Dual-redundancy digital exhaust valve control architecture and control method

Abstract

The application discloses a double-redundancy digital exhaust valve control architecture and a control method. An upper computer is used for sending three bytes of control information; wherein the first byte of control information comprises speed direction requirement information, speed requirement high bit information and high synchronization bit information; the second byte of control information comprises speed requirement middle bit information and middle synchronization bit information; and the third byte of control information comprises enabling information, speed requirement low bit information and low synchronization bit information. An RS422 full-duplex signal architecture is used for transmitting the three bytes of control information of the upper computer to an actuator controller. The actuator controller is used for controlling the actuator to actuate to realize the adjustment of the opening degree of a butterfly valve after receiving the control information. The application can realize the accurate adjustment of the required rotating position and the high safety requirement of the exhaust valve.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of aircraft cabin pressure regulation technology, and in particular to a dual-redundant digital exhaust valve control architecture and control method. Background Technology

[0002] The exhaust valve in the cabin pressure regulation system can receive movement speed and direction commands from the host computer, control the butterfly valve opening to change the valve flow area, and regulate the cabin exhaust volume, thereby achieving cabin pressure regulation.

[0003] In existing technologies, exhaust valve controllers primarily receive motion speed and direction signals in analog form, leading to issues such as insufficient accuracy in valve rotation position and significant errors during execution. Furthermore, the high safety requirements of exhaust valves necessitate two independent channels, resulting in substantial weight and increased aircraft load. Additionally, current exhaust valves lack designs to prevent free rotation of the valve plate at high altitudes, potentially causing major disasters such as high-altitude depressurization. Therefore, current exhaust valve technology has shortcomings and requires improvement and optimization through relevant design improvements. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The purpose of this invention is to provide a dual-redundant digital exhaust valve control architecture and method. This invention can achieve precise adjustment of the required rotation position and meet the high safety requirements of the exhaust valve.

[0005] The technical solution of this invention: a dual-redundant digital exhaust valve control architecture, comprising:

[0006] The host computer is used to send three bytes of control information; the first byte of control information includes speed direction requirement information, high-order speed requirement information, and high synchronization bit information; the second byte of control information includes middle-order speed requirement information and middle synchronization bit information; the third byte of control information includes enable information, low-order speed requirement information, and low synchronization bit information.

[0007] The RS422 full-duplex signal architecture is used to transmit three bytes of control information from the host computer to the actuation controller.

[0008] The actuation controller is used to receive control information and control the actuator to adjust the opening degree of the butterfly valve.

[0009] In the aforementioned dual-redundant digital exhaust valve control architecture, the actuation controller is also used to generate two bytes of fault information; the first byte of fault information includes speed loop control error information, directional speed loop control error information, RAM power-on test fault information, CPU power-on test fault information, and power supply fault information; the second byte of fault information includes current fault information, Flash detection fault information, RS422 bus transmission fault information, fully closed / fully open indication signal information, and enable feedback information.

[0010] The RS422 full-duplex signal architecture is also used to feed fault information back to the host computer;

[0011] The host computer is used to receive fault information and report the fault.

[0012] In the aforementioned dual-redundant digital exhaust valve control architecture, the fault information also includes a spare byte.

[0013] In the aforementioned dual-redundant digital exhaust valve control architecture, the time interval for the host computer to send control information is 50ms.

[0014] In the aforementioned dual-redundant digital exhaust valve control architecture, the transmission time for one set of control information and fault information does not exceed 10ms.

[0015] A control method for a dual-redundant digital exhaust valve control architecture as described above involves the host computer sending control information to the actuation controller via an RS422 full-duplex signal architecture. If the actuation controller determines that the control information is correctly synchronized within a 5ms reception time, the frame word is valid, and the actuation controller controls the actuator to operate according to the control information.

[0016] In the aforementioned control method of the dual-redundant digital exhaust valve control architecture, the actuator includes a stepper motor belonging to the automatic channel and a permanent magnet DC motor belonging to the manual channel. The stepper motor and the permanent magnet DC motor are respectively connected to one input end of the planetary reduction mechanism, and the output shaft of the planetary reduction mechanism is connected to the valve shaft 21 of the valve body 2.

[0017] In the aforementioned control method of the dual-redundant digital exhaust valve control architecture, after the control information is correctly synchronized, the actuator decodes the received control information. When the enable information in the control information is marked as "enabled", the automatic channel is activated, and the stepper motor in the actuator actuates according to the speed and speed direction required by the high / medium / low speed information and the speed direction required by the speed direction information in the control information. When the enable information in the control information is marked as "disabled" and the manual channel is powered on, the manual channel is activated, and the permanent magnet DC motor in the actuator actuates directly.

