Aircraft wing folding system and control method thereof

Abstract

The invention belongs to the technical field of aircraft folding wing design and control, and discloses an aircraft wing folding system and a control method thereof.The aircraft wing folding system is located between a fixed wing and a folding wing and comprises a controller, a left wing folding mechanism and a right wing folding mechanism, and the left wing folding mechanism and the right wing folding mechanism are the same in structure; each folding device comprises a folding driving device, an actuating mechanism, a cover plate lock and a flattening proximity switch, the folding driving devices, the cover plate locks and the flattening proximity switches are all connected with the controller, the folding driving devices are connected with the actuating mechanisms located between the fixed wings and the folding wings, the cover plate locks are connected with wing cover plates, and the flattening proximity switches are arranged on the fixed wings. The wing folding system is simple in structure, the wing folding / flattening movement is driven through rotating speed PID closed-loop control, the operation process of the control method is simple, convenient and effective, and it is guaranteed that the system is stably, rapidly and reliably operated in the wing aircraft folding / flattening process.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention belongs to the field of aircraft folding wing design and control, relates to electromechanical hydraulic servo drive and control technology, and specifically relates to an aircraft wing folding system and a control method thereof. Background Art

[0002] With the continuous development and progress of aviation technology, foldable-wing aircraft will become an inevitable trend in the development of future military aircraft because they can greatly reduce the area occupied by aircraft on the apron, warships and hangars. Especially for aircraft with foldable wings, such as carrier-based aircraft, carrier-based early warning aircraft, and carrier-based drones, foldable-wing aircraft can save 20% to 50% of the occupied space when parked, greatly increasing the number of aircraft on board and combat capabilities. Every time an aircraft takes off and lands on a ship, the wing surface must be flattened and folded. If the wing is not folded and flattened properly, it will affect the timely takeoff of the aircraft and even flight safety. Therefore, it is necessary to ensure the speed and reliability of wing folding.

[0003] Therefore, it is urgent to design a system to fold the wings so that they can be folded and unfolded into place to ensure flight safety. Summary of the invention

[0004] In order to realize fast and reliable folding and flattening of the wings of a foldable-wing aircraft, ensure timely take-off of the aircraft and ensure flight safety, the present invention discloses an aircraft wing folding system, wherein the wing folding system is located between the fixed wing and the folding wing, and comprises a controller, a left wing folding mechanism and a right wing folding mechanism, wherein the left wing folding mechanism is located between the fixed wing and the folding wing of the left wing, and the right wing folding mechanism is located between the fixed wing and the folding wing of the right wing.

[0005] Among them, the left wing folding mechanism and the right wing folding mechanism have the same structure, both of which include a folding drive device, an actuating mechanism, a cover lock and a flattening proximity switch. The folding drive device, the cover lock and the flattening proximity switch are all connected to the controller, the folding drive device is connected to the actuating mechanism located between the fixed wing and the folding wing, the cover lock is connected to the wing cover, and the flattening proximity switch is arranged on the fixed wing.

[0006] Furthermore, the actuating mechanism includes a hydraulic motor, a reducer, a brake and a connecting rod mechanism, the hydraulic motor output shaft is connected to the reducer input shaft, the reducer output shaft is connected to the brake input shaft, the brake output shaft is connected to the connecting rod mechanism, the hydraulic motor, the reducer and the brake are arranged on the fixed wing, and the connecting rod mechanism is arranged on the folding wing.

[0007] The folding drive device comprises a main control solenoid valve, a brake solenoid valve and an electro-hydraulic servo valve, wherein the main control solenoid valve is arranged on the oil supply passage of the hydraulic motor, the brake solenoid valve is connected to the brake, and the electro-hydraulic servo valve is connected to the hydraulic motor.

[0008] Furthermore, the hydraulic motor is provided with a rotation speed sensor and a position sensor.

