WO2021224792A1

WO2021224792A1 - Helicopter flight simulator for training operations

Info

Publication number: WO2021224792A1
Application number: PCT/IB2021/053735
Authority: WO
Inventors: Andrea SINTICH
Original assignee: Rossocarbon S.R.L.
Priority date: 2020-05-05
Filing date: 2021-05-04
Publication date: 2021-11-11

Abstract

Helicopter flight simulator for training operations relying on a four bar linkage, comprising a swiveling structure and a mobile support structure to which a helicopter cockpit is removably anchored, where mobile support structure comprises an interface structure for the removable anchoring of said cockpit to said mobile support structure allowing the rotation around three axes belonging to three distinct orthogonal planes, and that the swiveling structure is arranged on a basement on which said swiveling structure can rotate, the basement being equipped with wheels allowing movement of the entire simulator along ground rails or along another sliding seat.

Description

TITLE

HELICOPTER FLIGHT SIMULATOR FOR TRAINING OPERATIONS

DESCRIPTION

The present invention refers to a helicopter flight simulator for training operations which allows the training of the personnel (e.g. rescue or military) operating onboard of helicopters by recreating an environment very similar to the real environment but with higher safety conditions and considerably lower costs.

Specifically, the invention aims to support the training of one or more member of the crew, even simultaneously, who are on board of an helicopter, which can be any kind of helicopter, while operating as support personnel for various rescue and / or military operations. These people are possibly involved in piloting the vehicle but mainly interact with the auxiliary equipment in order to carry out tasks such as descending to the ground, getting back on board, transferring objects and / or injured people, and medical rescue operations. These and other activities must be carried out in the typical context of helicopter flight such as in the condition of steady flight (hovering) or transfer to and from the intervention point.

At the state of the art, crew training, in particular for the winch operators and the recovery of the injured but also for the pilot and medical staff, is done on the helicopters in normal operation, exposing of the crew members to a risk at least with a risk level equal to what occurs during actual service, and even higher for people at the first missions when the staff is inexperienced.

The costs to be carried out are extremely high, as they include the hourly cost of the helicopter, comprising fuel, maintenance, cost of the pilot, and aircraft financial amortization, in addition to all the costs related to the training itself. Additionally, the aircraft is not available for field operations while used for training.

To overcome these problems, a simulator was developed, described in the patent (EP2 351002 B1), which provides a helicopter cockpit placed on a fixed support structure. This fixed structure is also connected by means of a ball joint to a platform, which is in a higher position and supports the whole system. An actuation system is interposed between these two structures which allows the structure integral with the cockpit to be tilted by a certain angle around its transverse axis (cockpit pitch) and around its longitudinal axis (cockpit roll).

The platform is hung by means of a plurality of winches to a specially built overhead crane, which is also equipped with a slewing bearing that allows the entire group consisting of cockpit, fixed structure, platform and winches to rotate around the vertical axis.

The overhead crane is inside a dedicated warehouse, and allows translations along the rails, in a longitudinal direction with respect to the warehouse, and in a transverse direction through a large trolley, on which the previously described slewing bearing is also present.

Essentially, the helicopter cockpit can move in all directions by combining the individual movements therewith described by means of an appropriate automation, as summarized below:

• longitudinal direction, meant as the longest side of the warehouse, through the runways of the specially built overhead crane;

• transverse direction, meant as the shorter side of the warehouse, by means of the trolley of the overhead crane;

• vertical direction through the winches;

• rotation around the vertical axis by means of the slewing bearing positioned on the trolley of the specially built overhead crane;

• rolling and pitching of the cockpit through the mechanisms interposed between the structure fixed to the cockpit and to the support platform.

The cockpit is then maneuvered until it reaches the vertical of a prefabricated rock wall or an operational scenario that is created inside the warehouse, and the crew can simulate recovery of the injured people in conditions similar to the real ones, but inside of a warehouse and without using a real helicopter.

However, this configuration entails various disadvantages, as it requires a dedicated large warehouse to operate, with rails capable of withstanding very high loads due to the considerable dimensions of the overhead crane, wherein the overhead crane itself has a considerable constructive complexity.

