Wireless aircraft cabin pressure control system utilizing smart pressure sensors

• US 10,106,263 B2
• Filed: 02/29/2016
• Issued: 10/23/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 02/29/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
• Original Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
• Inventors: Horner, Darrell W
• Primary Examiner(s): Soofi, Yazan A
• Application Number:
  US15/056,832
• Publication Number:
  US 20170247112A1
• Time in Patent Office: 967 Days
• Field of Search: 701 3
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 13/04 Automatic control of pressure
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 45/00 Aircraft indicators or protectors not otherwise provided for camouflage F41H3/00
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 50/40 Weight reduction
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 50/50 On board measures aiming to increase energy efficiency

Abstract

A pressure control system includes a first sensor, and a second sensor which is dis-similar to the first sensor, where the second sensor generates a same processed data as the first sensor does, but in a way different from the first sensor does. A receiving unit is connected to the first sensor and the second sensor by a wireless connection to receive the processed data from the first sensor and the second sensor. In addition, the receiving unit is connected to the first sensor by a second connection different from the wireless connection to receive the processed data from the first sensor. Additional receiving units are connected to the first sensor and the second sensor by the wireless connection to receive the processed data.

Claims

1. A pressure control system, comprising:

a first sensor that includes a first function sensor configured to detect a functional measurement;

a second sensor that includes a second function sensor configured to detect the functional measurement in a different way than the first function sensor, wherein the first sensor and the second sensor generate processed data from the functional measurements, the processed data including time-based rate computations on the functional measurements; and

a first receiving unit and a second receiving unit connected to share the first sensor and the second sensor over a wireless network to receive the processed data from the first sensor and the second sensor;

wherein the first receiving unit is connected to the first sensor by a second network different from the wireless network to receive the processed data from the first sensor, where the first sensor is not shared with the second receiving unit over the second network, and the processed data is output in a format so that the first receiving unit uses the processed data in the format without further processing.

2. The pressure control system of claim 1, wherein the first receiving unit is one of a flight deck display system and a crew alert system, and the second receiving unit is a cabin pressure controller.

3. The pressure control system of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of sensors connected to the first receiving unit and the second receiving unit by wireless connections, while a part of the plurality of sensors further connected to the first unit by a third connection.

4. The pressure control system of claim 1, wherein the processed data is selected from:

a cabin pressure, a cabin pressure rate of change, a cabin altitude, a cabin altitude rate of change, a cabin-to-ambient differential pressure, a cabin-to-ambient differential pressure rate of change, an atmosphere pressure, an airplane altitude, an airplane altitude rate of change, an excessive cabin altitude indication, an excessive differential pressure indication, a signal to deploy oxygen, and a status of sensor or sensor input health.

5. The pressure control system of claim 1, further comprising a third receiving unit selected from an outflow valve controller, an oxygen deploy system, and a maintenance computer system, wherein the third receiving unit is connected to the first sensor and the second sensor by the wireless connection to receive the processed data from the first sensor and the second sensor.

6. The pressure control system of claim 1, wherein the first sensor comprises a function sensor unit, an analog-to-digital converter, a processor, a first network interface for the wireless connection, and a second network interface for the second connection with the first receiving unit, the function sensor unit detects the sensor reading, the analog-to-digital converter converts the sensor reading to a digital format which is further processed by the processor to generate the processed data.

7. The pressure control system of claim 1, further comprising:

a third sensor which is dis-similar to the first sensor, wherein the third sensor is connected to the first receiving unit and the second receiving unit by the wireless connection.

8. The pressure control system of claim 7, wherein the first receiving unit receives a first copy of data from the first sensor transmitted by the wireless connection, a second copy of data from the first sensor transmitted by the second connection, and a third copy of data from the third dis-similar sensor, the first copy of data, the second copy of data, and the third copy of data are all equal when they are transmitted and received correctly.

9. The pressure control system of claim 1, wherein the first receiving unit commands the second receiving unit based on the received processed data.

