Air Traffic Control Failsafe Local Configuration Backup
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Air traffic control systems face challenges in maintaining operation during complete system failures, such as total power outages or network disruptions, where the central management database is unavailable, leading to disruptions in aircraft control and communication.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of a local backup system that stores specific device configuration data for controller working positions and communication gateways, allowing them to revert to a failsafe static local configuration, ensuring minimal operability even when the central database is down, utilizing detection units and backup controllers to automatically upload configuration data and notify administrators of failures.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the ATC system relies on a central management database for device configuration data, then the system can maintain centralized control and consistency, but the system becomes vulnerable to complete failure when the central database is unavailable
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the centralized configuration storage into two segments: the central management database for normal operations and local backup devices at each CWP for emergency operations. This segmentation allows the system to maintain centralized control during normal operation while having distributed backup capability during failures, thus improving reliability without requiring complete system redesign
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements preliminary action by pre-storing device configuration data in local backup devices before any failure occurs. The local backup devices are populated with configuration data in advance through automatic updates from the central database or manual configuration, ensuring that when the central database becomes unavailable, the CWPs can immediately switch to using locally stored configuration data without delay
2Reliability
If local backup devices store complete configuration data locally, then the system can operate independently during failures, but the device complexity and memory requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts only the essential configuration data needed for failsafe operation and stores it in local backup devices, rather than storing complete system configurations. The local backup devices store specific device configuration data that is sufficient to maintain basic CWP functionality during emergencies, reducing memory requirements while ensuring operational continuity
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies local quality by tailoring the configuration data stored in each local backup device to the specific needs of its associated CWP. Each local backup device stores configuration data relevant to its local device, optimizing storage efficiency while ensuring that each CWP has the necessary configuration information for independent operation during failures
3Loss of time
If the system automatically switches to local backup configuration during failures, then the response time is reduced, but the complexity of the switching mechanism increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements feedback through detection units that continuously monitor the availability of the central management database. When the detection unit detects that the central database is unavailable, it automatically triggers the switching mechanism to use local backup configuration data. This feedback loop enables automatic, rapid response to failures without requiring complex manual intervention or decision-making processes
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3
AI summary
The present invention relates to an air traffic control system that provides a failsafe local configuration of the components of an ATC system in case of a system failure or at least a failure of the connection. For example, in case of a failure of the central management database system, all relevant components of the ATC system that are configured to first take their start-up configuration from the central database fall back to a failsafe static local start-up configuration. For this purpose the present invention provides a local backup device within each CWP and ATC communication gateway.