FR3086072A1 - ELECTRICAL SYSTEM OF TWO ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT PROVIDED WITH A MODULE FOR PRESERVING THE STATE PARAMETERS OF ONE OF THE TWO EQUIPMENT - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to an electrical system formed by a first electrical equipment (10), of the electrical actuator type, and a second electrical equipment (20), of the electrical actuator controller type, connected to each other. by a plurality of wired electrical connectors (30a, 30b) each intended to convey an electrical signal representative of a binary state parameter, active or inactive, of said first electrical equipment (10), characterized in that it comprises a module for keeping (50) the states of said state parameters of said first item of equipment (10) connected to a plurality of electrical connectors (30a, 30b) and configured to be able, from a bias current of an electrical connector associated with an inactive state parameter, keeping said state switches closed (31a, 31b) associated with active state parameters.

Description

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM OF TWO ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT PROVIDED WITH A MODULE FOR STORING THE PARAMETERS OF STATUS OF ONE OF THE TWO EQUIPMENT

1. Technical field of the invention

The invention relates to an electrical system formed by a first electrical equipment, of the electrical actuator type and a second electrical equipment, of the electrical actuator controller type. The invention relates more particularly to an assembly of an electric actuator of a member of an air conditioning system, such as an air valve, and a controller of this electric valve actuator.

2. Technological background

It is often necessary, in particular for aeronautical applications, and in particular for aircraft air conditioning system applications, to have a first electrical item of equipment whose knowledge of at least one state of this item of equipment is necessary. a second electrical equipment for the proper functioning of the system.

This is for example an electric actuator of a valve of an air conditioning system whose knowledge of the state of opening or closing of the valve is necessary for the controller to coordinate the various commands of the air conditioning system equipment. These valve opening and closing states are more commonly known as "full open" and "full close" states.

One of the known solutions for the controller to know the state of the valve controlled by the actuator is to provide, within the actuator, a module, of the electronic card type, which switches electronic switches connected to the electrical ground of the actuator from an open position to a closed position when the valve is tilted from an open position to a closed position and vice versa. Thus, the determination of the voltage across

Rupteurswitch lets you know the state of the switch and therefore the state of the valve controlled by the actuator.

This solution nevertheless has the drawback of requiring the power supply of the actuator. In particular, the valve controller cannot determine the state of the valve when the power supply to the valve actuator is no longer available.

It also happens that the power supply fluctuates or is suspended without the valve actuator controller being immediately alerted. Also, the system may lose the valve status information and unfairly believe that the valve associated with the actuator is in an open (or full open) position when it is actually in a closed (or full) position. close) or vice versa.

To overcome this problem, it is possible to indirectly determine the state of the valve by measuring physical parameters (pressure, temperature, etc.) of the air present upstream or downstream of the valve. This indirect determination therefore requires additional equipment (means for measuring pressure or temperatures) and does not allow knowledge of the instantaneous state of the actuator, a certain latency being necessary so that the physical parameters faithfully represent the state of the actuator.

In order for the status information to be available at all times, it is in practice necessary to provide redundant mechanical means. These redundant mechanical means weigh down the system and increase its size.

The inventors therefore sought to develop an alternative solution allowing a set comprising a first electrical equipment, of the valve actuator controller type, and a second electrical equipment, of the valve actuator type, to know the state of the second equipment, including when electrical power to this equipment is not available, and without involving the use of mechanical means.

3. Objectives of the invention

The invention aims to provide an electrical system formed by a first electrical equipment and a second electrical equipment controlled by said first equipment which can provide information on the state of the second equipment, including when the electrical supply of this equipment n is not available.

The invention aims in particular to provide such a system which does not involve the use of additional mechanical means.

The invention also aims to provide, in at least one embodiment, such an electrical system which can be used in particular in air conditioning systems for aircraft.