10. The pressure control system of claim 7, wherein the first sensor generates a cabin pressure directly from its sensor reading, and the third sensor computes the cabin pressure by adding an ambient pressure to a differential pressure obtained from its sensor reading.

11. A pressure control system, comprising:

a first sensor, and a second sensor which is dis-similar to the first sensor, wherein the first sensor and the second sensor generate processed data from their sensor readings;

a receiving unit connected to the first sensor and the second sensor to receive the processed data from the first sensor and the second sensor,

wherein the receiving unit is connected to the first sensor by a first connection to a first network and a second connection to a second network, and connected to the second sensor by a third connection to the first network, the receiving unit having no connection to the second sensor through the second network.

12. The pressure control system of claim 11, wherein the first sensor generates the processed data from its sensor reading, and the processed data is output in a format so that the receiving unit uses the processed data in the format without further processing.

13. The pressure control system of claim 11, wherein the first sensor comprises a function sensor unit, an analog-to-digital converter, a processor, a first network interface for the wireless connection, and a second network interface for the second connection with the receiving unit, the function sensor unit detects the sensor reading, the analog-to-digital converter converts the sensor reading to a digital format which is further processed by the processor to generate the processed data.

14. The pressure control system of claim 11, wherein the processed data is selected from:

a cabin pressure, a cabin pressure rate of change, a cabin altitude, a cabin altitude rate of change, a cabin-to-ambient differential pressure, a cabin-to-ambient differential pressure rate of change, an atmosphere pressure, an airplane altitude, an airplane altitude rate of change, an excessive cabin altitude indication, an excessive differential pressure indication, a signal to deploy oxygen, and a status of sensor or sensor input health.

15. The pressure control system of claim 11, wherein the first sensor generates a cabin pressure directly from its sensor reading, and the second sensor computes the cabin pressure by adding an ambient pressure to a differential pressure obtained from its sensor reading.

16. The pressure control system of claim 11, wherein the receiving unit is one of a flight deck display system and a crew alert system.

17. The pressure control system of claim 11, further comprising a second receiving unit connected to the first sensor and the second sensor by the wireless connection to receive the processed data from the first sensor and the second sensor, wherein the second receiving unit is selected from a cabin pressure controller, an outflow valve controller, an oxygen deploy system, and a maintenance computer system.

18. A cabin pressure control system for an aircraft, comprising:

a first smart sensor that includes

a first function sensor to detect a functional measurement, and

a first processor to compute rate of change data of the functional measurement to generate first processed data; and

a second smart sensor that includes

a second function sensor to detect the same functional measurement in a different way than the first function sensor, and

a second processor to process the functional measurement from the second function sensor to generate second processed data;

a wireless network;

a first receiving unit connected to the first sensor and the second sensor by a wireless connection of the wireless network to receive the first and second processed data from the first sensor and the second sensor, wherein the first receiving unit is further connected to the first sensor by a second connection to redundantly receive the first processed data from the first sensor, and the first receiving unit is one of a flight deck display system and a crew alert system; and

a cabin pressure controller connected to the first sensor and the second sensor by the wireless connection to receive the first and second processed data from the first sensor and the second sensor.

19. The cabin pressure control system for an aircraft of claim 18, wherein the first processed data is selected from:

a cabin pressure rate of change, a cabin altitude rate of change, a cabin-to-ambient differential pressure rate of change, and an airplane altitude rate of change.

20. The cabin pressure control system for an aircraft of claim 18, wherein the first receiving unit receives a first copy of the first processed data from the first sensor transmitted by the wireless connection, a second copy of the first processed data from the first sensor transmitted by the second connection, and the second processed data is a third copy of the first processed data, the first copy, the second copy, and the third copy are all equal when they are transmitted and received correctly, and the first copy of data, the second copy, and the third copy are compared to check which copy of data is valid to be used by the first receiving unit.