Aircraft engineering simulator heterogeneous peripheral adaptive conversion device and method

Abstract

The invention discloses a self-adaptive and flexibly-expanded centralized protocol conversion device and method suitable for heterogeneous peripherals of an aircraft engineering simulator. Compatible communication between the peripherals and the host is achieved through the control self-adaption module and the communication self-adaption module, and the problem that heterogeneous peripherals are not compatible is solved. The control adaptive module comprises a hardware interface module, a bus identification module, an electrical conversion module, a master control MCU and an interface expansion module, and is responsible for electrical signal conversion and identification of a multi-bus protocol. The communication self-adaption module is composed of a configuration management module, a data receiving module, a protocol identification module, a data preprocessing module, a JSON coding and decoding library module, a data coding and decoding module and a data sending module, and data analysis and transmission are achieved. Multi-bus self-adaptive conversion is carried out by adopting a uniform interface, resource waste caused by fixed interface limitation is avoided, and equipment can be used after being inserted. And the data is analyzed through the JSON decoding library separated from the development platform, so that the system compatibility is improved, and the communication requirements of different devices are met.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention belongs to the field of aircraft engineering simulators, and in particular, relates to a device and method for adaptively converting heterogeneous peripherals of aircraft engineering simulators. Background Art

[0002] An aircraft engineering simulator is a tool or system that simulates aircraft operation and performance. It can be used for pilot training, aircraft performance evaluation, flight control system development and testing, aircraft system fault simulation, aircraft design and improvement, and flight research. The simulator originated abroad. Domestic research and development units are generally small in scale and small in staff. Moreover, each research and development unit operates independently without strict unified specifications. Engineering simulators inevitably have many peripherals, interfaces, and data types. During aviation virtual verification, different peripherals need to be connected to the system. There are many types of avionics equipment communication protocols from different manufacturers, and the communication interfaces are different. Commonly used ones are ARINC 429, RS-485, CAN, RS-232, and UDP. The host is not compatible. How to establish communication between these peripherals with different buses and the host without changing the main program code is an urgent problem to be solved.

[0003] In the prior art, in terms of protocol conversion: it is mainly through the configuration of the protocol database, but different manufacturers use different communication protocols, and it is difficult for the protocol library to include all protocols, so the compatibility is poor; in terms of electrical conversion: it is mainly the conversion of industrial field buses such as RS-485 and RS-232, and the conversion function is single. When used in simulators, multiple different devices need to be used in conjunction, which is relatively cumbersome. In addition, the conversion interfaces of these conversion devices are fixed. When replacing equipment, some bus interfaces may be insufficient while some bus interfaces are remaining, and the versatility is not high.

[0004] After searching the existing literature, it was found that the closest implementation scheme for multi-protocol data conversion is the Chinese patent application number 202220182674, named: A multi-protocol conversion communication box, which specifically sets the protocol conversion type through the dip switch to achieve the conversion of multiple protocols. However, it only has two lower computer communication interfaces, RS-232 and RS-485, which are not very versatile, and the use of dip switches will limit the type and number of protocols, and the compatibility is poor, so it cannot meet the requirements of aircraft engineering simulators.

[0005] In view of this, the present invention is proposed. Summary of the invention

[0006] The technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to overcome the deficiencies of the prior art and provide a heterogeneous peripheral adaptive conversion device and method for an aircraft engineering simulator, which solves the problems raised in the above-mentioned background technology.

[0007] In order to solve the above technical problems, the basic concept of the technical solution adopted by the present invention is:

[0008] An aircraft engineering simulator heterogeneous peripheral adaptive conversion device, used for establishing communication between the heterogeneous peripheral and a host, comprising:

[0009] Control adaptive module, the control adaptive module is used to realize automatic detection and conversion of hardware electrical signals, so that the bus data of heterogeneous peripherals can be recognized and processed by the main control MCU; control adaptation is mainly adaptive conversion of hardware electrical aspects. Peripherals of different buses can be inserted into any interface of the conversion device for conversion. When replacing peripherals, as long as the number of interfaces is sufficient, there will be no situation where some bus interfaces are insufficient and some bus interfaces are surplus. It has good versatility.

[0010] Communication adaptive module: The communication adaptive module is used to implement data analysis and protocol conversion to ensure stable data communication with the simulation system;

[0011] Interface expansion module: The interface expansion module is used to realize the simultaneous access of more devices and supports dynamic expansion to meet the needs of the simulation system.

[0012] Optionally, the control adaptive module includes: an interface module, a bus identification module, an electrical conversion module, a main control MCU module, and a USB interface circuit module;

[0013] The interface module includes multiple interfaces and is electrically connected to the communication adaptive module, and each interface supports multiple bus protocol connections;

[0014] The bus identification module is used to automatically identify the bus type of each interface, identify and convert it through voltage comparators and encoders, and send the identification results to the main control MCU;

[0015] The electrical conversion module is used to convert electrical signals of different bus protocols into TTL signals that can be recognized by the MCU;

[0016] The main control MCU module is used to receive bus identification information and encapsulate and process the data, format the data into the format of "frame length + address + type + data", and send it to the USB interface;

[0017] The USB interface circuit module is used to transmit the processed data to the communication adaptive module through the USB interface.

