Aircraft High-Energy Control for System Deconfliction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for managing high-energy systems in aircraft, such as geo-fencing, are inadequate as they do not effectively protect personnel and equipment from exposure risks during manufacturing, testing, or maintenance, and they fail to prevent system conflicts that can lead to injuries or equipment damage.
Innovation Solution
A control system that determines a target state for high-energy systems based on their present state and a set of rules, generating control actions to manage and deconflict the activation and deactivation of these systems, thereby preventing incompatible systems from being activated simultaneously.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If geo-fencing is used to prevent exposure to high-energy systems, then the perimeter area is protected, but critical employees working within the perimeter are still exposed to risk
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical geo-fencing system with an automated control system that uses sensors to detect the presence of employees and automatically adjusts high-energy system activation based on detected positions, eliminating the need for physical barriers while maintaining safety
Solution Approach 2:
The control system automatically monitors employee positions through sensors and autonomously determines whether to activate or deactivate high-energy systems based on the detected presence or absence of employees, without requiring manual intervention
2Object-affected harmful factors
If geo-fencing is implemented to keep people away from high-energy systems, then personnel safety is improved, but equipment within the perimeter is not protected from damage
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses sensors to continuously feedback employee position information to the control system, which then automatically adjusts high-energy system activation in real-time, providing both personnel safety and equipment protection through closed-loop control
Solution Approach 2:
The control system acts as an intermediary between employee presence detection and high-energy system activation, automatically mediating the activation state based on real-time sensor data to prevent both exposure and equipment damage
3Productivity
If multiple high-energy systems are activated simultaneously without coordination, then operational efficiency is improved, but system conflicts cause injuries or equipment damage
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic control of high-energy system activation by continuously monitoring employee positions and automatically adjusting system states in real-time, allowing flexible coordination that prevents conflicts while maintaining operational efficiency
Solution Approach 2:
The control system autonomously manages the coordination of multiple high-energy systems by automatically detecting employee presence and determining appropriate activation states for each system, eliminating the need for manual coordination while preventing system conflicts
Data Source
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Figure 1B
Figure 2A
AI summary
Technology provides for controlling a high-energy management system for an aircraft that includes receiving sensor data from a plurality of high-energy (HE) systems, wherein each of the plurality of HE systems is located in an aircraft, determining a present state of each of the plurality of HE systems based on the sensor data, determining a target state of each of the plurality of HE systems based on the present state of each of the plurality of HE systems and a set of HE system rules, and automatically generating one or more control actions to effect control of one or more of the plurality of HE systems based on the target state of each of the plurality of HE systems. Examples further include receiving a schedule of tasks to be performed on the aircraft, where determining the target state is further based on the schedule of tasks.