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

Abstract

The invention discloses a flight control device, an aircraft control method and a vertical take-off and landing aircraft, and relates to the technical field of aircraft control. A main manipulator configured to receive manipulation information input by a pilot; the backup manipulator and the main manipulator are independently arranged relatively, and the backup manipulator is configured to receive manipulation information input by a pilot; the control system is configured to identify a target manipulator from the main manipulator and the backup manipulator, generate a vector control instruction mapped with the manipulation information by using a signal corresponding to the manipulation information received from the target manipulator and combining a preset manipulation mapping relation, and control the target manipulator according to the vector control instruction. And controlling the aircraft to perform vector motion according to the vector control instruction. According to the scheme, the complexity of aircraft control can be effectively reduced, and the safety of aircraft control is improved.

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] Existing eVTOL cockpits generally adopt a cockpit layout with a single joystick and a single speed lever. Although the joystick and the speed lever are designed with redundancy, they cannot effectively guarantee safety in the case of common mode failures.

[0004] At the same time, eVTOL aircraft need to realize rotor configuration, fixed-wing configuration and the transition stage between the two. For traditional aircraft, the design methods of control equipment for fixed-wing configuration and rotor configuration are different, so the control methods for fixed-wing configuration and rotor configuration are different.

[0005] Therefore, the existing control methods of eVTOL aircraft have the problems of high control complexity and insufficient aircraft control safety.

[0006] 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

[0007] 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 of the existing eVTOL aircraft control method, which has high complexity in eVTOL aircraft control and insufficient aircraft control safety.

[0008] To achieve the above objectives, the present application proposes a flight control device, the flight control device comprising:

[0009] Control systems;

[0010] A main controller, communicatively coupled to the control system, the main controller being configured to receive control information input by the pilot and provide corresponding signals to the control system;

[0011] A backup manipulator is relatively independent from the main manipulator and is communicatively coupled with the control system. The backup manipulator is configured to receive the control information input by the pilot and provide corresponding signals to the control system.

[0012] The control system is configured to identify a target manipulator from a main manipulator and a backup manipulator, use a signal corresponding to the manipulation information received from the target manipulator, and combine with a preset manipulation mapping relationship to generate a vector control instruction mapped with the manipulation information, and control the aircraft to perform vector motion according to the vector control instruction.

[0013] In one embodiment, the control system includes an arbitration module, and the arbitration module is further configured to detect a validity signal of the master manipulator to confirm whether the master manipulator is valid;

[0014] When it is confirmed that the master manipulator is valid, setting the master manipulator as the target manipulator;

[0015] When it is confirmed that the primary manipulator fails, the arbitration module is configured to automatically / manually switch the target manipulator to the backup manipulator.

[0016] In one embodiment, the flight control device includes an authority switching switch, and the control system includes an arbitration module, wherein the authority switching switch is communicatively coupled to the arbitration module, and the authority switching switch is configured to receive control information input by the pilot and provide an authority switching signal to the arbitration module;

[0017] The arbitration module is further configured to detect a validity signal of the master manipulator to confirm whether the master manipulator is valid;

[0018] The arbitration module is configured to switch the target manipulator to the backup manipulator when it is confirmed that the master manipulator is valid and the authority switching signal is in a state of inhibiting the master manipulator;

[0019] and / or

[0020] The arbitration module is configured to switch the target manipulator to the backup manipulator when it is confirmed that the primary manipulator is invalid and the authority switching signal is in a state of inhibiting the primary manipulator.

[0021] In one embodiment, the control system is configured to use a signal corresponding to the manipulation information received from the target manipulator, and in combination with the preset manipulation mapping relationship, determine that the vector control channel of the aircraft corresponding to the manipulation information is at least one of the lift, lateral, longitudinal, and heading control channels, and generate the vector control instruction mapped to the vector control channel.

[0022] In one embodiment, the main manipulator includes a first joystick and a second joystick, 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 received by the main manipulator includes first manipulation information and second manipulation information, wherein the vector control channel mapped by the first manipulation information is the elevation and lateral control channel, and the vector control channel mapped by the second manipulation information is the longitudinal and heading control channel;

[0023] The backup manipulator includes a third joystick and a fourth joystick, and the third joystick and the fourth joystick are configured as two-axis joysticks that can swing in the horizontal and vertical directions. The manipulation information received by the backup manipulator includes third manipulation information and fourth manipulation information, wherein the vector control channel mapped by the third manipulation information is the same as the first manipulation information, and the vector control channel mapped by the fourth manipulation information is the same as the second manipulation information.

[0024] In one embodiment, the main manipulator includes a first joystick and a second joystick, wherein the first joystick and the second joystick are configured as two-axis joysticks that can swing in the lateral and longitudinal directions;

[0025] The backup manipulator includes a third joystick and a manipulating switch. The third joystick is configured as a three-axis joystick capable of swinging in the lateral and longitudinal directions and performing twisting motion.

[0026] In one embodiment, the control information received by the main manipulator includes first control information and second control information, wherein the vector control channel mapped by the first control information is the elevation and lateral control channel, and the vector control channel mapped by the second control information is the longitudinal and heading control channel; the control information received by the backup manipulator includes third control information and control switch information, wherein the vector control channel mapped by the third control information is the heading, lateral, and elevation control channel, and the vector control channel mapped by the control switch information is the longitudinal control channel;

[0027] and / or

[0028] The operating switch is arranged on the third operating rod and is operated by the thumb;

[0029] and / or

[0030] The operating switch is any one of a roller switch, a two-way switch and a push button switch.

[0031] In one embodiment, the vector control instruction includes an aircraft heading control instruction, and the aircraft includes a rotor configuration, a fixed-wing configuration, and a transition configuration;

[0032] When the control system generates an aircraft heading control instruction mapped with the control information, and the aircraft is of a rotor configuration, the control system is further configured to solve the aircraft heading control instruction through a preset flight control law to obtain a corresponding yaw rate instruction, and according to the yaw rate instruction, control the aircraft to perform yaw motion through tilt angle differential control and / or rotor speed differential control; and / or

[0033] When the control system generates an aircraft heading control instruction mapped with the control information, and the aircraft is in a transition configuration, the control system is further configured to solve the aircraft heading control instruction through a preset flight control law to obtain a corresponding yaw rate instruction, and according to the yaw rate instruction, control the aircraft to perform yaw motion through rotor speed differential control and / or elevator rudder deflection; and / or

[0034] When the control system generates an aircraft heading control instruction mapped with the manipulation information, and the aircraft is of a fixed-wing configuration, the control system is further configured to solve the aircraft heading control instruction through a preset flight control law to obtain a corresponding yaw rate instruction, and according to the yaw rate instruction, manipulate the aircraft to perform yaw motion by deflecting the elevator rudder; and / or

[0035] When the control system generates an aircraft heading control instruction mapped with the manipulation information, and the aircraft is in ground control mode, the control system is further configured to solve the aircraft heading control instruction through a preset flight control law, obtain a corresponding ground direction control instruction, and control the turning direction of the aircraft through differential power and / or differential braking according to the ground direction control instruction, and manipulate the aircraft to perform ground turning movement.

[0036] In one embodiment, the vector control instruction includes a longitudinal control instruction of an aircraft, and the aircraft includes a rotor configuration, a fixed-wing configuration, and a transition configuration;

[0037] When the control system generates a longitudinal control instruction of the aircraft mapped with the control information, and the aircraft is in a rotor configuration and a horizontal speed instruction mode is activated, the control system is further configured to solve the longitudinal control instruction of the aircraft through a preset flight control law to obtain a corresponding longitudinal speed instruction, and according to the longitudinal speed instruction, control the aircraft to perform longitudinal movement through rotor speed differential control and / or tilt angle control;

[0038] When the control system generates a longitudinal control instruction of the aircraft mapped with the manipulation information, and the aircraft is in a transition configuration, the control system is further configured to solve the longitudinal control instruction of the aircraft through a preset flight control law to obtain a corresponding longitudinal acceleration instruction, and manipulate the aircraft to perform longitudinal movement through rotor speed control and / or tilt angle control according to the longitudinal acceleration instruction; and / or

[0039] When the control system generates an aircraft longitudinal control instruction mapped with the control information and the aircraft is in a ground control mode, the control system is also configured to solve the aircraft longitudinal control instruction through a preset flight control law, obtain a corresponding ground speed control instruction, and control the speed of the aircraft according to the ground speed control instruction, thereby manipulating the aircraft to perform ground acceleration and deceleration movements.

[0040] In one embodiment, a tilt enable switch is provided on at least the main manipulator, and the control system is further configured to allow the tilt rotor to be tilted when a tilt enable signal sent by the tilt enable switch is received; and / or

[0041] A ground mode switching switch is provided at least on the main manipulator, and the manipulating information includes ground mode control information;

[0042] The control system is further configured to control the aircraft to switch to a ground control mode upon receiving ground mode control information;

[0043] When the aircraft is in the ground control mode, the control system is further configured to use the manipulation information received from the target manipulator 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; and / or

[0044] A horizontal rate command mode switch is provided at least on the main manipulator, and the manipulation information includes horizontal rate command mode control information;

[0045] The control system is further configured to control the aircraft to switch to a horizontal rate command mode upon receiving horizontal rate command mode control information.

[0046] In one embodiment, a tilt switch is provided at least on the main manipulator, and the manipulation information includes forward tilt control information and backward tilt control information corresponding to the tilt switch;

[0047] The control system is also configured to control the aircraft to transition from a rotor configuration to a fixed-wing configuration when forward tilt control information is received; and to control the aircraft to transition from a fixed-wing configuration to a rotor configuration when backward tilt control information is received.

[0048] In addition, to achieve the above-mentioned purpose, the present application also proposes an aircraft control method, which is applied to a flight control device, wherein the flight control device includes a main controller and a backup controller, and the method includes:

[0049] Identify a target manipulator from the primary manipulator and the backup manipulator;

[0050] receiving the pilot's manipulation information through the target manipulator;

[0051] Generate a vector control instruction mapped with the manipulation information according to the manipulation information and a preset manipulation mapping relationship;

[0052] The aircraft is controlled to perform vector motion according to the vector control instruction.

[0053] In one embodiment, the backup manipulator includes a third joystick and a fourth joystick, the third joystick and the fourth joystick are configured as two-axis joysticks that can swing in the horizontal and vertical directions, the manipulation information received by the backup manipulator includes third manipulation information and fourth manipulation information, the third manipulation information includes a first manipulation displacement and a second manipulation displacement, the fourth manipulation information includes a third manipulation displacement and a fourth manipulation displacement, and the step of generating a vector control instruction mapped to the manipulation information according to the manipulation information and a preset manipulation mapping relationship includes:

[0054] When the target manipulator is a backup manipulator, determining, according to the preset manipulation mapping relationship, that the vector control channel of the aircraft corresponding to the first manipulation displacement is a lateral channel, and generating an aircraft lateral control instruction mapped to the lateral channel, wherein the first manipulation displacement refers to the lateral manipulation displacement of the third joystick;

[0055] Determining, according to the preset control mapping relationship, that the vector control channel of the aircraft corresponding to the second control displacement is an elevation channel, and generating an aircraft elevation control instruction mapped to the elevation channel, wherein the second control displacement refers to the control displacement of the third joystick in the longitudinal direction;

[0056] Determining, according to the preset control mapping relationship, that the vector control channel of the aircraft corresponding to the third control displacement is a longitudinal channel, and generating a longitudinal control instruction of the aircraft mapped to the longitudinal channel, wherein the third control displacement refers to the control displacement of the fourth joystick in the longitudinal direction;

[0057] According to the preset control mapping relationship, the vector control channel of the aircraft corresponding to the fourth control displacement is determined as the heading channel, and an aircraft heading control instruction mapped to the heading channel is generated, wherein the fourth control displacement refers to the lateral control displacement of the fourth joystick.

