System and method for displaying control margins for EVTOL aircraft
The control margin function addresses the challenge of determining aircraft authority limits in electric propulsion systems by dynamically displaying proximity to limits, enhancing pilot awareness and preventing oscillations.
Patent Information
- Authority / Receiving Office
- JP · JP
- Patent Type
- Applications
- Current Assignee / Owner
- ARCHER AVIATION INC
- Filing Date
- 2024-05-20
- Publication Date
- 2026-06-11
AI Technical Summary
Conventional aircraft with electric propulsion systems face challenges in determining aircraft authority limits due to complex relationships between actuators and control axes, especially in redundant-acting aircraft, making it difficult for pilots to understand proximity to authorization limits during various flight phases.
A control margin function dynamically determines the relationship between pilot input commands and aircraft authority limits, providing a control margin display that includes spatial relationships of input commands relative to reference objects representing aircraft authority limits, and automatically moves graphical elements on the user interface to indicate proximity degrees.
Enhances pilot situational awareness by accurately informing pilots of aircraft state relative to authority limits, preventing pilot-induced oscillations and detecting unannounced actuator failures through periodic updates.
Smart Images

Figure 2026519103000001_ABST
Abstract
Description
[Technical Field] 【0001】 Cross-reference of related applications This disclosure claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 63 / 504,958, titled "SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR FLIGHT CONTROL OF EVTOL AIRCRAFT" (Attorney Reference No. 16499.6005-00000), filed on 30 May 2023, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety for all purposes. 【0002】 This disclosure generally relates to powered aircraft. More specifically, and not limited to, this disclosure relates to technological innovations in aircraft driven by electric propulsion systems. Certain aspects of this disclosure generally relate to flight control of aircraft driven by electric propulsion systems and other types of vehicles, as well as systems and methods for flight control of aircraft in flight simulators and video games. Other aspects of this disclosure generally relate to improvements in flight control systems and methods that provide particular advantages to aircraft and may be used in other types of vehicles. [Background technology] 【0003】 The inventors of the present invention have come to recognize several problems that may be associated with the flight control of aircraft, including tiltrotor aircraft using electric propulsion systems or hybrid electric propulsion systems (hereinafter referred to as electric propulsion units or "EPUs"). Conventional aircraft typically have a one-to-one relationship between actuators and aircraft authority limits, which can allow the pilot to understand how close they are to the aircraft authority limits. For example, in a conventional aircraft, the aircraft may be configured such that the elevator controls pitch, the engines control thrust, the ailerons control roll, and the engines are used purely to generate thrust. In such a one-to-one configuration, the pilot can easily look at indicators of control levers and / or control surface positions (e.g., elevator position) to determine the proximity to authority limits (e.g., proximity to the limit of the thrust lever, proximity to the limit of the engine torque, etc.). 【0004】 While a one-to-one configuration is feasible in most conventional aircraft, applying the same configuration to a redundant-acting aircraft with actuators controlling multiple axes can be extremely difficult. The same may be true for the redundant-acting aircraft of this disclosure, where one or more actuators of the aircraft may be configured to control multiple axes in a particular flight phase. For example, in hovering mode and / or transition mode, the engines of the disclosed aircraft may be configured to control roll, pitch, yaw, and thrust, which means there may be a more complex relationship between the actuators and the aircraft's authorization limits. During flight, the pilot needs information on how much authorization remains on each control axis to keep the aircraft flying safely regardless of the flight phase. However, because the relationship between actuators and aircraft authorization limits in a redundant-acting aircraft is not a simple one-to-one relationship during a particular flight phase and can change as the aircraft state changes, it can be difficult for the pilot to understand how close they are to the aircraft's authorization limits. Therefore, an improved system and method are needed for dynamically determining and outputting leveraged authorization on an intuitive reference display. [Overview of the project] 【0005】 This disclosure relates, in general, to flight control of electric aircraft and other powered aircraft. More specifically, and not limited to, this disclosure relates to technological innovations for tiltrotor aircraft using electric propulsion systems. For example, certain aspects of this disclosure relate to providing control margin indicators to aircraft. Furthermore, certain embodiments may adjust the control margin indicators according to control signals, environment variables, or other factors related to the aircraft state. 【0006】 The disclosed embodiments may include a control margin function configured to dynamically determine a relationship between pilot input commands and aircraft authority limits, and to present the determined relationship on a pilot display. For example, the control margin function may be configured to determine how much authority remains on each control axis (e.g., longitudinal velocity, lateral velocity, vertical velocity, turn rate) and may generate a control margin display that includes spatial relationships of one or more points representing one or more received input commands related to one or more reference objects representing aircraft authority limits. This may be done in response to the flight control system (FCS) receiving one or more input commands via one or more pilot interceptors. The control margin function may provide effective command correction measures in situations where the aircraft may deviate from intended commands (e.g., when the aircraft does not move as commanded by the pilot due to a lack of remaining aircraft authority), and command correction measures may help prevent pilot-induced oscillations (PIOs). The control margin function may also provide the pilot with periodically updated control authority information that is otherwise not observable. Furthermore, the control margin function can also provide increased pilot situational awareness, such as the possible detection of unannounced actuator failures, by observing shifts in control authority. 【0007】 One aspect of the present disclosure includes a method for dynamically moving graphical elements of a user interface of a flight control system, the method comprising: determining an aircraft authority limit based on at least one state signal indicating an aircraft state, the aircraft authority limit indicating the limit to which a control signal can command the aircraft; determining one or more proximity degrees between the aircraft state and the determined aircraft authority limit; and automatically moving graphical elements of the user interface to one or more positions on the user interface based on the determined one or more proximity degrees. 【0008】 Another aspect of the present disclosure includes a flight control system comprising at least one processor, the at least one processor configured to determine an aircraft authority limit based on at least one status signal indicating an aircraft state, the aircraft authority limit indicating the limit to which a control signal can command the aircraft, determine one or more proximity degrees between the aircraft state and the determined aircraft authority limit, and automatically move graphical elements of a user interface to one or more positions on the user interface based on the determined one or more proximity degrees. [Brief explanation of the drawing] 【0009】 [Figure 1] An exemplary vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft consistent with the disclosed embodiments is shown. [Figure 2] An exemplary VTOL aircraft consistent with the disclosed embodiments is shown. [Figure 3] An exemplary top view of a VTOL aircraft, consistent with the disclosed embodiments, is shown. [Figure 4] An exemplary propeller rotation of a VTOL aircraft, consistent with the disclosed embodiments, is illustrated. [Figure 5] This shows an exemplary power connection in a VTOL aircraft, consistent with the disclosed embodiments. [Figure 6] An exemplary architecture of an electric propulsion unit, consistent with the disclosed embodiments, is shown. [Figure 7] Shows an exemplary top view of a VTOL aircraft consistent with the disclosed embodiments. [Figure 8] Shows an exemplary flight control signaling architecture consistent with the disclosed embodiments. [Figure 9A] Illustrates an exemplary top view of a VTOL aircraft consistent with the disclosed embodiments. [Figure 9B] Illustrates an exemplary top view of a VTOL aircraft consistent with the disclosed embodiments. [Figure 9C] Illustrates an exemplary top view of a VTOL aircraft consistent with the disclosed embodiments. [Figure 9D] Illustrates an exemplary top view of a VTOL aircraft consistent with the disclosed embodiments. [Figure 9E] Illustrates an exemplary top view of a VTOL aircraft consistent with the disclosed embodiments. [Figure 9F] Illustrates an exemplary top view of a VTOL aircraft consistent with the disclosed embodiments. [Figure 10] Illustrates a functional block diagram of an exemplary control system for an electric VTOL aircraft consistent with the disclosed embodiments. [Figure 11] Illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary method of control margin display consistent with the disclosed embodiments. [Figure 12A] Illustrates a configuration for control margin display consistent with the disclosed embodiments. [Figure 12B] Illustrates a configuration for control margin display consistent with the disclosed embodiments. [Figure 12C] Illustrates a configuration for control margin display consistent with the disclosed embodiments. [Figure 12D] Illustrates a configuration for control margin display consistent with the disclosed embodiments. 【MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION】 【0010】 This disclosure primarily describes systems, components, and technologies for use in aircraft. Aircraft may be piloted aircraft, unpiloted aircraft (e.g., UAVs), drones, helicopters, and / or airplanes. An aircraft comprises a physical body and one or more components (e.g., wings, tails, propellers) configured to enable the aircraft to fly. An aircraft may include any configuration including at least one propeller. In some embodiments, an aircraft is driven by one or more electric propulsion systems (hereinafter referred to as electric propulsion units or "EPUs"). Aircraft may be fully electric, hybrid, or gas-powered. For example, in some embodiments, an aircraft is a tiltrotor configured for frequent (e.g., more than 50 flights per working day), short-duration flights (e.g., less than 100 miles per flight) over, into, and outside densely populated areas. An aircraft may be configured to carry 4 to 6 passengers or commuters expecting a comfortable experience with low noise and low vibration. Therefore, especially in redundant aircraft, it is desirable to provide pilots with a control margin indicator that informs them how close they are to the aircraft's authority limits, which is information that may not be available or may be difficult to assess otherwise. 【0011】 The disclosed embodiments provide novel and improved aircraft component configurations and / or identified design criteria that differ from those of conventional aircraft components, which are not found in conventional aircraft. Such alternative configurations and design criteria, combined to address the shortcomings and challenges associated with conventional components, have resulted in the embodiments disclosed herein for various component configurations and designs for aircraft driven by electric propulsion systems (e.g., electric aircraft or hybrid electric aircraft). 【0012】 In some embodiments, an aircraft powered by the electric propulsion system of the present disclosure may be designed to be capable of both vertical and conventional takeoff and landing, with a distributed propulsion system that enables vertical, horizontal, and lateral flight, as well as transitions (e.g., transitions between vertical and horizontal flight). The aircraft may generate thrust by supplying high-voltage power to multiple engines of the distributed propulsion system, and the multiple engines may include components for converting the high-voltage power into mechanical shaft power for rotating propellers. 【0013】 Embodiments may include an electric engine (e.g., a motor) connected to an onboard power source, which may include a device capable of storing energy, such as a battery or capacitor, and optionally include one or more systems for powering or generating electricity, such as a fuel-driven generator or a solar panel array. In some embodiments, the aircraft may include a hybrid aircraft that uses at least one of an electric-based energy source or a fuel-based energy source to power a distributed propulsion system. In some embodiments, the aircraft may be powered by one or more batteries, internal combustion engines (ICE), generators, turbine engines, or ducted fans. 【0014】 The engines may be mounted directly to the wing or to one or more booms attached to the wing. The amount of thrust generated by each engine may be controlled by torque commands from the flight control system (FCS) via a digital communication interface to each engine. Embodiments may include forward-facing engines (and associated propellers) that can change their orientation or tilt. 【0015】 The engine can rotate the propeller clockwise or counterclockwise. In some embodiments, the difference in propeller rotation direction can be achieved using the engine rotation direction. In other embodiments, the engines may all rotate in the same direction, and gearing may be used to achieve different propeller rotation directions. 【0016】 In some embodiments, an aircraft may have a number of engines in various combinations of forward-engine and rear-engine configurations. Forward-engine engines may be thought of as engines primarily located near the leading edge of the wing. Rear-engine engines may be thought of as engines primarily located near the trailing edge of the wing. For example, an aircraft may have any other combination of forward-engine and rear-engine configurations, including six forward-engine and six rear-engine configurations, five forward-engine and five rear-engine configurations, four forward-engine and four rear-engine configurations, three forward-engine and three rear-engine configurations, two forward-engine and two rear-engine configurations, or embodiments in which the number of forward-engine and rear-engine configurations are not equal. 【0017】 In some embodiments, for vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) missions, the forward and aft engines may provide vertical thrust during takeoff and landing. During the forward flight phase, the forward engine may provide horizontal thrust, while the aft engine's propeller may be retracted to a fixed position to minimize drag. The aft engine may be actively retracted while maintaining positional monitoring. 【0018】 Transitions from vertical to horizontal flight and vice versa can be achieved via a tilt propeller subsystem. The tilt propeller subsystem can change the direction of thrust between a primarily vertical direction during the vertical flight phase (e.g., the hovering phase) and a horizontal or nearly horizontal direction during the forward flight cruising phase, based on the tilt of one or more propellers (e.g., determining the orientation of one or more propellers). A variable pitch mechanism can change the collective angle of the blades of the forward engine's propeller hub assembly for operation during flight phases such as the hovering phase, transition phase, and cruising phase. Vertical lift can be primarily vertical thrust (e.g., during the hovering phase). Horizontal thrust can be primarily horizontal thrust (e.g., during the cruising phase). 【0019】 In some embodiments, a “flight phase” or “flight mode” (e.g., hovering, cruising, forward flight, takeoff, landing, transition) may be defined by a combination of flight conditions. A combination of flight conditions may be defined by one or more flight parameters, such as airspeed, altitude, pitch angle (e.g., of the aircraft), tilt angle (e.g., of one or more propellers), roll angle, rotational speed (e.g., of the propellers), torque value, pilot commands, or any other value indicating the current or requested (e.g., commanded) state of at least some part of the aircraft. 【0020】 In some embodiments, in conventional take-off and landing (CTOL) missions, the forward engines may provide horizontal thrust for fixed-wing take-off, cruising, and landing, while the wings may provide vertical lift. In some embodiments, the rear engines may not be used to generate thrust during CTOL missions, and the rear propellers may be retracted into a fixed position. In other embodiments, the rear engines may be used at reduced power to shorten the length of CTOL take-off or landing. 