Flight control device, aircraft control method, and vertical take-off and landing aircraft

Abstract

The present application discloses a flight control device, an aircraft control method, and a vertical take-off and landing aircraft, and relates to the field of aircraft control technology. The flight control device includes: a processor; a first joystick, configured to receive control information input by a pilot; a second joystick, configured to receive control information input by a pilot; the processor is configured to use a signal corresponding to the control information received from the first joystick and / or the second joystick, and in combination with a preset control mapping relationship, generate a vector control instruction, and control the aircraft to perform vector motion according to the vector control instruction. When the vector control instruction is an aircraft heading control instruction, the aircraft is controlled to perform yaw motion at least through tilt angle differential control and / or rotor speed differential control and / or elevator rudder deflection. Through the above scheme, the present application can effectively reduce the complexity of aircraft control, thereby reducing the operating burden of the pilot.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of aircraft control technology, and in particular to a flight control device, an aircraft control method, and a vertical take-off and landing aircraft. Background Art

[0002] In order to solve urban traffic problems, develop green transportation, achieve energy conservation and emission reduction, and alleviate traffic congestion, the use of eVTOL (electric Vertical Take-off and Landing) aircraft has become one of the options for the next generation of urban transportation solutions.

[0003] Tilt-rotor eVTOL aircraft need to realize rotor, fixed wing and the transition stage between the two at the same time. For traditional aircraft, the design of control equipment for fixed wing and rotor is different, so the control methods for fixed wing and rotor are different. In order to realize the control of eVTOL aircraft, pilots need to master two different control methods at the same time and make cognitive conversions according to the configuration of the aircraft, which increases the operating burden of pilots and raises the driving threshold of eVTOL aircraft.

[0004] The above contents are only used to assist in understanding the technical solution of the present application and do not constitute an admission that the above contents are prior art. Summary of the invention

[0005] The main purpose of this application is to provide a flight control device, an aircraft control method and a vertical take-off and landing aircraft, aiming to solve the technical problems that the control method of the existing eVTOL aircraft control equipment has high control complexity and heavy operating burden on the pilot.

[0006] To achieve the above objectives, the present application proposes a flight control device, comprising:

[0007] processor;

[0008] A first joystick, coupled to the processor for communication, the first joystick being configured to receive control information input by the pilot and provide corresponding signals to the processor;

[0009] A second joystick, coupled to the processor for communication, the second joystick being configured to receive control information input by the pilot and provide corresponding signals to the processor;

[0010] The processor is configured to use the signal corresponding to the manipulation information received from the first joystick and / or the second joystick, and in combination with a preset manipulation mapping relationship, generate a vector control instruction mapped to the manipulation information, and control the aircraft to perform vector motion according to the vector control instruction;

[0011] Among them, when the vector control instruction is an aircraft heading control instruction, the processor is configured to control the aircraft to perform yaw movement according to the aircraft heading control instruction, at least through tilt angle differential control and / or rotor speed differential control and / or elevator rudder deflection.

[0012] In one embodiment, the first joystick and the second joystick are configured as two-axis joysticks that can swing in the horizontal and vertical directions, and the manipulation information includes a first manipulation displacement and a second manipulation displacement, wherein the first manipulation displacement refers to the manipulation displacement of the first joystick in the horizontal and / or vertical directions, and the second manipulation displacement refers to the manipulation displacement of the second joystick in the horizontal and / or vertical directions.

[0013] In one embodiment, the first joystick is configured as a two-axis joystick that can swing in the horizontal and vertical directions, the second joystick is configured as a single-axis joystick that can swing in the vertical direction, and a control switch is provided on the second joystick. The control information includes a first control displacement, a second control displacement and control switch control information, wherein the first control displacement refers to the control displacement of the first joystick in the horizontal and / or vertical directions, and the second control displacement refers to the control displacement of the second joystick in the vertical direction, wherein, according to the preset control mapping relationship, the vector control instruction corresponding to the control switch control information is the heading control instruction of the aircraft.

[0014] In one embodiment, the first joystick or the second joystick includes a tilt switch, and the manipulation information includes a tilt enable signal corresponding to the tilt switch;

[0015] The processor is further configured to allow the tilt rotor to be manipulated to tilt when receiving the tilt enable signal sent by the tilt switch.

[0016] In one embodiment, the first joystick or the second joystick includes a tilt switch, and the manipulation information includes forward tilt control information and backward tilt control information corresponding to the tilt switch;

[0017] The processor is also configured to control the aircraft to transition from the rotor configuration to the fixed-wing configuration when forward tilt control information is received; and to control the aircraft to transition from the fixed-wing configuration to the rotor configuration when backward tilt control information is received.

[0018] In one embodiment, the first joystick or the second joystick is provided with a shift gear at a preset manipulation displacement threshold in the longitudinal direction, and the manipulation information includes shift gear information, wherein the shift gear information includes forward shift gear information and backward shift gear information;

[0019] When the aircraft is in a rotary-wing configuration, the processor is further configured to control the aircraft to transition to a fixed-wing configuration using a signal corresponding to the forward shift gear information received from the first joystick or the second joystick;

[0020] When the aircraft is in the fixed-wing configuration, the processor is further configured to control the aircraft to transition to the rotor configuration using a signal corresponding to the backward shift gear information received from the first joystick or the second joystick.

[0021] In one embodiment, a ground mode switch is provided on the first joystick and / or the second joystick, and the manipulation information includes ground mode control information;

[0022] When the aircraft is in the ground phase, the processor is further configured to control the aircraft to switch to the ground control mode using ground mode control information received from the first joystick and / or the second joystick;

[0023] When the aircraft is in ground control mode, the processor is also configured to use the control information received from the first joystick or the second joystick, and in combination with a preset control mapping relationship, generate vector control instructions mapped to the control information, and control the aircraft to perform ground acceleration, deceleration and turning movements according to the vector control instructions.

[0024] In one embodiment, when the vector control instruction is an aircraft heading control instruction, the processor is further configured to, when the aircraft is in a rotor configuration, manipulate the aircraft to perform yaw motion according to the aircraft heading control instruction through tilt angle differential control and / or rotor speed differential control; and / or

[0025] When the aircraft is in the transition configuration, according to the aircraft heading control instruction, the aircraft is manipulated to perform yaw motion by rotor speed differential control and / or elevator rudder deflection; and / or

[0026] When the aircraft is a fixed-wing configuration, the aircraft is manipulated to perform yaw motion by deflecting the elevator rudder according to the aircraft heading control instruction; and / or

[0027] When the aircraft is in the ground control mode, the turning direction of the aircraft is controlled by differential power control and / or differential braking according to the aircraft heading control instruction, and the aircraft is manipulated to perform ground turning movement.

[0028] In addition, to achieve the above-mentioned purpose, the present application also proposes an aircraft control method, the method is applied to a flight control device, the flight control device includes a first joystick and a second joystick, the method includes:

[0029] receiving first manipulation information from a pilot through the first manipulation stick, and receiving second manipulation information from the pilot through the second manipulation stick;

[0030] generating a first vector control instruction mapped with the first manipulation information according to the first manipulation information received by the first manipulation lever and a preset manipulation mapping relationship;

[0031] generating a second vector control instruction mapped with the second manipulation information according to the second manipulation information received by the second manipulation stick and a preset manipulation mapping relationship;

[0032] Controlling the aircraft to perform vector motion according to the first vector control instruction and / or the second vector control instruction;

[0033] When the second vector control instruction is an aircraft heading control instruction, the aircraft is manipulated to perform yaw motion according to the aircraft heading control instruction at least through tilt angle differential control and / or rotor speed differential control and / or elevator rudder deflection.

[0034] In one embodiment, the first joystick is configured as a two-axis joystick that can swing in the lateral and longitudinal directions, the first vector control instruction includes an aircraft lateral control instruction and an aircraft elevation control instruction, the first manipulation information includes a third manipulation displacement and a fourth manipulation displacement, and the step of generating a first vector control instruction mapped with the first manipulation information according to the first manipulation information received by the first joystick and a preset manipulation mapping relationship includes:

[0035] Determining, according to the preset control mapping relationship, that the vector control channel of the aircraft corresponding to the third control displacement is a lateral channel, and generating an aircraft lateral control instruction mapped to the lateral channel, wherein the third control displacement refers to the lateral control displacement of the first joystick;

[0036] According to the preset control mapping relationship, it is determined that the vector control channel of the aircraft corresponding to the fourth control displacement is the elevator channel, and an aircraft elevator control instruction mapped to the elevator channel is generated, wherein the fourth control displacement refers to the control displacement of the first joystick in the longitudinal direction.

[0037] In one embodiment, the second joystick is configured as a two-axis joystick that can swing in the lateral and longitudinal directions, the second vector control instruction includes an aircraft longitudinal control instruction and an aircraft heading control instruction, the second manipulation information includes a fifth manipulation displacement and a sixth manipulation displacement, and the step of generating a second vector control instruction mapped with the second manipulation information according to the second manipulation information received by the second joystick and a preset manipulation mapping relationship includes:

[0038] Determining, according to the preset control mapping relationship, that the vector control channel of the aircraft corresponding to the fifth control displacement is a longitudinal channel, and generating a longitudinal control instruction of the aircraft mapped to the longitudinal channel, wherein the fifth control displacement refers to the control displacement of the second joystick in the longitudinal direction;

[0039] According to the preset control mapping relationship, the vector control channel of the aircraft corresponding to the sixth control displacement is determined as the heading channel, and an aircraft heading control instruction mapped to the heading channel is generated, wherein the sixth control displacement refers to the lateral control displacement of the second joystick.

[0040] In one embodiment, the second joystick is configured as a single-axis joystick that can swing in the longitudinal direction, a control switch is provided on the second joystick, the second vector control instruction includes an aircraft longitudinal control instruction and an aircraft heading control instruction, the second control information includes a seventh control displacement and control switch control information, and the step of generating a second vector control instruction mapped with the second control information according to the second control information received by the second joystick and a preset control mapping relationship includes:

[0041] Determining, according to the preset control mapping relationship, that the vector control channel of the aircraft corresponding to the seventh control displacement is a longitudinal channel, and generating a longitudinal control instruction of the aircraft mapped to the longitudinal channel, wherein the seventh control displacement refers to the control displacement of the second joystick in the longitudinal direction;

[0042] According to the preset manipulation mapping relationship, the vector control channel of the aircraft corresponding to the manipulation switch control information is determined as the heading channel, and an aircraft heading control instruction mapped to the heading channel is generated.

[0043] In one embodiment, the vector motion includes the ascending and descending, longitudinal, lateral, and heading motion of the aircraft, and the step of controlling the aircraft to perform vector motion according to the first vector control instruction and / or the second vector control instruction includes:

[0044] When the aircraft is in a rotor configuration and the horizontal rate command mode is activated, and when a lateral control command of the aircraft is received, the lateral control command of the aircraft is solved by a preset flight control law to obtain a corresponding lateral speed command, and according to the lateral speed command, the aircraft is controlled to move laterally by a rotor speed differential; and / or

[0045] When the aircraft is in a rotor configuration and the horizontal rate command mode is activated, and when a longitudinal control command of the aircraft is received, the longitudinal control command of the aircraft is solved by a preset flight control law to obtain a corresponding longitudinal speed command, and based on the longitudinal speed command, the aircraft is controlled to perform longitudinal movement through rotor speed differential control and / or tilt angle control.

