Apparatus and method for controlling a force-activated controller

• US 8,050,780 B2
• Filed: 11/06/2002
• Issued: 11/01/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 11/06/2001
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Bombardier Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Bombardier Incorporated
• Inventors: Martineau, Jonathan, Tessier, Claude
• Primary Examiner(s): Chaki; Kakali
• Assistant Examiner(s): Gami; Tejal J
• Application Number:
  US10/494,563
• Publication Number:
  US 20050080495A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,282 Days
• Field of Search: 700/63, 700/260, 700/245, 318/628, 318/568.17, 244/229
• US Class Current: 700/63
• CPC Class Codes: B64C 13/0421 control sticks for primary flight controls
• CPC Class Codes: B64C 13/503 Fly-by-Wire
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/82 Limited authority control, e.g. enforcing a flight envelope limitation of acceleration or structural stress G05D1/83
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 2105/22 of humans
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 2109/20 Aircraft, e.g. drones

Abstract

A servo-controlled system is disclosed for providing simulated feel equivalent to that of traditional mechanical hand controllers. Processed position and force sensor signals are used in a feedback loop that controls the motor mechanically connected to the stick. The feedback loop comprises a low-level motor feedback loop, and high-level force feel loop. The latter comprises static and dynamic performance components. The system allows variable and additional force cues to be specified externally to the system and felt by the operator, and/or external signal to backdrive the stick to follow a specified motion. The control framework permits the electronic coupling of the motion and applied forces by pilots in a dual arrangement while retaining the above-mentioned features. It simulates cross-coupling mechanical compliance due to force fight between pilots, detents and asymmetric force feel gradients. Parameters associated with loops and performance components can be specified independently.

Claims

1. A control system for controlling movement of a control member, the control system comprising:

drive means for driving movement of the control member,

a force sensor for sensing an external force applied to the control member by a user;

a trajectory generator adapted to generate a desired trajectory to be executed by the control member in the direction of the external force applied to the control member by the user, the desired trajectory comprising a series of position values representing positions for the control member over a period of time, the series of position values being generated by the trajectory generator based on and in the direction of the external force applied by the user and measured by the force sensor; and

a trajectory controller to control the drive means to move the control member in accordance with the series of position values generated by the trajectory generator.

2. A control system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said trajectory generator includes a static performance model defining a relationship between the force applied to the control member and a desired displacement to which said control member is to move as a result of said applied force, said static performance model being configured to determine the desired displacement from said relationship.

3. A control system as claimed in claim 2, wherein said trajectory generator includes a predetermined relationship between the desired displacement and movement for the control member, and is configured to determine said series of position values for the control member between its initial position and the desired displacement.

4. A control system as claimed in claim 3, wherein said trajectory generator is adapted to determine a series of values of one or more of (1) velocity for said control member as a function of time and (2) acceleration for said control member as a function of time.

5. A control system as claimed in claim 2, further comprising a controller for varying the relationship between said force and the desired displacement.

6. A control system as claimed in claim 3, further comprising control means for varying the predetermined relationship between said desired displacement and movement for said control member.

7. A control system as claimed in claim 5, wherein said controller is adapted to vary said relationship in response to a condition of a system being controlled by said control system.

8. A control system as claimed in claim 6, wherein said control means is adapted to vary said relationship in response to a condition of a system being controlled by said control system.

9. A control system as claimed in claim 1, including trajectory determining means to receive a first signal indicative of the direction for movement for said control member and to determine a trajectory for said control member based on said first signal, and

control means to control said determining means to determine the trajectory for said control member based on at least one of (1) a second signal, (2) a comparison of the direction for movement for said control member indicated by said first signal with a direction indicated by a second signal, and (3) a comparison of the force applied to said control member with a second force, and wherein said drive means is arranged to drive movement of said control member based on the determined trajectory.

10. A control system as claimed in claim 9, wherein said control means is adapted to control said trajectory determining means if at least one of (1) the direction indicated by said first signal is opposite to that indicated by said second signal and (2) the force applied to said control member is different from said second force.

11. A control system as claimed in claim 9, further comprising a second sensor for sensing a force applied to a second control member by an operator and for passing a signal indicative of said force as said second signal to said control means or as said second force.

12. A control system as claimed in claim 9, wherein said force sensor for sensing the external force applied to said control member is adapted to pass a signal indicative of said force to said control means as said second signal or as said force applied to said control member.

