System for controlling an aircraft control surface tab
AssigneeAerospatiale Societe Nationale Industrielle
InventorsMichel Durandeau, Etienne Foch
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A system for controlling the tab (6) of an aircraft control surface (3) having a pair of position sensors (12 and 15) that supply information regarding the turning of the control surface (3) and the position of a jack (13), respectively, on the basis of signals generated by the sensors (12 and 15) as well as possibly on the basis of at least one parameter (p) originating from the aircraft, such as airspeed, positions of lift-augmenting devices, forces exerted by the pilot on a control, etc., and which formulates a command for the jack (13).
Claims25
A system for controlling a tab (6) of an aircraft, said tab (6) being articulated so that said tab (6) can rotate on a trailing edge side of an aerodynamic surface (3) of said aircraft, said aerodynamic surface (3) being mounted to rotate on a structure (5) of said aircraft, said aircraft having a control device (1) adapted to be controlled by a pilot of said aircraft, said control device (1) being mechanically connected to said aerodynamic surface (3) so as to be capable of turning said aerodynamic surface (3), said aircraft having a mechanical linkage (10) that connects said tab (6) to said aircraft structure (5) so that for each angle through which said aerodynamic surface (3) is turned with respect to said aircraft structure (5) there corresponds, according to a determined relationship, a value of an angle through which said tab (6) is turned with respect to said aerodynamic surface (3), said system comprising:
- a first sensor (12) that detects an angle through which said aerodynamic surface (3) is turned with respect to said aircraft structure (5);
- a movable and controllable actuating member (13) connected to said aircraft structure (5), said actuating member being capable of acting on said mechanical linkage (10) to alter said determined relationship between said values of said angles through which said aerodynamic surface (3) and said tab (6) are turned;
- a second sensor (15) that detects the position of said actuating member (13);
- and
- a control device (16, 27) that receives information from said first and second sensors and, on the basis of said information, formulates a command for said actuating member (13).
A system for controlling an aircraft tab (6), said tab (6) being articulated so that said tab can rotate on a trailing edge side of an aerodynamic surface (3) of said aircraft, said aerodynamic surface (3) being mounted to rotate on a structure (5) of said aircraft, said aircraft having a control device (1) adapted to be controlled by a pilot of said aircraft in order to control the turning of said aerodynamic surface (3) with respect to said structure (5), said aircraft having a mechanical linkage (10) that connects said tab (6) to said structure (5) so that for each angle through which said aerodynamic surface (3) is turned with respect to said structure (5) there corresponds, according to a determined relationship, a value of an angle through which said tab (6) is turned with respect to said aerodynamic surface (3), wherein there is no mechanical link between said control device (1) and said aerodynamic surface (3), said system comprising:
- a first sensor (12) that detects an angle through which said aerodynamic surface (3) is turned with respect to said structure (5);
- a movable and controllable actuating member (13) connected to said structure (5), said actuating member (13) being capable of acting on said mechanical linkage (10) to alter said determined relationship between said values of said angles through which said aerodynamic surface (3) and said tab (6) are turned;
- a second sensor (15) that detects the position of said actuating member (13);
- a third sensor (29) connected to said control device (1) that generates a measurement;
- and
- a control device (27) that receives information from said first, second and third sensors and, on the basis of said information, formulates a command for said actuating member (13) so that said actuating member (13) adopts an operational position for which the turning of said tab (6) with respect to said aerodynamic surface (3) adjusts the turning of the said aerodynamic surface (3) to a value which corresponds to said measurement generated by said third sensor (29).
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.