A high verticality airborne towed antenna system and its control method

Abstract

This invention discloses a high verticality airborne towed antenna system and its control method; it relates to the technical field of aircraft communication equipment, including an aircraft with a towed antenna mounted below it, and a verticality control device connected to the end of the towed antenna; the verticality control device includes a fuselage, with a fairing at the front end and a fixed horizontal wing and a fixed vertical wing at the rear end; a fully movable horizontal wing and a fully movable vertical wing are rotatably connected in the middle section; the fuselage is also equipped with a servo motor for driving the rotation of both; this application uses the fully movable horizontal wing and the fully movable vertical wing to adjust the lift of the verticality control device in real time, thereby improving the verticality of the towed antenna during operation and enabling the aircraft to achieve good communication performance; at the same time, the verticality control device and the miniature stabilizer can also reduce the lateral sway of the towed antenna, ensuring the attitude stability of the towed antenna.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of aircraft communication equipment technology, and in particular to a high verticality airborne towed antenna system and its control method. Background Technology

[0002] An airborne towed antenna is a communication device used in the aviation field, primarily for establishing communication connections between an aircraft and ground or mobile equipment during flight. By towing the antenna to the underside of the aircraft, the airborne towed antenna can receive and transmit signals in real time, providing necessary communication support for pilots, navigation systems, weather stations, or other ground equipment.

[0003] In modern aviation, airborne towed antennas are one of the essential foundational devices for realizing intelligent and automated aviation. With the continuous advancement of aviation technology, the demand for high-precision, high-performance airborne towed antennas is increasing. However, existing airborne towed antenna technologies still face some challenges in practical applications, primarily in ensuring the antenna structure's safety and reliability while maintaining a high degree of verticality to guarantee the accuracy and stability of the entire communication process. The stability and verticality of the towed antenna in an airborne low-frequency towed system during operation are key indicators of its proper functioning. Summary of the Invention

[0004] To improve the stability and verticality of towed antennas during operation, this application provides a high verticality airborne towed antenna system and its control method.

[0005] In a first aspect, this application provides a high verticality airborne towed antenna system, which adopts the following technical solution:

[0006] A high verticality airborne towed antenna system includes an aircraft with a towed antenna mounted below it. A verticality control device is connected to the end of the towed antenna. The verticality control device includes a fuselage with a fairing at the front and a fixed horizontal wing and a fixed vertical wing at the rear. A fully movable horizontal wing and a fully movable vertical wing are rotatably connected in the middle section. The rotation axis of the fully movable horizontal wing is set in the horizontal direction, and the rotation axis of the fully movable vertical wing is set in the vertical direction. A servo motor for driving the rotation of both is also provided on the fuselage.

[0007] Optionally, both the aircraft and the fuselage are equipped with altitude sensors for obtaining altitude, and the connection between the aircraft and the towed antenna is equipped with a tension sensor for obtaining the tension of the towed antenna.

[0008] Optionally, a plurality of miniature stabilizers are integrated at equal intervals along the length of the towed antenna, the miniature stabilizers including:

[0009] Stabilizer body: serves as the mounting base;

[0010] Miniature inertial sensors: used to monitor dynamic information such as lateral acceleration and angular velocity at their location in real time, in order to sense the local swaying state of the cable;

[0011] Miniature adjustable damping airfoil: used to actively suppress lateral sway, specifically adopting a small airfoil structure, which is connected to the stabilizer body through a miniature piezoelectric actuator or shape memory alloy actuator;

[0012] Miniature wireless communication module: used for wirelessly transmitting sensor data and receiving control commands.

[0013] Secondly, this application provides a control method for a high verticality airborne towed antenna system, employing the following technical solution:

[0014] A control method for a high verticality airborne towed antenna system;

[0015] The real-time tension of the towed antenna is obtained by the tension sensor. If the real-time tension is close to the tension limit, the servo motor drives the all-moving horizontal and vertical wing surfaces to increase the lift of the verticality control device and ensure that the real-time tension of the towed antenna is within a safe range.