[0058] In one embodiment, the backup manipulator includes a third joystick and a joystick switch, the third joystick is configured as a three-axis joystick that can swing in the horizontal and vertical directions and can perform torsional motion, the manipulation information received by the backup manipulator includes third manipulation information and manipulation switch information, the third manipulation information includes a first manipulation displacement, a second manipulation displacement and a rotational variation, and the step of generating a vector control instruction mapped to the manipulation information according to the manipulation information and a preset manipulation mapping relationship includes:

[0059] When the target manipulator is a backup manipulator, determining, according to the preset control mapping relationship, that the vector control channel of the aircraft corresponding to the first control displacement is a lateral channel, and generating an aircraft lateral control instruction mapped to the lateral channel, wherein the first control displacement refers to the lateral control displacement of the third joystick;

[0060] Determining, according to the preset control mapping relationship, that the vector control channel of the aircraft corresponding to the second control displacement is an elevation channel, and generating an aircraft elevation control instruction mapped to the elevation channel, wherein the second control displacement refers to the control displacement of the third joystick in the longitudinal direction;

[0061] Determining, according to the preset control mapping relationship, that the vector control channel of the aircraft corresponding to the rotation change is a heading channel, and generating an aircraft heading control instruction mapped to the heading channel, wherein the rotation change refers to the torsion angle change of the third joystick performing a torsional motion;

[0062] According to the preset manipulation mapping relationship, it is determined that the vector control channel of the aircraft corresponding to the manipulation switch information is the longitudinal channel, and a longitudinal control instruction of the aircraft mapped to the longitudinal channel is generated.

[0063] In one embodiment, the vector control instruction includes an aircraft heading control instruction, and the step of controlling the aircraft to perform vector motion according to the vector control instruction includes:

[0064] When the aircraft is in a rotor configuration, the aircraft heading control command is solved by a preset flight control law to obtain a corresponding yaw rate command, and according to the yaw rate command, the aircraft is manipulated to perform yaw motion through tilt angle differential control and / or rotor speed differential control; and / or

[0065] When the aircraft is in a transition configuration, the aircraft heading control command is solved by a preset flight control law to obtain a corresponding yaw rate command, and according to the yaw rate command, the aircraft is manipulated to perform yaw motion by rotor speed differential control and / or elevator rudder deflection; and / or

[0066] When the aircraft is a fixed-wing configuration, the aircraft heading control command is solved by a preset flight control law to obtain a corresponding yaw rate command, and the aircraft is manipulated to perform yaw motion by deflecting the elevator rudder according to the yaw rate command; and / or

[0067] When the aircraft is in ground control mode, the aircraft heading control instruction is solved through 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.

[0068] 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.

[0069] In one embodiment, the aircraft displays the working status of the primary manipulator and the backup manipulator to the pilot through a display system;

[0070] When the target controller is the backup controller, the display system shows the pilot that the backup controller is activated and the primary controller is inhibited;

[0071] When the target controller is the master controller, the display system shows the pilot that the standby master controller is activated and the backup controller is inhibited;

[0072] When it is detected that the manipulator in the inhibited state is erroneously operated, the aircraft provides visual and / or voice warnings to the pilot.

[0073] In addition, to achieve the above-mentioned objectives, the present application also proposes a vertical take-off and landing aircraft, which includes: a memory, a processor, and a computer program stored in the memory and executable on the processor, wherein the computer program is configured to implement the steps of the aircraft control method as described above.

[0074] One or more technical solutions proposed in this application have at least the following technical effects:

[0075] 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 main manipulator and provide corresponding signals to the control system; the backup manipulator is set relatively independently from the main manipulator, receives the control information input by the pilot, and provides corresponding signals to the control system; the control system identifies the target manipulator from the main manipulator and the backup manipulator, uses the signal corresponding to the control information received from the target manipulator, and combines with the preset control mapping relationship to generate a vector control instruction mapped with the control information, and controls the aircraft to perform vector motion according to the vector control instruction.

[0076] In the above scheme, the flight control device obtains the target manipulator that can be controlled from the main manipulator and the backup manipulator, and then receives the pilot's control information through the target manipulator; then, in combination with the preset control mapping relationship, a vector control instruction mapped with the control information is generated; then, the aircraft is controlled to perform vector movement according to the vector control instruction, and the "main-backup" redundancy design in the hardware architecture is realized by setting two sets of manipulators to avoid the occurrence of manipulator failure, effectively improving the safety level of the control device and the control safety of the aircraft; at the same time, the aircraft can achieve corresponding vector flight by simply operating the manipulator, thereby simplifying the control method of the aircraft, and using flight control automation technology to reduce the skills that pilots must have to safely control the aircraft, which can effectively reduce the complexity of aircraft control and reduce the operating burden of the pilot. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0077] 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.

[0078] 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.

[0079] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a flow chart provided for the first embodiment of the aircraft control method of the present application;

[0080] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of a flow chart provided for the second embodiment of the aircraft control method of the present application;

[0081] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of a flow chart provided for the second embodiment of the aircraft control method of the present application;

[0082] Figure 4A schematic diagram of a flow chart provided for the third embodiment of the aircraft control method of the present application;

[0083] Figure 5 A schematic diagram of a flow chart provided for the fourth embodiment of the aircraft control method of the present application;

[0084] Figure 6 A schematic diagram of a flow chart provided for the fifth embodiment of the aircraft control method of the present application;

[0085] Figure 7 A flowchart diagram of the sixth embodiment of the aircraft control method of the present application is provided;

[0086] Figure 8 A simplified schematic diagram of the vector motion of an aircraft involved in an embodiment of the present application;

[0087] Fig. 9 (a) is an exemplary diagram of a first joystick in a master manipulator involved in an embodiment of the present application;

[0088] Fig. 9 (b) is an exemplary diagram of a second joystick in a main manipulator involved in an embodiment of the present application;

[0089] Fig.10 An example diagram of an evTOL aircraft with a rotor configuration involved in an embodiment of the present application;

[0090] Fig.11 This is an example diagram of a fixed-wing configuration of an evTOL aircraft involved in an embodiment of the present application;

[0091] Fig.12 This is an example diagram of the change of the rotor tilt angle of the aircraft involved in the embodiment of the present application during the flight;

[0092] Fig.13 (a) is an example diagram of the rotor tilt angle of the fixed-wing aircraft in the forward flight stage involved in the embodiment of the present application;

[0093] Fig.13 (b) is an example diagram of the rotor tilt angle during the tilt phase of the aircraft involved in the embodiment of the present application;

[0094] Fig.13 (c) is an example diagram of the rotor tilt angle of the aircraft rotor stage involved in the embodiment of the present application;

[0095] Fig.14 This is an example diagram of an evTOL aircraft involved in an embodiment of the present application;

[0096] FIG. 15( a ) is an exemplary diagram of a third joystick in a backup manipulator according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0097] FIG15( b ) is an exemplary diagram of a first joystick in a main manipulator according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0098] FIG. 15( c ) is an exemplary diagram of a second joystick in a main manipulator according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0099] FIG. 15( d ) is an exemplary diagram of a fourth joystick in a backup manipulator according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0100] Fig.16 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;

[0101] Fig.17 This is an example diagram of a backup manipulator variant involved in an embodiment of the present application;

[0102] Fig.18 This is an example diagram of another flight control device in the cockpit of an evTOL aircraft involved in an embodiment of the present application;

[0103] Fig.19 This is an exemplary diagram of a main manipulator variant involved in an embodiment of the present application;

[0104] Fig. 20 This is an example diagram of a method for identifying a target manipulator through an arbitration unit according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0105] Fig.21 This is an example diagram of visual prompts for the working status of a main manipulator and a backup manipulator involved in an embodiment of the present application.

[0106] 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

[0107] 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.

[0108] 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.

[0109] 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.14, 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.

[0110] The main solution of the embodiment of the present application is: a flight control device, comprising: a control system; a main manipulator, which is communicatively coupled to the control system, and is configured to receive control information input by the pilot, and provide corresponding signals to the control system; a backup manipulator, which is relatively independently arranged with the main manipulator, and is communicatively coupled to the control system, and is configured to receive control information input by the pilot, and provide corresponding signals to the control system; wherein the control system is configured to identify a target manipulator from the main manipulator and the backup manipulator, use a signal corresponding to the control information received from the target manipulator, and combine with a preset control mapping relationship to generate a vector control instruction mapped to the control information, and control the aircraft to perform vector motion according to the vector control instruction.

[0111] Technical terms involved in the embodiments of this application:

[0112] 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 vertical take-off and landing capabilities. 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.

[0113] The existing eVTOL cockpit design does not have sufficient safety design for the control equipment. Unlike the traditional passenger aircraft with two pilots and two joysticks (control stick and throttle lever), eVTOL aircraft are usually operated by a single pilot and use a single set of control equipment with a single joystick and a single speed lever. Once a common mode failure occurs, the safety of the flight cannot be effectively guaranteed. Therefore, there is a problem of insufficient control safety requirements.

[0114] In addition, 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.

[0115] Therefore, the existing control methods of eVTOL aircraft have technical problems such as high complexity of eVTOL aircraft control and insufficient aircraft control safety.

[0116] The present application provides a solution, which includes identifying a target manipulator that can be manipulated from a main manipulator and a backup manipulator, and then receiving the pilot's manipulation information through the target manipulator; then generating a vector control instruction mapped with the manipulation information in combination with a preset manipulation mapping relationship; then controlling the aircraft to perform vector motion according to the vector control instruction, and realizing a "main-backup" redundancy design in the hardware architecture by setting up two sets of manipulators, thereby avoiding the occurrence of manipulator failure, and effectively improving the safety level of the control device and the control safety of the aircraft; at the same time, realizing the corresponding vector flight of the aircraft only by simple manipulation of the manipulator, thereby simplifying the control method of the aircraft, and utilizing flight control automation technology to reduce the skills that the pilot must have to safely control the aircraft, which can effectively reduce the complexity of aircraft control and reduce the operating burden of the pilot.

[0117] 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.

[0118] First, a flight control device is provided in an embodiment of the present application, including: a control system; a main manipulator, which is communicatively coupled to the control system, and is configured to receive control information input by a pilot, and provide corresponding signals to the control system; a backup manipulator, which is relatively independently arranged with the main manipulator, and is communicatively coupled to the control system, and is configured to receive control information input by the pilot, and provide corresponding signals to the control system; wherein the control system is configured to identify a target manipulator from the main manipulator and the backup manipulator, use a signal corresponding to the control information received from the target manipulator, and combine with a preset control mapping relationship to generate a vector control instruction mapped to the control information, and control the aircraft to perform vector motion according to the vector control instruction.

