JP4756605B2 - Steering system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a steering system that rotationally drives steering wheels to steer an aircraft on the ground, and in particular, a by-wire steering system in which a steering unit such as a ladder and an actuator that changes the direction of a wheel are electrically connected. About.

  The by-wire method has become common as an aircraft steering method. This is precisely called the Steer By Wire System, and the amount of operation in the steering section such as a ladder is temporarily converted into an electrical signal to calculate the target steering angle (steering instruction angle), and the hydraulic pressure is accordingly calculated. Steering control is performed by driving a valve, an actuator or the like (see Patent Document 1). FIG. 4 shows a schematic configuration of a conventional steering system using a by-wire system.

JP 2003-63498 A

  The front leg for steering is provided with a pedestal 9 supporting the wheel 8 at the lower end. The pedestal column 9 is rotatably mounted on the machine body side to change the direction of the wheel, and is driven to rotate by a pair of actuators 10 and 10. The pair of actuators 10, 10 are, for example, direct acting hydraulic cylinders, which are linearly driven by hydraulic pressure supplied via a control valve 11, and are connected to a leg column 9 via a collar 12 attached to the leg column 9. Is driven to rotate. In order to detect the rotation angle of the pedestal 9, that is, the direction angle of the steering wheel (steering angle), the pair of actuators 10 and 10 includes a position detection sensor. The collar 12 is a member that converts the linear motion of the actuators 10 and 10 into the rotational motion of the pedestal 9.

  On the other hand, in the cockpit, a steering operation signal is output by the operator operating the ladder 13, the tiller 14, and the like. The steering operation signal is a steering instruction angle signal, and is input to the controller 15 together with a position signal from a position detection sensor in the pair of actuators 10 and 10. The controller 15 generates a valve drive signal necessary for making the rotation angle of the pedestal 9 (the wheel direction angle) calculated from the position signal coincide with the steering instruction angle, and supplies the valve drive signal to the control valve 11. As a result, the actuators 10 and 10 rotate the wheels in the directions as instructed.

  In such a conventional by-wire type steering system, a sensor for detecting the direction angle (steering angle) of the steered wheel is required for the front leg, and as the sensor, a position detection sensor using a transducer as described above is used for the actuator. Built in. However, the sensor is large, which is an obstacle to downsizing actuators and the like. In addition, since the mounting position is limited to the front legs such as an actuator, the degree of freedom in design is limited. Specifically, the sensor is provided in the vicinity of the steered wheels, so that the distance to the controller mounted in the aircraft becomes long, and the length of the electric wiring due to this becomes a problem.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a by-wire type steering system that enables use of a small sensor. Another object of the present invention is to provide a by-wire steering system having a high degree of freedom with respect to the installation position of the sensor.

  In order to achieve the above object, a first steering system of the present invention includes an actuator that supports a steering wheel of an aircraft and rotationally drives a pedestal that is rotatably supported to change the direction of the steering wheel, Multiply the angular velocity detection sensor attached to the aircraft side to detect the turning angular velocity in the horizontal plane of the aircraft when traveling on the ground, and the steering instruction angle output from the operation unit by the gain corresponding to the aircraft velocity. A control unit that calculates a target turning angular velocity of the airframe and controls the actuator so that an actual turning angular velocity from the angular velocity detection sensor coincides with the target turning angular velocity.

  A second steering system of the present invention detects an angular velocity of an actuator that supports a steering wheel of an aircraft and that rotates a pedestal that is rotatably supported to change the direction of the steering wheel, and the pedestal. A first angular velocity detection sensor attached to the pedestal side and a second angular velocity detection sensor attached to the aircraft side to detect the turning angular velocity in the horizontal plane of the aircraft when the aircraft travels on the ground And the rotation angle of the pedestal is calculated from the difference obtained by subtracting the output of the second angular velocity detection sensor from the output of the first angular velocity detection sensor, and this is matched with the steering instruction angle output from the steering unit. And a controller for controlling the actuator.

  In any steering system, the actual angle of the steered wheel necessary for the implementation of the by-wire system is obtained not by an actual angle detection mechanism such as a position detection sensor but by an angular velocity detection sensor. Specifically, in the first steering system, the actual angle of the steering wheel is obtained from the turning speed of the airframe, and in the second steering system, the actual angle of the steering wheel is obtained from the rotation speed of the pedestal of the steering wheel. . Since the angular velocity becomes an angle if integrated, it is easy to detect the actual angle from the angular velocity.