【0021】 As detailed above, an aircraft embodiment may include many movable structural flight elements that enable a pilot to safely control the aircraft. In redundant aircraft, one or more movable structural flight elements (e.g., actuators) may be configured to control multiple axes in a particular flight phase. Therefore, there may not be a one-to-one correspondence between the position of a controller (e.g., an inceptor) and the position of a control surface or actuator. 【0022】 In some embodiments, any of the aircraft in the disclosed embodiments may be simulated. For example, the aircraft may be in a simulated environment in a simulator (e.g., a flight training simulator) or a virtual environment in a video game. Additionally or alternatively, in some embodiments, the display of the aircraft may be simulated. For example, the display (e.g., a control margin display) may be in a simulated environment in a simulator (e.g., a flight training simulator) or a virtual environment in a video game. The representation of the simulated display may be displayed on a display device (e.g., a monitor, tablet, smartphone, computer screen, or any other display device) operably connected to a processor configured to execute software code stored in a storage medium to perform flight control operations, such as those further detailed below with reference to Figure 10. 【0023】 As will be further detailed below and with reference to Figures 12A to 12D, the disclosed embodiments provide a control margin indicator that accurately informs the pilot of the aircraft state relative to the determined aircraft authority limits. 【0024】 Herein, exemplary embodiments are given in detail, and examples are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. The following description is given with reference to the accompanying drawings, and unless otherwise specified, the same or similar reference numerals in different drawings (e.g., 302 and 702, 410 and 1010) represent the same or similar elements. The implementations described below in the exemplary embodiments do not represent all implementations consistent with the present disclosure. Rather, they are merely examples of apparatus and methods consistent with embodiments relating to the subject matter described in the accompanying claims. 【0025】 Figure 1 is an illustrative perspective view of an exemplary VTOL aircraft consistent with the disclosed embodiments. Figure 2 is another illustrative perspective view of an exemplary VTOL aircraft in an alternative configuration consistent with embodiments of the present disclosure. Figures 1 and 2 illustrate VTOL aircraft 100, 200 in a cruising configuration and a vertical takeoff, landing, and hovering configuration (also referred to herein as a “lift” configuration), respectively, consistent with embodiments of the present disclosure. Elements corresponding to Figures 1 and 2 may have similar figures and may refer to similar elements of aircraft 100, 200. Aircraft 100, 200 may include fuselages 102, 202, wings 104, 204 mounted on the fuselages 102, 202, and one or more rear stabilizers 106, 206 mounted on the rear of the fuselages 102, 202. Multiple lift propellers 112, 212 may be mounted on wings 104, 204 and configured to provide lift for vertical takeoff, landing, and hovering. Multiple tilt propellers 114, 214 may be mounted on wings 104, 204 and may be tiltable (for example, configured to tilt or change orientation) between a lift configuration, as shown in Figure 2, in which these tilt propellers provide a portion of the lift required for vertical takeoff, landing, and hovering, and a cruising configuration, as shown in Figure 1, in which these tilt propellers provide forward thrust to the aircraft 100 for horizontal flight. As used herein, the lift configuration of a tilt propeller refers to any tilt propeller orientation in which the tilt propeller thrust primarily provides lift to the aircraft, and the cruising configuration of a tilt propeller refers to any tilt propeller orientation in which the tilt propeller thrust primarily provides forward thrust to the aircraft. 【0026】 In some embodiments, the lift propellers 112, 212 may be configured to provide only lift, with all horizontal thrust provided by the tilt propellers. For example, the lift propellers 112, 212 may be configured in a fixed position and may generate thrust only during the takeoff, landing, and hovering phases of flight. On the other hand, the tilt propellers 114, 214 may be tilted upward in a lift configuration in which the thrust from the propellers 114, 214 is directed downward to provide additional lift. 【0027】 For forward flight, the tilt propellers 114, 214 can be tilted from a lift configuration to a cruising configuration. In other words, the orientation of the tilt propellers 114, 214 can change from an orientation in which the thrust of the tilt propellers is directed downward (to provide lift during vertical takeoff, landing, and hovering) to an orientation in which the thrust of the tilt propellers is directed aft (to provide forward thrust to the aircraft 100, 200). The tilt propeller assembly for a particular electric engine can be tilted around an axis of rotation defined by the mounting point connecting the boom and the electric engine. When the aircraft 100, 200 is in full forward flight, lift can be provided entirely by the wings 104, 204. On the other hand, in the cruising configuration, the lift propellers 112, 212 can be shut off. The blades 120, 220 of the lift propellers 112, 212 can be held in a low-drag position for aircraft cruising. In some embodiments, each of the lift propellers 112, 212 may have two blades 120, 220 that can be locked in a minimum-drag position where one blade is directly in front of the other while the aircraft is cruising, as illustrated, for example, in Figure 1. In some embodiments, the lift propellers 112, 212 may have three or more blades. In some embodiments, the tilt propellers 114, 214 may include more blades 116, 216 than the lift propellers 112, 212. For example, as illustrated in Figures 1 and 2, each of the lift propellers 112, 212 may include, for example, two blades, while each of the tilt propellers 114, 214 may include more blades, such as the five blades shown. In some embodiments, each of the tilt propellers 114, 214 may have 2 to 5 blades, and possibly more, depending on the design considerations and requirements of the aircraft. 【0028】 In some embodiments, the aircraft may include a single wing 104, 204 on each side of the fuselage 102, 202 (or a single wing extending over the entire aircraft). At least a portion of the lift propellers 112, 212 may be located behind the wings 104, 204 (e.g., the propeller rotation point is behind the wing from a bird's-eye view), and at least a portion of the tilt propellers 114, 214 may be located in front of the wings 104, 204 (e.g., the propeller rotation point is in front of the wing from a bird's-eye view). In some embodiments, all of the lift propellers 112, 212 may be located behind the wings 104, 204, and all of the tilt propellers 114, 214 may be located in front of the wings 104, 204. According to some embodiments, all lift propellers 112, 212 and tilt propellers 114, 214 may be mounted on the wings, for example, the lift propellers or tilt propellers may not be mounted on the fuselage. In some embodiments, all lift propellers 112, 212 may be located behind the wings 104, 204, and all tilt propellers 114, 214 may be located in front of the wings 104, 204. According to some embodiments, all lift propellers 112, 212 and tilt propellers 114, 214 may be located inside the edges of the wings 104, 204. 【0029】 In some embodiments, lift propellers 112, 212 and tilt propellers 114, 214 may be mounted on the wings 104, 204 by booms 122, 222. Booms 122, 222 may be mounted below, above, and / or incorporated into the wing profile. In some embodiments, lift propellers 112, 212 and tilt propellers 114, 214 may be mounted directly on the wings 104, 204. In some embodiments, one lift propeller 112, 212 and one tilt propeller 114, 214 may be mounted on each boom 122, 222. Lift propellers 112, 212 may be mounted at the rear end of booms 122, 222, and tilt propellers 114, 214 may be mounted at the front end of booms 122, 222. In some embodiments, lift propellers 112, 212 may be mounted in fixed positions on booms 122, 222. In some embodiments, tilt propellers 114, 214 may be mounted to the front end of booms 122, 222 via hinges. The tilt propellers 114, 214 may be mounted on booms 122, 222 such that when in their cruising configuration, the tilt propellers 114, 214 are aligned with the body of booms 122, 222, forming a continuous extension of the front end of booms 122, 222 that minimizes drag for forward flight. 【0030】 In some embodiments, the aircraft 100, 200 may include, for example, one wing on each side of the fuselage 102, 202, or a single wing extending across the entire aircraft. According to some embodiments, at least one wing 104, 204 is a high wing mounted on the upper side of the fuselage 102, 202. According to some embodiments, the wing includes control surfaces such as flaps, ailerons, and / or flaperons (for example, configured to perform both flap and aileron functions). According to some embodiments, the wings 104, 204 may have a profile that reduces drag during forward flight. In some embodiments, the wingtip profile may be curved and / or tapered to minimize drag. 【0031】 In some embodiments, the rear stabilizers 106, 206 include control surfaces such as one or more rudders, one or more elevators, and / or one or more combined rudder-elevators. The wing(s) may have any preferred design to provide lift, directionality, stability, and / or any other properties beneficial to the aircraft. In some embodiments, the wing has a tapered leading edge. 【0032】 In some embodiments, the lift propellers 112, 212 or tilt propellers 114, 214 may be tilted relative to at least one other lift propeller 112, 212 or tilt propeller 114, 214, where tilt refers to the relative orientation of the axis of rotation of the lift propeller / tilt propeller around a line parallel to the longitudinal direction, similar to the roll degrees of freedom of an aircraft. 【0033】 In some embodiments, one or more lift propellers 112, 212 and / or tilt propellers 114, 214 may be tilted relative to the aircraft cabin such that the axis of rotation of the propellers in the lift configuration is angled away from an axis perpendicular to the upper surface of the aircraft. For example, in some embodiments, the aircraft is a flying wing aircraft as shown in Figure 9E below, and some or all of the propellers are tilted away from the cabin. 【0034】 Figure 3 is an illustrative top view of an exemplary VTOL aircraft consistent with embodiments of the present disclosure. The aircraft 300 shown in the figure may be a top view of aircraft 100 and 200 shown in Figures 1 and 2, respectively. As considered herein, the aircraft 300 may include twelve electric propulsion systems distributed across the aircraft 300. In some embodiments, the distribution of electric propulsion systems may include six forward electric propulsion systems 314 and six rear electric propulsion systems 312 mounted on the forward and rear booms of the main wing 304 of the aircraft 300. In some embodiments, the length of the trailing end of the boom 324 from the wing 304 to the lift propeller (part of the electric propulsion system 312) may include trailing ends of the boom 324 of similar length across a number of trailing ends of the boom. In some embodiments, the length of the trailing end of the boom may vary, for example, across six trailing ends. Furthermore, Figure 3 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of a VTOL aircraft 300, which has forward propellers (part of the electric propulsion system 314) oriented horizontally for horizontal flight and rear propeller blades 320 in a retracted position for forward flight. 【0035】 Figure 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating exemplary propeller rotation of a VTOL aircraft, consistent with the disclosed embodiments. The aircraft 400 shown in the figure may be a top view of aircraft 100, 200, and 300 shown in Figures 1, 2, and 3, respectively. The aircraft 400 may include six forward electric propulsion systems, three of which are CW type 424 and the remaining three forward electric propulsion systems are CCW type. In some embodiments, three rearward electric propulsion systems may be CCW type 428 and the remaining three rearward electric propulsion systems are CW type 430. Some embodiments may include an aircraft 400 having four forward electric propulsion systems and four rearward electric propulsion systems, each having two CW type and two CCW type propulsion systems. In some embodiments, propellers may be reversed relative to adjacent propellers to cancel torque steer generated by the propeller rotation and acting on the aircraft's fuselage or wings. In some embodiments, the difference in rotation direction may be achieved using the engine rotation direction. In other embodiments, the engines may all rotate in the same direction, and gearing may be used to achieve different propeller rotation directions. 【0036】 Some embodiments may include an aircraft 400 having a forward electric propulsion system and a rear electric propulsion system, where the quantities of CW type 424 and CCW type 426 are not equal between forward electric propulsion systems, between rear electric propulsion systems, or between forward electric propulsion systems and rear electric propulsion systems. 【0037】 Figure 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating exemplary power connections in a VTOL aircraft, consistent with the disclosed embodiments. A VTOL aircraft may have multiple power systems connected to diagonally opposed electric propulsion systems. In some embodiments, the power systems may include high-voltage power systems. In some embodiments, high-voltage power systems may be connected to electric engines via high-voltage channels. In some embodiments, the aircraft 500 may include six power systems (e.g., battery packs) including power systems 526, 528, 530, 532, 534, and 536 housed within the wings 570 of the aircraft 500. The power systems may supply power to the electric propulsion systems and / or other electrical components of the aircraft 500. In some embodiments, the aircraft 500 may include six forward electric propulsion systems having six electric engines 502, 504, 506, 508, 510, and 512, and six rear electric propulsion systems having six electric engines 514, 516, 518, 520, 522, and 524. In some embodiments, one or more power systems (e.g., battery packs) may include a battery management system ("BMS") (e.g., one BMS for each battery pack). Although six power systems are shown in Figure 5, the aircraft 500 may include any number and / or configuration of power systems. 【0038】 In some embodiments, one or more battery management systems may communicate with the aircraft's flight control system ("FCS") (e.g., FCS612 shown in Figure 6). For example, the FCS may provide commands to one or more battery management systems to monitor the status of one or more battery packs and / or make adjustments corresponding to high-voltage power supplies. As described above, high-frequency commands can increase power consumption. In some embodiments, as shown in Figure 5, this power consumption can deplete battery packs connected to multiple electric engines. Therefore, there is a need to control the aircraft in a manner that avoids high-frequency commands. 【0039】 Figure 6 illustrates an exemplary architecture and design block diagram of an electric propulsion unit 600 consistent with the disclosed embodiments. The exemplary electric propulsion unit 600 includes an electric propulsion system 602 which may be configured to control an aircraft propeller. The electric propulsion system 602 may include an electric engine subsystem 604 which may supply torque to a propeller subsystem 606 via a shaft to generate thrust for the electric propulsion system 602. In some embodiments, the electric engine subsystem 604 may include receiving low-voltage direct current (LV DC) power from a low-voltage system (LVS) 608. In some embodiments, the electric engine subsystem 604 may be configured to receive high-voltage (HV) power from a high-voltage power system (HVPS) 610 which includes at least one battery or other device capable of storing energy. HV power may refer to power with a voltage lower than the voltage provided by the low-voltage system (LVS) 608. 【0040】 Some embodiments may include an electric propulsion system 602 that includes an electric engine subsystem 604 that receives signals from and transmits signals to the flight control system 612. In some embodiments, the flight control system (FCS) 612 may include a flight control computer that can transmit commands to and receive status and data from the electric engine subsystem 604 using Controller Area Network ("CAN") data bus signals. While the CAN data bus signals are used between the flight control computer and the electric engine(s), it should be understood that some embodiments may include any form of communication that has the ability to send and receive data from the flight control computer to and from the electric engine(s). Some embodiments may include an electric engine subsystem 604 that can receive operating parameters from the FCC in the FCS 612, including speed, voltage, current, torque, temperature, vibration, propeller position, and / or any other values of operating parameters, and transmit the operating parameters to the FCC. 