13. A control system as claimed in claim 12, wherein said first signal is generated by an automatic control system for controlling movement of said control member.

14. A control system as claimed in claim 13, wherein said automatic control system comprises a computer.

15. A control system as claimed in claim 9, wherein said first signal is indicative of a first force and said second signal is indicative of a second force, and said trajectory controller is adapted not to vary said trajectory if the difference in the magnitudes of said forces or the magnitude of the lesser of the forces is below a predetermined threshold.

16. A control system as claimed in claim 9, further comprising changing means for changing the signal which is used by said trajectory determining means for determining said trajectory from said first signal to said second signal.

17. A control system as claimed in claim 16, wherein said second signal is indicative of a force applied to said control member, and wherein said changing means is adapted to change the signal from said first signal to said second signal if said force exceeds a predetermined threshold.

18. A control system as claimed in claim 17, wherein said changing means is adapted to gradually change the signal from said first signal to said second signal over a predetermined period of time.

19. A control system as claimed in claim 18, wherein said changing means is adapted to change said signal by gradually reducing the first signal to zero and gradually increasing the value of said second signal from zero.

20. A control system as claimed in claim 19, wherein said changing means is adapted to reduce said first signal and increase said second signal substantially simultaneously.

21. A control system as claimed in claim 1, comprising a conditioner to receive an input indicative of the magnitude and direction of a force, said conditioner defining a first relationship between the magnitude of an input force in one direction and the magnitude of an output force and defining a second relationship between the magnitude of an input force in the opposite direction and the magnitude of an output force, said first relationship being different to said second relationship, said conditioner determining an output force based on said received input and one of said first and second relationship depending on the direction of the force indicated by said received input,

and trajectory determining means to determine said required movement for said control member based on said output force determined by said conditioner.

22. A control system as claimed in claim 21, wherein said force sensor is adapted to transmit a signal indicative of said applied force to said conditioner as said input.

23. A control system as claimed in claim 21, further comprising a second conditioner to receive an input indicative of a force, said second conditioner defining a relationship between an output force and an input force, summing means for summing the output force from said first conditioner and the output force from said second conditioner and means for passing a signal based on said summed forces to said trajectory determining means.

24. A control system as claimed in claim 23, further comprising a second sensor for sensing a force applied to a second control member by an operator and for transmitting a signal indicative of the sensed force as said input to said second conditioner.

25. A control system as claimed in claim 23, wherein the relationship defined by said second conditioner comprises a first relationship between the magnitude of an output force and the magnitude of an input force in one direction and a second relationship between the magnitude of an output force and the magnitude of an input force in the opposite direction, wherein said first relationship defined by said second conditioner is different from said second relationship.

26. A control system as claimed in claim 25, wherein said first relationship scales said input force by a predetermined factor to provide said output force and said second relationship scales said input force by a second, different factor to provide said output force.

27. A control system as claimed in claim 21, wherein said first relationship defined by said first conditioner scales said input force by a first predetermined factor to provide said output force, and said second relationship scales said input force by a second, different predetermined factor to provide said output force.

28. A control system as claimed in claim 21, further comprising means for adding an additional force to the force provided from said conditioner to said trajectory determining means.

29. A control system as claimed in claim 1, comprising a conditioner to receive an input signal indicative of a force, said conditioner defining a relationship between an input force and an output force in which the output force is substantially zero or a constant finite value over a predetermined range of input force values, said conditioner determining an output force based on the received input force and said relationship, and trajectory determining means to determine said required movement for said control member based on the output force determined by said conditioner.

30. A control system as claimed in claim 29, wherein said force sensor is adapted to transmit a signal indicative of said applied force to said conditioner as said input signal.

31. A control system as claimed in claim 29, further comprising a second conditioner defining a relationship between an input force and an output force, in which said output force is substantially zero or a constant finite value over a predetermined range of input force, summing means for summing the output force from said first conditioner and the output force from said second conditioner, and means for passing a signal based on said summed forces to said trajectory determining means.

32. A control system as claimed in claim 31, further comprising a second sensor for sensing a force applied to a second control member by an operator, and for transmitting a signal indicative of the sensed force as an input signal to said second conditioner.

33. A control system as claimed in claim 29, further comprising means for adding an additional force to the force provided from the conditioner to said trajectory determining means.

