Control method, apparatus and system for pitch axis in flight level change (FLCH) mode of aircraft

Abstract

A control method for a pitch axis in a flight level change (FLCH) mode of an aircraft, the method comprising: generating a target vertical control signal based at least in part on an energy state integrated control, wherein the energy state comprehensive control deduces a potential track angle by calculating the sum of kinetic energy and potential energy of an aircraft in real time; selecting an amplitude limiting strategy according to the current state of the FLCH mode; and performing dynamic amplitude limiting processing on the target vertical control signal according to the amplitude limiting strategy. The invention further discloses a flight control system which comprises a processor and a sensor for executing the control method, and numerous other aspects.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to an automatic flight control system, and more particularly to a control method, device and system for pitch axis in a flight level change (FLCH) mode of an aircraft. BACKGROUND

[0002] In civil aircraft flight, the FLCH mode is commonly used by pilots for climbing / descending because of its simple operation and maintaining target speed while quickly controlling the climbing / descending rate. However, the prior art has the following problems: poor coordination between speed and climbing rate, for example, when the aircraft is climbing in the FLCH mode, if the pilot adjusts the target speed to be higher, the aircraft will sacrifice potential energy for kinetic energy, and the climbing rate tends to be zero or even negative, resulting in level flight or descending; speed overshoot problem, the coupling of rapid thrust change and attitude control easily leads to speed overshoot, increasing the intervention burden of the pilot. However, the prior art mostly focuses on logical processing or vertical speed threshold limitation, and does not optimize the generation and limiting mechanism of control instructions from the algorithm level, making it difficult to achieve smooth flight transition.

[0003] Therefore, it is urgent to propose a control method for pitch axis in the FLCH mode of an aircraft. SUMMARY

[0004] The following presents a simplified summary of one or more aspects in order to provide a basic understanding of such aspects. This summary is not an extensive overview of all contemplated aspects, and is intended to neither identify key or critical elements of all aspects nor delineate the scope of any or all aspects. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts of one or more aspects in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description that is presented later.

[0005] To solve the above problems, the present application proposes a control method, device and system for pitch axis in the FLCH mode of an aircraft.

[0006] In an aspect of the present application, a control method for pitch axis in a flight level change (FLCH) mode of an aircraft is disclosed, characterized in that the method comprises: generating a target vertical control signal based at least in part on energy state integrated control, wherein the energy state integrated control derives a potential track angle by calculating the sum of kinetic energy and potential energy of the aircraft in real time; selecting a limiting strategy according to the current state of the FLCH mode; and dynamically limiting the target vertical control signal according to the limiting strategy.

[0007] Preferably, generating the target vertical control signal based at least in part on the energy state synthesis control comprises: obtaining a current track angle and an actual speed of the aircraft; generating a predicted vertical control signal based on the potential track angle and the current track angle; generating a tracking speed vertical control signal based on an input target speed and the actual speed; and linearly weighting the predicted vertical control signal and the tracking speed vertical control signal to generate the target vertical control signal.

[0008] Preferably, determining the potential track angle based on the energy state synthesis control comprises: obtaining a longitudinal acceleration, a normal acceleration, and an angle of attack of the aircraft in response to receiving an auto-throttle thrust signal; and calculating the potential track angle from the longitudinal acceleration, the normal acceleration, and the angle of attack.

[0009] Preferably, generating the tracking speed vertical control signal based on the input target speed and the actual speed comprises: determining a difference between the target speed and the actual speed; and calculating the tracking speed vertical control signal using a proportional-derivative controller from the difference between the target speed and the actual speed.

[0010] Preferably, selecting the clipping strategy comprises determining whether the aircraft is in a climb state or a descent state of the FLCH mode, wherein the dynamic clipping process comprises: in the climb state, outputting a vertical speed lower limit threshold if the target vertical control signal is lower than the vertical speed lower limit threshold; in the descent state, outputting a vertical speed upper limit threshold if the target vertical control signal is higher than the vertical speed upper limit threshold; and directly outputting the target vertical control signal in other cases.

[0011] Preferably, the vertical speed upper limit threshold and the vertical speed lower limit threshold are interpolated from a current flight altitude and a climb / descent capability of the aircraft.

