RU2820357C1 - Uav-based aviation simulator - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: aviation; training means.

SUBSTANCE: aircraft simulator comprises piloting unit (1), unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) (2) and a UAV remote control device. Piloting unit (1) comprises pilot seat (4) and mechanical controls (5, 6, 7) of aircraft. Remote control device is implemented in the form of standard control panel (3) of the UAV installed on piloting unit (1). Piloting unit mechanical controls include throttle stick (5), pedals (6) for control along the course and steering wheel (7) for control over roll and pitch, wherein said mechanical controls (5, 6, 7) are connected to corresponding control elements of control panel (3) of the UAV by means of an adapter.

EFFECT: enabling the possibility of constructing an aviation simulator based on the existing UAV with a standard control panel without making changes to the design of the UAV and the control panel, as well as increased realism of control due to use of mechanical controls corresponding to controls of manned aircraft.

8 cl, 5 dwg

Description

[01] Technical field

[02] The invention relates to aviation simulators and can be used to train helicopter and airplane pilots.

[03] State of the art

[04] Currently used training systems for simulating aircraft control are large, complex in design and high in energy consumption. They typically use powerful hydraulic mechanisms to simulate ship position transformations, as well as multiple displays to display virtual scenes of simulated driving, which require complex software.

[05] In order to reduce material costs for pilot training, it seems advisable to use commercially available civil unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) of helicopter or airplane type, in particular small electric quadcopters intended for amateur or professional use (aerial photography, etc.). The principle of controlling such UAVs is as close as possible to the control of full-size manned aircraft, which allows the future pilot to acquire primary piloting skills by observing a picture of a real flight, and not a scene simulated using a virtual simulator. At the same time, the costs of training a pilot using such UAVs will be significantly lower than when using both real manned ships and simulators that simulate flight using virtual reality.

[06] The closest analogue of the invention is a helicopter simulator based on a UAV, disclosed in Chinese application CN115457836A, 12/09/2022. The simulator includes a unit for piloting an aircraft and a UAV in the form of a helicopter. The piloting unit contains a cockpit imitation installed on a turntable, which houses pilot seats, a console with control buttons, a joystick, a foot control lever, and a display. In addition, the control unit contains a transceiver configured to supply control signals from the controls to the UAV transceiver. At the same time, the UAV itself is equipped with cameras that transmit images to the display of the piloting unit. Thus, the pilot can observe the real flight of the aircraft in real time, practicing piloting skills using mechanical controls.

[07] The main disadvantage of this analogue is the need to design the entire system, and in particular, the UAV control unit, specifically for the tasks of this simulator. This system does not allow the use of existing commercially available civil UAVs with a standard compact control panel without making significant changes to the design. This complicates and increases the cost of the design of the simulator and its production technology. In addition, the presence of mechanical controls, such as a joystick and a foot lever, does not fully imitate the controls of a manned aircraft, which reduces the practical usefulness of the training system.

[08] Thus, the main technical problem that the invention in question is aimed at solving is the high cost of simulators, due to the complexity of producing the simulator, its operation and maintenance.

[09] Disclosure of the invention

[010] The technical result of the invention is the ability to build an aviation simulator based on an existing UAV with a standard control panel without making changes to the design of the UAV and the remote control. Also, the technical result consists in increasing the realism of control through the use of mechanical controls corresponding to the controls of a manned aircraft.

[011] The specified technical result is achieved due to the fact that the aviation simulator includes a piloting unit, an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and a UAV remote control device. The piloting unit contains the pilot's seat and the mechanical controls of the aircraft. In this case, unlike the closest analogue, a standard UAV control panel installed on the piloting unit is used as a remote control device, the mechanical controls of the piloting unit include a gas handle, pedals for heading control and a steering wheel for controlling movement in roll and pitch, and the specified the mechanical controls are connected to the corresponding controls of the UAV control panel via an adapter.

[012] The specified technical result is also achieved in private forms of implementation of the invention due to the fact that:

[013] - the adapter is made in the form of a kinematic connection of the mechanical controls of the piloting unit and the controls of the UAV control panel;

[014] - UAV control panel, as control elements it contains a first stick for controlling the gas and rotation of the UAV and a second stick for controlling the direction of the UAV in roll and pitch, with the gas handle and pedals connected to the first stack, and the steering wheel to the second stick;

[015] - the adapter contains the first and second rods, the ends of which are connected to the first and second sticks through magnetic connections, while the first rod is connected to a hinged stand, which is connected to the gas handle and pedals via cables, and the second rod is pivotally connected to the steering wheel with the ability to move along two axes;

[016] - the adapter is made in the form of an electrical connection between the mechanical controls of the piloting unit and the controls of the UAV control panel;

[017] - the adapter contains potentiometers installed on the gas handle, pedals and steering wheel and connected via an electrical connector in parallel to the built-in potentiometers of the UAV control panel,

[018] - an electric quadcopter is used as a UAV

[019] Unlike analogues, the simulator in question uses a standard UAV control panel. The term “standard control panel” means the remote control included in the delivery package of the UAV and adapted to work with this UAV model. In this case, an adapter is used to connect the controls that simulate the operation of a manned aircraft with the control elements of the remote control in the piloting unit. This makes it possible to significantly simplify the design, production process and maintenance of the simulator, since there is no need to design a special UAV and its control system or make significant design changes to the existing UAV. Instead, the simulator can include sets of commercially available civilian UAVs. In this version, the simulator can be easily assembled, transported and maintained.