[0009] Furthermore, the left wing folding mechanism and the right wing folding mechanism also include an integrated control valve, an actuator cylinder, a wing lock pin and a locking proximity switch. The actuator cylinder is arranged on the fixed wing, the input end of the actuator cylinder is connected to the integrated control valve, the wing lock pin is inserted into the actuator cylinder, the other end of the wing lock pin is fixed on the folding wing, and the locking proximity switch is arranged in the actuator cylinder. The locking proximity switch is used to output a locking position signal of the wing lock pin.

[0010] Furthermore, the actuator includes a front actuator and a rear actuator.

[0011] Furthermore, a hydraulic lock is provided in the integrated control valve, and the hydraulic lock is connected to the wing lock pin.

[0012] Furthermore, a hydraulic pump assembly is provided in the integrated control valve, and the hydraulic pump assembly is detachably connected to an external electric tool.

[0013] The embodiment of the present invention also provides a control method for an aircraft wing folding system, comprising the following steps:

[0014] S1, controlling the wing folding system to unlock according to the received folding command signal, performing folding / unfolding operation after receiving the unlocking feedback signal within the set time, and outputting a fault signal after not receiving the unlocking feedback signal within the set time;

[0015] S2, perform folding / flattening operation according to the set actuator speed PID control logic, judge the wing angle between the fixed wing and the folding wing collected in real time, and output a folding / flattening in place signal when the wing angle is within the set angle range;

[0016] S3. Locking the wing folding system according to the folding / unfolding in place signal.

[0017] Compared with the prior art, the beneficial effects achieved by at least one of the above technical solutions adopted in the embodiments of this specification include at least: the wing folding system of the present invention has a simple structure, and adopts a speed PID closed-loop control to drive the wing folding / flattening movement, and its control method operation process is simple and effective, ensuring the smooth, fast and reliable operation of the wing aircraft folding / flattening process. At the same time, the actuating mechanism adopts a hydraulic motor as the actuator of the hydraulic system energy output, which has the advantages of good low-speed stability, high power density, and convenient speed regulation.

[0018] Furthermore, through the speed PID closed-loop control and the set speed trajectory, the initial stage of the speed trajectory curve is soft-started to prevent overshoot from damaging the mechanism; the middle stage runs at high speed to ensure that the wings are quickly folded / unfolded; when close to the position, it runs at low speed to prevent overshoot from damaging the device and ensure the stability of the wings during flight. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0019] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, the drawings required for use in the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present application. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without paying creative work.

[0020] Figure 1 A block diagram of an aircraft wing folding system disclosed in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0021] Figure 2 The folding control process disclosed in the embodiment of the present invention;

[0022] Figure 3 The flattening control process disclosed in the embodiment of the present invention;

[0023] Figure 4 This is a diagram showing the change trajectory of the hydraulic motor speed reference value disclosed in an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0024] The embodiments of the present application are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0025] The following describes the implementation methods of the present application through specific specific examples, and those skilled in the art can easily understand other advantages and effects of the present application from the content disclosed in this specification. Obviously, the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present application, rather than all the embodiments. The present application can also be implemented or applied through other different specific implementation methods, and the details in this specification can also be modified or changed in various ways based on different viewpoints and applications without departing from the spirit of the present application. It should be noted that the following embodiments and the features of the embodiments can be combined with each other in the absence of conflict. Based on the embodiments in the present application, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in the field without making creative work belong to the scope of protection of the present application.

[0026] The embodiment of the present invention discloses an aircraft wing folding system, see Figure 1 As shown, the wing folding system is located between the fixed wing and the folding wing, and includes a controller, a left wing folding mechanism and a right wing folding mechanism. The left wing folding mechanism is located between the fixed wing and the folding wing of the left wing, and the right wing folding mechanism is located between the fixed wing and the folding wing of the right wing. The aircraft wing folding system realizes the functions of unlocking, folding and holding the folding wings on the ground, and flattens and locks the folding wings before takeoff, while also transmitting hydraulic medium to the folding wings.

