WO2021212325A1

WO2021212325A1 - Dual-flight control switching method, flight control system, and unmanned aerial vehicle

Info

Publication number: WO2021212325A1
Application number: PCT/CN2020/085926
Authority: WO
Inventors: 王凯; 朱誉品; 翁少凡
Original assignee: 深圳市大疆创新科技有限公司
Priority date: 2020-04-21
Filing date: 2020-04-21
Publication date: 2021-10-28
Also published as: CN112714893A

Abstract

A dual-flight control switching method, a flight control system (10), and an unmanned aerial vehicle (100). The dual-flight control switching method comprises: a primary flight control (11) and a secondary flight control (12) receive flight state information sent by a sensor system (15) and output control instructions according to the flight state information (011); when the primary flight control (11) is in a normal operation state, a second processing unit (14) transmits, according to a first level signal, the control instruction output by the primary flight control (11) to an actuating mechanism (50) (012); and when the primary flight control (11) is in an abnormal operation state, the second processing unit (14) transmits, according to a second level signal, the control instruction output by the secondary flight control (12) to the actuating mechanism (50) (013).

Description

Dual flight control switching method, flight control system and aircraft

Technical field

This application relates to the technical field of aircraft safety, in particular to a dual flight control switching method, a flight control system and an aircraft.

Background technique

UAVs have been widely used in daily life and various industries. On the one hand, we can clearly feel the improvement in efficiency and capabilities brought about by UAVs, on the other hand, it also puts forward higher requirements for its safety as an aircraft. As an electronic mechanical product, drones are prone to various failure behaviors. These failure behaviors will directly affect flight safety. For example, the aircraft will not be able to maintain the controllability of the position, and may eventually crash into high-altitude buildings or hit the ground at high speed. . This will not only directly damage the drone, but may also cause a significant impact on people and property.

Summary of the invention

The embodiment of the present application provides a dual flight control switching method, a flight control system and an aircraft.

The dual flight control switching method of the embodiment of the present application is used in an aircraft. The aircraft includes a main flight control, an auxiliary flight control, a first processing unit, a second processing unit, and an executing mechanism. When the main flight control is in a normal operation state, the main flight control is used to send an input instruction to the first processing unit at predetermined time intervals, and the input instruction is used to control the first processing unit to output the first processing unit. Level signal. The first processing unit is configured to output a second level signal to the second processing unit when the input instruction is not received within a predetermined period of time. The dual flight control switching method includes: the main flight control and the secondary flight control receive flight status information sent by a sensor system, and output control instructions according to the flight status information; when the main flight control is in a normal operating state , The second processing unit transmits the control instruction output by the main flight control to the actuator according to the first level signal; and when the main flight control is in an abnormal operation state, the second processing The unit transmits the control command output by the secondary flight controller to the actuator according to the second level signal.

The flight control system of the embodiment of the present application is used in an aircraft. The aircraft includes an actuator. The flight control system includes a main flight control, a secondary flight control, a first processing unit and a second processing unit. When the main flight control is in a normal operation state, the main flight control is used to send input instructions to the first processing unit at predetermined time intervals. The input instruction is used to control the first processing unit to output a first level signal. The first processing unit is configured to output a second level signal to the second processing unit when the input instruction is not received within a predetermined period of time. The main flight control and the auxiliary flight control are used to receive flight status information sent by a sensor system, and output control instructions according to the flight status information. When the main flight controller is in a normal operating state, the second processing unit is used to transmit the control command output by the main flight controller to the actuator according to the first level signal; when the main flight controller is When the control is in an abnormal operation state, the second processing unit is configured to transmit the control command output by the secondary flight control to the actuator according to the second level signal.

The aircraft of the embodiment of the present application includes a flight control system and an actuator, and the flight control system is used to control the actuator. The flight control system includes a main flight control, a secondary flight control, a first processing unit and a second processing unit. When the main flight control is in a normal operation state, the main flight control is used to send input instructions to the first processing unit at predetermined time intervals. The input instruction is used to control the first processing unit to output a first level signal. The first processing unit is configured to output a second level signal to the second processing unit when the input instruction is not received within a predetermined period of time. The main flight control and the auxiliary flight control are used to receive flight status information sent by a sensor system, and output control instructions according to the flight status information. When the main flight controller is in a normal operating state, the second processing unit is used to transmit the control command output by the main flight controller to the actuator according to the first level signal; when the main flight controller is When the control is in an abnormal operation state, the second processing unit is configured to transmit the control command output by the secondary flight control to the actuator according to the second level signal.

In the dual flight control switching method, flight control system, and aircraft in the embodiments of the present application, when the main flight control is in a normal operation state, the second processing unit transmits the control command output by the main flight control to the actuator according to the first level signal; When the flight control is in an abnormal operation state, the second processing unit transmits the control command output by the secondary flight control to the actuator according to the second level signal. The dual flight control switching method, flight control system and aircraft in the embodiments of the present application use dual flight control backup to improve flight control reliability. Even if a single flight control causes an abnormal command due to hardware stability or abnormal software execution flow, the flight control system can immediately The output of the backup flight controller is connected to the actuator, the whole process is realized by hardware, and the switching process is fast and reliable, which greatly improves the reliability of the flight control system and can well solve the flight safety problems caused by the failure of the main flight control. .

The additional aspects and advantages of the embodiments of the present application will be partly given in the following description, and part of them will become obvious from the following description, or be understood through the practice of the present application.

Description of the drawings

The above-mentioned and/or additional aspects and advantages of the present application will become obvious and easy to understand from the description of the embodiments in conjunction with the following drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of modules of an aircraft according to some embodiments of the present application;

FIG. 2 is a schematic flowchart of a dual flight control switching method according to some embodiments of the present application;

FIG. 3 is a schematic flowchart of a dual flight control switching method according to some embodiments of the present application;

Fig. 4 is a schematic diagram of modules of an aircraft according to some embodiments of the present application;

FIG. 5 is a schematic flowchart of a dual flight control switching method according to some embodiments of the present application;

FIG. 6 is a schematic flowchart of a dual flight control switching method according to some embodiments of the present application;

FIG. 7 is a schematic flowchart of a dual flight control switching method according to some embodiments of the present application;

FIG. 8 is a schematic flowchart of a dual flight control switching method according to some embodiments of the present application;

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of interaction between the aircraft and the control terminal in some embodiments of the present application;

FIG. 10 is a schematic flowchart of a dual flight control switching method according to some embodiments of the present application;

FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram of the time from when the main flight controller starts to have an abnormal operation state to when the main and auxiliary flight controllers complete the switching in some embodiments of the present application;

FIG. 12 is a schematic flowchart of a dual flight control switching method according to some embodiments of the present application;

FIG. 13 is a schematic flowchart of a dual flight control switching method according to some embodiments of the present application;

FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram of modules of an aircraft according to some embodiments of the present application;

15 is a schematic flowchart of a dual flight control switching method according to some embodiments of the present application;

FIG. 16 is a schematic diagram of modules of an aircraft according to some embodiments of the present application;

FIG. 17 is a schematic flowchart of a dual flight control switching method according to some embodiments of the present application;

FIG. 18 is a schematic diagram of modules of an aircraft according to some embodiments of the present application.

Detailed ways

The implementation of the present application will be further described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. The same or similar reference numerals in the drawings indicate the same or similar elements or elements with the same or similar functions throughout.

In addition, the implementation manners of the present application described below in conjunction with the drawings are exemplary, and are only used to explain the implementation manners of the present application, and should not be construed as limiting the application.

In this application, unless expressly stipulated and defined otherwise, the first feature “on” or “under” the second feature may be in direct contact with the first and second features, or the first and second features may be indirectly through an intermediary. touch. Moreover, the "above", "above" and "above" of the first feature on the second feature may mean that the first feature is directly above or diagonally above the second feature, or it simply means that the level of the first feature is higher than that of the second feature. The “below”, “below” and “below” of the second feature of the first feature may mean that the first feature is directly below or obliquely below the second feature, or it simply means that the level of the first feature is smaller than the second feature.

Please refer to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, an embodiment of the present application provides a dual flight control switching method. The dual flight control switching method is used for the aircraft 100. The aircraft 100 includes a main flight controller 11, a secondary flight controller 12, a first processing unit 13, a second processing unit 14 and an actuator 50. When the main flight control 11 is in a normal operation state, the main flight control 11 is used to send an input instruction to the first processing unit 13 at predetermined time intervals, and the input instruction is used to control the first processing unit 13 to output a first level signal. The first processing unit 13 is configured to output a second level signal to the second processing unit 14 when the input instruction is not received within a predetermined period of time. Dual flight control switching methods include:

011: The main flight controller 11 and the auxiliary flight controller 12 receive the flight status information sent by the sensor system 15, and output control commands according to the flight status information;

012: When the main flight control 11 is in a normal operation state, the second processing unit 14 transmits the control command output by the main flight control 11 to the actuator 50 according to the first level signal; and

013: When the main flight control 11 is in an abnormal operation state, the second processing unit 14 transmits the control instruction output by the auxiliary flight control 12 to the actuator 50 according to the second level signal.

