Method for controlling a thrust unit for a propulsion device - Patents.com

Abstract

The invention relates to a method (100) for correcting a thrust vector. The thrust vector is generated by a thrust unit associated with an electrical correction means for said thrust vector. Such a thrust unit comprises a mechanical rotor which is rotated by a rotating shaft of an internal combustion engine (12a-e) according to a power command (PC). Such a method (100) comprises a step (110) of generating this power command (PC) to reduce a deviation (RSE) between a rotational speed setpoint (RSI) and a measured rotational speed (RSM) of the shaft of the internal combustion engine (12a-e) and thus correct the speed of the shaft of said internal combustion engine (12a-e). The method further comprises a step (120) of generating an activation command (AC) of an electrical correction means for thrust vector (19a-e) which is generated on the basis of said deviation (RSE) independently of said speed correction of the shaft of the internal combustion engine (12a-e).

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of propulsion devices, preferably but not exclusively vertical propulsion aircraft, adapted or arranged to provide the lifting and movement of a load, the carriage of which is to be provided by the propulsion device, whether constituted by one or more passengers, human or animal, and / or one or more solid or liquid goods. The invention relates in particular to the improvement of the thrust unit of such a propulsion device, which is designed to give a high responsiveness of said thrust unit and, consequently, a very high stability of the attitude of said device and a high precision of its trajectory. The invention is intended to be very simple to implement and to be available for a maximum number of propulsion devices, whether as a primary or secondary application, in the air, on land or in the underwater domain. In the remainder of this document, the invention will be described as applied, preferably but not exclusively, to an aircraft or heavier-than-air vehicle arranged to provide a substantially vertical take-off and landing capability. As a non-limiting example, such a propulsion device may consist of a drone, a quadcopter or an octocopter, or a flying device whose examples are described in document WO2017 / 174942A1. However, the present invention should not be considered limited to only these applications, but instead may be used with any type of cargo propulsion device. [Background technology]

[0002] Such a propulsion device generally comprises a thrust unit comprising a heat engine, also referred to below as "internal combustion engine". The internal combustion engine may consist of a rotating shaft engine of the two-stroke or four-stroke engine type coupled with a mechanical rotor and delivering a thrust vector, i.e. thrust, in a given direction. In a variant, such an internal combustion engine may consist of a turbojet. Figure 1 shows a first example of a propulsion device taken from document WO2017 / 174942A1. The propulsion device 10, which may be described as a "flying motorcycle", comprises two systems TSa and TSb, each comprising two thrust units 12a and 12b, which respectively deliver a combined thrust vector AL12a and AL12b. According to the example of Figure 1, each thrust unit is equipped with a number of internal combustion thrusters in the form of a turbojet. Each turbojet, for example turbojet 12a1, may be described as a combination of a rotating shaft internal combustion engine coupled with a mechanical rotor. Such a turbojet converts the potential energy contained in a fuel, for example kerosene or equivalent, into kinetic energy in cooperation with an oxidizer, in this case the surrounding air drawn in through a fluid inlet. This kinetic energy generates a reaction force in an elastic medium in the direction opposite to the injection of the gaseous exhaust. As a result, a volume of air is accelerated between the fluid inlet of the thruster and its injection nozzles or outlets 12a-o, and a thrust is generated by its expansion in said injection nozzles. The turbojet 12a1 thus generates its own thrust vector AL12a1. The resultant thrust vector AL12a of the thrust unit 12a consists of the combination of the thrust vectors generated respectively by its constituent turbojets. The thrust units 12a and 12b are held by a support means 14 aligned with the platform 11, in particular so that the thrust vectors AL12a, AL12b of said thrust units 12a and 12b are directed substantially perpendicular to the platform 11. 1, which is a substantially horizontal plane when the aeronautical propulsion device 10 is placed on a horizontal support. Thus, under the influence of the thrust vectors AL12a and AL12b, the load 1 held by the platform 11 can be lifted vertically.In this case, in FIG. 1, the cargo consists mainly of human passengers 1 .

[0003] According to the example of Fig. 1, the support means 14 are arranged such that the turbojets of the two thrust units are advantageously aligned substantially along the longitudinal axis AL10 of the base 11, i.e. along an axis directed from the tail to the nose of the propulsion device 10, contained in the plane P11. The thrust vectors AL12a and AL12b of the turbojets of the thrust units 12a and 12b are thus tangent to one and the same plane (not shown in Fig. 1 for simplicity) perpendicular to the base 11, i.e. perpendicular to an imaginary plane P11 symbolizing the base 11. It should be noted that according to this example, the centre of gravity CG10 of the body of the device 10 is placed above the fluid outlets of the turbojets of the thrust systems TSa and TSb. Such an arrangement allows the occupant 1 to change direction (or "yaw trajectory") by simply tilting his body. According to this example, the thrust systems TSa and TSb of the propulsion device 10 comprise attitude correction means 19a and 19b, respectively, in the form of electric secondary thrusters, in this case electric turbines in FIG. 1, mounted at the ends (nose and tail) of the body of said propulsion device 10. Said attitude correction means 19a and 19b provide additional thrust vectors AL19a and AL19b, respectively, parallel to the thrust vectors AL12a and AL12b provided jointly by the turbojets of the thrust units 12a and 12b. The electric turbines 19a and 19b are used to modify the attitude of the platform 11. Indeed, according to document WO2017 / 174942A1, the power of these electric turbines 19a and 19b is adjusted by a navigation or flight controller 30 in the form of electronic processing means, using control commands from the passenger 1, to bring about a change in attitude so as to "point up" the nose of the vehicle under the positive action of the thrust of the nose secondary thruster 19a, or conversely to "point down" it under the positive action of the thrust of the tail secondary thruster 19b. Such a change in attitude, combined with the thrust exerted by the thrust units 12a and 12b, brings about a horizontal displacement of the propulsion device 10 forward or aft. Said electric secondary thrusters 19a and 19b may furthermore be automatically actuated by said navigation controller 30 to stabilize or maintain the attitude of the propulsion device 10 substantially constant, for example depending on measurement data coming from an inertial unit integrated with said navigation controller 30.If either of the attitude correcting secondary thrusters 19a or 19b is activated, its thrust vector AL19a, AL19b is added to the thrust vectors AL12a, AL12b generated by the thrust units 12a and 12b. Instead of a turbojet, such a propulsion system can be powered by a heat engine, for example of the two-stroke or four-stroke engine type, driving a mechanical rotor as described in US 2,417,896.

[0004] FIG. 2 shows a second example of an aeropropulsion device, which makes it possible to lift a load held by it. The technical teachings are taken from document EP 3 495 262 A1. It comprises a quadcopter with means 14 supporting thrusters, said means 14 being in the form of four arms that describe an "X" above a substantially flat platform 11. Each arm supports a thrust system TSa, TSb, TSc, TSd, each of which comprises a thrust unit 12a, 12b, 12c, 12d, which is composed of a thermal thruster similar to the previous example in the form of a turbojet. To lift a load, not shown in FIG. 2, held by the platform 11, the four thrust units 12a, 12b, 12c, 12d, each of which comprises a turbojet, exert thrust vectors AL12a, AL12b, AL12c, AL12d, respectively, substantially perpendicular to the platform 11. In order to land without damaging the jet nozzles or fluid outlets of the turbojets of the thrust units 12a to 12d, the arms of the support means 14 of the thrust systems TSa, TSb, TSc and TSd advantageously cooperate at their respective distal parts with telescopic projection means or legs 17. A navigation or flight controller 30 in the form of electronic processing means issues thrust commands to the thrust systems TSa, TSb, TSc, TSd. The fluid outlets of the thrusters of the thrust systems are placed above or below, substantially at the height of, the centre of gravity CG10 of the device 10, according to the configuration and arrangement of the support means 14. In order to change and stabilise the attitude of the platform 11, each thrust system TSa to TSd comprises means 19a, 19b, 19c, 19d of correction of the thrust vectors AL12a, AL12b, AL12c, AL12d issued by the thrust units 12a to 12d, respectively. The means 19 a to 19 d are also controlled by an electronic navigation controller 30 .

[0005] Fig. 3 shows the configuration of such a means of correction of thrust vector 19a associated with thrust unit 12a of thrust system TSa according to Fig. 2. Said means of correction of thrust vector 19a comprises a pair of deflector guides 19a-1 and 19a-5, which are more particularly movably mounted by respective pivot links 19a-2 and 19a-6. Said deflector guides 19a-1 and 19a-5 are arranged to deflect all or part of thrust vector AL12a in the area close to fluid outlet 12a-o of turbojet 12a-e of thrust unit 12a. Thus, a "sandwiching" of said thrust vector AL12a can be depicted by a deflector assembly composed of deflector guides 19a-1 and 19a-5. Deflector guides 19a-1 and 19a-5 are advantageously actuated by a pair of cam actuators or servomotors, respectively, of which only actuator 19a-3 can be seen in Fig. 3. The actuator 19a-3 thus cooperates with the deflector guide 19a-1 by means of a control rod 19a-4. The actuation of the cam of the actuator 19a-3 causes a rotational movement r of the deflector guide 19a-1 around a shaft 19a-2 placed above the fluid discharge area of ​​the turbojet 12a, thereby limiting the torque required by the actuator 19a-3 to overcome or withstand the suction or discharge generated by the thrust vector AL12a exerted by the turbojet 12a-e of the thrust unit 12a during opening or closing of the deflector guide 19a-1. When cam actuators such as actuator 19a-3 associated with deflector guides 19a-1 and 19a-5, respectively, cause the pinching of thrust vector AL12a by these deflector guides 19a-1 and 19a-5, said thrust vector AL12a is subdivided downstream of said deflector guides into two or three components AL12a, AL12a', AL12a'', depending on whether the particular deflector guide 19a-1 or 19a-5 is in the flow discharged at the fluid outlet 12a-o of the turbojet 12a-e or not. In the "open" configuration, where the deflector guides 19a-1 and 19a-5 are substantially located outside the trajectory of thrust vector AL12a, the force of thrust vector AL12a is at a maximum.Conversely, if one (or both) of the two deflector guides 19a-1, 19a-5 "pinches" the thrust vector, the resultant thrust of the thrust vector AL12a is reduced downstream of the deflector guides 19a-1 and 19a-5 until it is eliminated during the "full pinching" of the deflector guides 19a-1 and 19a-5 of the outlet flow from the turbojet injection nozzle 12a-o. Depending on the design of the deflector guides 19a-1 and 19a-5, a "closed" arrangement of the two guides 19a-1 and 19a-5 may result in a reverse thrust, i.e. a thrust vector in the opposite direction to that of the thrust vector AL12a at the fluid outlet 12a-o. These deflector guides 19a-1 and 19a-5 resemble two scoops or substantially curved semicircular surfaces facing each other in FIG. 3. Such a reverse thrust, for example of the order of 10 to 30 percent, may be possible thanks to the shape of the guides, which in fact may be arranged to guide the fluid flow resulting, at their outlets (terminal parts), in secondary thrust vectors AL12a' and AL12a'', respectively, directed substantially opposite to the direction of the original thrust vector AL12a at the fluid outlets 12a-o of the turbojets 12a-e.

