Recent Researches in Circuits, Systems, Electronics, Control & Signal Processing

ARINC 629 Data Bus Standard on Aircrafts

YASEMIN ISIK
Avionics Department
Anadolu University
Civil Aviation School, 26470, Eskisehir
TURKEY
yaisik@anadolu.edu.tr

Abstract – In earlier analogue avionic systems the number of cables used to transfer information between the various
system components was considerable. With these systems, at least one pair of wires has been required for each signal
and so a typical installation requires several pairs of wires. With the equivalent digital systems, all the analogue signals
are converted into their equivalent and are assigned unique address labels to ensure there are no conflicts. These
signals are then transmitted down a single pair of wires, which makes up a data bus. Aircraft data bus systems allow a
wide variety of avionics equipment to communicate with one another and exchange data. The type of language used on
an aircraft data bus is known as the protocol. There are currently different data bus standards (protocols) that currently
account for most of the avionics data interchange on today’s aircraft, and these are: ARINC 429, ARINC 629, MIL-
STD 1553, MIL-STD 1773, CSDB and ASCB. In this study after evaluating the main characteristics of data
transmission and data bus used aircraft systems, ARINC 629 standard examined in detail.

Key-Words: - Digital data transmission, Aircraft, Aircraft Data bus, Data bus standards, ARINC 629.

1 Introduction Radio Incorporated) data bus standard examined in

The form and interior configuration of aircrafts are detail.
determined by aerodynamic and structural
characteristics. Equipments (or devices) location 2 Data Bus Standards on Aircrafts
therefore weights and dimensions depend on the interior Data transmission is the conveyance of any kind of
configuration of aircraft. However some of the information from one space to another. Historically this
equipments such as inertial navigation systems should be could be done by courier, a chain of bonfires or
installed on some specific locations. This kind of semaphores, and later by Morse code over copper wires.
restrictions can change options in device design. Such as In recent computer terms, it means sending a stream of
devices or equipments can not be located in same place, bits or bytes from one location to another using any
have extensive cabling between each other. Also, some number of technologies, such as copper wire, optical
modernization programs cause some divisions in fiber, laser, radio, or infra-red light [3]. In earlier
equipment locations. All these effects create groups of analogue avionic systems the number of cables used to
equipment communicate each other but different places transfer information between the various system
[1]. components was considerable. With these systems, at
On an aircraft, physical parameters (temperature, least one pair of wires has been required for each signal
pressure, attitude information etc.) and data carried by and so a typical installation requires several pairs of
electromagnetic waves are transmitted to related systems wires. With the equivalent digital systems, all the
after converting electrical signals and processing. analogue signals are converted into their digital
Electrical signals can be analogue or digital forms [2]. equivalent and are assigned unique address labels to
Data transmission methods had developed with the rapid ensure there are no conflicts. These signals are then
development in technology and because of the increase transmitted down a single pair of wires, which makes up
in requirements electronic communication had begun to a data bus. A bus is a collection of wires through which
be insufficient. Using digital data transmission on data is transmitted from one part of a computer to
aircrafts is increased instead of analogue data another. You can think of a bus as a highway on which
transmission. data travels within a computer. When used in reference
In the literature there are severally some studies to personal computers, the term bus usually refers to
about data bus standards for civil and military aircraft. In internal bus. This is a bus that connects all the internal
this study after evaluating the main characteristics of computer components to the CPU (Central Processing
data transmission and data bus used both civil and Unit) and main memory. However when used in
military aircraft systems, ARINC 629 (Aeronautical reference to aircraft, it is the data highway which links

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 Recent Researches in Circuits, Systems, Electronics, Control & Signal Processing

one computer to another within the aircraft, for example, A bus can enable communication between a single
the FMC (Flight Management Computer) and the ADC computer to a single LRU (Line Replaceable Unit) only,
(Air Data Computer) [4,5]. known as single source-single sink or a single computer
Bus systems provide an efficient means of to multiple LRUs, known as single source-multiple sink,
exchanging data between the diverse avionic systems or multiple computers to multiple LRUs known as
found in a modern aircraft as shown in Figure 1 [6]. multiple source multiple sink. A data bus also classified
All buses consists of two parts an address bus and a on whether or not it can transmit in just one direction it
data bus. The data bus transfers actual data whereas the is termed simplex. If it can transmit in both directions,
address bus transfers information about where the data but not at the same time it is termed half duplex. Where
should go. On an aircraft bus, the two parts are a data bus can transmit in both directions at the same
incorporated within a single data word. time, it is termed full duplex.
A bus can be either serial or parallel. A serial bus The type of language used on an aircraft data bus is
requires less wiring, but is slower. A parallel bus known as the protocol. Main data bus standards that
required one wire for each bit within the data word, but currently account for most of the avionics data
is much faster. Aircraft bus systems use serial data interchange on today’s aircraft, are ARINC 429, ARINC
transfer because it minimizes the size and weight of 629, CSDB (Commercial Serial Digital Bus), ASCB
aircraft cabling. With such a large number of avionic (Avionics Serial Communication Bus) and MIL-STD
systems, a modern aircraft requires a considerable 1553 (Military Standard) [4,5,6].
amount of cabling. Furthermore, some of the cabling
runs in a large aircraft can be quite lengthy. Aircraft
cabling amounts to a significant proportion of the
unladen weight of an aircraft and so minimizing the
amount of cabling and wiring present is an important
consideration in the design of modern aircraft, both civil
and military.

