Interface for control of a foldable wing on an aircraft

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9517834-B2
Application number	US-201514866251-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 25, 2015
Priority date	Sep 29, 2014
Publication date	Dec 13, 2016
Grant date	Dec 13, 2016

Abstract

An aircraft comprises a foldable wing, the wing comprising an inner region and an outer region, such as a wing tip. The outer region is moveable relative to the inner region between a flight configuration and a ground configuration in which the span is reduced. The aircraft comprises a control system and a control interface. The control interface comprises a selector for selecting the desired configuration of the outer region, and is arrange to provide: a first output, such as a light, when the flight configuration is selected and the outer region is in the flight configuration; a second output, such an amber light, when the ground configuration is selected and the outer region is in the ground configuration; and a third output, such as a red light, when the outer region is not in the selected configuration.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An aircraft comprising a foldable wing, the wing comprising an inner region and an outer region, the outer region being moveable relative to the inner region between:
a) a flight configuration for use during flight, and
b) a ground configuration for use during ground-based operations, in which ground configuration the outer region is moved relative to the inner region such that the span of the wing is reduced,
wherein the aircraft further comprises a control system arranged to control movement of the outer region between the flight configuration and the ground configuration, and a control interface for interfacing with the control system,
the control interface comprising a selector for selecting the desired configuration of the outer region, and the control interface being arrange to provide:
a first output when the flight configuration is selected and the outer region is in the flight configuration;
a second output when the ground configuration is selected and the outer region is in the ground configuration; and
a third output when the outer region is not in the selected configuration.

2. An aircraft according to claim 1 , wherein the control interface further comprises a display for indicating the status of the outer region, and wherein the control interface is configured such that the display shows:
the first output as a first indicating signal; and
the second output as a second indicating signal.

3. An aircraft according to claim 2 , wherein the first indicating signal is a light having a first colour and the second indicating signal is a light having a second colour.

4. An aircraft according to claim 2 , wherein the control interface is configured such that the display shows the third output as a third indicating signal.

5. An aircraft according to claim 4 , wherein the third indicating signal is a light having a third colour.

6. An aircraft according to claim 5 , wherein the third indicating signal is a flashing signal.

7. An aircraft according to claim 1 , wherein the first, second and/or third outputs comprise an audio signal, and wherein the audio signal is provided in response to an additional criteria being met, the additional criteria being representative of a forthcoming need to be in the flight and/or ground configuration.

8. An aircraft according to claim 1 , wherein the control interface is in the aircraft cockpit, and the interface is located such that a pilot in the cockpit can effect movement of the selector to select the desired configuration of the outer region.

9. An aircraft according to claim 2 , wherein the control interface is in the aircraft cockpit, and the interface is located such that a pilot in the cockpit can effect movement of the selector to select the desired configuration of the outer region, and wherein the display is located in the line-of-sight of the pilot.

10. An aircraft according to claim 1 , wherein in the flight configuration, the outer region is locked in position by a flight lock.

11. An aircraft according to claim 10 , wherein the control system comprises a lock-sensing system, the lock-sensing system being arranged to sense when the outer region is locked in position by the flight lock.

12. An aircraft according to claim 11 , wherein the control interface is arranged to provide the first output in response to the lock sensing system sensing that the outer region is locked in position by the flight lock.

13. An aircraft according to claim 12 , wherein in the ground configuration, the outer region is locked in position by a ground lock and wherein the lock-sensing system is arranged to sense when the outer region is locked in position by the ground lock.

14. An aircraft according to claim 13 , wherein the control interface is arranged to provide the second output in response to the lock sensing system sensing when the outer region is locked in position by the ground lock.

15. An aircraft according to claim 1 , wherein the selector is moveable in a first direction to select the ground configuration, and moveable in a second direction, preferably opposite to the first direction, to select the flight configuration.

16. An aircraft according to claim 15 , wherein the first direction is representative of the direction of movement of the outer region when moving from the flight configuration to the ground configuration.

17. An aircraft according to claim 16 wherein the selector is arranged to provide tactile feedback to indicate the selection of the ground and flight configurations.

18. An aircraft according to claim 15 wherein the selector comprises protrusions representative of the outer regions of the aircraft wings, the orientation of the protrusions when the selector has selected the flight configuration being representative of the orientation of the outer region in the flight configuration, and the orientation of the protrusions when the selector has selected the ground configuration being representative of the orientation of the outer region in the ground configuration.

19. A control interface for interfacing with a control system for controlling movement of a foldable wing,
wherein the foldable wing comprises an inner region and an outer region, the outer region being moveable relative to the inner region between:
a) a flight configuration for use during flight, and
b) a ground configuration for use during ground-based operations, in which ground configuration the outer region is rotated relative to the inner region such that the span of the wing is reduced,
and wherein the control interface comprises a selector for selecting the desired configuration of the outer region, and the control interface is arrange to provide:
a first output when the flight configuration is selected and the outer region is in the flight configuration;
a second output when the ground configuration is selected and the outer region is in the ground configuration; and
a third output when the outer region is not in the selected configuration.

20. A control interface according to claim 19 , wherein the control system comprises a lock-sensing system for sensing whether the outer region is locked in position, and wherein the control interface comprises a receiver for receiving signals from the lock-sensing system.

21. A control interface according to claim 20 wherein the interface is arranged to provide the first output in response to the receiver receiving a signal from the lock-sensing system indicative of the outer region being locked in position by a flight lock.

22. A control interface according to claim 21 , wherein the interface is arranged to provide the second output in response to the receiver receiving a signal from the lock-sensing system indicative of the outer region being locked in position by a ground lock.

23. A control interface for interfacing with a control system for controlling movement of a foldable wing,
wherein the foldable wing comprises an inner region and a wing tip, the wing tip being moveable relative to the inner region between:
a) a flight configuration for use during flight, and
b) a ground configuration for use during ground-based operations, in which ground configuration the wing tip is rotated relative to the inner region such that the span of the wing is reduced,
and wherein the control interface comprises a selector for rotating to select the desired configuration of the wing tip, and the control interface is arrange to provide:
a display showing a repre

Assignees

• Airbus Operations Ltd

Inventors

• Thompson Robert Ian

Classifications

• B64C3/56 Primary

  Folding or collapsing to reduce overall dimensions of aircraft · CPC title

• B64D45/0005

  Devices specially adapted to indicate the position of a movable element of the aircraft, e.g. landing gear · CPC title

• B64D43/00

  Arrangements or adaptations of instruments · CPC title

• Y02T50/10

  Drag reduction · CPC title