[0006] The different embodiments of the thrust system of the aeropropulsion device described as a non-limiting example with respect to figures 1 to 3 share exactly the same general principle, which consists in providing an electronic navigation controller 30 controlling the main thrusters (thrust units like unit 12a) associated with secondary thrusters for attitude correction (like means 19a). Such an electronic navigation controller 30 may thus mainly use the primary power of the main thrusters and then the auxiliary power of the secondary thrusters for correcting the attitude of the aeropropulsion device, based on measurements issued by an inertial unit, independently of the power command generated by said electronic navigation controller 30 for each of said main thrusters. Finally, if the attitude correction by the secondary attitude correction thrusters proves to be insufficient, said propulsion device electronic navigation controller 30 again acts on the power of the main thrusters, thereby increasing or decreasing the magnitude of the thrust vector.

[0007] Generally, the primary thruster is an internal combustion engine, which on the one hand provides the power necessary to get the propulsion device 10 into the air and on the other hand provides a sufficient operational range in terms of endurance. As for the secondary thruster, it is generally an electrically controlled motor, selected and specifically dimensioned for its responsiveness. This responsiveness is superior to that of a comparable internal combustion engine, which is penalized by inertia to stabilize the attitude of the propulsion device 10 on its own. On the other hand, the operational range and power of electric secondary thrusters are generally lower than those of thermal thrusters. It is therefore appropriate to use both thermal (internal combustion) and electric types of thrusters to improve the responsiveness of the thrust system while maintaining a satisfactory operational range in terms of energy.

[0008] The consequences of such a design, based on generating a continuous power command for the internal combustion thrusters and then for the electric thrusters, are a low response and robustness of the aeropropulsion device, a limited stability of attitude, a control precision that can obviously be improved, a reduced operable range of the different thrusters, some thrusters being required to compensate for the inadequacy or lack of others. Moreover, the process performed by the electronic navigation controller 30 of such an aeropropulsion device 10 to generate the power commands for the different main thrusters 12a, 12b, 12c, 12d and secondary thrusters 19a, 19b, 19c, 19d has proven to be complex to design and implement to suggest a satisfactory flight of said aeropropulsion device 10. Summary of the Invention

[0009] The present invention makes it possible to address all or some of the drawbacks arising from known or above mentioned solutions.

[0010] Among the many advantages offered by the present invention, it: - Propose a thrust system that combines range, power and responsiveness; simplifying the processing performed by the electronic navigation controller, which now only needs to send thrust commands to one or more thrust systems, regardless of the respective technology or design of said thrust systems; - decentralizing the processing for correcting the thrust vector at each stage of the thrust systems, converting the thrust commands coming from the central electronic navigation controller into power commands for the (internal combustion) thermal thrusters and / or power commands for actuating the means of electrical correction of the thrust exerted by said thrusters, maximizing the responsiveness of each thrust system to increase or decrease the thrust exerted thereby; It may be mentioned that the technical teachings according to the invention can be transferred to any propulsion device, whether air, sea or land.

[0011] To this end, the invention provides a method for correcting the thrust vector exerted by a thrust unit of a thrust system further comprising processing means arranged to execute said method. Such a thrust unit comprises a mechanical rotor turned by a rotating shaft of an internal combustion engine in response to a power command.

[0012] Such a method involves iteratively - converting the thrust command into a rotational speed setpoint for a shaft of an internal combustion engine of the thrust unit; - generating a deviation between said rotational speed setpoint and a measured rotational speed of said shaft by a measurement sensor cooperating with said internal combustion engine and said processing means; generating a power command based on the deviation between the rotational speed setpoint and the measured rotational speed of the shaft of the internal combustion engine to reduce said deviation and thus control the speed of the internal combustion engine.

[0013] To propose a propulsion system that has a range of energy, power, and response capabilities, the thrust system further comprises means for electrical correction of the thrust vector exerted by said thrust unit; the method comprises an iterative step of generating activation commands for the electrical correction means of the thrust vector, based on the deviation between a rotational speed setpoint and a measured rotational speed of the shaft of the internal combustion engine, independently of the speed control of the rotation of the shaft of the internal combustion engine.

[0014] According to a preferred embodiment, the step of generating a power command may consist of generating said power command by multiplication, integration and / or differentiation of said deviation between said rotational speed setpoint and the measured rotational speed of said shaft.

[0015] To maintain a minimum power delivered by the thrust unit regardless of the thrust setting, such a method may comprise correcting the generated power command such that such power command is greater than or equal to a minimum power command threshold.

[0016] Correspondingly, in order to limit the power delivered by the thrust unit regardless of the thrust setting value, the method according to the invention may comprise a step of correcting the generated power command such that such power command does not exceed a maximum power command threshold.

[0017] According to one of these last two variants, in order to make it possible to dynamically change such minimum and / or maximum command thresholds, the method according to the invention may comprise a step of initialising the minimum or maximum command thresholds taking into account the lower or upper thrust limit settings of the thrust units.

[0018] According to an advantageous embodiment, the step of activating the thrust vector correction means may consist of generating an activation command for said thrust vector correction means by multiplication, integration and / or differentiation of said deviation between said rotational speed set value and the measured rotational speed of the shaft of the internal combustion engine.

[0019] According to a second subject, the invention relates to a computer program comprising one or more program instructions that can be interpreted by a processing means of a computer, said program instructions being capable of being placed in a non-volatile memory thereof, characterised in that execution of said instructions by said processing means results in the execution of the thrust vector correction method according to the invention.

[0020] According to a third subject, the invention relates to a computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions for such a computer program.

[0021] According to a fourth subject, the invention relates to a thrust system comprising a thrust unit, means for electrical correction of the thrust vector exerted by said thrust unit, and processing means arranged to implement the thrust vector correction method according to the invention.

[0022] According to a first embodiment of such a thrust system, the thrust unit comprises: a rotating shaft internal combustion engine whose rotational speed depends on a power command generated by a processing means; a mechanical rotor turned by the internal combustion engine.

[0023] In this case, the electrical correction means for the thrust vector is a rotating shaft electric motor, the rotational speed of which depends on the operating commands of said correction means, generated by processing means; a mechanical rotor rotated by said electric motor and providing an additional thrust vector substantially parallel to the thrust vector provided by the thrust unit.

[0024] According to this first embodiment of such a thrust system, the thrust system further comprises a motor-generator interconnected with the internal combustion engine of the thrust unit and capable of converting all or part of the mechanical power produced by the internal combustion engine into electrical power produced by the motor-generator in accordance with operating instructions for the motor-generator generated by the processing means.

[0025] The present invention provides a second embodiment of a thrust system, according to which: The thrust unit may comprise a turbojet having a fluid outlet, -The means for electrical correction of the thrust vector is a pair of deflector guides rotatably mounted and aligned with each other to deflect, downstream of the fluid outlet, all or part of the thrust vector of the thrust unit into one or more directions substantially perpendicular to the direction of said thrust vector at the fluid outlet of the turbojet; an electric actuator arranged to interpret the actuation commands and respectively bring about a rotation of the deflector guide.

[0026] According to a fifth subject, the invention relates to a propulsion device comprising at least one thrust system according to the invention, said propulsion device comprising flight control means arranged to generate thrust commands that can be interpreted by processing means of said at least one thrust system.

[0027] In order to provide the aeronautical propulsion device with vertical take-off and landing capability, the aeronautical propulsion device may comprise a platform arranged to receive a load and support means for thrust units of said at least one thrust system, said support means being arranged to orient the thrust vectors of said thrust units in a direction substantially perpendicular to the platform.

[0028] Advantageously, in order to maintain a minimum power or to limit the power exerted by said at least one thrust unit of the thrust system according to the invention, the flight control means may be arranged to generate lower or upper thrust limit settings for the thrust units of said at least one thrust system.

[0029] In order to protect or maintain the integrity of a carried load, a propulsion device according to the invention may comprise a fairing coupled to a pedestal arranged to protect said load from the environment of said propulsion device.

