System for controlling a lateral trajectory of an aircraft including a rudder bar

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10442529-B2
Application number	US-201816168801-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 23, 2018
Priority date	Oct 24, 2017
Publication date	Oct 15, 2019
Grant date	Oct 15, 2019

Abstract

A system for controlling a lateral trajectory of an aircraft includes a rudder bar. Each pedal of the rudder bar is movable between a neutral position (pn) and an end-of-travel position (pf) along a unique travel. A movement of the pedal between the neutral position (pn) and an activation position (pact) commands a lateral movement by actuating a lateral movement device of a first set including a nose gear wheel, the different braking of the aircraft being nonactive. A movement of the pedal from the activation position (pact) to the end-of-travel position (pf) commands a lateral movement by actuating a device of the first set and the differential braking. A haptic feedback generator applies a first haptic profile to each pedal between the neutral position (pn) and the activation position (pact) and a second haptic profile from the activation position (pact) toward the end-of-travel position (pf).

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A control system of controlling a lateral trajectory of an aircraft rolling on a runway, the aircraft including a first set of actionable lateral movement devices, the first set of actionable lateral movement devices including a steerable front wheel, the aircraft including a differential braking assembly of a main landing gear, the differential braking assembly being configured in order, in an active state, to an exclusion of a nonactive state, to generate a movement of the aircraft around a yaw axis, the control system comprising:
a rudder bar configured to be actuated by a pilot, the rudder bar including a left pedal and a right pedal,
each of the left and right pedals being movable between a neutral position and an end-of-travel position along a single preset travel, a movement of the left pedal, respectively of the right pedal, along the single preset travel, between the neutral position and a predetermined differential braking activation position, being configured to command a movement of the aircraft around the yaw axis along a first direction, respectively a second direction opposite the first direction, by actuation of at least one movement device of the first set, the differential braking assembly being in the nonactive state,
a movement of the left pedal, respectively of the right pedal, along the single preset travel, from the predetermined differential braking activation position toward the end-of-travel position being configured to command the movement of the aircraft around the yaw axis along the first direction, respectively the second direction, by actuation of at least one movement device of the first set, and by actuation of the differential braking assembly, the differential braking assembly being in the active state,
the rudder bar including a haptic feedback generator configured to apply, to each of the left and right pedals, a first haptic profile when the left pedal, respectively of the right pedal, is moved from the neutral position to the predetermined differential braking activation position, and a second haptic profile, distinct from the first haptic profile, when the left pedal, respectively of the right pedal, is moved from the predetermined differential braking activation position to the end-of-travel position.

2. The control system according to claim 1 , wherein the haptic feedback generator is configured to apply, to each of the left and right pedals, a force opposing an actuation of each of the left pedal and the right pedal according to a first force profile when the left pedal, respectively of the right pedal, is moved from the neutral position to the predetermined differential braking activation position, and according to a second force profile, distinct from the first force profile, when the left pedal, respectively of the right pedal, is moved along the single preset travel from the predetermined differential braking activation position to the end-of-travel position.

3. The control system according to claim 2 , wherein the haptic feedback generator is configured to apply, to each of the left and right pedals, a force opposing the actuation of each of the left pedal and the right pedal, such that a first derivative of the force opposing the actuation of the pedal from the predetermined differential braking activation position to the end-of-travel position is strictly greater than the first derivative of the force opposing the actuation of the pedal to the predetermined differential braking activation position.

4. The control system according to claim 3 , wherein the first derivative of the force opposing the actuation of the pedal from the predetermined differential braking activation position to the end-of-travel position is strictly greater than any first derivative of the force opposing the actuation of the pedal from the neutral position to the predetermined differential braking activation position.

5. The control system according to claim 1 , wherein the single preset travel is a movement of the left pedal or right pedal chosen from among: a translational movement, a straight or circular translational movement, and a rotational movement.

6. The control system according to claim 1 , wherein the single preset travel is a movement of the left pedal or right pedal according to a single degree of freedom.

7. The control system according to claim 1 , wherein the predetermined differential braking activation position is a preset fixed position of the left pedal or right pedal along the single preset travel.

8. The control system according to claim 1 , further comprising a regulating module, configured to determine a threshold value of a trajectory parameter at least at one moment during a movement of the aircraft on a ground, as a function of at least one criterion chosen from among a piece of information relative to a current speed of the aircraft, a current runway state, an operating state of a nose gear wheel and a temperature of braking devices of the differential braking assembly, the threshold value being representative of a first limit trajectory able to be reached by the aircraft by actuating at least one lateral movement device of the first set, the differential braking assembly being in the nonactive state.

9. The control system according to claim 8 , wherein the haptic feedback generator is configured to determine the predetermined differential braking activation position as a function of the threshold value, and to determine the first and second haptic profiles as a function of the predetermined differential braking activation position.

10. The control system according to claim 1 , further including an acquiring device for acquiring a current position of the left pedal and a current position of the right pedal, the current positions being representative of an instruction lateral trajectory.

11. The control system according to claim 10 , further including a trajectory control module configured to, selectively:
if none of the current positions of the left and right pedals are between the predetermined differential braking activation position and the end-of-travel position, send at least one input instruction to at least one lateral movement device of the first set, to an exclusion of the differential braking assembly, the at least one input instruction being configured to create, when the at least one input instruction is applied to the lateral movement devices of the first set, the differential braking assembly being in the nonactive state, a lateral movement of the aircraft according to or tending toward the instruction lateral trajectory,
if the current position of the left pedal or right pedal is between the predetermined differential braking activation position and the end-of-travel position, send input instructions to at least one lateral movement device of the first set and to the differential braking assembly, the input instructions being configured to create, when the input instructions are applied to the lateral movement device of the first set and the differential braking assembly, the lateral movement of the aircraft according to or tending toward the instruction lateral trajectory.

12. The control system according to claim 1 , wherein the differential braking assembly includes a braking device of a left main landing gear and a braking device of a right main landing gear, the differential braking assembly being configured in order, in the active state, to the exclusion of the nonactive state, to exert, at a given moment, a left braking force on a left main landing gear and a right braking force, separate from the left braking force, on a right main landing gear, in order to generate the movement of the aircraft aro

Assignees

• Dassault Aviat

Inventors

• Dupre François
• Morellec Olivier
• Prodigue Julien
• Cantinaud Olivier

Classifications

• B64C25/48

  differentially operated for steering purposes · CPC title

• B64C25/405

  Powered wheels, e.g. for taxing · CPC title

• B64C13/10

  comprising warning devices · CPC title

• B64C13/044 Primary

  operated by feet, e.g. pedals · CPC title

• B64C25/34

  wheeled type, e.g. multi-wheeled bogies · CPC title