Piloting device for piloting an aircraft having a protected force sensor

• US 20130256463A1
• Filed: 03/12/2013
• Published: 10/03/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 03/27/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ratier Figeac (Raytheon Technologies Corporation d/b/a RTX)
• Original Assignee: Ratier Figeac (Raytheon Technologies Corporation d/b/a RTX)
• Inventors: ANTRAYGUE, Cedric
• Granted Patent: US 8,991,771 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 244/234
• CPC Class Codes: B64C 13/0421 control sticks for primary flight controls
• CPC Class Codes: G05G 5/04 Stops for limiting movement of members, e.g. adjustable stop G05G5/03, G05G5/05, G05G5/28 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G05G 9/047 the controlling member being movable by hand about orthogonal axes, e.g. joysticks for switches H01H25/04

Abstract

A piloting device for piloting an aircraft includes a piloting member (11), a mechanism (13) for mounting and guiding in rotation the piloting member about at least one rotation axis with respect to a frame (12), stops (25, 26, 35) arranged so as to cooperate with bearing surfaces (32) integral with the piloting member upstream of the mechanism in order to limit the rotation amplitude thereof, and at least one force sensor (19), these being arranged with respect to one another so that each contact of a bearing surface (32) with a stop (25, 26, 35) generates an abutment reaction, the orientation of which with respect to each deformable sensing element of each force sensor is such that it stresses this deformable sensing element at least substantially outside its deformation modes.

Claims

1. Piloting device for piloting an aircraft comprising:

a piloting member (11) suitable for being actuated by a pilot,

a mechanism (13) for mounting and guiding in rotation the piloting member (11) about at least one rotation axis (15, 16) with respect to a frame (12),

stops (25, 26, 35, 36) adapted to limit the angular amplitude of rotation of the piloting member (11) with respect to the frame,

at least one force sensor (19) connected to the piloting member (11) upstream of said mechanism (13), and comprising at least one sensing element (20) deformable according to deformation modes corresponding to the measurement of at least one component of forces imparted by a pilot on the piloting member (11),

wherein;

said stops (25, 26, 35, 36) are arranged so as to cooperate with bearing surfaces (32, 33, 37, 38) integral with the piloting member (11) upstream of said mechanism (13),

each force sensor (19), said stops (25, 26, 35, 36) and said bearing surfaces (32, 33, 37, 38) are arranged with respect to one another so that each contact of a bearing surface (32, 33, 37, 38) with a stop (25, 26, 35, 36) generates an abutment reaction (R1, R2), the orientation of which with respect to each deformable sensing element (20) of each force sensor (19) is such that said abutment reaction (R1, R2) stresses this deformable sensing element (20) at least substantially outside its deformation modes.

2. Device as claimed in claim 1, wherein it has a force sensor (19) with a flexurally deformable membrane (20) which is overall plane at rest and extends tangentially with respect to at least one rotation axis (15, 16) of the piloting member, wherein said stops (25, 26, 35, 36) and said bearing surfaces (32, 33, 37, 38) are arranged so as to come into contact with one another in contact zones situated in a plane containing the plane of said membrane (20), and wherein said stops and said bearing surfaces are oriented so as to produce abutment reactions (R1, R2) oriented in the plane of said membrane.

3. Device as claimed in claim 2, wherein for each rotation axis (15, 16), each stop (25, 26, 35, 36) and/or the corresponding bearing surface (32, 33, 37, 38) of the piloting member (11) has a face extending in a plane parallel to the rotation axis (15, 16).

4. Device as claimed in claim 1, wherein each bearing surface (32, 33, 37, 38) is a peripheral wall portion of the force sensor.

5. Device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said mechanism (13) is adapted to define a rotary joint on two rotation axes (15, 16) at least substantially orthogonal with respect to the frame (12).

6. Device as claimed in claim 5, wherein it has a force sensor (19) adapted to measure the forces according to the different rotation movements of the piloting member (11), this force sensor (19) being interposed between the piloting member and said mechanism.

7. Aircraft comprising at least one piloting device as claimed in claim 1.

8. Aircraft comprising at least one piloting member (11) connected to at least one flying member—

in particular at least one control surface or at least one engine—

of the aircraft in order to control the operation thereof—

in particular the position and displacements—

, wherein it comprises at least one piloting device as claimed in claim 1 for controlling at least one flying member of the aircraft.

9. Device as claimed in claim 2, wherein each bearing surface (32, 33, 37, 38) is a peripheral wall portion of the force sensor.

10. Device as claimed in claim 3, wherein each bearing surface (32, 33, 37, 38) is a peripheral wall portion of the force sensor.

11. Device as claimed in claim 2, wherein said mechanism (13) is adapted to define a rotary joint on two rotation axes (15, 16) at least substantially orthogonal with respect to the frame (12).

12. Device as claimed in claim 3, wherein said mechanism (13) is adapted to define a rotary joint on two rotation axes (15, 16) at least substantially orthogonal with respect to the frame (12).

13. Device as claimed in claim 4, wherein said mechanism (13) is adapted to define a rotary joint on two rotation axes (15, 16) at least substantially orthogonal with respect to the frame (12).