[0016] The altitude of the aircraft and the fuselage is obtained from two altitude sensors. The real-time verticality of the towed antenna is calculated. If the real-time verticality is less than the minimum allowable verticality, the all-moving horizontal wing is driven by a servo motor to reduce the lift of the verticality control device and improve the real-time verticality of the towed antenna.

[0017] When the aircraft is hovering or turning, the servo motor drives the all-moving vertical wing surface to orient the aircraft toward the direction of travel.

[0018] The system uses miniature inertial sensors on the towed antenna to detect local lateral sway in the middle section of the towed antenna. If the local lateral sway exceeds the allowable value, the system uses a miniature adjustable damping wing to make a slight deflection, generating a local damping force opposite to the sway direction, thereby actively suppressing the lateral sway of the cable.

[0019] In summary, this application includes the following beneficial technical effects:

[0020] This application uses a verticality control device to adjust the lift of the verticality control device in real time through all-moving horizontal and vertical wing surfaces, while ensuring that the towed antenna is outside the safe tension range, so as to improve the verticality of the towed antenna during operation and enable the aircraft to achieve good communication performance. At the same time, the verticality control device and the miniature stabilizer can also reduce the lateral sway of the towed antenna and ensure the attitude stability of the towed antenna. Attached Figure Description

[0021] Figure 1 This is an overall structural diagram of a high verticality airborne towed antenna system according to this application;

[0022] Figure 2 yes Figure 1 Overall structural diagram of the verticality control device.

[0023] Explanation of reference numerals in the attached figures:

[0024] 1. Aircraft; 2. Antenna; 3. Verticality control device; 4. GPS; 5. Tension sensor; 6. Altitude sensor; 7. Fairing; 8. Airframe; 9. All-moving horizontal wing; 10. All-moving vertical wing; 11. Fixed horizontal wing; 12. Fixed vertical wing. Detailed Implementation

[0025] The following is in conjunction with the appendix Figure 1-2 This application will be described in further detail.

[0026] This application proposes a high verticality airborne towed antenna 2 system, the core of which is to maintain its high verticality by applying active control to the end of the towed antenna 2.

[0027] Specifically, the system includes an aircraft 1, which serves as a carrier to which a towed antenna 2 is attached and towed. The towed antenna 2 can be made of high-strength, low-drag cable material to withstand aerodynamic loads during flight.

[0028] A verticality control device 3 is connected to the end of the towed antenna 2. This verticality control device 3 is designed as an independent aerodynamic body, and its main function is to use aerodynamic force to adjust the attitude of the towed antenna 2. For example, the verticality control device 3 can be connected to the end of the towed antenna 2 through a simple mechanical connector to ensure stable following during towing.

[0029] The verticality control device 3 includes a body 8, which is its main load-bearing structure. The body 8 can be made of lightweight, high-strength composite materials to reduce the overall weight and increase the structural strength.

[0030] The front end of the fuselage 8 is equipped with a fairing 7. The fairing 7 can adopt a streamlined design, such as a conical or ellipsoidal shape, to effectively reduce flight drag and ensure that the verticality control device 3 has good aerodynamic performance during high-speed flight.

[0031] The tail end of the fuselage 8 is provided with a fixed horizontal wing 11 and a fixed vertical wing 12. These fixed wing surfaces can adopt conventional airfoil designs, such as rectangular or trapezoidal, and generate stable aerodynamic forces in the airflow through their fixed geometry, providing basic stability and attitude control capability for the verticality control device 3.

[0032] The midsection of the fuselage 8 is rotatably connected to an all-moving horizontal wing 9 and an all-moving vertical wing 10. These all-moving wing surfaces are key components for achieving active control. For example, the all-moving horizontal wing 9 can be designed as a flat wing that can deflect at a small angle around its central axis, and the all-moving vertical wing 10 can be designed similarly.

[0033] The rotation axis of the all-moving horizontal airfoil 9 is set in the horizontal direction. This means that the airfoil is mainly used to generate forces in the vertical direction, thereby affecting the lift or downforce of the verticality control device 3.

[0034] The rotation axis of the all-moving vertical airfoil 10 is set in the vertical direction. This means that the airfoil is mainly used to generate forces in the horizontal direction, thereby affecting the lateral force or yaw moment of the verticality control device 3.