Please refer to FIG. 1, an embodiment of the present application also provides a flight control system 10. The flight control system 10 is used in the aircraft 100. The aircraft 100 includes an actuator 50. The flight control system 10 includes a main flight control 11, a secondary flight control 12, a first processing unit 13 and a second processing unit 14. When the main flight control 11 is in a normal operation state, the main flight control 11 is used to send an input instruction to the first processing unit 13 at predetermined time intervals, and the input instruction is used to control the first processing unit 13 to output a first level signal. The first processing unit 13 is configured to output a second level signal to the second processing unit 14 when the input instruction is not received within a predetermined period of time. The dual flight control switching method of the embodiment of the present application can be implemented by the flight control system 10 of the embodiment of the present application. For example, the main flight controller 11 and the auxiliary flight controller 12 can be used to execute the methods in 011, and the second processing unit 14 can be used to execute the methods in 012 and 013.

In other words, the main flight controller 11 and the auxiliary flight controller 12 can be used to receive the flight status information sent by the sensor system 15 and output control commands according to the flight status information. When the main flight control 11 is in a normal operating state, the second processing unit 14 can be used to transmit the control command output by the main flight control 11 to the actuator 50 according to the first level signal; when the main flight control 11 is in an abnormal operation state, the second processing unit 14 The second processing unit 14 may be configured to transmit the control command output by the auxiliary flight control 12 to the actuator 50 according to the second level signal.

In the dual flight control switching method and flight control system 10 of the embodiment of the present application, when the main flight control 11 is in a normal operation state, the second processing unit 14 transmits the control command output by the main flight control 11 to the actuator according to the first level signal 50; When the main flight control 11 is in an abnormal operation state, the second processing unit 14 transmits the control instructions output by the auxiliary flight control 12 to the actuator 50 according to the second level signal. The dual flight control switching method and flight control system 10 of the embodiments of the present application use dual flight control backup to improve flight control reliability. Even if a single flight control causes an abnormal command due to hardware stability or abnormal software execution flow, the flight control system 10 can immediately The output of the backup flight controller is connected to the actuator 50, the whole process is realized by hardware, and the switching process is fast and reliable, which greatly improves the reliability of the flight control system 10, and can well solve the failure caused by the failure of the main flight control 11 Flight safety issues.

The implementation of the present application is also helpful to popularize the aircraft 100 to scenes with high standards for flight safety, such as urban operations, security, chemical defense, patrol inspections, etc., or there are people in the area under the flight of the aircraft 100, or the aircraft 100 Very dangerous scene.

Specifically, the main flight control 11 is responsible for the stabilization and control tasks of the aircraft 100, and is the core control system for the aircraft 100 to complete the entire flight process such as take-off, air flight, mission execution, and return and recovery. The secondary flight controller 12 serves as a backup flight controller. The auxiliary flight control 12 may have all the functions of the main flight control 11 or only part of the functions of the main flight control 11. For example, the functions of the main flight control 11 may include automatic hovering, returning home, landing, taking off, interaction with image transmission, status acquisition, obstacle avoidance, and so on. At this time, the functions of the secondary flight control 12 may also include automatic hovering, returning home, landing, take-off, interaction with image transmission, status acquisition, obstacle avoidance, and so on. In this case, when the main flight control 11 fails, the auxiliary flight control 12 can completely take over the work of the main flight control 11 to realize the control of the aircraft 100. Alternatively, the functions of the secondary flight control 12 may only include automatic hovering, landing, obstacle avoidance, etc., to have a simple flight stabilization function to meet safety requirements. In this case, when the main flight controller 11 fails, the auxiliary flight controller 12 can partially take over the work of the main flight controller 11 and control the aircraft 100 to perform some basic operations. The auxiliary flight controller 12 can use a lower-cost chip for simpler operation. Flight control program.

The first processing unit 13 may be any one of a watchdog chip, a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), or a complex programmable logic device (CPLD). The embodiment of the present application takes the first processing unit 13 as a watchdog chip as an example. It can be understood that the first processing unit 13 may also be a programmable logic device such as a field programmable logic gate array or a complex programmable logic device. The various types of chips exemplified in the embodiments are only used to characterize the functions that need to be implemented, and do not limit their specific hardware implementation (the same hereinafter).

Similarly, the second processing unit 14 may be any one of a switching chip, a field programmable logic gate array, or a complex programmable logic device. In the embodiment of the present application, the second processing unit 14 is a switching chip as an example.

The sensor system 15 may include an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a magnetic compass, a barometric pressure sensor, GPS, and so on.

The actuator 50 may include actuators such as motors and steering gears.

Please refer to FIG. 1, the main flight control 11 is connected to the first processing unit 13. When the main flight control 11 is in a normal operating state, the main flight control 11 sends an input instruction to the first processing unit 13 at predetermined time intervals. For example, the main flight control 11 sends an input instruction to the first processing unit 13 every 100 milliseconds, so that The first processing unit 13 outputs a first level signal. When the first processing unit 13 does not receive an input instruction within a predetermined period of time, for example, the first processing unit 13 does not receive an input instruction within 200 milliseconds, it means that the main flight control unit 11 is in an abnormal operating state. At this time, the first processing The unit 13 outputs a second level signal (ie, a reset signal). Wherein, the first level signal is different from the second level signal. In an example, the first level signal may be a low level signal. The second level signal may be a high level signal. The first processing unit 13 is directly or indirectly connected to the second processing unit 14.

Both the main flight controller 11 and the auxiliary flight controller 12 are connected to the actuator 50 through the second processing unit 14 to transmit control instructions to the actuator 50 through the second processing unit 14. Specifically, first, the primary flight controller 11 and the secondary flight controller 12 respectively receive flight status information sent by the sensor system 15. The flight status information may be, for example, flight mode, speed, position, abnormal information, attitude, and so on. Then, the main flight control 11 and the auxiliary flight control 12 respectively output control instructions to the second processing unit 14 according to the flight status information. When the main flight control 11 is in normal operation, the first processing unit 13 outputs the first level signal, so that the second processing unit 14 receives the first level signal, and the second processing unit 14 allows the main flight control unit 14 according to the first level signal The control instruction output by the flight control 11 is transmitted to the actuator 50, and the actuator 50 adjusts the motor speed and the steering gear angle according to the control instruction output by the main flight control 11, so that the aircraft 100 reaches the target state. When the main flight control 11 is in an abnormal operating state, the second processing unit 14 receives the second level signal because the first processing unit 13 outputs the second level signal, and the second processing unit 14 allows the secondary control unit 14 to allow the second level signal according to the second level signal. The control instruction output by the flight control 12 is transmitted to the actuator 50, and the actuator 50 then adjusts the motor speed and the steering gear angle according to the control instruction output by the secondary flight control 12, so that the aircraft 100 reaches the target state.

The implementation of this application provides a flight control redundancy system based on two flight control units, and uses dual flight control backup to improve flight control reliability, even if the main flight control 11 has abnormal operation due to hardware stability or abnormal software execution flow Status, the flight control system 10 can also immediately transmit the control commands output by the auxiliary flight control 12 to the actuator 50. The whole process is realized by hardware, and the switching process is fast and reliable, which can greatly improve the reliability of the flight control system 10 at a lower cost. Therefore, the flight safety of the aircraft 100 can be improved, and the flight safety problem caused by the failure of the main flight control 11 can be solved well.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 3, in some embodiments, the aircraft 100 further includes a remote control unit 30 and a third processing unit 16. The dual flight control switching method also includes:

014: The remote control unit 30 receives the operation instruction and sends the operation instruction to the main flight control 11 and the secondary flight control 12 through the third processing unit 16.

Output control commands according to flight status information, including:

0111: Output control commands according to operation commands and flight status information.

Please refer to FIG. 1, in some embodiments, the flight control system 10 further includes a remote control unit 30 and a third processing unit 16. The remote control unit 30 can be used to perform the method in 014. The main flight control 11 and the auxiliary flight control 12 can be used to execute the method in 0111. In other words, the remote control unit 30 can be used to receive operation instructions and send the operation instructions to the main flight controller 11 and the secondary flight controller 12 through the third processing unit 16. The main flight control 11 and the auxiliary flight control 12 can be used to output control instructions according to operation instructions and flight status information.

Specifically, the remote control unit 30 is configured to receive operation instructions input by the user through the control terminal 200 (as shown in FIG. 9, the control terminal 200 may be a remote control or an electronic device installed with an application program, etc.). Among them, the control terminal 200 can wirelessly communicate with the remote control unit 30 to send operation instructions to the remote control unit 30.

The third processing unit 16 may be any one of a driver chip (such as a clock driver), a field programmable logic gate array, or a complex programmable logic device. In the embodiment of the present application, the third processing unit 16 is a driving chip as an example.