[0012] In another aspect of the present application, a flight control system is disclosed, characterized in that it comprises: a processor configured to execute any one of the aforementioned control methods; and a sensor module configured to collect longitudinal acceleration, normal acceleration, angle of attack, and airspeed data of the aircraft in real time.

[0013] In yet another aspect of the present application, an aircraft is disclosed, characterized in that it is equipped with the aforementioned flight control system.

[0014] This summary is provided to introduce some aspects of the application in a simplified form that are further described below in the detailed description. This summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter. Additional aspects, features, and / or advantages of various embodiments are set forth in the detailed description that follows, and in part will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the description, or can be learned by practice of the application. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0015] In order that the manner in which the above-recited features of the present application can be understood in detail, a brief description of some aspects of the application will be rendered by reference to implementations. Some of the aspects of the application shown and described are only exemplary and are not intended to limit the scope of the application, because the description can admit to other equally effective aspects. The aspects of the application described and shown in the drawings are merely illustrative and are not meant to be limiting. In the drawings, like reference numerals are used to indicate like elements throughout the various figures. It should be noted that the drawings are not necessarily to scale and that details of construction can be exaggerated for clarity and precision of understanding.

[0016] Figure 1A An example of a system architecture diagram illustrating control for a pitch axis in a FLCH mode of an aircraft according to an embodiment of the application is shown.

[0017] Figure 1B An example of a vertical speed protection device architecture diagram according to an embodiment of the application is shown.

[0018] Figure 2 An example of a process flow of a method for control for a pitch axis in a FLCH mode of an aircraft according to an embodiment of the application is shown.

[0019] Figure 3 A block diagram of an apparatus to support control for a pitch axis in a FLCH mode of an aircraft according to an embodiment of the application is shown.

[0020] Figure 4 A block diagram of a method for control for a pitch axis in a FLCH mode of an aircraft according to an embodiment of the application is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0021] To make the objects, technical solutions and advantages of the present application clearer, the present application will be further described in detail below with reference to specific examples and drawings. In the following detailed description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the described exemplary embodiments. However, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that the described embodiments can be practiced without some or all of these specific details. In other exemplary embodiments, well known structures or process steps have not been described in detail in order to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the concepts of the present disclosure.

[0022] In this specification, unless otherwise specified, the term "A or B" used in this specification means "A and B" and "A or B", but does not mean that A and B are exclusive.

[0023] Figure 1A An example of a system architecture diagram for control of a pitch axis in a FLCH mode of an aircraft is illustrated in accordance with an embodiment of the present application.

[0024] In an embodiment of the present application, as shown in FIG. 1, to solve the problem of easy speed overshoot in the FLCH mode, an attitude control method based on energy management to calculate the potential track angle is proposed. Wherein energy management is also known as energy state comprehensive control, which calculates the sum of kinetic energy and potential energy of the aircraft (i.e. acceleration and angle of attack) in real time, and optimizes the derivation of the potential track angle based on energy distribution in real time. The method is generated by superimposing the target vertical control instruction without limiting the amplitude generated by the prediction control instruction generation branch and the tracking speed control instruction generation branch, as described in detail with reference to Figure 2 .

[0025] In an embodiment of the present application, on the prediction control instruction generation branch, the longitudinal acceleration N x,b , the normal acceleration N z,b and the angle of attack AOA of the aircraft are first obtained, and the potential track angle FPA total is calculated by formula 1:

[0026] FPA total = N x,b cos AOA - N z,b sin AOA (1)

[0027] In an embodiment of the present application, when deriving the potential track angle, the sum of the kinetic energy and potential energy of the aircraft can be characterized in the potential track angle from the perspective of energy conservation. Formula 1 shows that the potential track angle changes with the change of acceleration. In the process of FLCH mode thrust control, if the height difference is large, the pitch or vertical speed mode will cause the rapid change of the throttle to cause the change of the acceleration, which will also cause the rapid change of the FPA total . Based on the current actual track angle FPA, the FPA totalThe FPA generates a vertical control command, i.e. the command aircraft track angle tracks the potential track angle, which can reduce the speed change rate in the FLCH mode maneuvering process. Meanwhile, because the change of FPA total possesses rapidity, the speed overshoot problem is improved.