[0018] Optionally, the bus identification module includes a detection module and an encoding module. The detection module is used to detect the type of bus into which the interface is inserted. The detection module is composed of four voltage comparators and a basic circuit. The detection result is output in the form of high and low levels. The encoding module is a 4-2 line encoder. The encoding module is used to encode the four signals output by the detection module into two digital signals, and then send them to the main control MCU module. When the interface is inserted, the MCU determines the type of bus into which the interface is inserted by reading the data of the encoder.

[0019] Optionally, the electrical conversion module includes an ARINC 429 conversion circuit, a CAN conversion circuit, an RS-232 conversion circuit, and an RS-485 conversion circuit, wherein the ARINC 429 conversion circuit is used for conversion and transmission of ARINC 429 signals; the CAN conversion circuit is used for processing CAN bus data; the RS-232 conversion circuit is used for conversion between RS-232 signals and TTL signals; and the RS-485 conversion circuit is used for electrical conversion of RS-485 signals;

[0020] Among them, the RS-232 conversion circuit is composed of the MAX3232 chip and its external circuit, the RS-485 conversion circuit is composed of the SP3485 chip and its external circuit, the CAN conversion circuit is composed of the SN65HVD230 chip and its external circuit, and the ARINC429 electrical conversion circuit is composed of an encoding circuit composed of a phase shift circuit, a difference circuit and a reverse amplifier circuit, and a decoding circuit composed of a differential operational amplifier circuit and a hysteresis comparison circuit.

[0021] Optionally, each interface of the interface module supports the connection of the following bus protocols including ARINC 429, CAN, RS-232 and RS-485, and automatically identifies the type of inserted device through the bus identification module.

[0022] Optionally, the communication adaptation module includes a configuration management module, a data receiving module, a protocol identification module, a data preprocessing module, a JSON encoding and decoding library module, a data encoding and decoding module, and a data sending module;

[0023] The configuration management module is used to receive, save, read and manage configuration information. By adjusting the system configuration information, it can control the operation of the protocol converter. There are two working modes: default mode and control mode.

[0024] The data receiving module is used to control the reception of data, identify the source of data, and send instructions to control the startup of peripherals and establish a communication channel with the device;

[0025] The protocol identification module is used to identify the data protocol type, parse the information of the type field according to the data received by the receiving module, and then identify the data protocol type;

[0026] The data preprocessing module is used to precompile the received data and remove the parsed frame length, type, frame header, and address;

[0027] The JSON encoding and decoding library module defines the data field arrangement method, the specific purpose and meaning of each field. The data encoding and decoding module can parse the specific field meaning of the received data by reading the decoding library information, and then encode it according to the unified specification;

[0028] The data encoding and decoding module mainly parses the data processed by the data preprocessing module according to the JSON encoding and decoding library information read, reads the specific meaning of the field, and compiles the information into the preset template according to the unified specification;

[0029] The data sending module is used to send the encoded data to the simulation system in UDP transmission mode.

[0030] A method for adaptively converting heterogeneous peripherals of an aircraft engineering simulator comprises the following steps:

[0031] S1: Connect heterogeneous peripherals to the system through a unified DB9 interface and connect signals of different bus protocols according to the specifications. Each time a peripheral is inserted, the bus identification module detects the interface status through a voltage comparator and generates a detection signal to prepare for bus type identification.

[0032] S2: The voltage comparator transmits the detection signal of the insertion state to the 4-2 line encoder. The encoder encodes the 4-way signal into 2-way signal and sends the code to the main control MCU. The MCU determines the bus protocol type used by the current interface according to the encoding result.

[0033] S3: After receiving the encoding result, the main control MCU starts the corresponding electrical conversion module to convert the level signal of the corresponding bus into a TTL level signal to ensure data format compatibility and prepare for subsequent data processing;

[0034] S4: The converted TTL signal is transmitted to the MCU for data preprocessing. The MCU removes redundant information, such as the frame header and address segment, and encapsulates the valid data in the format of "frame length + address + type + data", providing a standardized data packet for the data analysis module, and transmits it to the host computer system through the TTL to USB module;

[0035] S5: After the host system receives the encapsulated data packet, it parses the type field in the data packet through the protocol identification module to determine the communication protocol. Subsequently, the data preprocessing module precompiles the received data, removes the parsed frame length, type, frame header, and address, and retains the data segment information. Finally, the system calls the JSON encoding and decoding library to parse the data content and convert it into a standard format to ensure that the data content is correctly understood and meets the needs of the host computer.