4. Statement of the invention

To do this, the invention relates to an electrical system formed of a first electrical equipment, of the electrical actuator type, and of a second electrical equipment, of the electrical actuator controller type, connected to each other by a plurality of electrical wired connectors each intended to convey an electrical signal representative of a binary state parameter, active or inactive, from said first electrical equipment to said second electrical equipment.

An electrical system according to the invention is characterized in that it comprises, for each electrical connector associated with a state parameter of said first equipment:

an electrical switch, called a state switch, connected to an electrical ground of said first equipment and configured to be able to be positioned by a control module of said status switches, in a closed or open position representative respectively of the active state or this state parameter of said first device is inactive,

a pull-up resistor connected to a bias voltage of said second equipment so as to allow said second electrical equipment to acquire said electrical signal, at the terminals of this switch, representative of the state of said binary state parameter of this electrical connector.

An electrical system according to the invention is also characterized in that it comprises a module for storing the states of said state parameters of said first equipment connected to each electrical connector and configured to be able, from a bias current of an electrical connector associated with an inactive state parameter, keep said state switches closed associated with active state parameters so that the electrical signal from each connector can be acquired by said second equipment item, even in the event of failure power supply of said first equipment.

A system according to the invention therefore makes it possible to make the states of the binary state parameters (also called status information) available from a first electrical item of equipment, such as a valve actuator, to a second electrical item of equipment, such as 'a controller or computer of this actuator, including when the first electrical equipment is no longer electrically supplied.

This functionality, a priori impossible without the addition of additional mechanical means, is made possible by using the energy from the second device to maintain the state information of the first device.

The invention therefore makes it possible to maintain the state information as long as the second device is powered up. However, the first device can no longer be supplied without disturbing the acquisition of the status signals by the second device. The invention therefore makes it possible to guarantee the acquisition of reliable information from the first device at all times by the second device, whatever the fluctuations in the supply of the first device.

The invention also makes it possible to improve the reliability of the first item of equipment, such as a valve actuator, by eliminating all the mechanical elements necessary in the valves of the prior art to ensure redundancy of the state information, in particular when this equipment is used in a harsh environment characterized for example by high levels of temperature, vibration, pressure, etc.

The invention makes it possible to maintain all types of binary state parameters. These state parameters are, for example in the case of a valve actuator, the information for opening or closing the associated valve. They can also make it possible to characterize other information from the equipment, such as a threshold reached by an associated sensor (temperature, pressure, etc.) and in general any binary information which can be characterized by an active or inactive state. .

Advantageously and according to the invention, said state preservation module comprises, for each state parameter of the first equipment, low power electronics associated with a diode connected to the connector intended to convey an electrical signal representative of this state parameter, said diode being configured to be able to collect the current of the electrical signal associated with this state parameter, when it is inactive, and convey it to low power electronics associated with each active state parameter of the first item of equipment to maintain the switch associated in said closed position.

A system according to this variant implements low power electronics. The realization of the functionality for maintaining state information thus consumes little energy and can therefore operate from a low bias current.

Advantageously and according to the invention, at least one electrical connector, preferably each electrical connector - comprises a diode arranged between said bias resistor and said state switch of this connector.

A system according to this variant thus makes it possible to provide several discrete outputs or inputs in parallel and to prevent a controller from being powered by another controller. This allows in particular to keep the same topology regardless of the number of discrete inputs and outputs of the system.

According to another advantageous variant, at least one electrical connector, preferably each electrical connector - comprises two diodes arranged between said bias resistor and said state switch of this connector.

Advantageously, a system according to the invention comprises N electrical connectors intended to convey N electrical signals representative of N binary state parameters, with N greater than or equal to 2.

A system according to this variant makes it possible to maintain a plurality of status information available and can be used for all applications requiring the availability of a plurality of status information when the first device is no longer supplied with power. The only constraint is that at least one switch must be open to benefit from the associated bias current to keep the other switches closed.

Advantageously and according to the invention, said conservation module and said control module of said state switches are formed by the same single module.