Primary Flight Autopilot Air Data Actuator Control

Computers Director Rreference Unit Electronics
Computers

Flight Control Data Buses

Systems Data Buses

Engine Data
Interface Flap/Slat Proximity
Electronics Unit Electronics Unit
Aircraft Information
Management
System

Fig.1 Multiple bus systems implemented on

modern passenger aircraft

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 Recent Researches in Circuits, Systems, Electronics, Control & Signal Processing

3 ARINC 629
ARINC is a major company that develops and
A629
operates systems and services to ensure the efficiency,
Bus Bus
operation, and performance of the aviation and travel A B
industries. It was organized in 1929 by four major
airlines to provide a single licensee and coordinator of
radio communications outside the government [7]. It is
now a large international company with headquarters in TERMINAL TERMINAL
Annapolis, Maryland and over 50 operating locations 1 2
worldwide. ARINC has two regional headquarters:
London to serve the Europe, middle East, and Africa
region and Singapore for the Asia Pacific region. The
company has two major thrusts:
Communications and information processing services
for the aviation and travel industry. TERMINAL TERMINAL
3 4
System engineering, development and integration for
government and industry [4,8].
ARINC 629 was introduced in May 1995 and is
currently used on the Boeing 777, Airbus A330 and Data
Bus
Coupler
A340 aircraft. The ARINC 629 bus is a true data bus in Bus
that the bus operates as a multiple-source, multiple sink
system as shown in Figure 2. That is, each terminal can Terminal
transmit data to, and receive data from, every other TERMINAL
Stub
terminal on the data bus. This allows much more 5
freedom in the exchange of data between units in the
avionics system.
The true data bus topology is much more flexible in
that additional units can be fairly readily accepted Multiple-Source
Multiple-Sink
physically on the data bus. A further attractive feature of
ARINC 629 is the ability to accommodate up to a total
of 128 terminals on a data bus shown in Figure 3, though Fig. 2 ARINC 629 Data Bus Topology
in a realistic implementation the high amount of data bus
traffic would probably preclude the use of this large
number of terminals. It supports a data rate of 2 Mbps.

Bus 4

Bus 1 Data
Data

Up to 128
Terminal Terminal
terminals

Terminal Terminal
Subsystems Subsystems

Fig.3 ARINC 629 data bus

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 Recent Researches in Circuits, Systems, Electronics, Control & Signal Processing

The protocol utilized by ARINC 629 is a time- The ARINC 629 data bus cable consists of an
based, collision-avoidance concept in which each unshielded twisted pair of wires. The wires are #20
terminal is allocated a particular time slot to access the AWG and are bonded together continuously along their
bus and transmit data on to the bus. Each terminal will length. The cables can be up to 100 meters long and
autonomously decide when the appropriate time slot is have no provisions for field splicing. ARINC 629 is
available through the use of several control timers defined for both voltage and current modes of operation.
embedded in the bus interfaces and transmit the One attractive feature of ARINC 629 is that it will be
necessary data. Figure 4 shows the typical ARINC 629 defined for a fiber optic interface ARINC 629 data
20 bit data word format which is very similar toMIL- transmitted in groups called messages. Messages are
STD-1553B. comprised of word strings, up to 31 word strings can be
The first three bits are related to word time in a message. Word strings begin with a label followed
synchronization. The next 16 bits are the data contents, by up to 256 data words. Each label word and data word
and the final bit is a parity bit. The data words may have is 20 bits [4,9,10,11,12,13].
a variety of formats depending on the word function;
there is provision for general formats, systems status,
function status, parameter validity, and binary and
discrete data words.

1 2 3 4 5 6 ……………………………………………………………19 20

Sync Data (depends upon word type) Parity

Fig. 4 ARINC 629 Digital word format

4 Conclusion
Data transmission methods had developed with the References:
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[7] ARINC 429 Protocol Tutorial,

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 Recent Researches in Circuits, Systems, Electronics, Control & Signal Processing

http://www.ecrin.com/downloads/ARINC-429-
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ISBN: 978-960-474-262-2 195