[0046] In one embodiment, the step of controlling the aircraft to perform vector motion according to the first vector control instruction and / or the second vector control instruction further includes:

[0047] When the aircraft is in the transition configuration and receives the aircraft elevation control instruction, the aircraft elevation control instruction is solved by a preset flight control law to obtain a corresponding vertical speed instruction, and according to the vertical speed instruction, the aircraft is manipulated to perform pitch motion by elevator rudder deflection and / or rotor speed control; and / or

[0048] When the aircraft is of a fixed-wing configuration and receives an aircraft lift control instruction, the aircraft lift control instruction is solved by a preset flight control law to obtain a corresponding vertical speed instruction or a pitch angle rate instruction, and according to the vertical speed instruction or the pitch angle rate instruction, the aircraft is manipulated to perform pitch movement by deflecting the elevator rudder.

[0049] In one embodiment, the step of controlling the aircraft to perform vector motion according to the first vector control instruction and / or the second vector control instruction further includes:

[0050] When the aircraft is in a rotor configuration and a heading control instruction of the aircraft is received, the heading control instruction of the aircraft is solved by a preset flight control law to obtain a corresponding yaw rate instruction, and according to the yaw rate instruction, the aircraft is controlled to perform yaw motion through tilt angle differential control and / or rotor speed differential control; and / or

[0051] When the aircraft is in a transition configuration and a heading control instruction of the aircraft is received, the heading control instruction of the aircraft is solved by a preset flight control law to obtain a corresponding yaw rate instruction, and according to the yaw rate instruction, the aircraft is manipulated to perform yaw motion by rotor speed differential control and / or elevator rudder deflection; and / or

[0052] When the aircraft is in a fixed-wing configuration and receives a heading control instruction of the aircraft, the heading control instruction of the aircraft is solved by a preset flight control law to obtain a corresponding yaw angle rate instruction, and according to the yaw angle rate instruction, the aircraft is manipulated to perform yaw motion by deflecting the elevator rudder.

[0053] In one embodiment, the step of controlling the aircraft to perform vector motion according to the first vector control instruction and / or the second vector control instruction further includes:

[0054] When the aircraft is in the ground control mode and receives the longitudinal control instruction of the aircraft, the longitudinal control instruction of the aircraft is solved according to the preset flight control law to obtain the corresponding ground speed control instruction, and the speed of the aircraft is controlled according to the ground speed control instruction to manipulate the aircraft to perform ground acceleration and deceleration movement; and / or

[0055] When the aircraft is in ground control mode and receives a heading control instruction of the aircraft, the heading control instruction of the aircraft is solved according to a preset flight control law to obtain a corresponding ground direction control instruction, and according to the ground direction control instruction, the turning direction of the aircraft is controlled through differential power control and / or differential braking to manipulate the aircraft to perform ground turning movement.

[0056] In one embodiment, the first joystick or the second joystick comprises a tilt switch, and the method further comprises:

[0057] receiving tilt switch control information according to the flight control device, wherein the tilt switch control information includes forward tilt control information and backward tilt control information;

[0058] When the aircraft is in a rotor configuration and receives the forward tilt control information, controlling the aircraft to transition to a fixed-wing configuration;

[0059] When the aircraft is in a fixed-wing configuration and receives the backward tilt control information, the aircraft is controlled to transition to a rotor configuration.

[0060] In one embodiment, the first joystick or the second joystick is provided with a shift position at a preset manipulation displacement threshold in the longitudinal direction, and the method further comprises:

[0061] Receiving gear switching information through the flight control device, wherein the gear switching information includes forward gear switching information and backward gear switching information;

[0062] When the aircraft is in a rotor configuration and receives the forward gear switching information, controlling the aircraft to transition to the fixed-wing configuration;

[0063] When the aircraft is in a fixed-wing configuration and receives the backward gear switching information, the aircraft is controlled to transition to the rotor configuration.

[0064] In addition, to achieve the above objectives, the present application also proposes a vertical take-off and landing aircraft, which includes the flight control device as described above.

[0065] One or more technical solutions proposed in this application have at least the following technical effects:

[0066] The flight control device, aircraft control method and vertical take-off and landing aircraft proposed in the embodiments of the present application specifically receive the control information input by the pilot through the first joystick in the flight control device, and provide a corresponding signal to the processor; the second joystick receives the control information input by the pilot and provides a corresponding signal to the processor; the processor uses the signal corresponding to the control information received from the first joystick and / or the second joystick, and combines with the preset control mapping relationship to generate a vector control instruction mapped to the control information, and controls the aircraft to perform vector motion according to the vector control instruction; wherein, when the vector control instruction is an aircraft heading control instruction, the processor is configured to control the aircraft to perform yaw motion according to the aircraft heading control instruction, at least through tilt angle differential control and / or rotor speed differential control and / or elevator rudder deflection.

[0067] In the above scheme, the flight control device receives the pilot's control information through the first joystick and the second joystick, and then generates a vector control instruction mapped with the control information through the processor according to the pilot's control information and a preset control mapping relationship, and controls the aircraft to perform vector movement according to the vector control instruction, so as to realize simple control only through the first joystick and the second joystick, so that the aircraft can realize corresponding vector flight, thereby simplifying the control method of the aircraft, and reducing the skills that the pilot must have to safely control the aircraft through flight control automation technology, so that the pilot can focus on aviation decisions rather than skill decisions during the driving process, which can effectively reduce the complexity of aircraft control and lower the driving threshold of the aircraft, and at the same time reduce the operating burden of the pilot. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0068] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments consistent with the present application and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the present application.

[0069] In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present application or the technical solutions in the prior art, the drawings required for use in the embodiments or the description of the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, for ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without paying any creative labor.

[0070] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a flow chart provided for the first embodiment of the aircraft control method of the present application;

[0071] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of a flow chart provided for the second embodiment of the aircraft control method of the present application;

[0072] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of a flow chart provided for the third embodiment of the aircraft control method of the present application;

[0073] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of a flow chart provided for the fourth embodiment of the aircraft control method of the present application;

[0074] Figure 5 A schematic diagram of a flow chart provided for the fifth embodiment of the aircraft control method of the present application;

[0075] Figure 6 A flowchart diagram of the seventh embodiment of the aircraft control method of the present application is provided;

[0076] Figure 7 (a) is an exemplary diagram of a first joystick in a flight control device involved in Embodiment 1 of the present application;

[0077] Figure 7 (b) is an exemplary diagram of a second joystick in a flight control device involved in Embodiment 1 of the present application;

[0078] Figure 8 A simplified schematic diagram of the vector motion of the aircraft involved in the first embodiment of the present application;

[0079] Fig. 9 This is an aircraft example diagram of a rotor configuration of an evTOL aircraft involved in Example 2 of the present application;

[0080] Fig.10 This is an example diagram of a fixed-wing configuration of an evTOL aircraft involved in Example 2 of the present application;

[0081] Fig.11 This is an example diagram of the change of the rotor tilt angle of the aircraft involved in the second embodiment of the present application during the flight;

[0082] Fig.12 (a) is an example diagram of the tilt angle of the lower rotor of the fixed-wing aircraft during forward flight according to the fourth embodiment of the present application;

[0083] Fig.12 (b) is an example diagram of the rotor tilt angle during the tilt phase of the aircraft involved in Example 4 of the present application;

[0084] Fig.12 (c) is an example diagram of the rotor tilt angle of the aircraft rotor stage involved in the fourth embodiment of the present application;

[0085] Fig.13This is an example diagram of a fixed-wing configuration of an evTOL aircraft involved in an embodiment of the present application;

[0086] Fig.14 This is an example diagram of a flight control device in a cockpit of an evTOL aircraft involved in an embodiment of the present application.

[0087] The purpose, features and advantages of this application will be further described in conjunction with the embodiments and with reference to the accompanying drawings. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0088] It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are only used to explain the technical solutions of the present application and are not used to limit the present application.

[0089] In order to better understand the technical solution of the present application, a detailed description will be given below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and specific implementation methods.

[0090] It should be noted that the embodiment of the present application is applied to a vertical take-off and landing aircraft. The aircraft configuration of the vertical take-off and landing aircraft is as shown in FIG. Fig.13 , including fixed rotors, tilt rotors, and elevator rudders. The elevator rudder is a control surface on the V-tail of a V-tail aircraft. It combines the functions of the elevator and rudder and is mainly used to control the pitch and yaw of the aircraft. It should be noted that the number and position of the fixed rotors and tilt rotors in the aircraft are not specifically limited in this application. The number of fixed rotors can be 0, and the position of the elevator rudder is not specifically limited.

[0091] The main solution of an embodiment of the present application is: a flight control device, comprising: a processor; a first joystick, communicatively coupled to the processor, the first joystick being configured to receive control information input by the pilot and provide corresponding signals to the processor; a second joystick, communicatively coupled to the processor, the second joystick being configured to receive control information input by the pilot and provide corresponding signals to the processor; wherein the processor is configured to use a signal corresponding to the control information received from the first joystick and / or the second joystick, and in combination with a preset control mapping relationship, generate a vector control instruction mapped to the control information, and control the aircraft to perform vector motion according to the vector control instruction; wherein, when the vector control instruction is an aircraft heading control instruction, the processor is configured to control the aircraft to perform yaw motion according to the aircraft heading control instruction, at least through tilt angle differential control and / or rotor speed differential control and / or elevator rudder deflection.

[0092] Technical terms involved in the embodiments of this application:

[0093] eVTOL (electric Vertical Take-off and Landing): eVTOL is usually used to refer to novel and uniquely designed aircraft that use energy storage batteries, motors and propellers for propulsion and have the ability to take off and land vertically. eVTOL uses a multi-battery, multi-motor driven multi-rotor design with safety redundancy. Even if some of the rotors of the eVTOL fail, it can still land normally, and its safety is greatly improved compared to traditional helicopters. At the same time, eVTOL is powered by electricity, and the cost of electricity is much lower than the cost of fuel, and the flight speed of eVTOL is fast, so its operating cost is relatively low. eVTOL can usually be used in scenarios such as urban air traffic, emergency medical services, freight logistics, and sightseeing tourism.

[0094] Tilt-rotor eVTOL aircraft need to realize rotor, fixed wing and the transition stage between the two at the same time. For traditional aircraft, the design methods of control equipment for fixed wing and rotor are different. For example, the throttle lever of a multi-rotor aircraft (or the collective pitch lever of a helicopter) is used to control the lifting and lowering movement of the aircraft, while the throttle lever of a fixed-wing aircraft is used to control the forward acceleration and deceleration movement of the aircraft. If the traditional control concept is adopted, the pilot needs to master two different control methods at the same time and make cognitive conversions according to the configuration of the aircraft, which increases the pilot's operating burden and raises the driving threshold of the eVTOL aircraft.

[0095] Therefore, if the eVTOL aircraft adopts the existing control method, there will be technical problems such as high control complexity and heavy operating burden on the pilot.

[0096] The present application provides a solution, in which a flight control device receives the pilot's control information through a first joystick and a second joystick, and then generates a vector control instruction mapped with the control information through a processor according to the pilot's control information and a preset control mapping relationship, and controls the aircraft to perform vector movement according to the vector control instruction, so as to achieve simple control only through the first joystick and the second joystick, so that the aircraft can achieve corresponding vector flight, thereby simplifying the control method of the aircraft, and reducing the skills that the pilot must have to safely control the aircraft through flight control automation technology, so that the pilot can focus on aviation decisions rather than skill decisions during the driving process, which can effectively reduce the complexity of aircraft control and the driving threshold of the aircraft, and at the same time reduce the operating burden of the pilot.

[0097] It should be noted that the execution subject of this embodiment can be a computing service device with data processing, network communication and program running functions, such as a personal computer, a flight control computer, an avionics computer, a server and an embedded computing device, or a flight control device that can realize the above functions. For certain specific needs in the process of controlling the flight, the execution subject can also be a high-performance data processing device or industrial control equipment to ensure that it can support all the functions and requirements of this application. The following takes the flight control device as an example to illustrate this embodiment and the following embodiments.