[0028] The predicted vertical control command FPA cmd_est may be calculated by formula 2:

[0029] FPA cmd_est = FPA total - FPA (2)

[0030] In the embodiments of the present application, on the track speed control command generation branch, a proportional-differential controller (i.e. PD controller) can be used to control the aircraft to track the target airspeed, and the vertical control command FPA cmd_trace for tracking speed is obtained by formula 3 as follows:

[0031] FPA cmd_trace = K p_tas (SPD target -TAS) + K d_tas (SPD dot_tartget -TAS dot ) (3)

[0032] Wherein, K p_tas and K d_tas are proportional-differential controller parameters, SPD target is the target speed, TAS is the actual airspeed, SPD dot_target is the target speed change rate, and TAS dot is the actual airspeed change rate.

[0033] In the embodiments of the present application, the predicted vertical control command FPA cmd_est and the vertical control command FPA cmd_trace for tracking speed can be linearly weighted by formula 4, so as to obtain the unclipped target vertical control command FPA cmd from the target airspeed command SPD target and the potential FPA total command:

[0034] FPA cmd = FPA cmd_est + FPA cmd_trace = FPA total - FPA + K p_tas (SPD target -TAS) + K d_tas (SPD dot_tartget -TAS dot ) (4)

[0035] Figure 1B An example of a vertical speed protection device architecture diagram according to an embodiment of the application is illustrated.

[0036] In embodiments of the application, as shown in Figure 1B To solve the problem of unexpected attitude change caused by the target speed increase in the FLCH mode climb or the target speed decrease in the FLCH mode descent, a vertical speed protection device is designed to limit the vertical command, so as to ensure the establishment of positive vertical speed in the aircraft climb and the establishment of negative vertical speed in the aircraft descent.

[0037] In embodiments of the application, the vertical speed protection device sets the upper and lower limits of the vertical speed according to the need for climb or descent in the FLCH mode. Taking the FLCH climb as an example, the lower limit threshold of the vertical speed in the FLCH mode climb needs to be set. The threshold is dynamically related to the aircraft climb capability, flight altitude, pilot operation intention, etc. The vertical speed lower limit that gradually decreases with the decrease of the flight altitude can be obtained by interpolation according to the current flight altitude and the climb / descent capability, and the corresponding FPA lower limit threshold is calculated. The threshold is generally not less than 0, that is, the aircraft is ensured to climb positively. The value is taken as the control target of the vertical speed controller to generate the lower limit command FPA low_lim .

[0038] In embodiments of the application, during the FLCH mode climb, if the target speed is too large, the command FPA cmd is calculated. Once FPA low_lim is less than FPA low_lim , it will be limited to FPA low_lim , and FPA low_lim is output. At this time, the vertical direction is changed to vertical speed control, and the control target is the lower limit of the vertical speed, so as to ensure the aircraft to climb positively and avoid the problem that the aircraft is expected to climb, but the aircraft is level flight or even descending.

[0039] Figure 2 An example of a process flow of a control method for the pitch axis in the FLCH mode of the aircraft according to an embodiment of the application is illustrated.

[0040] In embodiments of the application, the control method for the pitch axis in the FLCH mode of the aircraft is as shown in Figure 2 .

[0041] Specifically, the control method includes activating the FLCH vertical mode, calculating the un-limited target command through linear weighting of the first branch and the second branch, as follows:

[0042] Wherein, on the first branch associated with the predicted control command FPA cmd_est :

[0043] Step 1: Automatic throttle thrust command causes aircraft acceleration and other parameter changes;

[0044] Step 2: Calculate FPA total ;

[0045] Step 3: Calculate predicted control command FPA cmd_est ;

[0046] Where, on the second branch associated with the tracking speed control command FPA cmd_trace :

[0047] Step 1: Calculate the difference between target speed and actual speed;

[0048] Step 2: PD link calculates vertical control command FPA cmd_trace ;

[0049] At the same time, the control method includes calculating the upper / lower limit amplitude command in real time through the vertical speed protection device, as follows:

[0050] Step 1: Determine the FLCH climb / descent state;

[0051] Step 2: Give the vertical speed upper / lower limit;

[0052] Step 3: The vertical speed upper / lower limit amplitude is taken as the control target and input into the vertical speed controller;

[0053] Step 4: Calculate the upper / lower limit command.