[0027] As shown in the figure, the left wing folding mechanism and the right wing folding mechanism have the same structure, both of which include a folding drive device, an actuating mechanism, a cover lock and a flattening proximity switch. The folding drive device, the cover lock and the flattening proximity switch are all connected to the controller, the folding drive device is connected to the actuating mechanism located between the fixed wing and the folding wing, the cover lock is connected to the wing cover, and the flattening proximity switch is arranged on the fixed wing.

[0028] The folding drive device can be arranged on the fixed wing, and its function is to drive the folding wing and the attached cover to fold / flatten in the unlocked state, and fix the folding wing in the current position after folding, and has the function of manual driving under power off and voltage off. The cover lock is used to control the locking and unlocking of the wing cover. When the wing is flattened, the cover lock is locked to fix the wing in the flattened position. The flattening proximity switch is used to feedback the signal that the folding wing is flattened in place.

[0029] Furthermore, the actuating mechanism includes a hydraulic motor, a reducer, a brake and a connecting rod mechanism, the hydraulic motor output shaft is connected to the reducer input shaft, the reducer output shaft is connected to the brake input shaft, the brake output shaft is connected to the connecting rod mechanism, the hydraulic motor, the reducer and the brake are arranged on the fixed wing, and the connecting rod mechanism is arranged on the folding wing.

[0030] The folding drive device comprises a main control solenoid valve, a brake solenoid valve and an electro-hydraulic servo valve, wherein the main control solenoid valve is arranged on the oil supply passage of the hydraulic motor, the brake solenoid valve is connected to the brake, and the electro-hydraulic servo valve is connected to the hydraulic motor.

[0031] Among them, the main control solenoid valve is used to control the oil circuit of the machine actuating mechanism, the brake solenoid valve controls the braking and releasing of the brake, and the electro-hydraulic servo valve controls the hydraulic motor to drive the reducer and brake to achieve the folding / unfolding of the folding wings.

[0032] Furthermore, the hydraulic motor is provided with a speed sensor and a position sensor, through which the speed sensor can measure the speed of the hydraulic motor for closed-loop control of the speed. The position sensor can calculate the folding angle between the fixed wing and the folding wing in real time according to the detected data.

[0033] Furthermore, the left wing folding mechanism and the right wing folding mechanism also include an integrated control valve, an actuator cylinder, a wing lock pin and a locking proximity switch. The actuator cylinder is arranged on the fixed wing, the input end of the actuator cylinder is connected to the integrated control valve, the wing lock pin is inserted into the actuator cylinder, the other end of the wing lock pin is fixed on the folding wing, and the locking proximity switch is arranged in the actuator cylinder. The locking proximity switch is used to output a locking position signal of the wing lock pin.

[0034] The function of the actuator is to drive the wing lock pin to move linearly to achieve locking and unlocking, and to feedback the folding / unfolding position signal through the locking proximity switch. The integrated control valve controls the oil circuit on-off and reversing of the actuator.

[0035] Furthermore, the actuator includes a front actuator and a rear actuator.

[0036] Furthermore, a hydraulic lock is provided in the integrated control valve, and the hydraulic lock is connected to the wing lock pin, wherein the hydraulic lock holds the wing lock pin in a locked state (ie, the oil circuit of the actuator is disconnected).

[0037] Furthermore, a hydraulic pump assembly is provided in the integrated control valve, and the hydraulic pump assembly is detachably connected to an external electric tool. The hydraulic pump assembly is provided to realize that in the case of power failure and pressure failure, the hydraulic pump is driven by an external electric tool to provide emergency power to open the actuator and realize the manual unlocking function.

[0038] In a specific implementation, the operation process of the aircraft wing folding system for folding / flattening is as follows:

[0039] When the wing is folded, the cover lock is first energized to unlock the cover; then the integrated solenoid valve is energized to connect the rodless chamber of the front / rear actuator cylinder with the pressure supply line, and the actuator cylinder drives the wing lock pin to unlock. When the lock is in place, an unlocking signal is sent; then the main control solenoid valve and brake solenoid valve of the folding drive device are energized, the brake is released, and at the same time, the electro-hydraulic servo valve is connected to the current to control the rotation of the hydraulic motor of the actuator mechanism. After the speed reducer slows down and increases the torque, the folding wing and the cover plate are driven to fold at the same time through the connecting rod mechanism. When folded into place, the position sensor feeds back a folding signal, the main control solenoid valve and brake solenoid valve of the folding drive device are de-energized, and the brake (hydraulic structure) of the actuator mechanism (locks) the wing in the folded position.