[0098] First, a flight control device is provided in an embodiment of the present application, comprising: a processor; a first joystick, communicatively coupled to the processor, the first joystick being configured to receive control information input by a pilot and to provide a corresponding signal to the processor; a second joystick, communicatively coupled to the processor, the second joystick being configured to receive control information input by a pilot and to provide a corresponding signal to the processor; wherein the processor is configured to use a signal corresponding to the control information received from the first joystick and / or the second joystick, and in combination with a preset control mapping relationship, generate a vector control instruction mapped to the control information, and control the aircraft to perform vector motion according to the vector control instruction; wherein, when the vector control instruction is an aircraft heading control instruction, the processor is configured to control the aircraft to perform yaw motion according to the aircraft heading control instruction, at least through tilt angle differential control and / or rotor speed differential control and / or elevator rudder deflection.

[0099] It should be noted that in order to further simplify the aircraft's control method and achieve a lightweight design of the eVTOL aircraft's flight control device, the above-mentioned flight control device will abandon the pedals, turning hand wheels, brake handles and other control components of traditional aircraft, and highly integrate the functions of the aircraft's yaw control commands and ground control commands into the joystick, effectively simplifying the number of joysticks in the eVTOL aircraft's cockpit, reducing the difficulty of pilot training, and also effectively saving cockpit space.

[0100] Reference Fig.14 , Fig.14 A schematic diagram showing the location of flight controls in the cockpit of an eVTOL aircraft. Fig.14 In the present application, the first joystick is the left joystick, the second joystick is the right joystick, and the first joystick and the second joystick are arranged on the same driver's seat (pilot seat) and on both sides of the front display screen in the cockpit of the eVTOL aircraft. It should be noted that in the present application, the first joystick may also be the right joystick, and the second joystick may be the left joystick. The position of the flight control device is not specifically limited in the present application.

[0101] Based on the flight control device proposed above, the present application proposes an aircraft control method, the method is applied to the flight control device, the flight control device includes a first joystick and a second joystick, Figure 1 , Figure 1 This is a flow chart of the first embodiment of the aircraft control method of the present application.

[0102] In this embodiment, the method is applied to a flight control device, the flight control device includes a first joystick and a second joystick, and the aircraft control method includes steps S110 to S150:

[0103] Step S110, receiving first manipulation information of the pilot through the first manipulation stick, and receiving second manipulation information of the pilot through the second manipulation stick;

[0104] It should be noted that the joystick is used to receive the pilot's control information and convert the control information into instructions recognizable by the flight control device, thereby controlling the attitude, position and trajectory of the aircraft.

[0105] For example, the pilot can change the joystick's attitude, position or direction to cause the joystick to output a signal, which is then converted into a corresponding control instruction by the processor.

[0106] First, the flight control device synchronously receives the pilot's control information through the first joystick and the second joystick. The control information refers to the motion information and related signal change information generated by the pilot operating the joystick, such as displacement information, rotation angle, attitude information, switch state signal, etc. The first control information refers to the pilot's control information received through the first joystick, and the second control information refers to the pilot's control information received through the second joystick.

[0107] Step S120, generating a first vector control instruction mapped with the first manipulation information according to the first manipulation information received by the first manipulation stick and a preset manipulation mapping relationship;

[0108] Step S130, generating a second vector control instruction mapped with the second manipulation information according to the second manipulation information received by the second manipulation stick and a preset manipulation mapping relationship;

[0109] It should be noted that the preset control mapping relationship refers to the control mapping relationship between the movement and state changes of the first joystick and the second joystick, and the vector movement of the aircraft. This mapping relationship is pre-set by relevant developers based on the actual flight needs and control requirements of the aircraft.

[0110] Specifically, the aircraft control system maps the first control information received by the first joystick and the second control information received by the second joystick, and generates a first vector control instruction corresponding to the first control information and a second vector control instruction corresponding to the second control information in combination with the control mapping relationship between the movement and state change of the joystick set in advance and the vector motion of the aircraft. For example, the control instructions for different vector motions of the aircraft are mapped and generated through the displacement information of the first joystick and the second joystick in different directions, so that the subsequent flight control device automatically performs flight control according to the vector control instructions, thereby greatly reducing the operating burden of the pilot.

[0111] In a first feasible implementation, in the flight control device, the first joystick and the second joystick are configured as two-axis joysticks that can swing in the horizontal and vertical directions. In this application, swinging the joystick refers to swinging at a joystick fixed point, or reciprocating around a certain axis within a certain angle range. It should be noted that the joystick in this application can have an automatic return to center function, that is, the joystick can automatically return to the initial center position without external input or operation.

[0112] Among them, the first manipulation information received by the first joystick includes the manipulation displacement of the first joystick in the lateral and / or longitudinal directions; the second manipulation information received by the second joystick includes the manipulation displacement of the second joystick in the lateral and / or longitudinal directions. It should be understood that both the first joystick and the second joystick can receive the displacement of the pilot in the lateral and longitudinal directions to achieve compound control of the joystick; or receive the displacement of each joystick in the lateral or longitudinal directions to achieve decoupling manipulation of the joystick in the lateral or longitudinal directions, thereby achieving independent control of each joystick. It should be noted that the manipulation displacement in this application may refer to the linear displacement of the top point of the joystick in the lateral and longitudinal directions due to the swinging motion of the joystick, or the angular displacement caused by the angle change of the top point of the joystick relative to the fixed point of the joystick, or the angular displacement caused by the angle change of the top point of the joystick relative to the axis of the joystick.

[0113] Based on the above-mentioned flight control device, the first vector control instruction includes an aircraft lateral control instruction and an aircraft elevation control instruction, the first control information includes a third control displacement and a fourth control displacement, and the step 120 may include steps A01-A02:

[0114] Step A01, determining, according to the preset control mapping relationship, that the vector control channel of the aircraft corresponding to the third control displacement is a lateral channel, and generating an aircraft lateral control instruction mapped to the lateral channel, wherein the third control displacement refers to the lateral control displacement of the first joystick;

[0115] Step A02, determining, according to the preset control mapping relationship, that the vector control channel of the aircraft corresponding to the fourth control displacement is the elevator channel, and generating an aircraft elevator control instruction mapped to the elevator channel, wherein the fourth control displacement refers to the longitudinal control displacement of the first joystick.

[0116] Based on the above-mentioned flight control device, the second vector control instruction includes an aircraft longitudinal control instruction and an aircraft heading control instruction, the second control information includes a fifth control displacement and a sixth control displacement, and the step 130 may include steps B01-B02:

[0117] Step B01, determining, according to the preset control mapping relationship, that the vector control channel of the aircraft corresponding to the fifth control displacement is a longitudinal channel, and generating an aircraft longitudinal control instruction mapped to the longitudinal channel, wherein the fifth control displacement refers to the control displacement of the second joystick in the longitudinal direction;

[0118] Step B02, determining that the vector control channel of the aircraft corresponding to the sixth control displacement is a heading channel according to the preset control mapping relationship, and generating an aircraft heading control instruction mapped to the heading channel, wherein the sixth control displacement refers to the lateral control displacement of the second joystick.

[0119] In this embodiment, please refer to Figure 7 The flight control device includes a first joystick and a second joystick. Figure 7 As shown in (a), the first joystick is a two-axis joystick that can swing in the horizontal and vertical directions, that is, swing left and right or swing forward and backward; Figure 7 As shown in (b), the second joystick is a two-axis joystick that can swing in the horizontal and vertical directions, that is, swing left and right or swing forward and backward. The first joystick or the second joystick can swing forward and backward or swing left and right to generate a manipulation displacement.

[0120] Since the pilot manipulates the joystick at the same time, the joystick generates displacement information in the lateral or longitudinal direction, so the manipulation information received by the first joystick includes the third manipulation displacement and the fourth manipulation displacement, and the manipulation information received by the second joystick includes the fifth manipulation displacement and the sixth manipulation displacement, and the third manipulation displacement refers to the lateral manipulation displacement of the first joystick caused by the pilot manipulating the first joystick; the fourth manipulation displacement refers to the longitudinal manipulation displacement of the first joystick caused by the pilot manipulating the first joystick; the fifth manipulation displacement refers to the longitudinal manipulation displacement of the second joystick caused by the pilot manipulating the second joystick; and the sixth manipulation displacement refers to the lateral manipulation displacement of the second joystick caused by the pilot manipulating the second joystick.

[0121] In this embodiment, the preset control mapping relationship includes a control mapping relationship between the axial movement of the first joystick and the vector movement of the aircraft, and a control mapping relationship between the axial movement of the second joystick and the vector movement of the aircraft. Exemplarily, the control mapping logic of the vector movement of the aircraft corresponding to the axial movement of the first joystick and the second joystick is shown in Table 1 below.

[0122] Table 1 A joystick vector control mapping table

[0123]

[0124] Specifically, when the flight control device receives the signal corresponding to the third control displacement, it confirms that the control control channel that generates the third control displacement is the horizontal axis of the first control stick, and combines the control mapping relationship between the axial movement of the first control stick and the vector movement of the aircraft to confirm that the corresponding vector control channel of the aircraft is the lateral channel, and further maps and generates the aircraft lateral control instructions based on the specific third control displacement information. The aircraft lateral control instructions include the size and direction of the third control displacement, the corresponding aircraft vector control channel information, etc. The aircraft vector control channel refers to controlling the aircraft to perform different vector movements during flight. Refer to Figure 8 The vector motion of an aircraft includes lifting, longitudinal, lateral, and heading motion. Among them, lifting motion refers to the up and down motion of the aircraft in a vertical direction relative to the ground, thereby changing the height of the aircraft. Longitudinal motion refers to the forward and backward motion of the aircraft in the direction indicated by the nose. Heading motion refers to the movement of the aircraft turning in a horizontal direction parallel to the ground, and heading motion includes yaw motion. Lateral motion refers to the movement of the aircraft in a horizontal direction and in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the aircraft.

[0125] Similarly, when the flight control device receives the signal corresponding to the fourth control displacement, it is confirmed that the control channel generating the fourth control displacement is the longitudinal axis of the first control rod, and combined with the control mapping relationship between the axial movement of the first control rod and the vector movement of the aircraft, it is confirmed that the corresponding aircraft vector control channel is the elevation channel, and further mapped and generated the aircraft elevation control instruction according to the specific fourth control displacement information. The aircraft elevation control instruction includes the size and direction of the fourth control displacement, the corresponding aircraft vector control channel information, etc.

[0126] Then, when the flight control device receives the signal corresponding to the fifth control displacement, it is confirmed that the control control channel of the fifth control displacement is the longitudinal axis of the second control rod, and combined with the control mapping relationship between the axial movement of the second control rod and the vector movement of the aircraft, it is confirmed that the corresponding aircraft vector control channel is the longitudinal channel, and further based on the specific fifth control displacement information, the aircraft longitudinal control instruction is generated. Similarly, when the flight control device receives the signal corresponding to the sixth control displacement, it is confirmed that the control control channel that generates the sixth control displacement is the transverse axis of the second control rod, and combined with the control mapping relationship between the axial movement of the second control rod and the vector movement of the aircraft, it is confirmed that the corresponding aircraft vector control channel is the heading channel, and further based on the specific sixth control displacement information, the aircraft heading control instruction is generated. Among them, the aircraft heading control instruction and the aircraft longitudinal control instruction include the size and direction of the second control displacement, the corresponding aircraft vector control channel information, etc.

[0127] It should be understood that, considering the different flying habits among different pilots, the aircraft vector control channels mapped to different axes of the first joystick and the second joystick can be interchanged. For example, the aircraft vector control channels mapped to the longitudinal axis of the first joystick and the longitudinal axis of the second joystick are interchangeable, so that the aircraft vector control channel mapped to the longitudinal axis of the first joystick is the longitudinal channel, and the aircraft vector control channel mapped to the longitudinal axis of the second joystick is the elevator channel.

