Patent ID: 9645948
Date: 2017-05-09
CPC Classifications: B64C,G06F

Claim:
1. A method comprising: receiving, by an actuator controller device of an aircraft from a flight control computer of the aircraft that is operably connected to the actuator controller device, a memory access request configured to request access to computer-readable memory of the actuator controller device; transmitting, by the actuator controller device to an actuator of the aircraft that is operably connected to the actuator controller device, an alternating current excitation signal; receiving back, by the actuator controller device, the alternating current excitation signal from the actuator; sampling, by the actuator controller device, the alternating current excitation signal received back from the actuator; generating, by the actuator controller device in response to receiving the memory access request from the flight control computer, an access key using the sampled alternating current excitation signal received back from the actuator; transmitting, by the actuator controller device, the generated access key to the flight control computer; initiating, by the actuator controller device, a data reprogramming operational mode of the actuator controller device, the data reprogramming operational mode configured to enable access to the computer-readable memory; enabling, by the actuator controller device, access to the computer-readable memory of the actuator controller device in response to data write commands received from the flight control computer that include an access code based on the access key; and aborting, by the actuator controller device, the data reprogramming operational mode in response to receiving, from the flight control computer, a data write command that does not include the access code based on the access key.