PROCESS AND DEVICE FOR CONTROLLING AN OPERATING LEVER OF A VEHICLE

• US 20150198930A1
• Filed: 01/09/2015
• Published: 07/16/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 01/14/2014
• 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 9,904,256 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 31/06 actuated automatically
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 1/01 electric
• 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: H02P 6/28 Arrangements for controlling current H02P6/10 takes precedence

Abstract

A process and device for controlling a synchronous motor driving an operating lever in opposition to a friction brake, including a sensor for sensing the position of the lever, and a control computer include:

• • a first regulator defining a nominal control voltage (U*) as a function of a difference (Δω) between the speed of rotation (ω_feedback) of the motor and a set-point speed (ω_cmd);
  • a second regulator determining saturation limits (−Usat; +Usat) of the nominal control voltage as a function of an instantaneous torque provided by the motor;
  • a saturator providing a limited control voltage (U_cmd) on the basis of the nominal control voltage and on the basis of the saturation limits;
  • a converter feeding each winding of the motor with an alternating-voltage signal (U_alim) worked out on the basis of the limited control voltage as a function of the angular position of the motor.

Claims

1. Process for controlling a motor (8) for driving an operating lever(2), notably a throttle lever of an aircraft, in which the operating lever (2) is driven by a synchronous motor in opposition to a friction brake (3) at a speed, the so-called set-point speed (ω

_cmd), determined by an autopilot system, said control process comprising the following steps;

measuring the angular position (θ

) of the motor;

determining a speed of rotation (ω

_feedback) of said motor;

determining a voltage value, the so-called nominal control voltage (U*), for a feed of each winding of the motor in a closed loop as a function of the speed of rotation of the motor;

evaluating a value of an instantaneous torque (T) provided by the motor and comparing said value with a predetermined value of maximum torque (T_lim);

determining limiting values, so-called saturation limits (−

Usat;

+Usat), of the nominal control voltage as a function of the comparison of said torque values in order to obtain a limited control voltage (U_cmd);

feeding each winding of the motor with an alternating-voltage signal (U_alim) worked out on the basis of the limited control voltage in accordance with a predetermined sequence as a function of the angular position of the motor.

2. Process as claimed in claim 1, wherein the value of the instantaneous torque (T) provided by the motor is evaluated on the basis of a value of current measured in at least one of the windings of the motor.

3. Process as claimed in claim 1, wherein the value of the instantaneous torque provided by the motor is evaluated on the basis of a torque value provided by a torque sensor (4) linked to the operating lever (2).

4. Process as claimed in claim 1, wherein a three-phase direct-current motor without brushes is chosen and wherein the feed of each winding of the motor is effected by gating pulses of a voltage equal to the limited control voltage (U_cmd) in accordance with a so-called six-state sequence.

5. Process as claimed in claim 1, wherein a three-phase synchronous motor is chosen, notably with permanent magnets, and wherein the feed of each winding is effected with a sinusoidal voltage, the maximum value of which is equal to the limited control voltage (U_cmd).

6. Process as claimed in claim 1, in which the motor is driven in accordance with a vectorial control in which a first voltage, the so-called direct voltage (Vd), and a second voltage, the so-called quadratic voltage (Vq), are defined, wherein the nominal control voltage (U*) is applied as quadratic voltage in the closed loop as a function of the speed of rotation of the motor.

7. Process as claimed in claim 6, wherein the saturation limits (−

Vq_sat;

+Vq_sat) of the quadratic voltage are variable as a function of the measured value (Iq_feedback) of the quadratic current.

8. Process as claimed in claim 6, wherein the saturation limits (−

Vq_sat;

+Vq_sat) of the quadratic voltage are determined by a proportional-integral regulator (81) as a function of a difference (Δ

Iq) between the measured value (Iq_feedback) of the quadratic current and a set-point value (Iq_lim) corresponding to a tolerated maximum torque exerted on the operating lever (2).

