Rolling airframe autopilot
AssigneeGeneral Dynamics Corporation
InventorDonald E. Cole
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
The autopilot incorporates a single linear accelerometer transducer and a single pitch rate sensor. The outputs of the accelerometer and pitch rate sensor are summed with the command signal in the control circuit. A servo is controlled by the modified control signal to vary the incidence of a single plane control system, in an intentionally rolling airframe.
Claims8
An autopilot for an intentionally continuously axially rolling airframe having a pitch angle control system for producing pitch rotation of the airframe in a control plane in response to a rotation related guidance command signal to said control system by a control circuit comprising:
- an accelerometer means responsive to cyclically varying acceleration for mounting on the airframe and for detecting acceleration in the control plane and transverse to the longitudinal axis of the airframe during the continuous rolling of the airframe as a function of the rotation of said airframe and for producing acceleration signals corresponding to the detected acceleration,
- acceleration feed-back summer means in the control circuit for summing said acceleration signal and the guidance command signal to produce a control signal, said acceleration signal is summed as a negative feed-back to said guidance command signal,
- and control system drive means for driving said control system to produce a change in the pitch angle of attack in response to said control signal.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.