An unmanned helicopter signal conversion device and unmanned helicopter

Abstract

The application discloses an unmanned helicopter flight signal conversion device and unmanned helicopter, including engine control switch signal conversion module, total distance signal conversion module, alarm signal conversion module; total distance signal conversion module is used for providing total distance signal of flight control system computer, voltage signal provided by engine electronic controller, after conversion, the conversion total distance signal output to engine electronic controller is obtained; engine control switch signal conversion module is used for according to the parking signal, ground slow signal and flight signal of flight control computer, these engine control switch signals, the parking input / flight input / ground slow input signal of electronic controller is connected with the common output end inside the electronic controller, so that the engine electronic controller output corresponding signal after connection; alarm signal conversion module converts the electric governor failure, electric governor degradation, electric governor general fault alarm signal and then outputs the flight control computer to display.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of electromechanical system design, specifically to an unmanned helicopter flight signal conversion device and an unmanned helicopter. Background Technology

[0002] With the rapid development of unmanned helicopter technology, unmanned helicopters are finding increasingly wider applications, playing a vital role in fields such as aerial photography, maritime patrol, cargo transportation, and emergency rescue. Unmanned helicopters are similar to traditional manned helicopters in aerodynamic shape, flight principles, and system composition, possessing vertical takeoff and landing and hovering capabilities. Therefore, in the design process of unmanned helicopters, many technologies already maturely applied in manned helicopters are typically adopted to increase reliability and safety, while also reducing development risks and accelerating the development process.

[0003] However, unlike manned helicopters which require a pilot, unmanned helicopters transmit various commands via a ground control station to the onboard flight control system through a data link, thus controlling the unmanned helicopter to complete various tasks. In other words, unmanned helicopters do not require pilot control. Correspondingly, there are some design differences between the two: for example, unmanned helicopters do not require a pilot-controlled flight control system with wiring harnesses, therefore they cannot be equipped with linked collective pitch position sensors to measure collective pitch signals like manned helicopters; similarly, because they do not require pilot control, unmanned helicopters do not have engine control switches and cables. When an unmanned helicopter platform is equipped with an existing off-the-shelf engine, these differences can lead to flight-engine signal mismatch problems. Solving these problems usually requires modifications to the flight control system or engine control system, adapting their hardware or software for compatibility. However, both the flight control system and the engine control system are critical systems, and modifications to either will increase design costs and development risks, and extend the project development cycle. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The purpose of this invention is to provide an unmanned helicopter flight control system and engine system signal conversion device to solve the signal compatibility problem between the flight control system and engine system.

[0005] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention employs the following technical solution:

[0006] An unmanned helicopter flight signal conversion device includes an engine control switch signal conversion module, a collective pitch signal conversion module, and an alarm signal conversion module; wherein the engine control switch signal conversion module, the collective pitch signal conversion module, and the alarm signal conversion module are installed independently and in parallel between the engine electronic controller and the helicopter flight control computer;

[0007] The collective pitch signal conversion module is used to convert the collective pitch signal U2 provided by the flight control system computer and the voltage signal U1 provided by the engine electronic controller into a converted collective pitch signal U12 output to the engine electronic controller. The collective pitch signal U12 is also sampled back by the flight control computer. The collective pitch signal conversion module is also used to calculate the collective pitch signal U2 and the reference voltage signal U1 to determine whether the module is working properly.

[0008] The engine control switch signal conversion module is used to connect the stop input / flight input / ground slow input signals of the electronic controller to the common output terminal inside the electronic controller based on the engine control switch signals such as the stop signal, ground slow signal and flight signal provided by the flight control computer, so that the engine electronic controller outputs the corresponding signal after connection;

[0009] The alarm signal conversion module is used to convert the ESC failure, ESC degradation, and general ESC fault alarm signals provided by the engine electronic controller and output them to the flight control computer for display.

[0010] Furthermore, the collective pitch signal conversion module is powered by the helicopter power supply, the engine control switch signal conversion module is powered by the helicopter flight control computer with a 28V on signal, and the alarm signal conversion module is powered by the engine electronic controller with a 3.5V low on signal.

