Distributed cabin pressure control system

An apparatus for distributed cabin pressure control, the apparatus comprising:

• an outflow valve comprising an actuator configured to control a position of the outflow valve, wherein the outflow valve is configured to release pressure from a cabin of an aircraft to atmosphere;
• a pressure sensor configured to sense air pressure of the cabin;
• processing circuitry configured to:
• receive a signal from the pressure sensor, wherein the signal includes a value indicating the air pressure of the cabin;
• receive a position of the outflow valve from an outflow valve position sensor;
• receive, from avionics circuitry of the aircraft that is separate from the processing circuitry, a plurality of indications, the indications comprising:
• a phase of flight for the aircraft, a cabin pressure setpoint for the phase of flight, cabin pressure limits for the phase of flight, and a cabin pressure change rate for the phase of flight;
• receive, from the avionics circuitry in response to an initialization of the aircraft, one or more gain terms associated with the phase of flight;
• and
• perform closed-loop operation of the actuator for the outflow valve according to a control algorithm, wherein inputs to the control algorithm include the plurality of indications from the avionics circuitry, the one or more gain terms, the value indicating the air pressure, and the position of the outflow valve, wherein the one or more gain terms comprise constant values configured to modify how the control algorithm controls the outflow valve to maintain a cabin pressure of the aircraft based on the cabin pressure setpoint for the phase of flight, wherein the one or more gain terms are different than the cabin pressure setpoint.

A method comprising:

• receiving, by processing circuitry of a distributed cabin pressure control system (CPCS), a signal from a pressure sensor, the signal comprising an indication of cabin pressure of a cabin of an aircraft;
• receiving an indication of a position of an outflow valve from an outflow valve position sensor, wherein the outflow valve comprises an actuator configured to control a position of the outflow valve, and wherein the outflow valve is configured to release pressure from the cabin of the aircraft to atmosphere;
• receiving, from avionics circuitry of the aircraft that is separate from the processing circuitry, a plurality of indications, the indications comprising:
• a phase of flight for the aircraft, a cabin pressure setpoint for the phase of flight, cabin pressure limits for the phase of flight, and a cabin pressure change rate for the phase of flight;
• receiving, from the avionics circuitry in response to an initialization of the aircraft, one or more gain terms associated with the phase of flight;
• and
• performing closed loop control of the actuator for the outflow valve according to a control algorithm, wherein inputs to the control algorithm include the plurality of indications from the avionics circuitry, the one or more gain terms, the cabin pressure and position of the outflow valve, wherein the one or more gain terms comprise constant values configured to modify how the control algorithm controls the outflow valve to maintain a cabin pressure of the aircraft based on the cabin pressure setpoint for the phase of flight, wherein the one or more gain terms are different than the cabin pressure setpoint.