[0036] S6: The parsed data is sent to the simulation system through the data sending module using the UDP protocol to achieve real-time communication.

[0037] After adopting the above technical solution, the present invention has the following beneficial effects compared with the prior art. Of course, any product implementing the present invention does not necessarily need to achieve all the advantages described below at the same time:

[0038] The present invention provides a protocol conversion device and method with adaptability and flexible expansibility for heterogeneous peripherals of aircraft engineering simulators. In terms of electrical conversion, peripherals of different buses can be inserted into any interface of the conversion device for conversion. When replacing peripherals, as long as the number of interfaces is sufficient, some bus interfaces are insufficient while some bus interfaces are surplus, which has good versatility. In terms of protocol conversion, when replacing equipment, there is no need to modify the code and redevelop it. It is only necessary to change the data definition in the tree structure, which reduces the complexity of development and increases the compatibility of equipment.

[0039] The specific implementation modes of the present invention are further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0040] The drawings described below are only some embodiments. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative work. In the drawings:

[0041] Figure 1 It is a framework diagram of a heterogeneous peripheral data centralized processing system;

[0042] Figure 2 It is the circuit diagram of the bus identification module;

[0043] Figure 3 It is a control adaptive flow chart;

[0044] Figure 4 This is a tree structure encoding and decoding library diagram in JSON format;

[0045] Figure 5 It is a communication adaptation flow chart;

[0046] Figure 6 It is the overall workflow diagram of the heterogeneous peripheral data centralized processing system.

[0047] It should be noted that these drawings and textual descriptions are not intended to limit the conceptual scope of the present invention in any way, but are intended to illustrate the concept of the present invention for those skilled in the art by referring to specific embodiments. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0048] The present invention will now be described in further detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0049] See also Figure 1-6 As shown, in this embodiment, a heterogeneous peripheral adaptive conversion device for an aircraft engineering simulator is provided, including a control adaptive module, which is used to realize automatic detection and conversion of hardware electrical signals, so that the bus data of heterogeneous peripherals can be recognized and processed by the main control MCU; peripherals of different buses can be inserted into any interface of the conversion device for conversion, and when the peripherals are replaced, as long as the number of interfaces is sufficient, there will be no situation where some bus interfaces are insufficient and some bus interfaces are surplus, and it has good versatility. The control adaptive module includes: an interface module, a bus identification module, an electrical conversion module, a main control MCU module, and a USB interface circuit module; the interface module includes multiple interfaces and is electrically connected to the communication adaptive module, each interface supports multiple bus protocol connections, and the interface module is used to connect peripherals. A standard DB9 interface with pins 1-9 is uniformly used, and the pins of the DB9 interface are defined as follows: Pin 1 connects RS-232RX. Pin 2 connects RS-232TX (RS-232 transmitter). Pin 3 connects RS-485A (A end of RS-485 bus). Pin 4 connects RS-485B (B end of RS-485 bus). Pin 5 is used as the common ground GND. Pin 6 connects CAN_H (the high level end of the CAN bus) and ARINC 429 receiving terminal A. Pin 7 connects CAN_L (the low level end of the CAN bus) and ARINC 429 receiving terminal B. Pin 8 connects ARINC 429 transmitting terminal A. Pin 9 connects ARINC 429 transmitting terminal B; In addition, each interface of the interface module supports the connection of the following bus protocols including ARINC 429, CAN, RS-232 and RS-485, and automatically identifies the type of inserted device through the bus identification module.

[0050] The bus identification module is used to automatically identify the bus type of each interface, identify and convert through the voltage comparator and 4-2 encoder, and send the identification result to the main control MCU; the bus identification module includes a detection module and an encoding module. The detection module is used to detect the bus type inserted into the interface and output it in the form of high and low levels. The encoding module is used to encode the four-way level signal output by the detection module into two-way digital signals, and then send them to the main control MCU module. The detection module consists of four voltage comparators and basic circuits. The input ends of the four voltage comparators are respectively connected to the pins of RS-232, RS-485, CAN, and ARINC 429 according to the above wiring specifications, and then the output ends are connected to the 4-2 line encoder. When the interface is inserted, the MCU reads the bus type of the interface inserted according to the data of the encoder.

[0051] The RS-232 voltage comparator is connected to the encoder input terminal I0, the RS-485 voltage comparator is connected to the encoder input terminal I1, the CAN voltage comparator is connected to the encoder input terminal I2, and the ARINC 429 voltage comparator is connected to the encoder input terminal I3. From this, the encoder output data definition can be given. Output 00 indicates that the interface is RS-232, output 01 indicates that the interface is RS-485, output 10 indicates that the interface is CAN, and output 11 indicates that the interface is ARINC 429.

