Airborne laser illumination system based on optical fiber conduction

Abstract

The invention belongs to the field of aircraft lighting equipment, and discloses an airborne laser lighting system based on optical fiber conduction, the lighting system comprises a lighting controller, a conduction optical fiber and a lamp, and an optical signal generated by the lighting controller is output to the lamp through the conduction optical fiber. The lighting controller comprises a controller shell, a driving module, a laser coupling module and an optical fiber connector, the driving module and the laser coupling module are arranged in the controller shell, the optical fiber connector is arranged on the controller shell and detachably connected with the conduction optical fiber, and the driving module is connected with the upper computer and the laser coupling module. The driving module drives the laser coupling module to generate laser according to a control instruction output by the upper computer. According to the airborne laser illumination system, light source modules, conduction modules, control modules and the like of all sub-illumination systems are integrated in the controller, only optical lenses need to be reserved for each sub-illumination, cable light guide is replaced by optical fiber light guide, and the size of the lamp is effectively reduced.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention belongs to the field of aircraft lighting and relates to an airborne laser lighting system based on optical fiber transmission. Background Art

[0002] The airborne lighting system is an important optomechanical system that realizes the functions of aircraft three-dimensional spatial positioning, night navigation and landing, and friend-or-foe identification. It mainly includes landing lights, fuselage formation lights, wingtip formation lights, tail navigation lights, anti-collision lights, refueling area lights, etc. It is an important guarantee for the navigation safety of aircraft.

[0003] At present, the continuous improvement of the performance of various aircraft has put forward requirements for the airborne lighting system, such as high system efficiency, miniaturization, lightweight, and multi-functional reuse. At this stage, the external lighting system of aircraft mainly adopts lighting methods such as LED, which has the characteristics of large size, mass and difficulty in heat dissipation. Its huge size and mass are a problem that limits the improvement of aircraft lightweight, maneuverability and stealth performance. Summary of the invention

[0004] In order to solve the technical problem that the existing LED airborne lighting system is difficult to achieve lightweight, maneuverability and stealth performance of the aircraft due to its large size and weight, an airborne laser lighting system based on optical fiber transmission is disclosed, the airborne laser lighting system includes a lighting controller, a transmission optical fiber and a lamp, and the light signal generated by the lighting controller is output to the lamp via the transmission optical fiber.

[0005] Among them, the lighting controller includes a controller housing, a drive module, a laser coupling module and an optical fiber connector. The drive module and the laser coupling module are arranged in the controller housing. The optical fiber connector is arranged in the controller housing and is detachably connected to the conductive optical fiber. The drive module is connected to the host computer and the laser coupling module. The drive module drives the laser coupling module to generate laser according to the control instructions output by the host computer.

[0006] Furthermore, the laser coupling module includes a red-green laser coupling module and a white light coupling module. The red-green laser coupling module generates a red light source for the navigation light, a green light source for the navigation light and a red light source for the anti-collision light according to the control instructions output by the driving module. The white light coupling module generates a white light source for the rear navigation light, a white light source for the landing gear signal light and a white light source for the refueling light according to the control instructions output by the driving module.

[0007] Furthermore, the red-green laser coupling module and the white light coupling module both include a laser light source, and the laser light source is connected to the optical fiber connector via a lens array or a free-form surface lens.

[0008] Furthermore, the laser coupling module also includes a heat dissipation module.

[0009] Furthermore, a thermally conductive adhesive pad is provided between the driving module and the inner wall of the controller housing.

[0010] Furthermore, the transmission optical fiber includes an optical fiber cable and a SMA905 connector.

[0011] Furthermore, the lamps include navigation anti-collision lights, landing gear signal lights and refueling lights.

[0012] Furthermore, the navigation anti-collision light, the landing gear signal light and the refueling light all include a lampshade, a pressure plate and a lens assembly.

[0013] Compared with the prior art, the beneficial effects achieved by at least one of the above technical solutions adopted in the embodiments of this specification include at least the following: The airborne laser lighting system of the present invention is different from the traditional aircraft external lighting technology, which places light sources at each sub-lighting system and is equipped with corresponding auxiliary facilities such as heat dissipation, conduction, and circuit control. Instead, the light sources, heat dissipation, conduction, and circuit control of all sub-lighting systems are highly integrated inside the fuselage. Each sub-lighting only retains an optical lens, which realizes the use of optical fiber light guides instead of cable light guides, effectively reducing the volume of external lamps. At the same time, an integrated heat dissipation solution is formed to effectively improve the lighting efficiency and working stability of the lighting system. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0014] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, the drawings required for use in the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present application. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without paying creative work.

