Integrated travel control and attitude heading reference system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11874673-B2
Application number	US-202016830610-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 26, 2020
Priority date	Jan 27, 2020
Publication date	Jan 16, 2024
Grant date	Jan 16, 2024

Abstract

Techniques for integrating a travel control system and attitude and heading (AHR) system in a vehicle are disclosed. The integrated system includes interface circuitry that enables data communication between constituent travel control system and AHR system of the integrated system, and can further communicate data between the travel control system and/or the AHR system and other system(s) or device(s) in or on the vehicle. In some embodiments, the travel control system includes processing circuitry that is fault tolerant. Alternatively, or additionally, the AHR system may include processing circuitry that has a processing power greater than the travel control system processing circuitry.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A system, comprising:
a first processing system comprising first processor circuitry and configured to determine attitude and heading data of a vehicle using inertial data;
a second processing system comprising second processor circuitry and configured to issue one or more vehicle control signals to control at least one component of the vehicle using the attitude and heading data, wherein the at least one component is configured to alter a velocity of the vehicle, and wherein the second processor circuitry is fault tolerant; and
an interface circuit communicatively coupled between the first processing system and the second processing system, wherein the interface circuit is configured to receive the inertial data, to provide the inertial data to the first processing system, to provide the attitude and heading data to the second processing system, and to receive the issued one or more vehicle control signals from the second processing system, and wherein the interface circuit comprises an interface to at least one of (a) at least one bus and (b) at least one network shared by the first processing system and the second processing system.

2. The system of claim 1 , further comprising a power supply coupled to the first processing system, the second processing system, and the interface circuit.

3. The system of claim 1 , further comprising an inertial measurement unit, wherein the inertial measurement unit is coupled to the interface circuit.

4. The system of claim 1 , further comprising:
at least one other sensor coupled to the interface circuit;
wherein the first processor circuitry is configured to estimate an attitude and heading of the vehicle using the inertial data and data from the at least one other sensor.

5. The system of claim 1 , wherein the first processor circuitry has a processing power that is greater than a processing power of the second processor circuitry.

6. The system of claim 1 , wherein the interface circuit is configured to be coupled to at least one of: (a) one or more vehicle management systems, (b) one or more autopilots, and (c) at least one actuator.

7. The system of claim 6 , further comprising:
at least one other sensor coupled to the interface circuit;
wherein the second processor circuitry is configured to receive data from the at least one other sensor, and to perform an integrity check, using the data, on at least one of: (a) the one or more vehicle control signals and (b) a command signal received from at least one of the (i) the one or more vehicle management systems, (ii) the one or more autopilots, and (iii) the at least one actuator.

8. A method comprising:
receiving inertial data at first processing circuitry through an interface circuit, where the interface circuit communicatively couples the first processing circuitry to second processing circuitry;
using the received inertial data, generating attitude and heading data using the first processing circuitry;
communicating the generated attitude and heading data to the second processing circuitry through the interface circuit;
receiving a command signal at the second processing circuitry;
using at least one of the generated attitude and heading data and the received command signal, generating one or more vehicle control signals to alter vehicle velocity using the second processing circuitry; and
issuing the one or more vehicle control signals from the second processing circuitry through the interface circuit to alter vehicle velocity.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein the second processing circuitry is fault tolerant.

10. The method of claim 8 , further comprising:
upon receiving the command signal, verifying integrity of the command signal using data received from one or more other sensors coupled to the interface circuit; and
disregarding a command signal that is not verified so that the one or more vehicle control signals are not generated by the second processing circuitry in response to the command signal.

11. The method of claim 8 , further comprising:
upon generating one or more vehicle control signals, verifying an integrity of the one or more vehicle control signals using data received from one or more other sensors coupled to the interface circuit; and
disregarding at least one vehicle control signal that is not verified so that the unverified vehicle control signal is not issued from the second processing circuitry.

12. The method of claim 8 , wherein using the received inertial data, generating the attitude and heading data using the first processing circuitry further comprises estimating the attitude and heading data using the received inertial data and data from other sensors coupled to the interface circuit.

13. A system, comprising:
first processing circuitry configured to determine attitude and heading data of a vehicle using inertial data;
second processing circuitry configured to issue one or more vehicle control signals to control at least one component of the vehicle using the attitude and heading data, and to receive at least one command signal, wherein the at least one component is configured to alter a velocity of the vehicle; and
an interface circuit communicatively coupled between the first processing circuitry and the second processing circuitry, wherein the interface circuit is configured to receive the inertial data, to provide the inertial data to the first processing circuitry, to provide the attitude and heading data to the second processing circuitry, and to receive the issued one or more vehicle control signals from the second processing circuitry, and wherein the interface circuit comprises an interface to at least one of (a) at least one bus and (b) at least one network shared by the first processing circuitry and the second processing circuitry.

14. The system of claim 13 , wherein the second processing circuitry is fault tolerant.

15. The system of claim 13 , further comprising a power supply coupled to the first processing circuitry, second processing circuitry, and interface circuit.

16. The system of claim 13 , further comprising an inertial measurement unit, wherein the inertial measurement unit is coupled to the interface circuit.

17. The system of claim 13 , further comprising:
at least one other sensor coupled to the interface circuit;
wherein the first processing circuitry is configured to estimate an attitude and heading of the vehicle using the inertial data and data from the at least one other sensor.

18. The system of claim 13 , wherein the first processing circuitry has a processing power that is greater than a processing power of the second processing circuitry.

19. The system of claim 13 , wherein the interface circuit is configured to be coupled to: (a) one or more vehicle management systems, (b) one or more autopilots coupled to the interface circuit, and (c) at least one actuator.

20. The system of claim 19 , further comprising:
at least one other sensor coupled to the interface circuit;
wherein the second processing circuitry is configured to receive data from the at least one other sensor, and to perform an integrity check, using the data, on at least one of: (a) the one or more vehicle control signals and (b) a command signal received from at least one of the (i) the one or more vehicle management systems, (ii) the one or more autopilots, and (iii) the at least one actuator.

Assignees

• Honeywell Int Inc

Inventors

• Horner Adam Ross
• Manning Neil
• Koenig John
• Schultz Wayne
• Brown Timothy

Classifications

• G05D1/101 Primary

  specially adapted for aircraft · CPC title

• B64C39/024

  of the remote controlled vehicle type, i.e. RPV · CPC title

• B64U2101/60

  for transporting passengers; for transporting goods other than weapons · CPC title

• B64U2201/10

  autonomous, i.e. by navigating independently from ground or air stations, e.g. by using inertial navigation systems [INS] · CPC title

• G01C21/165 Primary

  combined with non-inertial navigation instruments · CPC title