Method for processing a signal comprising detection of interference caused by a lightning strike

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11003526-B2
Application number	US-201816772291-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 13, 2018
Priority date	Dec 14, 2017
Publication date	May 11, 2021
Grant date	May 11, 2021

Abstract

A method for processing a signal on board an aircraft. An electronic control unit receives an input signal including useful data in a first passband, implements a first operation of bandpass filtering the input signal with a first passband to obtain a useful signal containing the useful data, with detection of interference caused by a lightning strike. The electronic control unit implements a second operation of bandpass filtering the input signal to obtain a detection signal, the bandpass filter having a second passband that is distinct from the first passband, comparing a detection value derived from the detection signal with a detection threshold, and correcting the exploitation of the useful data if exceeded.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method for processing a signal of an electronic control unit on board an aircraft, wherein said electronic control unit:
receives an input signal comprising useful data in a useful frequency band,
implements a first band-pass filtering of the input signal with a first bandwidth to obtain a useful signal containing the useful data, said first bandwidth comprising the useful band,
uses said useful data,
wherein the electronic control unit also implements a correction of a use of the useful data by a detection of disturbances caused by a lightning strike comprising the following steps:
a second band-pass filtering of the input signal to obtain a detection signal, the second band-pass filtering being with a second bandwidth in which an input signal which has undergone disturbances linked to a lightning strike is likely to present anomalies, the second bandwidth being distinct from the first bandwidth and being comprised in a 1 kHz-15 kHz frequency range, wherein a frequency response of the first band-pass filtering has a main lobe and secondary lobes, a frequency response of the second band-pass filtering has a main lobe and secondary lobes, the main lobe of the first band-pass filtering and the main lobe of the second band-pass filtering not overlapping,
a comparison between at least one detection value derived from the detection signal and a detection threshold, whose exceeding is indicative of a lightning strike, and
if the detection value exceeds the detection threshold, a correction of the use of the useful data.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the input signal does not comprise useful data in the second bandwidth.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the correction of the use of the useful data comprises not taking into account, by the electronic control unit, useful data simultaneous with an exceeding of the detection threshold by the detection value derived from the detection signal.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the correction of the use of the useful data comprises determining a bias from the detection signal, and correcting this bias in the useful signal and/or the useful data prior to the use of the useful data.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the second bandwidth is greater than the first bandwidth.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first bandwidth is comprised in a 1 Hz-10 kHz frequency range.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the detection value derived from the detection signal is representative of an energy of the detection signal.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the secondary lobes of the first band-pass filtering outside the main lobe of the second band-pass filtering and the secondary lobes of the second band-pass filtering outside the main lobe of the first band-pass filtering have zeros for same frequencies.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein to implement the first band-pass filtering of the input signal to obtain a useful signal, the electronic control unit applies a demodulation of the input signal by means of a first sinusoidal reference signal at a first frequency comprised in the first bandwidth to obtain the useful signal, and to implement the second band pass filtering of the input signal to obtain a detection signal, the electronic control unit implements a demodulation of the input signal by means of a second sinusoidal reference signal at a second frequency comprised in the second bandwidth distinct from the first bandwidth to obtain the detection signal.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein the second frequency is an integer multiple of the first frequency.

11. A computer program product comprising program code instructions recorded on a non-transitory medium usable in a computer for the execution of the steps of a method according to claim 1 when said program is executed on a computer reads using said non-transitory medium.

12. An electronic control unit on board an aircraft, said electronic control unit being configured to:
receive an input signal comprising useful data in a useful frequency band,
implement a first band-pass filtering of the input signal with a first bandwidth to obtain a useful signal containing the useful data, said first bandwidth comprising the useful band,
use said useful data,
wherein the electronic control unit is also configured to implement a correction of a use of the useful data by a detection of disturbances caused by a lightning strike comprising the following steps:
a second band-pass filtering of the input signal to obtain a detection signal, the second band-pass filtering being with a second bandwidth in which an input signal which has undergone disturbances linked to a lightning strike is likely to present anomalies, the second bandwidth being distinct from the first bandwidth and being comprised in a 1 kHz-15 kHz frequency range, wherein a frequency response of the first band-pass filtering has a main lobe and secondary lobes, a frequency response of the second band-pass filtering has a main lobe and secondary lobes, the main lobe of the first band-pass filtering and the main lobe of the second band-pass filtering not overlapping,
a comparison between at least one detection value derived from the detection signal and a detection threshold, whose exceeding is indicative of a lightning strike, and
if the detection value exceeds the detection threshold, a correction of the use of the useful data.

Assignees

• Safran Electronics & Defense

Inventors

• Conq Mathieu
• Geneste Nicolas
• Fernandes Gomes Manuel

Classifications

• G01R29/0842

  Measurements related to lightning, e.g. measuring electric disturbances, warning systems · CPC title

• G06F11/0754

  by exceeding limits · CPC title

• G06F11/10 Primary

  Adding special bits or symbols to the coded information, e.g. parity check, casting out 9's or 11's · CPC title

• G01R31/008

  on air- or spacecraft, railway rolling stock or sea-going vessels · CPC title

• G06F11/0793

  Remedial or corrective actions (recovery from an exception in an instruction pipeline G06F9/3861; by retry G06F11/1402; for recovering from a failure of a protocol instance or entity H04L69/40) · CPC title