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Flight control system

  • US 5,908,177 A
  • Filed: 05/30/1996
  • Issued: 06/01/1999
  • Est. Priority Date: 07/12/1995
  • Status: Expired due to Term
First Claim
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1. A flight control system for controlling a flight of an aircraft, comprising:

  • a control member having an input portion, a pivot portion and a control force output portion, said input portion of said control force output portion pivotally move around said pivot portion;

    a control surface pivotally mounted at its hinge portion on said aircraft and controllable to assume different angle positions within a control angle range, said control surface being controlled by the control force outputted from said control member;

    a transmission linkage provided between said control force output portion of said control member and said control surface to transmit said control force from said control member to said control surface;

    a power assist actuator associated with said control member and said transmission linkage to control said control surface with an assist force, said power assist actuator being constituted by a motor connected to the hinge portion of the control surface to output an assist torque in response to the reaction force detected by said force sensor;

    a force sensor provided between said pivot portion of said control member and said aircraft to detect a reaction force exerted thereon by said control member and said transmission linkage, said force sensor producing an output signal representative of said reaction force; and

    force regulating means for regulating the assist force outputted from said power assist actuator as to be proportional to the control force from said control member in response to said output signal outputted from said force sensor;

    wherein the assist torque from the motor is regulated to be less than the operation torque applied to said hinge portion of said control surface from said control member when said predetermined maximum value of said reaction force is detected by said force sensor.

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