JPH07137696A - Voice flight data recorder - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To miniaturize a voice recorder and a flight recorder, and to facilitate the verification of each recorded time. CONSTITUTION:One large capacity batch erasing type flash EEPROM (flash memory) 4 where two recorders are united, and a plurality of voice data which are produced in a cockpit and inputted into a voice input section 1, and flight instrument data inputted in a flight data input section 2, and flight data sent from various sensors are recorded, and its control section 3 are provided in a voice flight data recorder. The flash memory 4 is composed of at least four chips, and two of them are used for voice data, and the other chips are used for flight data. The memory control section 3 controls the flash memory 4 so as to alternately write each data into two chips in blocks and to erase them for making continuous records.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a voice recorder and a flight data recorder mounted on an aircraft, and more particularly to a voice flight data recorder in which both are incorporated.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a large aircraft, a cockpit voice recorder (CVR) called a voice recorder and a flight instrument data recorder (FDR) called a flight data recorder are used to investigate the cause of an accident. : Fl
ight Data Recorder) is installed. The voice recorder is a multi-channel recorder that records noise in the cockpit, communication of the captain, sub-captain, engineer's communication, and conversational voice. The flight data recorder is a recorder that samples and records the instructions of the flight instrument and the detection data of a large number of various sensors attached to each part of the airframe. The recording media of both recorders are magnetic tapes housed in independent special metal cases so as to withstand strong impacts and high temperatures when an accident such as an airplane crash or fire occurs. The magnetic tape as the above-mentioned recording medium has a vibration resistance of mechanically movable parts for rotating the tape,
Since the impact resistance is limited and the heat resistance of the magnetic tape is also limited, the flash memory, which has been put into practical use recently, is being replaced. The flash memory is an improved type memory of an EEPROM (electrically erasable non-volatile memory) which is a conventional semiconductor memory. The number of times of rewriting dramatically increases, and the electric batch erasing type rewriting capable of batch erasing is possible. Semiconductor non-volatile memory, that is, batch erase type EE
It is a PROM. This new flash memory is gaining attention as an alternative to magnetic tape and floppy disks.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of a conventional configuration example and memory contents. The upper part of FIG. 4A is a voice recorder, and the lower part is a flight data recorder. In FIG. 1A, 1 is a voice input unit, 11 is a voice memory control unit, 12 is a voice memory, 2 is a flight data input unit, 13 is a data memory control unit, and 14 is a data memory. In this example, a small capacity flash memory of 2 Mbit or less is used for each of the voice memory 12 and the data memory 14. The voice recorder is configured such that voice signals from a plurality of microphones are input to the voice memory control unit 11 via the voice input unit 1 and written in a predetermined area of the voice memory 12 for each voice channel. Similarly, in the flight data recorder, signals from a plurality of flight instruments and sensors are input to the data memory control unit 13 via the flight data input unit 2 and the data memory 14
Are configured to be written in respective predetermined areas. FIG. 4B is a block configuration example of the voice memory 12 and the data memory 14. A small-capacity flash memory of 2 Mbit or less is used as the voice memory 12 and the data memory 14, and the CPUs of the memory control units 11 and 13 are used.
(Central processing unit) software allows byte-based erasing, so writing and erasing do not overlap,
There is no waiting for writing. Therefore, the voice data,
Flight data is erased and written in block units from block 0 to block n in sequence as indicated by arrows.
In addition, it returns to the first block 0 and is repeatedly rewritten during the flight.

[0004]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional configuration, the voice recorder and the flight data recorder are mounted on the airplane as independent devices, so that the recorded contents are reproduced in order to analyze the cause of the accident. When doing so, it is extremely careful to match the time between the playback signal of the continuously recorded voice recorder and the playback signal of the flight data in which sampling data is recorded, that is, to check the recording of the voice data and the flight data at the same time. However, there is a drawback in that it requires time for skill and is limited to specialized engineers. On the other hand, conventionally, the voice recorder and the flight data recorder are required to be installed only in large aircraft, but recently, there have been many accidents in small aircraft, and it is recommended to install them in small aircraft as well. Became. Therefore, miniaturization is strongly demanded, and as described above, replacement of the magnetic tape with a semiconductor memory is being considered. However, the shortage of memory capacity is a problem. Further, since the two storage media are respectively housed in special metal cases, they have a large volume and are heavy, so that they cannot be mounted on a small machine.

The object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned drawbacks and to meet the demands. A voice recorder and a flight data recorder are combined to realize a small size and light weight, and recording time can be easily adjusted. A composite cockpit voice flight data recorder (SSCVFDR: Solid State Cockpi) that is capable of expanding the memory capacity.
Voice Flight Data Recorder), to provide a voice flight data recorder as a simple name.