34. A control system as claimed in claim 32, further comprising a third conditioner defining a relationship between an input force and an output force, wherein said third conditioner is adapted to receive said signal indicative of the summed forces from said summing means and determines an output force based on said input signal for said trajectory determining means.

35. A control system as claimed in claim 34, further comprising means for adding an additional force to the output force provided from said third conditioner to said trajectory determining means.

36. A control system as claimed in claim 29, comprising displacement determining means to determine a desired displacement for said control member based on the output force from said conditioner.

37. A control system as claimed in claim 21, comprising displacement determining means to determine a desired displacement for said control member based on the output force from said conditioner.

38. A control system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said trajectory controller comprises input means to receive a signal indicative of said force applied to said control member by said user,

a compensator to vary the force applied by said drive means to said control member in response to said signal to oppose the force applied to said control member by said user, and

means responsive to another signal indicative of said required movement to be followed by said control member to cause said drive means to drive movement of said control member to follow said required movement.

39. A control system as claimed in claim 38, wherein said means to cause is adapted to drive movement of said control member in response to a signal containing at least one of a series of defined positions for said control member, a velocity for said control member as a function of time and an acceleration for said control member as a function of time.

40. A control system as claimed in claim 38, further comprising generator means to generate a drive signal to cause said drive means to drive movement of said control member in response to a trajectory control signal, and wherein said compensator is adapted to control said generator such that said drive signal substantially removes the effect of the force applied to said control member by said user on movement of said control member.

41. A control system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said control member comprises a first control member, said control system further comprising control means for controlling coupling between said first and a second control member, said control means comprising said force sensor as a first sensor for sensing a value of a parameter indicative of a force when a force is applied to said first control member, a second sensor for sensing a value of a parameter indicative of a force when a force is applied to said second control member, coupling means to couple motion of one of said first and second control members to the other said control member so that motion of said other control member corresponds to motion of said one control member, detecting means to detect a difference in the direction of said forces, coupling control means responsive to a difference in said direction detected by said detecting means to permit differential displacement between said first and second control members if the lesser of said values exceeds a predetermined value, and wherein said trajectory generator is responsive to said coupling control means to generate a signal indicative of a required trajectory for each of said first and second control members to control said drive means for driving motion of said control members.

42. A control system as claimed in claim 41, wherein said coupling control means is arranged to permit said differential displacement if the force applied to said first control member is directed away from the force applied to said second control member.

43. A control system as claimed in claim 41, wherein said coupling control means is adapted to disable said coupling means to decouple said first and second control members when said lesser value exceeds a predetermined value.

44. A control system as claimed in claim 41, further comprising means for determining the value of differential displacement between said first and second control members depending on the lesser value of the sensed force.

45. A control system as claimed in claim 44, further comprising a model defining the relationship between the lesser value of said sensed force and differential displacement.

46. A control system as claimed in claim 44, further comprising a model defining the motion of one of said first and second control members based on the determined differential displacement.

47. A control system as claimed in claim 41, further comprising summing means for summing values of forces based on said sensed values, and displacement determining means for determining a displacement for at least one of said first and second control members based on the summed values.

48. A control system as claimed in claim 47, further comprising motion determining means for determining the motion of at least one of said first and second control members based on said determined displacement.

49. A control system as claimed in claim 48, wherein said motion determining means comprises a model defining the motion of at least one of said first and second control members.

50. A control system as claimed in claim 49, further comprising determining means for determining a motion of at least one of said first and second control members based on a determined differential displacement, and wherein said motion determining means defines a different motion than the motion determining means that determines motion of at least one of said first and second control members based on the determined displacement.

51. A control system as claimed in claim 49, further comprising means for preventing a value of force based on the sensed value of at least one of said first and second sensors from being summed with the other value.

52. A control system as claimed in claim 51, wherein said preventing means is arranged to reduce the value to be prevented from being summed over a period of time so as to prevent instantaneous decoupling of said first and second control members.

53. A control system as claimed in claim 51, wherein said preventing means is arranged to restore coupling between said first and second control members when the lesser of said sensed values decreases below a predetermined value.

54. A control system as claimed in claim 53, wherein said preventing means is arranged to restore coupling between said first and second control members over a period of time such as to prevent instantaneous re-coupling of said first and second control members.