[0011] Furthermore, the collective pitch signal conversion module is also used to calculate the collective pitch signal U2 and the reference voltage signal U1 to determine whether the module is working properly, including:

[0012] The collective pitch signal conversion module is also used to calculate the collective pitch signal U2 and the reference voltage signal U1, and to determine the magnitudes of U12 / U2 and U1 / 10. If the absolute value of the difference between the two is greater than a preset threshold, a 28V alarm display is output to the flight control system computer to indicate a module failure.

[0013] Furthermore, the reference voltage signal U1 has a value of 0 to 10V, and the preset threshold is 5%.

[0014] Furthermore, the total pitch signal conversion module includes a power conversion module, a data acquisition circuit module, a calculation and acquisition circuit module, and an output circuit module, wherein:

[0015] The power conversion module converts the helicopter's 28V power supply to the required voltage for normal operation of each circuit module. The acquisition circuit module acquires the reference voltage signal U1 provided by the engine electronic controller and the collective pitch signal U2 provided by the flight control computer. The calculation acquisition module calculates and converts the two signals according to the correspondence between the signals in the engine electronic controller 1 and the flight control computer to obtain U12. The output circuit module then outputs this U12 to the engine electronic controller as the converted collective pitch signal to participate in the engine feedforward control. The output circuit module is also used for the flight control computer to collect U12. The calculation acquisition circuit module is also used to calculate the collective pitch signal U2 and the voltage signal U1 and generate alarm information, which is output by the output circuit module.

[0016] Furthermore, the signal correspondence is U12 = a × U1 × U2 + b, where a and b are constants.

[0017] Furthermore, the engine control switch signal conversion module includes three relays, wherein:

[0018] The first relay activates upon receiving the 28V flight control signal from the flight control computer, connecting the flight input signal of the engine electronic controller to the common output terminal. The second relay activates upon receiving the 28V ground fault control signal from the flight control computer, connecting the ground fault input signal of the engine electronic controller to the common output terminal. The third relay activates upon receiving the 28V shutdown control signal from the flight control computer, connecting the shutdown input signal of the engine electronic controller to the common output terminal.

[0019] Furthermore, the three relays are mutually exclusive, and only one relay can be turned on at a time; if two or more relays are turned on at the same time, the engine electronic controller will issue an alarm.

[0020] Furthermore, the alarm signal conversion module converts the ESC failure, ESC degradation, and general ESC fault alarm signals provided by the engine electronic controller into standard "ground / on" signals, which are then output to the unmanned helicopter flight control computer for display.

[0021] An unmanned helicopter, characterized in that the unmanned helicopter employs a flight signal conversion device.

[0022] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following technical features:

[0023] This invention designs a signal conversion device that includes modules such as an engine control switch signal conversion module, a collective pitch signal conversion module, and an alarm signal conversion module. This device can convert and adapt various mismatched signals between the flight control system and the engine control system of an unmanned helicopter without requiring modifications or development of key systems such as the flight control system and the engine control system. This effectively solves the problem of flight-engine signal incompatibility, improves flight-engine matching capability, and also reduces design costs and development risks, and shortens the project development cycle. Attached Figure Description

[0024] Figure 1 This is an overall architecture diagram of the device of the present invention;

[0025] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the total pitch signal conversion module;

[0026] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the engine control switch signal conversion module. Detailed Implementation

[0027] This invention proposes a flight signal conversion device for an unmanned helicopter. The device includes an engine control switch signal conversion module 201, a collective pitch signal conversion module 200, and an alarm signal conversion module 202. These modules are independently and in parallel installed between the engine electronic controller 1 and the helicopter flight control computer 3. The collective pitch signal conversion module 200 is powered by the helicopter's power supply (28V), the engine control switch signal conversion module 201 receives a 28V on signal from the helicopter flight control computer 3, and the alarm signal conversion module 202 receives a 3.5V low-voltage on signal from the engine electronic controller 1.

[0028] The collective pitch signal conversion module 200 is used to convert the collective pitch signal U2 provided by the flight control system computer 3 and the voltage signal U1 provided by the engine electronic controller 1 into a converted collective pitch signal U12 output to the engine electronic controller 1. This collective pitch signal U12 is also sampled back by the flight control computer 3. The collective pitch signal conversion module 200 is also used to calculate the collective pitch signal U2 and the reference voltage signal U1 (0~10V) and determine the magnitudes of U12 / U2 and U1 / 10. If the absolute value of the difference between the two is greater than 5%, an alarm is output to the flight control system computer 3. Under normal circumstances, within the range of considering accuracy error, the values ​​of U12 / U2 and U1 / 10 should be close. If the difference between the two exceeds the threshold of 5%, it indicates that the collective pitch signal conversion module 200 is faulty. At this time, a 28V open alarm signal is sent out to indicate that the module is faulty.

