Control system for aircraft, control method for aircraft, and storage medium

Abstract

This invention provides an aircraft control system, an aircraft control method, and a storage medium capable of more effectively suppressing noise. The aircraft control system includes: a plurality of engines mounted on the fuselage of an aircraft; a plurality of generators connected to the engine shafts of the plurality of engines; an electric motor driven by electricity supplied from the plurality of generators; a rotor driven by driving force output from the electric motor; and a control unit that, based on information for estimating the noise of the engines, determines whether a noise excess condition is met. If the noise excess condition is estimated to be met, the control unit changes one or both of the engine's rotational speed and torque to reduce noise compared to before the noise excess condition was met.

Description

[0001] This application claims priority based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2022-010660, filed on January 27, 2022, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0002] This invention relates to a control system, a control method, and a storage medium for aircraft. Background Technology

[0003] Previously, it was disclosed that noise was suppressed by idling at least one of the multiple gas turbine generators (Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 4-358725). Summary of the Invention

[0004] However, the aforementioned techniques sometimes fail to suppress noise effectively depending on the situation. For example, in reference 1, the engine output is significantly reduced due to idling, thus sometimes failing to meet the demands of high power requirements.

[0005] This invention was made in consideration of the following situation, and one of its objectives is to provide an aircraft control system, aircraft control method, and storage medium that can more appropriately suppress noise. Specifically, one objective of this invention is, for example, to provide an aircraft control system, aircraft control method, and storage medium that can more appropriately suppress noise without significantly reducing engine output.

[0006] Solution for solving the problem

[0007] The aircraft control system, aircraft control method, and storage medium of the present invention adopt the following structure.

[0008] (1): An aircraft control system according to one aspect of the present invention includes: a plurality of engines mounted on the fuselage of an aircraft; a plurality of generators connected to the engine shafts of the plurality of engines; an electric motor driven by electricity supplied from the plurality of generators; a rotor driven by driving force output from the electric motor; and a control unit that determines whether an excessive noise condition is met based on information for estimating the noise of the engines, wherein if the excessive noise condition is estimated to be met, the control unit changes one or both of the speed and torque of the engines to reduce the noise compared to before the excessive noise condition was met.

[0009] (2): In the above (1) scheme, when the excessive noise condition is met, the control unit controls one or both of the engine speed and the torque based on the relationship between the engine speed and the magnitude of the torque and the noise level of the engine so that the noise level of the engine falls within the noise reference.

[0010] (3): In the above (2) scheme, the control unit also controls one or both of the engine speed and the torque based on the relationship between the engine speed and the torque and the engine fuel consumption, so that the fuel consumption falls within the fuel consumption reference.

[0011] (4): In the above (3) scheme, the control unit controls one or both of the engine speed and the magnitude of the torque by referring to a first operation map that represents the distribution of fuel consumption corresponding to the engine speed and the magnitude of the torque, and a second operation map that represents the distribution of noise corresponding to the engine speed and the magnitude of the torque.

[0012] (5): In the above scheme (3) or (4), the control unit controls the engine with the operating line that is the combination of the engine speed and the magnitude of the torque that is the optimal fuel consumption, and does not presume to meet the excessive noise condition. When the control unit controls the engine with the operating line and presumes to meet the excessive noise condition, it controls the engine with the operating point that is the combination of the engine speed and the magnitude of the torque that is the fuel consumption that is deviated from the operating line.

[0013] (6): In the above scheme (5), the operating point is the point where the noise level of the engine falls within the noise reference, the fuel consumption falls within the fuel consumption reference, and the first output of the engine controlled based on the operating point satisfies the output reference. The output reference refers to the first output falling within a range preset relative to the output of the engine controlled based on the operating line.

[0014] (7): In any of the above schemes (1) to (6), if the control unit controls one or both of the engine speed and the torque in order to reduce the noise, and the output after the control is reduced by more than a certain amount compared with the output before the control, the output of the other engine is increased in order to compensate for the amount of output corresponding to the reduction.