[0128] In this embodiment, by designing the joystick as a two-axis joystick, the control logic of the aircraft can be simplified, making it easier for the pilot to control the flight of the aircraft through the joystick, thereby reducing the pilot's control burden.

[0129] Step S140, controlling the aircraft to perform vector motion according to the first vector control instruction and / or the second vector control instruction;

[0130] Step S150, when the second vector control instruction is an aircraft heading control instruction, according to the aircraft heading control instruction, the aircraft is controlled to perform yaw motion at least through tilt angle differential control and / or rotor speed differential control and / or elevator rudder deflection.

[0131] It should be noted that the preset flight control law refers to the algorithm used to generate flight control instructions in the flight control system of the aircraft. The flight control law usually describes the functional relationship between the controlled state variables and the input signals of the flight control device. The preset flight control law can be designed according to the dynamic characteristics of the aircraft and the flight requirements to ensure that the aircraft can maintain a stable attitude, heading and altitude under various flight conditions and respond to the pilot's control information. The preset flight control law includes but is not limited to attitude control law, heading control law and altitude control law. Vector motion includes lift, longitudinal, lateral and heading motion.

[0132] Specifically, based on a preset flight control law, according to the first vector control instruction and / or the second vector control instruction, the aircraft is controlled to perform vector motion.

[0133] The flight control device inputs the first vector control instruction and / or the second vector control instruction into the preset flight control law, and the preset flight control law solves the aircraft vector control instruction, and controls the movement of the aircraft's actuation system to control the aircraft to perform lifting, longitudinal, lateral, and heading movements. Among them, the aircraft's actuation system usually includes a lift / thrust assembly, a control surface system, a tilting servo, etc., wherein the lift / thrust assembly is composed of an electric engine, a propeller, etc. and their accessories, and the control surface system is a component on the aircraft used to generate control force and torque, including ailerons, elevators, rudders or elevator rudders, etc.

[0134] Furthermore, when the second vector control instruction is an aircraft heading control instruction, the aircraft heading control instruction is solved by a preset flight control law, and the aircraft is controlled to perform yaw motion through at least one of the control methods such as tilt angle differential control and / or rotor speed differential control and / or elevator rudder deflection.

[0135] This embodiment provides an aircraft control method, which receives first control information from a pilot through the first joystick, and receives second control information from the pilot through the second joystick; generates a first vector control instruction mapped with the first control information based on the first control information received by the first joystick and a preset control mapping relationship; generates a second vector control instruction mapped with the second control information based on the second control information received by the second joystick and a preset control mapping relationship; and controls the aircraft to perform vector motion based on the first vector control instruction and / or the second vector control instruction.

[0136] The present application receives the pilot's control information through the first joystick and the second joystick through the flight control device, and then generates a vector control instruction mapped with the control information according to the pilot's control information and a preset control mapping relationship through the processor, and controls the aircraft to perform vector movement according to the vector control instruction, so as to realize simple control only through the first joystick and the second joystick, so that the aircraft can realize corresponding vector flight, thereby simplifying the control method of the aircraft, and realizing flight control automation technology in combination with preset flight control laws to reduce the skills that the pilot must have to safely control the aircraft, so that the pilot focuses on aviation decisions rather than skill decisions during the driving process, which can effectively reduce the complexity of aircraft control and lower the driving threshold of the aircraft, and at the same time can also reduce the operating burden of the pilot.

[0137] Based on the first embodiment of the present application, in the second embodiment of the present application, the same or similar contents as those in the first embodiment can be referred to the above introduction and will not be repeated later.

[0138] In this embodiment, in the flight control device, the first joystick is configured as a two-axis joystick that can swing in the horizontal and vertical directions, the second joystick is configured as a single-axis joystick that can swing in the vertical direction, and a control switch is also provided on the second joystick, wherein the first control information received by the first joystick includes the control displacement of the first joystick in the horizontal and / or vertical directions; the second control information received by the second joystick includes the control displacement of the second joystick in the vertical direction, and the control switch control information, wherein, according to the preset control mapping relationship, the vector control instruction corresponding to the control switch control information is the heading control instruction of the aircraft.

[0139] Based on the above-mentioned flight control device, the second vector control instruction includes the aircraft longitudinal control instruction and the aircraft heading control instruction, and the second control information includes the seventh control displacement and the control switch control information, please refer to Figure 2 The step S130 includes steps S210 to S220:

[0140] Step S210, determining that the vector control channel of the aircraft corresponding to the seventh control displacement is a longitudinal channel according to the preset control mapping relationship, and generating a longitudinal control instruction of the aircraft mapped to the longitudinal channel, wherein the seventh control displacement refers to the control displacement of the second joystick in the longitudinal direction;

[0141] Step S220: determining, according to the preset manipulation mapping relationship, that the vector control channel of the aircraft corresponding to the manipulation switch control information is a heading channel, and generating an aircraft heading control instruction mapped to the heading channel.

[0142] In order to further reduce the pilot's operating burden, any operating control channel corresponding to the aircraft vector control channel is simplified to a control signal of a control switch. Therefore, the first joystick is set as a two-axis joystick, and the second joystick is set as a single-axis joystick. The two axes corresponding to the two-axis joystick can be a combination of the longitudinal axis and the transverse axis of the joystick, and the axis corresponding to the single-axis joystick can be any one of the longitudinal axis and the transverse axis of the joystick.

[0143] In this embodiment, the manipulation information received by the first joystick includes a third manipulation displacement and a fourth manipulation displacement, the manipulation information received by the second joystick includes a seventh manipulation displacement, and the manipulation information received by the manipulation switch includes a manipulation switch control signal, and the third manipulation displacement refers to a lateral manipulation displacement of the first joystick caused by the pilot manipulating the first joystick; the fourth manipulation displacement refers to a longitudinal manipulation displacement of the first joystick caused by the pilot manipulating the first joystick; the seventh manipulation displacement refers to a longitudinal manipulation displacement of the second joystick caused by the pilot manipulating the second joystick, and the manipulation switch control information refers to a manipulation switch caused by the pilot manipulating the switch so that the angle or displacement of the switch changes, thereby triggering the generation of a digital signal or an analog signal.

[0144] In this embodiment, the control switch may be a bidirectional switch, and the aircraft is controlled by receiving a discrete signal from the bidirectional switch, or the control switch may be in the form of a roller, and the aircraft is controlled by receiving an analog signal from the roller.

[0145] The preset manipulation mapping relationship includes a control mapping relationship between the axial movement of the first joystick and the vector movement of the aircraft, a control mapping relationship between the axial movement of the second joystick and the vector movement of the aircraft, and a control mapping relationship between the change of the manipulation switch and the vector movement of the aircraft. Exemplarily, the control mapping logic of the axial movement of the first joystick and the second joystick and the vector movement of the aircraft corresponding to the change of the manipulation switch is shown in Table 2 below.

[0146] Table 2 A joystick vector control mapping table including a control switch

[0147]

[0148] In this embodiment, when the flight control device receives the signal corresponding to the seventh control displacement, it is confirmed that the control control channel that generates the seventh control displacement is the longitudinal axis of the second control stick. Combined with the control mapping relationship between the axial movement of the second control stick and the aircraft vector movement, it is confirmed that the corresponding aircraft vector control channel is the longitudinal channel. Further, based on the specific seventh control displacement information, the aircraft longitudinal control instruction is generated.

[0149] Then, when the flight control device receives the signal corresponding to the control switch control information, it confirms that the control channel that generates the control switch control information is the control switch, and combined with the control mapping relationship between the control switch change and the aircraft vector motion, it confirms that the corresponding aircraft vector control channel is the heading channel, and further generates the aircraft heading control instruction according to the specific switch control signal information. Among them, the aircraft heading control instruction includes the high and low levels, pulse time, etc. in the switch control signal, and the corresponding aircraft vector control channel information.

[0150] It should be understood that, considering the different flying habits among different pilots, the aircraft vector control channels mapped to different axes of the first joystick and the second joystick can be interchanged. For example, the aircraft vector control channels mapped to the longitudinal axis of the first joystick and the longitudinal axis of the second joystick are interchangeable, so that the aircraft vector control channel mapped to the longitudinal axis of the first joystick is the longitudinal channel, and the aircraft vector control channel mapped to the longitudinal axis of the second joystick is the elevator channel.

[0151] The present embodiment provides a flight control device and an aircraft control method. By designing the first joystick as a two-axis joystick and the second joystick as a single-axis joystick, and using a control switch to implement the mapping function of the aircraft control channel, the control logic of the aircraft can be further simplified, making it easier for the pilot to control the flight of the aircraft through the joystick, thereby reducing the pilot's control burden.

[0152] Based on Embodiment 1 and / or Embodiment 2 of the present application, in Embodiment 3 of the present application, the contents that are the same or similar to those of Embodiment 1 and / or Embodiment 2 above can be referred to the above introduction and will not be repeated later.

[0153] In this embodiment, in the flight control device, when the vector control instruction is an aircraft heading control instruction, the processor is further configured to, when the aircraft is in a rotor configuration, control the aircraft to perform yaw motion through tilt angle differential control and / or rotor speed differential control according to the aircraft heading control instruction; and / or

[0154] When the aircraft is in the transition configuration, according to the aircraft heading control instruction, the aircraft is manipulated to perform yaw motion by rotor speed differential control and / or elevator rudder deflection; and / or

[0155] When the aircraft is of fixed-wing configuration, the aircraft is manipulated to perform yaw motion by deflecting the elevator rudder according to the aircraft heading control instruction.

[0156] Based on the above flight control device, the vector motion includes the aircraft's lifting, longitudinal, lateral, and heading motions. Please refer to Figure 3 , the step 140 further includes steps S310 to S320:

[0157] Step S310, when the aircraft is in a rotor configuration and the horizontal speed command mode is activated, and when a lateral control command of the aircraft is received, the lateral control command of the aircraft is solved by a preset flight control law to obtain a corresponding lateral speed command, and according to the lateral speed command, the aircraft is controlled to move laterally by a rotor speed differential; and / or

[0158] Step S320, when the aircraft is in a rotor configuration and the horizontal rate command mode is activated, and when the longitudinal control command of the aircraft is received, the longitudinal control command of the aircraft is solved by a preset flight control law to obtain a corresponding longitudinal speed command, and according to the longitudinal speed command, the aircraft is controlled to perform longitudinal movement through rotor speed differential control and / or tilt angle control.

[0159] Tilt-rotor aircraft have rotor configuration, transition configuration and fixed-wing configuration. Specifically, the rotor configuration refers to the configuration in which the aircraft starts from a stationary ground and relies on vector power to climb / or descend by power vector when landing. The transition configuration refers to the transition mode between the rotor mode and the fixed-wing mode. The fixed-wing configuration refers to the partial / full rotor fully tilted to the cruise position as the power system of the aircraft.

[0160] It should be understood that when the aircraft is in any configuration of a rotary wing configuration, a transition configuration, or a fixed wing configuration, the flight control device receives the pilot's control information through the first joystick and the second joystick, and generates corresponding first vector control instructions and second vector control instructions, and controls the aircraft to perform lift, longitudinal, lateral, and heading movements according to the first vector control instructions and / or the second vector control instructions. Among them, the first vector control instructions include aircraft lateral control instructions and aircraft lift control instructions; the second vector control instructions include aircraft longitudinal control instructions and aircraft heading control instructions.

[0161] It should be noted that the vector motion of the aircraft also includes pitch motion. Pitch motion refers to the rotational motion of the aircraft around the lateral axis of the aircraft (from one side of the wing to the other side).

