Communication system of two-channel motor controller suitable for eVTOL

Abstract

The invention discloses a communication system of a dual-channel motor controller suitable for eVTOL, which comprises a first control channel and a second control channel which are electrically isolated, and the first control channel and the second control channel are in interactive communication connection through an isolated inter-channel communication link so as to synchronize the state and fault management of dual channels; wherein each of the first control channel and the second control channel comprises a protocol conversion module which is configured to establish a heterogeneous redundant communication link with the flight control system and convert an external communication protocol from the flight control system into an internal communication protocol; and the main control module is in communication connection with the protocol conversion module so as to perform data exchange through an internal communication protocol. By constructing a dual-channel communication architecture integrating heterogeneous redundant external communication, standardized protocol conversion and isolated inter-channel interaction, the problems of common cause failure and communication integrity of the motor controller in the eVTOL field are effectively solved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of electric propulsion system technology, and more particularly to a communication system for a dual-channel motor controller suitable for eVTOL. Background Technology

[0002] The electric propulsion system of an electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft typically employs a redundant design, such as using a dual-winding motor and a corresponding dual-channel motor controller.

[0003] Currently, dual-channel motor controllers typically employ homogeneous redundant communication methods, such as dual CAN buses or dual RS485 buses, to achieve communication redundancy with the flight control system. However, this type of homogeneous redundant communication architecture carries the risk of common-cause failure. Because the communication medium, protocol, or hardware platform is the same, if one communication channel fails due to electromagnetic interference, hardware defects, or software vulnerabilities, the other channel may also fail simultaneously for the same reason, leading to the collapse of the entire communication system and seriously affecting flight safety.

[0004] In addition, existing communication systems often lack a unified protocol conversion mechanism, resulting in inconsistent communication interfaces with different controllers or flight control systems. This increases the difficulty of system integration and development costs, and also increases the complexity of airworthiness certification.

[0005] Therefore, there is an urgent need for a communication architecture that can balance communication redundancy, heterogeneity, and protocol standardization in order to improve the integrity and reliability of the communication system of the eVTOL electric propulsion system. Summary of the Invention

[0006] The technical problem to be solved by this invention is how to study a communication system that can take into account communication redundancy, heterogeneity and protocol standardization.

[0007] To address the aforementioned technical problems, this invention provides a communication system for a dual-channel motor controller suitable for eVTOL, comprising a first control channel and a second control channel with electrical isolation. The first control channel and the second control channel are interconnected via an isolated inter-channel communication link to synchronize the status and fault management of the two channels. Both the first control channel and the second control channel include: The protocol conversion module is configured to establish a heterogeneous redundant communication link with the flight control system and convert the external communication protocol from the flight control system into an internal communication protocol. The main control module is communicatively connected to the protocol conversion module to exchange data through the internal communication protocol.

[0008] Furthermore, the heterogeneous redundant communication link includes one CAN bus communication connection and one RS-485 bus communication connection.

[0009] Further: The CAN bus communication connection is configured as a homogeneous redundant CAN bus; The RS-485 bus communication connection is configured as a homogeneous redundant RS-485 bus.

[0010] Furthermore, the internal communication protocol is the SPI protocol; the protocol conversion module communicates with the main control module through the SPI interface.

[0011] Further: The main control module includes a main drive control chip, a monitoring chip, and an oil pump controller.

[0012] Furthermore, the main drive control chip, the monitoring chip, and the oil pump controller are interconnected via an internal CAN bus.

[0013] Furthermore, the main drive control chip, the monitoring chip, and the oil pump controller are all connected to the internal CAN bus via an internal CAN transceiver.

[0014] Furthermore, the isolated inter-channel communication link is an isolated controller area network bus.

[0015] Compared with the prior art, the embodiments of the present invention have the following beneficial effects: This invention effectively solves the common cause failure and communication integrity problems of motor controllers in the eVTOL field by constructing a dual-channel communication architecture that integrates heterogeneous redundant external communication, standardized protocol conversion, and isolated channel interaction. Attached Figure Description

[0016] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention, the accompanying drawings used in the description of the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the accompanying drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0017] Figure 1 This is a diagram of the dual-channel system communication architecture disclosed in this invention.

[0018] In the picture: A. First control channel; B. Second control channel; 100. Protocol conversion module; 200. Main control module; 210. Main drive control chip; 220. Monitoring chip; 230. Oil pump controller. Detailed Implementation

[0019] To enable those skilled in the art to better understand the present invention, the technical solutions of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings of the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present invention, and not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0020] This invention relates to a dual-channel motor controller for driving a dual-winding motor. The motor controller has two electrically isolated channels, each controlling one of the two independent windings of the main drive motor and the other of the two independent windings of the oil pump motor. Since communication between the dual-channel motor controller and the flight control system is crucial, this invention aims to provide a communication system suitable for eVTOL dual-channel motor controllers to address the common-cause failure risk caused by homogeneous redundancy in existing eVTOL dual-channel motor controller communication architectures.

[0021] Please see Figure 1 The communication system mainly includes a first control channel A and a second control channel B with electrical isolation. The first control channel A and the second control channel B are connected by an isolated inter-channel communication link for synchronous status and fault management of the two channels, and to ensure that a partial fault in one channel will not affect the other channel.

[0022] The isolated inter-channel communication link is an isolated controller area network bus. When one channel fails or another channel fails through this link, the healthy channel can immediately take over control, achieving a seamless switchover.