[0052] It should be noted that the working principle of the bus identification module is as follows: Figure 3 As shown: when the interface is inserted, there are two situations: the non-inverting input voltage of the voltage comparator is higher than the inverting input voltage and the output voltage is high (usually close to Vcc); the non-inverting input voltage is lower than the inverting input voltage and the output voltage is low (usually close to 0). When the socket is not inserted, the voltage comparator output is also low. Therefore, as long as the output is high, it can be considered that the interface is inserted. The bus whose voltage comparator outputs high is the inserted bus. Then the results of the 4 voltage comparators are sent to the MCU through a two-bit binary number through a 4-2 line encoder. No manual operation is required, and the bus type can be detected upon insertion.

[0053] The electrical conversion module is used to convert electrical signals of different bus protocols into TTL signals recognizable by the MCU; specifically, the electrical conversion module includes ARINC 429 conversion circuit, CAN conversion circuit, RS-232 conversion circuit, and RS-485 conversion circuit, among which the ARINC 429 conversion circuit is used for the conversion and transmission of ARINC 429 signals; the CAN conversion circuit is used to process CAN bus data; the RS-232 conversion circuit is used to realize the conversion between RS-232 signals and TTL signals; and the RS-485 conversion circuit is used for the electrical conversion of RS-485 signals. The RS-232 conversion circuit is composed of the MAX3232 chip and its external circuit, the RS-485 conversion circuit is composed of the SP3485 chip and its external circuit, the CAN conversion circuit is composed of the SN65HVD230 chip and its external circuit, and the ARINC 429 electrical conversion circuit is composed of an encoding circuit composed of a phase shift circuit, a difference circuit, and an inverse amplifier circuit, and a decoding circuit composed of a differential operational amplifier circuit and a hysteresis comparison circuit.

[0054] The main control MCU module is used to receive bus identification information and encapsulate and process data, format the data into the format of "frame length + address + type + data", and send it to the USB interface; the main control MCU module uses the STM32F105R8T6 chip, has multiple USART and CAN interfaces, can process data of multiple bus protocols at the same time, and transmit data to the host computer through the USB interface module. Specifically, when working, the main control knows the type of bus data connected to the interface based on feedback, and then pre-processes the data, packages the data into the format of "frame length + address + type + data", and finally sends the data to the TTL to USB module, where the frame length occupies one byte, the frame length represents the length of the received data, the address segment occupies 4 bits, the interface address of the interface number 1 is 0001, gradually increasing, the type occupies 4 bits, 0001 represents ARINC 429, 0010 represents CAN, 0100 represents RS-485, and 1000 represents RS-232.

[0055] The USB interface circuit module is used to transmit the processed data to the communication adaptive module through the USB interface.

[0056] The basic working principle of the control adaptive module is: different buses are connected to different pins of the unified interface according to the specifications. The bus identification module detects the type of bus connected to the interface according to the pre-defined wiring specifications, and then performs electrical conversion through the corresponding electrical conversion circuit, and sends feedback to the main control MCU. The main control knows the type of bus data connected to the interface based on the feedback, and then pre-processes the data, packages the data into the format of "frame length + address + type + data", and finally connects to the host computer in the form of USB through the TTL to USB circuit.

[0057] In the solution given by the control adaptive module in this patent, the interface can adaptively identify the four common bus data of aircraft engineering simulators: ARINC 429, RS-485, CAN, and RS-232. If there are more requirements, devices that can identify more types can be developed according to this method. In addition, because each signal is converted to TTL in the middle, this device can not only convert each signal to USB signal, but also convert between ARINC 429, RS-485, CAN, RS-232, and USB at will, and has a wider range of applications.

[0058] To further explain, the main implementation process of control adaptation is as follows: Figure 3As shown: first, the interface is inserted, the corresponding bus pins are connected and turned on, the corresponding voltage comparator outputs a high level or a low level, and other voltage comparators only output a low level. Therefore, which voltage comparator outputs a high level indicates which bus is connected. At the same time, the identification information is fed back to the MCU through the 4-2 encoder, so that the interface bus type can be automatically identified. After distinguishing the interface bus type, it is converted into TTL level data that the MCU can recognize through the corresponding electrical protocol conversion circuit. Then the MCU starts to pre-process the data, and after processing, it is sent to the host computer through the TTL to USB circuit. The whole process is completely automatic and no manual intervention is required.

[0059] Communication adaptive module, the communication adaptive module is used to realize data parsing and protocol conversion, ensuring stable and reliable data communication with the simulation system; the communication adaptive module is mainly adaptive data parsing in terms of software functions, which can interpret data field information of different protocol standards of different manufacturers. Whether it is ARINC 429 interface or CAN interface, the received data is multi-bit binary data, which needs to be parsed to obtain the specific meaning. However, for the same bus interface, different manufacturers have different encoding methods, and the specific data meaning needs to be parsed according to the interface control document ICD (Interface Control Document). Whenever the equipment is replaced, the engineering personnel must re-program and develop according to the ICD. This patent proposes a universal encoding and decoding method, which establishes a tree structure encoding and decoding library for each bus data based on JSON text and related ICD files. The encoding and decoding library defines the field arrangement of the data, the specific purpose and meaning of each field, etc. By calling the encoding and decoding library to parse the specific information of the data field, compared with the previous method of writing the data definition in the form of a class into the decoding program, when the equipment is replaced, this method does not need to modify the code and redevelop, because the encoding library is separated from the programming language and development platform, and only the data meaning in the tree structure needs to be changed. The data encoding and decoding module of this patent can parse various types of data and encode them into a unified specification to communicate with the host computer. The host computer only needs to be developed according to this specification, which greatly reduces the development complexity and has extremely high compatibility.