Referring to FIG. 1, the remote control unit 30 is connected to the main flight controller 11 and the secondary flight controller 12 through the third processing unit 16 to send operation instructions to the main flight controller 11 and the secondary flight controller 12 through the third processing unit 16. Specifically, when the remote control unit 30 receives the operation instruction input by the user through the control terminal 200, it sends the operation instruction to the third processing unit 16, and the third processing unit 16 then copies the operation instruction into multiple copies, and outputs them as they are. The main flight control 11 and the auxiliary flight control 12 ensure the consistency of the signals received by the main flight control 11 and the auxiliary flight control 12.

After the main flight controller 11 receives the operation instruction sent by the third processing unit 16, it outputs control instructions according to the operation instruction sent by the third processing unit 16 and the flight status information sent by the sensor system 15 to the main flight control unit 11. Taking the flight status information as speed as an example, suppose the operation command is to push the joystick forward to full 15m/s, and the current flight status information is 1m/s, then the main flight controller 11 output accelerates until the joystick is fully pushed forward 15 m/s control command. Similarly, after the secondary flight control 12 receives the operation instruction sent by the third processing unit 16, it outputs the control instruction according to the operation instruction sent by the third processing unit 16 and the flight status information sent by the sensor system 15 to the secondary flight control 12.

In the embodiment of this application, since the control commands output by the main flight controller 11 and the auxiliary flight controller 12 are independent of each other, when the main flight controller 11 is in an abnormal operation state and the control command output by the main flight controller 11 is abnormal, the auxiliary flight controller will not be affected. 12, so that the subsequent second processing unit 14 transmits the normal control instructions output by the secondary flight controller 12 to the actuator 50 to ensure the flight safety of the aircraft 100 when the main flight controller 11 fails.

Referring to FIGS. 4 and 5, in some embodiments, the aircraft 100 further includes a fourth processing unit 17. The first processing unit 13 is further configured to output a second level signal to the fourth processing unit 17 when the input instruction is not received within a predetermined period of time. The dual flight control switching method also includes:

015: When the main flight control 11 is in a normal operation state, the fourth processing unit 17 sends the operation instruction received by the remote control unit 30 to the main flight control 11 according to the first level signal; and

016: When the main flight control 11 is in an abnormal operation state, the fourth processing unit 17 sends the operation instruction received by the remote control unit 30 to the secondary flight control 12 according to the second level signal.

Please refer to FIG. 4. In some embodiments, the flight control system 10 further includes a fourth processing unit 17. The first processing unit 13 is further configured to output a second level signal to the fourth processing unit 17 when the input instruction is not received within a predetermined period of time. The fourth processing unit 17 can be used to execute the methods in 015 and 016.

That is to say, when the main flight control 11 is in a normal operation state, the fourth processing unit 17 can be used to send the operation instructions received by the remote control unit 30 to the main flight control 11 according to the first level signal; when the main flight control 11 is abnormal In the running state, the fourth processing unit 17 may be used to send the operation instructions received by the remote control unit 30 to the secondary flight control 12 according to the second level signal.

Specifically, the fourth processing unit 17 may be any one of a switching chip, a field programmable logic gate array, or a complex programmable logic device. In the embodiment of the present application, the fourth processing unit 17 is a switching chip as an example.

Referring to Figure 1, the remote control unit 30 is connected to the main flight controller 11 and the secondary flight controller 12 through the third processing unit 16, the fourth processing unit 17, and the fourth processing unit 17 sends operation instructions to the main flight controller 11 or the secondary flight controller.控12. The first processing unit 13 is directly or indirectly connected to the fourth processing unit 17. When the main flight control 11 is in the normal operating state, the first processing unit 13 outputs the first level signal, so that the fourth processing unit 17 receives the first level signal, and the fourth processing unit 17 will operate according to the first level signal. The instruction is sent to the main flight controller 11. When the main flight controller 11 is in an abnormal operating state, the fourth processing unit 17 receives the second level signal because the first processing unit 13 outputs the second level signal, and the fourth processing unit 17 will operate according to the second level signal. The instruction is sent to the secondary flight control 12.

In the embodiment of the present application, when the main flight controller 11 is in a normal operating state, the fourth processing unit 17 sends an operation instruction to the main flight controller 11, so that the main flight controller 11 outputs control instructions according to the operation instructions and flight status information; When 11 is in an abnormal operation state, the fourth processing unit 17 sends operation instructions to the secondary flight controller 12 so that the secondary flight controller 12 outputs control instructions according to the operation instructions and flight status information. The primary flight controller 11 and the secondary flight controller 12 do not need to receive them at the same time. Operation instructions are calculated, which simplifies the workload.

Please refer to FIG. 6 and FIG. 7. In some embodiments, operation instructions are stored in the main flight controller 11 and the auxiliary flight controller 12. Output control commands according to flight status information, including:

0112: Output control instructions according to operation instructions and flight status information.

Please refer to FIG. 6. In some embodiments, the main flight controller 11 and the auxiliary flight controller 12 store operation instructions. The main flight control 11 and the auxiliary flight control 12 can be used to execute the method in 0112. In other words, the main flight control 11 and the auxiliary flight control 12 can be used to output control instructions according to operation instructions and flight status information.

Specifically, the main flight control 11 outputs control instructions according to the pre-stored operation instructions in the main flight control 11 and the flight status information sent by the sensor system 15 to the main flight control 11. The secondary flight control 12 outputs control instructions according to the pre-stored operation instructions in the secondary flight control 12 and the flight status information sent by the sensor system 15 to the secondary flight control 12.

In the embodiment of the present application, the main flight controller 11 and the auxiliary flight controller 12 do not need to receive operation instructions sent by the remote control unit 30, which simplifies the process and is more convenient and quick.

In some embodiments, the above solution may also be that the remote control unit 30 receives the operation instruction and sends the operation instruction to the main flight control 11, and the auxiliary flight control 12 stores the operation instruction. At this time, the main flight controller 11 outputs control instructions according to the operation instructions sent by the remote control unit 30 and the flight status information sent by the sensor system 15 to the main flight controller 11, which can be controlled by the user through the control terminal 200 when the main flight controller 11 is in the normal operating state. The input operation instruction controls the actuator 50 to respond to the real-time demand of the user. The secondary flight control 12 outputs control instructions according to the pre-stored operation instructions in the secondary flight control 12 and the flight status information sent by the sensor system 15 to the secondary flight control 12, which simplifies the process. Among them, the pre-stored operation instructions in the secondary flight control 12 may be a hovering instruction, a landing instruction or a return-to-home instruction. When the main flight control 11 has an abnormal operation state and the control command output by the auxiliary flight control 12 is transmitted to the actuator 50, the aircraft 100 can be directly controlled to hover, land or return, which is beneficial to simplify the calculation of the auxiliary flight control 12 .

1 and 8, in some embodiments, the aircraft 100 further includes a remote control unit 30 and a fifth processing unit 18. The first processing unit 13 is further configured to output a second level signal to the fifth processing unit 18 when the input instruction is not received within a predetermined period of time. The dual flight control switching method also includes:

017: When the main flight control 11 is in a normal operating state, the fifth processing unit 18 transmits the flight status information sent by the main flight control 11 to the remote control unit 30 according to the first level signal; and

018: When the main flight control 11 is in an abnormal operation state, the fifth processing unit 18 transmits the flight state information sent by the auxiliary flight control 12 to the remote control unit 30 according to the second level signal.

Please refer to FIG. 1, in some embodiments, the flight control system 10 further includes a remote control unit 30 and a fifth processing unit 18. The first processing unit 13 is further configured to output a second level signal to the fifth processing unit 18 when the input instruction is not received within a predetermined period of time. The fifth processing unit 18 can be used to execute the methods in 017 and 018.

In other words, when the main flight controller 11 is in a normal operating state, the fifth processing unit 18 can be used to transmit the flight status information sent by the main flight controller 11 to the remote control unit 30 according to the first level signal; In an abnormal operation state, the fifth processing unit 18 may be used to transmit the flight status information sent by the secondary flight control 12 to the remote control unit 30 according to the second level signal.

Specifically, the fifth processing unit 18 may be any one of a switching chip, a field programmable logic gate array, or a complex programmable logic device. In the embodiment of the present application, the fifth processing unit 18 is a switching chip as an example.

Referring to FIG. 1, the main flight controller 11 and the auxiliary flight controller 12 are connected to the remote control unit 30 through the fifth processing unit 18 to transmit flight status information to the remote control unit 30 through the fifth processing unit 18. The first processing unit 13 is directly or indirectly connected to the fifth processing unit 18. When the main flight control 11 is in normal operation, the first processing unit 13 outputs the first level signal, so that the fifth processing unit 18 receives the first level signal, and the fifth processing unit 18 allows the main flight control unit 18 according to the first level signal The flight status information sent by the flight control 11 is transmitted to the remote control unit 30. When the main flight control 11 is in an abnormal operating state, the fifth processing unit 18 receives the second level signal because the first processing unit 13 outputs the second level signal, and the fifth processing unit 18 allows the secondary The flight status information sent by the flight control 12 is transmitted to the remote control unit 30.