55. A control system as claimed in claim 41, including means for preventing at least one of differential displacement and decoupling of said first and second control members until a differential force is applied to said controllers for a predetermined length of time.

67. A control system as claimed in claim 2, wherein said force is indicative of a force applied to said control member by an operator, and said relationship defined by said static performance model comprises a first relationship between the magnitude of said force in a first direction and the magnitude of said displacement in said first direction, and a second relationship between the magnitude of said force in a second direction, opposite to said first direction, and the magnitude of said displacement in said second direction, wherein said second relationship is different to said first relationship.

68. A control system as claimed in claim 21, wherein said first and second relationships include at least one of:

(1) in said first relationship said output force is zero or a constant finite value over a first range of values of input force in said first direction from a value of zero input force, and in said second relationship, said output force is zero or a finite constant value over a second range of values of input force in said second direction from a value of zero input force, wherein said second range is different to said first range, and

(2) for each value of a range of values of input force, the output force in said first relationship is greater than the output force in said second relationship.

69. The control system of claim 1, wherein the series of position values is generated irrespectively of a position of the control member.

56. An apparatus for controlling an actuator comprising a control member for receiving an applied force from an operator,

a force sensor for sensing the force applied to said control member,

a trajectory generator adapted to generate a desired trajectory to be executed by the control member in the direction of the external force applied to the control member by the user, the desired trajectory comprising a series of position values representing positions for the control member over a period of time, the series of position values being generated by the trajectory generator based on and in the direction of the external force applied by the user and measured by the force sensor;

and said trajectory generator being adapted to generate and output a signal therefrom representing said desired trajectory, and means to feed said signal to an actuator controller for controlling said actuator in response to said signal.

59. An apparatus as claimed in claim 56, further comprising drive means for driving movement of said control member in response to said desired trajectory signal.

60. An apparatus as claimed in claim 56, wherein said trajectory generator is adapted to output as said desired trajectory at least one of velocity and acceleration of said control member as a function of time.

61. An apparatus as claimed in claim 56, further comprising a sensor for sensing at least one of the position, velocity and acceleration of said control member, and means for comparing the sensed parameter with the value of said corresponding parameter in said desired trajectory signal.

62. An apparatus as claimed in claim 61, wherein said comparison means is adapted to generate a signal if the difference between the value of said sensed parameter and the parameter output from said trajectory generator exceeds a predetermined threshold.

63. An apparatus as claimed in claim 62, further comprising means for feeding the sensed parameter signal to the actuator controller, and signal selector means responsive to the signal from said comparison means for selecting which of said desired trajectory signal and said sensed parameter signal is used by said actuator controller to control said actuator.

64. An apparatus as claimed in claim 56, further comprising drive means for driving movement of said control member and wherein said trajectory generator is capable of transmitting a first desired trajectory signal to said drive means and a second, different desired trajectory signal to said actuator controller.

65. An apparatus as claimed in claim 56, wherein said desired trajectory signal is selected as the signal used by the actuator unless a fault is detected that may effect the validity of said desired trajectory signal.

57. An apparatus for controlling an actuator, comprising a control member for receiving by contact with an operator a force from said operator,

a force sensor for sensing said force applied to said control member, a trajectory generator adapted to generate a desired trajectory to be executed by the control member in the direction of the external force applied to the control member by the user, the desired trajectory comprising a series of position values representing positions for the control member over a period of time, the series of position values being generated by the trajectory generator based on and in the direction of the external force applied by the user and measured by the force sensor;

and said trajectory generator being adapted to generate and output a signal therefrom representing said desired trajectory, and

an actuator controller to receive said signal and adapted to control an said actuator in response to said signal.

58. An apparatus as claimed in claim 57, wherein said trajectory generator is adapted to generate a commanded displacement to which said control member is to move based on a said force applied to said control member, and to generate said series of position values based on said commanded displacement.

66. An apparatus for controlling movement of a control member comprising drive means for driving movement of said control member, a force sensor for sensing an external force applied to said control member by an operator, converter means for converting the force measured by said sensor into a value of displacement for said control member from a present position to a future, different position;

a generator for generating from said value of displacement a series of position values as a function of time for said control member between said present position and said future position, said series of position values as a function of time defining a trajectory that is to be executed by said control member, and

a controller to control said drive means in response to said series of positions.