[0030] Other features and advantages will be more clearly understood from a reading of the following description and a consideration of the accompanying drawings. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0031] [Figure 1] Figure 1, already described, shows a first known propulsion system arranged to provide a substantially vertical take-off and landing capability. [Diagram 2] Figure 2, already described, shows a second known propulsion system arranged to provide a substantially vertical take-off and landing capability. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3, already described, shows the configuration of the thrust system of such a second known propulsion device shown in FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 shows a non-limiting example of a thrust system for an aircraft propulsion device according to the invention. [Diagram 5] FIG. 5 shows an example of a propulsion device according to the invention in the advantageous form of an octocopter primarily adapted to carry a human occupant. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 shows a first example of a functional depiction of a thrust vector correction method according to the invention. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 shows a second example of a functional depiction of the thrust vector correction method according to the present invention. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 shows a third example of a functional depiction of a thrust vector correction method according to the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0032] The invention will first be described through the embodiment of a particularly innovative thrust system TSa as shown as a non-limiting example in Fig. 4. Nevertheless, a thrust vector correction method, such as the method 100 shown in Fig. 6, executed by such a thrust system TSa can be used and transferred after its adaptation to correct the thrust vector of other propulsion thrust systems, such as the thrust systems shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3. Such a transfer will be considered below with reference to Figs. 7 and 8.

[0033] The thrust system TSa shown in Fig. 4 makes it possible to equip an aeronautical propulsion device 10, an example of which is shown in Fig. 5. The aeronautical propulsion device 10 comprises a platform 11, which for simplicity can be represented or simplified, in schematic terms, by a plane P11, which is substantially horizontal when the propulsion device 10 is placed on the ground or on a horizontal support. According to Fig. 5, said platform 11 comprises an egg-shaped fairing 11c for protecting the load carried by such aeronautical propulsion device 10, in this case a human passenger not shown in said Fig. 5, from the environment. Any other configuration of the platform 11 (or an equivalent plane P11) and / or its fairing 11c can be used instead, to suit the transport application in question or depending on the type of payload it is desired to move. The aeronautical propulsion device 10 comprises support means 14 presenting eight arms of a star shaped paired opposite each other. Said arms 14 are in contact with one and the same plane, substantially parallel to and above the plane P11 which symbolizes the platform 11. Each arm 14 carries a thrust system TSa, TSb, TSc, TSd, TSe, TSf, TSg, TSh, which mainly comprises thrust units 12a, 12b, 12c, 12d, 12e, 12f, 12g, 12h, associated with means 19a, 19b, 19c, 19d, 19e, 19f, 19g, 19h for correcting the thrust vectors exerted by said thrust units, as discussed with reference to Fig. 4. Thus, the propulsion device 10 is driven by eight thrust systems TSa to TSh, each comprising eight thrust units 12a to 12h, which are associated with eight means 19a to 19h for correcting the thrust vectors generated by said thrust units. For simplicity, Fig. 5 shows only the thrust vectors AL12a, AL12b, AL12c, AL12d generated by thrust units 12a, 12b, 12c, and 12d, respectively. The arm 14 may further incorporate additional components necessary for the operation of the thrust units 12 to 12h and the means 19a to 19h for correcting the thrust vectors supported thereby, respectively.As additional components, one may mention, by way of non-limiting example, exhaust assemblies for waste gases produced by the internal combustion engines of the thrust units, batteries or supercapacitors for providing the electrical energy required for the thrust vector correction means and / or the electronic processing means of said thrust system, fossil fuel supply pipes for the internal combustion engines, electrical wiring, etc. As shown in Fig. 5, the thrust system is held by support arms 14 such that each thrust unit can provide a thrust vector substantially perpendicular to the plane P11. In this way, the propulsion device 10 is advantageously configured to provide vertical take-off and landing.

[0034] FIG. 4 shows a first preferred example of a thrust system TSa comprising a thrust unit 12a and means 19a for correcting a thrust vector AL12a generated by said thrust unit 12a.

[0035] According to this first embodiment, the thrust unit 12a comprises a rotating shaft internal combustion engine 12a-e, in this case a two-stroke engine in FIG. 4, the rotational speed of its shaft or the engine speed depends on the power command.

[0036] A two-stroke engine has one or more pistons and performs a complete combustion cycle in just two linear movements. The pistons are displaced in the same number of cylinders, in this case according to the examples shown in figures 4 and 5. The linear displacement of the piston in the cylinder allows the exhaustion of burnt gases and the refilling of said cylinder with fresh gases or a mixture of fuel vapors and oxidizer (air) via a valve unit. The displacement cycle of such a piston in the cylinder it contains can be summarized as follows: The first step, called "expansion", consists of the spark plug bringing about the combustion of the mixture while the piston is high in the cylinder, driving the piston. The piston compresses the mixture present in the crankcase below the piston. This is the power part of the cycle, the remaining part of the stroke of the piston in the cylinder is due to the inertia of the crankshaft caused by the expansion. During the downward movement of the piston in the cylinder, the intake of the mixture in the crankcase is closed. When the piston reaches close to the bottom dead center, it opens the port for exhaust and moves the mixture into the cylinder. When the mixture enters the cylinder, it expels the combustion gases. This is a step called "intake / exhaust". When the piston returns upwards, it compresses the mixture in the cylinder while closing the exhaust and intake ports for the mixture into the cylinder. A negative pressure will therefore be created in the crankcase, allowing the mixture to reach the crankcase through the intake port. This step is called "compression". A new cycle can be started. To regulate the engine speed, the throttle valve regulates the amount of air intake into the mixture by the carburetor. To open or close such a throttle valve, an actuator 12a-3 is used. The more the throttle valve opens, the faster the engine speed will be, and the more the throttle valve closes, the lower the engine speed will be until idling. Within the scope of the present invention, the power command PC can be generated and converted by such an actuator 12a-3 of the throttle valve. It can consist of a servo motor or an electric cam motor. By its action, the throttle valve opens or closes progressively.

[0037] According to Fig. 4, the rotating shafts of the internal combustion engines 12a-e rotate mechanical rotors 12a-r connected to the rotating shafts of the internal combustion engines. As shown in Fig. 4, such a connection can be made indirectly by reduction gear means 12a-d, for example by a belt cooperating with a first pulley fixed to the rotating shafts of the motors 12a-e and a second pulley fixed to the shafts of said rotors 12a-r, having a diameter larger than that of the first pulley. Such a connection can be made by any other structurally different means providing an equivalent function, for example a gearbox for dynamically adjusting the reduction ratio of the rotation speed of the rotating shafts of the internal combustion engines 12a-e. Fig. 4 further shows a processing means 30a that can be connected by a terminal, so that it can be physically remote from the structural elements of the thrust system, to execute a method for correcting the thrust vector AL12a issued by the thrust unit 12a of the thrust system TSa. Such a method will be explained with reference to an example 100 shown in Fig. 6, in particular as a means for generating a power command PC that can be interpreted by the actuator 12a-3 of the throttle valve of said internal combustion engine 12a-e. Moreover, Fig. 4 shows exhaust means 12a-h for exhausting gases burned by said internal combustion engine 12a-e.

[0038] Said processing means 30a may advantageously take the form of one or more microcontrollers or microprocessors, which or these work in particular together with a data memory to store or read data and operating parameters generated by the execution of said thrust vector correction method, or more generally all data generated or previously stored, whether it consists of intermediate data or of results relating to actuator commands. Such processing means 30a further comprises a program memory for storing instructions of a computer program, the execution of which results in the execution of the thrust vector correction method according to the invention. By "data or program memory" is meant any volatile or advantageously non-volatile computer memory. A non-volatile memory is a computer memory, the technology of which allows it to retain its data in the absence of a power supply. It may contain data resulting from inputs, calculations, measurements and / or program instructions. The majority of currently available non-volatile memories can be written and / or erased electrically. It relies on EPROM ("erasable programmable read only memory"), EEPROM ("electrically erasable programmable read only memory"), flash, SSD ("solid state drive") technologies etc. "Non-volatile" memories are distinguished from memories known as "volatile", which lose data in the absence of power supply. The main volatile memories currently available are RAM ("random access memory", also known as "read-write memory"), DRAM (dynamic RAM which requires periodic refreshing), SRAM (static RAM which requires such refreshing in the absence of sufficient power supply), DPRAM or VRAM (particularly suitable for video), etc. In the remainder of this document, "data memory" may be volatile or non-volatile.

[0039] As a means of modifying the magnitude or force of the thrust vector AL12a generated by the actuation of the rotors 12a-r, Fig. 4 shows a means 19a for correcting said thrust vector AL12a. This means 19a consists of a rotating shaft electric motor 19a-e whose rotation speed depends on the actuation command generated by the processing means 30a. Such an electric motor 19a-e is arranged to cooperate with the mechanical rotor 19a-r and to rotate it. In this way, the mechanical rotor 19a-r generates an additional thrust vector AL19a that is substantially parallel or even coaxial with the thrust vector AL12a issued by the thrust unit 12a, more precisely the rotor 12a-r. Advantageously, the two rotors 12a-r and 19a-r are mounted to rotate together, i.e. they are rotated in exactly the same direction, clockwise or counterclockwise. The support means 14 of the thrust system TSa, not shown in Fig. 4, may be arranged so that the two rotors 12a-r and 19a-r have axes offset from one another, i.e. are not integrated. For example, the rotors 19a-r may advantageously be offset so that the thrust vector AL19a generated thereby is moved away from the axis AM10 perpendicular to the platform 11 passing through the center of gravity CG10 of an aeronautical propulsion device, such as the device 10 described with reference to Fig. 5, as the thrust vector AL12a of the propulsion device 10 described with reference to Fig. 1. Conversely, the thrust vector AL12a exerted by the rotors 12a-r may advantageously be closer to such axis AM10, as the thrust vector AL12a of the device 10 described with reference to Fig. 1. This arrangement makes it possible to reduce any interaction or disturbance of the flows generated by the two rotors 12a-r and 19a-r with one another, in the case where the two rotors 12a-r and 19a-r are substantially coaxial. The invention is not to be considered limited only to these examples of the arrangement of said two rotors 12a-r and 19a-r relative to one another.