[0018] In the aforementioned control method of the dual-redundant digital exhaust valve control architecture, the exhaust valve controlled by the architecture has an flared opening at its inlet, shaped like a flare. The flared opening has four threaded holes at its smaller diameter end, allowing it to be connected to the valve housing via screws, facilitating installation and disassembly during maintenance. When the flared opening is installed on the valve, it expands the gas flow area at the connection port, increasing the gas flow rate and optimizing the intake airflow.

[0019] Compared to existing technologies, this invention utilizes a digital full-duplex signal architecture to receive signals from a host computer, adjusting the butterfly valve's opening to change the pressure and pressure change rate. It ensures precise valve operation by verifying the correctness of commands in the speed loop and directional speed loop. Furthermore, it achieves a non-similar design through stepper motors, permanent magnet motors, and matching reduction mechanisms, along with a dual-redundancy position feedback design, guaranteeing the safety of the butterfly valve's operation. The large-diameter straight-axis butterfly valve increases gas flow through a detachable flare, optimizing the airflow path. Simultaneously, a pneumatic stroke limiter ensures that the effective flow area of ​​the valve plate remains within a safe range in its free state. This ensures the reliable and safe operation of the aircraft cabin pressure regulation system.

[0020] The dual-redundant digital exhaust valve control architecture and method provided by this invention receive signals from the cabin pressure controller via an RS422 full-duplex signal architecture, adjusting the opening of the butterfly valve to change the cabin pressure and pressure change rate. The host computer (cabin pressure controller) sends three bytes of control information every 50ms, dividing the speed requirement into high, medium, and low levels, which are transmitted and synchronized via the first, second, and third bytes respectively. This achieves an accuracy better than 0.1° / s within a speed range of 0.5° / s to 1° / s, better than 0.5° / s within a speed range of 1° / s to 5° / s, and better than 1° / s within a speed range of 5° / s to 10° / s. The encoder on the stepper motor provides feedback on the current speed information. The actuation controller judges and reports the correctness of the speed loop and direction speed loop commands every 50ms, achieving closed-loop control of speed and direction. Simultaneously, the current opening angle of the valve is fed back through an angular displacement sensor and a microswitch, ensuring high-precision control of the valve's opening and closing speed and position.

[0021] The dual-redundant digital exhaust valve control architecture and method provided by this invention achieves automatic channel drive through a stepper motor and a matching reduction mechanism, while also providing a manual channel consisting of a permanent magnet DC motor and a matching reduction mechanism as a backup. The safety of the butterfly valve operation is ensured by a dual-redundant position feedback design consisting of two independent electric drive structures, an angular displacement sensor, and a microswitch.

[0022] The large-diameter straight-axis butterfly valve increases gas flow through a detachable flared port, optimizing the inlet airflow. A pneumatic stroke limiter ensures that the effective flow area of ​​the valve plate remains within a safe range even in its free state.

[0023] In summary, this invention receives signals from the host computer via an RS422 full-duplex signal architecture, and achieves precise adjustment of the required rotation position through the pulse signals received by the stepper motor. At the same time, it adopts a non-similar backup design with two independent electric drive structures to meet the high safety requirements of the exhaust valve. Attached Figure Description

[0024] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of the present invention;

[0025] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the actuator of the present invention;

[0026] Figure 3 This is a cross-sectional view of the valve body of the present invention;

[0027] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the travel limiter.

[0028] Reference numerals: 1. Actuator; 2. Valve body; 3. Stroke limiter; 11. Filter; 12. Actuation controller; 13. Stepper motor; 14. Permanent magnet DC motor; 15. Output shaft; 21. Valve shaft; 22. Valve housing; 23. Elastic retaining ring; 24. Bushing; 25. Lip seal; 26. Valve plate; 27. Expansion ring; 28. Flange; 29. ​​End cap; 31. Actuating rod; 32. Base; 33. Pressure hole; 34. Bellows; 35. Optocoupler assembly; 36. Electrical connector; 37. Circuit board assembly. Detailed Implementation

[0029] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of the embodiments of the present invention clearer, the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present invention, 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.

[0030] The features and illustrative embodiments of various aspects of the present invention will now be described in detail. Numerous specific details are set forth in the following detailed description to provide a thorough understanding of the invention. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the invention may be practiced without requiring some of these specific details. The following description of embodiments is merely intended to provide a better understanding of the invention by illustrating examples of the invention. The invention is by no means limited to any specific setups and methods set forth below, but covers any improvements, substitutions, and modifications to structures, methods, and devices without departing from the spirit of the invention. Well-known structures and techniques are not shown in the drawings and the following description to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the invention.