[0060] In this embodiment, the communication adaptation module includes a configuration management module, a data receiving module, a protocol identification module, a data preprocessing module, a JSON encoding and decoding library module, a data encoding and decoding module, and a data sending module;

[0061] The configuration management module is used to receive, save, read and manage configuration information. By adjusting the system configuration information, the operation of the protocol converter can be controlled, including the port number, IP address, serial port number, communication rate, check bit, data bit, stop bit and other basic configuration information for data transmission and the corresponding pairing relationship of all interfaces. By default, these basic configuration information are paired between ARINC 429, RS-485, CAN, RS-232 and UDP. When in this conversion mode, the system will automatically configure the information after identifying the data type, and can also be manually modified appropriately. The system defaults to this mode. When custom conversion is performed, the configuration information needs to be manually entered to establish a pairing relationship. The configuration management module has two working modes: default mode and control mode. Two modes are available, which reduces the complexity of operation and improves the compatibility of the equipment.

[0062] The data receiving module is used to control the reception of data, identify the source of data, and send instructions to control the startup of peripherals to establish a communication channel with the device; the data received by the data receiving module is in the format of "frame length + address + type + data", and the data source is read through the address segment information, that is, which interface device sends the data, for distinction. The data receiving module receives data from the lower computer in a polling manner to prevent conflicts caused by multiple interfaces sending data at the same time.

[0063] The protocol identification module is used to identify the data protocol type, parse the information of the type field according to the data received by the receiving module, and then identify the data protocol type;

[0064] The data preprocessing module is used to precompile the received data, remove the parsed frame length, type, frame header, address and other information, and retain the data segment information for the next step of specific data meaning parsing operation;

[0065] The JSON encoding and decoding library module defines the field arrangement of the data, the specific purpose and meaning of each field, etc. The data encoding and decoding module parses the specific field meaning of the received data by reading the decoding library information, and then encodes it according to a unified specification. Because JSON can be parsed and generated by multiple programming languages, and data can be exchanged and transmitted between different platforms and languages, a decoding library is established based on JSON. In the JSON tree, internal nodes represent elements or attributes, leaf nodes represent the values ​​of elements or attributes, and edges represent structural relationships such as element sub-elements, element values, and attribute values. The structure is simple, the logic is clear, and it is convenient to manage, store, and read data, so a tree structure is used. This decoding library can directly modify the nodes in the visual interface to configure the decoding library. It has low complexity and does not require high operator requirements;

[0066] Specific codec library implementation example Figure 4As shown, it mainly includes four nodes: ARINC 429, RS-485, CAN, and RS-232. Because this patent is designed to identify four bus protocols, it is divided in this way, which is clear and concise. When the received data is distinguished by the protocol type through the protocol identification module, the corresponding decoding library node can be directly read. The four nodes are still divided in a tree structure, which is classified by component name. Because the types of peripheral devices of aircraft engineering simulators are fixed, what changes are the manufacturers and protocols of the devices, so it can adapt to various communication protocols. The subnodes of specific device nodes are divided by EtoH and HtoE, which represent "device to host" and "host to device" respectively, to distinguish the two-way communication between the device and the host.

[0067] The data encoding and decoding module mainly parses the data of the data preprocessing module according to the read JSON encoding and decoding library information, reads the specific meaning of the field, and compiles the information into the preset template according to the unified specification; the data frame format in the unified coding specification is defined as follows: the data consists of a data header + identifier + data length + data area + CRC check + data tail, where the data header and data tail are used for data packet identification, parsing and processing, the identifier is used to identify the external device number, and also contains the data name, different identification numbers represent different data meanings, the data area represents specific data, and the data area contains all the lower computer instruction data. After the data is parsed, the instruction information is compiled into the corresponding position of the data area of ​​the preset template according to the unified specification, and the CRC check is used for data error detection. The definition specifications of the specific data fields in the data area are not repeated here.

[0068] The data sending module is used to send the encoded data to the simulation system in UDP transmission mode. The data sending module sends the encoded data to the corresponding address according to the configuration information.

