DECENTRALIZED SYSTEM FOR CONTROLLING AN ELECTRICAL NETWORK

Abstract

A decentralized system (SYST) for controlling an electrical network of an aircraft, the system (SYST) comprising a plurality of separate cells (CELL), each cell (CELL) comprising a plurality of electrical contactors (CMD) and each cell (CELL) being connected to a power supply (PWR). Each cell (CELL) comprises at least one microcontroller (µ) for controlling at least one contactor (CMD). Figure to be published with the abstract: Fig. 1

Description

Title of the invention: DECENTRALIZED SYSTEM FOR CONTROLLING AN ELECTRICAL NETWORK Technical field

[0001] The invention relates to the field of controlling an electrical network of an aircraft. STATE OF PRIOR ART

[0002] In a known manner, an aircraft comprises a primary electrical network and a secondary electrical network. These networks are distinct and each have their own functions.

[0003] The primary electrical system provides the main electrical power to the aircraft. It is typically powered by electrical generators, which are driven by the aircraft's engines or by external sources, such as emergency generators or batteries. The voltage of the primary electrical system is typically 28, 115, or 230 volts alternating current (AC). The primary electrical system powers equipment critical to the aircraft's safety, such as navigation systems, communications systems, and flight control systems. It also powers some non-essential equipment, such as entertainment systems and comfort systems.

[0004] The secondary electrical system provides electrical power to most of the aircraft's non-essential equipment. It is usually powered by the primary electrical system, but it can also be powered by external sources, such as batteries. The voltage of the secondary electrical system is usually 28VDC or 115Vac.

[0005] Generally, the secondary electrical network supplies the following equipment: - cabin systems, such as lighting systems, air conditioning systems and entertainment systems; - service equipment, such as pressurization systems and air conditioning systems; - emergency equipment, such as oxygen systems and life support systems.

[0006] Most often, the two electrical networks are interconnected by contactors and circuit breakers. Circuit breakers protect electrical networks against overloads and short circuits.

[0007] In the event of a failure of the primary electrical network, the emergency electrical network can take over and supply the equipment essential to the safety of the aircraft.

[0008] In a known manner, a primary electrical network, (also called primary system electrical distribution system) of an aircraft, includes an electrical network control unit (commonly abbreviated ENMU for "Electrical Network Management Unit" in English) and a bus power control unit (commonly abbreviated BPCU for "Bus Power Control Unit" in English). Most often, ENMU and BPCU are grouped into a single intelligent body which is in charge of the management, distribution, protections and logic of the primary electrical network.

[0009] The network control unit monitors network parameters in order to isolate the part of the electrical network in the event of a fault. The network control unit communicates with other computers through a digital communication bus.

[0010] The electrical network control unit can be embedded inside an electrical core in the form of an electronic card with inputs / outputs. The electrical core is an intelligent box which represents the whole or a subset of the electrical distribution system and which groups together the control, protection, monitoring and power distribution elements for the different loads of the aircraft.

[0011] The inputs / outputs may be discrete signals or analog measurements of the voltages and currents used by the distribution system or other computers of various types used in an aircraft.

[0012] Through its inputs, the network control unit controls the various switching devices of the electrical cores such as contactors.

[0013] In a known manner, all information concerning network reconfiguration and / or protection is centralized on one or more cards to provide redundancy solutions or to address dissimilarity issues.

[0014] Thus, network control is ensured by one or more computers on the same card which receive all the information, configure, monitor, command and protect the network. This architecture requires having all the command and control devices close to the network control card. This requires a specific organization of the different command and control devices and does not allow easy modification of the architecture to make it evolve. In addition, this architecture is not resilient in the event of a failure of the network control card and does not allow for the management of a large flow of data. Indeed, the flow of data is limited by the capacity of the microcontroller which centralizes all the information.

