Process and device for controlling an operating lever of a vehicle

• US 9,904,256 B2
• Filed: 01/09/2015
• Issued: 02/27/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 01/14/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ratier Figeac (Rtx Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Ratier Figeac (Rtx Corporation)
• Inventors: Antraygue, Cedric
• Primary Examiner(s): COLON SANTANA, EDUARDO
• Assistant Examiner(s): Bouziane, Said
• Application Number:
  US14/593,231
• Publication Number:
  US 20150198930A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,145 Days
• 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. A process for controlling a motor configured to drive an operating lever, the operating lever being a throttle lever of an aircraft, the operating lever being driven by a synchronous motor in opposition to a friction brake arranged on an axis common to the operating lever and the synchronous motor at a set-point speed determined by an autopilot system, said control process comprising:

measuring an angular position of the motor using a position sensor;

determining a speed of rotation of said motor using at least one of a speed sensor and a position differentiation circuit;

determining a nominal control voltage for a feed of each winding of the motor in a closed loop as a function of the speed of rotation of the motor, using at least one processor;

evaluating a value of an instantaneous torque provided by the motor using a measurement device and comparing said value with a predetermined value of maximum torque using the at least one processor;

determining saturation limits of the nominal control voltage as a function of the comparison of said torque values in order to obtain a limited control voltage using the at least one processor; and

feeding each winding of the motor with an alternating-voltage signal determined based on the limited control voltage in accordance with a predetermined sequence as a function of the angular position of the motor,

wherein said predetermined value of maximum torque corresponds to a maximum admissible value of the instantaneous torque estimated that a pilot can accept being provided when regaining control of the throttle lever.

2. The process as claimed in claim 1, wherein the motor is a three-phase direct-current motor without brushes, and

the feed of each winding of the motor is effected by gating pulses of a voltage equal to the limited control voltage in accordance with a six-state sequence.

3. The process as claimed in claim 1, wherein the motor is a three-phase synchronous motor with permanent magnets, and

the feed of each winding is effected with a sinusoidal voltage, the maximum value of the sinusoidal voltage being equal to the limited control voltage.

4. The process as claimed in claim 1, wherein the motor is driven in accordance with a vectorial control in which a first voltage that is the direct voltage, and a second voltage that is the quadratic voltage, are defined, and

wherein the nominal control voltage is applied as quadratic voltage in the closed loop as a function of the speed of rotation of the motor.

5. The process as claimed in claim 4, wherein the saturation limits of the quadratic voltage are variable as a function of the measured value of the quadratic current.

6. The process as claimed in claim 5, wherein the saturation limits of the quadratic voltage are determined by a proportional-integral regulator as a function of a difference between the measured value of the quadratic current and a set-point value corresponding to a tolerated maximum torque exerted on the operating lever.

7. The process as claimed in claim 4, wherein the saturation limits of the quadratic voltage are determined by a proportional-integral regulator as a function of a difference between the measured value of the quadratic current and a set-point value corresponding to a tolerated maximum torque exerted on the operating lever.

8. The process as claimed in claim 7, wherein the proportional-integral regulator includes an anti-accumulation circuit that is configured to avoid an overflow of the integral term of the regulator.

9. The process as claimed in claim 4, wherein the saturation limits of the quadratic voltage are determined by a proportional-integral regulator as a function of a difference between a measured value of the torque applied to the operating lever and a set-point value corresponding to a tolerated maximum torque exerted by a pilot on the operating lever.

10. An aircraft comprising:

a control device and a control computer configured to implement the control process as claimed in claim 1.

11. A device for controlling an operating lever, the operating lever being a throttle lever of an aircraft, the device comprising:

a synchronous motor configured to drive the lever in opposition to a friction brake arranged on an axis common to the operating lever and the synchronous motor;

a position sensor configured to provide a position of the lever; and

a control computer including a converter configured to feed the motor, the control computer comprising

means for determining a speed of rotation of the motor,

a first regulator configured to define a nominal control voltage in a closed loop as a function of a difference between the speed of rotation of the motor and a set-point speed,

a second regulator configured to determine saturation limits of the nominal control voltage as a function of a difference between an instantaneous torque provided by the motor and a predetermined limiting torque, and a saturator configured to provide a limited control voltage based on the nominal control voltage and the saturation limits provided by the second regulator,

wherein the converter feeds each winding of the motor with an alternating-voltage signal determined based on the limited control voltage in accordance with a predetermined sequence as a function of the angular position of the motor, and

wherein said predetermined value of maximum torque corresponds to a maximum admissible value of the instantaneous torque estimated that a pilot can accept being provided when regaining control of the throttle lever.

12. The device as claimed in claim 11, wherein the device is configured to vectorially control the motor, and

the converter includes

a first, direct-vectorial-transformation block that is configured to drive, based on the limited control voltage used as the quadratic voltage,

an inverter feeding each winding of the motor as a function of the angular position of the motor, and

a second, inverse-vectorial-transformation block that is configured to provide a value of the resultant quadratic current to the control computer.

13. The device as claimed in claim 12, further comprising a closed-loop regulation of a direct voltage as a function of the direct current.

14. The device as claimed in claim 11, further comprising a torque sensor linked to the operating lever, the torque sensor being configured to measure a value of a torque exerted by a pilot on the operating lever and to transmit said torque value to the second regulator of the control computer to limit the value of the torque to a maximum desirable torque exerted by a pilot on the operating lever.

15. The device as claimed in claim 11, wherein the second regulator includes an anti-accumulation circuit.

16. An aircraft comprising:

an operating lever provided with the control device as claimed in claim 11.