[0040] When the wings are flattened, the main control solenoid valve and brake solenoid valve of the folding drive device are energized, and at the same time, the brake is released, and the electro-hydraulic servo valve is connected to the current to control the rotation of the hydraulic motor. After the speed reducer slows down and increases the torque, the folding wings and the cover plate are driven to flatten at the same time through the connecting rod mechanism; when the flattening proximity switch detects that the flattening is in place, the flattening proximity switch feeds back a flattening signal, the main control solenoid valve and brake solenoid valve are de-energized, and the brake holds the folding wings and the cover plate in the flattened position; then the integrated control valve is energized to connect the rod chamber of the front / rear actuator cylinder with the pressure supply line, and the actuator cylinder drives the wing lock pin to lock, and after the locking proximity switch detects that the lock is in place, it sends a locking signal; then the cover plate lock is energized to lock the cover plate, and the wing and cover plate are locked in the flattened position.

[0041] The embodiment of the present invention also provides a control method for an aircraft wing folding system, comprising the following steps:

[0042] S1, controlling the wing folding system to unlock according to the received folding command signal, performing folding / unfolding operation after receiving the unlocking feedback signal within the set time, and outputting a fault signal after not receiving the unlocking feedback signal within the set time;

[0043] S2, perform folding / flattening operation according to the set actuator speed PID control logic, judge the wing angle between the fixed wing and the folding wing collected in real time, and output a folding / flattening in place signal when the wing angle is within the set angle range;

[0044] S3. Locking the wing folding system according to the folding / unfolding in place signal.

[0045] In the specific implementation, in steps S1 and S3, see Figure 2 and Figure 3 As shown, Figure 2 To fold the control flow, Figure 3 To flatten the control process;

[0046] 1. Folding control process: The specific implementation process of the left (right) wing folding control is as follows:

[0047] 1.1 The motor drives the cover lock to unlock. After a delay of 2s, it determines whether the wing cover lock is unlocked. If the controller receives the cover lock unlock signal, the power supply of the cover lock motor is cut off; if the cover unlock signal is not received within 2s, the folding command is stopped, the safety protection state is entered and the fault information is reported.

[0048] 1.2 After cutting off the power supply of the cover lock motor, delay 0.2s, connect the integrated control valve, execute the unlocking control output, and the actuator drives the wing lock pin to move. After a delay of 2.5s, determine whether the front and rear locks of the wing are unlocked. If the controller receives the unlocking signal of the front and rear locks of the wing, cut off the power supply of the integrated control valve; if it does not receive the unlocking signal of all the front and rear locks of the wing within 2.5s, stop executing the folding command, enter the safety protection state and report the fault information.

[0049] 1.3 After cutting off the power supply of the integrated control valve, the main control solenoid valve of the folding drive device is turned on. After a delay of 0.2s, the brake solenoid valve is energized to control the brake to unlock. According to the predetermined speed trajectory, the actuator executes the wing folding control output, and drives the wing and cover to fold through speed closed-loop control.

[0050] 1.4 When the position sensor detects that the wing angle reaches the preset value (92±1)°, the controller receives the folding in place signal. After receiving the signal, the power supply of the main control solenoid valve and the brake solenoid valve of the folding drive device is immediately cut off, and the current of the electro-hydraulic servo valve is set to 0. The wing folding process is completed and the completion information is reported. If the controller does not receive the wing folding in place signal within 25s (the total time from the start to the end of folding), the folding command is stopped and the fault information is reported. If the position sensor detects that the angle exceeds the preset value, the folding command is stopped, the safety protection state is entered, and the fault over-travel fault information is reported.