[0015] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of an airborne laser illumination system based on optical fiber transmission according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0016] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of a lighting controller according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0017] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of a navigation anti-collision light according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0018] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of a landing gear signal light according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0019] Figure 5 A schematic diagram of a refueling lamp according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0020] Among them, 1. lighting controller; 2. transmission optical fiber; 3. navigation anti-collision light; 4. landing gear signal light; 5. refueling lamp; 11. shell; 12. drive module; 13. red and green laser coupling module; 14. heat dissipation module; 15. optical fiber connector; 16. base; 17. white light coupling module; 31. lampshade; 32. pressure plate; 33. lens assembly; 41. second lampshade; 42. second lens assembly; 43. second shell; 44. second pressure plate; 51. third lampshade; 52. third pressure plate; 53. third shell; 54. third lens assembly. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0021] The embodiments of the present application are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0022] The following describes the implementation methods of the present application through specific specific examples, and those skilled in the art can easily understand other advantages and effects of the present application from the content disclosed in this specification. Obviously, the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present application, rather than all the embodiments. The present application can also be implemented or applied through other different specific implementation methods, and the details in this specification can also be modified or changed in various ways based on different viewpoints and applications without departing from the spirit of the present application. It should be noted that the following embodiments and the features of the embodiments can be combined with each other in the absence of conflict. Based on the embodiments in the present application, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in the field without making creative work belong to the scope of protection of the present application.

[0023] In the description of this embodiment, it should be understood that the terms "center", "longitudinal", "lateral", "up", "down", "front", "back", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inside" and "outside" etc., indicating orientations or positional relationships, are based on the orientations or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing the invention and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore should not be understood as a limitation on the invention.

[0024] In addition, the terms "first", "second", "third", etc. are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of technical features indicated. Therefore, features defined as "first", "second", etc. may explicitly or implicitly include one or more features. In the description of the present invention, unless otherwise specified, the meaning of "plurality" is two or more.

[0025] It should also be noted that the illustrations provided in the following embodiments are only schematic illustrations of the basic concept of the present disclosure. The illustrations only show components related to the present disclosure rather than being drawn according to the number, shape and size of components in actual implementation. In actual implementation, the type, quantity and proportion of each component may be changed arbitrarily, and the component layout may also be more complicated.

[0026] This specific embodiment discloses an airborne laser illumination system based on optical fiber transmission, see Figure 1 As shown, the airborne laser lighting system includes a lighting controller 1, a transmission optical fiber 2 and a lamp. The optical signal generated by the lighting controller 1 is output to the lamp through the transmission optical fiber 2. The lamp includes a navigation anti-collision light 3, a landing gear signal light 4 and a refueling light 5. The lighting controller 1 receives communication instructions from the aircraft, and controls the working state and working mode of the navigation anti-collision light 3, the landing gear signal light 4 and the refueling light 5 according to the relevant signals of the aircraft. The navigation anti-collision light 3, the landing gear signal light 4 and the refueling light 5 receive the optical signal output by the lighting controller 1 through the light source-optical fiber-external lighting coupling / decoupling method to realize the lighting function of each lamp.

[0027] Specifically, the lighting controller 1 integrates the driving module of the external lighting system and the core light-emitting unit of all lighting functions, namely the laser coupling module. The driving module receives control instructions from the mission system through the RS422 communication bus, the light detection signal of the electromechanical control and management system, the landing gear strut lowering signal and the wheel load signal, which are sent to the main processor after being converted by the RS422 circuit. The main processor controls the constant current driving module to output the driving signal according to different control instructions to drive the laser to emit light.

[0028] Among them, see Figure 2 As shown, the lighting controller 1 includes a controller housing, a driving module 12, a laser coupling module and an optical fiber connector 15. The controller housing includes an outer shell 11 and a base 16. The driving module 12 and the laser coupling module are arranged in the controller housing. The optical fiber connector 15 is arranged in the controller housing and is detachably connected to the conductive optical fiber 2. The driving module 12 is connected to the host computer and the laser coupling module. The driving module drives the laser coupling module to generate laser according to the control instructions output by the host computer.

