EP-4737324-A1 - SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR IDENTIFICATION ASSIGNMENT

EP4737324A1EP 4737324 A1EP4737324 A1EP 4737324A1EP-4737324-A1

Abstract

The present disclosure relates generally to control of systems with modular devices. In one embodiment, a device is disclosed, comprising: a plurality of electrical contacts; and at least one processor, wherein the plurality of electrical contacts are configured to be coupled to one of: a first voltage source or a second voltage source, wherein the at least one processor is configured to determine an identification (ID) value for the device by determining voltage values based on a coupling configuration of the plurality of electrical contacts.

Inventors

SPITERI, Stephen Michael

Assignees

Archer Aviation Inc.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260506
Application Date: 20250827

Claims (10)

An aircraft, comprising: one or more flight control computers; a connector, comprising: a first set of electrical contacts; and a device, comprising: a second set of electrical contacts; and at least one processor, wherein the connector is configured to couple the one or more flight control computers to the device, wherein each contact of the second set of electrical contacts is configured to be coupled to a first voltage source or a second voltage source by shorting to a pull-up electrical contact connected to the first voltage source, thereby resulting in a coupling configuration to the first set of electrical contacts, wherein the at least one processor is configured to determine an identification (ID) value for the device by determining voltage values that are based on the coupling configuration of the second set of electrical contacts, and wherein the coupling configuration includes at least one electrical short between one or more electrical contacts of the second set of electrical contacts and the pull-up electrical contact by the first set of electrical contacts.
The aircraft of claim 1, wherein the one or more flight control computers are configured to issue at least one command to the device based on the determined ID value.
The aircraft of claim 2 or 3, wherein: at least one of: the device or a component of the device is configured to rotate; and the at least one command includes a spin direction of at least one of: the device or the component of the device.
The aircraft of any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the coupling configuration of the second set of electrical contacts to the first set of electrical contacts includes each one of the second set of electrical contacts being coupled to the first voltage source or the second voltage source but not both.
The aircraft of any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the at least one processor is configured to determine the ID value for the device by associating an electrical contact of the second set of electrical contacts coupled to a voltage less than a predetermined threshold with a bit value of 0.
The aircraft of any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the at least one processor is configured to determine an ID value for the device by associating an electrical contact of the second set of electrical contacts coupled to a voltage greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold with a bit value of 1.
The aircraft of any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the at least one processor is configured to associate one of the second set of electrical contacts with a parity bit.
The aircraft of any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the at least one processor is configured to validate the determined ID value.
The aircraft of any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein: at least one of: the device or a component of the device is configured to rotate; and the at least one processor is further configured to determine a spin direction of at least one of: the device or the component of the device based on the determined ID value.
The aircraft of any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the device is configured to be removable from the aircraft by decoupling the first set of electrical contacts from the second set of electrical contacts.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD This disclosure relates generally to systems with modular devices. More particularly, and without limitation, the present disclosure relates to innovations in vehicles driven by electric propulsion systems. Certain aspects of the present disclosure generally relate to systems and methods for identification (ID) assignment for modules of aircrafts driven by electric propulsion systems and in other types of vehicles, as well as aircrafts in flight simulators and video games. Other aspects of the present disclosure generally relate to improvements in systems and methods for ID assignment that provide particular advantages in aerial vehicles and may be used in other types of vehicles. BACKGROUND The inventors here have recognized several problems that may be associated with systems with multiple modular devices. For example, a system with multiple modular devices needs to send or receive signals (e.g., commands) to the correct device or module to ensure proper or expected operation. If a command intended for one device is inadvertently sent to another device, or is not sent to any device, the system may fail or malfunction. Therefore, correctly identifying each device and correctly routing communications is important. This problem may be particularly significant in aircrafts with multiple electric engines (e.g., a multi-rotor aircraft), a configuration used in many electric aircraft, though it also applies to many other modular-based systems (e.g., vehicles, appliances). For example, to ensure the safe and smooth operation of an aircraft, signals must be sent to the correct device or module. If a command intended for one device is inadvertently sent to another device, the aircraft may become unstable or less safe to operate. Further, an aircraft (and other systems) may have multiple similar devices in different locations, and each device may be identified in a way that limits the ability to replace it, such as by requiring an exact match of that device due to hardware and/or software restrictions of how the given device is designated, which exists in many conventional systems that use solely a central processor for device identification or are designed with preassigned (e.g., fixed or hardcoded) device identifications. It may be desirable to provide a system that allows for a damaged or faulty engine to be easily replaced with any similar working engine without needing to use an exact matching engine. SUMMARY The present disclosure relates generally to high voltage systems of electric aircraft and other powered aerial vehicles. More particularly, and without limitation, the present disclosure relates to innovations in tilt-rotor aircraft that use electrical propulsion systems. Certain aspects of the present disclosure relate to assigning a device identification (ID) to a device. Other aspects of the present disclosure relate to connecting a (electrically and physically) device to a system via a connector such that a processor can determine a device ID of the device based on voltage values based on the resulting coupling configuration. One aspect of the present disclosure is directed to a device, comprising: a plurality of electrical contacts; and at least one processor, wherein the plurality of electrical contacts are configured to be coupled to one of: a first voltage or a second voltage, wherein the at least one processor is configured to determine an identification (ID) value for the device by determining voltage values based on a coupling configuration of the plurality of electrical contacts. Another aspect of the present disclosure comprises an aircraft, comprising: one or more flight control computers; a connector, comprising: a first set of electrical contacts; and a device, comprising: a second set of electrical contacts; and at least one processor, wherein the connector is configured to couple the one or more flight control computers to the device, wherein the second set of electrical contacts are configured to be coupled to either a first voltage or a second voltage based on a coupling configuration of the first set of electrical contacts, and wherein the one or more flight control computers or the at least one processor is configured to determine an identification (ID) value for the device by determining voltage values based on the coupling configuration of the second set of electrical contacts. Another aspect of the present disclosure comprises a computer-implemented method of assigning an identification (ID) value to a device, comprising: determining voltage values of a plurality of electrical contacts based on a coupling configuration of the plurality of electrical contacts; determining the ID value based on the determined voltage values; outputting the determined ID value to at least one processor; and receiving, from the at least one processor, a command signal based on the outputted determined ID value. Another aspect of the present disclosure comprises a non-transitory computer