【0041】 In some embodiments, the flight control system 612 may also include a tilt propeller system ("TPS") 614 capable of sending and receiving analog and discrete data to and from the electric engine subsystem 604 of the tilt propeller. The tilt propeller system 614 may include a device that transmits operating parameters to the electric engine subsystem 604 and articulates the orientation of the propeller subsystem 606, thereby changing the direction of the thrust of the tilt propeller during various phases of flight using mechanical means such as a gearbox assembly, linear actuators, and any other configuration of components for changing the orientation of the propeller subsystem 606. In some embodiments, the electric engine subsystem may transmit the orientation of the propeller system (e.g., the angle between lift and forward thrust) to the TPS 614 and / or FCS 612 (e.g., during flight). 【0042】 In some embodiments, the flight control system may include a system capable of controlling a control surface and actuators associated with the control surface in an exemplary VTOL aircraft. Figure 7 is an illustrative top view of an exemplary VTOL aircraft consistent with embodiments of the present disclosure. The aircraft 700 shown in the figure may be a top view of aircraft 100 and 200 shown in Figures 1 and 2, respectively. In aircraft 700, the control surface may include a flaperon 712 and a rudder-vator 714 in addition to the propeller blades described above. The flaperon 712 may combine the functions of one or more flaps, one or more ailerons, and / or one or more spoilers. The rudder-vator 714 may combine the functions of one or more rudders and / or one or more elevators. Additionally or alternatively, the control surface may include separate rudders and elevators. In aircraft 700, the actuators may include a control surface actuator (CSA) associated with the flaperon 712 and the rudder-vator 714 in addition to the electric propulsion system described above, as will be further discussed below with reference to Figure 8. 【0043】 Figure 8 illustrates a flight control signaling architecture for controlling control surfaces and associated actuators in various embodiments. While Figure 7 illustrates 12 EPU inverters and associated propeller blades, 6 tilt propeller actuators (TPACs), 6 battery management systems (BMSs), 4 flaperons and associated control surface actuators (CSAs), and 6 rudder swivels and associated CSAs, aircraft in various embodiments may have any preferred number of these various elements. As shown in Figure 8, the control surfaces and actuators may be controlled by a combination of four flight control computers (FCCs): left FCC, lane A (L FCC-A), left FCC, lane B (L FCC-B), right FCC, lane A (R FCC-A), and right FCC, lane A (R FCC-B), although any other preferred number of FCCs may be used. Each FCC may control all control surfaces and actuators individually or in any combination of them. In some embodiments, each FCC may include one or more hardware computing processors. In some embodiments, each FCC may utilize a single-threaded or multi-threaded computing process to perform the calculations required to control the control surfaces and actuators. In some embodiments, all computing processes required to control the control surfaces and actuators may be performed on a single computing thread by a single flight control computer. 【0044】 An FCC may provide control signals to control surface actuators, including EPU inverters, TPACs, BMSs, flaperon CSAs, and ladder inverter CSAs, via one or more bus systems. For different control surface actuators, the FCC may provide control signals such as voltage control signals or current control signals, and the control information may be encoded into binary, digital, or analog control signals. In some embodiments, each bus system may be a CAN bus system, e.g., left CAN bus 1, left CAN bus 2, right CAN bus 1, right CAN bus 2, center CAN bus 1, center CAN bus 2 (see Figure 8). In some embodiments, multiple FCCs may be configured to provide control signals via each CAN bus system, and each FCC may be configured to provide control signals via multiple CAN bus systems. In the exemplary architecture illustrated in Figure 8, for example, L FCC-A may provide control signals via left CAN bus 1 and right CAN bus 1, L FCC-B may provide control signals via left CAN bus 1 and central CAN bus 1, R FCC-A may provide control signals via central CAN bus 2 and right CAN bus 2, and R FCC-B may provide control signals via left CAN bus 2 and right CAN bus 2. 【0045】 Figures 9A–9F are illustrative top views of exemplary VTOL aircraft consistent with embodiments of the present disclosure. There may be several design considerations (such as cost, weight, size, and performance capabilities) that may affect the number and / or combination of tilt and lift propellers in a VTOL aircraft. As further described below, the number and orientation of the propellers may affect the aircraft's capability limits. Thus, the flight control system may process control signals in different ways (e.g., those considered in the disclosed embodiments) to control the aircraft. 【0046】 Figure 9A illustrates an arrangement of electric propulsion units consistent with embodiments of the present disclosure. Referring to Figure 9A, the aircraft shown in the figure may be a top view of an exemplary aircraft (e.g., a VTOL aircraft). The aircraft may include 12 electric propulsion systems spread out over the aircraft. In some embodiments, the distribution of electric propulsion systems may include six forward electric propulsion systems (901, 902, 903, 904, 905, and 906) and six rear electric propulsion systems (907, 908, 909, 910, 911, and 912). In some embodiments, the six forward electric propulsion systems may be operably connected to tilt propellers, and the six rear electric propulsion systems may be operably connected to lift propellers. In other embodiments, the six forward electric propulsion systems and some rear electric propulsion systems may be operably connected to tilt propellers, and the remaining rear electric propulsion systems may be operably connected to lift propellers. In other embodiments, all forward and rear electric propulsion systems may be operably coupled to a tilt propeller. 【0047】 Figure 9B illustrates an alternative arrangement of electric propulsion units consistent with embodiments of the present disclosure. Referring to Figure 9B, the aircraft shown in the figure may be a top view of an exemplary aircraft (e.g., a VTOL aircraft). The aircraft may include eight electric propulsion systems distributed across the aircraft. In some embodiments, the distribution of electric propulsion systems may include four forward electric propulsion systems (913, 914, 915, and 916) and four rear electric propulsion systems (917, 918, 919, and 920). In some embodiments, the four forward electric propulsion systems may be operably connected to tilt propellers, and the four rear electric propulsion systems may be operably connected to lift propellers. In other embodiments, the four forward electric propulsion systems and some rear electric propulsion systems may be operably connected to tilt propellers, and the remaining rear electric propulsion systems may be operably connected to lift propellers. In other embodiments, all forward and rear electric propulsion systems may be operably coupled to tilt propellers. 【0048】 Figure 9C illustrates an alternative arrangement of electric propulsion units consistent with embodiments of the present disclosure. Referring to Figure 9C, the aircraft shown in the figure may be a top view of an exemplary aircraft (e.g., a VTOL aircraft). The aircraft may include six electric propulsion systems distributed across the aircraft. In some embodiments, the distribution of electric propulsion systems may include a first set of four electric propulsion systems 921, 922, 923, and 924 coplanar in a first plane, and a second set of two electric propulsion systems 925 and 926 coplanar in a second plane. In some embodiments, the first set of electric propulsion systems 921-924 may be operably connected to tilt propellers, and the second set of electric propulsion systems 925 and 926 may be operably connected to lift propellers. In other embodiments, the first set of electric propulsion systems 921-924 and the second set of rear electric propulsion systems 925 and 926 can all be operably connected to a tilt propeller. 【0049】 Figure 9D illustrates an alternative arrangement of electric propulsion units consistent with embodiments of the present disclosure. Referring to Figure 9D, the aircraft shown in the figure may be a top view of an exemplary aircraft (e.g., a VTOL aircraft). The aircraft may include four electric propulsion systems distributed across the aircraft. In some embodiments, the distribution of electric propulsion systems may include four coplanar electric propulsion systems 927, 928, 929, and 930. In some embodiments, all of the electric propulsion systems may be operably connected to a tilt propeller. 【0050】 Figure 9E illustrates an alternative arrangement of electric propulsion units consistent with embodiments of the present disclosure. Referring to Figure 9E, the aircraft shown in the figure may be a top view of an exemplary aircraft (e.g., a VTOL aircraft). The aircraft may include six electric propulsion systems spread out across the aircraft. For example, in some embodiments, the aircraft may include four forward electric propulsion systems 931, 932, 933, and 934 operably connected to a tilt propeller and two rear electric propulsion systems 935 and 936 operably connected to a lift propeller. In some embodiments, the aircraft may include ten electric propulsion systems spread out across the aircraft. For example, in some embodiments, the aircraft may include six forward electric propulsion systems operably connected to a tilt propeller and four rear electric propulsion systems operably connected to a lift propeller. In some embodiments, some or all of the rear electric propulsion systems may be operably connected to a tilt propeller. 【0051】 As shown in Figure 9E, in some embodiments, the aircraft may have an all-wing configuration, such as a tailless fixed-wing aircraft without a distinct fuselage. In some embodiments, the aircraft may have an all-wing configuration in which the fuselage is integrated into the wings. In some embodiments, the tilt propeller may rotate in a plane above the aircraft body when the tilt propeller is operating in a lift configuration. 【0052】 Figure 9F illustrates an alternative arrangement of the electric propulsion unit consistent with embodiments of the present disclosure. Referring to Figure 9F, the aircraft may be a top view of an exemplary aircraft. In some embodiments, the aircraft may include ducted fans 937, 938, 939, and 940 operably connected to the electric propulsion system. In some embodiments, the aircraft may include banks of ducted fans on each wing of the aircraft, and the banks of ducted fans may be connected to tilt together (e.g., between a lift configuration and a forward thrust configuration). In some embodiments, the aircraft includes a left and right forewing and a right aft wing. In some embodiments, each wing of the aircraft includes a connected bank of ducted fans. In some embodiments, each bank of connected ducted fans is tiltable (e.g., between lift and forward thrust), while in other embodiments, only the bank of fans on the forewing(s) is tiltable. 【0053】 As disclosed herein, forward and rear electric propulsion systems may be of the clockwise (CW) or counterclockwise (CCW) type. Some embodiments may include a variety of forward electric propulsion systems having a mixture of both CW and CCW types. In some embodiments, the rear electric propulsion system may have a mixture of CW and CCW type systems among the rear electric propulsion systems. In some embodiments, each electric propulsion system may be fixed as either clockwise (CW) or counterclockwise (CCW) type, while in other embodiments, one or more electric propulsion systems may vary between clockwise (CW) and counterclockwise (CCW) rotation. 【0054】 Figure 10 illustrates a functional block diagram of an exemplary aircraft control system 1000 consistent with the disclosed embodiments. System 1000 may be implemented by at least one processor (e.g., at least one microprocessor-based controller) configured to execute software code stored in a storage medium (e.g., computer-readable medium, non-temporary computer-readable medium) to implement the functions described herein. System 1000 may also be implemented in hardware, or in a combination of hardware and software. System 1000 may be implemented as part of an aircraft flight control system (e.g., part of FCS612 in Figure 6) and may be configured to repeatedly perform a single step or sequence until a desired or commanded result is obtained. It should be understood that many conventional functions of control systems are not shown in Figure 10 for the sake of clarity. System 1000 further includes one or more storage media storing models, functions, tables, and / or arbitrary information for performing the disclosed processes. As further described below, any box or each box representing the command model (e.g., 1004, 1006, 1008, and 1010), feedback (1012, 1016, 1018, and 1022), feedforward (1014, 1020), outer loop assignment (1024, 1026), inner loop control law 1028, and control assignment 1029 may represent or contain modules(multiple), scripts(multiple), functions(multiple), applications(multiple), and / or programs(multiple) executed by the processor(s) and / or microprocessors(multiple) of system 1000. The complexity and interoperability of the functional block diagram in Figure 10 is understood to be impossible, or at least impractical, to be effectively implemented by a human user, especially considering that these functionalities will be implemented during aircraft flight (including takeoff or landing). 【0055】 In some embodiments, the control system 1000 may be configured based on one or more flight control laws. A flight control law may include a set of algorithms, models, and / or rules configured to control the behavior of the aircraft (e.g., control or influence one or more effectors of the aircraft) in response to one or more pilot inputs and external factors. In some embodiments, a flight control law may be configured to achieve at least one of desired flight characteristics, stability, or performance. For example, a flight control law may be configured to ensure the stability and controllability of the aircraft by controlling how the aircraft responds to at least one of one or more pilot inputs, vehicle dynamics (e.g., turbulence, gusts, etc.), or changes in flight conditions (e.g., altitude, airspeed, angle of attack). 【0056】 System 1000 may receive at least one pilot input and detect one or more inputs from pilot input devices configured to generate or influence signals. Pilot inputs may be generated by and / or received from aircraft input devices or mechanisms, such as buttons, switches, sticks, sliders, interceptors, or any other devices configured to generate or influence signals based on physical actions from the pilot. For example, pilot input devices may include one or more right interceptors (e.g., activating left / right 1002a and / or forward / backward 1002e), left interceptors (e.g., activating left / right 1002c and / or forward / backward 1002g), and / or left interceptor switches 1002f. In some embodiments, the pilot input device may include an interface with the autopilot system (e.g., display screens, switches, buttons, levers, and / or other interfaces). Optionally, system 1000 may further detect inputs from the autopilot system, such as autopilot roll commands 1002b, autopilot climb commands 1002d, and / or other commands for controlling the aircraft. 【0057】 In some embodiments, one or more inputs may include at least one of the following: position and / or rate of the right inceptor and / or left inceptor; signals received from switches on the inceptor (e.g., response type change command, trim input, backup control input, etc.); measured aircraft status and environmental conditions based on data received from one or more sensors of the aircraft (e.g., measured load factor, airspeed, roll angle, pitch angle, actuator status, battery status, aerodynamic parameters, temperature, gust, etc.); obstacles (e.g., presence or absence of other aircraft and / or foreign objects); and aircraft mode (e.g., taxiing on the ground, takeoff, airborne). For example, right inceptor L / R 1002a may include the lateral position and / or rate of the right inceptor (e.g., an inceptor positioned to the right of another inceptor, and / or an inceptor positioned to the right of the pilot area), autopilot roll command 1002b may include the roll signal received in autopilot mode, left inceptor L / R 1002c may include the left inceptor (e.g., an inceptor positioned to the left of another inceptor, and / or an inceptor positioned to the left of the pilot area) The autopilot climb command 1002d may include the lateral position and / or rate of the attached inceptor, the right inceptor F / A 1002e may include the longitudinal position and / or rate of the right inceptor, the left inceptor switch 1002f may include a signal from the switch to enable or disable the automatic transition function 1003, and the left inceptor F / A 1002g may include the longitudinal position and / or rate of the left inceptor. 