Integrated modular avionics system with distributed processing

• US 9,137,038 B1
• Filed: 08/30/2012
• Issued: 09/15/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 08/30/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Rockwell Collins, Inc. (Raytheon Technologies Corporation d/b/a RTX)
• Original Assignee: Rockwell Collins, Inc. (Raytheon Technologies Corporation d/b/a RTX)
• Inventors: Mazuk, Daniel E., Miller, David A., Klein, Clifford R., Anderson, Eric N., Chau, Savio N.
• Primary Examiner(s): STIGLIC, RYAN M
• Application Number:
  US13/599,353
• Time in Patent Office: 1,111 Days
• Field of Search: 710/301
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0077 using redundant signals or controls
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/14 Error detection or correction of the data by redundancy in operation G06F11/16 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 13/40 Bus structure for computer networks G06F15/163; for optical bus networks H04B10/25
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2380/12 Avionics applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/40176 involving redundancy error detection or correction of the data by redundancy in hardware using active fault-masking in interconnections G06F11/2002; error detection or correction of the data by redundancy in hardware using active fault-masking in storage systems using spares or by reconfiguring G06F11/2053
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/40195 by using a plurality of nodes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/40208 characterized by the use of a particular bus standard
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/4028 the transportation system being an aircraft
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/40 for recovering from a failure of a protocol instance or entity, e.g. service redundancy protocols, protocol state redundancy or protocol service redirection management of faults, events, alarms or notifications in data switching networks H04L41/06

Abstract

The node communication controller (NCC) suitable for use in a line-replaceable unit (LRU) of a modular avionics system may include one or more embedded processors configured to host one or more functions associated with at least one avionics module of an avionics system, an input/output (I/O) controller, and one or more I/O ports, wherein the I/O controller is configured to route data between the one or more embedded processors and the at least one avionics module via the one or more I/O ports and a network communication bus, wherein the I/O controller is further configured to route data between a host processor of the LRU and an additional avionics module via the one or more I/O ports and the network communication bus.

Claims

1. An integrated modular avionics (IMA) system comprising:

one or more network communication busses;

at least one avionics module;

a first line replaceable unit operably coupled to the one or more communication busses, the first line replaceable unit including a first node communication controller having one or more first embedded processors;

an additional line replaceable unit operably coupled to the one or more communication busses, the additional line replaceable unit including an additional node communication controller having one or more additional embedded processors,

wherein the one or more first embedded processors of the first node communication controller and the one or more additional embedded processors of the additional node communication controller redundantly host the at least one avionics module, wherein the avionics function of the at least one avionics module is unrelated to at least one of a function of the first line replaceable unit or a function of the additional line replaceable unit.

2. The integrated modular avionics system of claim 1, wherein the one or more network communication busses comprise:

an Ethernet bus.

3. The integrated modular avionics system of claim 1, wherein the one or more network communication busses comprise:

an Avionics Full-Duplex Switched Ethernet (AFDX) bus.

4. The integrated modular avionics system of claim 1, wherein the one or more network communication busses comprise:

an optical network bus.

5. The integrated modular avionics system of claim 4, wherein the optical network bus comprises:

an Ethernet passive optical network (EPON) bus.

6. The integrated modular avionics system of claim 1, wherein the one or more network communication busses comprises:

at least one of an IEEE 1553 bus, an IEEE 1394a bus, an IEEE 1394b bus, a FlexRay bus, a TPP bus, and a PCI Express bus.

7. The integrated modular avionics system of claim 1, wherein at least one of the first line replaceable unit or the additional line replaceable unit includes a host processor and an I/O controller communicatively coupled via a high-speed interconnection.

8. The integrated modular avionics system of claim 7, wherein the high-speed interconnection comprises at least one of a PCI express data link, a 10 Gbps Ethernet data link, and a 1 Gbps Ethernet data link.

9. The integrated modular avionics system of claim 1, wherein at least one of the one or more first embedded processors of the first node communication controller or the one or more additional embedded processors of the additional node communication controller comprises:

a first processor and at least a second processor, wherein the first processor is different than the at least a second processor.

10. The integrated modular avionics system of claim 7, wherein the I/O controller comprises:

an optical AFDX off-load engine.

11. The integrated modular avionics system of claim 1, wherein at least one of the first line replaceable unit or the additional line replaceable unit comprise:

at least one of a display unit, a radio, and a cabin audio device, an aircraft braking system, a secondary power system, a flight management system, a flight control system, and a surveillance system.

12. The integrated modular avionics system of claim 1, wherein the at least one avionics module is simultaneously hosted on a first node communication controller of a first line replaceable unit and at least a second node communication controller of at least a second line replaceable unit.

13. The integrated modular avionics system of claim 1, wherein at least one of the first node communication controller or the additional node communication controller are configured as a general I/O processing ASIC.

14. The integrated modular avionics system of claim 1, wherein at least one of the first node communication controller or the additional node communication controller are configured as a master network controller ASIC.

15. An integrated modular avionics (IMA) system comprising:

a network communication bus;

at least one avionics module;

a first line replaceable unit operably coupled to the network communication bus, the first line replaceable unit including;

a first node communication controller including;

one or more first host processors configured to host one or more native functions of the first line replaceable unit; and

one or more first embedded processors;

an additional line replaceable unit operably coupled to the network communication bus, the additional line replaceable unit including;

an additional node communication controller including;

one or more additional host processors configured to host one or more native functions of the additional line replaceable unit; and

one or more additional embedded processors,

wherein the one or more first embedded processors of the first node communication controller and the one or more additional embedded processors of the additional node communication controller redundantly host the at least one avionics module, wherein the avionics function of the at least one avionics module is unrelated to at least one of a function of the first line replaceable unit or a function of the additional line replaceable unit.

16. The integrated modular avionics system of claim 15, wherein the network communication bus comprises:

at least one of an Ethernet bus, an Avionics Full-Duplex Switched Ethernet (AFDX) bus, and an optical network bus, an IEEE 1553 bus, an IEEE 1394a bus, an IEEE 1394b bus, a FlexRay bus, a TPP bus, and a PCI Express bus.

17. The integrated modular avionics system of claim 15, wherein at least one of the first line replaceable unit or the additional line replaceable unit comprises:

an input/output (I/O) controller;

one or more I/O ports coupled to the network communications bus, wherein the I/O controller is configured to route data between at least one of the first embedded processor or the additional embedded processor and the at least one avionics module via the one or more I/O ports and the network communication bus, wherein the one or more I/O ports include at least one of an optical network port, a AFDX network port, and an Ethernet port, an IEEE 1553 port, an IEEE 1394a port, an IEEE 1394b port, a FlexRay port, a TPP port, and a PCI Express port.

18. The integrated modular avionics system of claim 15, wherein at least one of the one or more first embedded processors of the first node communication controller or the one or more additional embedded processors of the additional node communication controller comprises:

an A9 ARM processor.

19. The integrated modular avionics system of claim 15, wherein at least one of the one or more first embedded processors or the one or more additional embedded processors comprises:

a first processor and at least a second processor, wherein the first processor is different than the at least a second processor.

20. The integrated modular avionics system of claim 15, further comprising:

an I/O controller.

21. The integrated modular avionics system of claim 15, further comprising:

one or more memory units.