  However, in the former case, the turning speed of the airframe increases as the speed of the airframe increases even if the direction of the steered wheels is the same. For this reason, in order to obtain the actual angle of the steered wheels from the turning speed of the airframe, gain correction according to the turning speed of the airframe is required. In the latter case, the rotation speed of the pedestal includes the turning speed of the airframe. For this reason, unless the turning speed component of the airframe is removed from the rotation speed of the pedestal, an accurate rotation speed of the pedestal cannot be obtained. By taking these measures, the actual angle of the steered wheel is accurately detected from the angular velocity.

  The actual angle detection mechanism needs to be provided in the vicinity of the steered wheels apart from the controller in the body, and is large in size. On the other hand, the angular velocity sensor is small, and when it is provided on the airframe side, the mounting position in the airframe does not matter. For this reason, it can also be mounted directly in the controller inside the aircraft.

  Since the steering system of the present invention uses the angular velocity detection sensor for detecting the actual angle of the steered wheels necessary for implementing the by-wire system, the sensor scale can be reduced. Since the angular velocity detection sensor is mounted in the airframe and can be mounted in the controller, the wiring length with the controller can be shortened.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a steering system showing an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of gain correction in the steering system.

  The steering system of the present embodiment changes the direction of the front wheels, which are the steering wheels, according to the operation amounts of the ladder pedal and the steering handle when the aircraft travels on the ground. The front wheel, which is a steered wheel, has a structure in which a pedestal that is rotatably supported on the airframe side supports the wheel at the lower end and is rotationally driven by an actuator. Here, the actuator comprises a linearly operated hydraulic cylinder, and the leg column is driven to rotate by a hydraulic pressure supplied from a control valve via a collar attached to the leg column (see FIG. 4).

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the steering system includes a ladder pedal sensor 1 and a steering handle sensor 2 mounted in an aircraft cockpit, and an angular velocity mounted in, for example, a controller box in the aircraft body as a detection unit. A detection sensor 3 is provided. The rudder pedal is an operation unit that operates the angle of the wheel together with the rudder angle, and the ladder pedal sensor 1 detects the operation angle. The steering handle is used when the wheel is operated at a large angle and is also called a tiller, and the steering handle sensor 2 detects the operation angle. The angular velocity detection sensor 3 detects a turning angular velocity in a horizontal plane when the aircraft travels on the ground.

  These sensor outputs are input to the control unit 4. In the control unit 4, the target angle of the wheel by the ladder is calculated from the output of the ladder pedal sensor 1, and the target angle of the wheel by the steering handle is calculated from the output of the steering handle sensor 2. The command angle (steering target angle) is used. Then, the target angular velocity is calculated by adding gain correction based on the traveling speed of the aircraft to the steering instruction angle.

  FIG. 2 shows an angular velocity calculation procedure with gain correction. As shown in FIG. 2, the differential value of the steering angle is the steering angular velocity. When the steering angle is constant, the angular speed increases as the traveling speed of the aircraft increases. Here, the rate of increase in angular velocity increases as the steering angle increases. Therefore, the target angular velocity of the steering is calculated by adding gain correction based on the traveling speed of the airframe to the steering instruction angle. Further, the actual angular velocity of the steering is calculated from the output of the angular velocity detection sensor 3.

  Then, a difference between the actual angular speed and the target angular speed of the steering is obtained, and a command value for the valve opening in the control valve 5 is calculated according to the magnitude of the difference and output to the control valve 5. That is, the opening degree of the control valve 5 that controls and drives the actuator is controlled so that the difference between the actual angular velocity and the target angular velocity of the steering becomes zero. As a result, the direction of the front wheels is changed so that this difference becomes zero.

  The turning angular velocity when the airframe travels on the ground is a differential value of the turning angle, corresponds to the turning angle of the airframe, and the turning angle of the airframe is nothing but the steering angle. Therefore, the steering angle of the airframe can be controlled by the turning angular velocity of the airframe. According to this angular velocity control, it is not necessary to detect the steering angle (front wheel angle) of the airframe, and a large steering angle detection sensor such as a transducer incorporated in the actuator becomes unnecessary. In addition, the mounted angular velocity sensor is not only smaller than the rudder angle detection sensor, but may be located anywhere in the fuselage, and can be provided in a controller away from the steering wheel. As a result, the wiring length can be greatly reduced.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a steering system showing another embodiment of the present invention. The steering system of this embodiment changes the direction of the front wheels, which are the steering wheels, according to the operation amounts of the ladder pedal and the steering handle when the aircraft travels on the ground, as in the above-described embodiment.