[0069] The basic working principle of communication adaptation is: first, configure the codec library according to ICD, and then perform data analysis. The data of different buses are sent to the host computer after the previous electrical conversion and preprocessing. The host computer receives the data and analyzes the source and type of the data, and extracts the data segment through preprocessing. Then, match the corresponding codec library according to the data type. Then, the data codec module parses the specific field meaning of the received data by reading the decoding library information, and encodes it according to the unified specification, and finally sends it to the simulation system via UDP transmission.

[0070] The main implementation process is as follows Figure 5As shown: First, configure the codec library and interface information according to the interface control document ICD, and then perform data parsing. The data of different buses are sent to the host computer after the previous electrical conversion and preprocessing. The data receiving module receives the data and obtains the data source from the "address" field information. The protocol identification module parses the "type" field information according to the data received by the receiving module, and then identifies the data protocol type. The data preprocessing module precompiles the received data, removes the parsed frame length, type, frame header, address and other information, and retains the data segment information for the next step of specific data meaning parsing operation. The data encoding and decoding module parses the specific field meaning of the received data by reading the JSON decoding library information, and then encodes it according to the unified specification based on the interface information of the configuration module. The data sending module sends the encoded data to the simulation system in UDP transmission mode.

[0071] Furthermore, the communication adaptive module is the same as the control adaptive module. In this embodiment, the communication adaptive module can parse ARINC 429, RS-485, CAN, and RS-232, four commonly used bus data information of aircraft engineering simulators. Different encoding specification data can be parsed after configuration. If there are more requirements, more types of identification can be developed according to this method.

[0072] Interface expansion module: The interface expansion module is used to achieve simultaneous access to more devices and supports dynamic expansion to meet the needs of the simulation system. The interface expansion module is used for interface expansion. One device has four interfaces and can be flexibly expanded according to the needs of the simulator based on the flexible scalability of USB. There is no need to change the hardware to increase the scope of use of the device. By default, the device has two channels with eight adaptive interfaces. If the interface requirements are small, the interface expansion module can be removed and directly connected to the host computer to reduce costs.

[0073] Specifically, control adaptation and communication adaptation mainly focus on adaptive conversion in hardware electrical aspects and adaptive data analysis in software functions. The overall workflow is as follows: Figure 6As shown: Taking the data sent by the peripheral and received by the host as an example, first the interface is inserted and data transmission begins. At this time, the detection circuit will identify the interface data type and provide feedback information to the MCU. If the identification fails, it means that the bus data is not within the conversion range and the conversion ends. After successful identification, it will be converted into TTL level data that the MCU can recognize through the corresponding electrical protocol conversion circuit. Then the MCU begins to pre-process the data and package the data into the format of "frame length + address + type + data". The next step will be to enter another electrical protocol conversion circuit to convert the TTL level data into USB data and send it to the host through the USB interface. If the host successfully receives the data, it will enter the data parsing link. First, the address and type information in the data are parsed, and the data segments are extracted by removing the messy items. Then, the specific meaning of the data is parsed according to the configured configuration information and encoding and decoding information. Finally, the data is encoded according to the unified specification and sent to the simulation system in UDP transmission mode. If the host does not successfully receive the data, some of the above links are wrong, and it starts again, and the hardware interface sends the data.

[0074] In order to make the overall workflow, technical solutions and advantages of the present invention more clear, the overall technical solutions including control adaptation and communication adaptation are clearly and completely described below through specific embodiments:

[0075] A method for adaptively converting heterogeneous peripherals of an aircraft engineering simulator comprises the following steps:

[0076] S1: Connect heterogeneous peripherals to the system through a unified DB9 interface and connect signals of different bus protocols according to the specifications. Each time a peripheral is inserted, the bus identification module detects the interface status through a voltage comparator and generates a detection signal to prepare for bus type identification.

[0077] S2: The voltage comparator transmits the detection signal of the insertion state to the 4-2 line encoder. The encoder encodes the 4-way signal into 2-way signal and sends the code to the main control MCU. The MCU determines the bus protocol type used by the current interface according to the encoding result.

[0078] S3: After receiving the encoding result, the main control MCU starts the corresponding electrical conversion module to convert the level signal of the corresponding bus into a TTL level signal to ensure data format compatibility and prepare for subsequent data processing;

[0079] S4: The converted TTL signal is transmitted to the MCU for data preprocessing. The MCU removes redundant information, such as the frame header and address segment, and encapsulates the valid data in the format of "frame length + address + type + data", providing a standardized data packet for the data analysis module, and transmits it to the host computer system through the TTL to USB module;

[0080] S5: After the host system receives the encapsulated data packet, it parses the type field in the data packet through the protocol identification module to determine the communication protocol. Subsequently, the data preprocessing module precompiles the received data, removes the parsed frame length, type, frame header, and address information, and retains the data segment information. Finally, the system calls the JSON encoding and decoding library to parse the data content and convert it into a standard format to ensure that the data content is correctly understood and meets the needs of the host computer.

[0081] S6: The parsed data is sent to the simulation system through the data sending module using the UDP protocol to achieve real-time communication.