[0031] It should be noted that, unless otherwise specified, the embodiments of the present invention and the features thereof can be combined with each other, and the various embodiments can be referenced and cited in each other. The present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments.

[0032] Example 1. As... Figures 1-4 As shown, a dual-redundant digital exhaust valve control architecture and control method are disclosed. The valve structure mainly includes an actuator 1, a valve body 2, and a travel limiter 3. The actuator 1 mainly includes a filter 11, an actuator controller 12, a stepper motor 13, a permanent magnet DC motor 14, and an output shaft 15. The valve body 2 mainly includes a valve shaft 21, a valve housing 22, an elastic retaining ring 23, a bushing 24, a lip seal 25, a valve plate 26, an expansion ring 27, a flared end 28, and an end cap 29. The travel limiter 3 mainly includes an actuating rod 31, a base 32, a pressure hole 33, a bellows 34, an optocoupler assembly 35, an electrical connector 36, and a circuit board assembly 37.

[0033] Actuator 1 is fixed to valve housing 22 of valve body 2 by studs and nuts. Flange 28 on valve body 2 is used to expand the gas flow area at the connection port and is connected to valve housing 22 by screws; valve shaft 21 is assembled in the shaft hole of valve housing 22, and the port and end cover 29 are connected by screws to form an encapsulation; valve shaft 21 is also assembled in the shaft hole of valve plate 26 and the two are connected by bolts, nuts and washers; expansion ring 27 is fitted into the groove of valve shaft 21 and valve plate 26 and fixed to valve plate 26 by screws; stroke limiter 3 is installed on valve housing 22.

[0034] When the exhaust valve is closed, the normal line of the valve plate 26 is parallel to the central axis of the flare 28, and the expansion ring 27, which is fitted inside the valve shaft 21 and the valve plate 26, fits tightly with the valve housing 22, forming a seal on the flow channel.

[0035] The exhaust valve and the cabin pressure regulator exchange information via RS422 serial communication. The host computer (cabin pressure controller) sends three bytes of data to the exhaust valve actuator every 50ms, including speed command, speed direction, and enable signal information. The speed command contains three significant bits (high, medium, and low) to achieve high-precision control of the valve's opening and closing speed. The data is transmitted to the actuator controller 12 after passing through filter 11. If the actuator controller determines that the three bytes of data are correctly synchronized within 5ms of receiving the data, the frame word is valid. Simultaneously, the actuator transmits refreshed three bytes of data to the cabin pressure controller within 3ms of receiving the data frame.

[0036] The exhaust valve actuator receives three bytes of data from the cabin pressure controller every 50ms for synchronization and transmits updated three bytes of data to the cabin pressure controller within 3ms of receiving the data frame. If the received frame is invalid, the RS422 transmission fault is set to Fail, and the motor stops rotating. If no valid RS422 data is received from the cabin pressure controller within 60ms, the RS422 transmission fault is set to Fail, the updated three bytes of data are transmitted to the cabin pressure controller, and the actuator stops rotating. If no valid RS422 data is received from the cabin pressure controller within 200ms, the RS422 transmission fault is set to Fail, three bytes of data are sent to the cabin pressure controller every 50ms, and the actuator stops rotating. If a valid frame is subsequently received, the RS422 transmission fault is reset to NO Fail, and the updated three bytes of data should be transmitted to the cabin pressure controller within 3ms of receiving the data frame, and the motor continues to operate.

[0037] If the data transmission is error-free within the specified time, the actuator will decode the received data according to a predefined format and send the speed information back to the actuator. When the automatic channel is activated, the cockpit pressure controller sends an enable signal, and the actuator controller sends the speed information to the stepper motor, which then operates at the given speed. If the cockpit pressure controller sends a disable signal, the stepper motor is disabled. When the manual channel is activated, the cockpit pressure controller sends a disable signal and a 28V voltage signal to the exhaust valve actuator, driving the permanent magnet DC motor.

[0038] According to the received controller instructions, the exhaust valve actuator 1 is controlled by the actuator controller 12 to drive the stepper motor 13 to drive the automatic mode reducer or directly drive the manual mode reducer through the brushed DC motor 14. Utilizing a high-precision spline connection design, the output shaft 15 drives the valve shaft 21 to rotate. An encoder is installed on the stepper motor to provide feedback on the stepper motor's speed information, realizing closed-loop speed control.