[0054] The unamplified control command is compared with the upper / lower limit command, and if the control command exceeds the vertical speed protection device upper / lower limit command, the upper / lower limit control command is output; otherwise, the unamplified control command is output.

[0055] Figure 3 A block diagram of an apparatus supporting control for the pitch axis in the FLCH mode of an aircraft according to an embodiment of the present application is illustrated. It should be noted that, Figure 3 only intended to provide a generalized illustration of various components, any or all of which can be utilized as appropriate. It can be noted that, in some instances, components Figure 3 illustrated by the block diagram can be localized into a single physical device and / or distributed among various networked devices, e.g., which can be located at different physical locations on an aircraft or other entity.

[0056] Device 300 is shown comprising hardware elements that can be electrically coupled via bus 305 (or can otherwise be in communication, as appropriate). The hardware elements can include (as examples) processing unit(s) 310 which can include without limitation one or more general-purpose processors, one or more special-purpose processors (such as digital signal processing (DSP) chips, graphics acceleration processors, application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), and / or the like), and / or other processing structure or means.

[0057] Device 300 also can comprise one or more input devices 370, which can include devices that enable a user to interact with device 300 (e.g., a touchscreen, a keypad, a mouse, a microphone, a button, a switch, etc.) and / or devices that enable the device to interact with navigation, autonomous driving, etc. Similarly, one or more output devices 315 can involve devices that enable interaction with a user (e.g., via a display, a light emitting diode (LED), a speaker, etc.) and / or devices that enable interaction with navigation, driving, etc.

[0058] Device 300 also can comprise a wireless communication interface 330, which can include without limitation a modem, a network card, an infrared communication device, a wireless communication device, and / or a chipset (such as a Bluetooth® device, a WiFi device, a WiMax device, a WAN device, and / or various cellular devices, etc.) and / or the like. Wireless communication interface 330 can enable device 300 to communicate with other devices. This can include various forms of communication for the previously described embodiments. And as such, it can be capable of transmitting direct communication, broadcasting wireless signals, receiving direct and / or broadcast wireless signals, etc. Accordingly, wireless communication interface 330 can be capable of transmitting and / or receiving RF signals from various RF channels / bands. Communication using wireless communication interface 330 can be performed via one or more wireless communication antennas 332 that transmit and / or receive wireless signals 334. Device 300 can further comprise sensor(s) 340. Sensors 340 can include without limitation one or more inertial sensors and / or other sensors (e.g., lidar, accelerometers, gyroscopes, cameras, magnetometers, altimeters, microphones, proximity sensors, light sensors, barometers, etc.). Sensors 340 can be used, for example, to determine certain real-time characteristics of the aircraft, such as position, velocity, acceleration, altitude, heading, attitude, weather data, etc.

[0059] Device 300 can further comprise sensor(s) 340. Sensors 340 can include without limitation one or more inertial sensors and / or other sensors (e.g., lidar, accelerometers, gyroscopes, cameras, magnetometers, altimeters, microphones, proximity sensors, light sensors, barometers, etc.). Sensors 340 can be used, for example, to determine certain real-time characteristics of the aircraft, such as position, velocity, acceleration, altitude, heading, attitude, weather data, etc.

[0060] Device 300 can further include and / or be in communication with a memory 360. Memory 360 can include, without limitation, local and / or network accessible storage, a disk drive, a

[0061] Memory 360 of device 300 also can include software elements (not shown in Figure 3 ), including an operating system, device drivers, executable libraries, and / or other code such as one or more application programs, which can include computer programs provided by various embodiments, and / or can be designed to implement methods, and / or configure systems, as described herein. Software applications stored in memory 360 and executed by processing unit(s) 310 can be used to implement the functionality of the aircraft, as described herein. Furthermore, one or more procedures described with respect to the method discussed herein can be implemented as code and / or instructions in memory 360 that are executable by device 300 (and / or processing unit(s) 310 or DSP 320 within device 300) including the functions illustrated in the methods described below. Figure 4 In an aspect, such code and / or instructions can be used to configure and / or adapt a general purpose computer (or other device) to perform one or more operations in accordance with the described methods.