[0119] Based on the flight control device proposed above, the present application embodiment provides an aircraft control method, referring to Figure 1 , Figure 1 This is a flow chart of the first embodiment of the aircraft control method of the present application.

[0120] In this embodiment, the method is applied to a flight control device, the flight control device includes a main controller and a backup controller, and the aircraft control method includes steps S110 to S140:

[0121] Step S110, identifying a target manipulator from the main manipulator and the backup manipulator;

[0122] It should be noted that the manipulator is used to receive the pilot's control information and convert the control information into instructions that can be recognized by the flight control device, thereby controlling the attitude, position and trajectory of the aircraft. For example, the manipulator may include a joystick, and the pilot can change the attitude, position or direction of the joystick to make the joystick output a signal, which is then converted into a corresponding control instruction.

[0123] It should be understood that the main manipulator and the backup manipulator have completely the same manipulating functions, but they may differ in hardware structure.

[0124] First, because EVTO aircraft are usually controlled by a single pilot, in order to avoid the double input caused by the main manipulator and the backup manipulator, the flight control device needs to select a single manipulator from the main manipulator and the backup manipulator that is currently used to receive control information and control the aircraft, that is, the target manipulator. Therefore, only one of the main manipulator and the backup manipulator can be in an activated state, while the other is in a suppressed state.

[0125] Step S120, receiving the pilot's control information through the target manipulator;

[0126] Specifically, the flight control device receives the pilot's control information through the target manipulator, wherein the control information refers to the motion information and related signal change information generated by the pilot's operation on the target manipulator, such as displacement information, rotation angle, attitude information, switch state signal, etc.

[0127] Step S130, generating a vector control instruction mapped with the manipulation information according to the manipulation information and a preset manipulation mapping relationship;

[0128] It should be noted that the preset control mapping relationship includes the control mapping relationship between the movement and state change of the target manipulator and the vector movement of the aircraft. This mapping relationship is preset by the relevant developers based on the actual flight needs and control requirements of the aircraft. Figure 8 ,The vector motion of the aircraft includes lift, longitudinal, lateral, and heading motion.

[0129] Furthermore, in the flight control device, the control system is configured to use a signal corresponding to the control information received from the target manipulator, and in combination with the preset control mapping relationship, determine that the vector control channel of the aircraft corresponding to the control information is at least one of the lift, lateral, longitudinal, and heading control channels, and generate the vector control instruction mapped to the vector control channel.

[0130] Specifically, the flight control device will receive the control information obtained through the target manipulator, combine the movement and state change of the joystick, and the control mapping relationship between the vector motion of the aircraft, determine that the vector control channel of the aircraft corresponding to the control information is one of the control channels of the elevation, lateral, longitudinal, and heading control channels, and thus map and generate the aircraft vector control instructions, for example, by mapping the control instructions for different vector motions of the aircraft through the displacement information of the joystick in different directions, so that the flight control can be automatically performed according to the aircraft vector control instructions in the future, so as to greatly reduce the operating burden of the pilot. Among them, the vector control instructions include aircraft lateral control instructions, aircraft elevation control instructions, aircraft longitudinal control instructions, and aircraft heading control instructions.

[0131] Step S140: Controlling the aircraft to perform vector motion according to the vector control instruction.

[0132] Based on the above-mentioned flight control device, combined with the preset flight control law, the aircraft is controlled to perform vector motion according to the aircraft vector control instruction.

[0133] 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.

[0134] Specifically, the flight control device inputs the aircraft 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.

[0135] The present embodiment provides an aircraft control method, which includes obtaining a target manipulator by identifying from the main manipulator and the backup manipulator; receiving control information of the pilot through the target manipulator; generating a vector control instruction mapped to the control information according to the control information and a preset control mapping relationship; and controlling the aircraft to perform vector motion according to the vector control instruction.

[0136] The present application obtains a target manipulator that can be manipulated by identifying it from the main manipulator and the backup manipulator, and then receives the pilot's manipulation information through the target manipulator; then generates a vector control instruction mapped with the manipulation information in combination with a preset manipulation mapping relationship; then controls the aircraft to perform vector motion according to the vector control instruction, and realizes a "main-backup" redundancy design in the hardware architecture by setting up two sets of manipulators, thereby avoiding the occurrence of manipulator failure, effectively improving the safety level of the control device and the control safety of the aircraft; at the same time, it is achieved that the aircraft can achieve corresponding vector flight by simply manipulating the manipulator, thereby simplifying the control method of the aircraft, and utilizing flight control automation technology to reduce the skills that the pilot must have to safely control the aircraft, which can effectively reduce the complexity of aircraft control and reduce the pilot's operating burden.

[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 above-mentioned embodiment 1 can be referred to the above introduction and will not be repeated later.

[0138] In the above-mentioned flight control device, the control system includes an arbitration module, and the arbitration module is further configured to detect the validity signal of the main manipulator to confirm whether the main manipulator is valid;

[0139] When it is confirmed that the master manipulator is valid, setting the master manipulator as the target manipulator;

[0140] When it is confirmed that the primary manipulator fails, the arbitration module is configured to automatically / manually switch the target manipulator to the backup manipulator.

[0141] Based on the above flight control device, please refer to Figure 2 The step S110 may include steps S210 to S230:

[0142] Step S210, detecting the validity signal of the master manipulator through the arbitration module to confirm whether the master manipulator is valid;

[0143] It should be noted that the arbitration module is used to confirm the controller currently available to the pilot. The arbitration module can be configured as a functional module in the control system of the flight control device, or it can be an arbitration module device relatively independent of the flight control device.

[0144] Specifically, the flight control device first uses a displacement detector to monitor the displacement operation signal or state of the main manipulator, such as the displacement signal strength and response time, and uses the monitored displacement operation signal or state and the preset manipulator validity evaluation criteria to generate the validity signal of the main manipulator, and confirms the state of the validity signal of the main manipulator through the arbitration module, thereby evaluating whether the main manipulator is valid. Among them, the preset manipulator validity evaluation criteria are reliable evaluation criteria for manipulator displacement confirmation set by relevant personnel based on actual control requirements and empirical data on manipulator failure. The displacement detector can be included in the flight control device.

[0145] Step S220, when the master manipulator is valid, setting the master manipulator as the target manipulator;

[0146] Step S230: When the main manipulator fails, the target manipulator is automatically / manually switched to the backup manipulator.

[0147] Specifically, when the flight control device confirms that the master manipulator is valid through the arbitration module, the master manipulator still maintains the control right over the aircraft, and the target manipulator is the master manipulator by default;

[0148] When the flight control device confirms through the arbitration module that the main manipulator is invalid, it will immediately and automatically assign the control of the aircraft to the backup manipulator. At this time, the target manipulator is the backup manipulator.

[0149] When the flight control device confirms through the arbitration module that the main controller is invalid, manual switching can also be achieved by receiving the pilot's controller switching instruction through the aircraft's voice receiving module, the touch device of the display system, or the flight control device.

[0150] Further, the flight control device includes an authority switching switch, and the control system includes an arbitration module, wherein the authority switching switch is communicatively coupled to the arbitration module, and the authority switching switch is configured to receive control information input by the pilot and provide an authority switching signal to the arbitration module;

[0151] The arbitration module is further configured to detect a validity signal of the master manipulator to confirm whether the master manipulator is valid;

[0152] The arbitration module is configured to switch the target manipulator to the backup manipulator when it is confirmed that the master manipulator is valid and the authority switching signal is in a state of inhibiting the master manipulator;

[0153] and / or

[0154] The arbitration module is configured to switch the target manipulator to the backup manipulator when it is confirmed that the primary manipulator is invalid and the authority switching signal is in a state of inhibiting the primary manipulator.

[0155] Based on the above flight control device, please refer to Figure 3 After step S220, steps S310 to S320 are also included:

[0156] Step S310, when the authority switching signal is to activate the master manipulator, setting the master manipulator as the target manipulator;

[0157] Step S320: When the authority switching signal is to suppress the main manipulator, the target manipulator is switched to the backup manipulator.

[0158] It should be noted that the authority switching switch can receive the control information input by the pilot, thereby changing the switch state change information to send an authority switching signal to indicate whether the current manipulator needs to be switched.

[0159] It should be understood that when the pilot senses that the current manipulator is abnormal through the control force feedback, the pilot can manually switch to the manipulator through the control authority switch.

[0160] Specifically, refer to Fig. 20 As shown, the control system includes an arbitration unit and a flight control computer. Fig. 20In the example, the main joystick is the main manipulator, and the backup joystick is the backup manipulator. When the arbitration unit confirms that the main joystick is valid according to the validity signal of the main manipulator, and recognizes that the authority switching signal is in the state of activating the main manipulator, it automatically activates the aircraft control authority of the main manipulator, sets the main manipulator as the target manipulator, and feeds back the output signal of the main manipulator to the flight control computer. When the arbitration unit recognizes that the authority switching signal is in the state of suppressing the main manipulator, it automatically suppresses the aircraft control authority of the main manipulator, activates the aircraft control authority of the backup manipulator, thereby switching the target manipulator to the backup manipulator, and feeds back the output signal of the backup manipulator to the flight control computer. At the same time, the arbitration unit can also output the arbitration result, that is, the information of the target manipulator, to the display system, so that the display system provides the pilot with activation and suppression prompts of the main and backup manipulators.

[0161] Furthermore, when the arbitration module confirms that the main manipulator is invalid, it can also receive the pilot's operation information to generate an authority switching signal to suppress the main manipulator, so that the arbitration module responds to the signal and switches the target manipulator to the backup manipulator to ensure the safety of the aircraft.

[0162] Furthermore, in order to improve the accuracy of identifying the target manipulator, the displacement detector is a displacement sensor with a redundant design and is arranged on the main manipulator. The step S210 includes steps S2101 to S2102:

[0163] Step S2101, performing redundancy detection on the displacement of the main manipulator by means of the displacement sensor to obtain a plurality of detection signals;

[0164] Step S2102: determining, by the arbitration module, whether the difference between the plurality of detection signals satisfies a preset threshold range, so as to confirm whether the master manipulator is effective.

[0165] Specifically, the displacement detector is a displacement sensor with a redundancy design, that is, the displacement detector includes a plurality of displacement sensors covering different control axes of the main manipulator. Multiple displacement sensors are arranged on each control axis of the main manipulator, so that the displacements of different control axes of the main manipulator can be redundancy detected. The displacement of the main manipulator is redundancy detected by the displacement sensor with a redundancy design, thereby obtaining a plurality of detection signals.

[0166] It should be understood that due to the accuracy of the displacement sensor itself, the installation position, environmental factors such as electrical noise or mechanical wear, there may be certain differences in the detection signal values ​​measured by different displacement sensors.

[0167] It should be noted that the preset threshold range is set by the design requirements of the flight control device, the performance parameters of the sensor and the manipulator operating experience, including the difference fluctuation range of the displacement values ​​measured by multiple displacement sensors on different control axes of the main manipulator, which aims to ensure the normal operation of the main manipulator.