Furthermore, the arrangement supporting the cockpit by means of winches limits the speed of movement due to the oscillations that are generated consequently to the intrinsic characteristics of the ropes.

Finally, the roll and pitch angles of the cockpit are limited to a few degrees due to the limited space between cockpit with fixed structure and platform.

Object of the present invention is therefore to overcome the limits of known solutions by introducing an helicopter flight simulator for training operations that is simple to implement, versatile in use and that does not require special auxiliary infrastructures for operation.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a flight simulator capable of moving the cockpit by simulating rolling, pitching and yaw motions with wide angular openings and high accelerations similar to what happens in the real life scenario where the crew operates.

The object of the present invention is achieved by means of a simulator according to claim 1 .

The helicopter flight simulator for training operations according to this invention overcomes these limitations as it does not need a dedicated warehouse, reducing civil engineering works to a minimum, and it can also operate in an open environment requiring only two floor rails, having an all-steel cockpit handling structure, operating without requiring the use of ropes, and it can therefore operate at greater speeds, and it is capable of handling the cockpit with high roll and pitch angles.

It also allows quick replacement of the cockpit in case it is desired to simulate training operations on different air vessels, without having to redesign the entire device.

This feature is very significant as it allows the device to be used for a longer time than the operational life of the air vessel, allowing amortization of the initial investment for a longer period with consequent economic savings.

Finally, it is possible to reach high travel speeds, with the possibility of making the device usable also for the training of helicopter pilots thus not limited to the operations of the crew on board, but also for the piloting of the aircraft itself.

The invention preferably comprises an electronic control unit that performs the operating steps of one or more control sequences in the form of software or firmware for the purpose of controlling the simulator movements, either in manual, assisted or automatic mode. Said control unit is able to generate command signals for controlling one or more actuating members of the simulator according to the inputs received from an operator and to the specific features of the cockpit anchored to the support structure.

The control unit can have one or more communication interfaces to and from local or remote units according to the knowledge of the person skilled in the art in regards to the exchange of supervision and control information.

Possible embodiments are described below with reference to the attached drawings, to be considered as a non-limiting example of the present invention, where:

• fig. 1 shows an embodiment of a simulator according to the present invention;

• fig. 2a shows the details of the same cockpit anchored to the support structure while fig. 2b shows an enlargement of part of the cockpit swinging organs;

• fig. 3 shows the details of the device for anchoring the cabin to the support structure;

• figs from 4 to 8 illustrate the possible movements of the simulator;

• fig. 9 shows a cockpit scenario not anchored to the support structure;

• fig. 10 shows a second embodiment of the invention.

Referring to the drawings, the helicopter flight simulator for training operations (Fig. 1) consists of a basement 1 equipped with at least two rows of wheels arranged along the longitudinal direction, which roll on corresponding tracks 2. One or more engines allow the movement of the basement 1 along the tracks 2.

A swiveling turret or swiveling structure 3 is arranged on the basement, mounted on a toothed slewing bearing 4 driven by at least one electric motor 5. Said swiveling turret 3 has two lateral sides where an upper beam 6 and a lower beam 7 are hinged, at the ends of which a connecting rod 8 is hinged to form a four-bar linkage mechanism.

The upper beam 6 is moved by one or more movement apparatuses e.g. electric motors 32 which cooperate with corresponding toothed slewing bearing 31 . In the embodiment of figure 1 and following, to be considered as non-limiting with respect to the invention, the toothed slewing bearing 4 is fixed to the upper beam 6 while the motor is anchored to the swiveling turret 3.

In other embodiments of the invention, the movement of the four-bar linkage is provided by means of active members acting on the lower beam 7, alternatively or in combination with the members acting on the upper beam 6.

The combination of the four-bar linkage and actuators is a rigid structure that is movable and controllable, which allows precision control and at the same time allows the movement of large masses in conditions similar to those occurring in a real life scenario to be simulated with the present invention.