【0058】 Each input may include additional data such as those listed above (e.g., signals from switches, aircraft status measurements, aircraft mode, etc.). Actuator status may include hardware limitations of the actuator, such as movement limits, speed limits, and response time limits, and may include actuator health indicators that may indicate degradation of actuator performance, which may limit the ability of a given actuator to fulfill actuator commands. Actuator status may be used to determine boundaries (e.g., minimum / maximum) for individual actuator commands. Battery status may correspond to the remaining energy of the aircraft's battery pack and may be monitored when control assignment 1029 considers the balance of the battery pack's energy state. Aerodynamic parameters may be parameters derived from aerodynamic and acoustic modeling and may be based on the actuator's Jacobian matrix and actuator status. Each input received from the interceptor may indicate the corresponding adjustment of the aircraft's heading or power output. 【0059】 Command models 1004, 1006, 1008, and 1010 may be configured to determine the shape of an ideal aircraft response (e.g., aggressiveness, slew rate, damping, overshoot, etc.). For example, each of command models 1004, 1006, 1008, and 1010 may be configured to receive and interpret at least one of inputs 1002a, 1002b, 1002c, 1002d, 1002e, 1002f, and 1002g, and in response to it, calculate the corresponding changes in the aircraft orientation, heading, and thrust, or combinations thereof, using an integrator (not shown). In some embodiments, the right inceptor L / R 1002a and autopilot roll command 1002b may be supplied to the turn rate command model 1004, the left inceptor L / R 1002c may be supplied to the lateral speed command model 1006, the autopilot climb command 1002d and right inceptor F / A 1002e may be supplied to the climb command model 1008, and the left inceptor F / A 1002g may be supplied to the forward speed command model 1010. In some embodiments, the output from the automatic transition function 1003 may be supplied to at least one of the climb command model 1008 or the forward speed command model 1010. For example, based on receiving an enable signal from the left inceptor switch 1002f, the automatic transition function 1003 may automatically determine at least one of the climb signal or forward speed signal to transmit to at least one of the climb command model 1008 or the forward speed command model 1010. 【0060】 The turn rate command model 1004 may be configured to output a desired position and / or turn rate command, and may also be configured to calculate a desired heading of the aircraft assumed when the interceptor is returned to the central position (e.g., the detent). The lateral velocity command model 1006 may be configured to output a desired position and / or lateral velocity command. The climb command model 1008 may be configured to output at least one of a desired altitude command, a vertical velocity command, or a vertical acceleration command. The forward velocity command model 1010 may be configured to output at least one of a desired position, a longitudinal velocity, or a longitudinal acceleration command. In some embodiments, one or more of the command models may be configured to output accelerations generated in response to changes in velocity commands. For example, the climb command model 1008 may be configured to output vertical accelerations generated in response to changes in vertical velocity commands. 【0061】 Each feedforward 1014 and 1020 may receive as input one or more desired changes from the corresponding command models 1004, 1006, 1008, or 1010 (e.g., desired position, velocity, and / or acceleration) and data received from one or more aircraft sensors (e.g., airspeed, vehicle orientation, vehicle load factor, measured acceleration, vehicle mass and inertia, air density, altitude, aircraft mode, etc.), and may be configured to output a corresponding force for each desired change to achieve that desired change. In some embodiments, the feedforwards 1014 and 1020 may be configured to determine the corresponding force using a simplified model of aircraft dynamics. For example, based on a known (e.g., stored) or determined mass of the aircraft, the feedforwards 1014 and 1020 may be configured to determine a force that causes the aircraft to comply with a desired acceleration command. In some embodiments, the feedforwards 1014 and 1020 may be configured to use a model that predicts the amount of drag acting on the vehicle as a function of velocity in order to determine the force required to comply with a desired velocity command signal. 【0062】 Feedbacks 1012, 1016, 1018, and 1022 may each receive as input one or more desired changes from command models 1004, 1006, 1008, and 1010 (e.g., desired position, velocity, and / or acceleration), and data received from vehicle detection 1031 indicating vehicle dynamics 1030. For example, the detected vehicle dynamics 1030 may include a representation of the aircraft's physical and / or intrinsic dynamics, and sensor measurements from vehicle dynamics detection 1031 may capture how the aircraft moves in response to pilot input, propulsion system output, or ambient conditions. Additionally or alternatively, data received from vehicle detection 1031 may include error signals generated by one or more processors based on extrinsic disturbances (e.g., velocity disturbances due to gusts). In some embodiments, feedbacks 1012, 1016, 1018, and 1022 may be configured to generate feedback forces (e.g., in actuators) based on the received error signals. For example, feedbacks 1012, 1016, 1018, and 1022 may generate feedback forces intended to counteract the effects of external disturbances. Additionally or alternatively, feedbacks 1012, 1016, 1018, and 1022 may be configured to generate feedback forces based on modeling errors. For example, if an incorrect aircraft mass is input to either feedforward 1014 or 1020, the aircraft may accelerate faster or slower than the desired change. By calculating the difference between the desired acceleration and the measured acceleration, one or more processors may generate an error signal (e.g., included in vehicle detection 1031), which may be looped back to feedbacks 1012, 1016, 1018, or 1022 to determine the additional force needed to correct the error. 【0063】 In some embodiments, feedbacks 1012, 1016, 1018, or 1022 may be disabled. For example, system 1000 may be configured to operate without feedbacks 1012, 1016, 1018, or 1022 until GPS communication is reconnected, in response to the loss of position and / or ground velocity feedback due to a disruption of Global Positioning System (GPS) communication. 【0064】 In some embodiments, feedback 1012, 1016, 1018, or 1022 may receive as input a plurality of measurements and a confidence value for each measurement indicating whether the measurement is valid. For example, one or more processors of system 1000 may assign a Boolean value (true / false) to each measurement used in system 1000 to indicate whether the measurement is reliable (e.g., yes) or invalid (e.g., no). Based on one or more processors identifying a measurement as invalid, feedback 1012, 1016, 1018, or 1022 may exclude that measurement for further processing. For example, in response to one or more processors identifying a heading measurement as invalid, feedback 1012, 1016, 1018, or 1022 may omit subsequent heading measurements when determining the feedback force(s). 【0065】 In some embodiments, feedback 1012, 1016, 1018, or 1022 may determine one or more feedback forces based on actuator state information received from one or more sensors (e.g., included in vehicle detection 1031). For example, in response to actuator state information indicating an actuator failure, one or more processors of system 1000 may update one or more processes of system 1000 and determine alternative commands to achieve a desired change. For example, in response to an actuator failure, one or more processors of system 1000 may adjust one or more models, functions, algorithms, tables, inputs, parameters, thresholds, and / or constraints. Alternative commands (e.g., yaw, pitch, roll, thrust, or torque) may be determined based on the adjustment(s). Additionally or alternatively, in response to actuator state information indicating that one or more actuators are at their maximum values, one or more processors of system 1000 may update one or more processes of system 1000 (e.g., as described above) and determine alternative commands to achieve a desired change. 【0066】 The total desired force can be calculated based on the outputs of feedback 1012, 1016, 1018, and 1022, as well as feedforward 1014 and 1020. For example, one or more processors of system 1000 may calculate the desired rotation force by summing the outputs of feedback 1012 and feedforward 1014. Additionally or alternatively, one or more processors of system 1000 may calculate the desired lateral force by summing the outputs of feedback 1016 and feedforward 1014. Additionally or alternatively, one or more processors of system 1000 may calculate the desired vertical force by summing the outputs of feedback 1018 and feedforward 1020. Additionally or alternatively, one or more processors of system 1000 may calculate the desired longitudinal force by summing the outputs of feedback 1022 and feedforward 1020. 【0067】 The lateral / directional outer loop assignment 1024 and the longitudinal outer loop assignment 1026 may each be configured to receive as input one or more desired forces and data received from the vehicle detection 1031 (e.g., airspeed, vehicle orientation, vehicle load factor, measured acceleration, vehicle mass and inertia, indicators of working / failed actuators, air density, altitude, aircraft mode, whether the aircraft is in flight or on the ground, weight on the wheels, etc.). Based on the inputs, the outer loop assignments 1024 and 1026 may be configured to output a roll command, a yaw command, a pitch command, a thrust request, or a combination of different commands / requests in order to achieve one or more desired forces. 【0068】 The lateral / directional outer loop assignment 1024 may receive a desired turn rate force and / or a desired lateral force as input and may command roll or yaw. In some embodiments, the lateral / directional outer loop assignment 1024 may determine an output based on a determined flight mode. The flight mode may be determined using pilot input (e.g., a selected mode for an interceptor) and / or detected aircraft information (e.g., airspeed). For example, the lateral / directional outer loop assignment 1024 may determine the aircraft's flight mode using at least one of a determined (e.g., detected or measured) airspeed or an input received at a pilot interceptor button (e.g., an input that instructs the aircraft to fly according to a particular flight mode). In some embodiments, the lateral / directional outer loop assignment 1024 may be configured to prioritize pilot interceptor button inputs over measured airspeed when determining the flight mode (e.g., the pilot interceptor button is associated with a stronger weight or higher priority than measured airspeed). In some embodiments, the lateral / directional outer loop assignment 1024 may be configured to determine the aircraft's flight mode by blending the determined airspeed and pilot interceptor button input (e.g., using a weighted sum). In hovering flight mode, the lateral / directional outer loop assignment 1024 may achieve a desired lateral force with a roll command (e.g., roll angle, roll rate) and a desired turning rate force with a yaw command. In some embodiments, such as in hovering flight mode, the aircraft may be configured not to accelerate outside a predetermined hovering envelope (e.g., hovering speed range). In forward flight mode (e.g., level flight), the lateral / directional outer loop assignment 1024 may achieve a desired lateral force with a yaw command and a desired turning rate force with a roll command. In forward flight mode, the lateral / directional outer loop assignment 1024 may be configured to determine the output based on the detected airspeed.In the transition between hovering flight mode and forward flight mode, the lateral / directional outer loop assignment 1024 can achieve the desired force using a combination of roll and yaw commands. 【0069】 The longitudinal outer loop assignment 1026 may receive a desired vertical force and / or a desired longitudinal force as input and may output at least one of a pitch command (e.g., pitch angle) or a thrust vector request. The thrust vector request may include longitudinal thrust (e.g., a mixture of nacelle tilt and forward propeller thrust) and vertical thrust (e.g., a combination of forward thrust and backward thrust). In some embodiments, the longitudinal outer loop assignment 1026 may determine its output based on a determined flight mode. For example, in hovering flight mode, the longitudinal outer loop assignment 1026 may achieve the desired longitudinal force by lowering the pitch attitude and using longitudinal thrust, or by achieving the desired vertical force with vertical thrust. In forward flight mode, the longitudinal outer loop assignment 1026 may achieve the desired longitudinal force with longitudinal thrust (e.g., forward propeller thrust). In cruising flight mode, the longitudinal outer loop assignment 1026 can achieve the desired vertical force by commanding pitch (e.g., increasing pitch attitude) and requesting thrust (e.g., increasing longitudinal thrust). 【0070】 The inner loop control law 1028 may be configured to determine a moment command based on at least one of a roll command, yaw command, or pitch command from a lateral / directional outer loop assignment 1024 or a longitudinal outer loop assignment 1026. In some embodiments, the inner loop control law 1028 may depend on detected vehicle dynamics 1030 (e.g., from vehicle detection 1031). For example, the inner loop control law 1028 may be configured to compensate for disturbances at attitude and rate levels to stabilize the aircraft. Additionally or alternatively, the inner loop control law 1028 may take into account the period of an eigenmode (e.g., a phugoid mode) affecting the pitch axis and appropriately control the aircraft to compensate for such an eigenmode of the vehicle. In some embodiments, the inner loop control law 1028 may depend on the inertia of the vehicle. 【0071】 The inner-loop control law 1028 may determine moment commands using one or more stored dynamic models that reflect the aircraft's motion characteristics (e.g., aerodynamic damping and / or inertia). In some embodiments, the inner-loop control law 1028 may use a dynamic model (e.g., a low-order equivalent system model) to capture the aircraft's motion characteristics and determine one or more moments that cause the aircraft to achieve commanded roll, yaw, and / or pitch. Some embodiments may include determining moment commands based on at least one received command (e.g., roll command, yaw command, and / or pitch command) and determined (e.g., measured) aircraft state (e.g., by the inner-loop control law 1028 or other components). For example, moment commands may be determined using the difference between the commanded aircraft state and the measured aircraft state. As a further example, moment commands may be determined using the difference between the commanded roll angle and the measured roll angle. As described below, the control assignment 1029 may control the aircraft (e.g., via flight elements) based on the determined moment command(s). For example, control assignment 1029 may control (e.g., transmit one or more commands to) one or more electric propulsion systems of an aircraft (e.g., electric propulsion system 602 shown in Figure 6), including tilt actuators, electric engines, and / or propellers. Control assignment 1029 may further control one or more control surfaces of an aircraft (e.g., control surfaces such as flaperons 712 and rudder 714 shown in Figure 7), including flaperons, rudder vortices, ailerons, spoilers, rudders, and / or elevators. Vehicle dynamics 1030 represent the control of different flight elements (e.g., electric propulsion systems and / or control surfaces) and the corresponding effects on the flight elements and aircraft dynamics. 【0072】 The embodiment shown in Figure 10 includes both the inner-loop control law 1028 and the outer-loop assignments 1024 and 1026, although in some embodiments the flight control system may not include the outer-loop assignments 1024 and 1026. Thus, pilot inceptor inputs can generate roll commands, yaw commands, pitch commands, and / or thrust commands. For example, the right inceptor may control roll and pitch, and the left inceptor and / or pedal(s) may control yaw and thrust. 【0073】 The control assignment 1029 may accept one or more of the following as inputs: force and moment commands, data received from one or more aircraft sensors, envelope protection limits, scheduling parameters, and optimizer parameters. Based on the inputs, the control assignment 1029 may be configured to determine actuator commands by minimizing an objective function that includes one or more primary objectives, such as satisfying commanded aircraft forces and moments, and one or more secondary objectives, such as minimizing acoustic noise and / or optimizing battery pack usage. 