[0015] (8): In any of the above (1) to (7), the aircraft control system further includes a battery that stores the power generated by the generator, and the motor is driven by the power output from the battery.

[0016] (9): An aircraft control method according to one aspect of the present invention, wherein the aircraft comprises: a plurality of engines mounted on the fuselage of the aircraft; a plurality of generators connected to the engine shafts of the plurality of engines; an electric motor driven by electricity supplied from the plurality of generators; and a rotor driven by driving force output from the electric motor, the aircraft control method causing the control device of the aircraft to perform the following processing: determining whether a noise excessive condition is met based on information for estimating the noise of the engines; if the noise excessive condition is estimated to be met, changing one or both of the speed and torque of the engines to reduce the noise compared to before the noise excessive condition was met.

[0017] (10): A storage medium of one aspect of the present invention stores an aircraft program, wherein the aircraft comprises: a plurality of engines mounted on the fuselage of the aircraft; a plurality of generators connected to the engine shafts of the plurality of engines; an electric motor driven by electricity supplied from the plurality of generators; and a rotor driven by driving force output from the electric motor, the aircraft program causing the control device of the aircraft to perform the following processing: determining whether a noise excessive condition is met based on information for estimating the noise of the engines; and, if the noise excessive condition is estimated to be met, changing one or both of the engine speed and torque to reduce the noise compared to before the noise excessive condition was met.

[0018] Invention Effects

[0019] According to the schemes (1) to (10), the aircraft control system changes one or both of the speed and torque of GT60 when it is assumed that the noise is too high, so as to reduce the noise compared with before the noise is too high, thereby enabling more appropriate noise suppression.

[0020] According to the scheme in (3), the aircraft uses a control system to control one or both of the engine speed and the torque to keep the fuel consumption within the fuel consumption reference, thereby suppressing the impact on fuel consumption when noise is reduced.

[0021] According to the scheme in (6), the aircraft control system also controls the engine to make the engine output fall within a preset range, thereby suppressing the impact on the engine output when the noise is reduced.

[0022] According to the scheme in (7), when the engine output is reduced due to the control for reducing the noise, the aircraft control system increases the output of other engines to compensate for the amount of output corresponding to the reduction, thereby suppressing the impact on the overall power required in the aircraft when the noise is reduced.

[0023] According to the scheme in (8), the electricity generated by the generator through the operation of the engine is stored in the battery. Since the aircraft is propelled by the electricity from the battery, the engine can be controlled to reduce the noise compared to before the excessive noise conditions were met, thus achieving noise-suppressed aircraft control. Attached Figure Description

[0024] Figure 1 It is a simplified diagram of a flying body equipped with a flight control system.

[0025] Figure 2 This is a diagram illustrating an example of the functional structure of a flying vehicle.

[0026] Figure 3 It is a diagram used to illustrate the flight status of a flying object.

[0027] Figure 4 This is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process executed by a control device.

[0028] Figure 5 This is a diagram representing an example of the first mapping.

[0029] Figure 6 This is a diagram representing an example of the second mapping.

[0030] Figure 7 It is expressed based on the passage of time. Figure 4 The diagram shows the processing of parameters such as...

[0031] Figure 8 This is a diagram illustrating the process of filling in the output of the GT60-2. Detailed Implementation

[0032] Hereinafter, embodiments of the aircraft control system, aircraft control method, and storage medium of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0033] Figure 1 This is a simplified diagram illustrating an aircraft body 1 equipped with an aircraft control system. The aircraft body 1 includes, for example, a fuselage 10, multiple rotors 12A-12D, multiple electric motors 14A-14D, and arms 16A-16D. Hereinafter, without distinguishing between the multiple rotors 12A-12D, they will be referred to as rotors 12, and without distinguishing between the multiple electric motors 14A-14D, they will be referred to as electric motors 14. The aircraft body 1 can be a manned aircraft or an unmanned aircraft. The aircraft body 1 is not limited to the multi-rotor aircraft shown in the diagram; it can also be a helicopter or a hybrid aircraft possessing both rotor and fixed wings.

