An aircraft / hangar network architecture and control method

Abstract

The application relates to an airplane / suspended object network architecture and a control method. In the application scene of mounting multiple task suspended objects at a single airplane hanging point, two communication nodes are needed to be arranged in the carried suspended object in the traditional airplane / suspended object network architecture, and a total of two ports are needed. Based on the FC-AE-1553 communication network, the application utilizes the flexible networking characteristics of the switching type topology structure, and only one communication node needs to be arranged in the carried suspended object, and the communication node only needs to provide one port. For the carried suspended object, the airplane / suspended object network architecture disclosed by the application can effectively reduce the number of internal communication nodes, thereby saving the internal space, reducing the weight and reducing the manufacturing cost.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention belongs to the field of avionics and relates to an aircraft / suspended object network architecture and control method. Background Technology

[0002] Airborne weapon systems are an important component of modern combat aircraft, consisting of a suspension management unit, delivery suspensions, mission suspensions, and an interconnected aircraft / suspension network. Typically, delivery suspensions are mounted under the aircraft wings, while mission suspensions are mounted below the delivery suspensions.

[0003] To improve aircraft payload capacity, configurations have emerged that allow multiple mission attachments to be mounted on a single aircraft hardpoint. These configurations include parallel configurations that can carry two mission attachments and compound configurations that can carry three or more mission attachments.

[0004] like Figure 1 As shown, in the aircraft / suspension network architecture based on the FC-AE-1553 communication network, the traditional solution to address the issue of mounting multiple mission suspensions on a single hardpoint is:

[0005] 1) One switch and two communication nodes are deployed inside the suspended transport vehicle;

[0006] 2) The switch provides multiple ports for connecting the transport suspended object and the task suspended object;

[0007] 3) Communication node 1 provides one port for communication with the hanging device management unit as an NT (network terminal);

[0008] 4) Communication node 2 provides one port for communication between the NC (Network Controller) and the task hanging object;

[0009] 5) Communication node 1 and communication node 2 need to exchange data through the internal bus.

[0010] As can be seen from the perspective of aircraft / suspended object network architecture, in the traditional solution, communication node 1 and communication node 2 inside the suspended object belong to independent subnets A and B, respectively. Technically, this requires deploying two communication nodes inside the suspended object. From an engineering application perspective, the internal space of the suspended object is limited, and there are strict constraints on weight and manufacturing cost. Therefore, a more optimized aircraft / suspended object network configuration needs to be proposed, taking into account factors such as size, weight, and cost.

[0011] The FC-AE-1553 communication network supports a switched topology, providing greater networking flexibility. This invention leverages the flexibility of a switched topology to propose a novel aircraft / suspended vehicle network architecture that reduces the number of communication nodes within the suspended vehicle from two to one. For suspended vehicles, this effectively reduces the number of internal communication nodes, thereby saving space, reducing weight, and lowering manufacturing costs. Summary of the Invention

[0012] Technical problems to be solved

[0013] To overcome the shortcomings of existing technologies, this invention proposes an aircraft / suspension network architecture and control method to meet the engineering requirements of mounting multiple mission suspensions on a single aircraft hardpoint. Taking advantage of the flexible networking characteristics of the FC-AE-1553 switching network, the proposed aircraft / suspension network architecture helps save internal space on the suspensions, reduces the total weight of internal communication nodes, and lowers the manufacturing cost of internal communication nodes.

[0014] Technical solution

[0015] An aircraft / suspended structure network architecture includes a suspended structure management unit, a carrier suspended structure unit, a first mission suspended structure, and a second mission suspended structure unit. The suspended structure management unit is characterized in that each carrier suspended structure has one and only one communication node, which is connected to an internal switch. The suspended structure management unit is only connected to the internal switch of the carrier suspended structure. The communication node within the carrier suspended structure and the suspended structure management unit constitute subnet A. The communication node within the carrier suspended structure serves as the NT (Network Node) of subnet A, and the suspended structure management unit serves as the NC (Network Controller) of subnet A. The communication node within the carrier suspended structure and the mission suspended structures constitute subnet B. The communication node within the carrier suspended structure serves as the NC (Network Controller) of subnet B, and the mission suspended structures serve as the NT (Network Node) of subnet B.

[0016] The internal communication node of the transport suspension has only one port and has two working modes: in NT mode, the internal communication node of the transport suspension acts as NT to communicate with the suspension management unit of subnet A; in NC mode, the internal communication node of the transport suspension acts as NC to communicate with the task suspension of subnet B.

[0017] A control method for an aircraft / suspended network architecture as described in claim 1 or 2, characterized in that:

[0018] 1. Data flow between the internal communication module of the parallel mounting device and the suspended object management unit: The internal communication module of the parallel mounting device receives the task suspended object control command sent by the suspended object management unit and sends the task suspended object status to the suspended object management unit.

[0019] 2. Data flow between the internal communication module of the parallel mounting device and the task suspended object: The internal communication module of the parallel mounting device sends the task suspended object control command to the task suspended object and receives the task suspended object status sent by the task suspended object.

