equipment to be linked in bidirectional fashion.

4. A method for assisting the construction of an avionics platform according to claim 3, characterised in that each connector of an equipment has connection resources (CnxResource) associated with it, where each connection resource is capable of receiving a physical link (PhysicalLink) of the first, second, third, or fourth type.

5. A method for assisting the construction of an avionics platform according to claim 4, characterised in that, for each source equipment, the types of physical links associated with the connection resources of the connectors of this equipment are listed, a type of link is selected (720) from among the types of links listed in this fashion;

the items of equipment having connection resources capable of receiving the type of link thus selected are then listed, and a selection is made (730) of a destination equipment from among the items of equipment listed in this fashion.

6. A method for assisting the construction of an avionics platform according to claim 5, characterised in that a path is generated (740) between the source equipment and the destination equipment by creating a new physical link of the said selected type between these two items of equipment, if the latter is of the first or third type, the generated path being then associated with the physical link created in this fashion, and being unidirectional in the case of the first type and bidirectional in the case of the third type.

7. A method for assisting the construction of an avionics platform according to claim 5, characterised in that a path is generated (740) between the source equipment and the destination equipment by associating it with an existing physical link or by creating a new link of the said selected type between these two items of equipment, if said selected type is of the second or fourth type, the generated path being then associated with the existing or created link, and being unidirectional in the case of the second type and bidirectional in the case of the fourth type.

8. A method for assisting the construction of an avionics platform according to claim 6 or 7, characterised in that a check is made (750) as to whether the connection resources of the connectors of the source equipment, on the one hand, and those of the connectors of the destination equipment, on the other, are sufficient to receive the new created physical links;

in this case the generated path is validated, and if not it is invalidated.

9. A method for assisting the construction of an avionics platform according to any of the previous claims, characterised in that if the material resources and/or connection resources are sufficient, then said avionics platform is implemented using these resources.

10. A tool for assisting the construction of an avionics platform, characterised in that it comprises a first database (510) in which is stored a functional description of said platform, a second database (520) in which is stored a material description of said platform, and a workstation (530) linked to the first and second databases, where said workstation comprises means suitable to implement the steps of the method according to any of the claims 1 to 8.

11. A tool for assisting the construction of an avionics platform according to claim 10, characterised in that the functional description includes a list of the avionics functions and of the links between them, a list of the software modules enabling the avionics functions to be executed, and of the functional link occurrences between these modules, and in that the material description includes a list of calculation or communication equipment, as well as a list of the physical links between these items of equipment.