Systems and methods for aircraft flight control

Abstract

Aspects of the present disclosure relate, in general, to systems and methods for flight control of aircraft driven by electric propulsion systems and other types of vehicles. In some embodiments, an aircraft is disclosed which comprises at least one electric propulsion unit, at least one sensor configured to measure at least one aircraft condition, and at least one flight control computer configured to dynamically change at least one torque command to at least one electric propulsion unit based at least one aircraft condition, the at least one electric propulsion unit being configured to generate thrust based on at least one dynamically changing torque command.

Claims

[Claim 1] A computer implementation method, A computer implementation method comprising dynamically changing one or more torque commands to one or more electric propulsion units of an aircraft based on at least one or more aircraft conditions, wherein the one or more aircraft conditions are measured by one or more sensors of the aircraft, and the one or more dynamically changed torque commands are configured to cause one or more electric propulsion units of the aircraft to generate thrust in accordance with the one or more dynamically changed torque commands. [Claim 2] The computer implementation method according to claim 1, wherein the one or more dynamically changing torque commands are based on one or more flight control laws. [Claim 3] The computer implementation method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the one or more dynamically changing torque commands are based on one or more torque limits. [Claim 4] The computer implementation method according to claim 3, wherein the one or more dynamically changing torque commands are based on high-voltage protection torque limits related to power transmitted to or from one or more batteries of the aircraft. [Claim 5] The computer implementation method according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the method is performed by the aircraft's flight control computer, and the one or more dynamically changing torque commands are based on one or more torque limits generated by the flight control computer. [Claim 6] The computer implementation method according to any one of claims 3 to 5, wherein the one or more dynamically changing torque commands are based on at least one of high-speed protection limits or low-speed protection limits associated with the speed of the propeller of each of the one or more electric propulsion units. [Claim 7] The computer implementation method according to claim 6, wherein the one or more dynamically changing torque commands are associated with the flight phase and are based on one or more torque limits. [Claim 8] The computer implementation method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the one or more dynamically changing torque commands are based on one or more fixed characteristics of the aircraft. [Claim 9] The computer implementation method according to claim 8, wherein the one or more fixed characteristics include at least one of fixed propeller limitations or fixed propulsion unit limitations. [Claim 10] The computer mounting method according to claim 8 or 9, wherein the one or more fixed characteristics include the mass of the gearbox of each of the one or more electric propulsion units. [Claim 11] The computer implementation method according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the one or more dynamically changing torque commands are based on one or more of the following: a high-voltage protection torque limit related to power transmitted to or from one or more batteries, one or more flight control laws, one or more torque limits, high-speed protection limits, low-speed protection limits, one or more fixed characteristics of the aircraft, or the mass of the gearbox of each of the one or more electric propulsion units. [Claim 12] The computer implementation method according to any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein the one or more aircraft conditions include at least one of airspeed, air density, propeller speed, or propeller airflow. [Claim 13] The computer implementation method according to any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein the method is carried out by at least one processor configured to execute instructions for tilting one or more electric propulsion units between a forward thrust configuration and a vertical lift configuration. [Claim 14] The computer implementation method according to any one of claims 1 to 13, wherein the one or more aircraft conditions include one or more tilt angles associated with the one or more electric propulsion units. [Claim 15] The computer mounting method according to claim 14, wherein each tilt angle is linked to the pitch associated with each of the one or more electric propulsion units. [Claim 16] The computer implementation method according to any one of claims 1 to 15, wherein the one or more aircraft conditions include an airflow associated with the tilt angle of each of the one or more electric propulsion units. [Claim 17] The computer mounting method according to any one of claims 1 to 16, wherein the one or more aircraft conditions include the blade pitch of each of the one or more electric propulsion units. [Claim 18] The computer implementation method according to any one of claims 1 to 17, wherein the method is carried out by a processor not configured to independently control the blade pitch of each of the one or more electric propulsion units. [Claim 19] The computer implementation method according to any one of claims 1 to 18, wherein the method is carried out by the flight control computer of the aircraft, and the aircraft includes a hybrid aircraft that uses at least one of an electric-based energy source or a fuel-based energy source to power one or more electric propulsion units. [Claim 20] It is a flight control computer, One or more memory devices that store processor-executable instructions, A flight control computer comprising: one or more processors configured to execute the aforementioned instructions and cause the flight control computer to carry out the method described in any one of claims 1 to 19. [Claim 21] It is an aircraft, One or more electric propulsion units, One or more sensors configured to measure one or more aircraft conditions, An aircraft comprising at least one flight control computer as described in claim 20. [Claim 22] The aircraft according to claim 21, wherein the aircraft is a hybrid aircraft that uses at least one of an electric-based energy source or a fuel-based energy source to power one or more electric propulsion units. [Claim 23] A computer-readable medium storing computer-readable instructions, wherein, when executed by at least one processor, the computer-readable instructions cause the at least one processor to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 19. [Claim 24] It is a propulsion unit, One or more memory devices that store processor-executable instructions, A propulsion unit comprising: one or more processors configured to execute the aforementioned instructions and cause the propulsion unit to carry out the method according to any one of claims 1 to 19.

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