At the end of the upper beam 6 opposite to said connecting rod 8 there is a ballast 9 to balance the force of gravity exerted by the cockpit by adjusting the center of gravity of the mobile part of the simulator near the rotation axis of the swiveling turret 3.

In one embodiment, the ballast 9 is mounted on a pin for sliding longitudinally along the upper beam 6 and adjusting the center of gravity or the removal of the ballast 9 from the upper beam 6 to facilitate its replacement with a ballast of different mass to compensate for the different cockpits that can be anchored to the support structure.

A movement system 10 for the helicopter cockpit 18 is hinged to the connecting rod 8, which can rotate around an axis 11.

The helicopter cockpit contains the crew to be trained who, during training, are located inside cockpit 181 where the necessary equipment is present to simulate the flight operational phases. In particular, the cockpit 18 has at least one loading / unloading side door for accessing a transport compartment in which passengers and / or equipment are carried, normally closed by a sliding door (not shown), said door being arranged in a position which is on the back of the pilot seat.

On the rotation pin 12 is mounted a toothed slewing bearing 13 operated by an electric motor 14, which enable the rotation of the entire movement system 10 of the helicopter 18 cockpit.

The movement system 10 of the helicopter cockpit 18 consists of a third structure 15, upon the rotation pin 12 described above is made, hinged with a rocker bar 16, operated by an actuator 17.

The rocker bar 16 holds the helicopter cockpit 18, on the top of which is mounted an interface structure 19 including a rotation pin 191. A toothed slewing bearing 20 allows the rotation of the helicopter cockpit 18 around its own vertical axis, operated by an electric motor 21 .

As apparent from the figures, the anchoring between the simulator structure and the cockpit 18 advantageously takes place in the upper part of the latter. Therefore the simulator withstands and moves massive loads such as those resulting from the presence of at least part of a helicopter frame carrying more people and all the equipment necessary for the training.

Furthermore, the four-bar linkage structure allows both to simulate movements i.e. vertical accelerations and to maintain the cockpit at different heights from the ground, being this an extremely advantageous technical effect e.g. to use of the winch for loading and unloading of people and / or equipment.

Combining the rotations of the individual components here described together with the translations by the basement 1 allows the helicopter cockpit 18 to move in space, and to assume roll and pitch angles corresponding to the various maneuvers of the real aircraft.

Specifically, in this embodiment the main beam 6, the secondary beam 7 and the connecting rod 8 constitute the movable elements of a four-bar linkage, of which the swiveling turret 3 is the frame.

In a preferred embodiment, the kinematics is such as to keep the connecting rod 8 always vertical (Fig. 4). This condition is ensured by the equal length of the two beams 6 and 7, by their parallelism and by the position of the hinges axes which lie on parallel planes.

In a further embodiment, the connecting rod 8 on which the second structure 15 is hinged, is operated by a device that modifies its inclination around its axis of rotation; advantageously, this introduces a further degree of adjustability of the connecting rod which contributes to cockpit positioning during the simulations operating in combination or as an alternative to the actuators and members that regulate the pitching movements of the cockpit movement system 10. Using actuators such as electromechanical or fluid operated as known to the person skilled in the art, it will be possible to statically or dynamically adjust the orientation of the connecting rod 8 during the operation of the simulator.

According to another variant of the invention, said third structure 15 is hinged directly to the end of the main beam 6 and is operated by a device that modifies the inclination around its rotational axis. In this embodiment, not shown in the figures, the third structure 15 is not directly connected to the connecting rod 8 and is connected to an extension of the beam 6 beyond the pin binding the connecting rod 8 and made in such a way as to allow rotations of the cockpit around an axis of roll.

By analyzing the movements of the helicopter flight simulator for training operations, it is evident that by combining them through appropriate automation, the helicopter cockpit can move on all its degrees of freedom (three rotations and three translations).

In particular, the following movements of the helicopter flight simulator for training operations are identified, starting from the initial position with the cockpit on the ground (Fig.4.1):

- (Fig.4.2) rotation of the main beam 6 and translation of the basement 1 ;

- (Fig.5) rotation of the swiveling turret 3;

- (Fig.6) rotation of the third structure 15;

- (Fig.7) rotation of the rocker bar 16;

- (Fig.8) rotation of the helicopter cockpit 18.