[0029] Further, see Figure 2 As shown, the laser coupling module includes a red-green laser coupling module 13 and a white light coupling module 17. The red-green laser coupling module 13 generates a red light source for the navigation light, a green light source for the navigation light and a red light source for the anti-collision light according to the control instructions output by the driving module. The white light coupling module 17 generates a white light source for the rear navigation light, a white light source for the landing gear signal light and a white light source for the refueling light according to the control instructions output by the driving module.

[0030] Furthermore, the red-green laser coupling module 13 and the white light coupling module 17 both include a laser light source, and the laser light source is connected to the optical fiber connector 15 via a lens array or a free-form surface lens.

[0031] Further, see Figure 2 As shown, the laser coupling module also includes a heat dissipation module 14 .

[0032] Specifically, the red-green laser coupling module 13, the white-light coupling module 17, the optical fiber connector 15 and the heat dissipation module 14 are installed on the housing 11, and the driving module 12 is installed on the surface inside the housing 11 and contacts the housing 11 through the thermal conductive pad. The functions of the driving module 12 are the selection of the working mode of the lighting system, the selection of the stroboscopic mode, the laser module drive control, the temperature control module control and feedback, etc. The red-green laser coupling module 13 and the white-light coupling module 17 couple the laser beam into the optical fiber through the microlens array, and use the conduction effect of the optical fiber on the illumination beam to use multiple optical fibers to realize the conduction of the laser light source beam. Among them, the light source and the optical fiber are connected through a lens array or a free-form surface lens to ensure that the light generated by the light source is incident on the optical fiber. The principle of connecting the light source and the optical fiber through a lens array or a free-form surface lens is to use optical lens coupling, that is, to use the optical lens to have a converging effect on the light, so as to converge the light beam emitted by the light source in one direction, so that the light can be compressed and then incident on the inside of the optical fiber to realize the coupling of the light source and the optical fiber; after the light source is transmitted through the optical fiber, the light is incident on each unit of the external lighting.

[0033] The red-green laser coupling module 13 and the white-light coupling module 17 are coupled to the transmission optical fiber 2 for the laser coupling process, and the transmission optical fiber 2 is coupled to the lens of each lamp for the laser decoupling reverse process. The decoupling and the reverse process of decoupling include first using three-dimensional software to establish a microlens array model for decoupling and models of related components, and then importing the model into the Tracepro optical simulation software. According to the lighting requirements of the three different lighting systems of the navigation anti-collision light 3, the landing gear signal light 4 and the refueling light 5, the corresponding Gaussian light source is imported to simulate the situation where the real laser light sources of various subsystems are derived from the optical fiber after coupling, and then the ray tracing is performed to analyze the decoupling effect of the microlens arrays of different structures on the laser. Based on the above principles, the optical fiber-external lighting decoupling algorithm is studied and improved. On this basis, the target parameters such as lighting effect and luminous flux in the driving module 12 are set according to the lighting requirements of different lighting subsystems, and the microlens structure is optimized using the Tracepro optimization toolbox to improve the efficient transmission of light energy during the decoupling process.

[0034] Furthermore, the transmission optical fiber 2 includes an optical fiber cable and an SMA905 connector. The optical fiber cable is made of copper-plated quartz optical fiber, which can meet the aircraft's requirements for use in high temperature, vacuum and harsh environments.

[0035] Furthermore, the navigation anti-collision light 3, the landing gear signal light 4 and the refueling light 5 all include a lampshade, a pressure plate and a lens assembly.

[0036] Specifically, see Figure 3 As shown, the navigation anti-collision light 3 is mainly composed of three parts: a first lampshade 31, a first pressure plate 32 and a first lens assembly 33. The first lampshade 31 is made of quartz glass. The outer side of the first lampshade 31 is slightly raised, which can not only meet the light output requirements of the product, but also reduce the thermal stress generated during flight when the lampshade is raised too high. The navigation light / anti-collision light integrates the front navigation light, the rear navigation light and the anti-collision light, all of which receive light source signals from the external lighting controller. The light-emitting position of the navigation light / anti-collision light is transmitted to the inside of each lamp through optical fiber conduction. Through the secondary light distribution design of the lens, the light emitted by the optical fiber meets the performance requirements of the navigation light / anti-collision light.