[0162] It should be noted that the Translational Rate Command (TRC) mode can be activated when the aircraft is in a rotor configuration, and the pilot can directly map and manipulate the longitudinal speed and lateral speed of the aircraft through the flight control device. In addition, when the aircraft is in a rotor configuration, the pilot can confirm whether to activate the TRC mode by confirming whether the tilt mechanism of the aircraft is normal, whether the GPS is normal, and other information. An activation switch corresponding to the TRC mode is set on the first joystick and / or the second joystick. Then, on the basis that the GPS of the aircraft is operating normally and the related structures of normal flight in the rotor stage are operating normally, the TRC mode is activated by triggering the activation switch, that is, while adjusting the pitch angle or roll angle and other parameters of the vertical take-off and landing aircraft, combined with the control of the horizontal speed, the speed control can be further refined to ensure the stability and controllability of the aircraft, and the control burden of the pilot can be reduced to a certain extent.

[0163] In this embodiment, refer to Fig.13The aircraft has an elevator rudder, which is a control surface on the V-shaped tail of a V-tail aircraft. It combines the functions of an elevator and a rudder and is mainly used to control the pitch and yaw of the aircraft.

[0164] Specifically, in combination with Example 1 or Example 2, refer to the following Table 3:

[0165] Table 3 Mapping table between vector control channels and different configuration control instructions

[0166]

[0167] When the aircraft is in a rotor configuration, the received aircraft lift control command is solved through the preset flight control law to obtain the corresponding vertical speed command; the received aircraft heading control command is solved to obtain the corresponding yaw angle rate command.

[0168] When the aircraft is in a rotor configuration and the TRC mode is activated, the received aircraft lateral control instructions are solved by the preset flight control law, and the corresponding lateral speed instructions are obtained; when the aircraft is in a rotor configuration and the TRC mode is off, the received aircraft lateral control instructions are solved by the preset flight control law, and the corresponding roll angle instructions are obtained.

[0169] When the aircraft is in a rotor configuration and the TRC mode is activated, the received longitudinal control instructions of the aircraft are solved by the preset flight control law, and the corresponding longitudinal speed instructions are obtained; when the aircraft is in a rotor configuration and the TRC mode is turned off, the received longitudinal control instructions of the aircraft are solved by the preset flight control law, and the corresponding pitch angle instructions are obtained.

[0170] The pitch angle in the table above refers to the rotation angle of the aircraft around its horizontal axis (from one side of the wing to the other side). The roll angle refers to the rotation angle of the aircraft around its longitudinal axis (from the nose to the tail). The yaw angle refers to the rotation angle of the aircraft around its vertical axis (perpendicular to the horizontal plane of the aircraft). The pitch rate refers to the rotation rate of the aircraft around the horizontal axis. The roll rate refers to the rotation rate of the aircraft around the longitudinal axis. The yaw rate refers to the rotation rate of the aircraft around the vertical axis.

[0171] According to the vertical speed instruction, the corresponding rotor speed adjustment instruction is further solved through the preset control law, so that the flight control system of the aircraft can control the speed of the rotor of the aircraft according to the speed adjustment instruction, thereby controlling the aircraft to perform corresponding lifting and lowering movements.

[0172] According to the yaw angle rate instruction, the corresponding rotor speed adjustment instruction and / or the tilt angle adjustment instruction of the tilt rotor are further calculated through the preset control law. Through the speed adjustment instruction and / or the tilt angle adjustment instruction, the rotor speed and / or the tilt angle differential of the tilt rotor are adjusted to generate a yaw moment, thereby controlling the aircraft to perform the corresponding yaw motion.

[0173] According to the roll angle instruction in the TRC off mode, the corresponding roll angular rate instruction is further calculated through the preset control law, and then the corresponding rotor speed adjustment instruction is calculated based on the roll angular rate instruction, so that the flight control system of the aircraft can perform speed differential control on the rotor of the aircraft according to the speed adjustment instruction, so that the aircraft generates a rolling torque, thereby controlling the aircraft to perform corresponding lateral movement.

[0174] According to the pitch angle command in the TRC off mode, the corresponding pitch angle rate command is further solved through the preset control law, and then the corresponding rotor speed adjustment command is solved according to the pitch angle rate command, so that the flight control system of the aircraft can perform speed differential control on the rotor of the aircraft according to the speed adjustment command, so that the aircraft generates a pitch torque, thereby controlling the aircraft to perform the corresponding pitch movement.

[0175] According to the lateral speed instruction in the TRC activation mode, the corresponding roll angular rate instruction is further solved through the preset control law, and then the corresponding rotor speed adjustment instruction is solved according to the roll angular rate instruction, so that the flight control system of the aircraft can perform speed differential control on the rotor of the aircraft according to the speed adjustment instruction, so that the aircraft generates a rolling torque, thereby controlling the aircraft to perform corresponding lateral movement.

[0176] According to the longitudinal speed command in the TRC activation mode, the corresponding tilt angle adjustment command of the tilt rotor and the rotor speed adjustment command are further calculated through the preset control law. While keeping the pitch angle stable, the tilt angle adjustment command and the speed adjustment command are used to make the aircraft adjust the tilt angle of the tilt rotor and differentially control the speed of the tilt rotor so that the aircraft maintains an unchanged altitude, thereby controlling the aircraft to perform corresponding longitudinal movement.

[0177] Furthermore, the above step S140 also includes steps S330-370:

[0178] Step S330, when the aircraft is in the transition configuration and receives the aircraft lift control instruction, the aircraft lift control instruction is solved by a preset flight control law to obtain a corresponding vertical speed instruction, and according to the vertical speed instruction, the aircraft is manipulated to perform pitch motion by elevator rudder deflection and / or rotor speed control; and / or

[0179] Step S340, when the aircraft is in a fixed-wing configuration and receives the aircraft lift control instruction, the aircraft lift control instruction is solved by a preset flight control law to obtain a corresponding vertical speed instruction or a pitch angle rate instruction, and according to the vertical speed instruction or the pitch angle rate instruction, the aircraft is manipulated to perform pitch movement by deflecting the elevator rudder.

[0180] Step S350, when the aircraft is in a rotor configuration and a heading control instruction of the aircraft is received, the heading control instruction of the aircraft is solved by a preset flight control law to obtain a corresponding yaw rate instruction, and according to the yaw rate instruction, the aircraft is controlled to perform yaw motion through tilt angle differential control and / or rotor speed differential control; and / or

[0181] Step S360, when the aircraft is in the transition configuration and receives the aircraft heading control instruction, the aircraft heading control instruction is solved by a preset flight control law to obtain a corresponding yaw rate instruction, and according to the yaw rate instruction, the aircraft is controlled to perform yaw motion through rotor speed differential control and / or elevator rudder deflection; and / or

[0182] Step S370, when the aircraft is in a fixed-wing configuration and receives the aircraft heading control instruction, the aircraft heading control instruction is solved by a preset flight control law to obtain a corresponding yaw angle rate instruction, and according to the yaw angle rate instruction, the aircraft is controlled to perform yaw motion by deflecting the elevator rudder.

[0183] Combined with the above table, when the aircraft is in a transition configuration, the aircraft longitudinal control instructions, lateral control instructions, aircraft elevation control instructions and aircraft heading control instructions generated according to the pilot's control information are solved by the preset flight control law, and the longitudinal acceleration instructions, roll angular rate instructions, vertical speed instructions and yaw angular rate instructions are obtained respectively. According to the longitudinal acceleration instruction, the aircraft controls the aircraft to perform corresponding longitudinal movement through rotor speed control and / or tilt angle control. According to the roll angular rate instruction, the aircraft controls the aileron deflection and / or rotor speed differential control to perform corresponding lateral movement. According to the vertical speed instruction, the aircraft controls the aircraft's elevator rudder to deflect and / or rotor speed control to control the aircraft's corresponding elevator movement. According to the yaw angular rate instruction, the aircraft controls the aircraft to perform yaw movement through rotor speed differential control and / or elevator rudder deflection.

[0184] When the aircraft is of fixed-wing configuration, the aircraft lateral control instructions, aircraft lift control instructions, aircraft longitudinal control instructions and aircraft heading control instructions generated according to the pilot's control information are solved through the preset flight control law, and the corresponding roll angle rate instructions, vertical speed instructions or pitch angle rate instructions, longitudinal speed instructions and yaw angle rate instructions are obtained respectively.

[0185] According to the roll rate command, the aileron of the aircraft is controlled to deflect, thereby controlling the aircraft to perform corresponding lateral movement. According to the vertical speed command or pitch rate command obtained by solving the aircraft lift control command, the lift rudder of the aircraft is controlled to deflect, thereby controlling the aircraft to perform corresponding lift movement. According to the yaw rate command obtained by solving the aircraft heading control command, the lift rudder of the aircraft is controlled to deflect, thereby controlling the aircraft to perform corresponding yaw movement. According to the longitudinal acceleration command, the rotor of the aircraft is made to perform variable speed movement, that is, the speed of the rotor is adjusted to adjust the thrust of the aircraft, or the angle of the blade relative to the rotor plane is adjusted and controlled through the collective pitch control, thereby changing the lift and drag generated by the rotor, and then controlling the aircraft to perform corresponding longitudinal movement. Among them, the collective pitch usually refers to the total pitch of the rotor blades, that is, the angle of the blades relative to the rotor plane.

[0186] In order to realize automatic identification of the aircraft configuration, the current configuration of the aircraft can be further confirmed according to the flight phase of the aircraft. Therefore, before the above step S310, step S300 is also included:

[0187] Step S300: confirming the flight phase of the aircraft by using a preset flight control law and the flight state information of the aircraft, wherein the flight phase includes a rotor phase, a tilt transition phase, and a fixed-wing phase;

[0188] In this embodiment, the flight phases of the aircraft are first divided into the rotor phase, the tilt transition phase, and the fixed wing phase. The rotor phase refers to the aircraft flying in a rotor configuration; the tilt transition phase refers to the aircraft flying in a transitional flight between the rotor configuration and the fixed wing configuration; and the fixed wing phase refers to the aircraft flying in a fixed wing configuration. Fig. 9 and Fig.10 , which respectively show the flight configuration diagrams of the rotor configuration and fixed-wing configuration of an eVTOL aircraft.

[0189] Specifically, the flight status information of the aircraft, such as the aircraft's flight altitude, airspeed, rotor tilt angle and other information, is input into the preset flight control law, so as to automatically determine whether the flight stage of the aircraft belongs to a specific stage among the rotor stage, tilt transition stage and fixed-wing stage.

[0190] It should be understood that the flight status information can be obtained through the aircraft's avionics system and sensor system, such as GPS (Global Positioning System), inertial navigation system (INS), radio navigation system, gyroscope, accelerometer, magnetometer and other sensors.

[0191] Reference Fig.11 , Fig.11 It shows the change of the tilt angle of the rotor of the aircraft during the flight phase. Fig.11 The vertical take-off phase and the vertical landing phase correspond to the rotor phase of the aircraft, the forward tilt phase and the backward tilt phase correspond to the tilt transition phase of the aircraft, and the fixed-wing forward flight phase corresponds to the fixed-wing phase of the aircraft.

[0192] according to Fig.11 As shown, the aircraft's rotor tilt angle is input into the preset flight control law, and the aircraft's flight phase can be automatically determined. Exemplarily, when the tilt rotor is in the cruise position (e.g., 0° tilt angle), the aircraft is in the fixed-wing phase; when the tilt rotor is in the vertical take-off and landing position (e.g., 90° tilt angle), the aircraft is in the rotor phase; when the rotor's tilt angle is between the cruise position and the vertical take-off and landing position (e.g., 0-90°), the aircraft is in the tilt transition phase.

[0193] This embodiment provides an aircraft control method. In any configuration of the aircraft, the aircraft vector control instructions generated according to the control information can be implemented, and the aircraft can be controlled to perform automatic vector movement in combination with the preset flight control law, thereby realizing a simplified aircraft control method. The flight control automation technology is implemented in combination with the preset flight control law to reduce the decision-making pressure of the pilot, which can effectively reduce the complexity of aircraft control, lower the driving threshold of the aircraft, and at the same time reduce the operating burden of the pilot.

