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US5297052A
Expired / Lapsed
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Integrated fault-tolerant air data inertial reference system
Assignee: Boeing Co
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Filing: 1990-11-14
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Granted: 1994-03-22
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Expires: 2010-11-14
Abstract
Abstract A fault-tolerant air data and inertial navigation reference system utilizes skewed axis inertial sensors and fault-tolerant redundant electronics to provide higher redundancy with fewer parts. Parallelly operating processor circuits each receive the individual outputs of six skewed-axis gyros and six skewed-axis accelerometers. Each processor independently processes parity equations using the outputs to identify malfunctioning sensors. Further, the output of each processor is transmitted to three parallelly operating voter circuits. The voters are operable to discard a processor if its output does not agree with the majority. The voter outputs are similarly fed back to the processor circuits, which compare these outputs, and discard any voter whose output disagrees with the majority, thus providing a completely integrated system.
Inventors
- 👤 Melville D. W. McIntyre
- 👤 David L. Sebring
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-01 18:44
CPC Classifications
G; G01; G01C; G01C21/00; G01C21/10; G01C21/12; G01C21/16; G01C21/166; Y; Y10; Y10T; Y10T74/00; Y10T74/12; Y10T74/1221
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 13
Claim 1
Independent Claim
263 words
An inertial navigation reference system, comprising: a plurality of greater than three redundant gyroscopes, any one of said gyroscopes being skewed with respect to all of the others, each gyroscope being operable to provide an output signal; a plurality of greater than three redundant accelerometers, any one of said accelerometers being skewed with respect to all of the other accelerometers, each accelerometer also being operable to provide an output signal; a plurality of redundant processor circuits, each being operable to receive the output signal from each one of said gyroscopes and accelerometers, and to calculate navigational reference signals therefrom, and said plurality of processor circuits operating in parallel so that all of said processor circuits receive said output signals and produce said navigational signals substantially simultaneously; and a plurality of redundant voter circuits, each voter circuit being operable to receive the navigational reference signals produced by each one of said processor circuits, and to output said navigational reference signals from at least one of said processor circuits to an avionics bus, said plurality of voter circuits operating in parallel so that all of said voter circuits receive said navigational signals from all said processor circuits substantially simultaneously, and further, each voter circuit being further operable to discard the navigational reference signals of a malfunctioning processor circuit; and wherein each processor circuit is further operable to discard the output signal of a malfunctioning gyroscope or accelerometer, and each processor circuit is still further operable to monitor the output of all of said voter circuits, and to discard the output of a malfunctioning voter circuit.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
263 words
An inertial navigation reference system, comprising: a plurality of greater than three redundant gyroscopes, any one of said gyroscopes being skewed with respect to all of the others, each gyroscope being operable to provide an output signal; a plurality of greater than three redundant accelerometers, any one of said accelerometers being skewed with respect to all of the other accelerometers, each accelerometer also being operable to provide an output signal; a plurality of redundant processor circuits, each being operable to receive the output signal from each one of said gyroscopes and accelerometers, and to calculate navigational reference signals therefrom, and said plurality of processor circuits operating in parallel so that all of said processor circuits receive said output signals and produce said navigational signals substantially simultaneously; and a plurality of redundant voter circuits, each voter circuit being operable to receive the navigational reference signals produced by each one of said processor circuits, and to output said navigational reference signals from at least one of said processor circuits to an avionics bus, said plurality of voter circuits operating in parallel so that all of said voter circuits receive said navigational signals from all said processor circuits substantially simultaneously, and further, each voter circuit being further operable to discard the navigational reference signals of a malfunctioning processor circuit; and wherein each processor circuit is further operable to discard the output signal of a malfunctioning gyroscope or accelerometer, and each processor circuit is still further operable to monitor the output of all of said voter circuits, and to discard the output of a malfunctioning voter circuit.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
27 words
The inertial navigation reference system of claim 1, wherein said plurality of redundant gyroscopes includes six gyroscopes, each of which is skewed with respect to the others.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
27 words
The inertial navigation reference system of claim 1, wherein said plurality of redundant accelerometers includes six accelerometers, each of which is skewed with respect to the others.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
21 words
The inertial navigation reference system of claim 1, wherein said plurality of redundant processor circuits includes at least four processor circuits.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
20 words
The inertial navigation reference system of claim 1, Wherein said plurality of voter circuits includes at least three voter circuits.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
28 words
The inertial navigation reference system of claim 1, wherein said processor circuits are operable to discard a malfunctioning gyroscope by comparing signals from preselected sets of three gyroscopes.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
28 words