[0082] Taking the adaptive conversion of heterogeneous peripherals applied to the A320NEO simulator as an example, its main peripheral components include FCU, throttle lever, joystick, ECAM, MCDU, SWITCHING, and the buses used are ARINC 429, RS-485, CAN, RS-232. In aviation virtual verification, peripherals with different buses and protocols from different manufacturers are required. Taking the throttle component with RS485 as an example, the patented technical solution is used to enable heterogeneous peripherals to communicate adaptively with the host. The specific process is as follows:

[0083] S1: Insert the peripheral communication interface into any interface of the conversion device. After insertion, the RS485 voltage comparator input terminal in the bus identification module will generate a positive voltage difference, thereby outputting a high level, while the other voltage comparator input terminals have no voltage difference and output a low (close to 0) level;

[0084] S2: The different outputs of the output ends of the four voltage comparators are output through the encoding circuit to the main control MCU. The two outputs are 01. The main control receives the data through the encoder interface and determines that the interface is inserted into the RS485 bus.

[0085] S3: After being identified by the identification module, the bus data will be electrically converted through the RS485 electrical conversion circuit of the electrical conversion module, converting the RS485 level signal into a TTL level signal that can be recognized by the main control MCU;

[0086] S4: Then the MCU starts to pre-process the data, packaging the data into the format of "frame length + address + type + data", providing a standardized data packet for the data analysis module to read and distinguish the data during software recognition. After data pre-processing, it is sent to the host computer through the TTL to USB circuit;

[0087] S5: Before data analysis, you need to configure the codec library according to ICD, configure the interface information, and then analyze the data. For example, the data received by the data receiving module is "202455AA 0E B0 C0 C1 C2C3 C4 C5 C6 C7 C8 C9C10 C11 C125A", and the frame length is 20, which means that the data is 20 bytes. The receiving module receives 20 bytes of data and determines the integrity. The address and type each occupy 4 bits, and the value of a byte is 24, which corresponds to the address of 0010 for interface 2 and the type of 0100 for RS485. The basic information of the pre-processing package is analyzed, and the specific meaning of the information sent by the device is analyzed below;

[0088] First read the corresponding decoding library branch according to the data type. Here, read the RS485 branch first, and read out the definitions of the data header, ID number, command word, data tail, data start bit, trigger bit, specific command location, etc. Based on this, continue to parse the data. Read 55AA to know that it is a fixed data header, indicating that this data is sent by the device to the host computer (if it is AA55, it means that the data is sent by the host computer to the device). Read 0E to know that this data is sent by the throttle device. Read B0 to know that the data sent is control information. Since the data start bit read from the codec library is 32, the next bit of 0E is the specific data area. Temporarily assume that C0 is 04, which means that the third position is 1, and the 1 defined in the decoding library is the trigger bit. Therefore, the C0 data indicates that the lower right button of the throttle console is pressed, and the rest of the information is no longer parsed one by one;

[0089] After parsing the data, start to encode the data uniformly and compile the information into the preset template according to the unified specification. For example, if the data parsed here is the pressing of the lower right button of the throttle console, then the operation information in the template should be changed to the activated state;

[0090] S6: Finally, the information of the "data header + identifier + data length + data area + CRC check + data tail" structure will be sent to the main simulation system in the form of UDP.

[0091] The present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments. Anyone should be aware that any structural changes made under the enlightenment of the present invention, and any technical solutions that are the same or similar to the present invention, fall within the protection scope of the present invention. The technology, shape, and structural parts not described in detail in the present invention are all well-known technologies.

Claims

1. An adaptive conversion device for heterogeneous peripherals of an aircraft engineering simulator, used to establish communication between heterogeneous peripherals and a host, characterized in that: include: Control adaptive module, which is used to realize automatic detection and conversion of hardware electrical signals, so that the bus data of heterogeneous peripherals can be recognized and processed by the main control MCU; Communication adaptive module: The communication adaptive module is used to implement data analysis and protocol conversion to ensure stable data communication with the simulation system; Interface expansion module: The interface expansion module is used to realize the simultaneous access of more devices and supports dynamic expansion to meet the needs of the simulation system.

2. The aircraft engineering simulator heterogeneous peripheral adaptive conversion device according to claim 1 is characterized in that: The control adaptive module includes: an interface module, a bus identification module, an electrical conversion module, a main control MCU module, and a USB interface circuit module; The interface module includes multiple interfaces and is electrically connected to the communication adaptive module, and each interface supports multiple bus protocol connections; The bus identification module is used to automatically identify the bus type of each interface, identify and convert it through voltage comparators and encoders, and send the identification results to the main control MCU; The electrical conversion module is used to convert electrical signals of different bus protocols into TTL signals that can be recognized by the MCU; The main control MCU module is used to receive bus identification information and encapsulate and process the data, format the data into the format of "frame length + address + type + data", and send it to the USB interface; The USB interface circuit module is used to transmit the processed data to the communication adaptive module through the USB interface.