[020] In addition, the controls used in the piloting unit of the claimed simulator correspond to the controls of a manned aircraft (both helicopter and airplane) and are connected to similar controls of the UAV, which allows the UAV to respond to control commands in the same way as it does in manned aircraft. This increases the realism of aircraft control in the simulator.

[021] Brief description of drawings

[022] The invention is illustrated by the figures, where:

Figure 1 shows a block diagram of the claimed simulator,

Figure 2 shows a diagram of the simulator piloting unit,

Figure 3 shows an embodiment of the piloting unit with mechanical connection of the controls to the UAV remote control,

Figure 4 shows an embodiment of the piloting unit with electrical connection of the controls with the UAV remote control,

Figure 5 shows a photograph of a prototype of the claimed simulator

[023] Structural elements are indicated in the figures by the following positions:

1 - piloting unit,

2 - UAV,

3 - UAV control panel,

4 - pilot's seat

5 - gas handle (step-throttle handle),

6 - pedals for heading control

7 - steering wheel (joystick) for roll and pitch control,

8 - UAV video camera,

9 - virtual reality glasses for the pilot,

10 - the first stick for controlling the rotation of the propellers and the rotation of the UAV,

11 - second stick for controlling the flight direction of the UAV,

12 - block platform,

13 - articulated stand,

14 - rigid cable,

15 - first bar.

16 - second rod,

17 - magnet,

18 - metal rod

19 - elastic cable

20 - roller,

21 - first potentiometer,

22 - second potentiometer,

23 - third potentiometer,

24 - fourth potentiometer,

25 - remote control connector,

[024] Carrying out the invention

[025] The claimed simulator (see Fig. 1) includes a piloting unit (1) and a UAV (2) with a standard control panel (3). The UAV (2) is a commercially available civil UAV of helicopter or aircraft type. In particular, an electric quadcopter can be used, for example, from such manufacturers as DR, Autel, Fimi, Syma, etc. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the UAV (2) is equipped with at least one video camera (8)

[026] The main control elements of the standard remote control (3) of the UAV (see Fig. 2) are two sticks (two-axis joysticks). The first (left) stick (10) is responsible for controlling the speed of the propellers/throttle (stick movement back and forth) and the rotation of the UAV (stick movement left and right). The second (right) stick (11) is responsible for the direction of flight of the UAV, i.e. roll and pitch control (stick movement forward, backward, left and right). The control panel (3) is connected to the UAV (2) using transceiver devices and antennas.

[027] The piloting unit (1) (see Figs. 2 and 3), preferably, is a single device, including a base (platform) (12), on which elements simulating the pilot’s cabin are mounted, and a standard control panel ( 3). As elements for simulating a pilot's cabin, the piloting unit (1) contains at least one pilot's seat (4), as well as mechanical controls of the aircraft in the form of a throttle handle (5) (“throttle sector”, “step-throttle” handle) , pedals (6) for directional control, and a steering wheel (7) (joystick, etc.) for directional control of roll and pitch. The arrangement of the mechanical controls (5, 6, 7) should preferably correspond to the layout of the actual manned vessel.

[028] The specified mechanical controls (5, 6, 7) of the piloting unit (1) correspond to the controls of the standard remote control (3) and are connected to them using an adapter. In particular cases of implementation of the invention, the adapter can be made in the form of a kinematic or electrical connection.

[029] The kinematic connection (see Fig. 3) is formed by connecting the gas handle (5) and pedals (6) with the first stick (10), as well as the steering wheel (7) with the second stick (11), in such a way that the gas handle (5) moves the first stick (10) back and forth, the pedals (6) move the first stick (10) left and right, and the steering wheel (7) (joystick), hinged, moves the second stick (11) along two axes (forward , back, left, right). To do this, the adapter may contain two movable rods (15,16), the first (15) of which interacts with the first stick (10) of the remote control, and the second (16) interacts with the second stick (11). To move the indicated sticks (10,11), magnets (17) are installed at the ends of the rods (15,16), interacting with metal elements (18) (made of magnetic material) attached to the stick. A steel screw screwed inside the stick can be used as a metal element (18), which provides elongation of the sticks for more precise and sensitive control. The other end of the first rod (15) is rotatably mounted on a stand (13), attached to the base (12) with a biaxial hinge, the said stand is connected to the gas handle (15) using a rigid cable (14), and to the pedals (6) using an elastic cable (19), interacting with rollers (20). The second end of the second rod (16) is rotatably mounted on the steering wheel (7) with the possibility of transmitting movement to the stick (11) along two axes.