Throughout the text, the term module designates a set of hardware elements and / or software elements and / or subset of a software program, which can be compiled separately, either for independent use or to be assembled with other modules and / or a combination of one or more hardware and software elements. Such a hardware element can for example comprise an integrated circuit specific to an application (better known under the acronym ASIC for the English name Application-Specific Integrated Circuit) or a programmable logic circuit (better known under the acronym FPGA for the English name Field-Programmable Gate Array) or a circuit of specialized microprocessors (better known under the acronym DSP for the English name Digital Signal Processor) or any equivalent material. In general, a module is therefore a set of elements (software and / or hardware) which makes it possible to ensure a function, in this case a function of maintaining the availability of state information when the power supply of the first equipment is no longer available.

The invention also relates to electrical equipment, of the valve actuator type of an air conditioning system comprising:

- at least two electrical switches, called state switches, each connected to an electrical ground, each state switch being configured to be either in an open position representative of an active state of a state parameter of l equipment, either in a closed position representative of an inactive state of this state parameter,

- a control module for said state switches adapted to switch each switch from the open position to the closed position and vice versa as a function of the change of state of the corresponding state parameter,

- a plurality of wired electrical connectors each connected, on the one hand to an equipment status switch and adapted to be able to be connected on the other hand to a second electrical equipment comprising a pulling resistor for each connector, characterized in what it further comprises a module for preserving the states of said state parameters configured to be able, from a bias current of an electrical connector of an open switch, to keep said closed switches of the other connectors closed, so that the electrical signal from each connector can be acquired by said second equipment, when said connectors are connected to said second equipment, including in the event of no power supply to said equipment.

Advantageously and according to the invention, said state preservation module comprises, for each state parameter, low power electronics associated with a diode connected to the connector intended to convey an electrical signal representative of this state parameter, said diode being configured to be able to collect the current of the electrical signal associated with this state parameter, when it is inactive, and convey it to low power electronics associated with each active state parameter to maintain the associated switch in the closed position.

The invention also relates to an electrical system characterized in combination by all or some of the characteristics mentioned above or below.

5. List of figures

Other objects, characteristics and advantages of the invention will appear on reading the following description given by way of non-limiting example and which refers to the appended figures in which:

FIG. 1 is a functional schematic view of an electrical system according to an embodiment of the invention making it possible to provide two wired electrical information,

FIG. 2 is a detailed functional schematic view of the first item of equipment in the system of FIG. 1,

FIG. 3 is a functional schematic view of an electrical system according to another embodiment of the invention making it possible to supply N wired electrical information,

6. Detailed description of embodiments of the invention

In the figures, the scales and proportions are not strictly observed, for the purposes of illustration and clarity.

In addition, identical, similar or analogous elements are designated by the same references in all the figures.

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of an electrical system according to an embodiment of the invention formed by a first electrical equipment 10, of the electrical actuator type, and of a second electrical equipment 20, of the actuator controller type electric. For example, the electric actuator is an actuator of an electric valve, for example an electric valve of an air conditioning system of an aircraft.

Of course, the first electrical equipment 10 is not limited to an electrical actuator and the second electrical equipment 20 is not limited to an electrical actuator controller. Any pair of electrical equipment formed from a first electrical equipment item intended to provide a plurality of wired information to a second electrical equipment item can implement the system according to the invention to guarantee the maintenance of the information, including in the absence of the first electrical equipment.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, the first equipment 10 and the second equipment 20 are connected to each other by two electrical wired connectors 30a, 30b each intended to convey an electrical signal representative of a parameter, active or inactive, from the first equipment 10 to the second equipment 20.

The first device 10 further comprises, for each connector 30a, 30b, an electrical state switch 31a, 31b connected to an electrical ground of the first device 10, symbolized by the acronym GND in the figures for "ground" in English. .

Each switch 31a, 31b is configured to be able to be positioned by a control module 40 in a closed or open position representative respectively of the active or inactive state of the state parameter associated with each switch.