【0074】 In some embodiments, the control assignment 1029 may be configured to calculate limits for individual actuator commands based on the state of the actuator and the envelope protection limits. The envelope protection limits may include one or more boundaries within which the aircraft should operate to ensure safe and stable flight. In some embodiments, the envelope protection limits may be defined by one or more of the following: speed, altitude, angle of attack, or load factors. For example, the envelope protection limits may include one or more bending moments or load constraints. In some embodiments, the control assignment 1029 may use the envelope protection limits to automatically adjust one or more control surfaces or control settings. Doing so may protect the aircraft from undesirable scenarios such as stall or structural strain or failure. Under normal operation, the minimum command limit for a given actuator may include the maximum value between the minimum hardware-based limit and the minimum flight envelope limit, and the maximum command limit may include the minimum value between the maximum hardware-based limit and the maximum flight envelope limit. If an actuator fails, the command limit for the failed actuator will correspond to its failure mode. 【0075】 Control assignment 1029 transmits commands to one or more flight elements for controlling the aircraft. The flight elements are configured to move according to the controlled commands. Various sensing systems and associated sensors as part of vehicle motion detection 1031 can detect the movement of the flight elements and / or the aircraft's motion and provide information to the feedback 1012, 1016, 1018, 1022, outer loop assignments 1024 and 1026, inner loop control law 1028, and control assignment 1029, which are incorporated into the flight control. 【0076】 As described above, the vehicle detection 1031 may include one or more sensors for detecting vehicle dynamics 1030. For example, the vehicle detection 1031 may capture how the aircraft moves in response to pilot input, propulsion system output, or ambient conditions. Additionally or alternatively, the vehicle detection 1031 may detect errors in the aircraft's response based on extrinsic disturbances (e.g., velocity disturbances due to gusts). 【0077】 Furthermore, the vehicle detection system 1031 may include one or more sensors for detecting propeller speed, such as magnetic sensors (e.g., Hall effect sensors or induction sensors) or optical sensors (e.g., tachometers) configured to detect the rotor speed (and therefore the propeller speed) of the aircraft engine. The vehicle detection system 1031 may include one or more sensors for detecting the nacelle tilt angle (e.g., the propeller rotation axis angle between the lift configuration (e.g., Figure 2) and the forward thrust configuration (e.g., Figure 1)). For example, one or more magnetic sensors (e.g., Hall effect or induction sensors), position displacement sensors, linear displacement sensors, and / or other sensors associated with the tilt actuator may detect the tilt angle (e.g., with respect to the aircraft and / or wings) that may be provided to the system 1000. Furthermore, one or more pitot tubes, accelerometers, and / or gyroscopes may detect the pitch angle of the aircraft that may be provided to the system 1000. In some embodiments, the vehicle detection 1031 may combine tilt angle sensor measurements and aircraft pitch measurements to determine the overall nacelle tilt angle of the propeller. The vehicle detection 1031 may include one or more sensors configured to detect engine torque and / or thrust, such as one or more current sensors or voltage sensors, strain gauges, load cells, and / or propeller vibration sensors (e.g., accelerometers). 【0078】 The vehicle detection 1031 may include one or more sensors configured to detect vehicle dynamics 1030, such as acceleration sensors and / or pitch orientation sensors (e.g., accelerometers, 3-axis accelerometers, gyroscopes, and / or 3-axis gyroscopes, and / or tilt position sensors for determining engine angle) and airspeed sensors (e.g., Pitot tube sensors). The vehicle detection 1031 may further include one or more inertial measuring units (IMUs) for determining aircraft conditions based on these measurements. Aircraft conditions may refer to forces experienced by the aircraft, orientation of the aircraft, position of the aircraft (e.g., altitude), and / or motion of the aircraft. For example, the aircraft state may include at least one of the following: the aircraft's position (e.g., yaw angle, roll angle, pitch angle, and / or any other orientation across one or two axes), the aircraft's speed, the aircraft's angular rates (e.g., roll rate, pitch rate, and / or yaw rate), and / or the aircraft's acceleration (e.g., longitudinal, lateral, and / or vertical acceleration), or any physical properties of the aircraft or one of its components. In some embodiments, the vehicle detection 1031 may include an inertial navigation system (INS) and / or atmospheric data and / or attitude heading reference system (ADAHRS). The inertial navigation system (INS) and / or atmospheric data and attitude heading reference system (ADAHRS) may include one or more inertial measurement units (IMUs) and corresponding sensors (e.g., accelerometers, gyroscopes, 3-axis gyroscopes, and / or 3-axis accelerometers). In some embodiments, the INS and / or ADAHRS may filter and / or process sensor measurements to determine aircraft conditions (e.g., acceleration or angular rate). For example, in some embodiments, the INS and / or ADAHRS may determine the angular rate based on gyroscope measurements and the acceleration based on accelerometer measurements. 【0079】 As previously discussed, the control margin function may be configured to display a spatial relationship between at least one point and at least one reference object. For example, a control margin function that may be implemented by a computing device (e.g., an FCS) may be configured to generate and output a control margin display in which each shape includes two reference objects, such as a two-dimensional shape, each including at least one point associated with the shape. In some embodiments, the reference object may be a polygon. For example, the reference object may be a rectangle, square, rhombus, hexagon, octagon, or any other polygon. In some embodiments, the reference object may be a closed curved shape. For example, the reference object may be an ellipse, circle, oblong, or any other closed curved shape. The point associated with the reference object may refer to an external or independent point related to the reference object. For example, the point associated with the reference object may include a point within the reference object, a highlighted point on the reference object, a point outside the reference object, or any other representation of a separate point displayed with and related to the reference object. Additionally or alternatively, in some embodiments, the reference object may include a visual representation beyond two dimensions. For example, a control margin display can be configured to output or display three-dimensional shape reference objects (e.g., polyhedra, cubes, cuboids, closed surfaces, spheres, ellipsoids) as holograms or projections. 【0080】 In some embodiments, the reference object may include at least one of an inner reference object or an outer reference object. For example, the reference object may be an outer two-dimensional rectangle containing (e.g., enclosing) an inner two-dimensional rectangle, the outer two-dimensional rectangle may represent an absolute authority limit, while the inner two-dimensional rectangle may represent a reduced authority limit determined by the flight control system based on the absolute authority limit. The reduced authority limit may be predetermined and may indicate an authority limit in which the aircraft can operate in an optimal or ideal state, a state in which it is substantially unlikely (e.g., 90%, 99%, 99.99%) to induce any failure or exacerbate any existing failure. For example, the reduced authority limit may indicate an authority limit in which the aircraft is substantially unlikely to experience a PIO. Additionally or alternatively, the reduced authority limit may indicate an authority limit in which the aircraft will operate according to one or more preferred flight envelope parameters (e.g., for smoother flight). Generally, an outer reference object may represent an absolute authority limit, and an inner reference object may represent a reduced authority limit determined by the flight control system, at least based on the absolute authority limit. In embodiments where only one reference object is shown, it may represent an absolute or reduced authority limit, consistent with the disclosed embodiment. 【0081】 In some embodiments, the control margin function may be configured such that a displayed point can move entirely within the reference object of the point, including (or, in some embodiments, not including) the boundary(s) of the reference object, up to the boundary(s) of the reference object, but not beyond the boundary(s). For example, each point can only move within the shape of the point up to the boundary(s) of the shape. In some embodiments, the control margin function may be configured so that each point can move beyond the boundary(s) of the reference object. In some embodiments, the control margin function may be configured to change the displayed appearance of points and / or boundaries based on their proximity to the boundaries. For example, the control margin function may be configured so that any point that touches one or more boundaries of the reference object of the point, or that crosses these boundaries, can change its color to a predetermined color. Additionally or alternatively, the control margin function may be configured such that any point that crosses or touches the boundary of each of the reference objects of the point as the point moves toward the center of each of the rectangles of the point, such that the point no longer crosses or touches any edge, can change color from a predetermined color back to its original color. In some embodiments, the point and / or boundary may blink if the proximity between the point and the boundary is determined to be below a threshold. Furthermore, the control margin function may be configured such that any point that crosses or touches one or more edges of each of the reference objects of the point can change visually from its original appearance and return to its original appearance when the point is within the boundary of each of the reference objects of the point. For example, a point that touches or crosses the edge of each polygon of the point can change from a solid color to a striped pattern, a dotted pattern, blink, flicker, or any combination of the above, or any other visual change that is different from its original appearance. 【0082】 In some embodiments, the control margin function may be configured such that one or more shapes can be stationary, while one or more points associated with one or more stationary shapes can move. In some embodiments, the control margin function may be configured such that one or more shapes can move, while one or more points associated with one or more moving shapes can be stationary. Additionally or alternatively, one or more shapes and one or more points may be configured to change shape and / or size. For example, a determined reduction in aircraft authority limits may correspond to a reduction in the shape or size of one or more shapes. 【0083】 According to various embodiments, each reference object may be associated with an inceptor. For example, a control margin indicator may include a left rectangle and a right rectangle that can be associated with the left and right inceptors (e.g., joysticks, sticks, controllers, etc.) to the pilot, respectively. In some embodiments, each inceptor may be an input device in the form of a stick configured to control the motion of the aircraft via manual input (e.g., motion of the inceptor) received from a user (e.g., the pilot) which is converted into one or more control signals. In some embodiments, each inceptor may have one or more sensors integrated into the inceptor, configured to respond to forces applied via the motion of the inceptor by generating electronic signals corresponding to the motion of the inceptor and transmitting them to a processor of the flight control system. Additionally or alternatively, each inceptor may have a force feedback component configured to receive control signals from the flight control computer of the flight control system and to apply a reaction force based on the received control signals. In some embodiments, at least one of the inceptors may be a passive inceptor. In some embodiments, at least one of the inceptors may be an active inceptor configured to provide haptic feedback. For example, a flight control system may be configured to output haptic feedback through one or both of the inceptors to warn the pilot based on (e.g., in response) its determination that the authority has been exhausted. "Exhausted" may refer to an authority that cannot be increased (e.g., forward thrust, left yaw, right yaw, left roll, right roll, etc.) which may result from the current aircraft state and / or control laws (e.g., one or more constraints enforced by the FCS). In some embodiments, the displayed point may indicate the current aircraft state (e.g., with respect to authority indicated by one or more boundaries), and additionally or alternatively, in some embodiments, the flight control system may be configured to output a warning to the pilot based on (e.g., in response) its determination that the aircraft state exceeds a predetermined threshold (e.g., authority or reduced authority limits have been exhausted).A predetermined threshold may refer to a limit or value of commanded authority, above which the aircraft may operate within or near dangerous flight conditions (e.g., PIO). For example, the flight control system may output visual warnings on a display (e.g., changing color or flashing displayed material, as disclosed herein), audible warnings, a combination of the above, or any other suitable means of alerting the pilot to draw the pilot's attention. 【0084】 In some embodiments, the corresponding edges of each reference object may correspond to one or more axes of the inceptor. For example, the upper and lower edges of the left rectangle (e.g., the vertical axis) may correspond to the vertical velocity axis of the left inceptor, and based on (e.g., in response to) determining that the forward velocity authority has been exhausted, the control margin function may cause the control margin display to show a first point of the left rectangle at the upper edge of the left rectangle. Additionally or alternatively, based on (e.g., in response to) determining that the backward velocity authority has been exhausted, the control margin function may cause the control margin display to show a first point at the lower edge of the left rectangle. Additionally or alternatively, the left and right edges of the left rectangle (e.g., the lateral axis) may correspond to the lateral velocity axis of the left inceptor. When the control margin indicator shows a first point on the right edge of the left rectangle, the control margin function may determine that the rightward lateral velocity authority has been exhausted. When the control margin indicator shows a first point on the left edge of the left rectangle, the control margin function may determine that the leftward lateral velocity authority has been exhausted. Additionally or alternatively, the upper and lower edges of the right rectangle may correspond to the vertical velocity axis of the right inceptor. When the control margin indicator shows a second point on the upper edge of the right rectangle, the control margin function may determine that the descent rate authority has been exhausted. When the control margin indicator shows a second point on the lower edge of the right rectangle, the control margin function may determine that the climb rate authority has been exhausted. Additionally or alternatively, the left and right edges of the right rectangle may correspond to the right inceptor's turn rate authority, and when the control margin indicator shows a second point on the right edge of the right rectangle, the control margin function may determine that the right turn rate authority has been exhausted, and when the control margin indicator shows a second point on the left edge of the right rectangle, the control margin function may determine that the left turn rate authority has been exhausted. 【0085】 Furthermore, in some embodiments, the region of the curved boundary may correspond to one or more axes of the interceptor. For example, the upper and lower quarters of the left ellipse boundary may correspond to forward speed authority and backward speed authority, respectively. Furthermore, the left and right quarters of the left ellipse boundary may correspond to leftward and rightward lateral speed authority, respectively. Furthermore, the upper and lower quarters of the right ellipse boundary may correspond to climb rate authority and descent rate authority, respectively. Furthermore, the left and right quarters of the right ellipse boundary may correspond to leftward turn rate authority and rightward turn rate authority, respectively. 