[0062] Figure 4 A block diagram illustrating a method 400 to support control of a pitch axis in a FLCH mode of an aircraft is shown in accordance with an embodiment of the present application.

[0063] In embodiments of the present application, an apparatus (e.g., apparatus 300) to control a pitch axis in a FLCH mode of an aircraft can be operated by the aircraft and the performer together to achieve functionality. A method 400 of operating the apparatus is shown in Figure 4 .

[0064] In embodiments of the application, the method 400 can include a step 405 of generating a target vertical control signal based at least in part on an energy state synthesis control, wherein the energy state synthesis control derives a potential track angle by calculating a sum of kinetic and potential energy of the aircraft in real time. Preferably, generating the target vertical control signal based at least in part on the energy state synthesis control includes obtaining a current track angle and an actual speed of the aircraft, generating a predicted vertical control signal based on the potential track angle and the current track angle, generating a tracking speed vertical control signal based on an input target speed and the actual speed, and linearly weighting the predicted vertical control signal and the tracking speed vertical control signal to generate the target vertical control signal. Preferably, the longitudinal acceleration, the normal acceleration, and the angle of attack of the aircraft are obtained in response to receiving an auto-thrust signal, and the potential track angle is calculated from the longitudinal acceleration, the normal acceleration, and the angle of attack. Preferably, generating the tracking speed vertical control signal based on an input target speed and the actual speed includes determining a difference between the target speed and the actual speed, and calculating the tracking speed vertical control signal using a proportional-derivative controller from the difference between the target speed and the actual speed. The means for performing the functionality of step 405 can be a processing module of the flight control system. The means for performing the functionality of step 405 can include one or more software and / or hardware components of the device, such as the bus 305, the processing unit(s) 310, the memory 360, and / or other software and / or hardware components of the device 300 illustrated in Figure 3 FIG. 3, and described below. Figure 3 FIG. 3, and described below.

[0065] In embodiments of the application, the method 400 can include a step 410 of selecting a clipping strategy according to a current state of the FLCH mode. Preferably, selecting the clipping strategy includes determining whether the aircraft is in a climb state or a descent state of the FLCH mode. Preferably, the vertical speed upper threshold and the vertical speed lower threshold are interpolated according to a current flight altitude of the aircraft and a climb / descent capability. The means for performing the functionality of step 410 can be a processing module of the flight control system. The means for performing the functionality of step 410 can include one or more software and / or hardware components of the device, such as the bus 305, the processing unit(s) 310, the memory 360, and / or other software and / or hardware components of the device 300 illustrated in Figure 3 FIG. 3, and described below. Figure 3 FIG. 3, and described below.

[0066] In embodiments of the present application, the method 400 can comprise a step 415 of performing dynamic clipping on the target vertical control signal according to the clipping strategy. Preferably, the dynamic clipping comprises: in the climb state, outputting a vertical speed lower limit threshold if the target vertical control signal is lower than the vertical speed lower limit threshold; in the descent state, outputting a vertical speed upper limit threshold if the target vertical control signal is higher than the vertical speed upper limit threshold; and directly outputting the target vertical control signal in other cases. The means for performing the functionality of step 415 can be a processing module of the flight control system. The means for performing the functionality of step 415 can comprise one or more software and / or hardware components of the device, such as the processing module 320, the memory 360, the bus 305, the (a) processing unit(s) 310, and / or other software and / or hardware components of the device 300 illustrated in FIG. 3, as discussed below with reference to FIG. 3. Figure 3 The bus 305, the processing unit(s) 310, the memory 360, and / or other software and / or hardware components of the device 300 illustrated in FIG. 3. Figure 3 The bus 305, the processing unit(s) 310, the memory 360, and / or other software and / or hardware components of the device 300 illustrated in FIG. 3.

[0067] Furthermore, embodiments of the present application also disclose a computer-readable storage medium comprising computer-executable instructions stored thereon that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform the method of any of the embodiments herein.

[0068] Furthermore, embodiments of the present application also disclose an apparatus comprising a processor and a memory storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform the method of any of the embodiments herein.