For example, and in the case where the first item of equipment is a valve actuator, the information provided by the position of the switch 31a of the first connector is information on the closing of the valve controlled by the actuator 10 (this information is known in particular by ^- the English name of "full close" and represented in the figures by the acronym FC). The information provided by the position of the switch 31b of the second connector 30b is information on the opening of the valve controlled by the actuator 10 (this information is known in particular by the English name of "full open" and represented on the figures by the acronym FO).

The second equipment further comprises, for each connector 30a, 30b, a pulling resistor 33a, 33b connected to a bias voltage 34 so as to allow this second equipment 20 to acquire the electrical signal across the terminals of the switch 31a, 31b of this electrical connector 30a, 30b.

Each wired connector further comprises two diodes 36a, 37a. The diode 36a of the connector 30a is arranged between the output of the equipment 20 and the pulling resistor 33a and the diode 37a is arranged between the input of the equipment 10 and the switch 31a of the equipment 10.

The same architecture is respected for the other wired connectors.

These diodes 36a, 37a are optional and allow several outputs or inputs to be associated in parallel while avoiding that one piece of equipment is powered by another piece of equipment.

A system according to the invention further comprises a module 50 for storing the states of the state parameters of the first equipment 10.

This module 50 is configured to be able, from a bias current of an electrical connector associated with an inactive state parameter, to keep closed the state switches associated with active state parameters so that the electrical signal from each connector can be acquired by the second device 20, including in the event of non-power supply to the first device 10.

FIG. 2 schematically illustrates an embodiment of this module 50 for preserving the states.

This module 50 includes, for each connector 30a, 30b associated with a state parameter of the first equipment 10, low power electronics 51a, 51b associated with a diode 52a, 52b, connected to the connector 30a, 30b intended to convey an electrical signal representative of this state parameter.

Each diode 52a, 52b makes it possible to collect the current of the electrical signal associated with this state parameter, when it is inactive, and to convey it to low power electronics 51b, 51a, associated with each active state parameter of the first equipment for holding the associated switch in said closed position. This collection of the polarization current intended for the state conservation module is represented schematically by an arrow in dotted lines in FIG. 1.

If switch 31a is open, the VFC voltage across this switch is fixed by the bias voltage present on the side of the equipment

20. If switch 31b is closed, the VFO voltage across this switch 31b is close to zero.

The diode 52a can therefore collect the current flowing in the connector 30a to supply the low power electronics 51b configured to keep the switch 31b closed, including in the event of the equipment 10 not being supplied with power.

This supply is schematically represented by the reference 8 in FIG. 2. This voltage preferably passes through a voltage regulator 9 before supplying the control module 40.

This control module 40 comprises the state preservation module 50 and a module 45 for controlling the switches 31a, 31b when the supply voltage is present. This module 45 for controlling switches 31a, 31b can be of any type and is well known to those skilled in the art. Also, it is not described here in detail.

The embodiment of FIG. 3 is identical to the embodiment of FIG. 1 except that the system is configured so that the first equipment 10 can supply N wired information, with N greater than or equal to 3. Also, the system includes N wired connectors 30a, 30b, 30n, N pull-out resistors 33a, 33b, 33n, and N switches 31a, 31b, 31n. Each wired connector has an identical structure for all wired information.

The operating principle of such a system is identical to that described in connection with Figures 1 and 2 with the difference that the bias current flowing in the connector associated with the open switch keeps all the other switches closed .

A system according to the invention is particularly advantageous for ensuring that a controller of an electric actuator of a control valve can know the state of opening / closing of the valve, including in the event of loss of power electric actuator.

A system according to the invention therefore makes it possible to simplify current architectures by eliminating mechanical redundancies in particular.

The invention is not limited to the single embodiments illustrated in the figures. In particular, the state preservation module can have other electrical architectures to recover the current from the connector associated with the open switch to supply a control block of a closed switch representative of an active state of a parameter d state of the first equipment.