[0034] Rotor 12A is mounted to fuselage 10 via arm 16A. Electric motor 14A is mounted at the base (rotation axis) of rotor 12A. Electric motor 14A drives rotor 12A. Electric motor 14A is, for example, a brushless DC motor. Rotor 12A is a fixed wing with blades that rotates about an axis parallel to the direction of gravity when the aircraft 1 is in a horizontal position. Rotors 12B-12D, arms 16B-16D, and electric motors 14B-14D also have the same functional structure as described above, therefore, descriptions are omitted.

[0035] Rotor 12 rotates according to a control signal, thereby enabling the aircraft 1 to fly in a desired flight state. The control signal is a signal used to control the aircraft 1, obtained based on operator input or instructions from automatic control. For example, rotors 12A and 12D rotate in a first direction (e.g., clockwise), and rotors 12B and 12C rotate in a second direction (e.g., counterclockwise), thereby enabling the aircraft 1 to fly. In addition to rotor 12 as described above, auxiliary rotors for attitude maintenance or horizontal propulsion (not shown) may also be provided.

[0036] Figure 2 This diagram illustrates an example of the functional structure of flying body 1. Flying body 1, for example, includes... Figure 1 In addition to the structure shown, it also includes, for example, first control circuits 20A, 20B, 20C, 20D, battery unit 30, second control circuits 40-1, 40-2, generator 50-1, 50-2, gas turbine engine (hereinafter referred to as "GT") 60-1, 60-2, various sensors 80, and control device 100. The structure marked with the number "1" after the reference numerals and hyphens corresponds to the first structure of rotor 12A, rotor 12D, electric motor 14A, electric motor 14D, first control circuit 20A, and first control circuit 20D. The structure marked with the number "2" after the reference numerals and hyphens corresponds to the second structure of rotor 12B, rotor 12C, electric motor 14B, electric motor 14C, first control circuit 20B, and first control circuit 20C. Hereinafter, the first structure will be described as representative; the second structure is the same as the first structure, therefore its description is omitted.

[0037] The first control circuit 20A is a PDU (Power Drive Unit) that includes drive circuits such as an inverter. The first control circuit 20A supplies power to the motor 14A; this power is obtained by converting the power supplied by the battery unit 30 through a switch or similar means. The first control circuit 20D, also a PDU, supplies power from the battery unit 30 to the motor 14D. The motor 14A drives the rotor 12A, and the motor 14D drives the rotor 12D.

[0038] The battery unit 30 includes, for example, a battery 32, a BMU (Battery Management Unit) 34, and a detection unit 36. The battery 32 is, for example, a battery pack consisting of multiple battery cells connected in series, parallel, or series-parallel. The battery cells constituting the battery 32 are, for example, secondary batteries capable of repeated charging and discharging, such as lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) and nickel-metal hydride batteries.

[0039] BMU34 performs tasks such as battery cell balancing, anomaly detection in battery 32, deriving the temperature of individual cells in battery 32, deriving the charge / discharge current of battery 32, and estimating the state of charge (SOC) of battery 32. Based on the detection results from detection unit 36, BMU34 obtains the state of battery 32 as described above. Detection unit 36 ​​includes voltage sensors, current sensors, and temperature sensors used to measure the state of charge of battery 32. Detection unit 36 ​​outputs the measured voltage, current, temperature, and other measurement results to BMU34.

[0040] The aircraft 1 may also have multiple battery units 30. For example, battery units 30 corresponding to the first structure and the second structure may be provided respectively. In this embodiment, the power generated by the generator 50 is supplied to the battery 32, but it may also be supplied to the first control circuit 20 and the motor 14 without going through the battery 32 (or selectively with regard to whether it goes through the battery 32).

[0041] The second control circuit 40-1 is a PCU (Power Conditioning Unit) that includes converters, etc. The second control circuit 40-1 converts the AC power generated by the generator 50-1 into DC power, and supplies the converted power to the battery 32 and / or the first control circuit 20.