[0069] Furthermore, embodiments of the present application also disclose a device for controlling a pitch axis in a flight level change (FLCH) mode of an aircraft, the device comprising means for implementing the method of any of the embodiments herein. In one aspect, the device comprises: means for generating a target vertical control signal based at least in part on an energy state synthetic control, wherein the energy state synthetic control derives a potential track angle by calculating a sum of kinetic energy and potential energy of the aircraft in real time; means for selecting a clipping strategy according to a current state of the FLCH mode; and means for performing dynamic clipping on the target vertical control signal according to the clipping strategy.

[0070] Furthermore, embodiments of the present application also disclose a flight control system, characterized by comprising: a processor configured to execute any of the aforementioned control methods; and a sensor module configured to collect longitudinal acceleration, normal acceleration, angle of attack, and airspeed data of the aircraft in real time.

[0071] Furthermore, embodiments of the present application also disclose an aircraft, characterized by having the aforementioned flight control system mounted thereon.

[0072] The above describes the control method, device and system for the pitch axis in the FLCH mode of the aircraft according to the present application, and the method of the present application has at least the following advantages compared with the prior art:

[0073] 1. The flight path angle is predicted by energy management, the pitch attitude is adjusted in advance, and the degree of change in speed is reduced, thereby improving the speed overshoot.

[0074] 2. The vertical speed protection device ensures that the aircraft still climbs or descends as expected when the target speed is greatly adjusted, reduces the pilot's intervention, and safeguards the flight trend.

[0075] 3. The stability of the FLCH mode in complex working conditions is improved, and the system robustness is enhanced by the double control command superposition and dynamic limiting mechanism.

[0076] Throughout this specification, reference has been made to "an embodiment" meaning that a particular described feature, structure, or characteristic is included in at least one embodiment. Therefore, usage of such phrases in this specification does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. Furthermore, the described features, structures, or characteristics can be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments.

[0077] The various steps and modules of the above-described method and device can be implemented in hardware, software, or a combination thereof. If implemented in hardware, the various illustrative steps, modules, and circuits described in connection with the present disclosure can be implemented or executed in a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic component, a hardware component, or any combination thereof. The general-purpose processor can be a processor, a microprocessor, a controller, a microcontroller, or a state machine, etc. If implemented in software, the various illustrative steps, modules, and circuits described in connection with the present disclosure can be stored or transmitted as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium. The software modules implementing the various operations of the present disclosure can reside in a storage medium, such as RAM, flash memory, ROM, EPROM, EEPROM, registers, hard disk, removable disk, CD-ROM, cloud storage, etc. The storage medium can be coupled to the processor to enable the processor to read information from and write information to the storage medium, and execute the corresponding program modules to implement the various steps of the present disclosure. Moreover, the software-based embodiment can be uploaded, downloaded, or remotely accessed through appropriate communication means, such as the Internet, the World Wide Web, an intranet, a software application, a cable (including optical fiber cable), magnetic communication, electromagnetic communication (including RF microwave and infrared communication), electronic communication, or other such communication means.

[0078] The numerical values given in the various embodiments are only examples and do not limit the scope of the invention. Furthermore, there are other devices or steps neither listed nor suggested herein which can be used in the present invention. Moreover, the single names of the devices do not exclude other names of these devices.

[0079] It should also be noted that the embodiments can be described as a process which is depicted as a flowchart, a flow diagram, a structure diagram, or a block diagram. Although a flowchart can describe operations as a sequential process, many of the operations can be performed in parallel or concurrently. In addition, the order of the operations can be re-arranged.

[0080] The disclosed methods, devices, and systems should not be limited in any way by the above description. Instead, the disclosure covers all features and aspects of the disclosed embodiments, both singly and in various combinations and sub-combinations, alone and in various combinations and sub-combinations with each other. The disclosed methods, devices, and systems are not limited to any particular aspect or feature or combination of them, nor do any of the disclosed embodiments require the presence of any particular advantage or solve a particular or all technical problems.

[0081] The present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments described above, which are merely illustrative of only a small number of the most straightforward configurations. Those skilled in the art will recognize many modifications, alternatives, and improvements based on the teachings of the present invention without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the claims. Such modifications, alternatives, and improvements shall all fall within the scope of the present invention.