[0168] Then, the arbitration module performs a difference analysis on the multiple detection signal values ​​obtained from the multiple displacement sensors. If the difference between the multiple displacements meets the preset threshold range, it can be confirmed that the main manipulator is valid and the main manipulator can be used by the pilot to normally operate the aircraft. If the difference does not meet the preset threshold range, it can be confirmed that the main manipulator is invalid and the main manipulator cannot be used by the pilot to operate the aircraft. The flight control device should switch the target manipulator to the backup manipulator.

[0169] This embodiment provides an aircraft control method, which detects the displacement of the main manipulator through a displacement sensor and generates a validity signal, and then confirms whether the main manipulator is valid according to the validity signal through an arbitration module, so as to determine the target manipulator for the pilot to use, avoid the situation of double input of the manipulator, and further improve the control safety of the aircraft.

[0170] Based on the first embodiment and / or the second embodiment of the present application, in the third embodiment of the present application, the same or similar contents as those of the above-mentioned embodiment one and / or embodiment two can be referred to the above introduction and will not be repeated later.

[0171] In this embodiment, in the first flight control device, the main manipulator includes a first joystick and a second joystick, and the first joystick and the second joystick are configured as two-axis joysticks that can swing in the horizontal and vertical directions. The control information received by the main manipulator includes first control information and second control information, wherein the vector control channel mapped by the first control information is the lift and lateral control channel, and the vector control channel mapped by the second control information is the longitudinal and heading control channel.

[0172] Among them, swinging the joystick in this application refers to swinging the joystick fixed point in a certain direction, or reciprocating in a certain direction 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.

[0173] 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.

[0174] Based on the first flight control device described above, in the first embodiment, the backup manipulator and the main manipulator are identical in hardware structure, and both include two two-axis joysticks that can swing in the lateral and longitudinal directions. The backup manipulator includes a third joystick and a fourth joystick, and the third joystick and the fourth joystick are configured as two-axis joysticks that can swing in the lateral and longitudinal directions. The control information received by the backup manipulator includes third control information and fourth control information, wherein the vector control channel mapped by the third control information is the same as the first control information, and the vector control channel mapped by the fourth control information is the same as the second control information. The third control information received by the third joystick includes the control displacement of the third joystick in the lateral and / or longitudinal directions; the fourth control information received by the fourth joystick includes the control displacement of the fourth joystick in the lateral and / or longitudinal directions.

[0175] Further, the third manipulation information includes the first manipulation displacement and the second manipulation displacement, and the fourth manipulation information includes the third manipulation displacement and the fourth manipulation displacement. Figure 4 The step S130 includes steps S410 to S440:

[0176] Step S410, when the target manipulator is a backup manipulator, determining that the vector control channel of the aircraft corresponding to the first control displacement is a lateral channel according to the preset control mapping relationship, and generating an aircraft lateral control instruction mapped to the lateral channel, wherein the first control displacement refers to the lateral control displacement of the third joystick;

[0177] Step S420, determining that the vector control channel of the aircraft corresponding to the second control displacement is an elevation channel according to the preset control mapping relationship, and generating an aircraft elevation control instruction mapped to the elevation channel, wherein the second control displacement refers to the control displacement of the third joystick in the longitudinal direction;

[0178] Step S430, determining, according to the preset control mapping relationship, that the vector control channel of the aircraft corresponding to the third control displacement is a longitudinal channel, and generating an aircraft longitudinal control instruction mapped to the longitudinal channel, wherein the third control displacement refers to the control displacement of the fourth joystick in the longitudinal direction;

[0179] Step S440, determining that the vector control channel of the aircraft corresponding to the fourth 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 fourth control displacement refers to the lateral control displacement of the fourth joystick.

[0180] Specifically, in this embodiment, please refer to Fig. 9 The main controller of the flight control device includes a first control rod and a second control rod. Fig. 9 As shown in (a), the first joystick is a two-axis joystick that can swing in the horizontal direction along the horizontal axis and in the longitudinal direction along the longitudinal axis, that is, it can swing left and right along the horizontal axis or swing forward and backward along the longitudinal axis; Fig. 9 As shown in (b), the second joystick is a two-axis joystick that can swing in the horizontal direction along the horizontal axis and in the longitudinal direction along the longitudinal axis, that is, swing left and right along the horizontal axis or swing forward and backward along the longitudinal axis. Among them, the horizontal axis of the joystick extends along the horizontal axis direction of the aircraft, and the horizontal axis of the aircraft points from one side of the aircraft wing to the other side, and the longitudinal axis of the joystick extends along the longitudinal axis direction of the aircraft, and the longitudinal axis of the aircraft points from the nose of the aircraft to the tail. Both the first joystick and the second joystick can swing forward and backward or left and right, thereby generating a control displacement.

[0181] It should be noted that the axial movement of the joystick in the present application refers to swinging along the horizontal axis of the joystick, that is, the joystick swings left and right in the horizontal direction, and swinging forward and backward along the longitudinal axis of the joystick, that is, the joystick swings forward and backward in the longitudinal direction, which will not be repeated later.

[0182] As shown in FIG15 , the backup manipulator includes a third joystick and a fourth joystick with the same hardware structure as the main manipulator, and are arranged on both sides of the main manipulator. As shown in FIG15 (a), the third joystick is a two-axis joystick that can swing in the horizontal direction along the horizontal axis and in the longitudinal direction along the longitudinal axis, that is, swing left and right along the horizontal axis or swing forward and backward along the longitudinal axis; as shown in FIG15 (d), the fourth joystick is a two-axis joystick that can swing in the horizontal direction along the horizontal axis and in the longitudinal direction along the longitudinal axis, that is, swing left and right along the horizontal axis or swing forward and backward along the longitudinal axis; the first joystick of the main manipulator shown in FIG15 (b) and the second joystick of the main manipulator shown in FIG15 (c) have been described above and will not be repeated here.

[0183] like Fig.16 As shown, Fig.16 The left and right joysticks are the first and second joysticks of the main joystick, and the left and right backup joysticks are the third and fourth joysticks of the backup joystick. When the cockpit is a single-seat cockpit, the first and second joysticks of the main joystick are set on both sides of the pilot's seat, and the third and fourth joysticks of the backup joystick are also set on both sides of the pilot's seat and maintain a certain distance from the main joystick.

[0184] 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 third joystick includes the first manipulation displacement and the second manipulation displacement, and the manipulation information received by the fourth joystick includes the third manipulation displacement and the fourth manipulation displacement, and the first manipulation displacement refers to the lateral manipulation displacement of the third joystick caused by the pilot manipulating the third joystick; the second manipulation displacement refers to the longitudinal manipulation displacement of the third joystick caused by the pilot manipulating the third joystick; the third manipulation displacement refers to the longitudinal manipulation displacement of the fourth joystick caused by the pilot manipulating the fourth joystick; and the fourth manipulation displacement refers to the lateral manipulation displacement of the fourth joystick caused by the pilot manipulating the fourth joystick.

[0185] In this embodiment, the preset control mapping relationship includes the control mapping relationship between the axial movement of the first joystick in the main manipulator and the vector movement of the aircraft, the control mapping relationship between the axial movement of the second joystick in the main manipulator and the vector movement of the aircraft, the control mapping relationship between the axial movement of the third joystick in the backup manipulator and the vector movement of the aircraft, and the control mapping relationship between the axial movement of the fourth joystick in the backup manipulator and the vector movement of the aircraft. It should be understood that the control mapping relationship between the axial movement of the joystick and the vector movement of the aircraft is the mapping relationship between different axial directions of the joystick and different vector control channels of the aircraft. Exemplarily, the control mapping logic of the vector movement of the aircraft corresponding to the axial movement of the third joystick and the fourth joystick in the backup manipulator is shown in Table 1 below. It should be understood that the control mapping logic of the vector movement of the aircraft corresponding to the axial movement of the first joystick and the second joystick in the main manipulator is shown in Table 2 below, and the mapping relationship between the joystick control channel and the vector control channel in Table 2 is the same as Table 1.

[0186] Table 1 Backup manipulator vector control mapping table

[0187]

[0188] Table 2 Main manipulator vector control mapping table

[0189]

[0190] Specifically, when the flight control device receives the signal corresponding to the first control displacement, it confirms that the control control channel that generates the first control displacement is the horizontal axis of the third control stick, and combines the control mapping relationship between the axial movement of the third 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 first control displacement information. The aircraft lateral control instructions include the size and direction of the first control displacement, the corresponding aircraft vector control channel information, etc. The aircraft vector control channel refers to the channel that controls 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.

[0191] Similarly, when the flight control device receives the signal corresponding to the second control displacement, it is confirmed that the control channel that generates the second control displacement is the longitudinal axis of the third control rod, and combined with the control mapping relationship between the axial movement of the third 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 according to the specific second control displacement information. The aircraft elevation control instruction includes the size and direction of the second control displacement, the corresponding aircraft vector control channel information, etc.

[0192] Then, when the flight control device receives the signal corresponding to the third control displacement, it is confirmed that the control control channel of the third control displacement is the longitudinal axis of the fourth control rod, and combined with the control mapping relationship between the axial movement of the fourth 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 third control displacement information, the aircraft longitudinal control instruction is generated. Similarly, when the flight control device receives the signal corresponding to the fourth control displacement, it is confirmed that the control control channel that generates the fourth control displacement is the transverse axis of the fourth control rod, and combined with the control mapping relationship between the axial movement of the fourth 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 fourth 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.

[0193] 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 of the main manipulator, or the third joystick and the fourth joystick of the backup manipulator 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 in the main manipulator are interchangeable, so that the aircraft vector control channel mapped to the longitudinal axis of the first joystick in the main manipulator is the longitudinal channel, and the aircraft vector control channel mapped to the longitudinal axis of the second joystick is the elevation channel. As shown in Table 3 below, a vector control mapping table of a main manipulator variant, the vector control channel mapped to the first control information received by the first joystick in the main manipulator is the longitudinal and lateral control channel, and the vector control channel mapped to the second control information received by the first joystick is the elevation and heading control channel.

[0194] Table 3 Main manipulator variant vector control mapping table

[0195]

[0196] The first manipulation information received by the first manipulation stick includes the manipulation displacement of the first manipulation stick in the lateral and / or longitudinal direction; the second manipulation information received by the second manipulation stick includes the manipulation displacement of the second manipulation stick in the lateral and / or longitudinal direction.

[0197] Further, in combination with Table 3, the control displacement generated by the movement of the first joystick along the transverse axis, that is, the control displacement of the first joystick in the lateral direction, can be determined. The mapped vector control channel of the aircraft is the lateral channel. The aircraft control device can receive the signal corresponding to the control information of the movement along the transverse axis on the first joystick, and further map and generate the aircraft lateral control command.

[0198] Similarly, in combination with Table 3, the control displacement generated by the movement of the first joystick along the longitudinal axis, that is, the control displacement of the first joystick in the longitudinal direction, can be determined. The mapped vector control channel of the aircraft is the longitudinal channel. The aircraft control device can receive the signal corresponding to the control information of the movement along the longitudinal axis on the first joystick, and further map and generate the aircraft longitudinal control command.