In the embodiment of the present application, when the main flight controller 11 is in a normal operating state, the fifth processing unit 18 transmits the flight status information sent by the main flight controller 11 to the remote control unit 30; when the main flight controller 11 is in an abnormal operating state, the fifth processing unit The unit 18 transmits the flight status information sent by the secondary flight controller 12 to the remote control unit 30 so that the remote control unit 30 can wirelessly transmit the flight status information of the primary flight controller 11 or the secondary flight controller 12 to the control terminal 200, and display it to the user so that the user Grasp the real-time flight status of the aircraft 100.

Referring to Figure 1, Figure 8 and Figure 9, in some embodiments, the dual flight control switching method further includes:

019: The remote control unit 30 sends the flight status information sent by the main flight control 11 to the control terminal 200, so that the control terminal 200 outputs the flight status information sent by the main flight control 11.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 9, in some embodiments, the remote control unit 30 can be used to perform the method in 019. In other words, the remote control unit 30 may be used to send the flight status information sent by the main flight controller 11 to the control terminal 200 so that the control terminal 200 outputs the flight status information sent by the main flight controller 11.

Specifically, the control terminal 200 may be a remote control or an electronic device installed with an application program, or the like. The control terminal 200 can wirelessly communicate with the remote control unit 30 to receive the flight status information of the main flight controller 11 sent by the remote control unit 30, and display it to the user, so that the user can grasp the real-time flight status of the aircraft 100.

020: The remote control unit 30 sends the flight status information sent by the secondary flight control 12 to the control terminal 200, so that the control terminal 200 outputs the flight status information sent by the secondary flight control 12.

1 and 9, in some embodiments, the remote control unit 30 can be used to perform the method in 020. In other words, the remote control unit 30 may be used to send the flight status information sent by the secondary flight control 12 to the control terminal 200 so that the control terminal 200 outputs the flight status information sent by the secondary flight control 12.

Specifically, the control terminal 200 may be a remote control or an electronic device installed with an application program, or the like. The control terminal 200 can wirelessly communicate with the remote control unit 30 to receive the flight status information of the secondary flight controller 12 sent by the remote control unit 30, and display it to the user, so that the user can grasp the real-time flight status of the aircraft 100.

Referring to Figure 1, Figure 9 and Figure 10, in some embodiments, the dual flight control switching method further includes:

021: The remote control unit 30 sends the flight status information sent by the secondary flight controller 12 to the control terminal 200, so that the control terminal 200 determines that the primary flight controller 11 is malfunctioning according to the flight status information sent by the secondary flight controller 12.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 9, in some embodiments, the remote control unit 30 can be used to perform the method in 021. In other words, the remote control unit 30 may be used to send the flight status information sent by the secondary flight controller 12 to the control terminal 200, so that the control terminal 200 can determine that the main flight controller 11 is malfunctioning according to the flight status information sent by the secondary flight controller 12.

Specifically, the control terminal 200 may be a remote control or an electronic device installed with an application program, or the like. The control terminal 200 can wirelessly communicate with the remote control unit 30 to receive the flight status information of the secondary flight control 12 sent by the remote control unit 30, and determine that the main flight control 11 is malfunctioning according to the flight status information of the secondary flight control 12.

The flight status information of the main flight control 11 and the secondary flight control 12 can have corresponding identifications. When the control terminal 200 determines whether the main flight control 11 is malfunctioning, it can first determine the flight status according to the identification of the received flight status information The information belongs to the flight status information of the main flight controller 11 or the flight status information of the secondary flight controller 12. When the flight status information belongs to the flight status information of the main flight controller 11, it indicates that the main flight controller 11 is in a normal operating state, and it is judged as the main flight controller 11 The flight control 11 is not malfunctioning; when the flight status information belongs to the flight state information of the secondary flight control 12, it indicates that the main flight control 11 is in an abnormal operation state, and it is determined that the main flight control 11 is malfunctioning. In an example, the identifier can be the corresponding number of the flight status information. The flight status information of the main flight controller 11 starts with the number "0", and the flight status information of the secondary flight controller 12 starts with the number "1". When the flight status information received by 200 starts with the number "1", it is judged that the main flight control 11 is malfunctioning.

When judging that the main flight controller 11 is malfunctioning, the control terminal 200 may also remind the user, suggesting that the user input an operation instruction to control the aircraft 100 to return to home or land as soon as possible, and check the cause of the malfunction after the aircraft 100 has landed.

Please refer to FIG. 1, in some embodiments, the aircraft 100 further includes a remote control unit 30. The first processing unit 13 is directly or indirectly connected to the remote control unit 30. The first processing unit 13 is also configured to output a second level signal to the remote control unit 30 when the input instruction is not received within a predetermined period of time, so as to inform the user that the main flight control 11 is malfunctioning.

Please refer to FIG. 1 and FIG. 4. In some embodiments, the aircraft 100 further includes a sixth processing unit 19. The first processing unit 13 is arranged between the main flight control 11 and the sixth processing unit 19. The first processing unit 13 is configured to output the second level signal through the sixth processing unit 19 when the input instruction is not received within a predetermined period of time.

Specifically, the sixth processing unit 19 may be any one of a driver chip (such as a clock driver), a field programmable logic gate array, or a complex programmable logic device. In the embodiment of the present application, the sixth processing unit 19 is a driving chip as an example.

When the first processing unit 13 does not receive an input instruction within a predetermined period of time, the sixth processing unit 19 may output the second level signal to all processing units that may be switching chips in the embodiments of the present application. The sixth processing unit 19 is configured to copy the second level signal into multiple copies, and output them as-is to each processing unit that can be a switching chip. For example, the first processing unit 13 may output the second level signal to the second processing unit 14 through the sixth processing unit 19 when it does not receive an input instruction within a predetermined period of time, so as to transmit the control instruction output by the secondary flight controller 12 to Actuator 50; output the second level signal to the fourth processing unit 17 through the sixth processing unit 19 to send the operation command received by the remote control unit 30 to the secondary flight control 12; output the second level signal through the sixth processing unit 19 The signal is sent to the fifth processing unit 18 to transmit the flight status information sent by the secondary flight control 12 to the remote control unit 30 and the like.

It can be understood that when the main flight controller 11 sends an input instruction to the first processing unit 13 at a predetermined time interval, the first processing unit 13 outputs the first level signal to the sixth processing unit 19 through the sixth processing unit 19. The processing unit of the chip. The sixth processing unit 19 is configured to copy the first level signal into multiple copies, and output them as they are to each processing unit that can be a switching chip. For example, when the main flight control 11 sends an input instruction to the first processing unit 13 at a predetermined time interval, the first processing unit 13 outputs a first level signal to the second processing unit 14 through the sixth processing unit 19 to control the main flight control 11 The output control instruction is transmitted to the actuator 50; the first processing unit 13 outputs the first level signal to the fourth processing unit 17 through the sixth processing unit 19 to send the operation instruction received by the remote control unit 30 to the main flight control 11 ; The first processing unit 13 outputs the first level signal to the fifth processing unit 18 through the sixth processing unit 19 to transmit the flight status information sent by the main flight control 11 to the remote control unit 30 and so on.

Referring to Figure 11, in some implementations, the predetermined duration satisfies the conditions:

T1+T2+T3≤T;

Among them, T1 is the software delay time for the main flight control 11 not to send an input command to the first processing unit 13 for the first time when the main flight control 11 starts to appear abnormal operation; No input instruction is sent to the first processing unit 13 at a time to start accumulation; T3 is the time required for the second processing unit 14 to complete the switching of the control instruction from receiving the second level signal; T is the time allowed for the master in any flight condition The longest time interval during which the flight control 11 stops output without crossing the safety boundary.

It can be understood that when the main flight control 11 stops working, the aircraft 100 will lose its stability and cause an abnormal state, such as an attitude overturning, a drop of altitude, and the like. Therefore, when the main flight controller 11 has an abnormal operating state, the first processing unit 13 can trigger the switching of the control command in time, which is particularly important to ensure the flight safety of the aircraft 100.

In the embodiment of the present application, the maximum time interval during which the main flight controller 11 is allowed to stop output (ie lose control capability) without crossing the safety boundary under any flight condition is recorded as T, which is also referred to as the flight control failure upper limit time. The value T can generally be calculated based on the control capability and maneuverability of the aircraft 100. For example, the upper limit time T of the flight control failure of the multi-rotor aircraft 100 is generally in the order of 100 milliseconds. The safety boundary may be measured by location. For example, the safety boundary is a spherical surface with the current position of the aircraft 100 as the center of the sphere and a radius of 0.5 meters. Within the safety boundary, the aircraft 100 will not cause safety problems. Of course, in other embodiments, the safety margin can also be measured by parameters such as speed and attitude, which are not limited here. In some embodiments, in different application scenarios, the security boundary may be different, and in actual applications, the security boundary may be the most restrictive one selected from multiple security boundaries in different application scenarios. The boundary is used to ensure the flight safety of the aircraft 100, and at the same time, it can make the flight control failure upper limit time T smaller, so that the user basically does not feel the switching between the main flight control 11 and the auxiliary flight control 12, and the user experience is better.