[0194] Based on the third embodiment of the present application, in the fourth embodiment of the present application, the same or similar contents as those in the third embodiment can be referred to the above introduction and will not be repeated later.

[0195] In this embodiment, in the flight control device, a ground mode switching switch is provided on the first joystick and / or the second joystick, and the control information includes ground mode control information;

[0196] When the aircraft is in the ground phase, the processor is further configured to control the aircraft to switch to the ground control mode using ground mode control information received from the first joystick and / or the second joystick;

[0197] When the aircraft is in the ground control mode, the processor is further configured to use the manipulation information received from the first joystick or the second joystick and, in combination with a preset manipulation mapping relationship, generate a vector control instruction mapped with the manipulation information, and control the aircraft to perform ground acceleration, deceleration and turning movements according to the vector control instruction;

[0198] When the aircraft is in the ground control mode, the turning direction of the aircraft is controlled by differential power control and / or differential braking according to the aircraft heading control instruction, and the aircraft is manipulated to perform ground turning movement.

[0199] Based on the above flight control device, please refer to Figure 4 The vector motion also includes ground acceleration and deceleration motion and ground steering motion. The second vector control instruction includes an aircraft longitudinal control instruction and an aircraft heading control instruction. The step S140 also includes steps S410 to S420:

[0200] Step S410, when the aircraft is in the ground control mode and receives the longitudinal control instruction of the aircraft, the longitudinal control instruction of the aircraft is solved according to the preset flight control law to obtain the corresponding ground speed control instruction, and the speed of the aircraft is controlled according to the ground speed control instruction to manipulate the aircraft to perform ground acceleration and deceleration movement; and / or

[0201] Step S420, when the aircraft is in ground control mode and receives the aircraft heading control instruction, the aircraft heading control instruction is solved according to the preset flight control law to obtain the corresponding ground direction control instruction, and according to the ground direction control instruction, the turning direction of the aircraft is controlled through differential power control and / or differential braking to manipulate the aircraft to perform ground turning movement.

[0202] First, when the aircraft is in the ground stage, the ground mode switch set on the first joystick and / or the second joystick can receive the ground mode control information input by the pilot, and then the flight control device controls the aircraft to switch to the ground control mode according to the ground mode control information, such as changing the aircraft configuration to a fixed-wing configuration, so that the pilot can perform ground control operations on the aircraft on the ground, such as taxiing. The ground mode switch can be a key switch, and the ground mode control information is generated when the ground mode switch is pressed.

[0203] When the flight control device controls the aircraft to switch to ground control mode, that is, the aircraft is in ground control mode, the ground control function needs to be mapped to multiple control channels of the joystick, such as the longitudinal and lateral control channels of the first joystick, and the ground speed control is achieved through the longitudinal displacement of the first joystick, and the ground steering control is achieved through the lateral displacement of the first joystick.

[0204] In this embodiment, when the aircraft is in the ground control mode during the ground phase, the ground control function is mapped to the control channel of the joystick corresponding to the longitudinal and directional movement of the aircraft, while the control channel of the joystick corresponding to the lateral and vertical movement of the aircraft should be in an invalid state. No matter how the pilot operates, it is impossible to respond to the pilot's control information and generate aircraft lateral control instructions and aircraft vertical control instructions.

[0205] Therefore, when the aircraft is in the ground control mode during the ground phase and receives an aircraft longitudinal control instruction, the aircraft longitudinal control instruction is input into the preset flight control law for solution, and a corresponding ground speed control instruction is obtained.

[0206] Alternatively, when the aircraft is in ground control mode during the ground phase and receives an aircraft heading control instruction, the aircraft heading control instruction is input into a preset flight control law for solution to obtain a corresponding ground direction control instruction.

[0207] Then, according to the ground speed control command, the thrust of the aircraft's thrust assembly is adjusted by controlling the aircraft's power system, thereby controlling the aircraft to perform ground acceleration or deceleration movement.

[0208] According to the ground direction control instructions, the thrust of the thrust assemblies on both sides of the aircraft is adjusted, so as to use the torque generated by the thrust difference of the thrust assemblies on both sides to achieve steering, that is, differential power control. Steering can also be achieved by adjusting the braking force difference between the left and right brake assemblies of the aircraft, thereby controlling the aircraft to turn left or right.

[0209] This embodiment provides an aircraft control method, which sets aircraft vector control instructions that the aircraft can respond to in the ground phase, and further performs ground acceleration and deceleration control and turning control on the aircraft in the ground phase in combination with preset flight control laws, combines the ground control logic of the aircraft with the air flight control logic, and implements a simplified aircraft control method. In combination with preset flight control laws, flight control automation technology is implemented to reduce the decision-making pressure of the pilot, which can effectively reduce the complexity of aircraft control, lower the threshold for aircraft driving, and also reduce the operating burden of the pilot.

[0210] Based on Example 3 and / or Example 4 of the present application, in Example 5 of the present application, the same or similar contents as those of Example 3 and / or Example 4 above can be referred to the above introduction and will not be repeated later.

[0211] In this embodiment, in the first flight control device, the first joystick or the second joystick includes a tilt switch, and the control information may also include forward tilt control information and backward tilt control information corresponding to the tilt switch; the processor is further configured to control the aircraft to transition from a rotor configuration to a fixed-wing configuration when receiving the forward tilt control information; and control the aircraft to transition from a fixed-wing configuration to a rotor configuration when receiving the backward tilt control information; or

[0212] In the second flight control device, the first joystick or the second joystick includes a tilt switch, and the control information includes a tilt enable signal corresponding to the tilt switch; the processor is also configured to allow the tilt rotor to be tilted when the tilt enable signal sent by the tilt switch is received.

[0213] Based on the first type of flight control device mentioned above, please refer to Figure 5 , the method comprises steps S510 to S530:

[0214] Step S510, receiving tilt switch control information according to the flight control device, wherein the tilt switch control information includes forward tilt control information and backward tilt control information;

[0215] Specifically, the flight control device receives the pilot's tilt switch control information through the tilt switch, wherein the tilt switch control information is motion information and related state change information generated by the pilot operating the tilt switch, including the tilt angle or position change of the tilt switch, and state change information. It should be noted that the forward tilt control information and the rearward tilt control information are control information generated by the toggle movement of the tilt switch. Among them, the forward tilt control information is used to instruct the aircraft to switch the flight configuration to a fixed-wing configuration, and the rearward tilt control information is used to instruct the aircraft to switch the flight configuration to a rotor configuration. In this embodiment, the forward tilt control information is a control instruction generated by toggling the tilt switch forward, and the rearward tilt control information is a control instruction generated by toggling the tilt switch backward. It should be noted that the tilt switch in this application can have an automatic return to center function, that is, the function that the tilt switch can automatically return to the initial center position without external input or operation.

[0216] Additionally, based on the second type of flight control device, the tilt switch is used to control the tilt enable, and the tilt enable signal is a switch state signal generated by the pilot operating the tilt switch, and is used to indicate that the aircraft allows a tilt transition.

[0217] When the flight control device receives a tilt enable signal from the tilt switch, the flight control system is allowed to automatically control the tilt rotor to tilt, or the tilt control function is mapped to a control channel of the joystick, such as the longitudinal axis control channel of the first joystick, and tilt control is achieved through the longitudinal displacement of the first joystick.

[0218] It should be noted that, in the above-mentioned second type of flight control device, the signal corresponding to the tilt switch also includes a tilt prohibition signal, which is a switch state signal generated by the pilot operating the tilt switch, and is used to indicate that the aircraft is prohibited from performing a tilt transition. The generation of the tilt enable signal and the tilt prohibition signal can be generated due to different operations on the tilt switch. For example, when the tilt switch is pressed, the tilt enable signal is generated, allowing the aircraft to perform a tilt transition, and when the tilt switch is pressed again, the tilt prohibition signal is generated, prohibiting the aircraft from performing a tilt transition.

[0219] Step S520, when the aircraft is in a rotor configuration and receives the forward tilt control information, controlling the aircraft to transition to a fixed-wing configuration;

[0220] Reference Fig.12 (a) The tilt-rotor propeller is the tilt-rotor, and the fixed-wing forward flight phase is the fixed-wing phase. The preset tilt angle of the rotor in the cruise position under the fixed-wing configuration is set by relevant personnel based on industry experience, and is usually set by default to 0 degrees. Fig.12 (c) The preset tilt angle of the tilt rotor in the vertical take-off and landing position in the rotor configuration is also set by relevant personnel based on industry experience, and is usually set by default to 90 degrees, for example. The target flight configuration refers to the aircraft configuration that the aircraft needs to switch to at a certain time in the future. Fig.12 (b) The tilt phase is the tilt transition phase. The tilt angle of the tilt rotor in the transition configuration is between the preset tilt angle at the cruise position and the preset tilt angle at the vertical take-off and landing position, and is usually set by default to, for example, 0 to 90 degrees.

[0221] Specifically, when it is confirmed that the aircraft is in a rotor configuration, that is, the aircraft is in the vertical take-off or landing stage, and after receiving the forward tilt control information, the forward tilt control information is solved in combination with the preset flight control law, and the relevant control instructions of the rotor system are obtained through the solution, and then the tilt angle of the tilt rotor in the rotor system is adjusted, and the tilt angle of the tilt rotor is gradually transitioned from the vertical take-off and landing position to the vertical take-off and landing position, thereby meeting the tilt angle of the fixed-wing configuration aircraft.

[0222] Step S530, when the aircraft is in a fixed-wing configuration and receives the backward tilt control information, control the aircraft to transition to a rotor configuration.

[0223] Specifically, when it is confirmed that the aircraft is of fixed-wing configuration, that is, the aircraft is in the fixed-wing forward flight stage, and after receiving the backward tilt control information, the preset flight control law solves the backward tilt control information, and obtains the relevant control instructions of the rotor system through the solution, and then adjusts the tilt angle of the tilt rotor in the rotor system, and gradually transitions the rotor tilt angle from the cruise position to the vertical take-off and landing position, thereby satisfying the tilt angle of the rotor configuration aircraft.

[0224] This embodiment provides an aircraft control method, which facilitates the pilot to switch the configuration of the aircraft by setting a tilt switch, realizes a simplified aircraft control method, and combines the preset flight control law to realize flight control automation technology to reduce the pilot's decision-making pressure, which can effectively reduce the complexity of aircraft control, lower the aircraft driving threshold, and at the same time reduce the pilot's operating burden.

[0225] Based on the third and / or fifth embodiments of the present application, in the sixth embodiment of the present application, the same or similar contents as those in the third and / or fifth embodiments can be referred to the above description, and will not be described in detail later. On this basis, the flight status information includes the rotor tilt angle and the longitudinal flight speed, and the step S300 includes steps S3001 to S3004:

[0226] Step S3001, based on a preset flight control law, confirming the magnitude relationship between the rotor tilt angle of the aircraft and the first tilt angle and the second tilt angle;

[0227] Specifically, it should be noted that the first tilt angle and the second tilt angle are the rotor tilt angles of the rotor stage and the rotor tilt angles of the fixed-wing stage obtained by relevant personnel after optimizing the entire flight process of the aircraft according to actual flight needs, and can be pre-configured in the flight control law. It should be understood that because the aircraft may have angle deviations in actual flight, the aircraft does not fully meet the requirements in actual flight. Fig.12 Tilt angles in different flight phases.

[0228] Specifically, the flight control device first inputs the aircraft tilt angle obtained in real time into the preset flight control law to obtain the relationship between the aircraft's rotor tilt angle and the first tilt angle and the second tilt angle, so as to subsequently confirm the flight stage of the aircraft.