9. Process as claimed in claim 6, wherein the saturation limits (−

Vq_sat;

+Vq_sat) of the quadratic voltage are determined by a proportional-integral regulator (67) as a function of a difference (Δ

T) between a measured value (T) of the torque applied to the operating lever and a set-point value (T_lim) corresponding to a tolerated maximum torque exerted by a pilot on the operating lever (2).

10. Process as claimed in claim 8, wherein the proportional-integral regulator (67;

81) includes an anti-accumulation circuit (815) that is suitable to avoid an overflow of the integral term of the regulator.

17. Aircraft including a control device (1) and a control computer (6) that is suitable to implement a control process as claimed in claim 1.

18. Process as claimed in claim 2, wherein the value of the instantaneous torque provided by the motor is evaluated on the basis of a torque value provided by a torque sensor (4) linked to the operating lever (2).

19. Process as claimed in claim 7, wherein the saturation limits (−

Vq_sat;

+Vq_sat) of the quadratic voltage are determined by a proportional-integral regulator (81) as a function of a difference (Δ

Iq) between the measured value (Iq_feedback) of the quadratic current and a set-point value (Iq_lim) corresponding to a tolerated maximum torque exerted on the operating lever (2).

20. Process as claimed in claim 7, wherein the saturation limits (−

Vq_sat;

+Vq_sat) of the quadratic voltage are determined by a proportional-integral regulator (67) as a function of a difference (Δ

T) between a measured value (T) of the torque applied to the operating lever and a set-point value (T_lim) corresponding to a tolerated maximum torque exerted by a pilot on the operating lever (2).

11. Device (1) for controlling an operating lever (2), notably a throttle lever of an aircraft, comprising a synchronous motor (8) that is suitable to drive the lever in opposition to a friction brake (3), a position sensor (9) that is suitable to provide a position (θ

) of the lever, and a control computer (6) including a converter (68) that is suitable to feed the motor (8), said device being characterised in that the control computer comprises;

means (61) that are suitable to determine a speed of rotation (ω

_feedback) of the motor (8);

a first regulator (63) that is suitable to define a voltage value, the so-called nominal control voltage (U*), in a closed loop as a function of a difference (Δ

ω

) between the speed of rotation (ω

_feedback) of the motor and a set-point speed (ω

_cmd);

a second regulator (67;

81) that is suitable to determine limiting values, so-called saturation limits (−

Usat;

+Usat), of the nominal control voltage as a function of a difference (Δ

T) between an instantaneous torque (T) provided by the motor and a predetermined limiting torque (T_lim);

a saturator (64) that is suitable to provide a limited control voltage (U_cmd) on the basis of the nominal control voltage (U*) and on the basis of the saturation limits (−

Usat;

+Usat) provided by the second regulator(67;

81);

and wherein the converter (68) feeds each winding of the motor (8) with an alternating-voltage signal (U_alim) worked out on the basis of the limited control voltage (U_cmd) in accordance with a predetermined sequence as a function of the angular position (θ

) of the motor.

12. Device as claimed in claim 11, suitable for vectorial control of the motor, wherein the converter (68) includes a first, direct-vectorial-transformation block (68a) that is suitable to drive, on the basis of the limited control voltage (U_cmd) used as quadratic voltage (Vq), an inverter (11) feeding each winding of the motor as a function of the angular position (θ

) of the motor, and a second, inverse-vectorial-transformation block (68b) that is suitable to provide a value of the resultant quadratic current (Iq_feedback) to the control computer (6).

13. Device as claimed in claim 12, including, in addition, a closed-loop regulation (70) of a direct voltage (Vd) as a function of the direct current (Id_feedback).

14. Device as claimed in claim 11, including, in addition, a torque sensor (4) that is suitable to measure a value (T) of a torque exerted by a pilot on the operating lever (2) and to transmit said torque value to the second regulator (67) of the control computer (6) so as to limit the value of the torque to a maximum desirable torque (T_lim) exerted by a pilot on the operating lever (2).

15. Device as claimed in claim 11, wherein the second regulator (67;

81) includes an anti-accumulation circuit (815).

16. Aircraft including an operating lever (2) provided with a control device (1) as claimed in claim 11.