[0042] Generator 50-1 is connected to the output shaft of GT60-1. Generator 50-1 is driven by GT60-1, generating alternating current (AC) power. Generator 50-1 can also be connected to the output shaft of GT60-1 via a reduction gear. Generator 50-1 functions as a motor, causing GT60-1 to rotate (idle) and become operational when fuel supply to GT60-1 stops. At this time, the second control circuit 40-1 draws power from the battery 32 to drive generator 50-1. Alternatively, the output shaft of GT60-1 can be connected to a starter motor, which enables GT60-1 to operate.

[0043] The GT60-1 is, for example, a turboshaft engine. The GT60-1 includes, for example, an intake port (not shown), a compressor, a combustion chamber, and a turbine. The compressor compresses the intake air drawn in through the intake port. The combustion chamber, located downstream of the compressor, burns the mixture of compressed air and fuel to produce combustion gases. The turbine is connected to the compressor and rotates integrally with it under the force of the combustion gases. The turbine's output shaft rotates due to this rotation, thereby operating the generator 50 connected to the turbine's output shaft.

[0044] Various sensors 80 include, for example, a speed sensor, multiple temperature sensors, multiple pressure sensors, a lubricating oil sensor, an altitude sensor, and a gyroscope sensor. The speed sensor detects the turbine's rotational speed. The temperature sensor detects the temperature near the GT60's air intake and the temperature near the downstream of the combustion chamber. The lubricating oil sensor detects the temperature of the lubricating oil supplied to the GT60's bearings, etc. The pressure sensor detects the pressure inside the GT60's casing and the pressure near the GT60's air intake. The altitude sensor detects the altitude of the aircraft 1. The gyroscope sensor detects the attitude of the aircraft 10. Various sensors 80 are provided, for example, with respect to GT60-1 and GT60-2 respectively. A sound sensor that detects external sounds, internal sounds, or sounds emitted by the GT60 may also be included among the various sensors 80.

[0045] The control device 100 includes, for example, a estimation unit 110, an engine control unit 120, and a storage unit 130. The estimation unit 110 and the engine control unit 120 are implemented by executing programs (software) using hardware processors such as CPUs (Central Processing Units). Some or all of these functional units can also be implemented using hardware (including circuitry) such as LSIs (Large Scale Integration), ASICs (Application Specific Integrated Circuits), FPGAs (Field-Programmable Gate Arrays), and GPUs (Graphics Processing Units), or through the coordinated use of software and hardware. The program can be pre-stored in a storage device such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or flash memory (a storage device with a non-transitory storage medium) of the control device 100, or it can be stored in a removable storage medium such as a DVD or CD-ROM, and installed in the HDD or flash memory of the control device 100 by mounting the storage medium (a non-transitory storage medium) to a drive device.

[0046] The storage unit 130 is implemented, for example, by an HDD, flash memory, EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory), ROM (Read Only Memory), or RAM (Random Access Memory). The storage unit 130 stores, for example, a first mapping 132 and a second mapping 134 (details will be described later).

[0047] The estimation unit 110 includes, for example, a first estimation unit 112 and a second estimation unit 114. The first estimation unit 112 estimates (or obtains) the volume of the sound emitted by the GT60-1 based on the detection results of one or more of the various sensors 80 (an example of information used to estimate engine noise). The first estimation unit 112 estimates the volume of the sound based on indicators obtained from the detection results of a temperature sensor, a lubricating oil sensor, or a pressure sensor, or from the calculation results of a predetermined function with these as parameters. For example, the correlation between the volume of the sound and the detection results of the various sensors 80 is predetermined. The first estimation unit 112 estimates the volume of the sound based on the determined correlation. For example, the higher the temperature of the GT60-1 or the temperature of the lubricating oil, the higher the volume of the sound estimated by the first estimation unit 112; the higher the pressure, the higher the volume of the sound estimated by the first estimation unit 112. For example, the first estimation unit 112 may also estimate that a sound above a certain threshold (meeting the excessive noise condition) is emitted if the aforementioned parameters exceed their respective thresholds. The first estimation unit 112 can also use the detection results of the speed sensor to estimate noise (noise caused by compressor, turbine blade noise, turbine shaft vibration, etc.), or it can estimate noise caused by intake and exhaust flow (estimated value) (e.g., airflow sound from the intake and exhaust pipes). The noise estimated by the first estimation unit 112 is part or all of the aforementioned noise. The second estimation unit 114 estimates (or obtains) the magnitude of the sound emitted by the GT60-2 in the same way as the first estimation unit 112.