After the safety margin is determined, the upper limit time T of flight control failure can be calculated according to parameters such as the safety margin. In some embodiments, the flight control failure upper limit time T can be set according to empirical values before the flight control system 10 or the aircraft 100 leaves the factory.

Generally, it takes the following time from the abnormal operation status of the main flight controller 11 to the completion of the switchover between the main and auxiliary flight controllers: ①T1, when the main flight controller 11 begins to appear abnormal operation status, due to the operating frequency problem, it will still take a while for the first time. No input instruction is sent to the first processing unit 13. The time T1 can also be called the software delay time. The software delay time T1 can be approximately regarded as the main flight controller 11 set by the flight control software sending input to the first processing unit 13 The cycle of the instruction (that is, the aforementioned predetermined time interval). ②T2, when the main flight controller 11 does not send an input command to the first processing unit 13 for the first time, it will automatically start the accumulated time. When the accumulated time reaches the timeout time set by the user, the second level signal will be output, the timeout time That is, T2, which is also the aforementioned predetermined duration, and the predetermined duration T2 may be set before the flight control system 10 or the aircraft 100 leaves the factory. ③T3, the time required by the second processing unit 14 from receiving the second level signal to completing the switching of the control instruction is T3.

In order to ensure the flight safety of the aircraft 100, the predetermined duration T2 needs to be set to satisfy the condition T1+T2+T3≤T, so that the aircraft 100 in the embodiment of the present application can quickly return to a normal state before reaching the safety boundary. It should be pointed out that in the example of FIG. 11, T1+T2+T3=T, in other examples, it can also be T1+T2+T3<T, which is not limited here.

In some embodiments, the predetermined duration satisfies the condition:

T2≤T-T1;

Among them, T1 is the software delay time for the main flight control 11 not to send an input command to the first processing unit 13 for the first time when the main flight control 11 starts to appear abnormal operation; No input instruction is sent to the first processing unit 13 at a time to start accumulation; T is the longest time interval that allows the main flight control 11 to stop output under any flight condition without crossing the safety boundary.

It should be pointed out that the explanations on T1, T2, and T in the foregoing embodiments are also applicable to T1, T2, and T in the embodiments of this application. The difference from the foregoing embodiment is that since the value of T3 is generally small, it can be ignored. Therefore, in the embodiment of the present application, T1+T2≤T, that is, T2≤T-T1.

In some embodiments, the predetermined duration satisfies the condition:

T2>n×T1, n≥0.

It should be pointed out that the explanations of T1 and T2 in the foregoing embodiment are also applicable to T1 and T2 in the embodiment of this application.

As mentioned above, the software delay time T1 can be approximately regarded as the period for the main flight control 11 to send input instructions to the first processing unit 13 set by the flight control software, and the predetermined time period T2 is the first time from the main flight control 11 not to the first processing unit 13. A processing unit 13 sends an input instruction to start accumulation, therefore, T2>n×T1. For example, when n=0.2, then T2>0.2*T1, that is to say, the main flight control 11 sends the input command to the first processing unit 13 at least after (T1+0.2*T1) before it outputs the second The level signal triggers abnormally. For another example, when n=1, then T2>T1, that is to say, the main flight controller 11 sends the input command to the first processing unit 13 at least after (T1+T1) before it outputs the second level signal Trigger an exception. Preferably, n≧1 to eliminate the influence of accidental factors caused by the main flight control 11 not sending an input command to the first processing unit 13 in a short time.

Further, according to T2>n×T1 and then combining the aforementioned T1+T2+T3≤T, it can be obtained, n×T1<T2<T-T1-T3; or according to T2>n×T1 and then combining the aforementioned T2≤T-T1. Obtained, n×T1<T2<T-T1. Among them, n≥0.

1 and 12, in some embodiments, the sensor system 15 includes a primary sensor system 152 and a secondary sensor system 154. The main flight control 11 and the auxiliary flight control 12 receive the flight status information sent by the sensor system 15, and output control commands (ie 011) according to the flight status information, including:

0113: The main flight controller 11 receives the flight status information sent by the main sensor system 152, and outputs control commands based on the flight status information; and

0114: The secondary flight controller 12 receives the flight status information sent by the secondary sensor system 154, and outputs control commands according to the flight status information.

Referring to FIG. 1, in some embodiments, the sensor system 15 includes a primary sensor system 152 and a secondary sensor system 154. The main flight controller 11 can be used to execute the method in 0113, and the auxiliary flight controller 12 can be used to execute the method in 0114. In other words, the main flight control 11 can be used to receive the flight status information sent by the main sensor system 152 and output control commands according to the flight status information. The auxiliary flight control 12 may be used to receive flight status information sent by the auxiliary sensor system 154, and output control commands according to the flight status information.

Wherein, the output control instruction according to the flight status information may specifically be the aforementioned output control instruction according to the operation instruction and the flight status information, which will not be further described here.

In the embodiment of the present application, the main flight controller 11 and the auxiliary flight controller 12 have their own independent sensor systems 15. When the main flight control 11 and the main sensor system 152 fail, the auxiliary flight control 12 and the auxiliary sensor system 154 will not be affected. The auxiliary sensor system 154 can obtain accurate flight status information and send it to the auxiliary flight control 12 to output reasonable control. The instructions are sent to the actuator 50 to improve the flight safety of the aircraft 100.

Further, the main sensor system 152 may be integrated in the main flight control 11, and the auxiliary sensor system 154 may be integrated in the auxiliary flight control 12 (as shown in FIG. 1). Of course, in other embodiments, the main sensor system 152 can also be independently installed outside the main flight controller 11, and the auxiliary sensor system 154 can also be independently installed outside the auxiliary flight controller 12 (not shown). Alternatively, the main sensor system 152 can also be partly integrated in the main flight controller 11 and partly arranged outside the main flight controller 11; the auxiliary sensor system 154 can also be partly integrated in the auxiliary flight controller 12 and partly independently arranged in the auxiliary flight controller 12. outside. For example, in the main sensor system 152, only the MCU is integrated in the main flight controller 11, and in the auxiliary sensor system 154, only the MCU is integrated in the auxiliary flight controller 12.

Please refer to FIG. 13. In some embodiments, the main flight control 11 and the auxiliary flight control 12 share the sensor system 15 at least in part. The main flight control 11 and the auxiliary flight control 12 receive the flight status information sent by the sensor system 15, and output control commands (ie 011) according to the flight status information, including:

0115: The main flight controller 11 receives the flight status information sent by the sensor system 15, and outputs control commands based on the flight status information; and

0116: The secondary flight control 12 receives the flight status information sent by the sensor system 15, and outputs control commands according to the flight status information.

In some embodiments, the main flight controller 11 and the auxiliary flight controller 12 share the sensor system 15 at least in part. The main flight controller 11 can be used to execute the method in 0115, and the auxiliary flight controller 12 can be used to execute the method in 0116. In other words, the main flight controller 11 can be used to receive flight status information sent by the sensor system 15 and output control commands according to the flight status information. The secondary flight controller 12 can be used to receive flight status information sent by the sensor system 15 and output control commands according to the flight status information.

Specifically, the primary flight controller 11 and the secondary flight controller 12 may share some unnecessary sensors such as GPS, vision system, compass (CDR), or some relatively high-cost sensors to reduce costs. The main flight control 11 and the auxiliary flight control 12 may each have some basic sensors, for example, each has an independent inertial measurement unit (IMU), so that when the IMU of the main flight control 11 fails, the auxiliary flight control 12 will not also be caused. Unable to obtain IMU information. Of course, in terms of cost, the main flight control 11 and the auxiliary flight control 12 can also share the sensor system 15 completely.

When the main flight control 11 and the auxiliary flight control 12 share the sensor system 15 at least partially, the flight control system 10 may also include a sensor processing unit (not shown), which may be a driver chip (such as a clock driver) and field programmable logic Any of gate arrays or complex programmable logic devices. The embodiment of the present application takes as an example that the sensor processing unit is a driving chip. The shared sensor system 15 sends the flight status information to the sensor processing unit, and the sensor processing unit copies the flight status information into multiple copies and sends them to the main flight controller 11 and the auxiliary flight controller 12 as they are, realizing the sharing of the sensor system 15 .

Please refer to FIGS. 14 and 15. In some embodiments, the aircraft 100 further includes a seventh processing unit 20. The dual flight control switching method also includes:

022: The seventh processing unit 20 sends the execution status information of the actuator 50 to the main flight control 11 and/or the auxiliary flight control 12.

Please refer to FIG. 14. In some embodiments, the flight control system 10 further includes a seventh processing unit 20. The seventh processing unit 20 can be used to execute the method in 022. In other words, the seventh processing unit 20 may be used to send the execution status information of the actuator 50 to the main flight control 11 and/or the auxiliary flight control 12.

Specifically, the seventh processing unit 20 may be any one of a driver chip (such as a clock driver), a field programmable logic gate array, or a complex programmable logic device. In the embodiment of the present application, the seventh processing unit 20 is a driving chip as an example.