3. The aircraft engineering simulator heterogeneous peripheral adaptive conversion device according to claim 2 is characterized in that: The bus identification module includes a detection module and an encoding module. The detection module is used to detect the type of bus into which the interface is inserted. It is composed of four voltage comparators and a basic circuit. The detection result is output in the form of high and low levels. The encoding module is a 4-2 line encoder. The encoding module is used to encode the four signals output by the detection module into two digital signals, and then send them to the main control MCU module. When the interface is inserted, the MCU determines the type of bus into which the interface is inserted by reading the data of the encoder.

4. The aircraft engineering simulator heterogeneous peripheral adaptive conversion device according to claim 2 is characterized in that: The electrical conversion module includes ARINC 429 conversion circuit, CAN conversion circuit, RS-232 conversion circuit and RS-485 conversion circuit, wherein the ARINC 429 conversion circuit is used for the conversion and transmission of ARINC 429 signals; the CAN conversion circuit is used for processing CAN bus data; the RS-232 conversion circuit is used for the conversion between RS-232 signals and TTL signals; and the RS-485 conversion circuit is used for the electrical conversion of RS-485 signals; Among them, the RS-232 conversion circuit is composed of the MAX3232 chip and its external circuit, the RS-485 conversion circuit is composed of the SP3485 chip and its external circuit, the CAN conversion circuit is composed of the SN65HVD230 chip and its external circuit, and the ARINC 429 electrical conversion circuit is composed of an encoding circuit composed of a phase shift circuit, a difference circuit and a reverse amplifier circuit, and a decoding circuit composed of a differential operational amplifier circuit and a hysteresis comparison circuit.

5. The aircraft engineering simulator heterogeneous peripheral adaptive conversion device according to claim 2 is characterized in that: Each interface of the interface module supports the connection of the following bus protocols including ARINC 429, CAN, RS-232 and RS-485, and automatically identifies the type of inserted device through the bus identification module.

6. The aircraft engineering simulator heterogeneous peripheral adaptive conversion device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The communication adaptation module includes a configuration management module, a data receiving module, a protocol identification module, a data preprocessing module, a JSON encoding and decoding library module, a data encoding and decoding module, and a data sending module; The configuration management module is used to receive, save, read and manage configuration information. By adjusting the system configuration information, it can control the operation of the protocol converter. There are two working modes: default mode and control mode. The data receiving module is used to control the reception of data, identify the source of data, and send instructions to control the startup of peripherals and establish a communication channel with the device; The protocol identification module is used to identify the data protocol type, parse the information of the type field according to the data received by the receiving module, and then identify the data protocol type; The data preprocessing module is used to precompile the received data and remove the parsed frame length, type, frame header, and address; The JSON encoding and decoding library module defines the data field arrangement method, the specific purpose and meaning of each field. The data encoding and decoding module can parse the specific field meaning of the received data by reading the decoding library information, and then encode it according to the unified specification; The data encoding and decoding module mainly parses the data processed by the data preprocessing module according to the JSON encoding and decoding library information read, reads the specific meaning of the field, and compiles the information into the preset template according to the unified specification; The data sending module is used to send the encoded data to the simulation system in UDP transmission mode.

7. A method for adaptive conversion of heterogeneous peripherals of an aircraft engineering simulator, characterized in that: The following steps are involved: S1: Connect heterogeneous peripherals to the system through a unified DB9 interface and connect signals of different bus protocols according to the specifications. Each time a peripheral is inserted, the bus identification module detects the interface status through a voltage comparator and generates a detection signal to prepare for bus type identification. S2: The voltage comparator transmits the detection signal of the insertion state to the 4-2 line encoder. The encoder encodes the 4-way signal into 2-way signal and sends the code to the main control MCU. The MCU determines the bus protocol type used by the current interface according to the encoding result. S3: After receiving the encoding result, the main control MCU starts the corresponding electrical conversion module to convert the level signal of the corresponding bus into a TTL level signal to ensure data format compatibility and prepare for subsequent data processing; S4: The converted TTL signal is transmitted to the MCU for data preprocessing. The MCU removes redundant information, such as the frame header and address segment, and encapsulates the valid data in the format of "frame length + address + type + data", providing a standardized data packet for the data analysis module, and transmits it to the host computer system through the TTL to USB module; S5: After the host system receives the encapsulated data packet, it parses the type field in the data packet through the protocol identification module to determine the communication protocol. Subsequently, the data preprocessing module precompiles the received data, removes the parsed frame length, type, frame header, and address, and retains the data segment information. Finally, the system calls the JSON encoding and decoding library to parse the data content and convert it into a standard format to ensure that the data content is correctly understood and meets the needs of the host computer. S6: The parsed data is sent to the simulation system through the data sending module using the UDP protocol to achieve real-time communication.

Images