[0048] The engine control unit 120 controls the aforementioned motor 14, first control circuit 20, battery unit 30, second control circuit 40, generator 50, GT60, etc., based on the operating status of the motor 14, first control circuit 20, battery unit 30, second control circuit 40, generator 50, GT60, etc., the estimation result of the estimation unit 110, or information obtained from various sensors 80. For example, the control device 100 controls the aforementioned functional structures to enable the aircraft 1 to take off or land and to fly the aircraft 1 in a predetermined flight state. The engine control unit 120 controls the aircraft 1 based on flight information. Flight information refers to, for example, information obtained from the detection results of various sensors 80, and the flight state of the aircraft 1 corresponding to the control signal. The first engine control unit 122 of the engine control unit 120 controls the first structure, and the second engine control unit 124 of the engine control unit 120 controls the second structure. The engine control unit 120, as... Figure 3 As shown, the GT60 is controlled based on the required power and / or the charge level of the battery 32 corresponding to the flight state of the aircraft 1.

[0049] [Explanation related to flight status]

[0050] Figure 3 This is a diagram used to illustrate the flight status of flying body 1. For example... Figure 3 As shown, the aircraft 1 (1) taxis, (2) takes off, hovers, (3) ascends and accelerates, and (4) cruises. Then, the aircraft 1 (5) descends and decelerates, (6) hovers, lands, (7) taxis, refuels, and parks.

[0051] The power requirements of the flight states described above, such as the flight state of aircraft 1 (2) takeoff, hovering, (6) hovering, or landing, tend to be greater than the power requirements of other flight states. The power requirement of a flight state refers to the power required for aircraft 1 to transition to a flight state corresponding to the control signal or to maintain the flight state (the total power required to be supplied to each motor 14). The control device 100 controls aircraft 1 to a flight state corresponding to the control signal by providing the required power to the motor 14, and the motor 14 driving the rotor 12 based on the required power.

[0052] For example, the engine control unit 120 operates GT60-1 and / or GT60-2 when preset conditions are met. Preset conditions may include, for example, flight status (2) or (6), and battery SOC being less than a specified value (or predicted to be less than a specified value within a specified time). Preset conditions may also be arbitrary.

[0053] [flow chart]

[0054] Figure 4 This is a flowchart illustrating an example of the process executed by the control device 100. This flowchart is an example; some processes may be omitted, and others may be added. The order of processes may also be changed. As illustrated in this flowchart, when the GT60 meets the excessive noise condition, the engine control unit 120 changes one or both of the GT60's speed and torque to reduce noise compared to before the excessive noise condition was met. Fuel consumption and output are also considered at this time.

[0055] First, the engine control unit 120 of the control device 100 obtains the power generation requirements of the entire system from the flight body 1 (step S100). The power generation requirements from the entire system include not only the amount of power required for flight, but also the amount of power used by auxiliary equipment and the like included in the flight body 1.

[0056] Next, the engine control unit 120 determines the output of GT60-1 and GT60-2 (step S101). For example, the engine control unit 120 may decide to operate GT60-1 and GT60-2, or it may decide to operate GT60, which has a lower utilization frequency. The engine control unit 120 may also decide to operate GT60-1 and GT60-2 if the power generation requirement from the overall system is above a predetermined level, and decide to operate only one of GT60-1 and GT60-2 if the power generation requirement from the overall system is below a predetermined level. In the following description, GT60-1 and GT60-2 are operated.

[0057] Next, the engine control unit 120 refers to the first mapping 132 to determine the operating point where fuel consumption is minimized (or close to minimized) (step S102). The GT60 operates based on the determined operating point. The first mapping 132 will be described later.

