Flight-control electro-hydraulic simulator
AssigneeLe Materiel Telephonique
InventorsBernard F. R. Guy, Michel A. B. Lacroix
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Abstract
The invention relates to the simulation of an aircraft's flight controls and particularly the mechanical reactions produced on the pilot's controls. The reaction force is produced by a servo-controlled, hydraulic actuator whose piston moves a distance X which is proportional to the deflection of the pilot's control. A servo signal, whose amplitude is proportional to the component of the reaction force depending on the displacement X, is obtained by digital calculation, filtering and analogue multiplication. The invention can be applied to flight training systems and to artificial feel systems (AFS).
Claims10
An electro-hydraulic control simulator for generating a reaction force for a control which is displaced by an operator, which comprises:
- a double-action, hydraulic actuator including a piston which moves an amount X which is proportional to the displacement of said control by said operator;
- a displacement sensor associated with said piston for producing an output signal which is proportional to the piston displacement X;
- and
- an hydraulic actuator servocontrol loop for producing a servo signal of amplitude F, F=f(X), which represents part of the reaction force opposing the control force generated by the operator and which is also a function of the displacement X, the function F=f(X) being represented by a curve having a central linear region corresponding to a threshold zone about X=Xo, said servo-control loop including:
- (a) means, connected to said displacement sensor, for generating an output signal of value X-Xo;
- (b) means, connected to said displacement sensor, for generating an output signal of value F/X-Xo, the amplitude of said signal being constant over the central region of said curve and being staircased over the outer regions of said curve;
- and
- (c) an analog multiplication circuit connected to the outputs of said X-Xo and F/X-Xo signal generating means for performing an analog multiplication thereof.
A control electrohydraulic simulator consisting of a double-action hydraulic actuator whose piston moves an amount X proportional to the displacement of an operator's control, a displacement sensor associated with the said piston and producing a signal of amplitude proportional to X, a hydraulic actuator servocontrol loop producing a servo signal of amplitude equal to a function F=f(X) representing the part of the reaction opposing the control force applied by the trainee and which is a function of the displacement X, this control loop comprising digital computation circuits and function F being represented by a curve possessing a central linear part corresponding to a threshold zone about the value X=Xo, characterized by the fact that the said servocontrol loop possesses first means producing a signal of value X-Xo, second digital computation means producing a signal of amplitude F/X-Xo, this amplitude being constant in the said central part of the curve representing F and being in steps over the outer parts of this curve, and an analogue multiplication device connected to the said first and second means for performing the analogue multiplication of the signals produced by these means.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.