[0199] Combined with Table 3, the control displacement generated by the movement of the second joystick along the transverse axis, that is, the control displacement of the second joystick in the lateral direction, can be determined. The mapped vector control channel of the aircraft is the heading channel. The aircraft control device can receive the signal corresponding to the control information of the movement along the transverse axis on the second joystick, and further map and generate the aircraft heading control command.

[0200] In combination with Table 3, the control displacement generated by the movement of the second joystick along the longitudinal axis, that is, the control displacement of the second joystick in the longitudinal direction, can be determined. The mapped vector control channel of the aircraft is the lift channel. The aircraft control device can receive the signal corresponding to the control information of the movement along the longitudinal axis on the second joystick, and further map and generate the aircraft lift control command.

[0201] Similarly, when the aircraft vector control channels mapped to different axes in the main manipulator are swapped, in order to maintain functional consistency, the backup manipulator should also make corresponding changes to the control mapping between the joystick and the aircraft vector control channel.

[0202] 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.

[0203] Based on the above-mentioned first flight control device, in a second embodiment, the backup manipulator includes a third joystick and a control switch, and the third joystick is configured as a three-axis joystick that can swing in the lateral and longitudinal directions and can perform torsional movement.

[0204] Preferably, the backup manipulator uses a three-axis joystick and a manipulation switch to realize the same mapping vector control channel function as the main manipulator.

[0205] Preferably, the manipulation information received by the backup manipulator includes third manipulation information and manipulation switch information, wherein the vector control channel mapped by the third manipulation information is the heading, lateral, and elevation control channel, and the vector control channel mapped by the manipulation switch information is the longitudinal control channel.

[0206] It should be understood that the vector control channel mapped by the third manipulation information and the vector control channel mapped by the manipulation switch information can both be changed by the pilot's pre-setting, and this application does not make specific limitations here.

[0207] Furthermore, the third manipulation information includes the first manipulation displacement, the second manipulation displacement and the rotation change amount, and the step S130 includes steps S450 to S480:

[0208] Step S450, when the target manipulator is a backup manipulator, determining that the vector control channel of the aircraft corresponding to the first control displacement is a lateral channel according to the preset control mapping relationship, and generating an aircraft lateral control instruction mapped to the lateral channel, wherein the first control displacement refers to the lateral control displacement of the third joystick;

[0209] Step S460, determining that the vector control channel of the aircraft corresponding to the second control displacement is an elevation channel according to the preset control mapping relationship, and generating an aircraft elevation control instruction mapped to the elevation channel, wherein the second control displacement refers to the control displacement of the third joystick in the longitudinal direction;

[0210] Step S470, determining that the vector control channel of the aircraft corresponding to the rotation change 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 rotation change refers to the torsion angle change of the third joystick performing the torsion motion;

[0211] Step S480, determining that the vector control channel of the aircraft corresponding to the control switch information is the longitudinal channel according to the preset control mapping relationship, and generating an aircraft longitudinal control instruction mapped to the longitudinal channel.

[0212] Exemplarily, the control mapping logic of the aircraft vector motion corresponding to the third joystick and the control switch in the backup manipulator is shown in Table 4 below.

[0213] Table 4 contains the backup manipulator vector control mapping table of the control switch

[0214]

[0215] In this embodiment, the control switch may be a switch that is arranged on the third control rod and is operated by the thumb, such as a thumb button switch, a thumb lever, etc. The control switch may also be any one of a roller switch, a two-way switch, and a button switch. The rotation change refers to the rotational angular displacement of the third control rod on the horizontal plane (perpendicular to the axis of the third control rod when the third control rod is centered) caused by the pilot manipulating the third control rod to rotate around its own axis in the vertical direction when the third control rod is centered, and the control switch information refers to the angle or displacement change of the control switch caused by the pilot manipulating the control switch, thereby triggering the generated digital signal or analog signal.

[0216] Preferably, a method comprising a third joystick ( Fig.17 The backup joystick) and the backup manipulator of the operating switch are as follows Fig.17 As shown in FIG. 1 , the operating switch is located on the third operating lever and is a thumb lever. Fig.17 As shown, the third joystick includes four control channels, namely, a horizontal axis, a vertical axis, a rotation axis and a thumb stick, for receiving the pilot's control information. The rotation axis refers to the vertical axis of the third joystick when it is centered.

[0217] Further, when the backup manipulator includes a third joystick and a manipulation switch, and the manipulation switch is located on the third joystick, the following can be referred to: Fig.18 The layout of the flight control device in the cockpit of the aircraft shown is that in the two-seat cockpit, the third joystick of the backup controller is placed on the side close to the pilot, that is, Fig.18 The backup joystick shown in, for example Fig.18 As shown, a third joystick is placed on the left side of the pilot's seat to prevent passengers from operating it by mistake.

[0218] Similar to the above-mentioned embodiment, when the flight control device receives a signal corresponding to the first control displacement or a signal corresponding to the second control displacement, it maps and generates aircraft lateral control instructions and aircraft lifting control instructions respectively in combination with the control mapping relationship between the axial movement of the third joystick and the aircraft vector movement.

[0219] Then, when the flight control device receives the signal corresponding to the rotational change amount, it confirms that the manipulation control channel of the rotational change amount is the rotation axis of the third joystick. Combined with the control mapping relationship between the axial movement of the third joystick and the aircraft vector movement, it confirms that the corresponding aircraft vector control channel is the heading channel, and further generates the aircraft heading control instruction based on the specific third manipulation displacement information.

[0220] Similarly, when the flight control device receives the signal corresponding to the control switch information, it confirms that the control channel that generates the control switch 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 longitudinal channel, and further generates the aircraft longitudinal control instruction according to the specific control switch information. Among them, the aircraft longitudinal control instruction includes the high and low levels, pulse time, etc. of the switch control signal in the control switch information, and the corresponding aircraft vector control channel information.

[0221] It should be understood that considering that different pilots have different flying habits, the aircraft vector control channels mapped by the first joystick and the second joystick of the main manipulator, or the third joystick and the control switch of the backup manipulator can be interchanged.

[0222] In this embodiment, by designing the backup manipulator as a three-axis joystick and a control switch, and by integrating the control switch on the third joystick, 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.

[0223] In the present embodiment, in the second type of flight control device, the main manipulator includes a first joystick and a second joystick, the first joystick is configured as a two-axis joystick that can swing in the lateral and longitudinal directions, the second joystick is configured as a single-axis joystick that can swing in the longitudinal direction, and the second joystick is also provided with a main control switch, wherein the first control information received by the first joystick includes the control displacement of the first joystick in the lateral and / or longitudinal directions; the second control information received by the second joystick includes the control displacement of the second joystick in the longitudinal direction, and the main control switch control information, wherein, according to the preset control mapping relationship, the vector control instruction corresponding to the main control switch control information is the heading control instruction of the aircraft. Fig.19 An example diagram of a main manipulator is shown, wherein the main manipulator includes a first joystick and a second joystick. The first joystick can swing along the horizontal axis and the vertical axis, and the second joystick can only swing back and forth along the vertical axis. The main control switch is a yaw switch, which is mapped to the heading control channel of the aircraft.

[0224] Specifically, 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.

[0225] In this embodiment, the control information received by the first joystick includes a fifth control displacement and a sixth control displacement, the control information received by the second joystick includes a seventh control displacement, and a main control switch control signal, the control information received by the main control switch is the main control switch control signal, and the fifth control displacement refers to the control displacement of the first joystick in the lateral direction caused by the pilot's control of the first joystick; the sixth control displacement refers to the control displacement of the first joystick in the longitudinal direction caused by the pilot's control of the first joystick; the seventh control displacement refers to the control displacement of the second joystick in the longitudinal direction caused by the pilot's control of the second joystick, and the main control switch control information refers to the control of the main control switch by the pilot, causing the main control switch to change in angle or displacement, thereby triggering the generated digital signal or analog signal.

[0226] In this embodiment, the main control switch can be a bidirectional switch, and the aircraft is controlled by receiving a discrete signal from the bidirectional switch, or the main control switch can be in the form of a roller, and the aircraft is controlled by receiving an analog signal from the roller.

[0227] The preset control mapping relationship includes the control mapping relationship between the axial movement of the first joystick and the vector movement of the aircraft, the control mapping relationship between the axial movement of the second joystick and the vector movement of the aircraft, and the control mapping relationship between the change of the main control 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 in the main manipulator and the vector movement of the aircraft corresponding to the change of the main control switch is shown in Table 5 below.

[0228] Table 5 Main manipulator vector control mapping table including main control switch

[0229]

[0230] In this embodiment, when the flight control device receives the signal corresponding to the fifth control displacement, it is confirmed that the control channel generating the fifth control displacement is the horizontal 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 vector control channel of the aircraft is the lateral channel, and further mapped and generated the aircraft lateral control instruction according to the specific fifth control displacement information. The aircraft lateral control instruction includes the magnitude and direction of the fifth control displacement, the corresponding aircraft vector control channel information, etc.

[0231] When the flight control device receives the signal corresponding to the sixth control displacement, it is confirmed that the control channel generating the sixth 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 sixth control displacement information. The aircraft elevation control instruction includes the size and direction of the sixth control displacement, the corresponding aircraft vector control channel information, etc.

[0232] When the flight control device receives the signal corresponding to the seventh control displacement, it is confirmed that the control channel generating the seventh 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 generates the aircraft longitudinal control instruction according to the specific seventh control displacement information. The aircraft longitudinal control instruction includes the size and direction of the seventh control displacement, the corresponding aircraft vector control channel information, etc.

[0233] Then, when the flight control device receives the signal corresponding to the main control switch control information, it confirms that the control channel that generates the main control switch control information is the main control switch, and combined with the control mapping relationship between the main 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 main switch control signal information. Among them, the aircraft heading control instruction includes the high and low levels, pulse time, etc. in the main switch control signal, and the corresponding aircraft vector control channel information.

[0234] Based on the second flight control device, in the first embodiment, the backup manipulator and the main manipulator have the same hardware structure, both including a two-axis joystick, a single-axis joystick and a control switch. The backup manipulator includes a third joystick and a fourth joystick, the third joystick is configured as a two-axis joystick that can swing in the horizontal and longitudinal directions, the fourth joystick is configured as a single-axis joystick that can swing in the longitudinal direction, and the fourth joystick is also provided with a main control switch that is the same as the main manipulator.

[0235] The control information received by the backup manipulator includes the third control information and the fourth control information, wherein the vector control channel mapped by the third control information is the same as the first control information, and the vector control channel mapped by the fourth control information is the same as the second control information. The third control information received by the third joystick includes the control displacement of the third joystick in the lateral and / or longitudinal directions; the fourth control information received by the fourth joystick includes the control displacement of the fourth joystick in the longitudinal direction, and the main control switch control information. Since the hardware structure and function of the backup manipulator are similar to those of the main manipulator, the above description can be referred to and will not be repeated here.

[0236] Based on the above second flight control device, in a second embodiment, the backup manipulator includes a third joystick and a control switch, and the third joystick is configured as a three-axis joystick that can swing in the lateral and longitudinal directions and can perform torsional movement.