[0058] Next, the engine control unit 120 determines whether GT60-1 or GT60-2 meets the excessive noise condition based on the estimation result of the estimation unit 110 (step S103). If the excessive noise condition is not met, the engine control unit 120 operates GT60-1 and GT60-2 based on the operating point where fuel consumption is minimized.

[0059] If the excessive noise condition is met (e.g., the GT60-1 meets the excessive noise condition), the engine control unit 120 searches for an operating point that does not meet the excessive noise condition while considering fuel consumption (step S105), and determines the operating point (step S106). This operating point is the operating point where the difference between the output required for power generation from the overall system (the expected output of the GT60-1) and the output that the GT60-1 can produce while being controlled to not meet the excessive noise condition is the smallest. In the processing of step S106, instead of the operating point with the smallest difference, an operating point whose difference falls within a specified range may also be determined.

[0060] Next, the engine control unit 120 compensates for the insufficient output of GT60-1 using GT60-2 (step S108). The engine control unit 120 determines the operating point, for example, by referring to the first mapping 132 and the second mapping 134. Details regarding the processing of steps S105 and S106 will be described later.

[0061] The following describes the processing of steps S105 and S106 using the first mapping 132 and the second mapping 134.

[0062] [First Mapping]

[0063] Figure 5 This is a diagram representing an example of the first mapping 132. Figure 5 The vertical axis represents the magnitude of the engine torque (GT60 torque) [Nm]. Figure 5 The horizontal axis represents engine speed (GT60 speed) [npm]. In the first mapping 132, a correspondence is established between labels representing the first region or the second region for each combination of engine torque and engine speed. The first region is the region where fuel consumption is below the fuel consumption benchmark (good fuel consumption region), and the second region is the region where fuel consumption is above the fuel consumption benchmark (poor fuel consumption region). The first mapping 132 specifies an operating line L1. The operating line L1 is the combination of engine torque and engine speed with optimal fuel consumption.

[0064] [Second Mapping]

[0065] Figure 6 This is a diagram representing an example of the second mapping 134. Figure 6 The vertical axis represents the magnitude of the engine torque (GT60 torque) [Nm]. Figure 6The horizontal axis represents engine speed (GT60's speed) [npm]. In the second mapping 134, a correspondence is established between labels representing the third region or the fourth region for each combination of engine torque and engine speed. The third region is the area where the noise level is above the noise reference (high noise region), and the fourth region is the area where the noise level is below the noise reference (low noise region). In the second mapping 134, for example, the operating line L1 is also specified.

[0066] In the following explanation, as an example, refer to Figure 4-6 To illustrate the control of GT60-1, the first engine control unit 122 refers to the first mapping 132 to control GT60-1 so that it operates at the engine torque and engine speed corresponding to the operating point P1 (the operating point along the operating line L1) where fuel consumption is minimized (or optimal, appropriate).

[0067] For example, when the noise level is too high, the engine control unit 120 controls one or both of the engine speed and torque based on the relationship between the engine speed and torque of the GT60 and the noise level of the GT60 (e.g., referring to the second mapping 134) to bring the noise level of the GT60 within a noise reference. The engine control unit 120 also controls one or both of the engine speed and torque of the GT60 based on the relationship between the engine speed and torque of the GT60 and the fuel consumption of the GT60 (e.g., referring to the first mapping 132) to bring the fuel consumption within a fuel consumption reference. The noise reference is a reference where the sound level is below a threshold determined in a prior experiment. The fuel consumption reference is defined as a range of X percent deterioration in fuel consumption relative to fuel consumption controlled based on the operating line. "X" is, for example, an arbitrary value preset in advance.

[0068] Specifically, when the GT60-1 meets the condition of excessive noise, the first engine control unit 122 refers to the first mapping 132 and the second mapping 134 to search for operating points that include regions where fuel consumption is below the fuel consumption benchmark and noise is below the noise benchmark. Furthermore, the first engine control unit 122 determines the operating point P2 among the searched operating points where the difference between the required power generation output and the power generation output corresponding to the searched operating point is the smallest. For example, the engine control unit 120 calculates the power generation output for each searched operating point and compares the calculated output with the required power generation output to determine the operating point P2.