[0006]

A voice flight data recorder according to the present invention receives voice data from a plurality of microphones in a cockpit, flight input data from flight instruments and sensors. A flight data input unit and at least four chips each having a plurality of blocks, at least two of which are used as a voice memory unit for storing the voice data, and at least two other chips are used for storing the flight data. A flash memory serving as a data memory unit, and voice data from the voice input unit and flight data from the flight data input unit are loaded into a first buffer and a second buffer, respectively, and the contents of the first buffer are stored. Write to the block of one chip of the voice memory part of the flash memory and write next The contents stored in the block of the other chip of the voice memory unit are erased, and the contents of the second buffer are written in the block of one chip of the data memory unit of the flash memory and the other of the data memory unit to be written next is written. It is characterized by including a memory control unit for erasing the stored contents of a block of a chip, and for performing a control of erasing the two chips alternately and sequentially to the block and erasing the next block to make a permanent cycle. It is a thing.

[0007]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS First, a process for realizing an embodiment of the present invention will be described. The configuration of FIG. 5 is assumed as a method for facilitating the matching of the recording times of the recorders shown in FIG. That is, as shown in FIG.
This is a configuration in which two memory control units are combined. However, as for the memory, the voice memory 12 and the data memory 13 which are the same as the conventional ones remain independent, and each has an area configuration similar to the conventional one as shown in FIG. In this case, since the memory control unit 15 is one, the recording time of the voice data and the flight data can be easily synchronized (synchronized), and the size is reduced, and the operation speed of the control unit 15 is the same as the conventional configuration of FIG. However, the recording time of the voice data for continuous recording and the recording time of the flight data for storing the sampling data are set at the beginning of the production of the device, so the actual mounted aircraft may have different operating conditions. It has the drawback of being difficult to match.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention (A).
FIG. 3B is a structural example diagram (B) of memory contents. In the figure,
Reference numerals 1 and 2 are the same voice input unit and flight data input unit as in the conventional case. Reference numeral 3 is a memory control unit, and 4 is a flash memory, which includes a voice memory unit for storing voice data shown in FIG. 1B and a data memory unit for storing flight data. The flash memory 4 is, for example, a large-capacity flash memory (flash EEPROM) of 4 Mbit to 8 Mbit.

As conditions for the configuration of the present invention, it is technically important to satisfy both the restrictions in the rewriting control of the large capacity flash memory and the special standards of the voice recorder and the flight data recorder. First, the restrictions of the flash memory 4 are as follows. (1) Due to the characteristics of the non-volatile memory, erasing is necessary when rewriting. (2) The flash memory is composed of a plurality of chips, the storage area of each chip is divided into a plurality of blocks, and erasing is performed in units of these blocks. However, although a small-capacity flash memory of 2 Mbit or less is in block units, there is a type in which byte erase is performed by software instead of auto erase. (3) There are different erase times depending on the type of flash memory. In the case of block erase, it usually takes several seconds to 10 seconds, and in the case of software erase,
It takes about 5 to 10 ms. (4) When an erasing or writing operation is being performed on one block in the flash memory, writing and erasing operations on other blocks of the chip are prohibited. (5) When erasing a flash memory, there is a limit on the number of times of erasing that varies depending on the type.

Recording conditions of the voice recorder and the flight data recorder are as follows. (1) Voice and flight data must be retained for a certain period of time before the power was cut off. (2) The voice data held by the function of the voice recorder and the flight data held by the function of the flight data recorder must be held in physically divided areas. (3) If the audio data has a plurality of channels, it must be held in an area physically divided for each channel. (4) Audio data and flight data must be synchronized in time.

As shown in FIG. 1, the flash memory 4
Is one piece of hardware and is composed of, for example, four chips. As with the above-mentioned restrictions, the large-capacity flash memory cannot be erased in byte units by software, and all bits are collectively erased in block units. Moreover, since erasing and writing cannot be performed on the same chip at the same time, as shown in FIG. 1B, the voice memory unit and the data memory unit are each composed of two chips, and the order of erasing and writing is indicated by arrows in the figure. Alternately access blocks of two chips as shown. That is, when writing to the block of one chip, the block to be written next to the other chip is erased. In this way, the continuity of data writing is ensured.

