FLY-BY-WIRE FLIGHT CONTROL SYSTEM AND METHOD

• US 20160114882A1
• Filed: 10/28/2015
• Published: 04/28/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 04/05/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Airbus Canada Limited Partnership, Bombardier Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Bombardier Incorporated
• Inventors: LIN, Shu, SMITH, Timothy, DE SERRES, Pierre
• Granted Patent: US 9,540,096 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B64C 13/503 Fly-by-Wire
• CPC Class Codes: B64C 19/00 Aircraft control not otherwise provided for
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 9/03 with multiple-channel loop, i.e. redundant control systems
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0077 using redundant signals or controls

Abstract

A multi-axis serially redundant, single channel, multi-path fly-by-wire control system comprising: serially redundant flight control computers in a single channel where only one “primary” flight control computer is active and controlling at any given time; a matrix of parallel flight control surface controllers including stabilizer motor control units (SMCU) and actuator electronics control modules (AECM) define multiple control paths within the single channel, each implemented with dissimilar hardware and which each control the movement of a distributed set of flight control surfaces on the aircraft in response to flight control surface commands of the primary flight control computer; and a set of (pilot and co-pilot) controls and aircraft surface/reference/navigation sensors and systems which provide input to a primary flight control computer and are used to generate the flight control surface commands to control the aircraft in flight in accordance with the control law algorithms implemented in the flight control computers.

Claims

1. A fly-by-wire flight control system of an aircraft, the system comprising:

a plurality of input controls, each one of the plurality of input controls being capable of generating a signal indicative of a commanded position of at least one flight control surface;

a plurality of flight control computers, each one of the plurality of flight control computers being capable of generating flight surface control commands according to predetermined flight control algorithms in part as a function of the signal, wherein at least one of the plurality of flight control computers is capable of determining that it is invalid based on a self-testing regime; and

a plurality of flight control surface controllers, each one of the plurality of flight control surface controllers being capable of controlling the at least one flight control surface based on at least one of (i) the flight surface control commands generated by at least one of the plurality of flight control computers and (ii) the signal.

2. The fly-by-wire flight control system of claim 1, wherein at least another one of the plurality of flight control computers is capable of becoming an active primary flight control computer upon determination by the at least one of the plurality of flight control computers that it is invalid.

3. The fly-by-wire flight control system of claim 1, wherein at least one of the plurality of flight control surface controllers, upon determining that none of the plurality of flight control computers is capable of becoming an active primary flight control computer, is capable of being commanded according to predetermined flight control algorithms for direct mode operation in response to the signal.

4. The fly-by-wire flight control system of claim 1, wherein the at least one of the plurality of flight control computers comprises a command lane and a monitor lane capable of comparing against one another.

5. The fly-by-wire flight control system of claim 4, wherein the self-testing is configured so that a discrepancy outside a predetermined tolerance between the command lane and the monitor lane results in the at least one of the plurality of flight control computers setting its status as invalid.

6. The fly-by-wire flight control system of claim 4, wherein the self-testing is configured so that a discrepancy outside a predetermined tolerance between the command lane and the monitor lane results in the at least one of the plurality of flight control computers taking itself offline.

7. The fly-by-wire flight control system of claim 5, wherein at least one of the plurality of flight control surface controllers is being indicated that the status of the at least one of the plurality of flight control computers is invalid.

8. The fly-by-wire flight control system of claim 4, wherein the command lane and the monitor lane have dissimilar processors.

9. The fly-by-wire flight control system of claim 2, wherein the at least another one of the plurality of flight control computers is capable of becoming the active primary flight control computer based on (i) a determination by the at least one of the plurality of flight control computers that it is invalid and (ii) a priority logic.

10. The fly-by-wire flight control system of claim 1, further comprising a validity block configured to detect whether no valid flight control computer amongst the plurality of flight control computers is available and further configured to instruct a switching block to disconnect flight surface control commands and to connect direct mode control.

11. A flight control computer for an aircraft, the flight control computer comprising:

a receiving module for receiving a signal indicative of a commanded position of at least one flight control surface of the aircraft, the signal being generated by at least one input control;

a first processor configured to execute a command lane, the command lane generating flight surface control commands according to predetermined flight control algorithms in part as a function of the signal;

a second processor configured to execute a monitor lane; and

a self-testing module configured to compare the command lane against the monitor lane to identify whether the flight control computer is to operate at least one of (i) taking itself offline and (ii) setting its status as invalid.

12. The flight control computer of claim 11, wherein the self-testing module is configured so as to determine whether a difference between the command lane and the monitor lane is within a predetermined tolerance.

13. The flight control computer of claim 11, further comprising a module configured to determine that the flight control computer is to become an active primary flight control computer upon determination that another flight control computer is invalid.

14. A flight surface controller for an aircraft, the flight surface controller comprising:

a receiving module for receiving at least one of flight surface control commands and a signal, the flight surface control commands being generated by a flight control computer and the signal being generated by an input control;

a control module being capable of controlling at least one flight control surface of the aircraft based on at least one of the flight surface control commands and the signal; and

a command decode logic module capable of determining that no flight control computer is being capable of becoming an active primary flight control computer of the aircraft.

15. The flight surface controller of claim 14, wherein the control module is capable of being commanded according to predetermined flight control algorithms for direct mode operation in response to the signal upon determination, by the command decode logic module, that no flight control computer is being capable of becoming an active primary flight control computer of the aircraft.

16. A method of controlling an aircraft, the method comprising:

receiving a signal indicative of a commanded position of at least one flight control surface of the aircraft;

generating, by a first flight control computer, flight surface control commands according to predetermined flight control algorithms in part as a function of the signal;

upon determining that the first flight control computer is invalid, selecting a second flight control computer to become an active primary flight control computer;

generating, by the second flight control computer, flight surface control commands according to predetermined flight control algorithms in part as a function of the signal; and

applying the flight surface control commands to a flight control surface controller, the flight control surface controller being capable of controlling at least one flight control surface of the aircraft.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

determining that none of the first flight control computer and the second flight control computer is capable of becoming the active primary flight control computer; and

commanding the flight control surface controller according to predetermined flight control algorithms for direct mode operation in response to the signal.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein determining that the first flight control computer is invalid is executed by a self-testing module of the first flight control computer.

19. The method of claim 16, wherein the method comprises, upon determining that the first flight control computer is invalid, at least one of (i) taking the first flight control computer offline and (ii) setting the status of the first flight control computer as invalid.

20. A fly-by-wire flight control system of an aircraft, comprising:

a plurality of input controls, each one of the plurality of input controls being capable of generating a signal indicative of a commanded position of at least one flight control surface;

a plurality of flight control computers, wherein a first one of the plurality of flight control computers is an active flight control computer capable of generating flight surface control commands according to predetermined flight control algorithms in part as a function of the signal; and

wherein the first one of the plurality of flight control computers is capable of determining that it is invalid, and a second one of the plurality of flight control computers is capable of becoming the active flight control computer.