Hydraulic Servo Actuator Command Transmission with Triple Redundancy
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current flight command architectures in helicopters face issues with mechanical connections between cockpit commands and hydraulic actuators, leading to potential loss of control in case of failure and requiring complex mechanical setups, while Fly-By-Wire systems are not widely adopted due to reliability concerns.
Innovation Solution
An electromechanical system with three pathways - rotary and linear electric actuators connected via mechanical links, each with a command device, ensuring electrical command transmission to hydraulic actuators, allowing redundancy and high availability even in failure scenarios.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Force
If mechanical transmissions are used to connect cockpit commands to hydraulic actuators, then direct force transmission is achieved, but system complexity and spatial requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the traditional mechanical transmission system with an electromechanical system consisting of electric actuators (motor + reducer) that directly drive the hydraulic servo actuators. This substitution eliminates complex mechanical linkages such as cables, pulleys, and pushrods, thereby reducing system complexity and spatial requirements while maintaining direct force transmission capability.
2Device complexity
If Fly-By-Wire electrical transmission systems are implemented, then system simplicity and additional functions are improved, but reliability concerns arise due to potential failure of flight control computer and transmission systems
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the command transmission system into three independent parallel pathways, each consisting of a command device, electric actuator, and hydraulic actuator. This segmentation allows the system to maintain reliability by distributing the command transmission function across multiple independent channels, so that failure of one pathway does not compromise overall system reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements redundancy by providing three parallel pathways for command transmission, which acts as a preventive measure against potential failures. This redundancy ensures that if one pathway fails, the other two can continue to transmit commands, thereby cushioning against reliability issues before they affect flight control.
3Reliability
If mechanical connections are maintained between commands and hydraulic actuators, then direct control is ensured, but pilot effort and physical forces required increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces direct mechanical connections requiring pilot physical effort with an electromechanical transmission system. Electric actuators receive commands from the cockpit and automatically translate them into mechanical motion for the hydraulic actuators, eliminating the need for pilots to exert direct physical force on mechanical linkages while maintaining direct control through electrical signals.
Data Source
AI summary
A system for transmitting commands to at least one hydraulic servo actuator, includes a mechanical system including: a rotary electrical actuator including a first and a second channel, a linear electrical actuator including a third channel, the linear electrical actuator being connected to the rotary electrical actuator by a mechanical connection and being connected to the hydraulic servo actuator by a mechanical connection; a control system including: a first control device connected via an electrical connection to the first channel; a second control device connected via an electrical connection to the second channel; a third control device connected via an electrical connection to the third channel.