[0035] To drive the rotation of the all-moving horizontal wing surface 9 and the all-moving vertical wing surface 10, the fuselage 8 is also equipped with servo motors. These servo motors can be installed inside the fuselage 8 and connected to the all-moving wing surfaces via a linkage mechanism. For example, each all-moving wing surface can be driven by an independent servo motor to achieve precise angle control. By deflecting the all-moving wing surfaces through the servo motors, the aerodynamic force on the verticality control device 3 can be actively changed, thereby adjusting the verticality of the towed antenna 2.

[0036] This application further proposes that the aircraft 1 and the fuselage 8 are respectively equipped with GPS 4 and altitude sensor 6, and the connection between the mother aircraft and the towed antenna 2 is equipped with tension sensor 5 for obtaining the tension of the towed antenna 2.

[0037] Through the above technical solution, the GPS4 and altitude sensor 6 installed on the aircraft 1 and fuselage 8 can provide real-time altitude information for both, thereby calculating the real-time verticality of the towed antenna 2. Based on this real-time verticality data, the control system can precisely adjust the all-moving horizontal wing surface 9 and all-moving vertical wing surface 10 of the verticality control device 3, thereby effectively maintaining or optimizing the vertical attitude of the towed antenna 2. In addition, the tension sensor 5 at the connection between the mother aircraft and the towed antenna 2 can monitor the tension borne by the towed antenna 2 in real time.

[0038] When the monitored tension approaches the preset safety limit, the control system can issue a timely warning and take corresponding control strategies, such as adjusting the lift of the verticality control device 3 to reduce the load on the towed antenna 2, thereby effectively preventing the antenna 2 from being damaged due to overload. This real-time, multi-parameter feedback mechanism significantly improves the control accuracy, operational stability, and safety of the towed antenna 2 system in complex flight environments, ensuring that the towed antenna 2 can reliably maintain a high verticality working state for a long time.

[0039] In some of the embodiments described above in this application, although the verticality control device 3 and related sensors have achieved effective control over the overall verticality and tension of the towed antenna 2, in actual flight, as a flexible structure, the towed antenna 2 may still experience local lateral swaying in the middle section of its cable when there is airflow disturbance or the aircraft 1 is maneuvering. This swaying not only affects the performance stability of the antenna 2, but may also increase system drag and accelerate material fatigue, making it difficult to achieve fine and stable control over the entire length of the towed antenna 2.

[0040] In this regard, this application further proposes that a number of miniature stabilizers are integrated at equal intervals along the length of the aforementioned towed antenna 2. Each miniature stabilizer includes a stabilizer body, a miniature inertial sensor, a miniature adjustable damping wing, and a miniature wireless communication module.

[0041] The stabilizer body, serving as the mounting base for the miniature stabilizer, is typically designed as a shell with a favorable aerodynamic shape, such as a spindle, airfoil, or flat box, to minimize its impact on the aerodynamic characteristics of the towed antenna 2. Its internal space needs to be rationally laid out to accommodate components such as miniature inertial sensors, miniature adjustable damping surfaces and their actuators, and miniature wireless communication modules. The main body material can be aerospace-grade aluminum alloy, carbon fiber composite materials, or high-strength engineering plastics to balance lightweight design and structural strength.

[0042] Miniature inertial sensors are used to monitor dynamic information such as lateral acceleration and angular velocity at the cable's location in real time to sense the cable's local swaying state. These sensors can be manufactured using inertial measurement units (IMUs) based on MEMS (Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems) technology, typically including a three-axis accelerometer and a three-axis gyroscope. The sensor should be characterized by high precision, low power consumption, and small size, capable of rapidly responding to minute dynamic changes in the cable, and its data acquisition frequency needs to be sufficiently high to capture the instantaneous characteristics of the swaying.

[0043] Miniature adjustable damping airfoils are used to actively suppress lateral sway. Specifically, they employ small airfoil structures connected to the stabilizer body via miniature piezoelectric actuators or shape memory alloy actuators. These airfoils can be miniature flaps, ailerons, or spoilers, and their size and shape must be aerodynamically optimized to generate effective damping force while minimizing interference with overall aerodynamic characteristics.