[0051] 2. Flattening control process: The specific implementation process of the left (right) wing flattening control is as follows:

[0052] 2.1 The main control solenoid valve of the folding drive device is turned on, and after a delay of 0.2s, the brake solenoid valve is energized to drive the brake to unlock, and then the wings and cover are driven to flatten according to the predetermined speed trajectory through the speed closed loop;

[0053] 2.2 When the controller receives the in-position signal from the flattening proximity switch, it immediately cuts off the power supply to the main control solenoid valve and brake solenoid valve of the folding drive device, and the current of the electro-hydraulic servo valve is set to 0; if the controller does not receive the wing flattening in-position signal from the flattening proximity switch within 25 seconds, it stops executing the flattening command and reports the fault information;

[0054] 2.3 When the controller receives the in-position signal from the flattening proximity switch, it delays for 0.2s, connects the integrated control valve, executes the locking control output, and the actuator drives the wing lock pin to move; after a delay of 2.5s, it determines whether the front and rear locks of the wing are unlocked. If the controller receives the locking signal of the front and rear locks of the wing, the power supply to the integrated control valve is cut off; if the locking signal of all the front and rear locks of the wing is not received within 2.5s, the flattening command is stopped, the safety protection state is entered, and the fault information is reported.

[0055] 2.4 After the integrated control valve is powered off, a delay of 0.2s is applied and the motor drives the cover lock to lock. After a delay of 2s, it is determined whether the wing cover lock is locked. If a wing cover lock lock signal is received, the cover lock motor power supply is cut off, the wing flattening process is completed, and the completion information is reported; if the system does not receive a cover lock signal within 2s, the flattening command is stopped, the safety protection state is entered, and the fault information is reported.

[0056] in, Figure 2 and Figure 3 The medium speed closed-loop control mode, that is, the PID control logic of the actuator speed is: according to the preset speed change trajectory, the speed reference value is given, and the speed of the hydraulic motor is controlled by PID, so as to achieve the purpose of controlling the wing folding device. Figure 4 The change trajectory of the hydraulic motor speed reference value is shown as follows:

[0057] 1) Figure 4 Among them, (1) to (6) are folding movements, and (7) to (12) are flattening movements;

[0058] 2) Figure 4 (1) to (2) are ramp starts during the folding process, rising to 1000 rpm in 1 second, and the hydraulic motor achieves a soft start, with a relatively small folding degree at the start;

[0059] 3) Figure 4 (2) to (3) are the rapid folding process, and the hydraulic motor maintains a high-speed operation of 1000 rpm;

[0060] 4) When folded to 80°, reduce the speed to 300rpm to ensure that the wing runs at a low speed before folding to avoid overshoot and damage to the mechanical structure;

[0061] 5) Ramp soft start is also used when flattening. When flattening to 12°, the speed is reduced to avoid overshoot.

[0062] in, Figure 2 and Figure 3 Medium safety protection operation position: the servo valve control command is set to 0; the integrated control valve, main control solenoid valve, and brake solenoid valve are powered off, the servo valve output current is 0, and the cover lock is powered off.

[0063] The wing folding system of the present invention has a simple structure and adopts a speed PID closed-loop control to drive the wing folding / flattening movement. The control method and operation process are simple and effective, ensuring the smooth, fast and reliable operation of the wing aircraft folding / flattening process. At the same time, the actuating mechanism adopts a hydraulic motor as the actuator of the hydraulic system energy output, which has the advantages of good low-speed stability, high power density, and convenient speed regulation.

[0064] Furthermore, the wing-folding system is controlled by closed-loop speed PID and set speed trajectory. It is soft-started at the beginning of the speed trajectory curve to prevent overshoot from damaging the mechanism; it runs at high speed in the middle section to ensure rapid folding / unfolding of the wings; and it runs at low speed when close to the right position to prevent overshoot from damaging the device and ensure the stability of the wings during flight.

