Avionics system and method for detecting a ground stop of an aircraft.

Abstract

Avionics system and method for detecting a ground stop of an aircraft. The avionics system (10) for detecting a ground stop of an aircraft (1) is configured to: - acquire first ground stop information from a first set (12) of information sources (12a, 12b … 12n) configured to determine the first information as a function of signals from an inertial unit; - acquire second ground stop information from a second set (14) of information sources (14a, 14b … 14p) configured to determine the second information independently of signals from an inertial unit; - associate a weighting coefficient (w1a, w1b … w1n, w2a, w2b … w2p) with each of the first and second information;- determining a status of the aircraft relating to its stop on the ground, by means of a voter (16) receiving as input each of the first and second information weighted by the weighting coefficient associated with it; and - transmitting the status of the aircraft relating to its stop on the ground, to a user system (18). Figure for the abstract: Fig. 2;

Description

Title of the invention: Avionics system and method for detecting a ground stop of an aircraft.

[0001] The invention relates to the field of aircraft ground traffic at airports, also called airport navigation. An aircraft generally comprises an airport navigation aid system which makes it possible in particular to provide information to an automatic piloting system of the aircraft and / or to display, on a navigation screen in the cockpit of the aircraft, a current position of the aircraft on a map of the airport in question. The current position information used for this display or for the automatic piloting of the aircraft is determined on board the aircraft by aggregating information from several sources of information of the aircraft such as for example an inertial unit, a multimode receiver receiving signals from a satellite navigation system, a VOR or DME signal receiver, etc.Knowing the times at which the aircraft is stopped on the ground makes it possible to significantly improve the accuracy of the aircraft's current position information. However, this requires knowing how to determine as accurately as possible whether the aircraft is stopped on the ground or whether it is moving. However, determining whether the aircraft has stopped on the ground is complex because the signals received by radiofrequency receivers (satellite navigation systems, VOR or DME systems) are likely to be affected by multi-paths in the airport area and because the signals from an aircraft inertial unit may be noisy. A current solution consists of determining at least two ground stop indicators determined from different sources of information, then determining a synthetic ground stop indicator corresponding to a logical AND of said at least two ground stop indicators.As a result, an inaccuracy of a single indicator among these at least two indicators can lead to an inaccuracy of the synthetic ground stop indicator. The current position information of the aircraft is not degraded, but it does not benefit from the increase in its accuracy permitted by a reliable ground stop indicator. Statement of the invention

[0002] The present invention aims in particular to provide a solution to this problem. It relates to an avionics system for detecting a ground stop of an aircraft, the avionics system being on board said aircraft and comprising at least one avionics computer configured to:

[0003] - acquiring first ground stop information for the aircraft from a first set of information sources, the different sources of information of the first set of information sources being configured to determine each of the first information at least as a function of signals from at least one inertial unit of the aircraft;

[0004] - acquire second aircraft ground stop information from a second set of information sources, the different information sources of the second set of information sources being configured to determine each of the second information independently of signals from an inertial unit of the aircraft;

[0005] - associate a weighting coefficient with each of the first and second in training;

[0006] - determining a status of the aircraft relating to its stop on the ground, by means of at least one voter receiving as input on the one hand each of the different first pieces of information weighted by the weighting coefficient associated with it and on the other hand each of the different second pieces of information weighted by the weighting coefficient associated with it; and

[0007] - transmit the status of the aircraft relating to its stop on the ground, to a system util reader.

[0008] Thus, given that the status of the aircraft relating to its ground stop is determined by a voter, it is necessary that a minimum number of voter inputs are consistent with each other to determine a ground stop of the aircraft. In addition, associating a weighting coefficient with each of the first information and second information received on the voter inputs makes it possible to weight this information according to degrees of confidence associated with this information. The fact that on the one hand the first information is determined at least as a function of signals from at least one inertial unit of the aircraft and that on the other hand the second information is determined independently of signals from an inertial unit of the aircraft, makes it possible to guarantee that the first information and the second information do not risk being corrupted by a common disturbance.Therefore, the system according to the invention makes it possible to reliably determine the status of the aircraft relative to its stop on the ground.

[0009] According to one embodiment, the at least one voter comprises a single voter.