[0020] 3. Data flow between the suspended object management unit and the task suspended object: When the suspended object management unit transmits control commands or status between the task suspended object and the task suspended object, the transmission is carried out through the internal communication module of the parallel mounting device. The suspended object management unit will not send task suspended object control commands directly to the task suspended object through the internal switch of the parallel mounting device. The task suspended object will not send task suspended object status directly to the suspended object management unit through the internal switch of the parallel mounting device.

[0021] The internal communication node of the transport suspended object belongs to both subnet A and subnet B. It communicates with both subnets via one port. The internal communication node has two operating modes: 1) NT mode: In NT mode, the internal communication node acts as an NT and communicates with the suspended object management unit of subnet A; 2) NC mode: In NC mode, the internal communication node acts as an NC and communicates with the task suspended object of subnet B.

[0022] The communication nodes inside the suspended vehicle use a time-slice rotation method to switch working modes.

[0023] 1) The internal communication nodes of the suspended vehicle divide the time slice into periodically alternating Δt1 and Δt2;

[0024] 2) During the time slice Δt1, the communication nodes inside the suspended vehicle operate in NT mode;

[0025] During the Δt2 time slice, the communication nodes inside the suspended vehicle operate in NC mode.

[0026] Beneficial effects

[0027] This invention proposes an aircraft / suspension network architecture and control method. In application scenarios where multiple mission suspensions are mounted on a single aircraft hardpoint, traditional aircraft / suspension network architectures require the deployment of two communication nodes, totaling two ports, within the suspension. This invention, based on the FC-AE-1553 communication network, leverages the flexible networking characteristics of a switched topology, requiring only one communication node within the suspension, which provides only one port. For the suspension, the aircraft / suspension network architecture described in this invention effectively reduces the number of internal communication nodes, thereby saving internal space, reducing weight, and lowering manufacturing costs. Attached Figure Description

[0028] Figure 1 Traditional aircraft / suspended network architecture

[0029] Figure 2 Schematic diagram of the aircraft / suspended object network architecture of this invention

[0030] Figure 3 Time slice rotation processing diagram

[0031] Figure 4 Implementation Example

[0032] Figure 5 Data flow between the internal communication module of the transported suspended object and the suspended object management unit

[0033] Figure 6 Data flow between the internal communication module of the carrier suspension and the mission suspension Detailed Implementation

[0034] The present invention will now be further described in conjunction with the embodiments and accompanying drawings:

[0035] This invention provides an aircraft / suspended object network architecture, such as Figure 2 As shown, it includes the following components:

[0036] 1) One hanging object management unit;

[0037] 2) One transport suspension device. The transport suspension device contains one switch and one communication node;

[0038] 3) One or more task-mounted objects.

[0039] In terms of physical connectivity, the suspended object management unit, communication node, mission suspended object, and switch described in this invention are all located in the same aircraft / suspended object network system, and the physical connectivity is as follows:

[0040] 1) One port of the suspended object management unit is connected to one port of the internal switch of the suspended object;

[0041] 2) One port of the communication node inside the suspended vehicle is connected to one port of the switch;

[0042] 3) One port of each mission suspension is connected to one port of the internal switch of the transport suspension.

[0043] From the perspective of data interaction, the aircraft / suspended object network architecture described in this invention can be divided into two subnets:

[0044] 1) The internal communication nodes of the suspended object and the suspended object management unit form subnet A. In subnet A, the suspended object management unit acts as NC, and the internal communication nodes of the suspended object act as NT;

[0045] 2) The communication nodes inside the vehicle-mounted suspended object and the mission-mounted suspended object form subnet B. In subnet B, the communication nodes inside the vehicle-mounted suspended object are designated as NC, and the mission-mounted suspended object is designated as NT.

[0046] The internal communication node of the transporter / suspension described in this invention belongs to both subnet A and subnet B. To enable communication between two subnets on a single port of one internal communication node, two operating modes are configured for the internal communication node:

[0047] 1) NT Mode. In NT mode, the internal communication node of the suspended object communicates with the suspended object management unit of subnet A as NT;

[0048] 2) NC Mode. In NC mode, the internal communication node of the carrier suspension unit communicates with the task suspension unit of subnet B as the NC.

[0049] like Figure 3 As shown, the internal communication node of the transport suspension device described in this invention uses a time-slice rotation processing method to switch working modes:

[0050] 1) The internal communication nodes of the suspended vehicle divide the time slice into periodically alternating Δt1 and Δt2;

[0051] 2) During the time slice Δt1, the communication nodes inside the suspended vehicle operate in NT mode;

[0052] 3) During the Δt2 time slice, the communication nodes inside the suspended vehicle operate in NC mode.

[0053] Implementation, for example Figure 4 As shown, the implementation of the present invention will be described using an example of mounting two mission suspensions on one hardpoint of an aircraft.

[0054] The implementation of the architecture described in this invention includes one suspended object management unit, one parallel mounting device, and two task suspended objects. The parallel mounting device is a type of transport suspended object.

[0055] The parallel mounting device contains exactly one communication module and one switch. The communication module corresponds to the internal communication node of the suspended object in this invention. The internal communication module of the parallel mounting device has exactly one port. The internal switch of the parallel mounting device has four ports.