[0040] According to a first embodiment of the thrust system TSa according to Fig. 4, the thrust system TSa may further comprise motor-generators 12a-g coupled to the internal combustion engines 12a-e of the thrust unit 12a and adapted to convert all or part of the mechanical power generated by said internal combustion engines 12a-e into electrical power delivered by said motor-generators 12a-g.

[0041] As shown in Fig. 4, the internal combustion engine 12a-e is mechanically coupled to such a motor-generator 12a-g. For this purpose, the rotor of said motor-generator 12a-g is coupled to the rotating shaft of the internal combustion engine 12a-e and fixed, for example by a male-female connection. In a variant, such mechanical coupling between the internal combustion engine 12a-e and the motor-generator 12a-g can be indirect. Thus, said motor-generator 12a-g can cooperate by a belt drive with said rotating shaft of the internal combustion engine or even with the shaft of a mechanical rotor 12a-r driven by said internal combustion engine 12a-e. Such a motor-generator 12a-g can be electrically connected to an electronic speed converter or regulator (electronic speed controller or ESC), which generally functions like a variable impedance depending on an operating command. In this way, according to an actuation command, said motor-generators 12a-g may act as a brake or retarder, either gradual or even extreme and abrupt, of the rotation speed of the shaft of the internal combustion engine 12a-e, thus reducing the force of the thrust vector AL12a. Indeed, at high impedance, the electromagnetic field between the stator and rotor of the motor-generators 12a-g is erased or weakened and does not generate any resistance to the rotation of the rotor of the motor-generator. Conversely, at low impedance, the current induces a strong electromagnetic field between the stator and rotor of the motor-generators 12a-g, which tends to slow down the relative rotation speed between said stator and rotor of the motor-generators 12a-g and, consequently, the speed of the rotating shaft of the internal combustion engine 12a-e. This may therefore be expressed as an "electrically controlled variable braking" achieved by the motor-generators 12a-g on the shaft of the internal combustion engine 12a-e, such braking depending on the actuation command generated by the processing means 30a. According to an advantageous embodiment, the converter or ESC may be bidirectional and allow the injection of current into said motor-generators 12a-g, which no longer operate as current generators or alternators but as electric motors or starters. In this way, the processing means 30a may easily start the internal combustion engines 12a-e electronically.

[0042] To operate such thrust systems TSa, the present invention provides an advantageously distributed implementation (i.e. each thrust system comprises processing means 30a provided for this purpose) of a thrust vector correction method 100 as shown, as a preferred but non-limiting example, in FIG. 6.

[0043] Known thrust systems, such as those already described with reference to Figs. 1, 2 and 3, comprise thrust units 12a, 12b, equipped with a main internal combustion thruster 12a1, or optionally with several internal combustion thrusters 12a1. These internal combustion thrusters 12a1 are controlled centrally, jointly or individually, directly by an electronic navigation controller 30, which generally consists of one or more microprocessors executing program instructions, resulting in the execution of a navigation control method. Moreover, such thrust systems comprise attitude correction means that are automatically actuated according to control commands and / or data provided by an inertial unit, generally to stabilize the attitude of the aeropropulsion device, independently of the power provided by the internal combustion thrusters. Some known electronic navigation controllers 30 raise the aeropropulsion device 10, which exhibits a variable or somewhat unstable attitude, by first activating the internal combustion thrusters of one or more thrust units. The precision and responsiveness of this thrust unit is rather limited, so that if the attitude correction proves to be insufficient, the electronic attitude correction means, driven by said electronic navigation control 30, will try to compensate, within the capabilities of said correction means, for the lack or delay in the power of one thrust unit or the other, even if said electronic navigation control 30 acts again to increase or decrease the power of one thrust unit or the other. In view of the above-mentioned low responsiveness and precision of the internal combustion thrusters of said thrust units, such a new adjustment of the power of this thrust unit will necessarily cause the new attitude correction to be "corrected" or weakened, etc., by the electronic correction means, within its capabilities.

[0044] The thrust system according to the present invention is distinguished from the prior art in several ways.

[0045] Firstly, electronic processing means 30a specific to said thrust system, such as the system TSa shown in figure 4, are provided to execute a thrust vector correction method of the thrust system, such as the method 100 shown in figure 6. This method consists in analysing the thrust command TC coming from the electronic navigation control 30 and converting this thrust command TC into power commands PC, PC' of one or more thrust units contained within said thrust system TSa. The "conversion" aspect is important, since the power delivered by a two-stroke or four-stroke heat engine is not controlled in the same way as that delivered by a turbojet. There is therefore a decentralisation of the execution of the processing of the thrust commands TC generated by the electronic navigation control 30, which no longer needs to generate specific power commands PC, PC', taking into account the variability of the configuration or design of the thrust system.

[0046] In a variant, the invention provides that the processing means 30a specific to the thrust system may be integrated with those executing the navigation control program 30. However, even if the electronic means (microprocessor, memory) are shared and / or constitute a single physical entity, the design of the navigation control method may rely on libraries specific to one thrust system or another, encoding program instructions that translate the thrust vector control method 100 as shown in Figure 6. The design of the electronic navigation control 30, or the design of the program that translates the navigation control method executed by the electronic navigation control 30, is thereby made simple, interoperable or independent of the technology of the thrust system.

[0047] A thrust vector control method according to the present invention, such as the method 100 shown in FIG. 6, is further distinguished from the prior art in that it provides for the implementation of rotational speed control of the shafts of one or more internal combustion engines 12a-e of a thrust unit 12a.

[0048] The objective of such control is for the rotational speed RSM of the shaft of the internal combustion engine 12a-e to reach a setpoint RSI as quickly as possible and then to maintain it, regardless of possible disturbances. For this purpose, the method 100 according to the invention comprises a first step 101 for converting a thrust command TC coming from the flight control into a rotational speed setpoint RSI of the shaft of the internal combustion engine. Such a step 101 may consist, for example, in executing a predefined function according to the specific characteristics of the internal combustion engine, which represents such a conversion of a thrust command TC expressed in kilograms of thrust into a rotational setpoint RSI expressed in revolutions per minute.

[0049] Such a method 100 further comprises a step 102 for comparing the rotational speed setpoint RSI with a measured rotational speed RSM of the shaft of the internal combustion engine 12a-e by a measurement sensor (not explicitly visible in FIG. 4 but marked 12a-s in said FIG. 4) cooperating with the internal combustion engine 12a-e and with the processing means 30 or 30a. Such a sensor may consist of an incremental encoder or a code wheel fixed to the shaft or any other sensor suitable for providing such a measurement value, for example a Hall effect sensor, a sensor based on light or Foucault current. Step 102 then consists of generating a deviation RSE between the rotational speed setpoint RSI and the measured rotational speed RSM of the shaft of the internal combustion engine 12a-e.

[0050] The method 100 then comprises a step 110 of generating a power command PC for the internal combustion engines 12a-e of the thrust unit 12a. Such a step 110 is provided to reduce the deviation RSE between the rotational speed setpoint RSI and the measured rotational speeds RSM of the shafts of the internal combustion engines 12a-e, thus making it possible to correct the rotational speeds of the internal combustion engines 12a-e. More specifically, such a power command PC is intended to be interpreted by the actuator 12a-3 of the inlet throttle valve of the two-stroke engine 12a-e, according to the configuration of the thrust system TSa shown in Fig. 4, so that the speed of said engine is modified.

[0051] Such a power command PC may be generated in step 110 by multiplication, integration and / or differentiation of the deviation RSE between the rotational speed setpoint RSI and the measured rotational speed RSM of the shaft. Such a step 110 therefore executes an algorithm known by the term "PID corrector", an acronym for "proportional, integral, derivative". The command PC may therefore be calculated as proportional to the deviation RSE, which may be related to a first factor or multiplication gain, for example comprised between 1 / 20 and 1 / 50 or taking any other suitable value. In a variant or in addition, the deviation RSE may be integrated and divided by a second factor or gain to generate the power command PC. Finally, in a variant or in addition, such deviation RSE may be differentiated and multiplied by a third factor or gain. In this way, the power command PC may be proportional to the deviation RSE and / or may take into account the change in said deviation over time.

[0052] Such a method 100 is repeated over a given period SP, the period being of utmost importance in order to try to reduce the deviation RSE as quickly as possible over time, in particular to take into account the measured values ​​of the sensors of the speeds of the rotating shafts of the internal combustion engines 12a-e. Advantageously, a period SP comprised between a few milliseconds and a few seconds, for example a period of 20 milliseconds, can be selected.