[0065] Obviously, those skilled in the art should understand that the various steps of the above-mentioned embodiments of the present invention can be implemented by a general-purpose computing device, they can be concentrated on a single computing device, or distributed on a network composed of multiple computing devices, and optionally, they can be implemented by a program code executable by a computing device, so that they can be stored in a storage device and executed by the computing device, and in some cases, the steps shown or described can be executed in a different order from that here, or they can be made into individual integrated circuit modules, or multiple modules or steps therein can be made into a single integrated circuit module for implementation. Thus, the embodiments of the present invention are not limited to any specific combination of hardware and software.

[0066] The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention and is not intended to limit the present invention. For those skilled in the art, the embodiments of the present invention may have various modifications and variations. Any modification, equivalent replacement, improvement, etc. made within the spirit and principle of the present invention shall be included in the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. An aircraft wing folding system, the wing folding system is located between a fixed wing and a folding wing, characterized in that: It includes a controller, a left wing folding mechanism and a right wing folding mechanism, wherein the left wing folding mechanism is located between the fixed wing and the folding wing of the left wing, and the right wing folding mechanism is located between the fixed wing and the folding wing of the right wing; The left wing folding mechanism and the right wing folding mechanism have the same structure, and both include a folding drive device, an actuating mechanism, a cover plate lock and a flattening proximity switch. The folding drive device, the cover plate lock and the flattening proximity switch are all connected to the controller. The folding drive device is connected to the actuating mechanism located between the fixed wing and the folding wing, the cover plate lock is connected to the wing cover, and the flattening proximity switch is arranged on the fixed wing.

2. The aircraft wing folding system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The actuating mechanism comprises a hydraulic motor, a reducer, a brake and a connecting rod mechanism, the output shaft of the hydraulic motor is connected to the input shaft of the reducer, the output shaft of the reducer is connected to the input shaft of the brake, the output shaft of the brake is connected to the connecting rod mechanism, the hydraulic motor, the reducer and the brake are arranged on the fixed wing, and the connecting rod mechanism is arranged on the folding wing; The folding drive device comprises a main control solenoid valve, a brake solenoid valve and an electro-hydraulic servo valve, wherein the main control solenoid valve is arranged on the oil supply passage of the hydraulic motor, the brake solenoid valve is connected to the brake, and the electro-hydraulic servo valve is connected to the hydraulic motor.

3. The aircraft wing folding system according to claim 2, characterized in that: The hydraulic motor is provided with a rotation speed sensor and a position sensor.

4. The aircraft wing folding system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The left wing folding mechanism and the right wing folding mechanism also include an integrated control valve, an actuator cylinder, a wing lock pin and a locking proximity switch. The actuator cylinder is arranged on the fixed wing, the input end of the actuator cylinder is connected to the integrated control valve, the wing lock pin is inserted into the actuator cylinder, the other end of the wing lock pin is fixed on the folding wing, the locking proximity switch is arranged in the actuator cylinder, and the locking proximity switch is used to output a locked position signal of the wing lock pin.

5. The aircraft wing folding system according to claim 4, characterized in that: The actuator comprises a front actuator and a rear actuator.

6. The aircraft wing folding system according to claim 4, characterized in that: A hydraulic lock is arranged in the integrated control valve, and the hydraulic lock is connected to the wing lock pin.

7. The aircraft wing folding system according to claim 4, characterized in that: A hydraulic pump assembly is arranged inside the integrated control valve, and the hydraulic pump assembly is detachably connected to an external electric tool.

8. A control method for an aircraft wing folding system, characterized in that: include: Control the wing folding system to unlock according to the received folding command signal, perform folding / unfolding operation after receiving the unlocking feedback signal within the set time, and output a fault signal after not receiving the unlocking feedback signal within the set time; The folding / unfolding operation is performed according to the set actuating mechanism speed PID control logic, and the wing angle between the fixed wing and the folding wing collected in real time is judged, and a folding / unfolding in place signal is output when the wing angle is within the set angle range; The wing folding system is locked according to the folding / unfolding in place signal.

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