[0082] Those skilled in the relevant art can recognize that the embodiments can be practiced without one or more of the specific details, or with other methods, resources, materials, etc. In other instances, well-known structures, resources, or operations have not been shown or described in detail in order to avoid obscuring aspects of the embodiments.

[0083] While embodiments and applications have been illustrated and described, it is understood that the embodiments are not limited to the precise configuration and resources described above. Various modifications, substitutions, and alterations to the methods and systems disclosed herein will occur to one of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope of the claimed embodiments.

[0084] The terms, “and”, “or”, and “and / or” as used herein can include a variety of meanings that also are expected to depend, at least partly, on the context in which such terms are used. Typically, “or” if used to associate a list, such as A, B, or C, is intended to mean A, B, and C, here used in the inclusive sense, as well as A, B or C, here used in the exclusive sense. In addition, the term “one or more” as used herein can be used to describe any feature, structure, or characteristic in the singular or can be used to describe a plurality or some other combination of features, structures, or characteristics. However, it should be noted that this is merely an illustrative example and claimed subject matter is not limited to this example.

[0085] While there have been illustrated and described what are presently considered to be example features, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various other modifications can be made, and that many changes can be made in the function and arrangement of the elements without departing from the subject matter claimed. Additionally, many modifications can be made to adapt a particular situation to the teachings of the claimed subject matter without departing from the central concept described herein.

Claims

1. A control method for a pitch axis in a flight level change (FLCH) mode of an aircraft, characterized in that The method comprises: generating a target vertical control signal based at least in part on an energy state integrated control, wherein the energy state integrated control derives a potential flight path angle by calculating in real time the sum of kinetic and potential energies of the aircraft; selecting a clipping strategy based on the current state of the FLCH mode; and Dynamically limiting the target vertical control signal according to the limiting strategy.

2. The control method according to claim 1, characterized in that: Generating the target vertical control signal based at least in part on energy state integrated control includes: Obtaining the current track angle and actual speed of the aircraft; generating a predicted vertical control signal based on the potential track angle and the current track angle; generating a tracking speed vertical control signal based on the input target speed and the actual speed; and The predicted vertical control signal and the tracking speed vertical control signal are linearly weighted to generate the target vertical control signal.

3. The control method according to claim 2, characterized in that: Determining the potential track angle based on the energy state integrated control includes: obtaining longitudinal acceleration, normal acceleration, and angle of attack of the aircraft in response to receiving an autothrottle thrust signal; and The potential track angle is calculated based on the longitudinal acceleration, the normal acceleration, and the angle of attack.

4. The control method according to claim 2, characterized in that: Generating the tracking speed vertical control signal based on the input target speed and the actual speed includes: determining a difference between the target speed and the actual speed; and The tracking speed vertical control signal is calculated using a proportional-differential controller according to the difference between the target speed and the actual speed.

5. The control method according to claim 1, characterized in that: Selecting the limiting strategy includes determining whether the aircraft is in a climb state or a descent state in the FLCH mode, The dynamic limiting process includes: In the climbing state, if the target vertical control signal is lower than a vertical speed lower limit threshold, outputting the vertical speed lower limit threshold; In the descending state, if the target vertical control signal is higher than a vertical speed upper limit threshold, outputting the vertical speed upper limit threshold; In other cases, the target vertical control signal is directly output.

6. The control method according to claim 5, characterized in that: The vertical speed upper limit threshold and the vertical speed lower limit threshold are obtained by interpolation according to the current flight altitude and climb / descent capability of the aircraft.

7. A device for controlling the pitch axis in a flight level change (FLCH) mode of an aircraft, characterized in that The apparatus comprises means for executing the control method according to any one of claims 1-6.

8. A flight control system, characterized in that: include: A processor, configured to execute the control method according to any one of claims 1 to 6; as well as The sensor module collects the aircraft's longitudinal acceleration, normal acceleration, angle of attack and airspeed data in real time.

9. An aircraft, characterized in that: The flight control system as claimed in claim 8 is mounted thereon.

10. A computer-readable storage medium comprising computer-executable instructions stored thereon, wherein when the computer-executable instructions are executed by a processor, the processor is caused to perform the control method according to any one of claims 1 to 6.

Images