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US 2021/0229797 A1Published application
Geometry-based flight control system
AssigneeKitty Hawk Corporation
InventorsGregory Mainland Horn, Damon Vander Lind
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A geometry-based flight control system is disclosed. In various embodiments, a set of inceptor inputs associated with a requested set of forces and moments to be applied to the aircraft is received. An optimal mix of actuators and associated actuator parameters to achieve to an extent practical the requested forces and moments is computed, including by taking into consideration dynamically varying effectiveness of one or more actuators based on a current dynamic state of the aircraft. An output comprising for each actuator in the optimal mix a corresponding set of one or more control signals associated with the set of actuator parameters computed for that actuator is provided.
Claims20
A method of controlling flight of an aircraft, comprising:
- receiving a set of inceptor inputs associated with a requested set of forces and moments to be applied to the aircraft;
- computing an optimal mix of actuators and associated actuator parameters to achieve to an extent practical the requested forces and moments, including by taking into consideration dynamically varying effectiveness of one or more actuators based on a current dynamic state of the aircraft, the dynamic state including aircraft wing tilt angle, wherein the optimal mix of actuators includes one or more rotors and for each rotor taking into consideration dynamically varying effectiveness includes using a moment vector, a control surface performance matrix, and a dynamically updated rotor geometry matrix to determine the effect of said one or more rotors under various combinations of actuators and associated parameters given the current dynamic state of the aircraft, wherein the computing of the optimal mix of actuators and the associated actuator parameter includes:
- computing the moment vector based on the set of inceptor inputs and a current state of the aircraft, comprising:
- determining the current state of the aircraft, wherein the current state of the aircraft is determined based on sensor data and an estimate of the current state of the aircraft, the sensor data including a wing tilt angle of the aircraft, wherein the estimate of the current state of the aircraft is determined based on past actuator commands, wherein the wing tilt angle of the aircraft includes a first wing tilt angle and a second wing tilt angle, wherein the first wing tilt angle relates to an angle of a front wing, and wherein the second wing tilt angle relates to an angle of a back wing;
- computing the control surface performance matrix based on the first wing tilt angle and the second wing tilt angle;
- and
- computing the dynamically updated rotor performance matrix based on the first wing tilt angle and the second wing tilt angle;
- and
- providing an output comprising for each actuator in the optimal mix a corresponding set of one or more control signals associated with the set of actuator parameters computed for that actuator.
6 more elements
(canceled)
(canceled)
An aircraft flight control system, comprising:
- an interface configured to receive:
- a set of inceptor inputs associated with a requested set of forces and moments to be applied to the aircraft;
- and
- a set of sensor inputs reflecting a current dynamic state of the aircraft, the dynamic state including aircraft airspeed and wing tilt angle;
- and
- a processor coupled to the interface and configured to:
- compute an optimal mix of actuators and associated actuator parameters to achieve to an extent practical the requested forces and moments, including by taking into consideration dynamically varying effectiveness of one or more actuators based on the current dynamic state of the aircraft, wherein the optimal mix of actuators includes one or more rotors and for each rotor taking into consideration dynamically varying effectiveness includes using a moment vector, a control surface performance matrix, and a dynamically updated rotor performance matrix to determine the effect of said one or more rotors under various combinations of actuators and associated parameters given the current dynamic state of the aircraft, wherein the computing of the optimal mix of actuators and the associated actuator parameter includes to:
- compute the moment vector based on the set of inceptor inputs and a current state of the aircraft, comprising to:
- determine the current state of the aircraft, wherein the current state of the aircraft is determined based on sensor data and an estimate of the current state of the aircraft, the sensor data including the wing tilt angle of the aircraft, wherein the estimate of the current state of the aircraft is determined based on past actuator commands, wherein the wing tilt angle of the aircraft includes a first wing tilt angle and a second wing tilt angle, wherein the first wing tilt angle relates to an angle of a front wing, and wherein the second wing tilt angle relates to an angle of a back wing;
- compute the control surface performance matrix based on the first wing tilt angle and the second wing tilt angle;
- and
- compute the dynamically updated rotor performance matrix based on the first wing tilt angle and the second wing tilt angle;
- and
- provide an output comprising for each actuator in the optimal mix a corresponding set of one or more control signals associated with the actuator parameters computed for that actuator.
11 more elements
(canceled)
A computer program product to control flight of an aircraft, the computer program product being embodied in a non-transitory computer readable medium and comprising computer instructions for:
- receiving a set of inceptor inputs associated with a requested set of forces and moments to be applied to the aircraft;
- computing an optimal mix of actuators and associated actuator parameters to achieve to an extent practical the requested forces and moments, including by taking into consideration dynamically varying effectiveness of one or more actuators based on a current dynamic state of the aircraft, the dynamic state including aircraft wing tilt angle, wherein the optimal mix of actuators includes one or more rotors and for each rotor taking into consideration dynamically varying effectiveness includes using a moment vector, a control surface performance matrix, and a dynamically updated rotor performance matrix to determine the effect of said one or more rotors under various combinations of actuators and associated parameters given the current dynamic state of the aircraft, wherein the computing of the optimal mix of actuators and the associated actuator parameter includes:
- computing the moment vector based on the set of inceptor inputs and a current state of the aircraft, comprising:
- determining the current state of the aircraft, wherein the current state of the aircraft is determined based on sensor data and an estimate of the current state of the aircraft, the sensor data including a wing tilt angle of the aircraft, wherein the estimate of the current state of the aircraft is determined based on past actuator commands, wherein the wing tilt angle of the aircraft includes a first wing tilt angle and a second wing tilt angle, wherein the first wing tilt angle relates to an angle of a front wing, and wherein the second wing tilt angle relates to an angle of a back wing;
- computing the control surface performance matrix based on the first wing tilt angle and the second wing tilt angle;
- and
- computing the dynamically updated rotor performance matrix based on the first wing tilt angle and the second wing tilt angle;
- and
- providing an output comprising for each actuator in the optimal mix a corresponding set of one or more control signals associated with the actuator parameters computed for that actuator.
6 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.