[0015] Thus, in this context, it is necessary to provide a system for controlling an electrical network which is resilient in the event of a failure and which is free from the constraints of the prior art. Statement of the invention

[0016] To this end, according to a first aspect, a decentralized system for controlling an electrical network of an aircraft is proposed, the system comprising a plurality of separate cells, each cell comprising a plurality of electrical contactors and each cell being connected to an electrical power supply. Each cell comprises at least one microcontroller for controlling at least one contactor.

[0017] The decentralization of the system allows in particular a better resilience of the system. Indeed, the division of the system into several independent cells makes it possible to guarantee the operation of the system in the event of a failure of one of the cells (thus the system is resilient in the event of a failure). In addition, the decentralization into several independent cells makes it possible to distribute the different cells while freeing oneself from the proximity constraints of the centralized architectures of the prior art.

[0018] According to a particular arrangement, each cell comprises a microcontroller controlling several contactors of the cell.

[0019] According to a particular arrangement, each cell comprises as many microcontrollers as there are contactors, each microcontroller making it possible to independently control a corresponding contactor of the cell.

[0020] According to a particular arrangement, within the same cell, the contactors are interfaced with each other by a digital communication network and / or a physical information exchange network.

[0021] According to a particular arrangement, the cells are interfaced with each other by a digital communication network and / or a physical information exchange network.

[0022] According to a particular arrangement, the contactors and / or the cells exchange electrical powers through the physical information exchange network.

[0023] According to another aspect, there is provided an aircraft comprising a decentralized system for controlling an electrical network of the aircraft, the system comprising a plurality of separate cells, each cell comprising a plurality of electrical contactors, each cell being connected to an electrical power supply and each cell comprising at least one microcontroller making it possible to control at least one contactor of the cell.

[0024] According to a particular arrangement, at least one cell is connected to an electrical power supply of a primary electrical network of the aircraft and at least one other cell is connected to an electrical power supply of an emergency electrical network of the aircraft. Brief description of the drawings

[0025] The above-mentioned and other features of the invention will become more clearly apparent from the following description of at least one example of embodiment, said description being made in relation to the attached drawings, among which:

[0026] [Fig.l] schematically illustrates a first embodiment of a decentralized system for controlling an electrical network of an aircraft;

[0027] [Fig.2] schematically illustrates a first embodiment of a system of centralized control of an aircraft electrical network;

[0028] [Fig.3] schematically illustrates a second embodiment of a system of centralized control of an aircraft electrical network;

[0029] [Fig.4] schematically illustrates a second embodiment of a system of centralized control of an aircraft electrical network;

[0030] [Fig.5] illustrates an example of information exchange between two interfaced cells.

[0031] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

[0032] Decentralized system for controlling an aircraft electrical network

[0033] According to a first aspect, with reference to Figs. 1 to 4, a decentralized SYST system for controlling an electrical network of an aircraft is proposed. The SYST system comprises a plurality of distinct CELL cells. Each CELL cell comprises a plurality of electrical CMD contactors and each CELL cell is connected to a PWR power supply. Each CELL cell comprises at least one microcontroller p for controlling at least one CMD contactor.

[0034] The decentralization of the SYST system allows in particular a better resilience of the SYST system. Indeed, the division of the SYST system into several independent CELL cells makes it possible to guarantee the operation of the SYST system in the event of a failure of one of the CELL cells. In addition, the decentralization into several independent CELL cells makes it possible to distribute the different CELL cells while freeing oneself from the proximity constraints of the centralized architectures of the prior art.

[0035] In addition, this solution makes it possible to reduce the size of installations and cabling.

[0036] In addition, this solution also makes it possible to embed the protections (i.e. the CELL cells) as close as possible to the PWR power supplies and thus reduce latency times.

[0037] Furthermore, decentralization makes the SYST system more easily implementable, modifiable and reusable than prior art systems.