  In this steering system, a ladder pedal sensor 1 and a steering handle sensor 2 mounted in an aircraft cockpit, a first angular velocity detection sensor 6 provided on a pedestal of a front leg, and, for example, a controller box in the aircraft body as detection units. A second angular velocity detection sensor 7 mounted therein is provided. The first angular velocity detection sensor 6 is for detecting the rotational speed of the pedestal, and is mounted on a collar that rotates in synchronization with the pedestal here. The second angular velocity detection sensor 7 detects the turning angular velocity in the horizontal plane of the aircraft when the aircraft travels on the ground, like the angular velocity detection sensor 3 in the above-described embodiment.

  These sensor outputs are input to the control unit 4. In the control unit 4, the target angle of the wheel by the ladder is calculated from the output of the ladder pedal sensor 1, and the target angle of the wheel by the steering handle is calculated from the output of the steering handle sensor 2. The command angle (steering target angle) is used.

  The actual steering angular velocity is calculated by subtracting the turning angular velocity of the airframe detected by the second angular velocity detection sensor 7 from the rotational angular velocity of the collar detected by the first angular velocity detection sensor 6. That is, when the aircraft is steered when traveling on the ground, the collar rotates, and the pedestal and wheels rotate accordingly, so that the aircraft turns. For this reason, the rotational angular velocity of the collar includes the turning angular velocity of the aircraft, and in order to obtain the true rotational angular velocity of the aircraft, the second rotational angular velocity detected by the first angular velocity detection sensor 6 is used as the second rotational angular velocity. It is necessary to reduce the turning angular velocity of the airframe detected by the angular velocity detection sensor 7.

  When the true color rotation angular velocity in the aircraft is obtained in this way, it is integrated to obtain the color rotation angle. This is nothing but the actual steering angle.

  Then, the difference of the actual angle with respect to the steering target angle is obtained, and the command value of the valve opening in the control valve 5 is calculated according to the magnitude of the difference, and is output to the control valve 5. That is, the opening degree of the control valve 5 that controls and drives the actuator is controlled so that the difference between the actual angle and the target angle of the steering becomes zero. As a result, the direction of the front wheels is changed so that this difference becomes zero.

  Thus, the direction of the front wheels is changed according to the steering operation without actually measuring the steering angle (front wheel angle) of the airframe. Since it is not necessary to actually measure the steering angle (front wheel angle) of the airframe, a large rudder angle detection sensor such as a transducer incorporated in the actuator becomes unnecessary. That is, if the small first angular velocity sensor 6 is mounted on a rotating part such as a collar on the steering wheel, the steering angle can be detected. The second angular velocity sensor 7 used for the correction is not only small, but may be located anywhere in the body and can be provided in the controller away from the steering wheel. The length can be greatly shortened.

  As described above, the steering system of the present invention detects the rotational angular velocity of the steering wheel or the airframe instead of the rotational angle of the steering wheel, and performs the same highly accurate steering control as when the rotational angle of the steering wheel is detected. . Thereby, simplification of a detection part and a wiring structure can be achieved.

It is a block diagram of a steering system showing one embodiment of the present invention. It is explanatory drawing of the gain correction in the steering system. It is a block diagram of the steering system which shows another embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram of the conventional steering system.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Rudder pedal sensor 2 Steering handle sensor 3, 6, 7 Angular velocity detection sensor 4 Control part 5 Control valve

Claims (2)

  An actuator that supports the steering wheel of an aircraft and rotationally drives a pedestal that is rotatably supported to change the direction of the steering wheel, and detects a turning angular velocity in the horizontal plane of the aircraft when the aircraft travels on the ground. Therefore, the target turning angular speed of the aircraft is calculated by multiplying the steering instruction angle output from the operation unit by the gain corresponding to the aircraft speed, and calculating the target turning angular velocity of the aircraft. And a control unit that controls the actuator so that the actual turning angular velocities coincide with each other.   An actuator that supports a steering wheel of an aircraft and that rotates a pedestal that is rotatably supported to change the direction of the steering wheel, and is attached to the pedestal side in order to detect the angular velocity of the pedestal The first angular velocity detection sensor, the second angular velocity detection sensor attached to the aircraft side for detecting the turning angular velocity in the horizontal plane of the aircraft when the aircraft travels on the ground, and the output of the first angular velocity detection sensor And a control unit that calculates the rotation angle of the pedestal from the difference obtained by subtracting the output of the second angular velocity detection sensor from the control unit, and controls the actuator so that it matches the steering instruction angle output from the steering unit. Steering system.

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