[0069] Operating point P2 is an example of "an operating point that is a combination of the engine speed and the magnitude of the torque, where the fuel consumption deviates from the operating line." Operating point P2 is also an example of "a point where the engine noise level falls within a noise reference, the fuel consumption falls within a fuel consumption reference, and the first output of the engine, controlled based on the operating point, satisfies an output reference." The output reference is when the first output, relative to the output of the engine controlled based on the operating line, falls within a predetermined range. Furthermore, the engine control unit 120 is described later... Figure 8 As explained, when the system operates at operating point P2, any insufficient output is filled by the GT60-2.

[0070] Figure 7 It is expressed based on the passage of time. Figure 4 The diagram shows the processing of parameters such as... Figure 7 The horizontal axis in the top, middle, and bottom graphs represents time. Figure 7 The vertical axis of the above figure represents the noise level estimated by the estimation unit 110. Figure 7 The vertical axis of the middle graph represents the fuel consumption rate [g / kWh] of the GT60-1. Figure 7 The vertical axis of the graph below represents the output of the GT60-1.

[0071] At time T, if the estimated noise level exceeds the threshold (meeting the excessive noise condition), GT60-1 is controlled based on the operating point P2, which does not meet the excessive noise condition while considering fuel consumption. For example... Figure 7 As shown in the diagram, the fuel consumption of the GT60-1 when operating at point P2 (after searching) is within a specified range based on the fuel consumption of the GT60-1 when operating at point P1 (baseline fuel consumption). Figure 7 As shown, the degradation of fuel consumption after the search relative to the baseline fuel consumption is within X%. Figure 7 As shown in the middle figure, the fuel consumption after the search is within the range of the fuel consumption benchmark.

[0072] like Figure 7 As shown in the diagram below, the output of GT60-1 decreases from output OP1 to output OP2. The operating point of GT60-1 is determined in a way that minimizes the decrease in output. In this case, the engine control unit 120 increases the output of GT60-2 to compensate for the decrease (OP1-OP2). The decreased output is compensated by the output of GT60-2 (or another GT).

[0073] Figure 8This is a diagram illustrating the process of supplementing the output of the GT60-2. For example, when both GT60-1 and GT60-2 are outputting 50 kW, the noise level of GT60-1 is too high. In this case, the first engine control unit 122 sends a control command to GT60-1 to control the output of GT60-1 to 40 kW. GT60-1 reduces its output based on the control command. The second engine control unit 124 sends a control command to GT60-2 to control its output to 60 kW. GT60-2 increases its output based on the control command.

[0074] As described above, when the engine control unit 120 reduces the output of GT60-1, it uses GT60-2 to compensate for the output. Thus, noise is suppressed while considering fuel consumption, and the output of GT60 is maintained. When GT60-1 increases output and suppresses noise, the control is to suppress the output of GT60-2.

[0075] Here, we will explain the noise suppression from the GT60. For example, we will consider the noise from the aircraft's thrust-generating engines. Sometimes, the noise from the fan becomes harsh due to the different rotational speeds of the left and right engines. To reduce such noise, we consider implementing engine control to ensure uniform engine speed. There exists a situation where the aircraft's engines generate thrust, and even under conditions of excessive noise, it is difficult to change the engine speed, and large-scale changes in the engine's operating point are not possible.

[0076] In this embodiment, the aircraft 1 uses the GT60 for power generation, allowing for flexible adjustment of the GT60's operating point. When excessive noise is detected, the aircraft 1 controls the GT60 at an operating point that minimizes fuel consumption and reduces noise, referring to the first mapping 132 and the second mapping 134. This allows for noise suppression while considering fuel consumption. The noise in this embodiment can be either sound perceived by people outside the aircraft 1 or sound perceived by people inside the aircraft 1.