[0039] An RVDT angular displacement sensor is installed on the actuator output shaft to detect the rotation angle of the actuator in real time. The RVDT signal is input to the analog-to-digital converter circuit after signal conditioning, converting the analog signal into a 14-bit digital signal for the power supply controller DSP to acquire and use. The excitation generation circuit outputs an excitation signal for use by the automatic channel RVDT. At the same time, when the manual mode is activated, the limit position switching signals of fully open and fully closed are fed back through a microswitch. The two forms of dissimilar design ensure the high safety requirements of the butterfly valve operation. The valve plate 4 and the expansion ring 8, which are connected to the valve shaft 7, rotate synchronously with the valve shaft 7 to adjust the opening of the butterfly valve, thereby controlling the cabin pressure and the rate of pressure change.

[0040] The travel limiter 3 can sense the pressure difference through its own pressure port 33 and the atmospheric pressure port on the valve housing 22, thereby generating linear motion along the axial direction. When the pressure difference reaches a certain value, the bellows 34 moves downward, pushing the base 32 to extend the actuating rod 31, limiting the valve plate opening and ensuring that the cabin pressure change rate is within a controllable range. At the same time, the optocoupler 35 converts the current position of the actuating rod 31 into an electrical signal through the circuit board assembly 37, and sends it to the host computer via the electrical connector 36.

[0041] Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present invention, but the protection scope of the present invention is not limited thereto. Any person skilled in the art can easily conceive of various equivalent modifications or substitutions within the technical scope disclosed in the present invention, and these modifications or substitutions should be covered within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A dual-redundant digital exhaust valve control architecture, characterized in that, include: The host computer is used to send three bytes of control information; The first byte of control information includes speed direction requirement information, high-order speed requirement information, and high synchronization bit information; the second byte of control information includes middle-order speed requirement information and middle synchronization bit information; the third byte of control information includes enable information, low-order speed requirement information, and low synchronization bit information. The RS422 full-duplex signal architecture is used to transmit three bytes of control information from the host computer to the actuation controller. The actuation controller is used to receive control information and control the actuator to adjust the opening degree of the butterfly valve.

2. The dual-redundant digital exhaust valve control architecture according to claim 1, characterized in that, The actuation controller is also used to initiate two bytes of fault information; the first byte of fault information includes speed loop control error information, direction speed loop control error information, RAM power-on test fault information, CPU power-on test fault information, and power supply fault information. The second byte of fault information includes current fault information, Flash detection fault information, RS422 bus transmission fault information, all-off and all-on indicator signal information, and enable feedback information. The RS422 full-duplex signal architecture is also used to feed fault information back to the host computer; The host computer is also used to receive fault information and report the fault.

3. The dual-redundant digital exhaust valve control architecture according to claim 2, characterized in that, The fault information also includes a spare byte.

4. The dual-redundant digital exhaust valve control architecture according to claim 1, characterized in that, The time interval for the host computer to send control information is 50ms.

5. The dual-redundant digital exhaust valve control architecture according to claim 2, characterized in that, The transmission time for a single control and fault information transmission shall not exceed 10ms.

6. A control method for a dual-redundant digital exhaust valve control architecture as described in any one of claims 1-5, characterized in that, The host computer sends control information to the actuator controller via an RS422 full-duplex signal architecture. If the actuator controller determines that the control information is correctly synchronized within 5ms, the frame word is valid, and the actuator controller controls the actuator to operate according to the control information.

7. The control method for the dual-redundant digital exhaust valve control architecture according to claim 6, characterized in that, The actuators include a stepper motor belonging to the automatic channel and a permanent magnet DC motor belonging to the manual channel. The stepper motor and the permanent magnet DC motor are respectively connected to one input end of the planetary reduction mechanism, and the output shaft of the planetary reduction mechanism is connected to the valve shaft 21 of the valve body 2.

8. The control method for the dual-redundant digital exhaust valve control architecture according to claim 7, characterized in that, After the control information is correctly synchronized, the actuator will decode the received control information. When the enable information in the control information is marked as "enabled", the automatic channel is activated, and the stepper motor in the actuator will move according to the speed and direction required by the high / medium / low speed information and the speed direction required by the speed direction information in the control information. When the enable information in the control information is marked as "disabled" and the manual channel is powered on, the manual channel is activated, and the permanent magnet DC motor in the actuator will move directly.

9. The control method for the dual-redundant digital exhaust valve control architecture according to claim 7, characterized in that, The exhaust valve controlled by the control architecture has an flared opening at its inlet, which is shaped like a horn.

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