[0037] See also Figure 4 As shown, the landing gear signal light 4 is mainly composed of a second lens assembly 42, a second shell 43, a second pressure plate 44 and a second lampshade 41. The second lampshade 41 is mounted on the second shell 43 by the second pressure plate 44, and the second lens assembly 42 is mounted on the second shell 43 by screws. The landing gear signal light 4 is provided with a light source by a white light coupling module 17, and is controlled to be on and off by the lighting controller 1.

[0038] See also Figure 5 As shown, the refueling lamp 5 is mainly composed of a third lens assembly 54, a third shell 53, a third pressure plate 52 and a third lampshade 51. The third lampshade 51 is installed on the third shell 53 by the third pressure plate 52. The third lens assembly 54 is installed on the third shell 53. The refueling lamp 5 is provided with a light source by a white light coupling module 17, and is controlled to be on and off by a lighting controller 1.

[0039] The airborne laser lighting system of the present invention is different from the traditional aviation external lighting technology, which places light sources in each sub-lighting system and is equipped with corresponding auxiliary facilities such as heat dissipation, conduction, and circuit control. Instead, the light sources, heat dissipation, conduction, and circuit control of all sub-lighting systems are highly integrated inside the fuselage. Each sub-lighting only retains an optical lens, and optical fiber light guides replace cable light guides, effectively reducing the volume of external lamps. At the same time, an integrated heat dissipation solution is formed to effectively improve the lighting system's light efficiency and working stability.

[0040] Obviously, those skilled in the art should understand that the above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention and is not intended to limit the present invention. For those skilled in the art, the embodiments of the present invention may have various modifications and changes. Any modification, equivalent replacement, improvement, etc. made within the spirit and principle of the present invention shall be included in the protection scope of the present invention.

[0041] In addition, it should be understood that although the present specification is described according to implementation modes, not every implementation mode contains only one independent technical solution. This description of the specification is only for the sake of clarity. Those skilled in the art should regard the specification as a whole. The technical solutions in each embodiment may also be appropriately combined to form other implementation modes that can be understood by those skilled in the art.

Claims

1. An airborne laser illumination system based on optical fiber transmission, characterized in that: It comprises a lighting controller (1), a transmission optical fiber (2) and a lamp, wherein the optical signal generated by the lighting controller (1) is output to the lamp via the transmission optical fiber (2); The lighting controller (1) comprises a controller housing, a drive module (12), a laser coupling module and an optical fiber connector (15); the drive module (12) and the laser coupling module are arranged in the controller housing; the optical fiber connector (15) is arranged in the controller housing and is detachably connected to the conductive optical fiber (2); the drive module (12) is connected to a host computer and the laser coupling module; and the drive module drives the laser coupling module to generate laser light according to a control instruction output by the host computer.

2. The optical fiber-based airborne laser illumination system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The laser coupling module comprises a red-green laser coupling module (13) and a white light coupling module (17); the red-green laser coupling module (13) generates a navigation light red light source, a navigation light green light source and an anti-collision light red light source according to a control instruction output by the driving module; and the white light coupling module (17) generates a rear navigation light white light source, a landing gear signal light white light source and a refueling light white light source according to a control instruction output by the driving module.

3. The optical fiber-based airborne laser illumination system according to claim 2, characterized in that: The red-green laser coupling module (13) and the white light coupling module (17) both comprise a laser light source, and the laser light source is connected to the optical fiber connector (15) via a lens array or a free-form surface lens.

4. The optical fiber-based airborne laser illumination system according to claim 2, characterized in that: The laser coupling module also includes a heat dissipation module (14).

5. The optical fiber-based airborne laser illumination system according to claim 1, characterized in that: A heat-conducting rubber pad is provided between the driving module (12) and the inner wall of the controller housing.

6. The optical fiber-based airborne laser illumination system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The transmission optical fiber (2) comprises an optical fiber cable and a SMA905 connector.

7. The optical fiber-based airborne laser illumination system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The lamp comprises a navigation anti-collision light (3), a landing gear signal light (4) and a refueling light (5).

8. The optical fiber-based airborne laser illumination system according to claim 7, characterized in that: The navigation anti-collision light (3), the landing gear signal light (4) and the refueling light (5) all comprise a lampshade, a pressure plate and a lens assembly.

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