[0077] According to the implementation method described above, when the aircraft control system is presumed to meet the condition of excessive noise, it changes one or both of the speed and torque of GT60 to reduce noise compared to before the condition of excessive noise was met, thereby enabling more appropriate noise suppression. For example, it is expected that the comfort of people around and inside the aircraft 1 will be improved.

[0078] The above description illustrates specific embodiments of the present invention, but the present invention is not limited to such embodiments in any way, and various modifications and substitutions can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

Claims

1. A control system for an aircraft, wherein, The aircraft control system includes: Multiple engines are mounted on the aircraft's fuselage; Multiple generators are connected to the engine shafts of the multiple engines; An electric motor, which is driven by electricity supplied from the plurality of generators; A rotor, which is driven by a driving force output from the electric motor; and The control unit determines whether the noise level is too high based on information used to estimate the engine's noise level. Based on the condition that the engine noise is too high and the engine's fuel consumption reference, the control unit changes one or both of the engine's speed and torque to reduce noise compared to the excessive noise condition.

2. The aircraft control system according to claim 1, wherein, If the excessive noise condition is met, the control unit controls one or both of the engine speed and the torque based on the relationship between the engine speed and the magnitude of the torque and the noise level of the engine, so that the noise level of the engine falls within the noise reference range.

3. The aircraft control system according to claim 2, wherein, The control unit also controls one or both of the engine speed and the torque based on the relationship between the engine speed and the engine torque and the engine fuel consumption, so that the fuel consumption falls within the fuel consumption reference.

4. The aircraft control system according to claim 3, wherein, The control unit controls one or both of the engine speed and the magnitude of the torque by referring to a first operating map that represents the distribution of fuel consumption corresponding to the engine speed and the magnitude of the torque, and a second operating map that represents the distribution of noise corresponding to the engine speed and the magnitude of the torque.

5. The aircraft control system according to claim 3, wherein, The control unit controls the engine using an operating line that represents the optimal combination of engine speed and torque for fuel consumption, and without presuming that the excessive noise condition is met. The control unit controls the engine at an operating point that is a combination of the engine speed and the magnitude of the torque, where the engine speed is outside the operating line and the noise level is assumed to be excessive.

6. The aircraft control system according to claim 5, wherein, The operating point is the point where the engine noise level falls within a noise reference, the fuel consumption falls within a fuel consumption reference, and the engine's first output, controlled based on the operating point, meets the output reference. The output reference refers to the first output falling within a predetermined range relative to the output of the engine controlled based on the operating line.

7. The aircraft control system according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein, When the control unit controls one or both of the engine speed and the torque to reduce the noise, and the output after the control is reduced by a predetermined amount compared to the output before the control, it increases the output of other engines to compensate for the amount of output reduction.

8. The aircraft control system according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein, The aircraft control system also includes a battery that stores the electricity generated by the generator. The electric motor is driven by power output from the battery.

9. A control method for an aircraft, wherein, The aircraft possesses: Multiple engines are mounted on the aircraft's fuselage; Multiple generators are connected to the engine shafts of the multiple engines; An electric motor, which is driven by electricity supplied from the plurality of generators; and The rotor is driven by a driving force output from the electric motor. The aircraft uses a control method to cause its control device to perform the following processing: Whether the noise level is too high is determined based on information used to estimate the noise level of the engine. Based on the condition that the engine is experiencing excessive noise and the engine's fuel consumption baseline, one or both of the engine's speed and torque are changed to reduce noise compared to the excessive noise condition.

10. A storage medium storing aircraft programs, wherein, The aircraft possesses: Multiple engines are mounted on the aircraft's fuselage; Multiple generators are connected to the engine shafts of the multiple engines; An electric motor, which is driven by electricity supplied from the plurality of generators; and The rotor is driven by a driving force output from the electric motor. The aircraft is programmed to cause its control device to perform the following processing: Whether the noise level is too high is determined based on information used to estimate the noise level of the engine. Based on the condition that the engine is experiencing excessive noise and the engine's fuel consumption baseline, one or both of the engine's speed and torque are changed to reduce noise compared to the excessive noise condition.

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