Aircraft Gimbal Control Using Angular Acceleration Feedforward
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing gimbal controllers perform poorly as angular acceleration increases, leading to decreased stabilization performance and target tracking accuracy, especially in high-frequency disturbances and fast tracking commands, requiring pilots to manually minimize aircraft maneuvers to compensate for gimbal deviations.
Innovation Solution
A gimbal controller system that incorporates a distributed acceleration-sensing package with a centered rate gyroscope and accelerometers placed at predetermined distances from the vehicle's or gimbal payload's center of gravity, using angular acceleration measurements in feedback and feedforward control loops to compensate for angular acceleration and improve stabilization.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If existing gimbal controllers are used without angular acceleration sensing, then the device complexity is low, but the stabilization performance deteriorates as angular acceleration increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements feedback control by using accelerometers to sense angular acceleration and feeding this information back to the gimbal controller. The controller processes the angular acceleration signal and adjusts gimbal actuator commands to compensate for platform motion disturbances, thereby maintaining stabilization performance under high angular acceleration conditions.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary angular acceleration sensing system consisting of accelerometers and signal processing circuitry between the platform and the gimbal controller. This intermediary system measures platform angular acceleration and provides compensated control signals to the gimbal, resolving the contradiction by adding measurement capability without directly complicating the core gimbal mechanism.
2Measurement precision
If angular acceleration sensing and compensation is implemented, then the target tracking accuracy is improved, but the device complexity increases due to additional sensors and control loops
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes the angular acceleration sensing system multi-functional by using the same accelerometer array to serve both as a platform motion sensor for gimbal compensation and as a source of angular acceleration data for control algorithms. This universal usage of the sensing package improves target tracking accuracy while minimizing the increase in device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the control system into distinct functional modules: the angular acceleration sensing module with distributed accelerometers, the signal processing module that computes angular acceleration from accelerometer data, and the gimbal control module that applies compensation. This segmentation allows each module to be optimized independently, improving target tracking accuracy while managing overall system complexity.
3Measurement precision
If distributed accelerometers are placed at predetermined distances from the center of gravity, then the angular acceleration measurement accuracy is improved, but the device complexity and manufacturing difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies parameter changes by selecting specific predetermined distances for accelerometer placement that optimize the measurement geometry. By carefully choosing these distances and positions, the system achieves high angular acceleration measurement accuracy while maintaining manufacturability, as the positions can be precisely controlled during assembly without requiring complex adjustment mechanisms.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution significantly reduces angular error and improves gimbal performance by directly sensing and compensating for angular acceleration, enhancing stabilization accuracy and reducing jitter, thereby maintaining target tracking and reducing the need for manual pilot intervention.
Implementation Method 1
a centered rate gyroscope with accelerometers placed at distributed locations around the rate gyroscope
Implementation Method 2
a distributed acceleration-sensing package, which may include a centered rate gyroscope with accelerometers placed at distributed locations around the rate gyroscope
Data Source
AI summary
A gimbal stabilizing system for an aircraft having an airframe is disclosed. The gimbal stabilizing system may comprise a gimbal apparatus having at least one gimbal actuator to adjust a position of the gimbal apparatus about an axis, wherein the gimbal apparatus is positioned on the airframe, an angular acceleration apparatus positioned on the airframe to generate an angular acceleration signal reflecting an angular acceleration of the airframe, and a gimbal controller operatively coupled to each of said angular acceleration apparatus and said gimbal apparatus. The gimbal controller may be configured to generate a gimbal control signal to compensate for the angular acceleration of the airframe based at least in part on a feedback control loop and a feedforward control loop, the feedforward control loop having the angular acceleration signal as an input thereto. The gimbal controller may be further configured to output the gimbal control signal to said gimbal apparatus to adjust a position of the gimbal apparatus.