[0023] Both the first control channel A and the second control channel B include a protocol conversion module 100 and a main control module 200.

[0024] Specifically: The protocol conversion module 100 is configured to establish a heterogeneous redundant communication link with the flight control system and convert the external communication protocol from the flight control system into an internal communication protocol.

[0025] In this solution, the protocol conversion module 100 standardizes and decouples communication, converting heterogeneous external communication protocols into a single internal communication protocol. On the one hand, it removes the complex external communication protocol processing functions from the main control module 200, allowing the main control module 200 to only handle the unified, high-speed SPI protocol. On the other hand, the protocol conversion module 100 can be reused as a standard component by other systems on eVTOL, significantly reducing overall development and certification costs.

[0026] In this scheme, the heterogeneous redundant communication links include one CAN bus communication connection and one RS-485 bus communication connection. This is the core means to overcome common-cause failure, because the CAN bus communication connection and the RS-485 bus communication connection have fundamental differences in electrical characteristics, communication protocols, and anti-interference characteristics. When a certain interference (such as electromagnetic noise in a specific frequency band) may interrupt CAN communication, RS-485 communication may be completely unaffected, and vice versa. That is, the path of common-cause failure is cut off at the root.

[0027] In a further embodiment, the protocol conversion module 100 is implemented using a separate communication I / O board. The CAN bus communication connection is configured as a homogeneous redundant CAN bus; the RS-485 bus communication connection is configured as a homogeneous redundant RS-485 bus.

[0028] The main control module 200 is communicatively connected to the protocol conversion module 100 to exchange data via an internal communication protocol.

[0029] In this scheme, the internal communication protocol is the SPI protocol; the protocol conversion module 100 communicates with the main control module 200 through the SPI interface.

[0030] In a further embodiment, the main control module 200 includes a main drive control chip 210, a monitoring chip 220, and an oil pump controller 230. The monitoring chip 220 monitors the operating status of the main drive control chip 210 and the oil pump controller 230. Since the main drive control chip 210 and the monitoring chip 220 are conventional chips in this field, they will not be described in detail here.

[0031] The main drive control chip 210, monitoring chip 220, and oil pump controller 230 are interconnected via an internal CAN bus. In a further embodiment, the main drive control chip 210, monitoring chip 220, and oil pump controller 230 are all connected to the internal CAN bus via internal CAN transceivers. This allows the channels to operate as a coordinated whole and provides an accurate and unified status data source for information exchange between channels.

[0032] During operation, commands from the flight control system are transmitted to the communication I / O board via CAN or RS-485 links, where they are converted into SPI data streams and sent to the main drive control chip. Based on these commands, the main drive control chip calculates the motor drive signals and coordinates with the oil pump controller via the internal CAN bus, with a monitoring chip providing continuous safety monitoring. Simultaneously, the first control channel A and the second control channel B continuously exchange "health status" via an isolated CAN bus. If the monitoring chip of the first control channel A detects a fault in its own main drive control chip, it immediately notifies the oil pump controller of this channel via the internal CAN bus and simultaneously sends a "Channel fault, requesting takeover" message to the second control channel B via the inter-channel isolated CAN bus. Upon receiving the message, the second control channel B's main control module immediately increases the output power and fully takes over the control of the dual-winding motor, thus ensuring uninterrupted power supply.

[0033] Although embodiments of the invention have been shown and described, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes, modifications, substitutions and alterations can be made to these embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the invention, the scope of which is defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A communication system for a dual-channel motor controller suitable for eVTOL, characterized in that, It includes a first control channel (A) and a second control channel (B) with electrical isolation. The first control channel (A) and the second control channel (B) are interconnected through an isolated inter-channel communication link to synchronize the status and fault management of the two channels. Both the first control channel (A) and the second control channel (B) include: The protocol conversion module (100) is configured to establish a heterogeneous redundant communication link with the flight control system and convert the external communication protocol from the flight control system into an internal communication protocol. The main control module (200) is communicatively connected to the protocol conversion module (100) to exchange data through the internal communication protocol.

2. The communication system for a dual-channel motor controller suitable for eVTOL according to claim 1, characterized in that, The heterogeneous redundant communication link includes one CAN bus communication connection and one RS-485 bus communication connection.

3. The communication system for a dual-channel motor controller suitable for eVTOL according to claim 2, characterized in that: The CAN bus communication connection is configured as a homogeneous redundant CAN bus; The RS-485 bus communication connection is configured as a homogeneous redundant RS-485 bus.

4. The communication system for a dual-channel motor controller suitable for eVTOL according to claim 1, characterized in that, The internal communication protocol is the SPI protocol; the protocol conversion module (100) is connected to the main control module (200) through the SPI interface.

5. The communication system for a dual-channel motor controller suitable for eVTOL according to claim 1, characterized in that, The main control module (200) includes a main drive control chip (210), a monitoring chip (220), and an oil pump controller (230).

6. The communication system for a dual-channel motor controller suitable for eVTOL according to claim 5, characterized in that, The main drive control chip (210), the monitoring chip (220), and the oil pump controller (230) are interconnected via an internal CAN bus.

7. The communication system for a dual-channel motor controller suitable for eVTOL according to claim 5, characterized in that, The main drive control chip (210), the monitoring chip (220), and the oil pump controller (230) are all connected to the internal CAN bus through an internal CAN transceiver.

8. The communication system for a dual-channel motor controller suitable for eVTOL according to claim 1, characterized in that, The isolated inter-channel communication link is an isolated controller area network bus.

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