[030] Other options for implementing the kinematic connection of the controls with the control elements of the remote control are also possible. For example, a mechanical system of levers, cables, belts, electromechanical systems, hydraulic systems, pneumatic systems, and combinations thereof may be used. For convenience of kinematic connection, the control panel (3) can be mounted on a separate pedestal attached to the base (12) of the piloting unit (1).

[031] The electrical connection (see Fig. 4) using an adapter can be realized using four potentiometers, the first (21) of which is mounted on the throttle handle (5), the second (22) on the pedals (6), and the third (23) and the fourth (24) - on the helm (7). Potentiometers (21, 22, 23, 24) are connected in parallel to the built-in potentiometers of the control panel (3) via an electrical connector (25)

[032] The pilot unit can be implemented, for example, on the basis of a decommissioned aircraft or a full-size mock-up of a ship made of inexpensive materials.

[033] Additionally, the piloting unit (1) can use virtual reality (VR) glasses (9), which are connected to the UAV video camera (8) with the ability to wirelessly transmit video images to the pilot in real time.

[034] The simulator functions as follows.

[035] The trained pilot, using mechanical controls (5, 6, 7), lifts the UAV (quadcopter) into the air and practices standard exercises that are used in training to control manned aircraft. When you move the throttle handle (5) back and forth, as well as pressing the right and left pedals (6), the first stick (10) moves correspondingly (corresponding signals are sent to the potentiometers for electrical connection) and the UAV is adjusted in speed and heading. When making a movement with the steering wheel (7) (joystick), the second stick (11) moves (or electrical signals are supplied to the potentiometers) and the UAV rotates around the longitudinal axis (roll) and the transverse axis (pitch).

[036] The pilot can observe from the outside how the aircraft reacts in real flight to one or another control input, which is fully consistent with the operation of a full-size manned aircraft. When using glasses (9), the pilot can see a first-person view of the flight, which can increase the realism of control.

[037] The author of the invention, who has practical experience in controlling manned aircraft, produced a prototype of the claimed simulator based on an electric quadcopter (see Figure 5). Flight tests have shown that the quadcopter responds to commands from the controls in the same way as a full-size manned aircraft (helicopter). For example, with the help of such a simulator, the “hovering in the air” exercise, which is basic for helicopter pilots and which takes quite a long time to master, can be effectively practiced.

[038] Although the invention is illustrated using an electric quadcopter as an example, the simulator can also be implemented on the basis of other UAVs. The mechanical controls described in the application are also used in a manned aircraft, so the simulator can also function in conjunction with an aircraft-type UAV.

Claims (8)

1. An aviation simulator, including a piloting unit (1), an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) (2) and a UAV remote control device, wherein the piloting unit (1) contains a pilot’s seat (4) and mechanical controls (5, 6, 7) aircraft, characterized in that the standard control panel (3) of the UAV is used as a remote control device, installed on the piloting unit (1), the mechanical controls of the piloting unit include the gas handle (5), pedals (6) for heading control and a steering wheel (7) for controlling roll and pitch movements, wherein said mechanical controls (5, 6, 7) are connected to the corresponding control elements of the UAV control panel (3) via an adapter. 2. The simulator according to claim 1, characterized in that the adapter is made in the form of a kinematic connection of the mechanical controls (5, 6, 7) of the piloting unit and the control elements of the UAV control panel (3). 3. The simulator according to claim 2, characterized in that the control panel (3) of the UAV contains, as control elements, a first stick (10) for controlling the gas and rotation of the UAV and a second stick (11) for controlling the direction of the UAV in roll and pitch, and the gas handle (5) and pedals (6) are connected to the first stick (10), and the steering wheel (7) is connected to the second stick (11). 4. The exercise machine according to claim 3, characterized in that the adapter contains the first (15) and second (16) rods, the ends of which are connected to the first (10) and second (11) sticks via magnetic connections, while the first rod (15) connected to a hinged post (13), which is connected to the gas handle (5) and pedals (6) via cables (14, 19), and the second rod (16) is pivotally connected to the steering wheel (7) with the ability to move along two axes. 5. The simulator according to claim 1, characterized in that the adapter is made in the form of an electrical connection between the mechanical controls (5, 6, 7) of the piloting unit and the control elements of the UAV control panel. 6. The simulator according to claim 5, characterized in that the adapter contains potentiometers (21, 22, 23, 24) installed on the gas handle (5), pedals (6) and steering wheel (7) and connected through an electrical connector (25) parallel to the built-in potentiometers of the UAV control panel (3). 7. The simulator according to claim 1, characterized in that the UAV is equipped with a video camera (8), and the piloting unit (1) additionally contains virtual reality glasses connected to the video camera (8) with the ability to obtain images in real time. 8. The simulator according to claim 1, characterized in that an electric quadcopter is used as a UAV.