[0237] Preferably, the backup manipulator uses a three-axis joystick and a control switch to achieve the same function as the main manipulator.

[0238] Preferably, the control information received by the backup manipulator includes third control information and control switch information, wherein the vector control channel mapped by the third control information is the heading, lateral and elevation control channel, and the vector control channel mapped by the control switch information is the longitudinal control channel.

[0239] It should be understood that the vector control channel mapped by the third manipulation information and the vector control channel mapped by the manipulation switch information can both be changed by the pilot's pre-setting, and this application does not make specific limitations here.

[0240] The specific instructions for the backup manipulator to receive the manipulation information and thus generate the aircraft vector control instructions can be referred to as described above and will not be repeated here.

[0241] The present embodiment provides a flight control device and an aircraft control method, which utilizes two rods, a single rod, and a control switch to realize a combination of different controllers, thereby realizing a mapping function of an aircraft control channel. The control logic of the aircraft can be integrated on the joystick, further simplifying the control logic of the aircraft, making it easier for the pilot to control the flight of the aircraft through the joystick, thereby reducing the pilot's control burden.

[0242] Based on the first embodiment and / or the second embodiment and / or the third embodiment of the present application, in the fourth embodiment of the present application, the same or similar contents as those of the above-mentioned embodiment one, embodiment two and / or embodiment three can be referred to the above introduction and will not be repeated later.

[0243] In this embodiment, in the flight control device, the vector control instruction includes an aircraft heading control instruction, and the aircraft includes a rotor configuration, a fixed-wing configuration, and a transition configuration; when the control system generates an aircraft heading control instruction mapped with the control information, and the aircraft is a rotor configuration, the control system is further configured to solve the aircraft heading control instruction through a preset flight control law to obtain a corresponding yaw rate instruction, and according to the yaw rate instruction, control the aircraft to perform yaw motion through tilt angle differential control and / or rotor speed differential control; and / or

[0244] When the control system generates an aircraft heading control instruction mapped with the control information, and the aircraft is in a transition configuration, the control system is further configured to solve the aircraft heading control instruction through a preset flight control law to obtain a corresponding yaw rate instruction, and according to the yaw rate instruction, control the aircraft to perform yaw motion through rotor speed differential control and / or elevator rudder deflection; and / or

[0245] When the control system generates an aircraft heading control instruction mapped with the manipulation information, and the aircraft is of a fixed-wing configuration, the control system is further configured to solve the aircraft heading control instruction through a preset flight control law to obtain a corresponding yaw angle rate instruction, and according to the yaw angle rate instruction, control the aircraft to perform yaw motion by deflecting the elevator rudder.

[0246] Based on the above flight control device, the vector motion includes the aircraft's lifting, longitudinal, lateral, and heading motions. Please refer to Figure 5 The step S140 includes steps S510 to S530:

[0247] Step S510, when the aircraft is in a rotor configuration, the aircraft heading control command is solved by a preset flight control law to obtain a corresponding yaw rate command, and according to the yaw rate command, the aircraft is controlled to perform yaw motion by tilt angle differential control and / or rotor speed differential control; and / or

[0248] Step S520, when the aircraft is in the transition configuration, the aircraft heading control command is solved by a preset flight control law to obtain a corresponding yaw rate command, and according to the yaw rate command, the aircraft is manipulated to perform yaw motion by rotor speed differential control and / or elevator rudder deflection; and / or

[0249] Step S530, when the aircraft is of fixed-wing configuration, 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 manipulated to perform yaw motion by deflecting the elevator rudder.

[0250] Further, in the flight control device, a horizontal rate instruction mode switch is provided on at least the main controller, and the control information includes horizontal rate instruction mode control information;

[0251] The control system is further configured to control the aircraft to switch to a horizontal rate command mode upon receiving horizontal rate command mode control information;

[0252] The vector control instructions include longitudinal control instructions for an aircraft, and the aircraft includes a rotor configuration, a fixed-wing configuration, and a transition configuration;

[0253] When the control system generates an aircraft longitudinal control instruction mapped with the control information, and the aircraft is in a rotor configuration and a horizontal speed instruction mode is activated, the control system is further configured to resolve the aircraft longitudinal control instruction through a preset flight control law to obtain a corresponding longitudinal speed instruction, and according to the longitudinal speed instruction, control the aircraft to perform longitudinal movement through rotor speed differential control and / or tilt angle control; and / or

[0254] When the control system generates a longitudinal control instruction of the aircraft mapped with the manipulation information, and the aircraft is in a rotor configuration and the horizontal speed instruction mode is turned off, the control system is further configured to solve the longitudinal control instruction of the aircraft through a preset flight control law to obtain a corresponding pitch angle instruction, and according to the pitch angle instruction, control the aircraft to perform pitch motion through rotor speed differential control;

[0255] When the control system generates an aircraft longitudinal control instruction mapped with the control information and the aircraft is in a transition configuration, the control system is further configured to solve the aircraft longitudinal control instruction through a preset flight control law to obtain a corresponding longitudinal acceleration instruction, and according to the longitudinal acceleration instruction, control the aircraft to perform longitudinal movement through rotor speed control and / or tilt angle control.

[0256] The vertical take-off and landing aircraft in this embodiment is specifically a tilt-rotor type vertical take-off and landing aircraft, which has three configurations: fixed-wing configuration, rotor configuration, and transitional configuration between the two. Specifically, the rotor configuration refers to the aircraft configuration when part / all of the tilt-rotors are in the vertical take-off and landing position (for example, the tilt angle is 90°), that is, the take-off and landing configuration of the tilt-rotor vertical take-off and landing aircraft. In the rotor configuration, the aircraft starts from being stationary on the ground and climbs by vector power, or descends by power vector when landing. The rotor of the aircraft (including fixed rotor and tilt-rotor) is a direct force actuator. The fixed-wing configuration refers to the aircraft configuration when part / all of the rotors are in the cruise position (for example, the tilt angle is 0°), that is, the cruise configuration of the tilt-rotor vertical take-off and landing aircraft. In the fixed-wing configuration, the aircraft can cruise like a fixed-wing aircraft by the lift provided by the wing. At this time, the main control surfaces of the aircraft are ailerons, elevators or other equivalent mechanisms (elevator rudder, etc.). Transition configuration refers to the aircraft configuration that switches between rotor configuration and fixed-wing configuration.

[0257] It should be understood that when the aircraft is in any configuration of a rotor configuration, a transition configuration, or a fixed-wing configuration, the flight control device receives the pilot's control information through any joystick or control switch of the target manipulator, and generates corresponding vector control instructions, and controls the aircraft to perform lifting, lowering, longitudinal, lateral, and heading movements according to the vector control instructions.

[0258] 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 horizontal axis of the aircraft (from one side of the wing to the other side).

[0259] 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 control the longitudinal and lateral speeds of the aircraft through the flight control device.

[0260] In addition, an activation switch corresponding to the TRC mode is provided on the main manipulator, that is, the horizontal rate command mode switch, or an activation switch corresponding to the TRC mode is provided on both the main manipulator and the backup manipulator, for example, it is provided on any joystick of the main joystick, or it is provided on any joystick of the backup joystick.

[0261] When the aircraft is in rotor configuration, the pilot can confirm whether to activate the TRC mode by confirming whether the aircraft's tilt mechanism is normal, whether the GPS is normal, and other information.

[0262] The flight control device receives the horizontal rate command mode control information input by the pilot through the horizontal rate command mode switch, and then the flight control device controls the aircraft to switch to the horizontal rate command mode according to the horizontal rate command mode control information. The horizontal rate command mode switch can be a key switch, and the horizontal rate command mode control information is generated when the horizontal rate command mode switch is pressed. It should be understood that when the horizontal rate command mode switch is pressed again, the horizontal rate command mode exit information can be generated to instruct the aircraft to exit the horizontal rate command mode.

[0263] Specifically, on the basis that the GPS of the aircraft is operating normally and the relevant structures of normal flight in the rotor phase are operating normally, the horizontal rate command mode switch is triggered to generate horizontal rate command mode control information, thereby activating the TRC mode. That is, while adjusting parameters such as the pitch angle or roll angle of the vertical take-off and landing aircraft and combining it with controlling the horizontal speed, the speed control can be further refined to ensure the stability and controllability of the aircraft, and the pilot's operating burden can be reduced to a certain extent.

[0264] In this embodiment, refer to Fig.14 The 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.

[0265] Table 6 Mapping table between vector control channels and different configuration control instructions

[0266]

[0267] Specifically, in combination with Example 1 or Example 2 or Example 3, referring to Table 6, when the aircraft is in a rotor configuration, the received aircraft lift control instruction is solved through the preset flight control law, and the corresponding vertical speed instruction is obtained; the received aircraft heading control instruction is solved, and the corresponding yaw angle rate instruction is obtained.

[0268] 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.

[0269] 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.

[0270] Among them, the pitch angle in the above table 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.

[0271] 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.

[0272] 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.

[0273] 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.

[0274] 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.

[0275] 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.

[0276] 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.

[0277] 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.

[0278] 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.

[0279] 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.

[0280] 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 S510, step S500 is also included:

[0281] Step S500: confirming the flight phase of the aircraft by presetting the flight control law and the flight status information of the aircraft, wherein the flight phase includes the rotor phase, the tilt transition phase, and the fixed-wing phase.

[0282] 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.10 and Fig.11 , which respectively show the flight configuration diagrams of the rotor configuration and fixed-wing configuration of an eVTOL aircraft.

[0283] 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.

[0284] 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.

[0285] Reference Fig.12 , Fig.12It shows the change of the tilt angle of the rotor of the aircraft during the flight phase. Fig.12 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.

[0286] according to Fig.12 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.

[0287] The present embodiment provides an aircraft control method, which obtains the flight phase of the aircraft by presetting a flight control law and the flight status information of the aircraft, and in any flight phase of the aircraft, can realize the aircraft vector control instructions generated according to the control information, and control the aircraft to perform automatic vector motion in combination with the preset flight control law, thereby realizing a simplified aircraft control method, and realizing flight control automation technology 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 also reduce the operating burden of the pilot.

[0288] Based on Example 1 and / or Example 2 and / or 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 the above-mentioned Example 1, Example 2, Example 3 and / or Example 4 can be referred to the above introduction and will not be repeated later.

[0289] In this embodiment, in the third flight control device, a tilt switch is provided on at least the main manipulator, and the control information may further include forward tilt control information and backward tilt control information corresponding to the tilt switch; the control system 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 to control the aircraft to transition from a fixed-wing configuration to a rotor configuration when receiving the backward tilt control information; or

[0290] In the fourth flight control device, a tilt enable switch is provided on at least the main controller, and the control system is further configured to allow the tilt rotor to be tilted when a tilt enable signal is received from the tilt enable switch.

[0291] Based on the third type of flight control device mentioned above, please refer to Figure 6, the method comprises steps S610 to S630:

[0292] Step S610, 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;

[0293] 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.

[0294] Additionally, based on the fourth 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.