[0229] Step S3002, when the flight tilt angle is less than or equal to the first tilt angle, confirming that the flight phase of the aircraft is a fixed-wing phase;

[0230] Step S3003, when the flight tilt angle is greater than the first tilt angle and less than the second tilt angle, confirming that the flight phase of the aircraft is a tilt transition phase;

[0231] Step S3004: when the flight tilt angle is greater than or equal to the second tilt angle, confirm that the flight phase of the aircraft is the rotor phase.

[0232] Specifically, when the rotor tilt angle is less than or equal to the first tilt angle, it means that the rotor tilt angle of the aircraft is close to 0 at this time, thereby confirming that the flight stage of the aircraft is the fixed-wing stage.

[0233] When the rotor tilt angle is greater than the first tilt angle and less than the second tilt angle, it means that the tilt angle of the aircraft is greater than 0, but has not reached the tilt angle of the rotor stage, so the flight stage of the aircraft is confirmed to be the tilt transition stage.

[0234] When the rotor tilt angle is greater than or equal to the second tilt angle, it means that the tilt angle of the aircraft has reached the tilt angle of the rotor stage, and the aircraft is performing a vertical takeoff or landing, confirming that the flight stage of the aircraft is the rotor stage.

[0235] Furthermore, in order to improve the accuracy of the flight phase recognition of the aircraft, the flight phase recognition of the aircraft can be comprehensively judged by combining the rotor tilt angle and the longitudinal flight speed.

[0236] Similarly, the longitudinal air velocity in the rotor phase and the longitudinal air velocity in the fixed-wing phase usually belong to different speed ranges. Therefore, the first longitudinal velocity and the second longitudinal velocity can be obtained by the relevant personnel according to the actual flight needs by optimizing the design of the entire flight process of the aircraft. The aircraft phase of the aircraft can be further identified by the first longitudinal velocity and the second longitudinal velocity, wherein the first longitudinal velocity and the second longitudinal velocity can be pre-configured in the flight control law. Among them, the first longitudinal velocity is close to 0. The second longitudinal velocity can be used to characterize the cruising flight speed of the aircraft in the fixed-wing phase.

[0237] For example, specifically, when the rotor tilt angle is less than or equal to the first tilt angle, and the flight longitudinal speed is greater than or equal to the second longitudinal speed, it is confirmed that the flight phase of the aircraft is the fixed-wing phase.

[0238] When the flight tilt angle is greater than the first tilt angle and less than the second tilt angle, and the flight longitudinal speed is greater than the first longitudinal speed and less than the second longitudinal speed, it is confirmed that the flight phase of the aircraft is the tilt transition phase.

[0239] When the flight tilt angle is greater than or equal to the second tilt angle, and the flight longitudinal speed is less than or equal to the first longitudinal speed, it means that the aircraft is taking off or landing vertically, and it is confirmed that the flight phase of the aircraft is the rotor phase.

[0240] This embodiment provides an aircraft control method, which can automatically identify the flight phase of the aircraft by combining the preset flight control law with the longitudinal speed and / or tilt angle of the aircraft, making it convenient for the pilot to control the aircraft according to the flight phase of the aircraft, and is also beneficial to realizing flight control automation, further reducing the complexity of aircraft control, and alleviating the operating burden of the pilot.

[0241] Based on Embodiment 4 and / or Embodiment 5 of the present application, in Embodiment 7 of the present application, the contents that are the same or similar to those of Embodiment 4 and / or Embodiment 5 above can be referred to the above introduction and will not be repeated later.

[0242] In this embodiment, in the flight control device, a first joystick or a second joystick is provided with a switching gear at a preset control displacement threshold in the longitudinal direction, and the control information received by the first joystick or the second joystick also includes switching gear information, wherein the switching gear information includes forward switching gear information and backward switching gear information; when the aircraft is in a rotor configuration, the processor is further configured to use a signal corresponding to the forward switching gear information received from the first joystick or the second joystick to control the aircraft to transition to a fixed-wing configuration; when the aircraft is in a fixed-wing configuration, the processor is further configured to use a signal corresponding to the backward switching gear information received from the first joystick or the second joystick to control the aircraft to transition to a rotor configuration; and / or

[0243] When the aircraft is in the ground phase, the processor is also configured to use a signal corresponding to the forward gear shift information received from the first joystick or the second joystick to control the aircraft to transition to a fixed-wing configuration; when the aircraft is in the ground phase, the processor is also configured to use a signal corresponding to the backward gear shift information received from the first joystick or the second joystick, and generate a braking instruction mapped to the backward gear shift information, and control the aircraft to perform ground braking according to the braking instruction.

[0244] Based on the above flight control device, please refer to Figure 6 , the method further includes steps S610 to S630:

[0245] Step S610, receiving gear switching information through the flight control device, wherein the gear switching information includes forward gear switching information and backward gear switching information;

[0246] It should be noted that either the first joystick or the second joystick is provided with a switching gear at the preset control displacement threshold in the longitudinal direction. The pilot operates the joystick longitudinally until the control displacement reaches the preset control displacement threshold, and the switching gear information will be generated. Among them, the preset control displacement threshold is the control displacement threshold pre-set by relevant personnel based on comprehensive considerations such as the joystick characteristics, actual control requirements, and pilot control habits; the forward switching gear information refers to the signal generated when the joystick's forward displacement in the longitudinal direction reaches the preset control displacement threshold, which is used to instruct the aircraft to switch the flight configuration to a fixed-wing configuration; the backward switching gear information refers to the signal generated when the joystick's backward displacement in the longitudinal direction reaches the preset control displacement threshold. It should be understood that in order to prevent the pilot from misoperating, the switching gear set at the preset control displacement threshold in the longitudinal direction of the joystick should have a stepped control force sense for reminder.

[0247] Specifically, the flight control device needs to receive the pilot's gear switching signal through the joystick, so as to subsequently switch the flight configuration of the aircraft according to the gear switching signal.

[0248] Step S620, when the aircraft is in the rotor configuration and receives the forward gear switching information, controlling the aircraft to transition to the fixed-wing configuration;

[0249] Step S630, when the aircraft is in a fixed-wing configuration and receives the backward gear switching information, control the aircraft to transition to the rotor configuration.

[0250] Specifically, when it is confirmed that the aircraft is in a rotor configuration, that is, the aircraft is in the vertical take-off or landing stage, the current flight stage of the aircraft is the rotor stage. At the same time, after receiving the forward gear switching information, the control instructions of the rotor system are obtained by solving the preset control law, and the tilt-rotor is gradually adjusted from the vertical take-off and landing position to the cruise position, thereby transitioning to the fixed-wing configuration.

[0251] Specifically, when it is confirmed that the aircraft is in a fixed-wing configuration, the current flight phase of the aircraft is the fixed-wing phase. At the same time, after receiving the backward gear switching information, the control instructions of the rotor system are obtained by solving the preset control law, and the tilt rotor is gradually adjusted from the cruise position to the vertical take-off and landing position, thereby transitioning to the rotor configuration.

[0252] Furthermore, in order to reduce the complexity of aircraft control and lower the driving threshold of the aircraft, the function of ground control instructions can be highly integrated into the joystick to reduce the number of joysticks in the cockpit. After step S630, steps S640 to S650 are also included:

[0253] Step S640, when the aircraft is in the ground stage and receives the forward gear switching information, controlling the aircraft to transition to the fixed-wing configuration;

[0254] Step S650, when the aircraft is in the ground stage and receives the backward gear switching information, a braking instruction mapped with the backward gear switching information is generated, and the aircraft is controlled to brake on the ground according to the braking instruction.

[0255] Specifically, when the aircraft is in the ground stage, after the flight control device receives the forward gear switching information, the tilt rotor is adjusted from the vertical take-off and landing position to the cruise position. At this time, the aircraft can perform acceleration and deceleration and steering movements on the ground. In order to further reduce the operator's operating burden, the backward gear switching information of the ground stage can be set as a ground brake control signal in advance. After receiving the backward gear switching information, the flight control device generates a brake command mapped to the backward gear switching information, and solves the brake command in combination with the preset flight control law. The relevant control instructions of the power system are obtained through the solution, and then the engine in the power system is turned off, thereby realizing ground braking of the aircraft.

[0256] This embodiment provides an aircraft control method, which facilitates the pilot to switch flight configurations during flight by setting a switching gear on the joystick, and at the same time sets the backward switching gear information as a ground brake control signal, which is more in line with the logic of ground control object movement, realizes a simplified aircraft control method, and combines the preset flight control law to realize flight control automation technology to reduce the pilot's decision-making pressure, which can effectively reduce the complexity of aircraft control, lower the aircraft driving threshold, and also reduce the pilot's operating burden.

[0257] The present application provides a vertical take-off and landing aircraft, which includes: at least one flight control device, including but not limited to the flight control device in the above embodiment. The flight control device has a joystick that can receive pilot control information, and a processor coupled to the joystick for communication.

[0258] The vertical take-off and landing aircraft provided by the present application can solve the technical problems that the control method of the control equipment of the existing eVTOL aircraft has high control complexity and heavy operation burden on the pilot. Compared with the prior art, the beneficial effects of the vertical take-off and landing aircraft provided by the present application are the same as the beneficial effects of the flight control device and the aircraft control method provided by the above embodiment, and the other technical features in the vertical take-off and landing aircraft are the same as the features disclosed in the above embodiment method, which will not be repeated here.

[0259] The present application provides a vertical take-off and landing aircraft, which includes: at least one processor; and a memory communicatively connected to the at least one processor; wherein the memory stores instructions executable by the at least one processor, and the instructions are executed by the at least one processor so that the at least one processor can execute the aircraft control method in the above-mentioned embodiment one.

[0260] The vertical take-off and landing aircraft in the embodiments of the present application may include but is not limited to the following professional equipment: flight control computer, avionics computer, embedded computing device, ground control station, automatic landing system, laser radar system, inertial navigation system (INS), global positioning system receiver, visual navigation system, infrared imaging equipment, radar altimeter, ultrasonic sensor, and vehicle-mounted terminal (such as vehicle-mounted navigation terminal), etc. The above equipment can be used alone or in combination to ensure that the aircraft control method disclosed in the present application can be implemented.

[0261] The vertical take-off and landing aircraft provided by the present application adopts the aircraft control method in the above embodiment, which can solve the technical problems that the control method of the control equipment of the existing eVTOL aircraft has high control complexity and heavy operation burden on the pilot. Compared with the prior art, the beneficial effects of the vertical take-off and landing aircraft provided by the present application are the same as the beneficial effects of the aircraft control method provided by the above embodiment, and the other technical features in the vertical take-off and landing aircraft are the same as the features disclosed in the method of the previous embodiment, which will not be repeated here.

[0262] The above is only a specific implementation of the present application, but the protection scope of the present application is not limited thereto. Any person skilled in the art who is familiar with the present technical field can easily think of changes or substitutions within the technical scope disclosed in the present application, which should be included in the protection scope of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the present application should be based on the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A flight control device, characterized in that: include: processor; A first joystick, coupled to the processor for communication, the first joystick being configured to receive control information input by the pilot and provide corresponding signals to the processor; A second joystick, coupled to the processor for communication, the second joystick being configured to receive control information input by the pilot and provide corresponding signals to the processor; The processor is configured to use the signal corresponding to the manipulation information received from the first joystick and / or the second joystick, and in combination with a preset manipulation mapping relationship, generate a vector control instruction mapped to the manipulation information, and control the aircraft to perform vector motion according to the vector control instruction; Wherein, when the vector control instruction is an aircraft heading control instruction, the processor is configured to manipulate the aircraft to perform yaw motion according to the aircraft heading control instruction at least through tilt angle differential control and / or rotor speed differential control and / or elevator rudder deflection; The first joystick is configured as a two-axis joystick that can swing in the horizontal and vertical directions, and the second joystick is configured as a two-axis joystick that can swing in the horizontal and vertical directions. The manipulation information includes a first manipulation displacement and a second manipulation displacement, wherein the first manipulation displacement refers to the manipulation displacement of the first joystick in the horizontal and / or vertical directions, and the second manipulation displacement refers to the manipulation displacement of the second joystick in the horizontal and / or vertical directions. The vector control instructions include an aircraft lateral control instruction and an aircraft elevation control instruction, and the manipulation information includes a third manipulation displacement and a fourth manipulation displacement; The processor is configured to determine, according to the preset control mapping relationship, that the vector control channel of the aircraft corresponding to the third control displacement is a lateral channel, and generate a lateral control instruction of the aircraft mapped with the lateral channel, wherein the third control displacement refers to the control displacement of the first joystick in the lateral direction; The processor is configured to determine, according to the preset control mapping relationship, that the vector control channel of the aircraft corresponding to the fourth control displacement is an elevator channel, and generate an aircraft elevator control instruction mapped to the elevator channel, wherein the fourth control displacement refers to the control displacement of the first joystick in the longitudinal direction.

2. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that The first joystick or the second joystick includes a tilt switch, and the manipulation information includes a tilt enable signal corresponding to the tilt switch; The processor is further configured to allow the tilt rotor to be manipulated to tilt when receiving the tilt enable signal sent by the tilt switch.

3. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that The first joystick or the second joystick includes a tilt switch, and the manipulation information includes forward tilt control information and backward tilt control information corresponding to the tilt switch; The processor is also configured to control the aircraft to transition from the rotor configuration to the fixed-wing configuration when forward tilt control information is received; and to control the aircraft to transition from the fixed-wing configuration to the rotor configuration when backward tilt control information is received.

4. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that The first joystick or the second joystick is provided with a shift gear at a preset manipulation displacement threshold in the longitudinal direction, and the manipulation information includes shift gear information, wherein the shift gear information includes forward shift gear information and backward shift gear information; When the aircraft is in a rotary-wing configuration, the processor is further configured to control the aircraft to transition to a fixed-wing configuration using a signal corresponding to the forward shift gear information received from the first joystick or the second joystick; When the aircraft is in the fixed-wing configuration, the processor is further configured to control the aircraft to transition to the rotor configuration using a signal corresponding to the backward shift gear information received from the first joystick or the second joystick.

5. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that The first joystick and / or the second joystick is provided with a ground mode switching switch, and the manipulation information includes ground mode control information; When the aircraft is in the ground phase, the processor is further configured to control the aircraft to switch to the ground control mode using ground mode control information received from the first joystick and / or the second joystick; When the aircraft is in ground control mode, the processor is also configured to use the control information received from the first joystick or the second joystick, and in combination with a preset control mapping relationship, generate vector control instructions mapped to the control information, and control the aircraft to perform ground acceleration, deceleration and turning movements according to the vector control instructions.

6. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that When the vector control instruction is an aircraft heading control instruction, the processor is further configured to, when the aircraft is in a rotor configuration, manipulate the aircraft to perform yaw motion according to the aircraft heading control instruction through tilt angle differential control and / or rotor speed differential control; and / or When the aircraft is in the transition configuration, according to the aircraft heading control instruction, the aircraft is manipulated to perform yaw motion by rotor speed differential control and / or elevator rudder deflection; and / or When the aircraft is a fixed-wing configuration, the aircraft is manipulated to perform yaw motion by deflecting the elevator rudder according to the aircraft heading control instruction; and / or When the aircraft is in the ground control mode, the turning direction of the aircraft is controlled by differential power control and / or differential braking according to the aircraft heading control instruction, and the aircraft is manipulated to perform ground turning movement.

7. A method for controlling an aircraft, characterized in that: The method is applied to a flight control device, the flight control device comprising a first joystick and a second joystick, and the method comprises: receiving first manipulation information from a pilot through the first manipulation stick, and receiving second manipulation information from the pilot through the second manipulation stick; generating a first vector control instruction mapped with the first manipulation information according to the first manipulation information received by the first manipulation lever and a preset manipulation mapping relationship; generating a second vector control instruction mapped with the second manipulation information according to the second manipulation information received by the second manipulation stick and a preset manipulation mapping relationship; Controlling the aircraft to perform vector motion according to the first vector control instruction and / or the second vector control instruction; When the second vector control instruction is an aircraft heading control instruction, according to the aircraft heading control instruction, the aircraft is controlled to perform yaw motion at least through tilt angle differential control and / or rotor speed differential control and / or elevator rudder deflection; The first joystick is configured as a two-axis joystick that can swing in the lateral and longitudinal directions, the first vector control instruction includes an aircraft lateral control instruction and an aircraft lift control instruction, the first manipulation information includes a third manipulation displacement and a fourth manipulation displacement, and the step of generating a first vector control instruction mapped with the first manipulation information according to the first manipulation information received by the first joystick and a preset manipulation mapping relationship includes: Determining, according to the preset control mapping relationship, that the vector control channel of the aircraft corresponding to the third control displacement is a lateral channel, and generating an aircraft lateral control instruction mapped to the lateral channel, wherein the third control displacement refers to the lateral control displacement of the first joystick; According to the preset control mapping relationship, it is determined that the vector control channel of the aircraft corresponding to the fourth control displacement is the elevator channel, and an aircraft elevator control instruction mapped to the elevator channel is generated, wherein the fourth control displacement refers to the control displacement of the first joystick in the longitudinal direction.

8. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that The second joystick is configured as a two-axis joystick that can swing in the lateral and longitudinal directions, the second vector control instruction includes an aircraft longitudinal control instruction and an aircraft heading control instruction, the second manipulation information includes a fifth manipulation displacement and a sixth manipulation displacement, and the step of generating a second vector control instruction mapped with the second manipulation information according to the second manipulation information received by the second joystick and a preset manipulation mapping relationship includes: Determining, according to the preset control mapping relationship, that the vector control channel of the aircraft corresponding to the fifth control displacement is a longitudinal channel, and generating a longitudinal control instruction of the aircraft mapped to the longitudinal channel, wherein the fifth control displacement refers to the control displacement of the second joystick in the longitudinal direction; According to the preset control mapping relationship, the vector control channel of the aircraft corresponding to the sixth control displacement is determined as the heading channel, and an aircraft heading control instruction mapped to the heading channel is generated, wherein the sixth control displacement refers to the lateral control displacement of the second joystick.

9. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that The second joystick is configured as a single-axis joystick that can swing in the longitudinal direction, the second joystick is provided with a control switch, the second vector control instruction includes an aircraft longitudinal control instruction and an aircraft heading control instruction, the second control information includes a seventh control displacement and control switch control information, and the step of generating a second vector control instruction mapped with the second control information according to the second control information received by the second joystick and a preset control mapping relationship includes: Determining, according to the preset control mapping relationship, that the vector control channel of the aircraft corresponding to the seventh control displacement is a longitudinal channel, and generating a longitudinal control instruction of the aircraft mapped to the longitudinal channel, wherein the seventh control displacement refers to the control displacement of the second joystick in the longitudinal direction; According to the preset manipulation mapping relationship, the vector control channel of the aircraft corresponding to the manipulation switch control information is determined as the heading channel, and an aircraft heading control instruction mapped to the heading channel is generated.

10. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that The vector motion includes the aircraft's lifting, longitudinal, lateral, and heading motions, the second vector control instruction includes an aircraft's longitudinal control instruction and an aircraft's heading control instruction, and the step of controlling the aircraft to perform vector motion according to the first vector control instruction and / or the second vector control instruction includes: When the aircraft is in a rotor configuration and the horizontal rate command mode is activated, and when a lateral control command of the aircraft is received, the lateral control command of the aircraft is solved by a preset flight control law to obtain a corresponding lateral speed command, and according to the lateral speed command, the aircraft is controlled to move laterally by a rotor speed differential; and / or When the aircraft is in a rotor configuration and the horizontal rate command mode is activated, and when a longitudinal control command of the aircraft is received, the longitudinal control command of the aircraft is solved by a preset flight control law to obtain a corresponding longitudinal speed command, and based on the longitudinal speed command, the aircraft is controlled to perform longitudinal movement through rotor speed differential control and / or tilt angle control.

11. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that The step of controlling the aircraft to perform vector motion according to the first vector control instruction and / or the second vector control instruction comprises: When the aircraft is in the transition configuration and receives the aircraft elevation control instruction, the aircraft elevation control instruction is solved by a preset flight control law to obtain a corresponding vertical speed instruction, and according to the vertical speed instruction, the aircraft is manipulated to perform pitch motion by elevator rudder deflection and / or rotor speed control; and / or When the aircraft is of a fixed-wing configuration and receives an aircraft lift control instruction, the aircraft lift control instruction is solved by a preset flight control law to obtain a corresponding vertical speed instruction or a pitch angle rate instruction, and according to the vertical speed instruction or the pitch angle rate instruction, the aircraft is manipulated to perform pitch movement by deflecting the elevator rudder.

12. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that The step of controlling the aircraft to perform vector motion according to the first vector control instruction and / or the second vector control instruction further includes: When the aircraft is in a rotor configuration and a heading control instruction of the aircraft is received, the heading control instruction of the aircraft is solved by a preset flight control law to obtain a corresponding yaw rate instruction, and according to the yaw rate instruction, the aircraft is controlled to perform yaw motion through tilt angle differential control and / or rotor speed differential control; and / or When the aircraft is in a transition configuration and a heading control instruction of the aircraft is received, the heading control instruction of the aircraft is solved by a preset flight control law to obtain a corresponding yaw rate instruction, and according to the yaw rate instruction, the aircraft is manipulated to perform yaw motion by rotor speed differential control and / or elevator rudder deflection; and / or When the aircraft is in a fixed-wing configuration and receives a heading control instruction of the aircraft, the heading control instruction of the aircraft is solved by a preset flight control law to obtain a corresponding yaw angle rate instruction, and according to the yaw angle rate instruction, the aircraft is manipulated to perform yaw motion by deflecting the elevator rudder.

13. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that The step of controlling the aircraft to perform vector motion according to the first vector control instruction and / or the second vector control instruction further includes: When the aircraft is in the ground control mode and receives the longitudinal control instruction of the aircraft, the longitudinal control instruction of the aircraft is solved according to the preset flight control law to obtain the corresponding ground speed control instruction, and the speed of the aircraft is controlled according to the ground speed control instruction to manipulate the aircraft to perform ground acceleration and deceleration movement; and / or When the aircraft is in ground control mode and receives a heading control instruction of the aircraft, the heading control instruction of the aircraft is solved according to a preset flight control law to obtain a corresponding ground direction control instruction, and according to the ground direction control instruction, the turning direction of the aircraft is controlled through differential power control and / or differential braking to manipulate the aircraft to perform ground turning movement.

14. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that The first joystick or the second joystick includes a tilt switch, and the method further includes: receiving tilt switch control information according to the flight control device, wherein the tilt switch control information includes forward tilt control information and backward tilt control information; When the aircraft is in a rotor configuration and receives the forward tilt control information, controlling the aircraft to transition to a fixed-wing configuration; When the aircraft is in a fixed-wing configuration and receives the backward tilt control information, the aircraft is controlled to transition to a rotor configuration.

15. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that The first joystick or the second joystick is provided with a shift gear at a preset manipulation displacement threshold in the longitudinal direction, and the method further comprises: Receiving gear switching information through the flight control device, wherein the gear switching information includes forward gear switching information and backward gear switching information; When the aircraft is in a rotor configuration and receives the forward gear switching information, controlling the aircraft to transition to the fixed-wing configuration; When the aircraft is in a fixed-wing configuration and receives the backward gear switching information, the aircraft is controlled to transition to the rotor configuration.

16. A vertical take-off and landing aircraft, characterized in that: The aircraft comprises a flight control device as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 6.

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