When the actuator 50 sends the execution status information to the seventh processing unit 20, the seventh processing unit 20 copies the execution status information into multiple copies, and sends them to the main flight controller 11 and/or the auxiliary flight controller 12 as they are to achieve The main flight control 11 and/or the auxiliary flight control 12 monitor the execution status of the actuator 50 to facilitate the understanding of whether the actuator 50 fails and establish a feedback mechanism. For example, the seventh processing unit 20 sends the execution status information "3000 revolutions per minute of the motor" of the actuator 50 to the main flight control 11 and/or the auxiliary flight control 12 to monitor the execution state of the motor.

Please refer to FIG. 16. In some embodiments, the main flight controller 11 is connected with the auxiliary flight controller 12 to achieve information synchronization. When the main flight control 11 is in an abnormal operation state, the auxiliary flight control 12 outputs control instructions according to the flight state information to control the actuator 50 to perform unfinished operations. Specifically, the main flight controller 11 and the auxiliary flight controller 12 can be directly connected through a line to achieve information synchronization. When the main flight control 11 is in an abnormal operation state, the main flight control 11 can inform the auxiliary flight control 12 of its own state, so that the auxiliary flight control 12 outputs control instructions to control the actuator 50 to perform unfinished operations of the main flight control 11.

Of course, in other embodiments, the main flight control 11 and the auxiliary flight control 12 may not need information synchronization. When the main flight control 11 is in an abnormal operation state, the auxiliary flight control 12 can directly output control instructions to control the actuator 50 to realize the aircraft. 100 hovering, landing or returning home, etc., without the need to control the actuator 50 to perform the unfinished operations of the main flight control 11. Or, when the aircraft 100 has not taken off, the secondary flight controller 12 does not need to control the actuator 50 to perform the unfinished operations of the main flight controller 11, and only needs to output a control instruction to stop working to ensure the safety of the aircraft 100.

Referring to FIG. 1 and FIG. 17, in some embodiments, the dual flight control switching method further includes:

023: When the main flight control 11 is in an abnormal operation state, the main flight control 11 restarts and continues to send input instructions to the first processing unit 13 at predetermined time intervals.

Please refer to FIG. 1, in some embodiments, the main flight controller 11 can be used to execute the method in 023. In other words, when the main flight control 11 is in an abnormal operating state, the main flight control 11 can be restarted and continue to send input instructions to the first processing unit 13 at predetermined time intervals.

Specifically, when the main flight control 11 is in an abnormal operation state, the main flight control 11 can be restarted. Restarting refers to restarting the program. For example, the original main flight control 11 has run to the 100th line of the program, and the main flight control 11 restarts After that, restart the program from line 1. During the restarting process of the main flight control 11, the whole flight control system 10 does not need to be powered off. After the main flight controller 11 restarts, it will resume sending input instructions to the first processing unit 13 at predetermined time intervals so that the first processing unit 13 outputs the first level signal, for example, the first processing unit 13 outputs the first level signal Signal to the second processing unit 14 to transmit the control instructions output by the main flight controller 11 to the actuator 50; to make the first processing unit 13 output the first level signal to the fourth processing unit 17 to transfer the control instructions received by the remote control unit 30 The operation instruction is sent to the main flight control 11; the first processing unit 13 outputs the first level signal to the fifth processing unit 18 to transmit the flight status information sent by the main flight control 11 to the remote control unit 30 and so on.

In the embodiment of the present application, after the main flight control 11 is restarted, the main flight control 11 resumes to take over the flight control system 10, which can continue to realize the complete flight control function without affecting the subsequent flight of the aircraft 100.

In addition, the flight control system 10 may also include a main flight control processing unit (not shown), and the main flight control processing unit may be any one of a watchdog chip, a field programmable logic gate array, or a complex programmable logic device. . In the embodiment of the present application, the main flight control processing unit is the watchdog chip as an example. When the main flight control 11 is in a normal operating state, the main flight control 11 is used to send an input instruction to the main flight control processing unit at a preset time interval, and the input instruction is used to control the main flight control processing unit to output a first level signal. The main flight control processing unit is used to control the main flight control 11 to restart when the input instruction is not received within the preset time period. Among them, the preset time interval and the aforementioned predetermined time interval may be equal or unequal; the preset time period and the aforementioned predetermined time period may be equal or unequal. In the embodiment of the present application, the main flight control processing unit monitors the operating state of the main flight control 11 so as to be able to control the main flight control 11 to restart when the main flight control 11 is in an abnormal operation state.

Please refer to FIG. 18. In some embodiments, the aircraft 100 or the flight control system 10 further includes a latch 21. The latch 21 is provided between the first processing unit 13 and the sixth processing unit 19. The latch 21 is used to hold the second-level signal output by the first processing unit 13 so as to maintain the output of the second-level signal through the sixth processing unit 19.

Specifically, the latch 21 is respectively connected to the first processing unit 13 and the sixth processing unit 19, and the latch 21 is used to latch the second level signal output by the first processing unit 13 to pass the sixth processing unit 19 Keep outputting the second level signal, for example, keep outputting the second level signal to the second processing unit 14 through the sixth processing unit 19, so as to transmit the control command output by the auxiliary flight control 12 to the actuator 50; through the sixth processing unit 19 Keep outputting the second level signal to the fourth processing unit 17 to send the operation command received by the remote control unit 30 to the secondary flight control 12; keep outputting the second level signal to the fifth processing unit 18 through the sixth processing unit 19 , To transmit the flight status information sent by the secondary flight control 12 to the remote control unit 30 and so on.

In the embodiment of the present application, when the main flight controller 11 is in an abnormal operation state, the latch 21 maintains the second level signal output by the first processing unit 13. Even if the main flight controller 11 restarts, it will remain as the auxiliary flight controller 12 to take over the flight control system 10. The auxiliary flight controller 12 has fewer functions, relatively simple control, high stability, and it is not prone to abnormal operation problems, and it also reduces the number of flying. Control the risk of multiple switchovers.

Further, by synchronizing the information of the main flight control 11 and the auxiliary flight control 12, the auxiliary flight control 12 can also notify the main flight control 11 to stop working when the main flight control 11 is in an abnormal operation state, so that the main flight control 11 does not need to be restarted. After starting, continue to send input instructions, output control instructions, and send flight status information to the first processing unit 13 at predetermined time intervals, so as to avoid the main flight controller 11 when the secondary flight controller 12 takes over the flight control system 10 Unnecessary operations performed. Or, when the main flight controller 11 is in an abnormal operating state, the remote control unit 30 can also receive a stop operation instruction input by the user through the control terminal 200 to notify the main flight controller 11 to stop working, and it can also avoid taking over as the secondary flight controller 12 In the case of the flight control system 10, unnecessary operations performed by the main flight control 11.

Please refer to FIG. 1, an embodiment of the present application also provides an aircraft 100. The aircraft 100 may be a drone or a manned aircraft. The aircraft 100 includes the flight control system 10 and the actuator 50 of any of the above embodiments, and the flight control system 10 is used to control the actuator 50.

In summary, in the dual flight control switching method, flight control system 10, and aircraft 100 in the embodiments of the present application, when the main flight control 11 is in a normal operating state, the second processing unit 14 outputs the main flight control 11 according to the first level signal. The control instruction is transmitted to the actuator 50; when the main flight control 11 is in an abnormal operation state, the second processing unit 14 transmits the control instruction output by the auxiliary flight control 12 to the actuator 50 according to the second level signal. The dual flight control switching method, the flight control system 10, and the aircraft 100 in the embodiments of the present application use dual flight control backup to improve flight control reliability. Even if a single flight controller causes an abnormal command due to hardware stability or abnormal software execution flow, the flight control system 10 It can also immediately connect the output of the backup flight control to the actuator 50. The whole process is realized by hardware, and the switching process is fast and reliable, which greatly improves the reliability of the flight control system 10 and can solve the problem of the main flight control 11 Flight safety issues caused by failures.

In the description of this specification, descriptions with reference to the terms "one embodiment", "some embodiments", "examples", "specific examples", or "some examples" etc. mean specific features described in conjunction with the embodiment or example , The structure, materials, or characteristics are included in at least one embodiment or example of the present application. In this specification, the schematic representations of the above terms do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment or example. Moreover, the described specific features, structures, materials or characteristics can be combined in any one or more embodiments or examples in a suitable manner. In addition, those skilled in the art can combine and combine the different embodiments or examples and the features of the different embodiments or examples described in this specification without contradicting each other.

In addition, the terms "first" and "second" are only used for descriptive purposes, and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of indicated technical features. Therefore, the features defined with "first" and "second" may explicitly or implicitly include at least one of the features. In the description of the present application, "a plurality of" means at least two, such as two, three, etc., unless specifically defined otherwise.

Any process or method description described in the flowchart or described in other ways herein can be understood as a module, segment, or part of code that includes one or more executable instructions for implementing specific logical functions or steps of the process , And the scope of the preferred embodiments of the present application includes additional implementations, which may not be in the order shown or discussed, including performing functions in a substantially simultaneous manner or in the reverse order according to the functions involved. This should It is understood by those skilled in the art to which the embodiments of the present application belong.