Next, the details of the memory control section 3 for continuously writing and erasing data will be described.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing details of the memory control unit 3 of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is an operation flowchart thereof. In FIG. 2, 31 is a voice input unit I / F (interface), 32 is a flight data input unit I / F, 33 is a central processing unit (CPU), 34 is a work memory, and 35 is a flash memory I / F. In the work memory 34, a buffer (1) for temporarily storing audio data to be continuously recorded and a buffer (2) for sampling flight data and temporarily storing the flight data until a predetermined storage amount is set. Therefore, when writing the flight data to the data memory unit, it is necessary to consider the total write time of one block. The storage capacities of the buffer (1) and the buffer (2) are set according to the number of voice channels, the number of flight instruments, the number of sensors, and the like of the mounted aircraft.

In order to continuously write to the flash memory 4, the relationship between the erase time of one block and the total write time of one block is as follows: (one block erase time) <(total write time of one block) Must. Here, when the erase time of one block exceeds the total write time of one block, it is necessary to use three chips or four chips each of which is composed of two chips. The number of chips can be calculated by the following conditional expression. (Erase time for one block) <N x (total write time for one block) When N in the above equation is the minimum value of positive integers that satisfy the above equation, (N + 1) or more for one type of data If this chip is used, the continuity of data writing can be maintained. This can be commonly applied to voice data and flight data, and the value of N is different for each type of data. When the audio data has a plurality of channels, the value of N differs for each channel. The operation of the sequence example of writing and erasing in the case of one channel of audio data and one type of flight data shown in FIG. 1B will be described. When writing to the block 0 of the chip 1 of the audio data of FIG. 1B, assuming that (erasing time of 1 block) ≈ (writing time of 1 block), when writing to the block 0 of the chip 1 At the same time, erasing block 0 of chip 2 may be started. If (1 block erasing time) = 0.5 × (1 block writing time), it is sufficient to start erasing block 0 of chip 2 at the time when half writing is performed in block 0 of chip 1. Recognize. The same applies to flight data.

As described above, when a large-capacity flash memory is used, the minimum number of used chips (N ₀ ) is set so that the relationship between the writing time and the erasing time is always as described above. Further, in order to secure the required recording time, the required total used memory area (M) is obtained, and M ≦ (N ₀ ×
The total number of required chips can be determined by finding the minimum integer n that satisfies n) m. Here, m is the memory capacity of one chip. Calculate the total number of chips required for each voice data and flight data by these methods,
It is possible to divide the used area in the memory board. This allows the memory in the same circuit to be used for voice data and flight data, and by dividing the memory area, it is possible to efficiently allocate the number of memory chips, and configure the common memory board with the minimum number of chips. You can Therefore, even if the number of voice channels and the number of recorded data are arbitrarily changed according to the operating mode of the onboard aircraft, the minimum required number of chips is allocated to each application by the above calculation method, and the address control parameter of the software is changed. Only by doing so, it is possible to respond.

In the operation flow chart of FIG. 3, the data taken in from the voice input unit 1 and the flight data input unit 2 is temporarily stored in the work memory (buffer) 34, and the data is written in the block of the flash memory 4 at the same time. It indicates that the block is erased and it is to be patroled forever.

[0016]

The following advantages can be obtained by implementing the present invention. (1) The voice recorder and the flight data recorder can be made compact and lightweight all at once. (2) Since the held data can be easily physically divided, the memory capacity can be effectively utilized. (3) Stable continuous recording using a large capacity flash memory can be secured. (4) The same memory area can be arbitrarily divided and used.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram and a memory content explanatory diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partial detailed block diagram of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an operation flowchart of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a conventional device and a memory content explanatory diagram.

5A and 5B are a structural example diagram and a memory content explanatory diagram for explaining the improvement process of a conventional device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 voice input unit 2 flight data input unit 3 memory control unit 4 flash memory 11 voice memory control unit 12 voice memory 13 data memory control unit 14 data memory 15 memory control unit 31 voice input unit I / F 32 flight data input unit I / F 33 CPU 34 Work memory 35 Flash memory I / F

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Toru Kikuta 4-7-11 Iidabashi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo Alfa Electronics Co., Ltd.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A voice input unit for inputting voice data from a plurality of microphones in a cockpit, a flight data input unit for inputting flight data from flight instruments and sensors, and at least a plurality of blocks respectively. A flash memory comprising four chips, at least two of which are used as a voice memory unit for storing the voice data, and another of which at least two chips are used as a data memory unit for storing the flight data; and the voice input. The audio data from the audio data unit and the flight data from the flight data input unit into a first buffer and a second buffer, respectively, and the contents of the first buffer are stored in one chip block of the audio memory unit of the flash memory. To the next memory block to be written to Leave, the second
Write the contents of the buffer in the block of one chip of the data memory unit of the flash memory and erase the stored contents of the block of the other chip of the data memory unit to be written next, and alternately turn each of the two chips into blocks. A voice flight data recorder provided with a memory control section for performing a continuous patrol by continuously writing data and erasing the next block.