US 5,797,564 AGranted

System for backdrive of flight deck controls during autopilot operation

AssigneeThe Boeing Company

InventorsDaniel H. Cartmell, David B. Borgens, Henning Buus, Keith S. Duffy, Mark E. Gast, Neal V. Huynh, David W. Lochtie, Clifton A. Piersbacher

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Abstract

A system for backdriving the flight deck controllers of a fly-by-wire aircraft that is under autopilot control to provide a pilot with tactile and visual feedback of autopilot activity. The system, distributed between the aircraft primary flight computers and the autopilot flight computer, uses actuators mechanically coupled to each flight deck controller to position the flight deck controller to mimic manual operation of the flight control surfaces. Additionally, the system allows smooth disengagement of the autopilot and transfer of the aircraft to pilot control when the pilot takes control of any flight deck controller by moving it from a backdrive system-commanded position by a predetermined displacement for a predetermined time.

Claims12

Dependent claims

A backdrive system for positioning a flight deck controller of an aircraft having a fly-by-wire primary aircraft control system, when the aircraft is flying under control of an autopilot flight director computer, the backdrive system comprising:

(a) a backdrive controller for receiving signals from the autopilot and converting the received signals to signals for positioning the flight deck controller;
(b) an actuator in electrical communication with the backdrive controller, the actuator mechanically coupled to the flight deck controller to move the controller in response to electrical communication from the backdrive controller;
(c) a position transducer in mechanical communication with the actuator for sensing movement of the flight deck controller and for supplying an electrical signal representative of the movement;
and
(d) an electronic control unit in electrical communication with the position transducer, the electronic unit receiving the signal supplied by the position transducer and processing that signal for sending electrical signals to a primary flight computer, the primary flight computer in communication with an autopilot flight director computer.

2 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.