Aircraft Simulator CAN Interface for Multi-Bus Communication
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Solution Overview
Problem
Interacting with multiple physical CAN buses in aircraft is challenging due to the need for many connectors and limited interfacing capabilities of aircraft simulators, which affects the accuracy and functionality of training, testing, and maintenance processes.
Innovation Solution
A system and method that wrap simulated intra-aircraft communication by receiving simulator data, converting it into phenomenal digital messages, and transmitting these messages through a controller area network (CAN) to interface with aircraft components, allowing for accurate simulation and communication between simulators and physical components.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If multiple physical CAN buses are used for redundancy and separation of concerns, then system reliability is improved, but device complexity and ease of operation deteriorate due to the need for many connectors and separate tapping into each bus
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a simulator interface device as an intermediary between the aircraft simulator and the multiple physical CAN buses. This device consolidates the interface requirements, allowing the simulator to interact with multiple CAN buses through a single unified connection point, thereby maintaining system reliability while reducing the complexity of connectors and interfacing operations
Solution Approach 2:
The simulator interface device is designed to perform multiple functions: it can interface with multiple different CAN buses, handle various signal types, and provide a unified communication protocol. This multi-functional design allows a single device to replace what would otherwise require multiple separate connection points and interface circuits, reducing overall system complexity while maintaining the reliability benefits of multiple CAN buses
2Device complexity
If aircraft simulators have limited interfacing capabilities, then device complexity is reduced, but measurement precision and reliability deteriorate due to limited accuracy in training and testing
Solution Approach 1:
The simulator interface device acts as an intelligent intermediary that enhances the capabilities of simulators with limited interfacing capabilities. It handles the complex tasks of signal conditioning, protocol conversion, and data validation, thereby improving simulation accuracy and measurement precision without requiring the simulator itself to be complex
Solution Approach 2:
The interface device creates accurate digital copies and representations of the physical CAN bus signals and aircraft system behaviors. By faithfully replicating the electrical and logical characteristics of the actual aircraft systems, it enables high-precision simulation and testing even when the simulator hardware itself has limited native interfacing capabilities
3Speed
If simulated intra-aircraft communication is directly interfaced with physical CAN buses, then communication speed is improved, but device complexity worsens due to the need for multiple connectors and separate bus interfaces
Solution Approach 1:
The simulator interface device serves as a high-speed communication intermediary that maintains fast data transfer rates between the simulator and multiple CAN buses. It implements efficient protocol handling and signal routing internally, achieving high communication speed while presenting a simplified single-point interface to the simulator, thus avoiding the complexity of multiple direct connections
Data Source
AI summary
Aspects relate to method and systems for wrapping simulated intra-aircraft communication to a physical controller area network. An exemplary method includes receiving simulator data from an aircraft simulator, disaggregating a simulated digital message from the simulator data, abstracting a simulated signal as a function of the simulated digital message, transmitting the simulated signal on at least a controller area network (CAN), receiving, using at least an aircraft component communicative with the at least a CAN, the simulated signal by way of the at least a CAN, transmitting a phenomenal signal by way of the at least a CAN, receiving the phenomenal signal by way of the at least a CAN, converting a phenomenal digital message as a function of the phenomenal signal, and inputting the phenomenal digital message to the aircraft simulator.