[0038] First embodiment

[0039] According to a first embodiment, shown schematically in Figs. 1 and 2, each CELL cell comprises a microcontroller p controlling several CMD contactors of the CELL cell. This arrangement allows each CELL cell to be independent and to be able to operate in the event of failure of another CELL cell. In addition, as will be developed below, this architecture allows the system to be easily reconfigured. SYST to ensure its operation in the event of a CELL cell failure. In other words, the fragmentation of the SYST system into several independent CELL cells, each equipped with a microcontroller p, allows the SYST system to be resilient in the event of a CELL cell failure (the other CELL cells can replace the defective CELL cell), to be faster (there are several distinct CELL cells to process the information), and to present a more adaptable architecture allowing modifications (it is sufficient to move CELL cells unlike the prior art which requires centralization around a single control system).

[0040] Second embodiment

[0041] According to a second embodiment, shown diagrammatically in Figs. 3 and 4, each cell CELL comprises a microcontroller p for each contactor CMD, each microcontroller p making it possible to independently control each contactor CMD of the cell CELL.

[0042] This arrangement allows each CELL cell to be independent and to be able to operate in the event of a failure of another CELL cell. In addition, this arrangement allows each CMD contactor within each CELL cell to be independent, which further increases the speed and resilience of the SYST system. In addition, as will be developed below, this architecture allows the SYST system to be reconfigured to ensure its operation in the event of a CELL cell failure or a CMD contactor failure in a CELL cell.In other words, the fragmentation of the SYST system into several independent CELL cells, each equipped with several independent microcontrollers, allows the SYST system to be resilient in the event of a CELL cell failure (the other CELL cells can replace the defective CELL cell), to be faster (there are several distinct CELL cells to process the information), and to present a more adaptable architecture allowing modifications (it is sufficient to move CELL cells unlike the prior art which imposes centralization around a single control system).

[0043] Interfacing

[0044] As shown diagrammatically in Figs. 2 and 4, whatever the embodiment, within the same cell, the CMD contactors are interfaced with each other by a digital communication network and / or a physical information exchange network.

[0045] Furthermore, according to a particularly advantageous arrangement, as shown diagrammatically in Figs. 2, 4 and 5 regardless of the embodiment, the CELL cells of the SYST system are interfaced with each other by the digital communication network and / or the physical information exchange network.

[0046] Furthermore, according to a particularly advantageous arrangement, the contactors and / or Cells exchange electrical information through the physical information exchange network PHY.

[0047] In other words, the CELL cells and the CMD contactors are interfaced, which makes it possible to maximize the exchange of information by allowing a rapid exchange speed. In addition, the interfacing of the CMD contactors and the CELL cells contributes to the resilience of the SYTS system by allowing each contactor and each cell to transmit and receive information. The interconnection of the CELL cells and the CMD contactors makes it possible to build an architecture of a completely autonomous multi-source electrical network. Indeed, the interconnection of the CELL cells and the CMD contactors allows a decentralized exchange of information. In other words, unlike the centralized devices of the prior art, the SYST system has a decentralized architecture in which the interconnection of the CELL cells and the CMD contactors allows a rapid exchange of information between all the CELL cells.Thus, in the event of a CELL cell failure, the interconnection allows rapid adaptation of the SYST system.

[0048] In a particularly advantageous manner, as shown diagrammatically in Figs 2 and 4, several CELL cells can be interfaced with each other on different types of voltages: alternating current (abbreviated AC), very high direct voltage (abbreviated KHVDC), high direct voltage (abbreviated HVDC) and low direct voltage (abbreviated LVDC).

[0049] [Fig. 5] illustrates an example of information exchange between two interfaced CELL cells. The information exchanges allow, for example, that in the event of a loss of a power source on a right edge of the electrical distribution system, the CELL cells exchange the necessary information between them in order to carry out a reconfiguration of the network logic to continue to safely supply the components on the right edge. It is specified that this example works inversely with the left edge of the aircraft and the electrical distribution system.

[0050] Architecture and management

[0051] Figs. 2 and 4 show examples of the architecture of a SYST system.