[0056] The internal and external interconnection relationships of the parallel mounting device are as follows:

[0057] 1) Internal interconnection relationship: One port of the internal switch of the parallel mounting device is connected to the only port of the communication module;

[0058] 2) External interconnection relationship: The three ports of the internal switch of the parallel mounting device are connected to the hanging object management unit and the two task hanging objects, respectively.

[0059] The suspended object management unit controls and monitors the status of suspended objects for the task. For example... Figure 5 , Figure 6 As shown, the data flow in the architecture described in this invention is as follows:

[0060] 1) Data flow between the internal communication module of the parallel mounting device and the suspended object management unit: The internal communication module of the parallel mounting device receives the task suspended object control command sent by the suspended object management unit and sends the task suspended object status to the suspended object management unit.

[0061] 2) Data flow between the internal communication module of the parallel mounting device and the task suspended object: The internal communication module of the parallel mounting device sends the task suspended object control command to the task suspended object and receives the task suspended object status sent by the task suspended object.

[0062] 3) Data Flow Between the Suspension Management Unit and the Task Suspension: When transmitting control commands or status between the suspension management unit and the task suspension, all communication is forwarded through the internal communication module of the parallel mounting device. The suspension management unit will not directly send task suspension control commands to the task suspension via the internal switch of the parallel mounting device. Similarly, the task suspension will not directly send task suspension status to the suspension management unit via the internal switch of the parallel mounting device.

[0063] Taking the sending of control commands from the suspended object management unit to the task suspended object as an example, the processing flow of the internal communication module of the parallel mounting device is as follows:

[0064] 1) The suspended object management unit, acting as the NC, sends task suspended object control commands to the parallel mounting devices;

[0065] 2) The internal communication module of the parallel mounting device operates in NT mode during a certain time slice Δt1, and receives the task hanging object control command sent by the hanging object management unit;

[0066] 3) During the subsequent Δt2 time slice, the internal communication module of the parallel mounting device operates in NC mode, forwarding the task hanging control commands sent by the hanging management unit to the task hanging object as NT.

Claims

1. A network system of a hanging object, comprising a hanging object management unit, a carrying hanging object unit, a first task hanging object, and a second task hanging object unit; the hanging object management unit; characterized in that The carrying suspension has only one communication node inside, which is connected with the internal switch; the suspension management unit is connected with the switch inside the carrying suspension only; the communication node inside the carrying suspension and the suspension management unit form a sub-network A; the communication node inside the carrying suspension serves as the NT of the sub-network A, and the suspension management unit serves as the NC of the sub-network A; the communication node inside the carrying suspension and the first task suspension and the second task suspension unit form a sub-network B; the communication node inside the carrying suspension serves as the NC of the sub-network B, and the first task suspension and the second task suspension unit serve as the NT of the sub-network B; the communication node inside the carrying suspension has only one port and has two working modes: in the NT mode, the communication node inside the carrying suspension serves as the NT and communicates with the suspension management unit of the sub-network A; in the NC mode, the communication node inside the carrying suspension serves as the NC and communicates with the first task suspension and the second task suspension unit of the sub-network B.

2. A control method of the suspension network system of claim 1, characterized in that: a. the data flow between the communication module inside the carrying suspension and the suspension management unit: the communication module inside the carrying suspension receives the control instruction sent by the suspension management unit and sends the first task suspension and the second task suspension unit state to the suspension management unit; b. the data flow between the communication module inside the carrying suspension and the first task suspension and the second task suspension unit: the communication module inside the carrying suspension sends the control instruction to the first task suspension and the second task suspension unit and receives the first task suspension and the second task suspension unit state sent by the first task suspension and the second task suspension unit; c. the data flow between the suspension management unit and the first task suspension and the second task suspension unit: when the suspension management unit and the first task suspension and the second task suspension unit transfer control instructions or states, they are forwarded through the communication module inside the carrying suspension; the suspension management unit does not directly send control instructions to the first task suspension and the second task suspension unit through the internal switch of the carrying suspension; the first task suspension and the second task suspension unit also do not directly send the first task suspension and the second task suspension unit state to the suspension management unit through the internal switch of the carrying suspension.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein: The communication node inside the carrying suspension belongs to both the sub-network A and the sub-network B, and communicates with the two sub-networks on one port of the communication node inside the carrying suspension; the communication node inside the carrying suspension sets two working modes: 1) NT mode; in the NT mode, the communication node inside the carrying suspension serves as the NT and communicates with the suspension management unit of the sub-network A; 2) NC mode; in the NC mode, the communication node inside the carrying suspension serves as the NC and communicates with the first task suspension and the second task suspension unit of the sub-network B.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein: The communication node inside the carrying suspension adopts a time slice round-robin processing method for switching the working mode: 1) The communication node inside the carrying suspension divides the time slice into periodically alternating Δt1 and Δt2; 2) In the Δt1 time slice, the internal communication node of the carrier suspension works in the NT mode; 3) In the Δt2 time slice, the internal communication node of the carrier suspension works in the NC mode.

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