MULTIPLE AIRCRAFT ENGINE CONTROL SYSTEM AND METHOD OF COMMUNICATING DATA THEREIN

• US 20150291286A1
• Filed: 04/10/2014
• Published: 10/15/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 04/10/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Pratt & Whitney Canada Corporation (Raytheon Technologies Corporation d/b/a RTX)
• Original Assignee: Pratt & Whitney Canada Corporation (Raytheon Technologies Corporation d/b/a RTX)
• Inventors: DUKE, Brant, DARBY, Michael
• Granted Patent: US 9,382,011 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 31/06 actuated automatically
• CPC Class Codes: F02C 9/00 Controlling gas-turbine plants; Controlling fuel supply in air- breathing jet-propulsion plants controlling air intakes F02C7/057; controlling turbines F01D; controlling compressors F04D27/00; controlling in general G05
• CPC Class Codes: F02C 9/42 specially adapted for the control of two or more plants simultaneously
• CPC Class Codes: F02D 25/00 Controlling two or more co-operating engines
• CPC Class Codes: F05D 2240/40 Use of a multiplicity of similar components
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/40189 by using a plurality of bus systems

Abstract

The multiple aircraft engine control system having a corresponding engine controller associated with each one of the engines, each one of the engine controllers having at least two independent channels, each one of the at least two independent channels having at least two communication buses, each one of the at least two communicating buses of each channel being connected to a respective one of the at least two communicating buses of each one of the other channels. The method can time-interweave originating data of the channels.

Claims

1. A method of communicating data in a multiple aircraft engine control system having a corresponding engine controller associated with each one of the engines, each one of the engine controllers having at least two independent channels, and at least two buses independently connecting each one of the channels to one another, the engine controllers being configured to repeatedly, over subsequent cycles, transmit data originating from each of the channels to all the other channels over the buses in a sequential manner, with one channel transmitting after the other, during subsequent associated time slots of a corresponding cycle, the method comprising :

during a time slot associated to a given one of the channels in a given one of the cycles, transmitting a first portion of the originating data of the given channel over a first one of the buses and transmitting a second portion of the originating data of the given channel over a second one of the buses; and

during a time slot associated to the given channel in a subsequent one of the cycles, transmitting the second portion of the originating data of the given channel over the first bus and transmitting a first portion of the originating data of the given channel over the second bus;

wherein the method is repeated during time slots associated to other channels within each cycle, and repeated for other cycles.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising, transmitting a third portion of the originating data over both the first bus and the second bus during each cycle.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the third portion of the originating data is data for which rapid updating is considered critical to aircraft engine operation.

4. A multiple aircraft engine control system having a corresponding engine controller associated with each one of the engines, each one of the engine controllers having at least two independent channels, each one of the at least two independent channels having at least three communication buses with at least two of the at least three communication buses of each channel being connected to a respective one of the at least two communicating buses of each one of the other channels via aircraft wiring, and at least one of the at least three communication buses being connected directly to a respective communication bus of a same engine.

5. The multiple aircraft engine control system of claim 4, wherein each one of the engine controllers are integrated in an associated FADEC.

6. A method of communicating data between multiple engine controllers, each one of the engine controllers having at least two independent channels, and at least two buses independently connecting each one of the channels to one another, the engine controllers being configured to repeatedly, over subsequent cycles, transmit data originating from each of the channels to all the other channels over the buses in a sequential manner, with one channel transmitting after the other, during subsequent associated time slots of a corresponding cycle, the method comprising:

during a time slot associated to a given one of the channels in a given one of the cycles, transmitting a first portion of the originating data of the given channel over a first one of the buses and transmitting a second portion of the originating data of the given channel over a second one of the buses; and

during a time slot associated to the given channel in a subsequent one of the cycles, transmitting the second portion of the originating data of the given channel over the first bus and transmitting a first portion of the originating data of the given channel over the second bus;

wherein the method is repeated during time slots associated to other channels within each cycle, and repeated for other cycles.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising, transmitting a third portion of the originating data over both the first bus and the second bus during each cycle.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the third portion of the originating data is data for which rapid updating is considered critical to aircraft engine operation.