[0053] The thrust vector control method 100 according to the invention is further distinguished from the prior art in that it comprises a step 120 of generating, in parallel and independently of the process of speed correction of the shafts of the internal combustion engines (by the repeated execution of step 110), an actuation command AC of the means of correction of the thrust vector of a thrust system such as the system TSa shown in FIG. 4. Step 120 is provided for generating an actuation command AC on the basis of a deviation RSE between the setpoint speed RSI obtained in step 101 and the measured speed RSM of the shafts of the internal combustion engines 12a-e according to a period SP, said deviation RSE being calculated in step 102. The purpose of this step 120 is mainly to compensate for the poor responsiveness of the internal combustion engines 12a-e during their speed correction without acting on the adjustment of the rotational speed of the shafts of the internal combustion engines 12a-e as such. The actuation 120 of the means of correction of the thrust vector 19a is therefore independent of the control of the internal combustion engine as such. With reference to the example of a thrust system TSa shown in Fig. 4, the invention provides an electrical compensation means 19a of the thrust vector AL12a generated by a rotor 12a-r driven by an internal combustion engine 12a-e. Such electrical compensation means 19a advantageously consist of a rotating shaft electric motor 19a-e which rotates a mechanical rotor 19a-r. Such an electric motor 19a-e generally includes a converter which converts a stepped electrical operating setting value into a rotation speed RS19 of its shaft. Due to its design, the electric motor 19a-e has a much better responsiveness than the internal combustion engine 12a-e. It is able to generate a thrust vector AL19a which is added to the vector AL12a generated by the rotor 12a-r driven by said internal combustion engine 12a-e. By rapid and appropriate actuation of the electric motors 19a-e, during the engine speed acceleration phase of the internal combustion engines 12a-e, it is possible to very quickly obtain a thrust vector resulting from the union or combination of the thrust vectors AL12a and AL19a, having substantially the same magnitude or force as the thrust vector AL12a would exhibit if the internal combustion engines were given a nearly instantaneous response. Of course, during execution of the speed control of the internal combustion engines (step 110), the internal combustion engines will tend to reach the rotational speed setpoint RSI.Thanks to the iterative execution of step 120, the power generated by the electric motors 19a-e is reduced under the effect of updating the actuation command AC depending on the deviation RSE, until the rotors 19a-r remain "freewheeling" and only the rotors 12a-r driven by the heat engines 12a-e remain functional. Through the iterative execution according to the period SP of the method 100, the electric motors 19a-e are loaded again as soon as the deviation RSE becomes positive again (i.e. as soon as the rotational speed RS12 of the rotating shaft of the internal combustion engine 12a-e falls below the setpoint speed RSI) and significant ("significant deviation" means a deviation having an absolute value that leads to the actuation of the correcting means 19a). The invention therefore provides that step 120 is provided for iteratively generating the actuation command AC of said correcting means 19a-e of the thrust vector by multiplication, integration and / or differentiation of the deviation RSE between the rotational speed setpoint RSI and the measured rotational speed RSM of the shaft of the internal combustion engine 12a-e. According to a preferred embodiment, emphasis is placed on the actuation commands which are obtained entirely or mainly proportional to said deviation RSE. The calculation 120 of the actuation commands AC may furthermore use a parametric model of the responsivity of the internal combustion engine 12a-r. As a result, the thrust vector of the thrust system TSa resulting from the combination of the thrust vectors AL19a and AL12a, respectively, generated by the combined rotation of the rotors 19a-r and 12a-r driven by the electric motors 19a-e and the internal combustion engines 12a-e, respectively, exhibits a thrust magnitude which is as constant as possible during the process of speed control of said internal combustion engine, preventing overcompensation of the thrust vector AL12a.

[0054] Thus, by performing method 100, additional thrust vector AL19a may be added to compensate for the gradual increase in magnitude of thrust vector AL12a generated by internal combustion engines 12a-e of thrust unit 12a.

[0055] An internal combustion engine, such as a two-stroke or four-stroke engine, further impairs its responsiveness if its engine speed falls below a certain threshold. It is therefore advantageous to maintain the engine speed above such a lower threshold. For this purpose, the method 100 according to the invention may comprise a step 113 of generating a minimum power command threshold value PCMin, taking into account a lower thrust limit setting value LTLI of the internal combustion engine 12a-e, or more generally of the thrust unit 12a, which is written into a data memory of the processing means 30 or 30a executing said method 100. Such a setting value LTLI may be generated by the electronic flight control means 30. In a variant or in addition, such threshold value PCMin may reflect a parameterization during the execution of said method 100 and thus constitute a default value or a preset value written into said data memory. The method 100 then comprises a step 111 consisting of reading, from within the data memory of the processing means 30, 30a, the value of such a threshold value PCMin, representing a limit power command, below which the engine speed of the internal combustion engine 12a-e would be too low to remain satisfactory responsive. Said step 111 consists of comparing the power command PC generated in step 110 with a threshold value PCMin and, if the power command PC is greater than said limit power command PCMin, generating a corrected power command PC' equal to said generated power command PC, otherwise equal to the limit power command PCMin. Thus, step 111 is provided such that, depending on such a power command PC', optionally corrected, the engine speed of the combustion engine 12a-e does not fall below a lower threshold value.

[0056] Correspondingly, the invention provides that step 113, or in a variant a step dedicated to this purpose, takes into account the thrust upper limit setpoint HTLI of the thrust units and generates a maximum power command threshold value PCMax which is written into a data memory of the processing means executing said method 100. Such setpoint value HTLI may be generated by the flight control means 30. In a variant or in addition, such threshold value PCMax reflects a parameterization during the execution of said method 100 and may therefore constitute a default or predefined value written into a data memory. The method 100 according to the invention may then comprise a step 112 consisting of reading, from within a data memory of the processing means executing said method (such as means 30 or 30a), the value of such threshold value PCMax, which represents a maximum power command. Said step 112 may consist of comparing the power command PC generated in step 110 with the value of said threshold value PCMax and, if the power command PC is less than said limit power command PCMax, generating a corrected power command PC' equal to said generated power command PC, otherwise equal to the limit power command PCMax. Step 112 is therefore provided so that, depending on such power command PC', optionally corrected, the engine speed of the combustion engine 12a-e does not exceed an upper threshold. Indeed, the higher the engine speed of the internal combustion engine, the higher the noise level it generates. Such a noise level may be harmful or unpleasant during the takeoff or landing phase of an aeropropulsion device as shown in FIG. 5. On the other hand, the noise level during operation of the electric motors is lower even at high speeds. Even if the power command PC generated in step 110 is greater than the threshold PCMax, limiting the power command PC to the upper threshold PCMax maintains a positive deviation RSE that cannot be compensated by control of the internal combustion engine, but can be compensated by the operation of the electric motors 19a-e, which correct the thrust vector under the influence of an actuation command AC proportional to the deviation RSE. The rotors 19a-r driven by the electric motors 19a-e then compensate for the thrust vector deficit resulting from the thrust system 12a, allowing the takeoff or landing phase of the propulsion device equipped with said thrust system at a low noise level. The set value HLTI can be cancelled by the navigation control means 30 when a certain height or, more generally, a reasonable navigation distance from the starting position is reached.Then, step 112, which is intended to smooth the power command PC, ceases to have its effect and the internal combustion engine returns to a wider range of engine speeds.

[0057] The invention further provides for adapting the step 110 for generating the power command PC or, in a variant, comprising a step different from said step 110, generating an electric braking means actuation command FC intended to adjust the rotation speed RS12 of the shaft of said internal combustion engine 12a-e to a lower setpoint speed RSI more quickly than by simply performing the repetitive step 110 as described above. As well as the acceleration of the engine speed of this engine, its deceleration also has a less responsive nature. According to the embodiment described with reference to Fig. 4, the thrust unit 12a comprises motor-generators 12a-g coupled to the rotating shafts of said internal combustion engines 12a-e and may convert all or part of the mechanical power generated by said internal combustion engines 12a-e into electrical power EP, which may be stored in a battery or a supercapacitor. During the control, an "electrically controlled variable braking" is applied by said motor-generators 12a-g to the rotating shaft of the internal combustion engine 12a-e by iterative generation of an actuation command FC adapted to the electronic converter or speed regulator of said motor-generators 12a-g, such braking depending on the actuation command FC generated in this modified step 110. Similar to the actuation command AC whose generation 120 has been described above, step 110 may furthermore consist in generating an actuation command FC for the motor-generators 12a-g on the basis of the deviation RSE calculated in step 102 between the setpoint speed RSI (obtained in step 101) and the measured speed RSM of the shaft of the internal combustion engine 12a-e. The purpose of this modified step 110 consists in compensating for the low responsiveness of the internal combustion engine 12a-e in the deceleration phase and thus contributing to the control process thereof. Due to its design, the electric motor-generators 12a-g have a much better responsiveness than the internal combustion engines 12a-e. Thereby, the rotation of the rotating shaft of the internal combustion engines 12a-e can be quickly slowed down. Of course, during the execution of the speed correction of the internal combustion engines 12a-e combined with the braking provided by the motor-generators 12a-g, the internal combustion engines 12a-e will tend to reach the rotational speed setpoint RSI.The braking force generated by the electric motor-generator 12a-g is reduced under the effect of updating the actuation command FC depending on the deviation RSE until the rotor 12a-r driven by the internal combustion engine 12a-e is released from the hold. By the iterative execution according to the period SP of the method 100, the motor-generator 12a-g is loaded again as soon as the deviation RSE becomes negative again (i.e. as soon as the rotational speed RS12 of the rotating shaft of the internal combustion engine 12a-e exceeds the setpoint speed RSI) and becomes significant (i.e. has an absolute value sufficient to cause braking by the motor-generator 12a-g). The invention provides that step 110 or a different step is provided for iteratively generating an actuation command FC of said electric braking means 12a-g by multiplication, integration and / or differentiation of the deviation RSE between the rotational speed setpoint RSI and the measured rotational speed RSM of the shaft of the internal combustion engine 12a-e. According to a preferred embodiment, the emphasis is entirely or mainly on the actuation command obtained proportional to said deviation RSE. The calculation 110 of the actuation commands FC may further use a model of the responsiveness of the internal combustion engines 12a-r, so that the thrust vector of the thrust system TSa resulting from the combination of the thrust vector AL12a generated by the rotation of the rotors 12a-r driven by the internal combustion engines 12a-e and the braking provided by the motor-generators 12a-g represents a thrust magnitude that is as responsive as possible during the process of speed control of the shafts of said internal combustion engines.