[0295] When the flight control device receives the tilt enable signal from the tilt switch, the flight control system is allowed to automatically control the tilt rotor to tilt, or map the tilt control function to a control channel of the target manipulator, such as the longitudinal axis control channel, and realize tilt control through the longitudinal displacement of the first joystick of the main manipulator.

[0296] It should be noted that, in the fourth 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 may 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.

[0297] Step S620, 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;

[0298] Reference Fig.13 (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.13 (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.13 (b) The tilt phase is the tilt transition phase, and 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.

[0299] 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.

[0300] Step S630, 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.

[0301] 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.

[0302] 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.

[0303] Based on the fourth and / or fifth embodiments of the present application, in the sixth embodiment of the present application, the same or similar contents as those of the fourth 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 S500 includes steps S5001 to S5004:

[0304] Step S5001, 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;

[0305] 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.13 Tilt angles in different flight phases.

[0306] 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.

[0307] Step S5002, 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;

[0308] Step S5003, 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;

[0309] Step S5004: 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.

[0310] 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.

[0311] 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.

[0312] 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.

[0313] 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.

[0314] 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.

[0315] 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.

[0316] 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.

[0317] 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.

[0318] 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.

[0319] Based on any one of the above embodiments of the present application, a seventh embodiment of the present application is proposed. In the seventh embodiment of the present application, the same or similar contents as any one of the above embodiments can be referred to the above introduction and will not be repeated later.

[0320] In this embodiment, in the flight control device, a ground mode switching switch is provided on at least the main controller, and the control information includes ground mode control information;

[0321] The control system is further configured to control the aircraft to switch to a ground control mode upon receiving ground mode control information;

[0322] When the aircraft is in the ground control mode, the control system is further configured to use the manipulation information received from the target manipulator 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;

[0323] When the control system generates an aircraft heading control instruction mapped with the manipulation information, and the aircraft is in a ground control mode, the control system is further configured to solve the aircraft heading control instruction by using a preset flight control law to obtain a corresponding ground direction control instruction, and control the turning direction of the aircraft by using differential power and / or differential braking according to the ground direction control instruction, so as to manipulate the aircraft to perform ground turning motion;

[0324] When the control system generates an aircraft longitudinal control instruction mapped with the control information and the aircraft is in a ground control mode, the control system is also configured to solve the aircraft longitudinal control instruction through a preset flight control law, obtain a corresponding ground speed control instruction, and control the speed of the aircraft according to the ground speed control instruction, thereby manipulating the aircraft to perform ground acceleration and deceleration movements.

[0325] Based on the above flight control device, please refer to Figure 7 The vector motion also includes ground acceleration and deceleration motion and ground steering motion. The vector control instruction includes an aircraft longitudinal control instruction and an aircraft heading control instruction. The step S140 also includes steps S710 to S720:

[0326] Step S710, 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

[0327] Step S720, 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.

[0328] First, when the aircraft is in the ground stage, the ground mode switch set on any joystick of the main manipulator 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. Among them, the ground mode switch can be a key switch, and when the ground mode switch is pressed, the ground mode control information will be generated. It should be understood that when the ground mode switch is pressed again, the ground mode exit information can be generated to instruct the aircraft to exit the ground control mode.

[0329] It should be noted that the ground mode switch can also be set on any joystick of the backup manipulator.

[0330] When the flight control device controls the aircraft to switch to ground control mode, that is, the aircraft is in ground control mode, it is necessary to map the ground control function to multiple control channels of the target manipulator, such as the longitudinal and lateral control channels of the first joystick of the main manipulator, to achieve ground speed control through the longitudinal displacement of the first joystick of the main manipulator, and to achieve ground steering control through the lateral displacement of the first joystick of the main manipulator.

[0331] 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 target manipulator 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.

[0332] 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.

[0333] 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.

[0334] 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.

[0335] 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.

[0336] 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.

[0337] Based on any one of the above embodiments of the present application, an eighth embodiment of the present application is proposed. In the eighth embodiment of the present application, the same or similar contents as any one of the above embodiments can be referred to the above introduction and will not be repeated later.

[0338] In this embodiment, in the flight control device, at least a first joystick or a second joystick in the main manipulator is provided with a switching gear at a preset control displacement threshold in the longitudinal direction, and the control information received by the main manipulator 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 control system is also configured to use a signal corresponding to the forward switching gear information received from the first joystick or the second joystick in the main manipulator to control the aircraft to transition to a fixed-wing configuration; when the aircraft is in a fixed-wing configuration, the control system is also configured to use a signal corresponding to the backward switching gear information received from the first joystick or the second joystick in the main manipulator to control the aircraft to transition to a rotor configuration; and / or

[0339] When the aircraft is in ground control mode, the control system is also configured to use a signal corresponding to forward gear switching information received from the first joystick or the second joystick in the main manipulator to control the aircraft to transition to a fixed-wing configuration; when the aircraft is in ground control mode, the control system is also configured to use a signal corresponding to backward gear switching information received from the first joystick or the second joystick in the main manipulator, and generate a braking instruction mapped to the backward gear switching information, and control the aircraft to perform ground braking according to the braking instruction.

[0340] Based on the above-mentioned flight control device, the method further includes steps S810 to S830:

[0341] Step S810, receiving gear switching information through the flight control device, wherein the gear switching information includes forward gear switching information and backward gear switching information;

[0342] It should be noted that any one of the first joystick or the second joystick in the main manipulator is provided with a switching gear at the preset control displacement threshold in the longitudinal direction. The pilot performs longitudinal control on the joystick 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 reaches the preset control displacement threshold in the longitudinal direction, which is used to instruct the aircraft to switch the flight configuration to the fixed-wing configuration; the backward switching gear information refers to the signal generated when the joystick reaches the preset control displacement threshold in the longitudinal direction. 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.

[0343] It should be noted that any joystick in the backup manipulator may be provided with a switching gear at a preset manipulation displacement threshold in the longitudinal direction to achieve the same function as the main manipulator.

[0344] Specifically, the flight control device needs to receive a gear switching signal from the pilot so as to subsequently switch the flight configuration of the aircraft according to the gear switching signal.

[0345] Step S820, 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;

[0346] Step S830, 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.

[0347] 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.

[0348] 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.

[0349] Furthermore, in order to reduce the complexity of aircraft control and lower the threshold for aircraft driving, the function of ground control instructions can be highly integrated into the joystick to reduce the number of joysticks in the cockpit. After step S830, steps S840 to S850 are also included:

[0350] Step S840, 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;

[0351] Step S850, 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.

[0352] 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.

[0353] 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.

[0354] 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 control system coupled to the joystick.

[0355] Furthermore, the present application also provides a vertical take-off and landing aircraft, wherein the aircraft displays the working status of the main manipulator and the backup manipulator to the pilot through a display system;

[0356] When the target controller is the backup controller, the display system shows the pilot that the backup controller is activated and the primary controller is inhibited;

[0357] When the target controller is the master controller, the display system shows the pilot that the standby master controller is activated and the backup controller is inhibited;

[0358] When it is detected that the manipulator in the inhibited state is erroneously operated, the aircraft provides visual and / or voice warnings to the pilot.

[0359] Specifically, the working status (inhibition state and activation state) of the main manipulator and the backup manipulator can be displayed to the pilot through the aircraft's display system (such as the front display screen, head-up display and control console, etc.), so that the pilot can quickly determine the current target manipulator and prevent the pilot from operating it incorrectly.

[0360] like Fig.21 As shown in the figure, the indicator light located at the top is used to indicate the working status of the backup manipulator, and the indicator light located at the bottom is used to indicate the working status of the main manipulator. When the aircraft does not receive the authority switching signal of the authority control switch, the target manipulator is defaulted to the main manipulator, or when the aircraft receives the authority switching signal to suppress the backup manipulator state and switches the target manipulator to the main manipulator, the display system can prompt the pilot through the visual prompt of the indicator light (the lower indicator light is on and the upper indicator light is off) that the main manipulator is in the activated state and the backup manipulator is in the suppressed state.

[0361] like Fig.21 As shown, when the aircraft receives the authority switching signal to suppress the status of the main manipulator and switches the target manipulator from the main manipulator to the backup manipulator, the display system can prompt the pilot that the backup manipulator is in the activated state and the main manipulator is in the suppressed state through the visual prompt of the indicator light (the upper indicator light is on and the lower indicator light is off).

[0362] In addition, by setting image and / or voice warning prompts, when the manipulator in the inhibited state is misoperated so that the position of the manipulator exceeds a certain position or angle, a warning prompt is issued.

[0363] For example, when the main controller is in the activated state and the backup controller is in the inhibited state, the lower indicator light of the controller indicator light is on and the upper indicator light is off; when the main controller is in the inhibited state and the backup controller is in the activated state, the upper indicator light of the controller indicator light is on and the lower indicator light is off. The pilot can know the activation / inhibition status of the main-backup controller through the visual prompts of the corresponding indicator lights.

[0364] The vertical take-off and landing aircraft provided by the present application can solve the technical problems of the existing eVTOL aircraft control method, which has high complexity in eVTOL aircraft control and insufficient aircraft control safety. 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 aircraft control method provided by the above-mentioned embodiment, and the other technical features of the vertical take-off and landing aircraft are the same as the features disclosed in the above-mentioned embodiment method, which will not be repeated here.

[0365] 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.

[0366] 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.

[0367] 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 of the existing eVTOL aircraft control method, such as high complexity of eVTOL aircraft control and insufficient aircraft control safety. 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 of 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.

[0368] The above are only preferred embodiments of the present application, and are not intended to limit the patent scope of the present application. Any equivalent structure or equivalent process transformation made using the contents of the present application specification and drawings, or directly or indirectly applied in other related technical fields, are also included in the patent processing scope of the present application.

Claims

1. A flight control device, characterized in that: include: Control systems; A main controller, communicatively coupled to the control system, the main controller being configured to receive control information input by the pilot and provide corresponding signals to the control system; A backup manipulator is relatively independent from the main manipulator and is communicatively coupled with the control system. The backup manipulator is configured to receive the control information input by the pilot and provide corresponding signals to the control system. The control system is configured to identify a target manipulator from a main manipulator and a backup manipulator, use a signal corresponding to the manipulation information received from the target manipulator, and combine with a preset manipulation mapping relationship to generate a vector control instruction mapped with the manipulation information, and control the aircraft to perform vector motion according to the vector control instruction.

2. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that The control system includes an arbitration module, and the arbitration module is further configured to detect a validity signal of the master manipulator to confirm whether the master manipulator is valid; When it is confirmed that the master manipulator is valid, setting the master manipulator as the target manipulator; When it is confirmed that the primary manipulator fails, the arbitration module is configured to automatically / manually switch the target manipulator to the backup manipulator.

3. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that The flight control device includes an authority switching switch, and the control system includes an arbitration module, wherein the authority switching switch is communicatively coupled to the arbitration module, and the authority switching switch is configured to receive control information input by the pilot and provide an authority switching signal to the arbitration module; The arbitration module is further configured to detect a validity signal of the master manipulator to confirm whether the master manipulator is valid; The arbitration module is configured to switch the target manipulator to the backup manipulator when it is confirmed that the master manipulator is valid and the authority switching signal is in a state of inhibiting the master manipulator; and / or The arbitration module is configured to switch the target manipulator to the backup manipulator when it is confirmed that the primary manipulator is invalid and the authority switching signal is in a state of inhibiting the primary manipulator.

4. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that The control system is configured to use a signal corresponding to the manipulation information received from the target manipulator, and in combination with the preset manipulation mapping relationship, determine that the vector control channel of the aircraft corresponding to the manipulation information is at least one of the lift, lateral, longitudinal, and heading control channels, and generate the vector control instruction mapped to the vector control channel.

5. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that The main manipulator includes a first joystick and a second joystick, wherein 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 received by the main manipulator includes first manipulation information and second manipulation information, wherein the vector control channel mapped by the first manipulation information is the elevation and lateral control channel, and the vector control channel mapped by the second manipulation information is the longitudinal and heading control channel; The backup manipulator includes a third joystick and a fourth joystick, and the third joystick and the fourth joystick are configured as two-axis joysticks that can swing in the horizontal and vertical directions. The manipulation information received by the backup manipulator includes third manipulation information and fourth manipulation information, wherein the vector control channel mapped by the third manipulation information is the same as the first manipulation information, and the vector control channel mapped by the fourth manipulation information is the same as the second manipulation information.

6. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that The main manipulator includes a first joystick and a second joystick, wherein the first joystick and the second joystick are configured as two-axis joysticks that can swing in the lateral and longitudinal directions; The backup manipulator includes a third joystick and a manipulating switch. The third joystick is configured as a three-axis joystick capable of swinging in the lateral and longitudinal directions and performing twisting motion.

7. The device according to claim 6, characterized in that The control information received by the main manipulator includes first control information and second control information, wherein the vector control channels mapped by the first control information are the elevation and lateral control channels, and the vector control channels mapped by the second control information are the longitudinal and heading control channels; the control information received by the backup manipulator includes third control information and control switch information, wherein the vector control channels mapped by the third control information are the heading, lateral and elevation control channels, and the vector control channel mapped by the control switch information is the longitudinal control channel; and / or The operating switch is arranged on the third operating rod and is operated by the thumb; and / or The operating switch is any one of a roller switch, a two-way switch and a push button switch.

8. The device according to claim 4, characterized in that The vector control instruction includes an aircraft heading control instruction, and the aircraft includes a rotor configuration, a fixed-wing configuration, and a transition configuration; When the control system generates an aircraft heading control instruction mapped with the control information, and the aircraft is a rotor configuration, the control system is further configured to solve the aircraft heading control instruction through a preset flight control law to obtain a corresponding yaw rate instruction, and according to the yaw rate instruction, control the aircraft to perform yaw motion through tilt angle differential control and / or rotor speed differential control; and / or When the control system generates an aircraft heading control instruction mapped with the manipulation information, and the aircraft is in a transition configuration, the control system is further configured to solve the aircraft heading control instruction through a preset flight control law to obtain a corresponding yaw rate instruction, and manipulate the aircraft to perform yaw motion through rotor speed differential control and / or elevator rudder deflection according to the yaw rate instruction; and / or When the control system generates an aircraft heading control instruction mapped with the manipulation information, and the aircraft is of a fixed-wing configuration, the control system is further configured to solve the aircraft heading control instruction by a preset flight control law to obtain a corresponding yaw rate instruction, and manipulate the aircraft to perform yaw motion by deflecting the elevator rudder according to the yaw rate instruction; and / or When the control system generates an aircraft heading control instruction mapped with the manipulation information, and the aircraft is in ground control mode, the control system is further configured to solve the aircraft heading control instruction through a preset flight control law, obtain a corresponding ground direction control instruction, and control the turning direction of the aircraft through differential power and / or differential braking according to the ground direction control instruction, and manipulate the aircraft to perform ground turning movement.

9. The device according to claim 4, characterized in that The vector control instructions include longitudinal control instructions for an aircraft, and the aircraft includes a rotor configuration, a fixed-wing configuration, and a transition configuration; When the control system generates a longitudinal control instruction of the aircraft mapped with the control information, and the aircraft is in a rotor configuration and a horizontal speed instruction mode is activated, the control system is further configured to solve the longitudinal control instruction of the aircraft through a preset flight control law to obtain a corresponding longitudinal speed instruction, and according to the longitudinal speed instruction, control the aircraft to perform longitudinal movement through rotor speed differential control and / or tilt angle control; When the control system generates a longitudinal control instruction of the aircraft mapped with the manipulation information, and the aircraft is in a transition configuration, the control system is further configured to solve the longitudinal control instruction of the aircraft through a preset flight control law to obtain a corresponding longitudinal acceleration instruction, and manipulate the aircraft to perform longitudinal movement through rotor speed control and / or tilt angle control according to the longitudinal acceleration instruction; and / or When the control system generates an aircraft longitudinal control instruction mapped with the control information and the aircraft is in a ground control mode, the control system is also configured to solve the aircraft longitudinal control instruction through a preset flight control law, obtain a corresponding ground speed control instruction, and control the speed of the aircraft according to the ground speed control instruction, thereby manipulating the aircraft to perform ground acceleration and deceleration movements.

10. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that A tilt enable switch is provided on at least the main manipulator, and the control system is further configured to allow the tilt rotor to be tilted when a tilt enable signal sent by the tilt enable switch is received; and / or A ground mode switching switch is provided at least on the main manipulator, and the manipulating information includes ground mode control information; The control system is further configured to control the aircraft to switch to a ground control mode upon receiving ground mode control information; When the aircraft is in the ground control mode, the control system is further configured to use the manipulation information received from the target manipulator 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; and / or A horizontal rate command mode switch is provided at least on the main manipulator, and the manipulation information includes horizontal rate command mode control information; The control system is further configured to control the aircraft to switch to a horizontal rate command mode upon receiving horizontal rate command mode control information.

11. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that A tilt switch is provided at least on the main manipulator, and the manipulation information includes forward tilt control information and backward tilt control information corresponding to the tilt switch; The control system is also configured to control the aircraft to transition from a rotor configuration to a fixed-wing configuration when forward tilt control information is received; and to control the aircraft to transition from a fixed-wing configuration to a rotor configuration when backward tilt control information is received.

12. A method for controlling an aircraft, characterized in that: The method is applied to a flight control device, the flight control device comprising a main manipulator and a backup manipulator, and the method comprises: Identify a target manipulator from the primary manipulator and the backup manipulator; receiving the pilot's manipulation information through the target manipulator; Generate a vector control instruction mapped with the manipulation information according to the manipulation information and a preset manipulation mapping relationship; The aircraft is controlled to perform vector motion according to the vector control instruction.

13. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that The backup manipulator includes a third joystick and a fourth joystick, the third joystick and the fourth joystick are configured as two-axis joysticks that can swing in the horizontal and vertical directions, the manipulation information received by the backup manipulator includes third manipulation information and fourth manipulation information, the third manipulation information includes a first manipulation displacement and a second manipulation displacement, the fourth manipulation information includes a third manipulation displacement and a fourth manipulation displacement, and the step of generating a vector control instruction mapped with the manipulation information according to the manipulation information and a preset manipulation mapping relationship includes: When the target manipulator is a backup manipulator, determining, according to the preset manipulation mapping relationship, that the vector control channel of the aircraft corresponding to the first manipulation displacement is a lateral channel, and generating an aircraft lateral control instruction mapped to the lateral channel, wherein the first manipulation displacement refers to the lateral manipulation displacement of the third joystick; Determining, according to the preset control mapping relationship, that the vector control channel of the aircraft corresponding to the second control displacement is an elevation channel, and generating an aircraft elevation control instruction mapped to the elevation channel, wherein the second control displacement refers to the control displacement of the third joystick in the longitudinal direction; Determining, according to the preset control mapping relationship, that the vector control channel of the aircraft corresponding to the third control displacement is a longitudinal channel, and generating a longitudinal control instruction of the aircraft mapped to the longitudinal channel, wherein the third control displacement refers to the control displacement of the fourth joystick in the longitudinal direction; According to the preset control mapping relationship, the vector control channel of the aircraft corresponding to the fourth control displacement is determined as the heading channel, and an aircraft heading control instruction mapped to the heading channel is generated, wherein the fourth control displacement refers to the lateral control displacement of the fourth joystick.

14. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that The backup manipulator includes a third joystick and a joystick switch, the third joystick is configured as a three-axis joystick that can swing in the horizontal and vertical directions and can perform torsional motion, the manipulation information received by the backup manipulator includes third manipulation information and manipulation switch information, the third manipulation information includes a first manipulation displacement, a second manipulation displacement and a rotational variation, and the step of generating a vector control instruction mapped to the manipulation information according to the manipulation information and a preset manipulation mapping relationship includes: When the target manipulator is a backup manipulator, determining, according to the preset control mapping relationship, that the vector control channel of the aircraft corresponding to the first control displacement is a lateral channel, and generating an aircraft lateral control instruction mapped to the lateral channel, wherein the first control displacement refers to the lateral control displacement of the third joystick; Determining, according to the preset control mapping relationship, that the vector control channel of the aircraft corresponding to the second control displacement is an elevation channel, and generating an aircraft elevation control instruction mapped to the elevation channel, wherein the second control displacement refers to the control displacement of the third joystick in the longitudinal direction; Determining, according to the preset control mapping relationship, that the vector control channel of the aircraft corresponding to the rotation change is a heading channel, and generating an aircraft heading control instruction mapped to the heading channel, wherein the rotation change refers to the torsion angle change of the third joystick performing a torsional motion; According to the preset manipulation mapping relationship, it is determined that the vector control channel of the aircraft corresponding to the manipulation switch information is the longitudinal channel, and a longitudinal control instruction of the aircraft mapped to the longitudinal channel is generated.

15. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that The vector control instruction includes an aircraft heading control instruction, and the step of controlling the aircraft to perform vector motion according to the vector control instruction includes: When the aircraft is in a rotor configuration, the aircraft heading control command is solved by a preset flight control law to obtain a corresponding yaw rate command, and according to the yaw rate command, the aircraft is manipulated 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, the aircraft heading control command is solved by a preset flight control law to obtain a corresponding yaw rate command, and according to the yaw rate command, 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 heading control command is solved by a preset flight control law to obtain a corresponding yaw rate command, and the aircraft is manipulated to perform yaw motion by deflecting the elevator rudder according to the yaw rate command; and / or When the aircraft is in ground control mode, the aircraft heading control instruction is solved through 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.

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 11.

17. The aircraft according to claim 16, characterized in that The aircraft displays the working status of the main manipulator and the backup manipulator to the pilot through a display system; When the target controller is the backup controller, the display system shows the pilot that the backup controller is activated and the primary controller is inhibited; When the target controller is the master controller, the display system shows the pilot that the standby master controller is activated and the backup controller is inhibited; When it is detected that the manipulator in the inhibited state is erroneously operated, the aircraft provides visual and / or voice warnings to the pilot.

18. A vertical take-off and landing aircraft, characterized in that: The aircraft comprises: a memory, a processor, and a computer program stored in the memory and executable on the processor, wherein the computer program is configured to implement the steps of the aircraft control method according to any one of claims 12 to 15.

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