DATA BUS

DATA BUS
DATA BUS
 DATA BUS
• Data buses are the foundation of modern
integrated avionics system
• They are the principal means by which
information is exchanged among the navigation
and other systems
• Data buses are the paths by which the
necessary inputs are received by a system or
subsystem to perform its process(es)
• And also the paths by which the outputs from
the process(es) are sent to users
 DATA BUS
• Data buses fall into one or two broad categories
– Simplex (one way) with a single transmitter and
multiple receivers and
– Duplex (two way) with multiple transmitters and
receivers
• There are at least two possible transmission
media, wire or optical cable
• Other important features of data buses are bus
control, bit rate, and word and message
structure
 DATA BUS
• They can be either
– serial (one bit of data transmitted at a time) or
– parallel (where often 8, 16 or 32 bits of data appear
as a group on a number of data lines at the same
time)

• Early data buses were

– Single-source, single-sink (point-to-point),
– Half-duplex (unidirectional) buses
– Relatively low data rates of the order (10 to 100 Kb)
 OBJECTIVES OF DATA BUS
• To acquire data
• To use the data efficiently with minimal
processing loss
• Processing should be as per end user
requirements with precision, accuracy,
resolution and speed
• Flexibility of operation and feasibility of
expansion
• Reliable
• Economical
 PROTOCOL OF DATA BUS
• Set of formal rules and conventions governing
the flow of information among the system

• Low level protocols define the electrical and

physical standards

• High level protocols deal with the data

formatting, including the syntax of messages
and its format
 DATA BUS
• Aircraft data bus system allows number
of instruments and sensor to share the data
with each other or with the central Flight
Management System computer
• The bus architecture defines a protocol to
send / receive data as well as a common
interface
• A general depiction of instruments and data
bus system is as shown
DATA BUS
 DATA BUS FOR
MILTARY AIRCRAFT
• For military aircraft the principal data bus is the
MIL-STD-1553
• It is a Time Division Command/Response
Multiplex data bus
• The standard describes the method of
communication and the electrical interface for the
subsystems connected in the data bus
• Used in many types of military aircraft including
F-15, F-22 and C-17
• It is also been used on older generation aircraft as
a part of retrofitting upgraded avionics
 MIL-STD-1553 DATA BUS

• There are three types of terminals on a

MIL-STD-1553 bus
– Bus controller
– Remote terminal (RT)
– Bus monitor

• Bus controller manages all activities on the bus

• It directs a designated RT to transmit a
message back to the bus controller or to
another designated RT
 MIL-STD-1553 DATA BUS

• A RT is the interface between the bus and the

RT’s host system or subsystem

• It can be a separate line replaceable unit (LRU)

embedded in its host

• Bus monitor, if used records all messages on

the bus
BUS ARCHITECTURE
 MIL-STD-1553A/B DATA BUS
• MIL-STD-1553B, superseded MIL-STD-1553A

• The basic difference between the 1553A and

1553B revisions is that in the latter, the options
are defined rather than being left for the user to
define as required

• It was found that when the standard did not

define an item, there was no coordination in its
use
 MIL-STD-1553A/B DATA BUS
• Hardware and software had to be redesigned
for each new application

• The primary goal of the 1553B was to provide

flexibility without creating new designs for each
new user
 MIL-STD-1553 SPECIFICATIONS

Data Rate 1 MBPS

Word Length 20 Bits
Message Length 32 Word Strings (Maximum)
Data Bits Per Word 16 Bits
Transmission Technique Half Duplex
Encoding Manchester II Bi-Phase
Protocol Command Response
Transmission Mode Voltage Mode
 DATABUS INTERFACE
• Each terminal, RT, BC, or BM, is connected to
the bus through a stub, formed of a length of
cable of the same type as the bus itself

• MIL-STD-1553B defines two ways of coupling

these stubs to the bus:

– Transformer coupled stubs and

– Direct coupled stubs
 DATABUS INTERFACE
• Transformer coupled stubs are preferred for
their
– Fault tolerance and
– Better matching to the impedance of the bus, and
consequent reduction in reflections, etc.
– Improved protection against lightning strikes
– Isolation is even more critical in new composite
aircraft where the skin of the aircraft no long
provides an inherent Faraday shield as was the
case with aluminium skinned aircraft
DATABUS INTERFACE
 WORD FORMAT
• Smallest unit of communication on a data bus
is a word

• MIL-STD-1553 operates at one MBPS which

means each bit is one microsecond long

• In MIL-STD-1553 a word is 20 bits long

• The first three bits are used for synchronization

and the last bit is for parity check
 WORD FORMAT
• MIL-STD-1553 uses Manchester coding which
means that every bit has a mid bit transition

– For logical 1, the signal starts at a positive or high

state and transits at mid bit to a negative or low
state

– For logical 0, the signal starts at a negative or low

state and transits at mid bit to a positive or high
state
 WORD FORMAT
• Three types of words found on a 1553 bus
– Command word
– Status word
– Data
WORD FORMAT
 COMMAND WORD
• Command word is always the first word in a
message