To obtain six degrees of freedom of the helicopter cockpit, six movements of the simulator are sufficient, i.e. the minimum possible number.

Another relevant feature of the helicopter flight simulator for training operations object of this invention is the possibility of adapting the mechanism to different helicopter cockpits, quickly modifying the configuration with a limited number of operations. It is sufficient (Fig. 9) to disassemble the cockpit rotation pin 191 from the toothed slewing bearing 20 and remove the cockpit from the rocker as indicated by 22, replace the helicopter cockpit with another one equipped with the same mechanical interface, modify the ballast 9, carry out the connections of the signal system from the new cockpit and update the management SW with the desired characteristics.

This aspect brings considerable advantages from an economic point of view, as it provides to simulate different aircrafts without having to build a new simulator, and allows for an amortization of the development and construction investment over a longer period of time than the operational life of a single aircraft.

Claims

1 . Helicopter flight simulator for training operations relying on a four-bar linkage, comprising a swiveling structure (3) and a mobile support structure to which a helicopter cockpit (18) is removably anchored, characterized in that said mobile support structure comprises an interface structure (19) for the removable anchoring of said cockpit to said mobile support structure allowing, in anchored condition, the rotation around the vertical axis of the cockpit (18), said interface structure being connected to a second structure (16) hinged along a rotation axis which is orthogonal to the vertical rotation axis of the cockpit, and said second structure (16) further hinged to a third structure (15) along a third rotation axis orthogonal to the cockpit axis and to the second rotation axis, so that the three axes belong to three distinct orthogonal planes, and that the latter structure (15) is hinged on a connecting rod (8) of the four-bar linkage, whose links comprise a main beam (6) and a secondary beam (7) hinged, on the opposite side to said connecting rod, to said swiveling structure (3) that can rotate around a vertical rotation axis, the swiveling structure (3) being arranged on a basement (1) on which said swiveling structure (3) can rotate, equipped with wheels moving the entire simulator along ground rails (2) or along another sliding seat.

2. Helicopter flight simulator for training operations according to claim 1 , wherein at least one of said beams (6,7) protrudes in the opposite direction to said connecting rod in addition to said swiveling structure (3) which supports it.

3. Helicopter flight simulator in addition to training operations according to claim 2 wherein a ballast (9) is positioned at least on one beam extending over said swiveling structure (3).

4. Helicopter flight simulator for training operations according to one or more preceding claims in which the connecting rod (8) on which the third structure (15) is hinged is operated by an apparatus that change the connecting rod inclination around its rotation axis.

5. Helicopter flight simulator for training operations according to one or more preceding claims, wherein said third structure (15) is directly hinged to main beam (6) end and it is operated by an apparatus that modifies third structure inclination around its rotation axis.

6. Helicopter flight simulator for training operations according to or more of the preceding claims wherein the distance measured between hinges axes of the main beam (6) is equal to the distance measured between hinges axes of the secondary beam (7).

7. Helicopter flight simulator for training operations according to one or more of the preceding claims wherein the part of the main beam (6) and the part of the secondary beam (7) comprised between the corresponding hinges are parallel.

8. Helicopter flight simulator for training operations according to one or more of the preceding claims wherein the rotation axis of the main beam (6) and the rotation axis of the secondary beam (7) bound to the swiveling structure (3) lie on a plane, and the rotation axes of the same beams bound to the connecting rod (8) lie on a second plane, and these two planes are parallel.

9. Helicopter flight simulator for training operations according to the preceding claims wherein the ballast (9) or a part of the ballast (9) is keyed onto a mechanical support sliding in a seat provided along the main beam (6) or along the secondary beam (7) for sliding in a direction substantially coaxial to the longitudinal axis of the main beam (6) or of the secondary beam (7). 0. Flight simulator according to any one of the preceding claims, comprising said cockpit which has at least one rear loading / unloading door to a pilot station.