Power control system pseudo power-up, aircraft including the power control system and method of controlling power in an aircraft

• US 7,656,637 B2
• Filed: 10/30/2006
• Issued: 02/02/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 10/12/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: The Boeing Co.
• Original Assignee: The Boeing Co.
• Inventors: McAvoy, Michael B., Nguyen, Phuoc D.
• Primary Examiner(s): Jackson; Stephen W
• Assistant Examiner(s): HOANG, ANN THI
• Application Number:
  US11/554,433
• Publication Number:
  US 20070081284A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,191 Days
• Field of Search: 340/3.3, 361/115
• US Class Current: 361/115
• CPC Class Codes: H01H 2071/006 Provisions for user interfaces for electrical protection devices
• CPC Class Codes: H02H 3/04 with warning or supervision in addition to disconnection, e.g. for indicating that protective apparatus has functioned watching of pilot wires H02H1/0084; protection of protective arrangements H02H7/008; indication of the state of electronic switches H03K17/18
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 13/00001 characterised by the display of information or by user interaction, e.g. supervisory control and data acquisition systems [SCADA] or graphical user interfaces [GUI]
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 13/00036 the elements or equipment being or involving switches, relays or circuit breakers circuits for indication of single switches H01H9/167
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 13/0004 involved in a protection system
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 2310/44 for aircrafts
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 4/00 Circuit arrangements for mains or distribution networks not specified as ac or dc

Abstract

A power control system with a pseudo-power up, an aircraft including the power control system and a method of controlling power in an aircraft. On-board wiring is protected from faults by electronic circuit breakers (ECBs), which may also control AC/DC electrical power supplies of on-board electrical/electronic equipment. A computer processor operating a user interface, e.g., a graphical user interface (GUI), through a display. An on-board store stores the GUI, other computer applications and the current state of each ECB, e.g., in a breaker state table. In a pseudo-power mode up, the stored circuit breaker state is available without providing power to the ECBs and, correspondingly to the coupled on-board electrical systems. When terminated, the system can power off, or proceed to normal power where each ECB is configured according to the breaker state table prior to providing power to protected systems.

Claims

1. A power control system controlling power to platform resources comprising:

one or more electronic circuit breakers, each electronic circuit breaker providing over-current protection to a load;

controlling means for controlling circuit breaker state for said each electronic circuit breaker;

on-board storage storing the state of said each electronic circuit breaker, the state of all controlled electronic circuit breakers at power down being stored as a current state at power down;

a user interface selectively indicating said stored current state;

a display displaying said stored current state responsive to said user interface;

means for altering the stored state while the platform is powered down, the altered state being stored as the current state; and

means for selectively energizing said one or more electronic circuit breakers responsive to the displayed said stored current state, wherein during power up of platform resources said one or more electronic circuit breakers energize to said stored current state.

2. A power control system as in claim 1, wherein said state is one of a closed state, an open state and a tripped state for each controlled electronic circuit breaker.

3. A power control system as in claim 2, wherein said controlling means is a processor providing said user interface, said user interface is a graphical user interface and said processor alters the stored state for one or more electronic circuit breakers responsive to said means for altering.

4. A power control system as in claim 2, wherein said platform is an aircraft, said one or more electronic circuit breakers is a plurality of electronic circuit breakers protecting a plurality of loads, and said plurality of loads are aircraft electrical units.

5. A power control system as in claim 1, said means for altering comprising:

means for energizing said controlling means, said on-board storage and said display independent of said one or more electronic circuit breakers.

6. A power control system as in claim 1, wherein said means for selectively energizing comprises a data bus connecting said one or more electronic circuit breakers to said controlling means.

7. A method of controlling electrical power in an aircraft, said method comprising the steps of:

a) storing a current state reflecting the state of each of one or more on-board circuit breakers at power down of said aircraft;

b) providing power to an on-board aircraft display, said aircraft remaining unpowered;

c) retrieving from storage said current state, said current state including a power on state for each of one or more on-board circuit breakers;

d) displaying said current state for all said on-board circuit breakers;

e) selectively changing a respective state in storage in said current state to one or more corresponding said on-board circuit breaker; and

f) configuring said all on-board circuit breakers responsive to said current state, wherein during aircraft power up said on-board circuit breakers energize to said current state.

8. A method of controlling electrical power as in claim 7, wherein the step (b) of providing power to the on-board display comprises selecting battery mode, power being provided to a processor and on-board storage storing said current state for each of said on-board circuit breakers, said method further comprising the step of:

g) terminating battery mode.

9. A method of controlling electrical power as in claim 8, wherein the step (g) of terminating battery mode powers up said aircraft, said each on-board circuit breaker powering up to a configured said current state.

10. A method of controlling electrical power as in claim 9, wherein said state is one of a closed state, an open state and a tripped state for each controlled electronic circuit breaker.

11. A method of controlling electrical power as in claim 10, wherein when battery mode is terminated in step (g) power is provided to said on-board circuit breakers, said on-board circuit breakers having a closed state providing power to respective protected aircraft electrical system units, said on-board circuit breakers having an open state and a tripped state blocking power from each respective protected aircraft electrical system.

12. A method of controlling electrical power as in claim 8, wherein the step (g) of terminating battery mode powers down said on-board aircraft display.

13. A method of controlling electrical power as in claim 7, wherein the step (e) of selectively changing a breaker state comprises:

i) replacing one or more of said on-board circuit breakers;

ii) changing the stored respective state in said current state; and

iii) passing the respective said current state to the said replaced circuit breakers.

14. A method of controlling electrical power as in claim 7, wherein said current state is stored in a breaker state table in on-board storage.

15. A method of controlling electrical power as in claim 7, wherein the step (f) of configuring said all on-board circuit breakers comprises passing a respective said current state to each corresponding said on-board circuit breaker.

16. An aircraft comprising:

a plurality of on-board electrical systems;

a plurality of electronic circuit breakers, each having a closed state, an open state, and a tripped state and providing over-current protection to one of said on-board electrical systems;

at least one power supply coupled to ones of said plurality of electronic circuit breakers, power being provided to protected on-board electrical systems through closed ones of said plurality of electronic circuit breakers; and

a power control system controlling power to said plurality of on-board electrical systems, said power control system comprising;

a computer processor,

an on-board store storing applications running on said computer processor and a breaker state table indicating the current state of said each electronic circuit breaker, the computer processor storing as the current state the state of each of the plurality of electronic circuit breakers at power down of said aircraft,

at least one manual input/output device,

a display, at least one of said applications being a user interface selectively indicating the stored said current state on said display and receiving input from said at least one manual input/output device selectively changing a respective stored state to one or more corresponding circuit breaker in said stored current state,

a data bus coupling said computer processor with said plurality of electronic circuit breakers, said computer processor controlling circuit breaker state for said each of said plurality of electronic circuit breaker, and

an independent supply selectively providing power to said computer processor, said on-board store and said at least one manual input/output device independent of said plurality of electronic circuit breakers, wherein when power is provided by said independent supply power, a power state for said plurality of electronic circuit breakers may be displayed even when said at least one power supply is not powering said plurality of electronic circuit breakers, and during power up of said on-board electrical systems said one or more electronic circuit breakers energize to said stored current state.

17. An aircraft as in claim 16, wherein said user interface is a graphical user interface.

18. An aircraft as in claim 16, wherein said on-board store is non-volatile memory.

19. An aircraft as in claim 16, wherein said at least one manual input/output device comprises a keyboard.