【0086】 In some embodiments, each axis of an inceptor may correspond to one or more edges of each reference object. For example, the vertical velocity axis of a left inceptor may correspond to the four sides of an octagon (e.g., the top two and the bottom two). In general, it can be understood that each axis of an inceptor may correspond to a similar axis and one or more relevant parts of the boundary of the corresponding reference object. 【0087】 In some embodiments, when the control margin indicator shows a point at a corner of the reference object, the control margin function may determine that the authority for two axes has been exhausted. For example, when the control margin indicator shows a second point at the lower right corner of the right rectangle, the control margin function may determine that both the climb rate authority and the right turn rate authority have been exhausted. In some embodiments, the control margin function may cause the control margin indicator to show a point in the center of the reference object, which may indicate that the aircraft is least likely to exhaust any operating authority limits associated with the reference object. For example, showing a point in the center of the left rectangle (e.g., by the control margin function commanding the control margin indicator) may indicate that the aircraft is least likely to exhaust the authority on the forward velocity axis and the lateral velocity axis. In some embodiments, the distance between the point and a portion of the side or boundary of the reference object may indicate the amount of authority for the corresponding operating axis control limit. An operating axis may represent a dimension or direction (or dual direction) along which a vehicle (e.g., an aircraft) can generate a control force. For example, displaying a point near the top edge of the left rectangle may indicate that there is little power remaining on the forward velocity axis. In general, the spatial relationship between a point and a portion of the reference object's boundary corresponds to the available or remaining power on the corresponding actuation axis. 【0088】 In some embodiments, the control margin function may be configured to intuitively display the operating limits. For example, the FCS may be configured to translate the pilot's inceptor input axes (e.g., four input axes including longitudinal velocity axis, lateral velocity axis, vertical velocity axis, and turn rate axis) to the aircraft's operating axes (e.g., operating axes for longitudinal thrust, vertical thrust, lateral thrust, roll, pitch, and / or yaw rate). The control margin function may reverse the translation so that the aircraft's operating limits are displayed in a form in which the operating axis limits directly correlate with the pilot's inceptor commands, thus providing the pilot with context to know how to respond and act accordingly. For example, the control margin function may be configured to determine the pitch limit and thrust limit, as well as the proximity of the inceptor commands to the thrust limit and pitch limit, based on (e.g., in response to) receiving climb commands from one or more pilot inceptors. Based on the determined proximity, the control margin function may be configured to generate a control margin display that illustrates the determined proximity. 【0089】 According to various embodiments, the control margin function may be configured to output a control margin display on a portion of a pilot display, such as a primary flight display (PFD). In some embodiments, the control margin display may have a predetermined refresh rate (e.g., 10 Hz, 20 Hz, 30 Hz, or any other frequency), and the predetermined refresh rate may be a predetermined percentage of the PFD frequency (e.g., 10%, 20%, 30%, or any other percentage). 【0090】 In some embodiments, the control margin function may be configured to determine the absolute aircraft authority limit by taking into account the engine status for each engine (e.g., faulty, overheated, operating at reduced capacity, etc.). For example, if one engine fails, the control margin function may determine that the absolute aircraft authority limit may be reduced compared to when all engines are functioning as expected. In some embodiments, the control margin function may be configured to take into account the envelope protection limit when determining the absolute aircraft authority limit. The envelope protection limit may refer to protection within the flight control law to keep the aircraft within predefined limits. For example, the envelope protection limit may prevent the pilot from pushing the aircraft into a dangerous situation and may warn the pilot if the aircraft is approaching a dangerous situation. 【0091】 Figure 11 illustrates an exemplary method 1100 for determining a control margin and outputting a control margin indicator, consistent with the disclosed embodiments. In particular, considering that these functionalities are frequently (e.g., constantly, continuously) implemented, it is understood that the steps of the exemplary methods illustrated in Figures 11–12C would be impossible, or at least impractical, to effectively implement by a human user while the aircraft is in flight (including takeoff or landing) and / or dynamically based on (e.g., in response to) received signals (e.g., aircraft sensors, pilot input devices). In general, it can be understood that any / all steps of the exemplary methods in Figures 11–12C may be performed or executed by at least one processor (e.g., FCS) in accordance with one or more instructions stored in a computer-readable medium (e.g., non-temporary computer-readable medium). 【0092】 In step 1101, at least one processor (e.g., FCS) may receive one or more control signals for controlling the aircraft. For example, the processor may receive one or more control signals (e.g., control inputs) from a pilot input device such as an inceptor, as described and illustrated with respect to Figure 10. 【0093】 In step 1103, at least one processor may convert one or more control signals into one or more actuator commands based at least in part on feedback received from one or more aircraft sensors. For example, the processor may convert one or more control signals into one or more actuator commands based on feedback received from one or more aircraft sensors, signals from switches, measured aircraft status, aircraft mode, actuator status, any combination of the above, or any other suitable data associated with the aircraft. Furthermore, for example, the processor may convert control signals into one or more actuator commands via one or more blocks of system 1000. 【0094】 In step 1105, at least one processor may output one or more actuator commands for controlling the aircraft. 【0095】 In step 1107, at least one processor may determine the aircraft authority limits based on at least one status signal indicating the aircraft state. The status signal indicating the aircraft state may include any signal containing data associated with the aircraft state. For example, the status signal may include data including forces experienced by the aircraft, the orientation of the aircraft, the position of the aircraft (e.g., altitude), and / or the motion of the aircraft. Furthermore, in some embodiments, the processor may determine the aircraft authority limits based on inverting a control assignment function, engine status, envelope protection limits, flight status, one or more actuator commands, any combination of the foregoing, or any other suitable data related to the aircraft. 【0096】 In step 1109, at least one processor may determine one or more proximitys between an aircraft state and a determined aircraft authority limit. The aircraft authority limit may refer to the limits to which the aircraft's behavior (e.g., trajectory, speed, or a combination thereof) conforms to (or can conform to, or is permitted to conform to) a control signal. For example, the processor may determine how close an aircraft state is to an aircraft authority limit (e.g., how much authority within the actuation axis is being used to operate the aircraft in a given aircraft state). 【0097】 In step 1111, at least one processor may automatically move graphical elements of the user interface to one or more positions on the user interface based on one or more determined proximitys. For example, based on (e.g., in response to) determining the proximity between the aircraft state and the aircraft authority limits, the control margin function may automatically instruct the flight control display to move a point to a position indicating how much authority the aircraft has available with respect to the aircraft authority limits. 【0098】 Figure 12A illustrates an exemplary method for determining a control margin and outputting a control margin display, consistent with the disclosed embodiments. Steps 1210a, 1212a, 1214a, and 1216a include exemplary steps that are either or all performable (e.g., executable) by the FCS, such as by using a control law algorithm to convert inceptor commands into actuator commands. Furthermore, one or more steps depicted in Figures 12A to 12C may correspond to one or more blocks of the system 1000 depicted in Figure 10. In step 1210a, the FCS may accept one or more stick inputs, such as lateral position and / or rate and longitudinal position and / or rate of both the right and left inceptors. In step 1212a, the FCS may map one or more stick inputs to one or more desired commands (e.g., turn rate command, lateral speed command, climb command, forward speed command). In step 1214a, the FCS may input one or more desired commands into the control law algorithm to determine a combination of commands and / or requests to achieve one or more desired forces and calculate moment commands. In step 1216a, the control assignment function of the flight control system may receive the force and moment commands determined from the control law algorithm and determine actuator commands. 【0099】 In step 1218a, the control margin function may initiate a reversal process, which may include reversing steps 1210a to 1216a to determine the control margin and outputting a control margin display. For example, in 1218a, the control margin function may determine achievable force and moment limits by inverting the control assignment function. In some embodiments, inverting the control assignment function may include solving one or more optimization problems using the achieved forces and moments, as well as actuator limits. The achieved forces or moments may refer to forces or moments that the processor (e.g., FCS) determines to have been performed by the aircraft and any associated actuators. In step 1220a, the control margin function may determine one or more control law limits (e.g., roll limit, pitch limit, yaw rate limit, longitudinal velocity command limit, lateral velocity command limit, vertical velocity command limit, yaw rate command limit) by inverting the control law algorithm. In steps 1222a and 1224a, the control margin function may determine the stick input limit by inverting the interceptor mapping by unmerging and reverse mapping the commands. In step 1226a, the control margin function may generate and output a control margin display that includes the determined stick input limit by indicating the stick input in relation to the operating authority limit on the reference display, as shown in Figure 12D. 【0100】 Figure 12B illustrates an exemplary method for determining the control margin for an exemplary control law configuration, including outer-loop and inner-loop control functions, consistent with the disclosed embodiments. In some embodiments, the FCS (or other computing device) may be configured to implement one or more parts of Figure 12B. For example, Figure 12B illustrates an exemplary configuration of the steps of Figure 12A. 【0101】 In step 1210b, the FCS may accept one or more stick inputs. In step 1212b, the FCS may map one or more stick inputs to desired state commands, rate commands, and / or acceleration commands. For example, the FCS may map one or more stick inputs to one or more desired commands (e.g., turn rate command, lateral velocity command, climb command, forward velocity command). 【0102】 In step 1214b, the FCS may input one or more desired commands into its control law. For example, the FCS may be configured to input one or more desired commands into an outer loop control function to determine a combination of commands and / or requests to achieve one or more desired forces. In some embodiments, the outer loop control function may include an outer loop virtual command function ("oLVirtCmd"), an outer loop feedback function ("OL FB"), an outer loop acceleration function ("OL Accel"), and an outer loop allocation function ("OL Alloc"). In some embodiments, the "oLVirtCmd" function may be a reference model configured to determine an ideal aircraft response and output acceleration commands, rate commands, and position commands based on the desired commands. In some embodiments, the "OL FB" function may be configured to determine alternative rate commands and acceleration commands to achieve the desired commands based on feedback received from one or more sensors. For example, the outer loop control function may receive vehicle dynamics data from one or more sensors, such as position feedback and velocity feedback. The "OL FB" function may be configured to determine alternative rate and acceleration commands to achieve an ideal aircraft response based on received sensor data. In some embodiments, the "OL Accel" function may be configured to sum the outputs of the "oLVirtCmd" function and the "OL FB" function to determine one or more aggregate outer loop acceleration commands (e.g., longitudinal acceleration command, vertical acceleration command, lateral acceleration command) and aggregate rate commands (e.g., turn rate command). In some embodiments, the "OL Alloc" function may be an optimization algorithm configured to solve longitudinal / vertical assignment problems and directional / lateral assignment problems to output "iLCmd". For example, the "OL Alloc" function may assign longitudinal acceleration commands and vertical acceleration commands to longitudinal / vertical assignment equations (e.g., u=B -1 Enter the value into ×a) and find the optimal F x (Longitudinal thrust requirement), optimal F z(Vertical thrust requirement), and the optimal pitch command may be configured to determine. Additionally, the "OL Alloc" function uses the lateral acceleration command and turn rate command in the direction / lateral assignment equation (e.g., u=B -1 It can be configured to input to ×a) to determine the optimal roll command and yaw rate command. In some embodiments, the "iLCmd" function prepares the determined roll command, pitch command, and yaw rate command and inputs them to the inner loop control function. 【0103】 In step 1216b, the FCS may input roll, pitch, and yaw rate commands to an inner-loop control function to determine one or more moment commands. In some embodiments, the inner-loop control function may include an inner-loop virtual command function ("iLVirtCmd"), an attitude feedback function ("Att FB"), an inverted plant dynamics function ("Inv Dyn"), a rate feedback function ("Rate FB"), and a summing function. In some embodiments, the "iLVirtCmd" function may be a reference model configured to determine an ideal aircraft response based on the received roll, pitch, and yaw rate commands, and to output acceleration commands, rate commands, and angle commands. In some embodiments, the "Att FB" function may be configured to determine one or more rate commands and / or acceleration commands based on feedback received from one or more sensors, as well as rate commands and angle commands received from "iLVirtCmd". For example, the inner-loop control function may receive vehicle dynamics data, such as attitude feedback, from one or more sensors. The "Att FB" function may be configured to determine the rate command and / or acceleration command to achieve an ideal aircraft response based on the received sensor data and the received rate and angle commands. The "Inv Dyn" function (e.g., moment = inertia × acceleration) cmdThe summation function may be configured to determine one or more feedforward moment commands based on acceleration and rate commands output by the "iLVirtCmd" function, as well as the output of "Att FB". The "Rate FB" function may be configured to determine one or more feedback moment commands based on feedback received from one or more sensors, as well as rate and angle commands received from "iLVirtCmd". For example, the inner loop control function may receive attitude rate feedback from one or more sensors. The "Rate FB" function may be configured to determine one or more feedback moment commands based on the received sensor data, as well as the outputs from "iLVirtCmd" and "Att FB". The summation function may be configured to determine one or more total moment commands by summing the outputs of "Inv Dyn", "Att FB", and "Rate FB". In some embodiments, the summation function may be configured to receive feedforward data from the outer loop control function. 