[0010] According to one embodiment, the at least one voter comprises a first stage comprising on the one hand a first voter receiving as input each of the different first information weighted by the weighting coefficient associated with it and a second voter receiving as input each of the different second information weighted by the weighting coefficient associated with it, as well as a second stage comprising a third voter receiving as input at least one output of the first voter weighted by a first weighting coefficient as well as at least an output of the second voter weighted by a second weighting coefficient.

[0011] According to one embodiment, the at least one voter comprises an output corresponding to a median type vote.

[0012] According to one embodiment, the at least one voter comprises an output configured to provide a status of the aircraft corresponding to its ground stop when a minority of the first and second weighted inputs correspond to a ground stop of the aircraft, this minority being greater than a predetermined threshold. In particular, said output corresponds to a first quartile type vote.

[0013] According to one embodiment, the at least one voter comprises an output configured to provide a status of the aircraft corresponding to its ground stop when a majority of the first and second weighted inputs correspond to a ground stop of the aircraft, this majority being greater than a predetermined threshold. This predetermined threshold is chosen to be less than 100% (one hundred percent), in particular less than or equal to 90% (ninety percent). In particular, said output corresponds to a third quartile type vote.

[0014] The invention also relates to a method for detecting a ground stop of an aircraft, the method being implemented by an avionics system on board said aircraft and comprising at least one avionics computer, the method comprising:

[0015] - a step of acquiring first information on the aircraft stopping on the ground from of a first set of information sources, the different information sources of the first set of information sources being configured to determine each of the first information at least as a function of signals from at least one inertial unit of the aircraft;

[0016] - a step of acquiring second aircraft ground stop information from of a second set of information sources, the different information sources of the second set of information sources being configured to determine each of the second information independently of signals from an inertial unit of the aircraft;

[0017] - a step of associating a weighting coefficient with each of the first and second information;

[0018] - a step of determining a status of the aircraft relating to its stop on the ground, by means of at least one voter receiving as input on the one hand each of the different first pieces of information weighted by the weighting coefficient associated with it and on the other hand each of the different second pieces of information weighted by the weighting coefficient associated with it; and

[0019] - a step of transmitting the status of the aircraft relating to its stop on the ground, to a user system.

[0020] The invention also relates to an aircraft comprising such an avionics system for detecting a ground stop of the aircraft. Description of the embodiments

[0021] The invention will be better understood by reading the following description and examining the attached figures.

[0022] [Fig.l] illustrates an aircraft equipped with an avionics system for detecting a ground stop in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

[0023] [Fig.2] schematically illustrates an avionics system for detecting a ground stop of an aircraft, in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.

[0024] [Fig. 3] schematically illustrates an embodiment of a poller of an avionics system for detecting a ground stop of an aircraft, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

[0025] [Fig.4] schematically illustrates an embodiment of a poller of an avionics system for detecting a ground stop of an aircraft, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

[0026] [Fig.5] illustrates a method for detecting a ground stop of an aircraft, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

[0027] [Fig.6a] and [Fig.6b] illustrate the operation of a poller of an avionics system for detecting a ground stop of an aircraft according to an embodiment of the invention.

[0028] [Fig.7] illustrates the operation of a poller of an avionics system for detecting a ground stop of an aircraft according to another embodiment of the invention.