[0058] The thrust vector correction method 100 according to the invention shown in FIG. 6 has just been described taking into consideration a thrust system TSa according to the configuration shown in FIG. 4 for equipping an aircraft propulsion device 10 as has already been described, for example with reference to FIG. 5.

[0059] Now, with reference to Fig. 7, a description will be given of such a thrust vector correction method 100 of a thrust system TSa of an aeronautical propulsion device 10 as already described with reference to Fig. 1. Such a method 100 is similar to the one described with reference to Fig. 6 and iteratively performs, according to a predefined period SP, a step 101 of converting a thrust command TC into a rotational speed setpoint RSI of a shaft or rotor driven by the internal combustion engine; a step 102 of generating a deviation RSE between a rotational speed setpoint RSI and a measured speed RSM of a rotating shaft of the internal combustion engine; a step 110 of generating a power command PC of the internal combustion engine using said deviation RSE, optionally corrected by execution of steps 111 or 112, to control the speed of said engine; a step 120 of generating activation commands for means of electrical correction of the thrust vector generated under the influence of the internal combustion engine.

[0060] To recall, the aeropropulsion device 10 already described with reference to Fig. 1 comprises two thrust systems 12a and 12b each equipped with thrust units 12a, 12b based on turbojets and with electrical attitude correction means 19a and 19b in the form of electric secondary thrusters, in this case electric turbines, providing thrust vectors substantially perpendicular to an imaginary plane P11 representing or symbolizing the platform 11. To execute the thrust vector correction method 100 according to the invention shown in Fig. 7, such an aeropropulsion device 10 needs to be adapted. The first adaptation has the purpose of modifying the electronic navigation control processing means 30 to place in its program memory program instructions, the execution of which results in the execution of the method 100 for correcting the thrust vectors AL12a and AL12b of the thrust systems TSa and TSb, respectively, as shown in Fig. 7. In a variant, processing means specific to each thrust system TSa, TSb, such as means 30a shown in FIG. 4, may be added to execute each such method 100, said processing means specific to the thrust systems cooperating with the flight control electronic means 30 to issue thrust commands TC.

[0061] Furthermore, the propulsion device 10 according to Fig. 1 may be adapted to select turbojets that include sensors such as the sensors 12a-s of the thrust system according to Fig. 4 to measure the rotation speed of the rotor of the turbojets. Only one rotation speed measuring sensor may be used per thrust unit 12a or 12b, which is coupled or integrated with one of the turbojets, such as the turbojet 12a1, if the thrust unit comprises several turbojets. In a variant, each thruster or turbojet or even several of one and the same thrust unit may be equipped with such a sensor. Step 102 of the method 100 according to Fig. 7 may then consist of previously generating an average of the measurements delivered by sensors associated with different thermal thrusters of the thrust unit, in order to have available an integrated measurement RSM of the rotation of the shaft or rotor of the thrust unit, or of performing any other compromise, for example consisting of ignoring certain measurements that are too far from the other measurements. The same applies to generating the power command PC or PC' generated by step 110 and optionally corrected by steps 111 and 112, which can be sent to all of the turbojets of a thrust unit if the thrust unit has several turbojets, as in the example shown in Figure 1.

[0062] Now, with reference to Fig. 7, a description will be given of how the teachings of the thrust vector correction method 100 already described with reference to Fig. 6 can be transferred to the thrust system TSa of the propulsion device 10 according to Fig. 1 adapted in this way. For the sake of simplicity, it is considered that the thrust unit 12a comprises only a turbojet 12a1. The steps of such a method 100 according to Fig. 7 are generally similar to the steps of the method 100 according to Fig. 6.

[0063] Such a thrust vector control method according to the invention, shown in Fig. 7, is therefore distinguished from the prior art in that it provides for the execution of a rotational speed control 110 of the rotor of the turbojet 12a1 of the thrust unit 12a. Such correction has the aim of making the rotor of said turbojet reach and maintain a rotational speed setpoint RSI as quickly as possible, regardless of possible disturbances. The method 100 according to the invention therefore comprises a first step 101 for converting the thrust command TC coming from the electronic navigation control 30 into a rotational speed setpoint RSI of the rotor of the turbojet 12a1 of the thrust unit 12a. Thus, by way of example, Fig. 7 shows a box for step 101 showing a curve representing a non-linear conversion model of the thrust command TC expressed in kg and the rotational speed setpoint RSI expressed in thousands of revolutions per minute.

[0064] The thrust vector control method 100 according to the invention shown in Fig. 7 is further distinguished from the prior art in that it comprises a step 120 of generating an actuation command AC of the thrust vector electric correction means 19a of the thrust system, in this case the electric turbine 19a placed in the nose of the propulsion device 10 shown in Fig. 1, in parallel and independently of the process of speed control of the rotor of the turbojet 12a1 of the thrust unit 12a, i.e. without acting on the regulation of the rotation speed of the rotor of said turbojet 12a1 per se. Similar to the method 100 shown in Fig. 6, step 120 of the method 100 shown in Fig. 7 is provided for generating an actuation command AC on the basis of a deviation RSE between the setpoint speed RSI (obtained in step 101) and a measured speed RSM of the shaft of the internal combustion engine 12a1, said deviation RSE being calculated in step 102. The purpose of this step 120 is mainly to compensate for the poor responsiveness of the turbojet 12a1. With reference to the example of a thrust system TSa shown in Fig. 1, the invention provides for using an electric turbine 19a, originally provided for correcting the attitude of the propulsion device 10 during speed control of the rotor of said turbojet 12a1, as a corrector or booster of the thrust vector AL12a generated by the internal combustion engine 12a1 of the thrust unit 12a. Said electric turbine 19a generally includes or is associated with a converter that converts a stepped electrical operating setting value into the rotation speed RS19 of its shaft. Due to its design, the electric turbine 19a has a much better response than the turbojet 12a1. It can generate a thrust vector AL19a that is added to the vector AL12a issued by the thrust unit 12a including the turbojet 12a1. By rapid and appropriate actuation of the electric turbine 19a, during the engine speed acceleration phase of the turbojet 12a1, a thrust vector resulting from the union or combination of thrust vectors AL12a and AL19a can be obtained very quickly, having a magnitude or force substantially identical to that which thrust vector AL12a would exhibit if the turbojet 12a1 was given an almost instantaneous response.As already explained with reference to the method 100 shown in Fig. 6, by executing the speed control of the turbojet 12a1 (step 110), the turbojet 12a1 tends to reach the rotational speed setpoint RSI. The power generated by the electric turbine 19a is reduced under the effect of the iterative updating of the actuation command AC depending on the deviation RSE, until only the turbojet 12a1 or more generally the thrust unit 12a remains functional. By the iterative execution according to the period SP of the method 100, the electric turbine 19a is loaded again as soon as the deviation RSE becomes positive again (i.e. as soon as the rotational speed RS12 of the rotating shaft of the turbojet 12a1 falls below the setpoint speed RSI) and has a sufficient absolute value to bring about the actuation of the turbine 19a. The invention provides that a step 120 is provided for iteratively generating the actuation command AC of the turbine 19a, which acts as an electric corrector of the thrust vector, by multiplication, integration and / or differentiation of the deviation RSE between the rotational speed setpoint RSI and the measured rotational speed RSM of the shaft of the internal combustion engine 12a1. According to a preferred embodiment, emphasis is placed on actuation commands which are obtained entirely or mainly proportional to said deviation RSE. The calculation 120 of the actuation commands AC may furthermore use a parametric model of the responsivity of a turbojet such as the turbojet 12a1. As a result, the thrust vector of the thrust system TSa resulting from the combination of the thrust vectors AL19a and AL12a generated by the electric turbine 19a and the thrust unit 12a, respectively, exhibits a thrust or magnitude which is as constant as possible during the process of speed control of the internal combustion engine of the thrust unit, preventing overcompensation of the thrust vector AL12a.

[0065] Thus, by performing the method 100, additional thrust vector AL19a may be added to compensate for gradual increases in the magnitude of thrust vector AL12a generated by the turbojet or engine of thrust unit 12a.

[0066] The exact same thrust vector control method 100 can be executed to correct the thrust vector of the thrust unit 12b of the thrust system TSb of the propulsion device shown in Fig. 1. A power command PC is generated to regulate the engine speed of the turbojet of the thrust unit 12b. A thrust vector electrical correction means activation command is generated to regulate the power of the electric turbine 19b placed in the tail of the propulsion device 10. The electronic flight control 30 is responsible for sending the adapted thrust commands TC to each of the two thrust systems TSa and TSb.

[0067] The thrust vector correction method 100 according to the invention shown in Figures 6 and 7 is described in the context of a first thrust system TSa according to the configuration shown in Figure 4, comprising a thrust unit 12a equipped with a two-stroke heat engine rotating a first mechanical rotor 12a-r, said thrust system further comprising means 19a for correcting the thrust vector AL12a generated by said thrust unit 12a, which combines the operation of electric motors 19a-e which rotate the mechanical rotor 19a-r for addition to said thrust vector AL12a and the operation of a motor-generator for slowing down the rotation of said first mechanical rotor 12a-r and thus reducing said thrust vector AL12a. Such a thrust vector correction method 100 according to the invention will further be described in the light of a second example of a thrust system TSa or TSb according to the configuration just shown in FIG. 1, comprising two thrust units 12a, 12b each comprising a number of turbojets 12a1, said thrust system further comprising means of electrical correction of the thrust vectors AL12a, AL12b generated by said thrust units 12a, 12b, for example by activation of a nose electric turbine 19a or a tail electric turbine 19b for equipping an aircraft propulsion device 10 as already described with reference to FIG. 1.

