Aircraft Configuration Automation via Centralized Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
The workload for aircraft crew members remains burdensome due to the need to manually manage and reconfigure aircraft systems during both normal and abnormal operations, despite assistance from centralized monitoring systems like ECAM, as they must detect failures, execute configuration and reconfiguration procedures, and verify actions.
Innovation Solution
A centralized device and method for automatic management of configuration and reconfiguration procedures, which detects and diagnoses system requirements, generates control commands, and automatically dispatches these commands to corresponding systems for execution, reducing the need for crew intervention.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If manual management of aircraft systems is used with ECAM assistance, then system monitoring and information presentation are improved, but crew workload remains significantly burdensome
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables self-service by allowing the aircraft systems to automatically detect failures, diagnose problems, generate control commands, and execute reconfiguration procedures without requiring continuous manual intervention from the crew. The centralized device autonomously manages the entire configuration and reconfiguration process, making the system self-sufficient in handling operational anomalies.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical/manual system where crew members physically execute configuration actions with an automated electronic system. The centralized device generates electronic control commands that are automatically transmitted to relevant systems, substituting manual mechanical operations with automated electronic control, thereby reducing crew workload while maintaining system reliability.
2Ease of operation
If automated management of configuration procedures is implemented, then crew workload is reduced, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple previously separate functions into a single centralized device. The centralized device integrates failure detection, diagnosis, control command generation, and automatic dispatch capabilities that were previously distributed across multiple independent systems or manually performed by the crew. This consolidation reduces overall system complexity by creating a unified automated management architecture.
Solution Approach 2:
The centralized device performs multiple functions including detecting system failures, diagnosing problems, generating appropriate control commands, and automatically dispatching these commands to relevant systems. This multi-functional approach eliminates the need for separate specialized systems for each function, thereby managing complexity through universal automation rather than multiple specialized components.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods, devices, and computer readable media are disclosed for automatic management of configuration and reconfiguration procedures of a plurality of systems of an aircraft, for example and without limitation, for aircraft operational and maintenance uses. In some aspects, a centralized device for automatic management of configuration and reconfiguration procedures of a plurality of systems of an aircraft includes a central unit for automatically generation control commands for automatic control of at least one action to be executed for one or both of the configuration or reconfiguration procedure, data links for automatic dispatch of control commands to corresponding systems for automatic execution.