[0029] The aircraft 1 shown in [Fig.l] comprises an avionics system 10 for detecting a ground stop of the aircraft as shown schematically in [Fig.2]. This system comprises a voter 16 implemented in an avionics computer 20 of the aircraft. The voter 16 is for example implemented in software by the avionics computer 20. According to another example, the voter is implemented in a logic circuit of the avionics computer, such as a programmable logic circuit or an FPGA type logic circuit. The voter 16 comprises a set of first inputs Ela, Elb ... Eln each connected to an information source, respectively 12a, 12b ... 12n, of a first set 12 of information sources.The different sources of information of the first set 12 of sources of information are configured to determine each of the first ground stop information of the aircraft at least as a function of signals from at least one inertial unit of the aircraft. The voter 16 also comprises a set of second inputs E2a, E2b ... E2p each connected to an information source, respectively 14a, 14b ... . 14p, of a second set 14 of information sources. The different information sources of the second set 14 of information sources are configured to determine each of the second ground stop information of the aircraft independently of signals from an inertial unit of the aircraft. The voter 16 comprises at least one output Sv. The output Sv is connected to a user system 18 on board the aircraft. According to one embodiment, the user system 18 corresponds to an airport navigation system linked to an automatic piloting system of the aircraft or to a display system in a cockpit 3 of the aircraft, for example of the CDS type (“Cockpit Display System” in English), comprising at least one display screen in the cockpit of the aircraft.The display screen corresponds in particular to a navigation screen (“Navigation Display” in English) intended to display a representation of the aircraft located at a current position of the aircraft on a map of an airport over which the aircraft is traveling. According to another embodiment, the user system 18 comprises a portable device intended to be used by a crew member of the aircraft, such as for example an EFB (“Electronic Flight Bag” in English) type portable device. The EFB type portable device is for example configured to implement an airport navigation application. The avionics system 10 for detecting a ground stop of the aircraft is for example installed in an avionics bay 2 of the aircraft. The avionics computer 20 corresponds for example to a flight management computer of the aircraft of the FMS (“Flight Management System” in English) type or to an airport navigation management computer of the aircraft.

[0030] Even if the embodiment of the invention is described in the case of two sets 12 and 14 of information sources, the invention is not limited to such a number of sets of information sources. The voter 16 can thus comprise inputs connected to three (or more) sets of information sources, for example a set of inertial type information sources, a set of radionavigation type information sources, a set of information sources corresponding to various systems, etc.

[0031] The voter 16 is further configured to associate a weighting coefficient wla, wlb ... wln, respectively w2a, w2b ... w2p, with each of the first inputs Ela, Elb ... Eln, respectively with each of the second inputs E2a, E2b ... E2p. In the embodiment illustrated in [Fig. 3], the voter 16 comprises a weighting stage 16a as well as a voting stage 16b. In a particular and non-limiting manner of the invention, the weighting coefficients correspond to predefined integers and in the weighting stage 16a, each input is duplicated according to the weighting coefficient associated with it. In the example illustrated in [Fig. 3], the weighting coefficient wla associated with the input Ela is equal to 3. Consequently, the input Ela is tripled, such that the voting stage 16b receives 3 times the information received by the input Ela. The weighting coefficient wlb associated with the input Elb is equal to 2. Consequently, the input Elb is doubled, such that the voting stage 16b receives 2 times the information received by the input Elb. The weighting coefficient w2a associated with the input E2a is equal to 5. Consequently, the input E2a is quintupled, such that the voting stage 16b receives 5 times the information received by the input E2a. The weighting coefficients wln, w2b, w2p associated respectively with the inputs Eln, E2b, E2p are each equal to 1. Consequently, the voting stage 16b receives only once the information received respectively by the inputs Eln, E2b, E2p. Voting stage 16b is configured to perform a vote based on the information it receives on its various inputs.The weighting coefficients being predefined integers, the weighting stage 16a corresponding to this embodiment can be implemented both in a logic circuit (for example an FPGA) and in software. As indicated previously, this embodiment is not limiting of the invention. Other embodiments can for example be implemented in software in the avionics computer. In particular: .

[0032] - the weighting coefficients can be either whole numbers or real numbers;

[0033] - the voter 16 may also not include a weighting stage 16a, the coefficients weighting factors then being applied directly as multiplier coefficients of the different inputs in a voting stage;

[0034] - etc.

[0035] In a particular embodiment shown in [Fig.4], the voter 16 comprises a first stage comprising on the one hand a first voter VI receiving as input each of the different first information weighted by the weighting coefficient wla, wlb ... wln associated with it and a second voter V2 receiving as input each of the different second information weighted by the weighting coefficient w2a, w2b ... w2p associated with it, as well as a second stage comprising a third voter V3 receiving as inputs at least one output Sla of the first voter VI weighted by a first weighting coefficient w3a as well as at least one output Slb of the second voter V2 weighted by a second weighting coefficient w3b. The at least one output Sv of the voter 16 corresponds to at least one output of the third voter V3.Although not necessarily, at least one of the voters VI, V2, V3 may for example be in accordance with the aforementioned embodiment as illustrated in [Fig.3].