[0068] The interoperability of the method for correcting the thrust vector exerted by a thrust unit according to the invention is such that the thrust unit can be used with full success for driving an aeronautical propulsion device such as the device 10 already described with reference to Fig. 2. It has four thrust systems TSa to TSd, of which thrust system TSa is shown in detail in Fig. 3. Such a thrust system TSa is structurally very different from the two previous examples. Nevertheless, the thrust vector correction method according to the invention can be used with full success.

[0069] Now, with reference to Fig. 8, a description will be given of such a thrust vector correction method 100 of the thrust system TSa of an aircraft propulsion device 10 as already described with reference to Fig. 2. Such a method 100 is similar to the one described with reference to Fig. 6 and iteratively performs a thrust vector correction according to a predefined period SP: a step 101 of converting the thrust command TC into a rotational speed setpoint RSI of a shaft or rotor driven by an internal combustion engine, in this case a turbojet; a step 102 of generating a deviation RSE between a rotational speed setpoint RSI and a measured speed RSM of a rotating shaft of the internal combustion engine; a step 110 of generating a power command PC of the internal combustion engine using said deviation RSE, optionally corrected by executing steps 111 or 112, to correct the speed of said engine; - generating 120 activation commands for means of electrical correction of the thrust vector generated by the internal combustion engine.

[0070] As a reminder, the thrust system 12a shown in Fig. 3 comprises a thrust unit 12a comprising a turbojet 12a-e and thrust vector correction means in the form of a pair of deflector guides 19a-1, 19a-5 rotatably mounted and mirror-imaged to each other and arranged to "sandwich" the thrust vector AL12a generated by the turbojet 12a-e downstream of the fluid outlet 12a-o of said turbojet 12a-e. Each guide 19a-1 or 19a-5 is rotated according to an axis 19a-2 or 19a-6 perpendicular to the thrust vector AL12a by an electric actuator 19-3 having a cam cooperating with said guide via a control rod 19a-4.

[0071] Such an aircraft propulsion device 10 according to Fig. 2 has to be adapted to execute the thrust vector correction method 100 according to the invention shown in Fig. 8. A first adaptation aims at modifying the electronic navigation control processing means 30 to place in its program memory program instructions, the execution of which executes the method 100 for correcting the thrust vectors AL12a to AL12d of each of the four thrust systems TSa to TSd as shown in Fig. 8. In a variant, processing means specific to each thrust system, such as the means 30a shown in Fig. 4, can be dedicated to the four thrust systems to execute such a method 100 respectively, said processing means specific to the thrust systems TSa to TSd cooperating with the navigation control electronic means 30 to issue the thrust commands TC.

[0072] Furthermore, the thrust system of each such propulsion device 10 according to FIG. 2 may be adapted to add a sensor, such as the sensor 12a-s of the thrust system according to FIG. 4, for measuring the rotational speed of the shaft or rotor of the turbojet 12a-e, the system TSa of which is shown in FIG. 3.

[0073] Next, with reference to FIG. 8, it will be considered how the teachings of the thrust vector correction method 100 already described with reference to FIG. 6 or 7 can be transferred to the thrust system TSa of the propulsion device 10 according to FIG. 2 adapted in this way.

[0074] Similar to the method 100 described with reference to Fig. 7, the thrust vector control method 100 according to the invention, shown in Fig. 8, is distinguished from the prior art in that it provides for the execution of a speed control 110 of the turbojets 12a-e of said thrust unit 12a. The aim of such control is for the rotor shafts of the turbojets 12a-e to reach and maintain a rotational speed setpoint RSI as quickly as possible, regardless of possible disturbances. The method 100 according to Fig. 8 therefore comprises a first step 101 for converting a thrust command TC coming from the electronic navigation control 30 into a rotational speed setpoint RSI of the rotors of the turbojets 12a-e of the thrust unit 12a.

[0075] The thrust vector control method 100 according to the invention as shown in Fig. 8 is further distinguished from the prior art in that it comprises a step 120 of generating, during a process of speed correction of the rotors of the turbojets 12a-e of the thrust units 12a, independently of said correction process, an actuation command AC of the thrust vector electrical correction means 19a of the thrust system, in this case the deflector guides 19a-1 and / or 19a-5 placed downstream of the fluid outlets 12a-o of the turbojets 12a-e of the thrust system TSa described with reference to Fig. 3. Similar to the method 100 shown in Fig. 6, step 120 of the method shown in Fig. 8 is provided for generating an actuation command AC on the basis of a deviation RSE between the setpoint speed RSI (obtained in step 101) and the measured speed RSM of the shaft of the internal combustion engine 12a-e, said deviation RSE being calculated in step 102. The purpose of this iterative step 120 is mainly to compensate for the poor responsiveness of the turbojet 12a-e in parallel with the control process, i.e. without acting on the regulation of the rotational speed of the rotor of said turbojet 12a-e itself. With reference to the example of a thrust system TSa shown in Fig. 3, the invention provides for the use of a deflector guide 19a-1 and / or 19a-5 as a corrector of the thrust vector AL12a generated by the internal combustion engine 12a-e of a thrust unit 12a. The electric actuator 19a-3 of said deflector guide generally includes or is associated with a converter that converts a stepped electric actuation setting value into a displacement or stroke CS19 of a cam of said motor 19a-3. Due to its design, the electric actuator 19a-3 has a much better responsiveness than the turbojet 12a-e. It can reduce the magnitude of thrust vector AL12a downstream of deflector guides 19a-1 and 19a-5 by "sandwiching," which deflects, in whole or in part, the thrust vector AL12a upstream of deflector guides 19a-1 and 19a-5, i.e., at fluid outlet 12a-o.If the deflector guides 19a-1 and 19a-5 are placed in a default configuration to "pinch" the thrust vector AL12a and thus partially deflect the thrust vector AL12a at the fluid outlet 12a-o, for example by about 5 to 25 percent, respectively, it can be considered that the actuation of the motor 19a-3 intended to move the deflector guides 19a-1 and 19a-5 away from the thrust vector AL12a will increase the thrust vector AL12a downstream of these deflector guides 19a-1 and 19a-5. It can therefore be considered that the actuation of the deflector guides 19a-1 and / or 19a-5 via the electric actuator 19a-3 can increase, decrease or even reverse the thrust vector AL12a generated by the turbojet 12a-e downstream of the deflector guides 19a-1 and 19a-5. Thus, by a sudden and appropriate actuation of the electric cam motor 19a-3 intended to move said deflector guide 19a1 and / or 19a-5 away from the thrust vector AL12, during the acceleration phase of the engine speed of the turbojet 12a-e, it is possible to obtain very quickly a thrust vector of increased amplitude or force downstream of said deflector guide, substantially the same as the thrust vector AL12a would exhibit if the turbojet were given an almost instantaneous response. As already explained with reference to the method 100 shown in Fig. 6, by executing the speed control of the turbojet 12a-e (step 110), the turbojet 12a-e tends to reach the rotational speed setpoint RSI. The stroke of the cam of the electric motor 19a-3 gradually regains its reference or default position, and the deflector guide 19a-1 and / or 19a-5 again "pinches" a part of the thrust vector AL12a generated by the turbojet 12a-e. By iterative execution of the method 100 according to period SP, the deflector guides 19a-1 and / or 19a-5 are moved again under the action of the electric motor 19a-3 as soon as the deviation RSE becomes positive again (i.e. as soon as the rotational speed RS12 of the rotating shaft of the turbojet 12a-e falls below the setpoint speed RSI) and is of a value sufficient to bring about a new activation of the motor 19a-3, thereby reducing their "pinching effect" on the thrust vector AL12a.

[0076] Correspondingly, when the deviation RSE becomes negative (i.e. as soon as the rotation speed RS12 of the rotating shaft of the turbojet 12a-e exceeds the setpoint speed RSI), the actuation command of the cam motor 19a-3 increases the pinching of the thrust vector by the deflector guides 19a-1 and / or 19a-5. Thus, during a phase of deceleration of the engine speed of the turbojet 12a-e, the invention makes it possible to very quickly obtain a thrust vector of reduced amplitude downstream of said deflector guide, substantially identical to what the thrust vector AL12a would have shown if the turbojet had been given an almost instantaneous response. As the execution of the speed control of the turbojets 12a-e (step 110) tends to cause the turbojets 12a-e to reach the rotational speed setpoint RSI, the stroke of the cam of the electric motor 19a-3 gradually regains its reference or default position and the deflector guides 19a-1 and / or 19a-5 again "pinch" only a small portion of the thrust vector AL12a generated by the turbojets 12a-e, for example 10% thereof, or any other portion of the thrust vector advantageously comprised between 5% and 25%.

[0077] The invention provides that a step 120 is provided for iteratively generating actuation commands AC of said electrical correction means of the thrust vector AL12a, in this case the electric motor 19a-3, by multiplication, integration and / or differentiation of the deviation RSE between the rotational speed setpoint RSI and the measured rotational speeds RSM of the shafts of the internal combustion engines 12a-e. According to a preferred embodiment, emphasis is placed entirely or mainly on the actuation commands obtained in proportion to said deviation RSE. The calculation 120 of the actuation commands AC may furthermore use a model of the responsivity of the turbojet. As a result, the thrust vector of the thrust system TSa downstream of the deflector guide exhibits a thrust magnitude that is as constant as possible during the process of speed correction of the turbojet 12a-e of the thrust unit 12a, preventing overcompensation phenomena.