Claims (7)

1. Electrical system formed by a first electrical equipment (10), of the electrical actuator type, and a second electrical equipment (20), of the electrical actuator controller type, connected to each other by a plurality of wired electrical connectors (30a, 30b, 30n) each intended to convey an electrical signal representative of a binary state parameter, active or inactive, from said first electrical equipment (10) to said second electrical equipment (20), characterized in that that he understands: for each electrical connector (30a, 30b, 30n) associated with a state parameter of said first device: o an electrical switch, called state switch (31a, 31b, 31n), connected to an electrical ground (GND) of said first equipment (10) and configured to be able to be positioned by a control module (40) of said switches state, in a closed or open position respectively representative of the active or inactive state of this state parameter of said first item of equipment (10), o a pull-up resistor (33a, 33b, 33n) connected to a bias voltage (34 ) of said second equipment (20) so as to allow said second electrical equipment (20) to acquire said electrical signal, at the terminals of this switch (31a, 31b, 3 In), representative of the state of said parameter of binary state of this electrical connector (30a, 30b, 30n), a conservation module (50) of the states of said state parameters of said first equipment (10) connected to each electrical connector (30a, 30b, 30n) and configured to be able to , at from a bias current of an electrical connector associated with an inactive state parameter, keep said state switches (31a, 31b, 31n) associated with active state parameters closed so that the electrical signal of each connector (30a, 30b, 30n) can be acquired by said second equipment (20) including in the event of no power supply to said first equipment (10). 2. System according to claim 1, characterized in that said state preservation module comprises, for each state parameter of the first equipment, low power electronics associated with a diode connected to the connector intended to convey an electrical signal representative of this state parameter, said diode being configured to be able to collect the current of the electrical signal associated with this state parameter, when it is inactive, and convey it to low power electronics associated with each active state parameter of the first device to keep the associated switch in said closed position. 3. System according to one of claims 1 or 2, characterized in that at least one electrical connector (30a) comprises a diode (36a, 36b) arranged between said bias resistor (33a) and said state switch ( 31a) of this connector. 4. System according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that it comprises N electrical connectors (30a, 30b, 30n) intended to convey N electrical signals representative of N binary state parameters, with N greater than or equal to 2. 5. Electrical system according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that said conservation module (50) and said control module (40) of said status switches (31a, 31b, 31n) are formed by the same and unique module. 6. Electrical equipment (10), of the valve actuator type of an air conditioning system comprising: - at least two electrical switches, called state switches (31a, 31b), each connected to an electrical ground (GND), each state switch (31a, 31b) being configured to be either in an open position representative of an active state of a state parameter of the equipment (10), either in a closed position representative of an inactive state of this state parameter, - a control module (40) of said state switches adapted to switch each switch from the open position to the closed position and vice versa as a function of the change of state of the corresponding state parameter, - A plurality of wired electrical connectors (30a, 30b) each connected, on the one hand to an equipment status switch and adapted to be able to be connected on the other hand to a second electrical equipment comprising a pulling resistor for each connector, characterized in that it further comprises a module (50) for storing the states of said state parameters configured to be able, from a bias current of an electrical connector (30a, 30b) to an open switch, keep said closed switches of the other connectors closed, so that the electrical signal from each connector can be acquired by said second equipment, when said connectors are connected to said second equipment, including in the event of no power supply to said equipment . 7. Equipment according to claim 6, characterized in that said state preservation module (50) comprises, for each state parameter, low power electronics (51a, 51b) associated with a diode (52a, 52b) connected to the connector (30a, 30b) intended to convey an electrical signal representative of this state parameter, said diode (52a, 52b) being configured to be able to collect the current of the electrical signal associated with this state parameter, when it is inactive , and convey it to low power electronics (51a, 51b) associated with each active state parameter to maintain the switch (31a, 31b) associated in the closed position.