The inertial navigation reference system of claim 6, wherein said processor circuits are operable to discard a malfunctioning accelerometer by comparing signals from preselected sets of three accelerometers.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
133 words
A fault-tolerant navigation reference system, comprising: a plurality of six independent accelerometers, each of which is in skewed orientation with respect to the others; a plurality of six independent gyroscopes, each of which is in skewed orientation with respect to the other gyroscopes; and at least four independent but parallelly operating processor circuits, each individual processor circuit being connected to each gyroscope and each accelerometer to receive an output signal from each gyroscope and each accelerometer, and each processor circuit being operable to discard the output signal of any malfunctioning accelerometer or gyroscope, and to calculate navigational reference signals from the output signals of the remaining accelerometers or gyroscopes, so long as at least four accelerometers and at least four gyroscopes remain functional, said processor circuits calculating said navigational reference signals substantially simultaneously.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
133 words
A fault-tolerant navigation reference system, comprising: a plurality of six independent accelerometers, each of which is in skewed orientation with respect to the others; a plurality of six independent gyroscopes, each of which is in skewed orientation with respect to the other gyroscopes; and at least four independent but parallelly operating processor circuits, each individual processor circuit being connected to each gyroscope and each accelerometer to receive an output signal from each gyroscope and each accelerometer, and each processor circuit being operable to discard the output signal of any malfunctioning accelerometer or gyroscope, and to calculate navigational reference signals from the output signals of the remaining accelerometers or gyroscopes, so long as at least four accelerometers and at least four gyroscopes remain functional, said processor circuits calculating said navigational reference signals substantially simultaneously.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
63 words
The fault-tolerant navigation reference system of claim 8, further including at least three independent but parallelly operating voter circuits, each voter circuit being connected to each processor circuit to receive the navigational reference signals produced by each processor circuit, and each voter circuit being operable to output said navigational reference signals from at least one of said processor circuits onto an avionics bus.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
245 words
A fault-tolerant navigation reference system, comprising: a plurality of six independent accelerometers, each of which is in skewed orientation with respect to the others; a plurality of six independent gyroscopes, each of which is in skewed orientation with respect to the other gyroscopes; and processor means operable to calculate navigational reference signals from the outputs of said accelerometers and gyroscopes, and further operable to discard the output of any malfunctioning accelerometer or gyroscope, and to calculate navigational reference signals from the remaining accelerometers or gyroscopes, so long as at least four accelerometers and at least four gyroscopes remain functional; wherein said processor means includes at least four independent but parallelly operating processor circuits, each individual processor circuit being connected to each gyroscope and accelerometer, and operable to receive the output signal from each gyroscope and accelerometer, and to calculate navigational reference signals therefrom, said processor circuits calculating said navigational reference signals substantially simultaneously; wherein said processor means further includes at least three independent but parallelly operating voter circuits, each voter circuit being connected to each processor circuit, and operable to receive the navigational reference signals produced by each processor circuit, and further, each voter circuit being operable to output said navigational reference signals from at least one of said processor circuits onto an avionics bus; and wherein each processor circuit is further operable to monitor the output of each voter circuit onto said avionics bus, and to discard the output of a malfunctioning voter circuit.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
245 words
A fault-tolerant navigation reference system, comprising: a plurality of six independent accelerometers, each of which is in skewed orientation with respect to the others; a plurality of six independent gyroscopes, each of which is in skewed orientation with respect to the other gyroscopes; and processor means operable to calculate navigational reference signals from the outputs of said accelerometers and gyroscopes, and further operable to discard the output of any malfunctioning accelerometer or gyroscope, and to calculate navigational reference signals from the remaining accelerometers or gyroscopes, so long as at least four accelerometers and at least four gyroscopes remain functional; wherein said processor means includes at least four independent but parallelly operating processor circuits, each individual processor circuit being connected to each gyroscope and accelerometer, and operable to receive the output signal from each gyroscope and accelerometer, and to calculate navigational reference signals therefrom, said processor circuits calculating said navigational reference signals substantially simultaneously; wherein said processor means further includes at least three independent but parallelly operating voter circuits, each voter circuit being connected to each processor circuit, and operable to receive the navigational reference signals produced by each processor circuit, and further, each voter circuit being operable to output said navigational reference signals from at least one of said processor circuits onto an avionics bus; and wherein each processor circuit is further operable to monitor the output of each voter circuit onto said avionics bus, and to discard the output of a malfunctioning voter circuit.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1997-03-21 | 1997-09-20 | 1998-03-22 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2001-03-21 | 2001-09-20 | 2002-03-22 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2005-03-21 | 2005-09-20 | 2006-03-22 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |