Rotary-Wing Aircraft Control Redundancy Without Inter-Controller Links
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Solution Overview
Problem
Aircraft with multiple rotary wings face challenges in ensuring safety during flight, particularly when controllers malfunction, as existing systems rely on communication between controllers for redundancy, which can be compromised by complex airframe shapes and efficient redundancy implementation is difficult.
Innovation Solution
The aircraft is configured with multiple first units, each equipped with sensors, drivers, and drive controllers that share a common control law and flying route, allowing for independent operation and seamless switching in case of communication breakdowns between units, ensuring continued safe flight.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a standby controller is placed and switchover is performed after malfunction detection, then flight safety is improved, but communication between controllers is required which may be compromised by complex airframe shapes
Solution Approach 1:
The control system is segmented into multiple independent drive controllers, each capable of autonomous operation. Each controller independently generates drive signals for all rotary wings using identical control laws, eliminating the need for inter-controller communication while maintaining redundancy and safety.
Solution Approach 2:
Each drive controller is designed to independently perform all control functions without relying on other controllers. The controllers self-suffice by having complete control authority and identical control algorithms, enabling immediate failover without communication delays or complexities.
2Reliability
If multiple controllers are used for redundancy, then reliability is improved, but the system complexity and difficulty of implementation increase
Solution Approach 1:
All drive controllers are designed with identical hardware configurations and control laws. This homogeneity simplifies the overall system architecture by eliminating the need for complex communication protocols and coordination mechanisms between heterogeneous controllers, while still providing robust redundancy.
3Reliability
If each controller generates drive signals for all units independently, then communication breakdowns are prevented, but the control law consistency must be maintained across all units
Solution Approach 1:
Each drive controller is designed with universal functionality to generate drive signals for all rotary wings in the aircraft. This multi-functionality is achieved by implementing identical control laws in all controllers, ensuring consistent control behavior across the entire system while maintaining operational independence.
Data Source
AI summary
An aircraft includes first units each including a first sensor, a rotary wing, a driver, and a first drive controller. The first drive controller is configured to generate a drive signal of the rotary wing on the basis of a flying route of the aircraft and a control law based on a flying state detected by the first sensor, and output the drive signal to the driver configured to drive the rotary wing. The control laws of the respective first drive controllers are equal to each other between the first units. The first drive controllers are each configured to generate the drive signals that correspond to all of the first units. The drivers are each configured to drive the corresponding rotary wing on the basis of corresponding one of the drive signals that correspond to all of the first units and that are generated by the first drive controllers.