[0044] Miniature piezoelectric actuators utilize the inverse piezoelectric effect of piezoelectric materials, applying voltage to induce minute deformations that drive airfoil deflection. They are characterized by fast response, high precision, and small size. Shape memory alloy actuators, on the other hand, utilize the property of shape memory alloys to undergo phase transitions at specific temperatures, causing deformation. They drive airfoil deflection through heating or cooling, exhibiting a relatively simple structure and high driving force. These actuators are connected to the stabilizer body via precise miniature hinges or flexible connectors, ensuring smooth and reliable airfoil deflection.

[0045] This application further proposes a control method for a high verticality airborne towed antenna 2 system. This method, used to control the aforementioned high verticality airborne towed antenna 2 system, specifically includes the following steps:

[0046] First, the real-time tension of the towed antenna 2 is acquired via tension sensor 5. Tension sensor 5, typically a strain gauge, piezoelectric, or fiber optic sensor, is installed at the connection point between the aircraft 1 and the towed antenna 2 to monitor the axial tension borne by the towed antenna 2 in real time. If the real-time tension approaches a preset tension limit (e.g., the maximum permissible tension determined based on material strength, fatigue life, or design safety factor), the control system issues a command to drive the all-moving horizontal wing 9 and all-moving vertical wing 10 on the verticality control device 3 to deflect via servo motors. The wing deflection alters the aerodynamic shape of the verticality control device 3, increasing its lift in the airflow. This increased lift pulls upwards on the end of the towed antenna 2, effectively reducing the overall tension borne by the towed antenna 2 and ensuring that the real-time tension of the towed antenna 2 remains within a safe range. The control system can preset a tension threshold. When the real-time tension reaches this threshold, the required wing deflection angle is calculated based on the degree of tension exceeding the limit and the rate of change, and the command is sent to the servo motor via a PID controller or other advanced control algorithms. Servo motors precisely adjust the angle of attack of the wing surface through gear transmission or linkage mechanism.

[0047] Next, the altitudes of the aircraft 1 and the fuselage 8 are acquired using two altitude sensors 6. Altitude sensors 6 (e.g., barometric altimeters, radar altimeters, or GPS4 / GNSS receivers) are mounted on the aircraft 1 and the fuselage 8 of the verticality control device 3, respectively, to measure their respective altitudes relative to a reference plane in real time. By comparing these two altitude values, the real-time verticality of the towed antenna 2 can be calculated (e.g., by calculating the angle between the towed antenna 2 and the vertical direction using trigonometric functions). If the real-time verticality is less than the minimum permissible verticality (i.e., antenna 2 is too tilted and deviates from the vertical direction), the control system instructs a servo motor to drive the all-moving horizontal wing 9 to deflect. At this time, the wing deflection direction aims to reduce the lift generated by the verticality control device 3. The reduced lift causes the verticality control device 3 to sink relatively under gravity, thus bringing the towed antenna 2 closer to a vertical state and improving the real-time verticality of the towed antenna 2. The verticality calculation can use simple geometric relationships, for example, estimated using the altitude difference between the aircraft 1 and the fuselage 8 and the length of the tow cable. The control algorithm calculates the required deflection angle of the all-moving horizontal wing surface 9 based on the vertical deviation and executes it through a servo motor.

[0048] Furthermore, when aircraft 1 is in a hovering or turning flight state, the control system synchronously acquires the heading and attitude information of aircraft 1. Based on this information, the servo motor drives the all-moving vertical wing surface 10 on the verticality control device 3 to deflect, causing the fuselage 8 to face a predetermined direction or maintain a stable attitude relative to aircraft 1. The deflection of the all-moving vertical wing surface 10 generates lateral force or yaw moment on the verticality control device 3, thereby adjusting the heading of the fuselage 8 so that it can follow the maneuver trajectory of aircraft 1, maintain a stable attitude relative to aircraft 1, or keep its nose pointing in the direction of airflow, reducing drag and improving stability. The control system can calculate the target deflection angle of the all-moving vertical wing surface 10 based on the heading angle, yaw rate, and other information of aircraft 1, combined with the current attitude of the verticality control device 3.