[0029] The engine control switch signal conversion module 201 is used to connect the stop input / flight input / ground slow input signals of the electronic controller 1 to the common output terminal inside the electronic controller 1 according to the engine control switch signals such as stop signal, ground slow signal and flight signal provided by the flight control computer 3, so that the engine electronic controller 1 outputs the corresponding connected signal.

[0030] The alarm signal conversion module 202 is used to convert alarm signals such as ESC failure, ESC degradation, and general ESC fault provided by the engine electronic controller 1 and output them to the flight control computer 3 for display. This effectively solves the problem of incompatibility between flight and engine signals, improves flight and engine matching capability, and can also reduce design costs and development risks, and shorten the project development cycle.

[0031] Figure 1 The diagram shown is a schematic representation of an embodiment of the present invention. It mainly consists of multiple independent circuit modules, such as a collective pitch signal conversion module 200, an engine control switch signal conversion module 201, and an alarm signal conversion module 202.

[0032] The collective pitch signal conversion module 200 comprises sub-modules such as a power conversion module, a data acquisition circuit module, a calculation and acquisition circuit module, and an output circuit module. The power conversion module converts the helicopter's 28V power supply to the voltage required for the normal operation of each circuit module. The data acquisition circuit module acquires the reference voltage signal U1 provided by the engine electronic controller 1 and the collective pitch signal U2 provided by the flight control computer. The calculation and acquisition module (e.g., a microcontroller) calculates and converts these signals according to the correspondence between the signals in the engine electronic controller 1 and the flight control computer 3 (e.g., U12 = a × U1 × U2 + b, where a and b are constants) to obtain U12. The output circuit module then outputs this converted collective pitch signal to the engine electronic controller as part of the engine feedforward control. Figure 2 As shown; the output circuit module is also used for the flight control computer 3 to collect data from U12; the calculation and acquisition circuit module is also used to calculate the collective pitch signal U2 and the voltage signal U1 and generate alarm information which is output by the output circuit module.

[0033] The engine control switch signal conversion module 201 mainly consists of three high-performance relays and cables. The first relay activates upon receiving a 28V flight control signal from the flight control computer, connecting the flight input signal of the engine electronic controller 1 to the common output terminal. The second relay activates upon receiving a 28V ground control signal from the flight control computer, connecting the ground control input signal of the engine electronic controller 1 to the common output terminal. The third relay activates upon receiving a 28V stop control signal from the flight control computer, connecting the stop input signal of the engine electronic controller 1 to the common output terminal. These three relays are mutually exclusive; only one relay can be activated at a time. If two or more relays are activated simultaneously, the engine electronic controller 1 will issue an alarm. Upon receiving engine control switch signals (stop, ground control, or flight) from the unmanned helicopter flight control system, the engine control switch signal conversion module 201 triggers the relays to activate, connecting the stop, ground control, or flight terminal within the engine control system to the common output terminal, thereby controlling the engine to stop, operate to ground control, or operate to flight state. This is equivalent to the function of the engine control switch on a manned helicopter. Figure 3 As shown.

[0034] The alarm signal conversion module 202 can convert alarm signals such as ESC failure, ESC degradation, and general ESC failure provided by the engine electronic controller 1 into standard "ground / on" signals and output them to the unmanned helicopter flight control computer 3 for display.

[0035] The above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of this application, and are not intended to limit them. Although this application has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that modifications can still be made to the technical solutions described in the foregoing embodiments, or equivalent substitutions can be made to some of the technical features. Such modifications or substitutions do not cause the essence of the corresponding technical solutions to deviate from the spirit and scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application, and should all be included within the protection scope of this application.