[0078] Thus, by carrying out the method 100, the magnitude of the thrust vector AL12a generated by the internal combustion engine 12a-e of the thrust unit 12a can be increased or decreased, whereby the direction of said thrust vector can even be reversed during the complete pinching of the thrust vector downstream of the fluid outlet 12a-o of the internal combustion engine 12a-e by the two deflector guides 19a-1, 19a-5. Such a reverse thrust or thrust reversal can be possible if the deflector guides are arranged to guide the fluid flow such that at the end parts of the deflector guides, secondary thrust vectors AL12a' and AL12a'' are generated and have a direction opposite to that of the original thrust vector AL12a upstream of the deflector guides. Such an operation results in the technical effect of braking or reverse thrust, which is particularly beneficial when controlling the propulsion device 10 according to FIG. 2. In order to be able to perform such a reverse thrust, it is further necessary to keep the thrust vector AL12a upstream of the deflector guides 19a-1, 19a-5 with a sufficient magnitude. It is particularly advantageous in this respect to correct the power command PC generated in step 110 using step 111, as described above, so that said power command is equal to or greater than the lower threshold PCMin. Similarly, the method 100 according to FIG. 8 may comprise a step 112 for limiting the power command PC generated in step 110 so that the power command PC does not exceed the upper threshold PCMax. In this way, the noise pollution caused by the internal combustion engine of the thrust unit during takeoff of the aeropropulsion device 10 according to FIG. 2 can be reduced and the deflector guides 19a-1 and 19a-5 can be opened to compensate for the power deficit thus caused. In order to interpret and initialize such a lower PCMin and / or higher PCMax threshold, the method 100 according to FIG. 8 may comprise a step 113 for decoding or taking into account an upper limit HTLI and / or a lower limit LTLI of the thrust of the thrust units arising from the flight control electronic means 30 of the propulsion device 10.

[0079] The exact same thrust vector control method 100 may be implemented to correct the thrust vectors of the thrust units 12b, 12c, 12d of the thrust systems TSb, TSc, and TSd of the propulsion arrangement 10 shown in Figure 2. The electronic navigation control 30 is responsible for sending appropriate thrust commands TC to the four thrust systems TSa to TSd.

[0080] The invention has been described through different configurations of thrust systems, more specifically thrust units and thrust vector correction means, comprising two-stroke, four-stroke internal combustion engines, turbojets and electrically controlled actuators of servomotor type, rotary shaft motors, cam motors, etc. respectively. The invention should not be considered limited to only these examples of thrusters or actuators. It more generally relates to the correction of the thrust vector exerted by one or more main thrusters, whose responsiveness needs to be compensated in response to a command to change the power (or engine speed). Likewise, the invention should not be considered limited to only the example of a vertical take-off and landing aerial propulsion device. The invention may be applied to the correction of the thrust vector of a thrust system equipped with a propulsion device carrying a load, whether in the air, underwater or on land.

Claims

1. A method (100) for correcting a thrust vector exerted by a thrust unit (12a, 12b, 12c, 12d, 12e, 12f, 12g, 12h) of a thrust system (TSa, TSb, TSc, TSd, TSe, TSf, TSg, TSh), said thrust system comprising processing means (30, 30a) arranged to execute said method (100), said thrust unit (12a) comprising a mechanical rotor (12a-r) turned by a rotating shaft of an internal combustion engine (12a-e) according to a power command (PC), said method (100) comprising the steps of iteratively (SP): - a step (101) of converting a thrust command (TC) into a rotational speed setpoint (RSI) of the shaft of the internal combustion engine (12a-e) of the thrust unit (12a); - generating (102) a deviation (RSE) between said rotational speed setpoint (RSI) and a measured rotational speed (RSM) of said shaft by measurement sensors (12a-s) cooperating with said internal combustion engines (12a-e) and said processing means (30, 30a); generating (110) the power command (PC) based on the deviation (RSE) between the rotational speed setpoint (RSI) and the measured rotational speed (RSM) of the shaft of the internal combustion engine (12a-e) to reduce the deviation (RSE) and thus control the rotational speed of the shaft of the internal combustion engine (12a-e), said thrust system further comprising means (19a, 19b, 19c, 19d, 19e, 19f, 19g, 19h) for electrical correction of the thrust vector exerted by said thrust units, Method (100), characterized in that it comprises an iterative (SP) step (120) of generating actuation commands (AC) of said electrical correction means (19a-e, 19a-3) of said thrust vector, based on said deviation (RSE) between said rotational speed setpoint (RSI) and said measured rotational speed (RSM) of said shaft of said internal combustion engines (12a-e), independently of said speed control of rotation of said shaft of said internal combustion engines (12a-e).

2. 2. The method (100) of claim 1, wherein the step of generating (110) the power command (PC) comprises generating the power command (PC) by multiplication, integration, and / or differentiation of the deviation (RSE) between the rotational speed setpoint (RSI) and the measured rotational speed (RSM) of the shaft.

3. 3. A method (100) according to claim 1 or 2, comprising a step (111) of correcting (PC') the generated (110) power command (PC) so that such power command (PC, PC') is greater than or equal to a minimum power command threshold (PCMin).

4. 4. A method (100) according to any of claims 1 to 3, comprising a step (112) of correcting (PC') the generated (110) power commands (PC) so that such power commands (PC, PC') do not exceed a maximum power command threshold (PCMax).

5. 5. The method (100) according to claim 3 or 4, comprising a step (113) of initialising minimum and maximum command thresholds (PCMin, PCMax) taking into account lower and upper thrust limit settings (LTLI, HTLI) of the thrust units.

6. The method (100) according to any of claims 1 to 5, wherein the step (120) of activating the electrical correction means (19a-e, 19a-3) of the thrust vector consists of generating the activation command (AC) of the electrical correction means (19a-e, 19a-3) of the thrust vector by multiplication, integration and / or differentiation of the deviation (RSE) between the rotational speed setpoint (RSI) and the measured rotational speed (RSM) of the shaft of the internal combustion engine (12a-e).

7. 7. A computer program comprising one or more program instructions interpretable by a processing means of a computer, said program instructions being resident in a non-volatile memory thereof, characterized in that execution of said instructions by said processing means performs a method (100) according to any of claims 1 to 6.

8. A computer readable storage medium containing the instructions of the computer program of claim 7.

9. A thrust system (TSa, TSb, TSc, TSd, TSe, TSf, TSg, TSh) comprising thrust units (12a, 12b, 12c, 12d, 12e, 12f, 12g, 12h), electrical correction means (19a, 19b, 19c, 19d, 19e, 19f, 19g. 19h) of the thrust vectors exerted by said thrust units, and processing means (30, 30a) arranged to execute a method (100) for correcting a thrust vector according to any of claims 1 to 6.

10. The thrust unit (12a) comprises: a rotating shaft internal combustion engine (12a-e) whose rotational speed (RS12) depends on said power command (PC, PC') generated by said processing means (30, 30a); a mechanical rotor (12a-r) rotated by said internal combustion engine (12a-e); The electrical correction means (19a) of the thrust vector comprises: a rotating shaft electric motor (19a-e) whose rotation speed (RS19) depends on said actuation command (AC) of said correction means (19a-e) generated by said processing means (30, 30a); and a mechanical rotor (19a-r) rotated by said electric motor (19a-e) and providing an additional thrust vector (AL19a) substantially parallel to the thrust vector (AL12a) provided by said thrust unit (12a).

11. A thrust system (TSa) according to claim 10, comprising a motor-generator (12a-g) coupled to the internal combustion engine (12a-e) of the thrust unit (12a) for converting all or part of the mechanical power generated by the internal combustion engine (12a-e) into electrical power (EP) delivered by the motor-generator (12a-g) according to actuation commands (FC) generated by the processing means (30, 30a).

12. The thrust unit (12a) comprises a turbojet (12a) having a fluid outlet (12a-o); The electrical correction means (19a) of the thrust vector comprises: a pair of deflector guides (19a-1, 19a-5) rotatably mounted and aligned with each other to deflect, downstream of the fluid outlets (12a-o), all or part (AL12a', AL12a'') of the thrust unit (12a) into one or more directions substantially perpendicular to the direction of the thrust vector (AL12a) at the fluid outlets (12a-o) of the turbojet (12a); and an electric actuator (19a-6) arranged to interpret said actuation commands (AC) and to bring about a rotation (r) of each of said deflector guides (19a-1, 19a-5).

13. A propulsion device (10) comprising at least one thrust system (TSa, TSb, TSc, TSd, TSe, TSf, TSg, TSh) according to any one of claims 9 to 12, and flight controller means (30) arranged to generate thrust commands (TC) that can be interpreted by the processing means (30, 30a) of said at least one thrust system (TSa, TSb, TSc, TSd, TSe, TSf, TSg, TSh).

14. 14. An aeronautical propulsion device (10) according to claim 13, comprising a platform (11, P11) arranged to receive a load (1) and support means (14) for the thrust units (12a, 12b, 12c, 12d, 12e, 12f, 12g, 12h) of the at least one thrust system (TSa, TSb, TSc, TSd, TSe, TSf, TSg, TSh), the support means (14) being arranged to orient the thrust vectors (AL12a, AL12b, AL12c, AL12d) of the thrust units (12a, 12b, 12c, 12d, 12e, 12f, 12g, 12h) in a direction substantially perpendicular to the platform (11, P11).

15. 15. A propulsion device (10) according to claim 13 or 14, wherein the navigation controller means (30) is arranged to generate lower or upper thrust limit setpoints (LTLI, HTLI) of the thrust units (12a, 12b, 12c, 12d, 12e, 12f, 12g, 12h) of the at least one thrust system (TSa, TSb, TSc, TSd, TSe, TSf, TSg, TSh) when the at least one thrust system (TSa, TSb, TSc, TSd, TSe, TSf, TSg, TSh) is arranged to carry out the method of thrust control according to claim 5.

16. 16. The propulsion device (10) according to any one of claims 13 to 15, comprising a fairing (11c) connected to the platform (11) arranged to protect a load (1) from the environment of the propulsion device (10).

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