[0036] According to a first alternative, the at least one voter 16 is configured such that its output Sv corresponds to a median type vote. The median is determined by relative to the first and second weighted entries.

[0037] According to a second alternative, the at least one voter 16 is configured to provide at its output Sv a status of the aircraft corresponding to its ground stop when a minority of the first and second weighted inputs correspond to a ground stop of the aircraft, this minority being greater than a predetermined threshold. The predetermined threshold is for example chosen such that the vote is of the first quartile type, that is to say that the output Sv corresponds to a status of the aircraft corresponding to its ground stop when at least 25% of the first and second weighted inputs correspond to a ground stop of the aircraft.

[0038] According to a third alternative, the at least one voter 16 is configured to provide at its output Sv a status of the aircraft corresponding to its ground stop when a majority of the first and second weighted inputs correspond to a ground stop of the aircraft, this majority being greater than a predetermined threshold. The predetermined threshold is for example chosen such that the vote is of the third quartile type, that is to say that the output Sv corresponds to a status of the aircraft corresponding to its ground stop when at least 75% of the first and second weighted inputs correspond to a ground stop of the aircraft.

[0039] In operation, the avionics system 10 for detecting a ground stop of the aircraft 1 implements a method for detecting a ground stop of the aircraft, such as that illustrated in [Fig. 5]. The method comprises a step 31 (labeled E1 in the figure), of acquiring first information on the ground stop of the aircraft from the first set 12 of information sources, the different information sources 12a, 12b ... 12n of the first set of information sources being configured to determine each of the first information at least as a function of signals from at least one inertial unit of the aircraft.

[0040] The method also comprises a step 32 (labeled E2 in the figure), of acquiring second ground stop information for the aircraft from the second set 14 of information sources, the different information sources 14a, 14b ... 14p of the second set of information sources being configured to determine each of the second information independently of signals from an inertial unit of the aircraft. The first and second steps can be implemented in any order, or even be implemented concurrently.

[0041] The method comprises a step 33 (labeled E3 in the figure), of associating a weighting coefficient wla, wlb ... wln, w2a, w2b ... w2p with each of the first and second pieces of information.

[0042] The method comprises a step 34 (labeled E4 in the figure), of determining a status of the aircraft relating to its stopping on the ground, by means of at least one voter 16 receiving as input on the one hand each of the different first weighted information by the weighting coefficient associated with it and on the other hand each of the different second pieces of information weighted by the weighting coefficient associated with it. The fact of associating a weighting coefficient with each of the different first pieces of information and with each of the different second pieces of information makes it possible to carry out a vote, by means of the voter 16, taking into account a more or less important weight for each of the different pieces of information. In one embodiment, the weighting coefficients are predetermined and are chosen so as to take into account the precision and / or the reliability of each of the sources of information and / or an importance given to each of the sources of information.In another embodiment, the weighting coefficients are determined in real time based on precision values of the different information sources, these precision values being calculated in real time by at least one avionics system on board the aircraft.

[0043] The method then comprises a step 35 (labeled E5 in the figure), of transmitting the status of the aircraft relating to its stop on the ground, determined in step 34, to the user system 18. When the user system 18 corresponds to an airport navigation system, the airport navigation system can thus use the status of the aircraft relating to its stop on the ground to determine current position information for the aircraft on the surface of the airport with greater precision.

[0044] In particular, the various first information and second information are logic type information that can take a first value (for example “1” or “TRUE”) when the information considered corresponds to a ground stop of the aircraft, or a second value (for example “0” or “FALSE”) when the information considered corresponds to a ground movement of the aircraft. In step 34, when the output of the voter 16 corresponds to a median type vote, this output, itself of logic type, takes the first value (for example “1” or “TRUE”) when at least half of the various weighted inputs have the said first value as their value, i.e. correspond to a ground stop of the aircraft. [Fig.6a] and [Fig.6b] illustrate the operation of the voter 16 implementing a median type vote. In these figures, voting stage 16b has 13 inputs (resulting from weighting by weighting stage 16a).The vote being a median type vote, the output Sv of the voter 16 takes the first value (“1” or “TRUE”) when at least 7 of said 13 inputs have the first value as their value. In the configuration illustrated in [Fig.6a], only the inputs Ela and E2b of the voter 16 receive information corresponding to the first value (“1” or “TRUE”). The other inputs receive information corresponding to the second value (“0” or “FALSE”). The input Ela being tripled by the weighting stage 16a, 4 of the inputs of the voting stage 16b receive the first value (“1” or “TRUE”) and the 9 . other inputs of the voting stage 16b receive the second value (“0” or “FALSE”). Therefore, since the number of inputs of the voting stage 16b receiving the first value (“1” or “TRUE”) is less than 7, the output Sv of the voter 16 takes the second value (“0” or “FALSE”).