Claims

1. A signal conversion device for unmanned helicopter flight, characterized in that, It includes an engine control switch signal conversion module (201), a collective pitch signal conversion module (200), and an alarm signal conversion module (202); wherein the engine control switch signal conversion module (201), the collective pitch signal conversion module (200), and the alarm signal conversion module (202) are installed independently and in parallel between the engine electronic controller (1) and the helicopter flight control computer (3); The collective pitch signal conversion module (200) is used to convert the collective pitch signal U2 provided by the flight control computer (3) and the voltage signal U1 provided by the engine electronic controller (1) into a converted collective pitch signal U12 output to the engine electronic controller (1). The collective pitch signal U12 is also sampled back by the flight control computer (3). The collective pitch signal conversion module (200) is also used to calculate the collective pitch signal U2 and the reference voltage signal U1 to determine whether the module is working properly. The engine control switch signal conversion module (201) is used to connect the stop input / flight input / ground slow input signals of the electronic controller (1) to the common output terminal inside the electronic controller (1) according to the engine control switch signals such as the stop signal, ground slow signal and flight signal provided by the flight control computer (3), so that the engine electronic controller (1) outputs the corresponding signal after connection; The alarm signal conversion module (202) is used to convert the ESC failure, ESC degradation and general ESC fault alarm signals provided by the engine electronic controller (1) and output them to the flight control computer (3) for display.

2. The unmanned helicopter flight signal conversion device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The collective pitch signal conversion module (200) is powered by the helicopter power supply, the engine control switch signal conversion module (201) is powered by the helicopter flight control computer (3) with a 28V open signal, and the alarm signal conversion module (202) is powered by the engine electronic controller (1) with a 3.5V low open signal.

3. The unmanned helicopter flight signal conversion device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The total pitch signal conversion module (200) is also used to calculate the total pitch signal U2 and the reference voltage signal U1 to determine whether the module is working properly, including: The collective pitch signal conversion module (200) is also used to calculate the collective pitch signal U2 and the reference voltage signal U1, and to determine the magnitudes of U12 / U2 and U1 / 10. If the absolute value of the difference between the two is greater than the preset threshold, a 28V alarm display is output to the flight control computer (3) to indicate that the module is faulty.

4. The unmanned helicopter flight signal conversion device according to claim 3, characterized in that, The reference voltage signal U1 has a value of 0 to 10V, and the preset threshold is 5%.

5. The unmanned helicopter flight signal conversion device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The total pitch signal conversion module (200) includes a power conversion module, a data acquisition circuit module, a calculation and data acquisition circuit module, and an output circuit module, wherein: The power conversion module is used to convert the helicopter's 28V power supply into the power supply voltage required for the normal operation of each circuit module; the acquisition circuit module is used to acquire the reference voltage signal U1 provided by the engine electronic controller (1) and the collective pitch signal U2 provided by the flight control computer. The calculation acquisition module calculates and converts the two according to the correspondence between the signals in the engine electronic controller (1) and the flight control computer (3) to obtain U12. Then, the output circuit module outputs it to the engine electronic controller as the converted collective pitch signal to participate in the engine feedforward control; the output circuit module is also used for the flight control computer (3) to collect back U12; the calculation acquisition circuit module is also used to calculate the collective pitch signal U2 and the voltage signal U1 and generate alarm information which is output by the output circuit module.

6. The unmanned helicopter flight signal conversion device according to claim 5, characterized in that, The signal correspondence is U12 = a × U1 × U2 + b, where a and b are constants.

7. The unmanned helicopter flight signal conversion device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The engine control switch signal conversion module (201) includes three relays, wherein: The first relay activates after receiving the 28V flight control signal from the flight control computer, connecting the flight input signal of the engine electronic controller (1) to the common output terminal; the second relay activates after receiving the 28V ground control signal from the flight control computer, connecting the ground input signal of the engine electronic controller (1) to the common output terminal; the third relay activates after receiving the 28V shutdown control signal from the flight control computer, connecting the shutdown input signal of the engine electronic controller (1) to the common output terminal.

8. The unmanned helicopter flight signal conversion device according to claim 7, characterized in that, The three relays are mutually exclusive, and only one relay can be turned on at the same time; when two or more relays are turned on at the same time, the engine electronic controller (1) will issue an alarm.

9. The unmanned helicopter flight signal conversion device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The alarm signal conversion module (202) converts the ESC failure, ESC degradation, and general ESC fault alarm signals provided by the engine electronic controller (1) into standard "ground / on" signals and outputs them to the unmanned helicopter flight control computer (3) for display.

10. An unmanned helicopter, characterized in that, The unmanned helicopter adopts the unmanned helicopter flight signal conversion device according to any one of claims 1-9.

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