[0049] Finally, the local lateral sway of the mid-section of the towed antenna 2 is identified using miniature inertial sensors on the towed antenna 2. The miniature inertial sensors (e.g., miniature accelerometers and gyroscopes) integrated at equal intervals on the towed antenna 2 can monitor dynamic information such as lateral acceleration and angular velocity at its location in real time, thereby accurately sensing the local sway state of the cable. Simultaneously, predictive algorithms (such as Kalman filtering and neural networks) can be used to assess its development trend and potential impact. If the local lateral sway exceeds a preset allowable value, a small deflection is achieved through a miniature adjustable damping airfoil. The miniature wireless communication module transmits sensor data to the main control system or local controller, which calculates the required damping force based on the sway direction, amplitude, and frequency. Subsequently, a miniature piezoelectric actuator or shape memory alloy actuator drives the miniature adjustable damping airfoil to make a small deflection, generating a local damping force opposite to the sway direction, thereby actively suppressing the lateral sway of the cable. Miniature piezoelectric actuators or shape memory alloy actuators are characterized by fast response speed, small size, and low power consumption, making them ideal for driving miniature airfoils to make precise and rapid small deflections.

[0050] The above are all preferred embodiments of this application and are not intended to limit the scope of protection of this application. Therefore, all equivalent changes made in accordance with the structure, shape and principle of this application should be covered within the scope of protection of this application.

Claims

1. A high verticality airborne towed antenna system, comprising an aircraft, wherein a towed antenna is mounted beneath the aircraft, characterized in that: The towed antenna is connected to a verticality control device at its end; the verticality control device includes a fuselage, with a fairing at the front end and a fixed horizontal wing and a fixed vertical wing at the rear end; the mid-section is rotatably connected to an all-moving horizontal wing and an all-moving vertical wing; the rotation axis of the all-moving horizontal wing is set in the horizontal direction, and the rotation axis of the all-moving vertical wing is set in the vertical direction; the fuselage is also equipped with a servo motor for driving the rotation of both. The aircraft and the fuselage are respectively equipped with GPS and altitude sensors, and a tension sensor is provided at the connection between the aircraft and the towed antenna to obtain the tension of the towed antenna; The towed antenna has several miniature stabilizers integrated at equal intervals along its length. The miniature stabilizers include: Stabilizer body: serves as the mounting base; Miniature inertial sensors: used to monitor the lateral acceleration and angular velocity of their location in real time to sense the local swaying state of the cable; Miniature adjustable damping airfoil: used to actively suppress lateral sway, specifically adopting a small airfoil structure, which is connected to the stabilizer body through a miniature piezoelectric actuator or shape memory alloy actuator; Miniature wireless communication module: used for wirelessly transmitting sensor data and receiving control commands.

2. A control method for a high verticality airborne towed antenna system, used to control the high verticality airborne towed antenna system as described in claim 1, characterized in that: The real-time tension of the towed antenna is obtained by the tension sensor. If the real-time tension is close to the tension limit, the servo motor drives the all-moving horizontal and vertical wing surfaces to increase the lift of the verticality control device and ensure that the real-time tension of the towed antenna is within a safe range. The altitude of the aircraft and the fuselage is obtained from two altitude sensors. The real-time verticality of the towed antenna is calculated. If the real-time verticality is less than the minimum allowable verticality, the all-moving horizontal wing is driven by a servo motor to reduce the lift of the verticality control device and improve the real-time verticality of the towed antenna. When the aircraft is hovering or turning, the all-moving vertical wing surface is driven by servo motors to make the aircraft face the direction of travel; The system uses miniature inertial sensors on the towed antenna to detect local lateral sway in the middle section of the towed antenna. If the local lateral sway exceeds the allowable value, the system uses a miniature adjustable damping wing to make a slight deflection, generating a local damping force opposite to the sway direction, thereby actively suppressing the lateral sway of the cable.

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