[0045] In the configuration illustrated in [Fig.6b], the inputs Ela, Elb, Eln and E2b of the voter 16 receive information corresponding to the first value (“1” or “TRUE”). The other inputs receive information corresponding to the second value (“0” or “FALSE”). The input Ela being tripled and the input Elb being doubled by the weighting stage 16a, 7 of the inputs of the voting stage 16b receive the first value (“1” or “TRUE”) and the other 6 inputs of the voting stage 16b receive the second value (“0” or “FALSE”). Consequently, since the number of inputs of the voting stage 16b receiving the first value (“1” or “TRUE”) is at least equal to 7, the output Sv of the voter 16 takes the first value (“1” or “TRUE”).

[0046] In step 34 again, when the output of the voter 16 corresponds to a first quartile type vote, this output takes the first value (for example “1” or “TRUE”) when at least 25% (one quarter) of the different weighted inputs have the said first value as their value, i.e. correspond to a ground stop of the aircraft. [Fig.7] illustrates the operation of the voter 16 implementing a first quartile type vote. In this figure, the configuration of the inputs is similar to that illustrated in [Fig.6a]. The voting stage 16b comprising 13 inputs (resulting from the weighting in the weighting stage 16a) the output Sv takes the first value (“1” or “TRUE”) when at least one quarter of the 13 inputs have the first value as their value. A quarter of the 13 entries corresponds to 3.25 which should be rounded up to the next whole number, i.e. 4 entries, since the weighting coefficients correspond to whole numbers.As already explained in relation to [Fig.6a], 4 of the inputs of the voting stage 16b receive the first value (“1” or “TRUE”) and the other 9 inputs of the voting stage 16b receive the second value (“0” or “FALSE”). Therefore, since the number of inputs of the voting stage 16b receiving the first value (“1” or “TRUE”) is at least equal to 4, the output Sv of the voter 16 takes the first value (“1” or “TRUE”).

[0047] In step 34 again, when the output of the voter 16 corresponds to a vote of the third quartile type, this output takes the first value (for example “1” or “TRUE”) when at least 75% (three quarters) of the different weighted inputs have the said first value as their value, that is to say correspond to a ground stop of the aircraft. In the case of a voting stage 16b comprising 13 inputs (resulting from the weighting at the weighting stage 16a) the output Sv takes the first value (“1” or “TRUE”) when at least three quarters of the 13 inputs have the first value as their value. Three quarters of the 13 inputs corresponds to 9.75 which should be rounded to the nearest whole number. higher integer, i.e. 10 entries, since the weighting coefficients correspond to integers.

[0048] A voter performing a median type vote is more particularly suitable when the output of the voter 16 is used by an airport navigation application considered to be moderately critical in terms of operational safety. This application can thus benefit as opportunely as possible from an improvement in the aircraft location accuracy.

[0049] A voter performing a first quartile type vote is more particularly suitable when the use of the output of the voter 16 is considered non-critical in terms of operational safety. For example, the output of the voter 16 is used by a system for displaying the position of the aircraft to passengers via an IFE (“In-Flight Entertainment”) type entertainment system.

[0050] A voter performing a third quartile type vote is more particularly suitable when the output of the voter 16 is used by an application considered to be critical in terms of operational safety. For example, the output of the voter 16 is used by an airport navigation system designed to guarantee a high level of precision and integrity, this airport navigation system being connected to an automatic piloting system of the aircraft to which it transmits information so as to allow automatic piloting of the aircraft.

