Method of managing discontinuities in vehicle control following a control transition, and a vehicle

• US 9,776,708 B2
• Filed: 12/09/2015
• Issued: 10/03/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 12/18/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Airbus Helicopters
• Original Assignee: Airbus Helicopters
• Inventors: Vallart, Jean-Baptiste, Byzery, Romeo
• Primary Examiner(s): MOTT, GENNA M
• Application Number:
  US14/963,347
• Publication Number:
  US 20160176510A1
• Time in Patent Office: 664 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2050/0001 Details of the control system
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2050/0062 Adapting control system settings
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 50/00 Details of control systems for road vehicle drive control not related to the control of a particular sub-unit , e.g. process diagnostic or vehicle driver interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 50/0098 Details of control systems ensuring comfort, safety or stability not otherwise provided for
• CPC Class Codes: B64C 13/00 Control systems or transmitting systems for actuating flying-control surfaces, lift-increasing flaps, air brakes, or spoilers
• CPC Class Codes: B64C 13/0421 control sticks for primary flight controls
• CPC Class Codes: B64C 13/0425 for actuating trailing or leading edge flaps, air brakes or spoilers
• CPC Class Codes: B64C 13/044 operated by feet, e.g. pedals
• CPC Class Codes: B64C 19/00 Aircraft control not otherwise provided for
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/00 Control of position, course, altitude or attitude of land, water, air or space vehicles, e.g. using automatic pilots drive control systems specially adapted for autonomous road vehicles B60W60/00

Abstract

A method during which a current position of a pilot control is determined, an equivalent position is determined that the pilot control needs to reach following a control transition in order to avoid modifying the actuator, and at least one mismatch is determined between the equivalent position and the current position. As from a transition, a target is determined for controlling the actuator by giving a corrected value to at least one position variable in a post-transition piloting relationship, the corrected value being determined as a function of the mismatch and of the current position of the pilot control. So long as the mismatch is not zero, the value of the mismatch in the relationship is reduced in proportion to the movement of the pilot control as the pilot control comes closer to the equivalent position.

Claims

1. A method of controlling an actuator acting on a control member of a vehicle, the actuator being controlled by a human-operable pilot control in application of a plurality of piloting relationships, each piloting relationship determining a target to be reached for controlling the actuator as a function of at least one position variable relating to a position of the pilot control relative to a neutral position, wherein the method comprises the following steps:

determining a current position of the pilot control, the actuator being controlled by giving the current position to the at least one position variable of a first piloting relationship;

determining an equivalent position that the pilot control needs to reach after a control transition in order to avoid modifying the actuator;

determining at least one mismatch between the equivalent position and the current position;

determining the presence of the control transition;

from the control transition, determining a target for controlling the actuator by applying a post-transition piloting relationship, the target being determined by giving a corrected value to at least one position variable in the post-transition piloting relationship, the corrected value being determined as a function of the mismatch and of the current position of the pilot control;

determining a movement of the pilot control; and

so long as the mismatch is not zero, reducing the mismatch in proportion to the movement when the pilot control is moved towards the equivalent position.

2. A method according to claim 1, wherein the control transition corresponds to the transition between the first piloting relationship and a second piloting relationship, the first piloting relationship being applied before the control transition, the second piloting relationship being the post-transition piloting relationship that is applied as from the control transition.

3. A method according to claim 2, wherein the vehicle is an aircraft and the presence of a control transition is determined by determining a current flight stage of the aircraft, the first piloting relationship being applied during a first flight stage, and the second piloting relationship being applied during a second flight stage that is distinct from the first flight stage.

4. A method according to claim 2, wherein the control transition is determined by monitoring a selector unit that serves to determine the piloting relationship that is to be applied.

5. A method according to claim 2, wherein in order to determine the equivalent position, a theoretical position is determined that is to be reached by the pilot control in order to transmit a target in application of the second piloting relationship that is identical to a target generated in application of the first piloting relationship when the pilot control is in the current position.

6. A method according to claim 5, wherein the first piloting relationship and the second piloting relationship generate a target relating to the same parameter, and in order to determine the equivalent position the following steps are performed:

determining the current target by applying the current position to at least one position variable of the first piloting relationship; and

determining the theoretical position to be reached by the pilot control in order to generate the current target when applying the theoretical position to at least one position variable of the second piloting relationship, the equivalent position being equal to the theoretical position.

7. A method according to claim 5, wherein each piloting relationship is a function of at least one position variable and of at least one reference variable corresponding to the neutral position, the first piloting relationship generating a first target relating to a first parameter and the second piloting relationship generating a second target relating to a second parameter different from the first parameter, and in order to determine the equivalent position the following steps are performed:

determining a second value of the second parameter to be reached at the moment of the control transition, referred to as the “

corresponding”

value; and

giving the corresponding value to the reference variable, the neutral position representing the equivalent position.

8. A method according to claim 5, wherein each piloting relationship is a function of at least one position variable and of at least one reference variable corresponding to the neutral position, the first piloting relationship generating a first target relating to a first parameter and the second piloting relationship generating a second target relating to a second parameter different from the first parameter, and in order to determine the equivalent position the following steps are performed:

determining a second value of the second parameter to be reached at the moment of the control transition, referred to as the “

corresponding”

value;

weighting the corresponding value in order to determine a weighted value with a given weighting factor, the weighted value being equal to the product of the corresponding value multiplied by the weighting factor; and

determining the equivalent position by giving the reference variable the weighted value in the second piloting relationship.

9. A method according to claim 1, wherein the pilot control is in a neutral position in the absence of a human exerting any force on the pilot control, the first piloting relationship being a function of at least one position variable and of a reference variable corresponding to the neutral position, the post-transition piloting relationship being the first piloting relationship, the control transition corresponding to a transition between a reference value referred to as a “

first”

reference value and a reference value referred to as a “

second”

reference value for the reference variable.

10. A method according to claim 9, wherein the control transition is determined by monitoring an adjustment unit that adjusts the reference variable.

11. A method according to claim 9, wherein the pilot control is in the neutral position in the absence of a human exerting force on the pilot control, the first piloting relationship is a function of at least one position variable and of at least one reference variable corresponding to the neutral position, and the equivalent position is the neutral position.

12. A method according to claim 1, wherein the target is an order transmitted to the actuator.

13. A method according to claim 1, wherein the target is transmitted to a piloting unit, the piloting unit applying at least one piloting relationship in order to transform the target into at least one control signal transmitted to the actuator.

14. A method according to claim 1, wherein at least one mismatch is equal to a difference between the equivalent position and the current position, the corrected value being equal to the sum of the current position of the pilot control plus the mismatch.

15. A method according to claim 1, wherein at least one mismatch is equal to a difference between the equivalent position and the current position, the corrected value being equal to the difference of the current position of the pilot control minus the mismatch.

16. A vehicle provided with at least one control member, the vehicle including at least one actuator acting on the control member, the vehicle having at least one pilot control for controlling an actuator in order to act on the control member, wherein the vehicle comprises:

at least one sensor for measuring the position of the pilot control relative to a neutral position;

a processor unit connected to each sensor, the processor unit having a memory storing a plurality of piloting relationships, each piloting relationship determining a target to be reached for controlling the actuator as a function of at least one position variable relating to a position of the pilot control relative to the neutral position, the processor unit having a computer for determining the target in application of the method according to claim 1.

17. A vehicle according to claim 16, wherein the vehicle includes a piloting unit connected to the processor unit and to the actuator, the piloting unit including the computer

wherein the target is transmitted to the piloting unit, the piloting unit applying at least one piloting relationship in order to transform the target into at least one control signal transmitted to the actuator.