【0104】 In step 1218b, the FCS may input the determined moment and force commands to a control assignment function to determine the actuator command. In some embodiments, the control assignment function may further accept one or more inputs from data received from one or more aircraft sensors, envelope protection limits, scheduling parameters, and optimizer parameters. Based on these inputs, the control assignment function may be configured to determine the actuator command by minimizing an objective function that includes one or more primary objectives, such as satisfying commanded aircraft forces and moments, and one or more secondary objectives, such as minimizing acoustic noise and / or optimizing battery pack usage. 【0105】 In step 1220b, the control margin function may initiate a reversal process, which may include reversing steps 1210b-1218b to determine the control margin and outputting a control margin display. In step 1220b, the control margin function may invert the control assignment function. For example, the control margin function may be configured to determine achievable force and moment limits based on the returned (e.g., achieved) force, moment, and actuator limits. In some embodiments, the control margin function may be configured to determine achievable force and moment limits by solving a series of linear programming (LP) optimization problems with equality constraints that align with higher priority achieved forces and moments. In some embodiments, the control margin function may be configured to determine achievable force and moment limits by solving a series of nonlinear programming optimization problems. 【0106】 In step 1222b, the control margin function may invert the inner loop control function. For example, the control margin function may be configured to take achievable moment limits, feedback, and feedforward commands as inputs to determine roll command limits, pitch command limits, and yaw rate command limits. In some embodiments, the control margin function may be configured to subtract the achievable moment limits, feedback, and feedforward commands to determine the feedforward limits. The control margin function then inverts "Inv Dyn" using the determined feedforward limits to determine the acceleration command limits (e.g., acceleration 制限 = inertia -1 × Feedforward 制限 ) may be further configured as follows. Additionally or alternatively, the control margin function may be configured to invert "iLVirtCmd" to determine roll command limits, pitch command limits, and yaw rate command limits. In some embodiments, roll command limits, pitch command limits, and yaw rate command limits may be determined based on "Att FB" and "Rate FB". 【0107】 In step 1224b, the control margin function may invert the outer loop control function. For example, the control margin function may determine command limits (e.g., longitudinal velocity command limits, lateral velocity command limits, vertical velocity command limits, yaw rate command limits) based on the force limits output from inverting the control assignment function and the moment limits output from inverting the inner loop control function. For example, inverting the outer loop control function may include inverting the "OL Alloc", "OL Accel", and "oLVirtCmd" functions. 【0108】 In steps 1226b and 1228b, the control margin function may invert the interceptor mapping by unmerging and unmapping the received commands from inverting the outer loop function in order to determine the stick input limit. 【0109】 In step 1230b, the control margin function may generate and output a control margin display that includes the determined stick input limit by indicating the stick input in relation to the operating authority limit on the reference display, as shown in Figure 12D. 【0110】 FIG. 12C is a functional block diagram of an exemplary control margin determination method implemented by a control margin function of a flight control system that conforms to the disclosed embodiment. The control margin function may include sub - functions such as control assignment reversal 1242, inner - loop reversal 1244, outer - loop reversal 1246, interceptor mapping reversal 1248, and control margin display 1250. The control assignment reversal 1242 (corresponding to 1218a and 1220b in FIGS. 12A and 12B respectively) may be configured to calculate force and moment (FM) limits based on actuator limits (e.g., actuation limits) and the returned forces and moments (such as the "FM ret") like the achieved forces and moments. The inner - loop reversal 1244 (corresponding to 1222a and 1222b in FIGS. 12A and 12B respectively) may be configured to determine acceleration command limits based on the moment limits received from the control assignment reversal 1242 by calculating (e.g., FF 制限 = moment 制限 - FB レート - FB att ). The inner - loop reversal 1244 may be further configured to determine roll command limits, pitch command limits, and yaw command limits based on the determined acceleration command limits (e.g., iL 制限 = F(acceleration 制限 , rate cmd , state cmd )). The outer - loop reversal 1246 (corresponding to 1220a and 1224b in FIGS. 12A and 12B respectively) may be configured to determine acceleration limits based on the force limits received from the control assignment reversal 1242 and the roll moment, pitch moment, and yaw moment received from the inner - loop reversal 1244 by reversing the outer - loop assignment function. The outer - loop reversal 1246 may be configured to determine command limits such as vertical speed command limits, lateral speed command limits, vertical speed command limits, and yaw rate command limits by reversing the outer - loop reference model (e.g., oL 制限 = F(acceleration 制限 , rate cmd , statecmd )) may be further configured as follows: The interceptor mapping inverter 1248 may be configured to unmerge the commands received from the outer loop inverter 1246 and inversely map the unmerged commands to the interceptor limit. The control margin display 1250 may calculate the ratio of interceptor commands to limits and generate a display that presents the calculated ratio. 【0111】 Figure 12D illustrates an exemplary leverage operating authority reference indicator (e.g., a control margin indicator) consistent with the disclosed embodiments. In some embodiments, the control margin function may determine the proximity between the aircraft state and the determined aircraft authority limits, or more. Proximity may include a ratio, fraction, percentage, or any other expression of the relationship between the two values. The aircraft state may be determined based on sensor measurements, responses received from actuators, signals from input devices, any combination of the above, or any other suitable data related to the aircraft. Furthermore, the aircraft state may include trim status, speed, altitude, aircraft orientation, attitude, flight path, heading, system status, or any other data related to the aircraft or associated flight plan. In some embodiments, the aircraft state may or may be influenced by one or more command signals. For example, based on receiving input via the left and / or right interceptors (e.g., in response), the control margin function may dynamically determine where the commanded motion is relative to the actuator limits, and the relationship may be displayed on the leverage operation authority reference display. 【0112】 An aircraft state may refer to the forces experienced by the aircraft, the orientation of the aircraft, the position of the aircraft (e.g., altitude), and / or the motion of the aircraft. For example, an aircraft state may include at least one of the following: the position of the aircraft (e.g., yaw angle, roll angle, pitch angle, and / or any other orientation across one or two axes), the velocity of the aircraft, the angular rates of the aircraft (e.g., roll rate, pitch rate, and / or yaw rate), and / or the acceleration of the aircraft (e.g., longitudinal, lateral, and / or vertical acceleration), or any physical properties of the aircraft or one of its components. 【0113】 Exemplary control margin indicators 1260 and 1262 each have two two-dimensional rectangles, each corresponding to a pilot inceptor, and each rectangle has a point representing the proximity between the aircraft state and the determined aircraft authority limits. In control margin indicator 1260, the points and rectangles indicate that input commands to both the left inceptor (e.g., "LH") and the right inceptor (e.g., "RH") are within the aircraft's operating authority limits (e.g., rectangles). The "LH" rectangle indicates that the command received via the left inceptor is approaching an authority limit, such as the forward speed authority limit and the left lateral speed authority limit. In control margin indicator 1262, the points and rectangles indicate that the command received via the right inceptor is within the operating authority limits, but the command received via the left inceptor has exhausted its authority, such as the forward speed authority. As shown in control margin display 1262, once the authority is exhausted, the control margin function may move the corresponding point to the corresponding edge of the corresponding rectangle, thereby changing the appearance of the corresponding point. 【0114】 Additional aspects of this disclosure may be described further through the following clauses. 1. A method for dynamically moving graphical elements of a flight control system's user interface, Determining an aircraft authority limit based on at least one status signal indicating the aircraft status, wherein the aircraft authority limit indicates the limit to which one or more control signals can command the aircraft. Determining one or more degrees of proximity between the aircraft state and the determined aircraft authority limit, A method comprising: automatically moving the graphical elements of the user interface to one or more positions on the user interface based on the proximity of one or more determined positions. 2. To control the aircraft, to receive the one or more control signals via one or more interceptors, Converting one or more control signals into one or more actuator commands based at least in part on feedback received from one or more aircraft sensors, The method according to Clause 1, further comprising outputting one or more actuator commands to control the aircraft. 3. Converting one or more of the above control signals is Mapping the one or more control signals to one or more desired commands, The method according to clause 2, comprising inputting one or more of the aforementioned desired commands into a control law algorithm. 4. Determining the limits of aircraft authority is Inverting the control assignment function, Engine status and Envelope protection limits and Flight status and The method described in any one of the clauses 1 to 3, further based on one or more actuator commands. 5. Inverting the control assignment function is, The power to be achieved, The moment to be achieved, The method according to Clause 4, which includes solving one or more optimization problems based on one or more actuator limits. 6. The aforementioned graphical elements are One or more polygons, The method according to any one of the claims 1 to 5, comprising one or more points associated with one or more polygons. 7. Each of the one or more polygons is: One or more outer polygons, The method according to clause 6, comprising one or more inner polygons within one or more outer polygons. 8. Each side of each of the one or more polygons corresponds to the control limit of the operating axis, as described in Clause 6 or 7. 9. The operating shaft is, The vertical thrust axis, Vertical thrust axis and Lateral thrust axis, The method according to Clause 8, comprising one of the following: a roll rate axis, a pitch rate axis, or a yaw rate axis. 10. The method according to any one of the clauses 6 to 9, wherein the one or more polygons are rectangles. 11. The method according to any one of the clauses 6 to 10, wherein the one or more polygons are squares. 12. The method according to any one of the clauses 6 to 11, wherein the distance between one edge of the one or more polygons and one of the one or more points corresponds to the amount of authority for the control limit of the corresponding operating axis. 13. The aforementioned graphical elements are One or more closed curved shapes, The method according to any one of the claims 1 to 12, comprising one or more points associated with the one or more closed curved shapes. 14. The method according to clause 13, wherein one or more closed curved shapes are oval. 15. The method according to clause 13 or 14, wherein the one or more closed curved shapes are circular. 16. The method according to any one of the clauses 1 to 15, further comprising issuing a warning to the pilot of the aircraft if one or more proximity levels exceed a predetermined threshold. 17. A system for dynamically moving graphical elements of a flight control system user interface, At least one processor, A non-transient computer-readable medium containing an instruction, wherein the instruction, when executed by the at least one processor, is transmitted to the at least one processor. Determining an aircraft authority limit based on at least one status signal indicating the aircraft status, wherein the aircraft authority limit indicates the limit to which one or more control signals can command the aircraft. Determining one or more degrees of proximity between the aircraft state and the determined aircraft authority limit, A system that performs an operation including automatically moving the graphical elements of the user interface to one or more positions on the user interface based on the proximity of one or more determined positions. 18. The above operation is, To control the aircraft, one or more control signals are received via one or more interceptors, Converting one or more control signals into one or more actuator commands based at least in part on feedback received from one or more aircraft sensors, The system according to Clause 17, further comprising outputting the one or more actuator commands for controlling the aircraft. 19. Converting one or more of the above control signals is Mapping the one or more control signals to one or more desired commands, The system according to Clause 18, comprising inputting one or more desired commands into a control law algorithm. 20. Determining the limits of aircraft authority is Inverting the control assignment function, Engine status and Envelope protection limits and Flight status and A system as described in any one of clauses 17 to 19, based on one or more actuator commands and further on one or more of them. 21. Inverting the control assignment function is: The power to be achieved, The moment to be achieved, The system described in Clause 20, which includes solving one or more optimization problems based on one or more of the actuator limits. 22. The graphical elements are, One or more polygons, The system according to any one of the clauses 17 to 21, comprising one or more points associated with one or more polygons. 23. Each of the one or more polygons is: One or more outer polygons, The system according to Clause 22, comprising one or more inner polygons within one or more outer polygons. 24. The system according to clause 22 or 23, wherein each side of each of the one or more polygons corresponds to the control limit of the operating axis. 25. The aforementioned operating shaft is The vertical thrust axis, Vertical thrust axis and Lateral thrust axis, The system described in Clause 24, including one of the following: a roll rate axis, a pitch rate axis, or a yaw rate axis. 26. The system according to any one of the clauses 22 to 25, wherein one or more polygons are rectangles. 27. The system according to any one of the clauses 22 to 26, wherein one or more polygons are square. 28. The system according to any one of clauses 22 to 27, wherein the distance between one edge of the one or more polygons and one of the one or more points corresponds to the amount of authority for the control limit of the corresponding operating axis. 29. The aforementioned graphical elements are One or more closed curved shapes, The system according to clauses 17 to 28, comprising one or more points associated with the one or more closed curved shapes. 30. The system according to Clause 29, wherein one or more of the closed curved shapes are oval. 31. The system according to Clause 29 or 30, wherein one or more closed curved shapes are circular. 32. The above operation is, The system according to any one of the clauses 17 to 31, further comprising issuing a warning to the pilot of the aircraft if one or more of the aforementioned proximity levels exceed a predetermined threshold. 33. A flight control system for providing information to a pilot via a user interface, At least one processor, A non-transient computer-readable medium containing an instruction, wherein the instruction, when executed by the at least one processor, is transmitted to the at least one processor. Determining an aircraft authority limit based on at least one status signal indicating the aircraft status, wherein the aircraft authority limit indicates the limit to which one or more control signals can command the aircraft. Determining one or more degrees of proximity between the aircraft state and the determined aircraft authority limit, A flight control system that performs an operation including automatically moving a graphical element of the user interface to one or more positions on the user interface based on the proximity of one or more determined positions. 34. The above operation is, To control the aircraft, one or more control signals are received via one or more interceptors, Converting one or more control signals into one or more actuator commands based at least in part on feedback received from one or more aircraft sensors, A flight control system according to Clause 33, further comprising outputting one or more actuator commands for controlling the aircraft. 35. Converting one or more of the above control signals is Mapping the one or more control signals to one or more desired commands, A flight control system according to Clause 34, comprising inputting one or more desired commands into a control law algorithm. 36. Determining the limits of aircraft authority is Inverting the control assignment function, Engine status and Envelope protection limits and Flight status and A flight control system according to any one of clauses 33 to 35, based on one or more actuator commands and further on one or more of them. 37. Inverting the control assignment function is: The power to be achieved, The moment to be achieved, A flight control system as described in Clause 36, comprising solving one or more optimization problems based on actuator limitations and one or more of the following. 38. The aforementioned graphical elements are One or more polygons, A flight control system according to any one of the 33 to 37 clauses, comprising one or more points associated with one or more polygons. 39. Each of the one or more polygons is: One or more outer polygons, The flight control system according to Clause 38, comprising one or more inner polygons within one or more outer polygons. 40. A flight control system according to Clause 38 or 39, wherein each edge of each of the one or more polygons corresponds to a control limit of the operating axis. 41. The aforementioned operating shaft is The vertical thrust axis, Vertical thrust axis and Lateral thrust axis, A flight control system as described in Clause 40, comprising one of the following: a roll rate axis, a pitch rate axis, or a yaw rate axis. 42. The flight control system according to any one of the clauses 38 to 41, wherein one or more polygons are rectangles. 43. The flight control system according to any one of the clauses 38 to 42, wherein one or more polygons are square. 44. A flight control system according to any one of clauses 38 to 43, wherein the distance between one edge of the one or more polygons and one of the one or more points corresponds to the amount of authority for the control limit of the corresponding operating axis. 45. The aforementioned graphical elements are One or more closed curved shapes, A flight control system according to any one of the clauses 33 to 44, comprising one or more points associated with the one or more closed curved shapes. 46. The flight control system according to Clause 45, wherein one or more of the closed curved shapes are oval. 47. The flight control system according to Clause 45 or 46, wherein one or more closed curved shapes are circular. 48. The above operation is, A flight control system according to any one of the clauses 33 to 47, further comprising issuing a warning to the pilot of the aircraft if one or more proximity levels exceed a predetermined threshold. 【0115】 The above description is provided for illustrative purposes only. It is not exhaustive and does not limit the invention to the exact form or embodiment disclosed herein. Modifications and adaptations of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the examination herein and the practice of the disclosed embodiments of the invention disclosed herein. 【0116】 The features and advantages of this disclosure are evident from the detailed specification, and therefore the attached claims are intended to cover all systems and methods included in the true spirit and scope of this disclosure. As used herein, the indefinite articles "a" and "an" mean "one or more." Similarly, the use of plural terms does not necessarily mean plural unless it is not ambiguous in the given context. Words such as "and" or "or" mean "and / or" unless otherwise indicated. Furthermore, since numerous modifications and variations can easily arise from examining this disclosure, it is not desirable to limit this disclosure to the exact configurations and operations illustrated and described, and therefore all suitable modifications and equivalents included in the scope of this disclosure may be applicable. 【0117】 Other embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the examination of this specification and the practice of the implementations disclosed herein. The architectures and circuit layouts shown in the figures are intended for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to limit the invention to any specific configuration and circuit layout shown in the figures. Furthermore, this specification and the examples are intended to be considered merely illustrative, and the true scope and spirit of the invention are defined by the following claims. The above description is presented for illustrative purposes only. It is not exhaustive and does not limit the invention to the exact form or embodiment disclosed herein. Modifications and adaptations of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the examination of this specification and the practice of the disclosed embodiments disclosed herein. Furthermore, the sequence of steps shown in the figures is intended for illustrative purposes only and is not intended to limit the invention to any particular sequence of steps. Therefore, those skilled in the art will understand that these steps may be performed in different orders while implementing the same method.
Claims
[Claim 1] A method for dynamically moving graphical elements of a flight control system's user interface, Determining an aircraft authority limit based on at least one status signal indicating the aircraft status, wherein the aircraft authority limit indicates the limit to which one or more control signals can command the aircraft. Determining one or more degrees of proximity between the aircraft state and the determined aircraft authority limit, A method comprising: automatically moving the graphical elements of the user interface to one or more positions on the user interface based on the proximity of one or more determined positions. [Claim 2] To control the aircraft, one or more control signals are received via one or more interceptors, Converting one or more control signals into one or more actuator commands based at least in part on feedback received from one or more aircraft sensors, The method according to claim 1, further comprising outputting one or more actuator commands for controlling the aircraft. [Claim 3] Converting one or more of the aforementioned control signals is Mapping the one or more control signals to one or more desired commands, The method according to claim 2, comprising inputting one or more desired commands into a control law algorithm. [Claim 4] Determining the aforementioned aircraft authority limits means Inverting the control assignment function, Engine status and Envelope protection limits and Flight status and The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further relating to one or more actuator commands and one or more of the following. [Claim 5] Inverting the aforementioned control assignment function means The power to be achieved, The moment to be achieved, The method according to claim 4, comprising solving one or more optimization problems based on one or more actuator limitations. [Claim 6] The aforementioned graphical elements are One or more polygons, The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, comprising one or more points associated with one or more polygons. [Claim 7] Each of the one or more polygons is One or more outer polygons, The method according to claim 6, further comprising one or more inner polygons within one or more outer polygons. [Claim 8] The method according to claim 6 or 7, wherein each edge of each of the one or more polygons corresponds to the control limit of the operating axis. [Claim 9] The aforementioned operating shaft is The vertical thrust axis, Vertical thrust axis and Lateral thrust axis, The method according to claim 8, comprising one of a roll rate axis, a pitch rate axis, or a yaw rate axis. [Claim 10] The method according to any one of claims 6 to 9, wherein the one or more polygons are rectangles. [Claim 11] The method according to any one of claims 6 to 10, wherein the one or more polygons are squares. [Claim 12] The method according to any one of claims 6 to 11, wherein the distance between one edge of the one or more polygons and one of the one or more points corresponds to the amount of authority for the control limit of the corresponding operating axis. [Claim 13] The aforementioned graphical elements are One or more closed curved shapes, The method according to any one of claims 1 to 12, comprising one or more points associated with the one or more closed curved shapes. [Claim 14] The method according to claim 13, wherein the one or more closed curved shapes are oval. [Claim 15] The method according to claim 13 or 14, wherein the one or more closed curved shapes are circular. [Claim 16] The method according to any one of claims 1 to 15, further comprising outputting a warning to the pilot of the aircraft if one or more proximity values exceed a predetermined threshold. [Claim 17] A system for dynamically moving the graphical elements of the user interface of a flight control system, At least one processor, A non-transient computer-readable medium containing an instruction, wherein the instruction, when executed by the at least one processor, is directed to the at least one processor. Determining an aircraft authority limit based on at least one status signal indicating the aircraft status, wherein the aircraft authority limit indicates the limit to which one or more control signals can command the aircraft. Determining one or more degrees of proximity between the aircraft state and the determined aircraft authority limit, A system that performs an operation including automatically moving the graphical elements of the user interface to one or more positions on the user interface based on the proximity of one or more determined positions. [Claim 18] The aforementioned operation is, To control the aircraft, one or more control signals are received via one or more interceptors, Converting one or more control signals into one or more actuator commands based at least in part on feedback received from one or more aircraft sensors, The system according to claim 17, further comprising outputting one or more actuator commands for controlling the aircraft. [Claim 19] Converting one or more of the aforementioned control signals is Mapping the one or more control signals to one or more desired commands, The system according to claim 18, further comprising inputting one or more desired commands into a control law algorithm. [Claim 20] Determining the aforementioned aircraft authority limits means Inverting the control assignment function, Engine status and Envelope protection limits and Flight status and A system according to any one of claims 17 to 19, further based on one or more actuator commands. [Claim 21] Inverting the aforementioned control assignment function means The power to be achieved, The moment to be achieved, The system according to claim 20, comprising solving one or more optimization problems based on actuator limitations and one or more of the following. [Claim 22] The aforementioned graphical elements are One or more polygons, The system according to any one of claims 17 to 21, comprising one or more points associated with one or more polygons. [Claim 23] Each of the one or more polygons is One or more outer polygons, The system according to claim 22, comprising one or more inner polygons within one or more outer polygons. [Claim 24] The system according to claim 22 or 23, wherein each edge of each of the one or more polygons corresponds to the control limit of the operating axis. [Claim 25] The aforementioned operating shaft is The vertical thrust axis, Vertical thrust axis and Lateral thrust axis, The system according to claim 24, comprising one of a roll rate axis, a pitch rate axis, or a yaw rate axis. [Claim 26] The system according to any one of claims 22 to 25, wherein one or more polygons are rectangles. [Claim 27] The system according to any one of claims 22 to 26, wherein one or more of the polygons are squares. [Claim 28] The system according to any one of claims 22 to 27, wherein the distance between one edge of the one or more polygons and one of the one or more points corresponds to the amount of authority for the control limit of the corresponding operating axis. [Claim 29] The aforementioned graphical elements are One or more closed curved shapes, The system according to any one of claims 17 to 28, comprising one or more points associated with one or more closed curved shapes. [Claim 30] The system according to claim 29, wherein the one or more closed curved shapes are oval. [Claim 31] The system according to claim 29 or 30, wherein the one or more closed curved shapes are circular. [Claim 32] The aforementioned operation is, The system according to any one of claims 17 to 31, further comprising outputting a warning to the pilot of the aircraft if one or more proximity values exceed a predetermined threshold. [Claim 33] A flight control system for providing information to a pilot via a user interface, At least one processor, A non-transient computer-readable medium containing an instruction, wherein the instruction, when executed by the at least one processor, is directed to the at least one processor. Determining an aircraft authority limit based on at least one status signal indicating the aircraft status, wherein the aircraft authority limit indicates the limit to which one or more control signals can command the aircraft. Determining one or more degrees of proximity between the aircraft state and the determined aircraft authority limit, A flight control system that performs an operation including automatically moving the graphical elements of the user interface to one or more positions on the user interface based on the proximity of one or more determined positions. [Claim 34] The aforementioned operation is, To control the aircraft, one or more control signals are received via one or more interceptors, Converting one or more control signals into one or more actuator commands based at least in part on feedback received from one or more aircraft sensors, The flight control system according to claim 33, further comprising outputting one or more actuator commands for controlling the aircraft. [Claim 35] Converting one or more of the aforementioned control signals is Mapping the one or more control signals to one or more desired commands, The flight control system according to claim 34, further comprising inputting one or more desired commands into a control law algorithm. [Claim 36] Determining the aforementioned aircraft authority limits means Inverting the control assignment function, Engine status and Envelope protection limits and Flight status and A flight control system according to any one of claims 33 to 35, further based on one or more actuator commands. [Claim 37] Inverting the aforementioned control assignment function means The power to be achieved, The moment to be achieved, The flight control system according to claim 36, comprising solving one or more optimization problems based on one or more actuator limitations. [Claim 38] The aforementioned graphical elements are One or more polygons, A flight control system according to any one of claims 33 to 37, comprising one or more points associated with one or more polygons. [Claim 39] Each of the one or more polygons is One or more outer polygons, The flight control system according to claim 38, comprising one or more inner polygons within one or more outer polygons. [Claim 40] The flight control system according to claim 38 or 39, wherein each edge of each of the one or more polygons corresponds to the control limit of the operating axis. [Claim 41] The aforementioned operating shaft is The vertical thrust axis, Vertical thrust axis and Lateral thrust axis, The flight control system according to claim 40, comprising one of a roll rate axis, a pitch rate axis, or a yaw rate axis. [Claim 42] The flight control system according to any one of claims 38 to 41, wherein the one or more polygons are rectangles. [Claim 43] The flight control system according to any one of claims 38 to 42, wherein the one or more polygons are squares. [Claim 44] The flight control system according to any one of claims 38 to 43, wherein the distance between one edge of the one or more polygons and one of the one or more points corresponds to an amount of authority for the control limit of the corresponding operating axis. [Claim 45] The aforementioned graphical elements are One or more closed curved shapes, A flight control system according to any one of claims 33 to 44, comprising one or more points associated with one or more closed curved shapes. [Claim 46] The flight control system according to claim 45, wherein the one or more closed curved shapes are oval. [Claim 47] The flight control system according to claim 45 or 46, wherein the one or more closed curved shapes are circular. [Claim 48] The aforementioned operation is, The flight control system according to any one of claims 33 to 47, further comprising outputting a warning to the pilot of the aircraft if one or more proximity values exceed a predetermined threshold.