• The Command Word specifies the function that

a remote terminal is to perform

• Only the active bus controller transmits this

word

• The word begins with a command sync in the

first three bits
 COMMAND WORD
• Note that the synchronization code is a positive
1½ bit time followed by a negative 1½ bit time

• The five bit Terminal Address (TA) field (bits

4-8) states to which unique RT the command is
intended (no two terminals may have the same
address)

• An address of 00000B is a valid address, and

an address of 11111B is always reserved as a
broadcast address
 COMMAND WORD
• Additionally, there is no requirement that the
bus controller be assigned an address

• Therefore the maximum number of terminals

the data bus can support is 31
WORD FORMAT
 DATA WORD
• The Data Word (DW) contains the actual
information that is being transferred within a
message
• The first three-bit time contains a data sync
• This sync pattern is the opposite of that used
for command and status words and therefore is
unique to the word type
• Data words can be transmitted by either a RT
(transit command) or a BC (receive command)
 DATA WORD
• Transmit and Receive, by convention,
references the RT
• The next sixteen bits of information are left to
the designer to define
• The only standard requirement is that the most
significant bit of the data be transmitted first
• The last bit (bit time 20) is the word parity bit.
Only odd parity is used.
WORD FORMAT
 STATUS WORD
• A RT in response to a valid message transmits
only the status word

• The status word is used to convey to the bus

controller whether a message was properly
received or to convey the state of the RT (i.e.,
service request, busy, etc.)
WORD FORMAT
 STATUS WORD
• Since the status word conveys information to
the BC, there are two views as to the meaning
of each bit

– What the setting of the bit means to a RT?

– What the setting of the bit means to a BC?

• The status word, with the exception of the RT

address, is cleared after receipt of a valid
command word
 WORD FORMAT
• MIL-STD-1553 describes ten ways that words can
be assembled into messages
• There are six command/response formats and four
broadcast formats
• The appropriate message format is determined by
the BC
• Command/response formats require confirmation of
receipt of a message by the designated addressee
RT
• Broadcast message formats do not require
confirmation of receipt
 ARINC-429
• The ARINC 429 Specification developed out of the
original commercial aviation digital communication
spec, the ARINC 419 Specification (1966/1983)

• The ARINC 429 Specification establishes how

avionics equipment and systems communicate on
commercial aircraft

• The specification defines electrical characteristics,

word structures and protocol necessary to establish
bus communication
 ARINC-429
• ARINC 429 utilizes the simplex, twisted shielded
pair data bus standard Mark 33 Digital Information
Transfer System bus

• ARINC 429 defines both the hardware and data

formats required for bus transmission
 ARINC-429
• Hardware consists of a single transmitter – or
source – connected to from 1-20 receivers – or sinks
– on one twisted wire pair

• Data can be transmitted in one direction only –

simplex communication – with bi-directional
transmission requiring two channels or buses

• The devices, line replaceable units or LRUs, are

most commonly configured in a star or bus-drop
topology
ARINC-429
 ARINC-429
• Each LRU may contain multiple transmitters and
receivers communicating on different buses

• This simple architecture, almost point-to-point

wiring, provides a highly reliable transfer of data
WORD FORMAT
 MIL-STD 1773
• Fiber Optics version of MIL-STD-1553B

• Operates at 1 MBPS

• Has 20 bit word and three words such as command,

status and data words

• Has stronger immunity to radiation induced

electromagnetic interference
 MIL-STD 1773
• Why Fiber Optics?

• Though MIL-STD-1553B is used in various

modern aircraft, it is recognised that these
buses operate in extremely severe environment
like
– EMI from inter and intra systems
– Lightning
– Electrostatic discharge
– High altitude electromagnetic pulse
 STANAG-3910
• Since MIL-STD-1553B bus was not going to
fulfil the requirements of Eurofighter

• STANAG3910 was selected by (UK, Germany,

Italy & Spain) consortium in 1989 to meet the
demanding Avionics Systems needs of the
aircraft

• Very simply STANAG 3910, EFAbus is based

on using the existing MIL-STD-1553B, 1 MBPS
dual redundant Low Speed (LS) bus
 STANAG-3910
• The same is augmented by a High Speed (HS)
Fibre Optics (Reflexive Star Topology) dual
redundant bus operating at 20 MBPS

• The LS bus provides the command and control

of the HS bus by use of ‘Action Words’ sent
over the LS bus

• The HS bus is used only for Data Transfers

under the control of these ‘Action Words’
 STANAG-3910
• The bus architecture comprises a Bus Controller
(BC) with up to 31 RTs
• Each device can have a LS/HS connection as
shown in Figure
 STANAG-3910

• It will be seen that this dual bus approach

allows the mixed operation of both
STANAG3910 and MIL-STD-1553B terminals

• The first draft of this dual speed

MIL-STD-1553B based bus was created in
Germany during 1987
 STANAG-3910
• In 1989, a project specific variant known as
EFAbus was issued

• This is the version used today (with some

updates) for the EF2000 aircraft project
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