Altitude capture mode for aircraft automatic flight control system
AssigneeSperry Corporation
InventorsJames B. Flannigan, Jack E. Emfinger, Thomas R. Elliott
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An automatic pilot apparatus, for controlling an aircraft during the execution of a maneuver to capture a predetermined altitude, utilizes an altitude control law formula and signal which define a circular flight path intercepting the predetermined altitude and which result in a normal acceleration force on the aircraft. A signal representative of the normal acceleration force is utilized to generate a predictive pitch command signal which is combined with the control law signal to generate a pitch attitude command signal, thereby allowing the aircraft to smoothly capture the predetermined altitude.
Claims10
Automatic pilot apparatus for controlling an aircraft to execute a maneuver to capture a predetermined altitude comprising:
- means for generating a control law signal representative of a circular flight path tangentially intercepting said predetermined altitude and resulting in a first predetermined normal acceleration force on said aircraft;
- means for generating a predictive pitch attitude signal based on a signal representative of said first predetermined normal acceleration force on said aircraft, and
- means for combining said control law signal and said predictive pitch signal to provide a pitch attitude command signal for controlling said aircraft to execute said altitude capture maneuver.
Automatic pilot apparatus for aircraft including servomotor means for controlling the pitch attitude of said aircraft and means for manually engaging the same for automatically controlling the aircraft to initiate and thereafter execute a pitch maneuver to capture a predetermined altitude comprising:
- means for generating a control law signal representative of a circular flight path tangentially intercepting said predetermined altitude and resulting in a first predetermined normal acceleration on said aircraft,
- means for generating first and second predictive pitch attitude signals based on first and second signals respectively representative of said first predetermined normal acceleration force and a second and greater predetermined normal acceleration force, and
- logic means responsive to engagement of said autopilot and to said control law signal obtaining a substantially zero value for supplying both said control law signal and said first predictive pitch signal to said servomotor means or for supplying only said second predictive pitch signal to said servomotor means.
Flight path control apparatus for aircraft enabling said aircraft to execute a maneuver to capture a predetermined altitude comprising:
- means for generating a control law signal representative of a circular flight path tangentially intercepting said predetermined altitude and resulting in a first predetermined normal acceleration force on said aircraft,
- means for generating first and second predictive pitch attitude signals based on first and second signals respectively representative of said first predetermined normal acceleration force and a second and greater predetermined normal acceleration force,
- flight director means responsive to said control law signal for enabling the pilot manually to execute said capture maneuver,
- manually engageable autopilot servomotor means responsive to said control law signal and said predictive pitch attitude signals for enabling said servomotor means to automatically control the aircraft to execute said capture meaneuver, and
- logic means responsive to engagement of said autopilot and to said control law signal obtaining a substantially zero value for supplying both said control law signal and said first predictive pitch signal to said servomotor means or for supplying only said second predictive pitch signal to said servomotor means.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.