The logic and/or steps represented in the flowchart or described in other ways herein, for example, can be considered as a sequenced list of executable instructions for implementing logic functions, and can be embodied in any computer-readable medium, For use by instruction execution systems, devices, or equipment (such as computer-based systems, systems including processors, or other systems that can fetch and execute instructions from instruction execution systems, devices, or equipment), or combine these instruction execution systems, devices Or equipment. For the purposes of this specification, a "computer-readable medium" can be any device that can contain, store, communicate, propagate, or transmit a program for use by an instruction execution system, device, or device or in combination with these instruction execution systems, devices, or devices. More specific examples (non-exhaustive list) of computer readable media include the following: electrical connections (electronic devices) with one or more wiring, portable computer disk cases (magnetic devices), random access memory (RAM), Read only memory (ROM), erasable and editable read only memory (EPROM or flash memory), fiber optic devices, and portable compact disk read only memory (CDROM). In addition, the computer-readable medium may even be paper or other suitable medium on which the program can be printed, because it can be used, for example, by optically scanning the paper or other medium, followed by editing, interpretation, or other suitable media if necessary. The program is processed in a manner to obtain the program electronically, and then stored in the computer memory.

It should be understood that each part of this application can be implemented by hardware, software, firmware, or a combination thereof. In the above embodiments, multiple steps or methods can be implemented by software or firmware stored in a memory and executed by a suitable instruction execution system. For example, if it is implemented by hardware, as in another embodiment, it can be implemented by any one or a combination of the following technologies known in the art: Discrete logic circuits, application specific integrated circuits with suitable combinational logic gates, programmable gate array (PGA), field programmable gate array (FPGA), etc.

A person of ordinary skill in the art can understand that all or part of the steps carried in the method of the foregoing embodiments can be implemented by a program instructing relevant hardware to complete. The program can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. When executed, it includes one of the steps of the method embodiment or a combination thereof.

In addition, the functional units in the various embodiments of the present application may be integrated into one processing module, or each unit may exist alone physically, or two or more units may be integrated into one module. The above-mentioned integrated modules can be implemented in the form of hardware or software functional modules. If the integrated module is implemented in the form of a software function module and sold or used as an independent product, it can also be stored in a computer readable storage medium.

The aforementioned storage medium may be a read-only memory, a magnetic disk or an optical disk, etc. Although the embodiments of the present application have been shown and described above, it can be understood that the above-mentioned embodiments are exemplary and should not be construed as limiting the present application. A person of ordinary skill in the art can comment on the foregoing within the scope of the present application. The embodiment undergoes changes, modifications, substitutions, and modifications.

Claims

A dual flight control switching method for an aircraft, characterized in that the aircraft includes a main flight control, a secondary flight control, a first processing unit, a second processing unit, and an executive mechanism. When the main flight control is in a normal operating state When the main flight controller is used to send an input instruction to the first processing unit at a predetermined time interval, the input instruction is used to control the first processing unit to output a first level signal; the first processing unit Used for outputting a second level signal to the second processing unit when the input instruction is not received within a predetermined period of time; the dual flight control switching method includes:

The main flight controller and the secondary flight controller receive flight status information sent by a sensor system, and output control instructions according to the flight status information;

When the main flight control is in a normal operating state, the second processing unit transmits the control command output by the main flight control to the actuator according to the first level signal; and

When the main flight controller is in an abnormal operation state, the second processing unit transmits the control command output by the secondary flight controller to the actuator according to the second level signal.
The dual flight control switching method according to claim 1, wherein the first processing unit is any one of a watchdog chip, a field programmable logic gate array, or a complex programmable logic device; and/or

The second processing unit is any one of a switching chip, a field programmable logic gate array, or a complex programmable logic device.
The dual flight control switching method according to claim 1, wherein the aircraft further comprises a remote control unit and a third processing unit, and the dual flight control switching method further comprises:

The remote control unit receives an operation instruction and sends the operation instruction to the main flight controller and the secondary flight controller through the third processing unit;

The outputting a control instruction according to the flight status information includes:

Output control instructions according to the operation instructions and the flight status information.
The dual flight control switching method according to claim 3, wherein the third processing unit is any one of a driver chip, a field programmable logic gate array, or a complex programmable logic device.
The dual flight control switching method according to claim 3, wherein the aircraft further comprises a fourth processing unit, and the first processing unit is further configured to: when the input instruction is not received within the predetermined period of time, Outputting the second level signal to the fourth processing unit; the dual flight control switching method further includes:

When the main flight controller is in a normal operating state, the fourth processing unit sends the operation instruction received by the remote control unit to the main flight controller according to the first level signal; and

When the main flight controller is in an abnormal operation state, the fourth processing unit sends the operation instruction received by the remote control unit to the secondary flight controller according to the second level signal.
The dual flight control switching method according to claim 5, wherein the fourth processing unit is any one of a switching chip, a field programmable logic gate array, or a complex programmable logic device.
The dual flight control switching method according to claim 1, wherein operation instructions are stored in the main flight control and the auxiliary flight control;

The outputting a control instruction according to the flight status information includes:

Output control instructions according to the operation instructions and the flight status information.
The dual flight control switching method according to claim 1, wherein the aircraft further comprises a remote control unit and a fifth processing unit, and the first processing unit is further configured to not receive the input within the predetermined period of time When instructed, output the second level signal to the fifth processing unit; the dual flight control switching method further includes:

When the main flight controller is in a normal operating state, the fifth processing unit transmits the flight status information sent by the main flight controller to the remote control unit according to the first level signal; and

When the main flight controller is in an abnormal operation state, the fifth processing unit transmits the flight status information sent by the secondary flight controller to the remote control unit according to the second level signal.
The dual flight control switching method according to claim 8, wherein the fifth processing unit is any one of a switching chip, a field programmable logic gate array, or a complex programmable logic device.
The dual flight control switching method according to claim 8, wherein the dual flight control switching method further comprises:

The remote control unit sends the flight status information sent by the main flight controller to the control terminal, so that the control terminal outputs the flight status information sent by the main flight controller.
The dual flight control switching method according to claim 8, wherein the dual flight control switching method further comprises:

The remote control unit sends the flight status information sent by the secondary flight controller to the control terminal, so that the control terminal outputs the flight status information sent by the secondary flight controller.
The dual flight control switching method according to claim 8, wherein the dual flight control switching method further comprises:

The remote control unit sends the flight status information sent by the secondary flight controller to the control terminal, so that the control terminal determines that the primary flight controller is malfunctioning according to the flight status information sent by the secondary flight controller.
The dual flight control switching method according to claim 1, wherein the aircraft further comprises a remote control unit, and the first processing unit is further configured to send a remote control unit when the input instruction is not received within the predetermined period of time. The remote control unit outputs the second level signal.
The dual flight control switching method according to any one of claims 1 to 13, wherein the aircraft further comprises a sixth processing unit, and the first processing unit is provided between the main flight control and the sixth processing unit. Between the units, the first processing unit is configured to output the second level signal through the sixth processing unit when the input instruction is not received within the predetermined time period.
The dual flight control switching method according to claim 14, wherein the sixth processing unit is any one of a driver chip, a field programmable logic gate array, or a complex programmable logic device.
The dual flight control switching method according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined duration satisfies a condition:

T1+T2+T3≤T;

Wherein, T1 is the software delay time for the main flight control not to send the input instruction to the first processing unit for the first time when the main flight control starts to appear in an abnormal operation state; T2 is the predetermined duration, And T2 is the time when the main flight controller does not send the input instruction to the first processing unit for the first time; T3 is the time from receiving the second level signal to the completion of the control by the second processing unit The time required for command switching; T is the longest time interval that allows the main flight control to stop output under any flight condition without crossing the safety boundary.
The dual flight control switching method according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined duration satisfies a condition:

T2≤T-T1;

Wherein, T1 is the software delay time for the main flight control not to send the input instruction to the first processing unit for the first time when the main flight control starts to appear in an abnormal operation state; T2 is the predetermined duration, And T2 is accumulated since the main flight control does not send the input instruction to the first processing unit for the first time; T is the maximum value that allows the main flight control to stop output under any flight condition without crossing the safety boundary. Long time interval.
The dual flight control switching method according to claim 16 or 17, wherein the predetermined duration satisfies a condition:

T2>n×T1, n≥0.
The dual flight control switching method according to claim 1, wherein the sensor system comprises a main sensor system and an auxiliary sensor system, and the main flight controller and the auxiliary flight controller receive flight status information sent by the sensor system, and Outputting control instructions according to the flight status information includes:

The main flight controller receives flight status information sent by the main sensor system, and outputs control instructions according to the flight status information; and

The secondary flight controller receives flight status information sent by the secondary sensor system, and outputs control instructions according to the flight status information.
The dual flight control switching method according to claim 19, wherein the main sensor system is integrated in the main flight control; and/or

The secondary sensor system is integrated in the secondary flight control.
The dual flight control switching method according to claim 1, wherein the main flight control and the auxiliary flight control at least partly share the sensor system, and the main flight control and the auxiliary flight control receive the sensor system sent According to the flight status information, and output control instructions according to the flight status information, including:

The main flight controller receives flight status information sent by the sensor system, and outputs control instructions according to the flight status information; and

The secondary flight controller receives flight status information sent by the sensor system, and outputs control instructions according to the flight status information.
The dual flight control switching method according to claim 1, wherein the aircraft further comprises a seventh processing unit, and the dual flight control switching method further comprises:

The seventh processing unit sends the execution status information of the actuator to the main flight controller and/or the secondary flight controller.
The dual flight control switching method according to claim 22, wherein the seventh processing unit is any one of a driver chip, a field programmable logic gate array, or a complex programmable logic device.
The dual flight control switching method according to any one of claims 1 to 23, wherein the main flight control is connected with the secondary flight control to achieve information synchronization;

When the main flight controller is in an abnormal operating state, the secondary flight controller outputs the control instruction according to the flight state information to control the actuator to perform an unfinished operation.
The dual flight control switching method according to claim 1, wherein the dual flight control switching method further comprises:

When the main flight control is in an abnormal operation state, the main flight control is restarted and continues to send the input instruction to the first processing unit at the predetermined time interval.
The dual flight control switching method according to claim 14, wherein the aircraft further comprises a latch, and the latch is provided between the first processing unit and the sixth processing unit, and the The latch is used to hold the second level signal output by the first processing unit, so as to keep outputting the second level signal through the sixth processing unit.
The dual flight control switching method according to any one of claims 1 to 26, wherein the aircraft is an unmanned aerial vehicle or a manned aircraft.
A flight control system for an aircraft, characterized in that the aircraft includes an actuator, the flight control system includes a main flight control, an auxiliary flight control, a first processing unit, and a second processing unit. When the controller is in a normal operation state, the main flight controller is used to send input instructions to the first processing unit at predetermined time intervals, and the input instructions are used to control the first processing unit to output a first level signal; The first processing unit is configured to output a second level signal to the second processing unit when the input instruction is not received within a predetermined period of time;

The main flight control and the auxiliary flight control are used to receive flight status information sent by a sensor system, and output control instructions according to the flight status information;

When the main flight control is in a normal operation state, the second processing unit is configured to transmit the control command output by the main flight control to the actuator according to the first level signal;

When the main flight controller is in an abnormal operation state, the second processing unit is configured to transmit the control command output by the secondary flight controller to the actuator according to the second level signal.
The flight control system according to claim 28, wherein the first processing unit is any one of a watchdog chip, a field programmable logic gate array, or a complex programmable logic device; and/or

The second processing unit is any one of a switching chip, a field programmable logic gate array, or a complex programmable logic device.
The flight control system according to claim 28, wherein the flight control system further comprises a remote control unit and a third processing unit, and the remote control unit is used to receive operation instructions and transfer the The operation instruction is sent to the main flight control and the auxiliary flight control, and the main flight control and the auxiliary flight control are used to output control instructions according to the operation instruction and the flight status information.
The flight control system according to claim 30, wherein the third processing unit is any one of a driver chip, a field programmable logic gate array, or a complex programmable logic device.
The flight control system according to claim 30, wherein the flight control system further comprises a fourth processing unit, and the first processing unit is further configured to: when the input instruction is not received within the predetermined period of time , Outputting the second level signal to the fourth processing unit;

When the main flight control is in a normal operation state, the fourth processing unit is configured to send the operation instruction received by the remote control unit to the main flight control according to the first level signal;

When the main flight controller is in an abnormal operation state, the fourth processing unit is configured to send the operation instruction received by the remote control unit to the secondary flight controller according to the second level signal.
The flight control system according to claim 32, wherein the fourth processing unit is any one of a switching chip, a field programmable logic gate array, or a complex programmable logic device.
The flight control system according to claim 28, wherein operation instructions are stored in the main flight control and the auxiliary flight control, and the main flight control and the auxiliary flight control are used to follow the operation instructions And the flight status information output control instruction.
The flight control system according to claim 28, wherein the flight control system further comprises a remote control unit and a fifth processing unit, and the first processing unit is further configured to not receive the When an instruction is input, output the second level signal to the fifth processing unit;

When the main flight controller is in a normal operating state, the fifth processing unit is configured to transmit flight status information sent by the main flight controller to the remote control unit according to the first level signal;

When the main flight controller is in an abnormal operation state, the fifth processing unit is configured to transmit the flight status information sent by the secondary flight controller to the remote control unit according to the second level signal.
The flight control system according to claim 35, wherein the fifth processing unit is any one of a switching chip, a field programmable logic gate array, or a complex programmable logic device.
The flight control system according to claim 35, wherein the remote control unit is used to send flight status information sent by the main flight control to a control terminal, so that the control terminal outputs the main flight control transmission Flight status information.
The flight control system according to claim 35, wherein the remote control unit is used to send flight status information sent by the secondary flight controller to a control terminal, so that the control terminal outputs the secondary flight controller transmission Flight status information.
The flight control system according to claim 35, wherein the remote control unit is used to send the flight status information sent by the secondary flight controller to the control terminal, so that the control terminal sends the flight status information according to the secondary flight controller. According to the flight status information, it is determined that the main flight control is malfunctioning.
The flight control system according to claim 28, wherein the flight control system further comprises a remote control unit, and the first processing unit is further configured to provide a remote control unit when the input instruction is not received within the predetermined period of time. The remote control unit outputs the second level signal.
The flight control system according to any one of claims 28 to 40, wherein the flight control system further comprises a sixth processing unit, and the first processing unit is arranged between the main flight control and the sixth processing unit. Between processing units, the first processing unit is configured to output the second level signal through the sixth processing unit when the input instruction is not received within the predetermined time period.
The flight control system according to claim 41, wherein the sixth processing unit is any one of a driver chip, a field programmable logic gate array, or a complex programmable logic device.
The flight control system according to claim 28, wherein the predetermined duration satisfies a condition:

T1+T2+T3≤T;

Wherein, T1 is the software delay time for the main flight control not to send the input instruction to the first processing unit for the first time when the main flight control starts to appear in an abnormal operation state; T2 is the predetermined duration, And T2 is the time when the main flight controller does not send the input instruction to the first processing unit for the first time; T3 is the time from receiving the second level signal to the completion of the control by the second processing unit The time required for command switching; T is the longest time interval that allows the main flight control to stop output under any flight condition without crossing the safety boundary.
The flight control system according to claim 28, wherein the predetermined duration satisfies a condition:

T2≤T-T1;

Wherein, T1 is the software delay time for the main flight control not to send the input instruction to the first processing unit for the first time when the main flight control starts to appear in an abnormal operation state; T2 is the predetermined duration, And T2 is accumulated since the main flight control does not send the input instruction to the first processing unit for the first time; T is the maximum value that allows the main flight control to stop output under any flight condition without crossing the safety boundary. Long time interval.
The flight control system according to claim 43 or 44, wherein the predetermined duration satisfies a condition:

T2>n×T1, n≥0.
The flight control system according to claim 28, wherein the sensor system comprises a main sensor system and a secondary sensor system;

The main flight controller is used to receive flight status information sent by the main sensor system, and output control instructions according to the flight status information;

The secondary flight controller is used to receive flight status information sent by the secondary sensor system, and output control instructions according to the flight status information.
The flight control system according to claim 46, wherein the main sensor system is integrated in the main flight control; and/or

The secondary sensor system is integrated in the secondary flight control.
The flight control system of claim 28, wherein the main flight control and the secondary flight control at least partially share the sensor system;

The main flight controller is used to receive flight status information sent by the sensor system, and output control instructions according to the flight status information;

The secondary flight controller is used to receive flight status information sent by the sensor system, and output control instructions according to the flight status information.
The flight control system according to claim 28, wherein the flight control system further comprises a seventh processing unit, and the seventh processing unit is configured to send the execution status information of the actuator to the main flight Control and/or the secondary flight control.
The flight control system of claim 49, wherein the seventh processing unit is any one of a driver chip, a field programmable logic gate array, or a complex programmable logic device.
The flight control system according to any one of claims 28 to 50, wherein the main flight control is connected with the secondary flight control to realize information synchronization;

When the main flight controller is in an abnormal operating state, the secondary flight controller outputs the control instruction according to the flight state information to control the actuator to perform an unfinished operation.
The flight control system according to claim 28, wherein when the main flight control is in an abnormal operation state, the main flight control restarts and continues to report to the first processing unit at the predetermined time interval Send the input instruction.
The flight control system according to claim 41, wherein the flight control system further comprises a latch, and the latch is provided between the first processing unit and the sixth processing unit, so The latch is used to hold the second level signal output by the first processing unit, so as to keep outputting the second level signal through the sixth processing unit.
The flight control system according to any one of claims 28 to 53, wherein the aircraft is an unmanned aerial vehicle or a manned aircraft.
An aircraft, characterized in that the aircraft includes:

The flight control system of any one of claims 28 to 54; and

The actuator, the flight control system is used to control the actuator.