METHOD OF GENERATING INSTRUCTION VALUES FOR SERVO-CONTROLLING A FLIGHT PARAMETER P OF AN AIRCRAFT EQUIPPED WITH AN AUTOMATIC PILOT

• US 20080234883A1
• Filed: 03/21/2008
• Published: 09/25/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 03/23/2007
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Thales SA
• Original Assignee: Thales SA
• Inventors: Charles, Loic, Hennion, Denis
• Application Number:
  US12/053,173
• Publication Number:
  US 20080234883A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/11
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 11/42 for obtaining a characteristic which is both proportional and time-dependent, e.g. P. I., P. I. D.
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0646 to follow the profile of undulating ground
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/101 specially adapted for aircraft

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method of generating instruction values for servo-controlling a flight parameter P of an aircraft equipped with an automatic pilot, between a current value C and a target value T.

It comprises a phase for determining increasing or decreasing instruction values P_C of the flight parameter P and instruction values

${\left(\frac{P}{t}\right)}_C$

of its time derivative and/or (∫Pdt)_C of its integral. It also comprises a phase of use, by a servo-control law of the parameter P of the automatic pilot, of each of the instruction values P_C,

${\left(\frac{P}{t}\right)}_C$

and/or (∫Pdt)_C. It also comprises a phase of use, by the automatic pilot, of the value T as final target value. The instruction values P_C,

${\left(\frac{P}{t}\right)}_C$

and/or (∫Pdt)_C are calculated from the current value C, the target value T of the parameter P and a time constant τ.

Claims

1. A method of generating instruction values for servo-controlling a flight parameter P of an aircraft equipped with an automatic pilot, between a current value C and a target value T, comprising the steps of:

determining a phase for increasing or decreasing instruction values PC of the flight parameter P and instruction values

${\left(\frac{<br><br>P}{<br><br>t}\right)}_C$

of its time derivative and/or (∫

Pdt)_C of its integral;

a phase of use, by a servo-control law of the parameter P of the automatic pilot, of each of the instruction values P_C,

${\left(\frac{<br><br>P}{<br><br>t}\right)}_C$

and/or (∫

Pdt)_C;

a phase of use, by the automatic pilot, of the value T as final target value;

the instruction values P_C,

${\left(\frac{<br><br>P}{<br><br>t}\right)}_C$

and/or (∫

Pdt)_C being calculated from the current value C and from the target value T of the parameter P and from a time constant τ

, wherein the instruction values change progressively from their initial values to their target values with a characteristic time τ

.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the instruction values are calculated permanently through an analog implementation.

3. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the instruction values are calculated cyclically through a digital implementation.

4. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the flight parameter P is the altitude or the speed or the ground elevation or the vertical speed of the aircraft.