Energy protection device for an aircraft

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9481472-B2
Application number	US-201514593739-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 9, 2015
Priority date	Jan 9, 2014
Publication date	Nov 1, 2016
Grant date	Nov 1, 2016

Abstract

Energy protection device for an aircraft.
The device ( 1 ) comprises units ( 12, 14, 15 ) for automatically deactivating an energy protection function, if a return of the aircraft to an operational flight domain is detected after the activation of this protection function, and for automatically managing an autothrust ( 2 ), if at least one of the following conditions is satisfied: a relaxing of a control member is detected, and the angle of attack of the aircraft is below a predetermined threshold.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An energy protection method for an aircraft which is provided with at least one engine, an autothrust, and at least one piloting control member, said method consisting:
a) in automatically and repetitively monitoring, during a flight of the aircraft, a plurality of aircraft data, including an angle of attack of the aircraft, so as to be able to detect a trigger situation, for which conditions for triggering an energy protection are satisfied;
b) if a trigger situation is detected, in automatically activating a protection function consisting in automatically engaging said autothrust if it is not already engaged and in automatically controlling said engine for it to supply a maximum thrust, and in implementing a monitoring consisting in automatically and repetitively monitoring aircraft parameters, so as to be able to detect a return of the aircraft to a predetermined operational flight domain; and
c) if a return of the aircraft to said operational flight domain is detected, in automatically deactivating the protection function,

wherein said method consists, in the step c), in automatically deactivating the protection function, upon the detection of a return of the aircraft to said operational flight domain, only if at least one of the following conditions is also satisfied:
a relaxing of the control member is detected, the relaxing of the control member being detected when the control member is in a position below a first predetermined nose-up threshold; and
the angle of attack of the aircraft is below a predetermined threshold.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1 ,
wherein the angle of attack of the aircraft comprises a compensation term.

3. The method as claimed in claim 1 ,
wherein in the step b), a return of the aircraft to said operational flight domain is detected when the following two conditions are simultaneously satisfied:
a current corrected speed of the aircraft is above, for at least a predetermined duration, a minimum reference speed dependent on the current flight configuration of the aircraft; and
the conditions for triggering the energy protection are no longer satisfied.

4. The method as claimed in claim 1 ,
wherein the method consists:
in the case of activation of the protection function in the step b), in automatically recording the state of engagement of the autothrust at the time of activation; and
at the time of deactivation of the protection function in the step c), in automatically bringing the autothrust into a state of engagement dependent on said recorded state of engagement.

5. The method as claimed in claim 1 ,
wherein the conditions for triggering the energy protection are as follows:
the angle of attack of the aircraft is above a predetermined value; and
the control member is in a position above a second predetermined nose-up threshold.

6. The method as claimed in claim 1 ,
wherein it comprises, in addition, a step of automatically displaying an activation of the energy protection function when it occurs.

7. An energy protection device for an aircraft which is provided with at least one engine, an autothrust, and at least one piloting control member, said device comprising:
a monitoring unit ( 3 ) configured to automatically and repetitively monitor, during a flight of the aircraft, a plurality of aircraft data, including an angle of attack of the aircraft, so as to be able to detect a trigger situation, for which conditions for triggering an energy protection are satisfied;
an activation unit configured to automatically activate, if a trigger situation is detected, a protection function consisting in automatically engaging said autothrust if it is not already engaged and in automatically controlling said engine for it to supply a maximum thrust;
an auxiliary monitoring unit configured to, in the case of triggering of said protection function, implement a monitoring consisting in automatically and repetitively monitoring aircraft parameters, so as to be able to detect a return of the aircraft to a predetermined operational flight domain; and
a deactivation unit to, if a return of the aircraft to said operational flight domain is detected, automatically deactivate the protection function,
wherein said deactivation unit is configured to automatically deactivate the protection function, upon the detection by the auxiliary monitoring unit of a return of the aircraft to said operational flight domain, only if at least one of the following conditions is also satisfied:
a relaxing of the control member is detected, the relaxing of the control member being detected when the control member is in a position below a first predetermined nose-up threshold; and
the angle of attack of the aircraft is below a predetermined threshold.

8. The device as claimed in claim 7 ,
wherein it comprises a recording unit configured to automatically record, in the case of activation of the protection function, the state of engagement of the autothrust at the time of the triggering, said deactivation unit being configured to automatically bring, when the protection function is deactivated, the autothrust into a state of engagement dependent on said state of engagement recorded by the recording unit.

9. An aircraft,
wherein it comprises a device such as that specified under claim 7 .

Assignees

• Airbus Operations Sas

Inventors

• Moune Marie-Claire
• Muller Jean
• Poujol Christophe
• Fontan Julien

Classifications

• B64D31/06 Primary

  actuated automatically · CPC title

• B64C13/506 Primary

  overriding of personal controls; with automatic return to inoperative position · CPC title

• B64C13/503

  Fly-by-Wire · CPC title