[0051] According to a particular embodiment of the invention, the voter 16 comprises at least two outputs Svl and Sv2, corresponding to different types of votes. For example, the output Svl corresponds to a median type vote and the output Sv2 corresponds to a first quartile type or third quartile type vote. The statuses of the aircraft provided by these at least two outputs are transmitted to different user systems whose levels of sensitivity to errors in detecting a ground stop of the aircraft are different.

Claims

Claims

1. 1) Avionics system (10) for detecting a ground stop of an aircraft (1), the avionics system being on board said aircraft and comprising at least one avionics computer (20) configured to: - acquire first information on the ground stop of the aircraft from a first set (12) of information sources (12a, 12b ... 12n), the different information sources of the first set of information sources being configured to determine each of the first information at least as a function of signals from at least one inertial unit of the aircraft; - acquire second information on the ground stop of the aircraft from a second set (14) of information sources (14a, 14b ...14p), the different sources of information of the second set of sources of information being configured to determine each of the second information independently of signals from an inertial unit of the aircraft; - associate a weighting coefficient (wla, wlb ... wln, w2a, w2b ... w2p) with each of the first and second information; - determine a status of the aircraft relating to its stopping on the ground, by means of at least one voter (16) receiving as input on the one hand each of the different first information weighted by the weighting coefficient associated with it and on the other hand each of the different second information weighted by the weighting coefficient associated with it; and - transmit the status of the aircraft relating to its stopping on the ground, to a user system (18).

2. 2) System according to claim 1, characterized in that the at least one voter (16) comprises a single voter.

3. 3) System according to claim 1, characterized in that the at least one voter (16) comprises a first stage comprising on the one hand a first voter (VI) receiving as input each of the different first information weighted by the weighting coefficient (wla, wlb ... wln) which is associated with it and a second voter (V2) receiving as input each of the different second information weighted by the weighting coefficient (w2a, w2b ... w2p) which is associated with it, as well as a second stage comprising a third voter (V3) receiving as input at least one output (Sla) of the first voter weighted by a first weighting coefficient (w3a) as well as at least one output (Slb) of the second voter weighted by a second weighting coefficient (w3b).

4. 4) System according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the at least one voter (16) comprises an output (Sv) corresponding to a median type vote.

5. 5) System according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the at least one voter (16) comprises an output (Sv) configured to provide a status of the aircraft corresponding to its ground stop when a minority of the first and second weighted inputs correspond to a ground stop of the aircraft, this minority being greater than a predetermined threshold.

6. 6) System according to the preceding claim, characterized in that said output (Sv) corresponds to a first quartile type vote.

7. 7) System according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the at least one voter (16) comprises an output (Sv) configured to provide a status of the aircraft corresponding to its ground stop when a majority of the first and second weighted inputs correspond to a ground stop of the aircraft, this majority being greater than a predetermined threshold.

8. 8) System according to the preceding claim, characterized in that said output (Sv) corresponds to a third quartile type vote.

9. 9) Method for detecting a ground stop of an aircraft, the method being implemented by an avionics system (10) on board said aircraft and comprising at least one avionics computer (20), the method comprising: - a step of acquiring (31) first information on the ground stop of the aircraft from a first set (12) of information sources (12a, 12b ... 12n), the different information sources of the first set of information sources being configured to determine each of the first information at least as a function of signals from at least one inertial unit of the aircraft; - a step of acquiring (32) second information on the ground stop of the aircraft from a second set (14) of information sources (14a, 14b ...14p), the different sources of information of the second set of sources of information being configured to determine each of the second information independently of signals from an inertial unit of the aircraft; - a step of associating (33) a weighting coefficient (wla, wlb ... wln, w2a, w2b ... w2p) with each of the first and second pieces of information; - a step of determining (34) a status of the aircraft relating to its stopping on the ground, by means of at least one voter (16) receiving as input on the one hand each of the different first pieces of information weighted by the weighting coefficient associated with it and on the other hand each of the different second pieces of information weighted by the weighting coefficient associated with it; and - a step of transmitting (35) the status of the aircraft relating to its stop on the ground, to a user system (18).

10. 10) Aircraft (1), characterized in that it comprises an avionics system (10) for detecting a ground stop of the aircraft, according to any one of claims 1 to 8.

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