[0052] As previously indicated, the differences between the architectures of Figs. 2 and 4 lie in the internal structures of the CELL cells. For the rest, these two architectures are similar.

[0053] Thus, in Figs 2 and 4, the SYST system is divided into two edges RI and LE corresponding to the two edges of the aircraft in which the SYST system is integrated.

[0054] Each edge is powered by a separate PWR power supply.

[0055] Furthermore, as shown diagrammatically, an emergency power supply EMER-PWR, connected to an EMER-BX emergency control unit, is connected to both edges.

[0056] Each edge comprises a plurality of CELL cells.

[0057] As shown schematically, the CELL cells are interfaced. Furthermore, although this is not shown, the CMD contactors are also interfaced within the same CELL cell. Furthermore, in a particularly advantageous manner, the CELL cells of the two edges are interfaced, which allows that in the event of failure of a CELL cell on one edge, another CELL cell of the same edge or of the other edge replaces the faulty CELL cell.

[0058] As detailed previously, the CELL cells on the same board are connected to different types of voltages (AC, DC, HVDC and KHVDC), which correspond in particular to the primary and secondary electrical networks of the aircraft.

[0059] According to a particular arrangement, the SYST system is controlled according to a control and protection logic coordinated between the cells according to the location of a fault. In other words, advantageously, the system is controlled in such a way that the location of a fault is taken into account to determine which cell must compensate for this fault.

[0060] According to a particular arrangement, the system can also implement a protection function per cell in order to apply priority management specific to each electrical network in each cell.

[0061] According to a particular arrangement, the data exchanges are carried out according to a predetermined protocol. This arrangement makes it possible to optimize the SYST system by preventing CELL cells from reacting instantly and causing a conflict at the electrical network level.

[0062] Aircraft

[0063] According to a second aspect, an aircraft is proposed comprising the SYST system for controlling the electrical network.

[0064] According to a particular arrangement, at least one cell is connected to an electrical power supply of a primary electrical network of the aircraft and at least one other dissimilar cell is connected to an electrical power supply of an emergency electrical network of the aircraft.

Claims

Claims

1. Decentralized system (SYST) for controlling an electrical network of an aircraft, the system (SYST) comprising a plurality of distinct cells (CELL), each cell (CELL) comprising a plurality of electrical contactors (CMD) and each cell (CELL) being connected to an electrical power supply (PWR), the system (SYST) being characterized in that each cell (CELL) comprises at least one microcontroller (p) making it possible to control at least one contactor (CMD).

2. System (SYST) according to claim 1, wherein each cell (CELL) comprises a microcontroller (p) controlling several contactors (CMD) of the cell (CELL).

3. System (SYST) according to any one of the preceding claims, in which each cell (CELL) comprises as many microcontrollers (p) as contactors (CMD), each microcontroller (p) making it possible to independently control a corresponding contactor (CMD) of the cell (p).

4. System (SYST) according to one of the preceding claims in which within the same cell (CELL), the contactors (CMD) are interfaced with each other by a digital communication network and / or a physical information exchange network.

5. System (SYST) according to any one of the preceding claims in which the cells (CELL) are interfaced with each other by a digital communication network and / or a physical information exchange network.

6. System (SYST) according to any one of claims 6 or 7, in which the contactors (CMD) and / or the cells (CELL) exchange electrical powers through the physical information exchange network.

7. Aircraft comprising a decentralized system (SYST) for controlling an electrical network of the aircraft, the system (SYST) comprising a plurality of distinct cells (CELL), each cell (CELL) comprising a plurality of electrical contactors (CMD), each cell (CELL) being connected to an electrical power supply (PWR) and each cell (CELL) comprising at least one microcontroller (p) making it possible to control at least one contactor (CMD) of the cell (CELL).

8. Aircraft according to claim 7 in which at least one cell (CELL) is connected to an electrical power supply (PWR) of a primary electrical network of the aircraft and at least one other cell (CELL) is connected to an electrical power supply (PWR) of an emergency electrical network of the aircraft.

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