US-12617522-B2 - Systems and methods of aircraft lift control

US12617522B2US 12617522 B2US12617522 B2US 12617522B2US-12617522-B2

Abstract

An aircraft includes actuators coupled to a lift device. The aircraft also includes a lift device control interface disposed on a flight deck of the aircraft. The lift device control interface is configured to receive a pilot input. The aircraft further includes a flight control system configured to generate a command corresponding to a target lift device position. The flight control system is also configured to send the command to the lift device control interface to cause the lift device control interface to indicate the target lift device position. The flight control system is further configured to send a control signal to the actuators to set the lift device to the target lift device position.

Inventors

Luke Casey Hicks
Aswin Chandar Nambi Kuppusamy Chandrasekaran
Vinayak M Nyamagoudar

Assignees

THE BOEING COMPANY

Dates

Publication Date: 20260505
Application Date: 20230530

Claims (20)

1 . An aircraft comprising: actuators coupled to a lift device; a lift device control interface disposed on a flight deck of the aircraft and configured to receive a pilot input, wherein the lift device control interface includes a control lever movable between lever positions, and wherein each lever position corresponds to a respective lift device position; and a flight control system configured to: generate a command corresponding to a target lift device position; send the command to the lift device control interface to cause a visual indicator of the lift device control interface to indicate that the control lever is to move to a target control lever position corresponding to the target lift device position that is distinct from a detected lift device position of the lift device; and send a control signal to the actuators to set the lift device to the target lift device position.
2 . The aircraft of claim 1 , wherein the lift device includes one or more of flaps, slats, leading-edge devices, or spoilers.
3 . The aircraft of claim 1 , wherein the lift device control interface includes buttons corresponding to lift device positions.
4 . The aircraft of claim 3 , wherein the target lift device position corresponds to a visually distinct button of the buttons.
5 . The aircraft of claim 3 , wherein the buttons are included in a touchscreen.
6 . The aircraft of claim 1 , wherein the flight control system is configured to send the command to the lift device control interface at a time when the target lift device position differs from a detected lift device position of the lift device.
7 . The aircraft of claim 1 , wherein the lift device control interface is configured to, responsive to the command, use a motor to move the control lever.
8 . The aircraft of claim 1 , further comprising one or more sensors configured to generate sensor data indicating a detected position of the control lever, wherein the pilot input corresponds to a movement of the control lever to the detected position, and wherein the flight control system is configured to send, based on the sensor data, a second control signal to the actuators to set the lift device to a second target lift device position that corresponds to the detected position of the control lever.
9 . The aircraft of claim 1 , wherein the lift device control interface includes a clutch that is configured to transfer a first force from a motor to the control lever.
10 . The aircraft of claim 9 , wherein the clutch is configured to slip responsive to a second force from the control lever.
11 . The aircraft of claim 1 , wherein the flight control system is configured to generate the command when an auto-lift mode is engaged.
12 . The aircraft of claim 11 , wherein the flight control system is configured to disengage the auto-lift mode responsive to the pilot input.
13 . A method comprising: determining, at a flight control system of an aircraft, a target lift device position of a target lift device, wherein the target lift device is associated with a lift device control interface that includes a control lever movable between lever positions, and wherein each lever position corresponds to a respective lift device position; sending, from the flight control system to the lift device control interface of the aircraft, a command to cause a visual indicator of the lift device control interface to indicate that the control lever is to move to a target control lever position corresponding to the target lift device position that is distinct from a detected lift device position of the target lift device; and sending a control signal from the flight control system to actuators to set a lift device of the aircraft to the target lift device position.
14 . The method of claim 13 , further comprising: receiving, at the flight control system from the lift device control interface, sensor data corresponding to a first pilot input indicating a second target lift device position; and based at least on the first pilot input, sending a second control signal from the flight control system to the actuators to set the lift device to the second target lift device position.
15 . The method of claim 14 , wherein the sensor data also corresponds to a second pilot input indicating an activation of an execute button, and wherein the second control signal is sent based on the second pilot input.
16 . A line-replaceable unit comprising: a flight control system configured to: generate a command corresponding to a target lift device position of a target lift device, wherein the target lift device is associated with a lift device control interface that includes a control lever movable between lever positions, and wherein each lever position corresponds to a respective lift device position; send the command to the lift device control interface of an aircraft to cause a visual indicator of the lift device control interface to indicate that the control lever is to move to a target control lever position corresponding to the target lift device position that is distinct from a detected lift device position of the target lift device; and send a control signal to actuators to set a lift device of the aircraft to the target lift device position.
17 . The line-replaceable unit of claim 16 , wherein the lift device control interface includes buttons corresponding to lift device positions.
18 . The line-replaceable unit of claim 16 , wherein the lift device control interface is configured to, responsive to the command, use a motor to move the control lever.
19 . The line-replaceable unit of claim 16 , wherein the lift device control interface includes a clutch that is configured to transfer a first force from a motor to the control lever.
20 . The line-replaceable unit of claim 16 , wherein the flight control system is configured to send the command to the lift device control interface at a time when the target lift device position differs from a detected lift device position of the lift device.

Description

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE The present disclosure is generally related to aircraft lift control. BACKGROUND Aircraft flap control levers are used by pilots to control the position of flaps, which are movable surfaces on the wings of an aircraft that are used to change the shape and lift characteristics of the wings during different phases of flight. For example, during takeoff, the flaps are typically extended to a specific position to increase lift and improve the aircraft's takeoff performance. Similarly, during landing, the flaps are extended to a specific position to increase lift and lower the aircraft's approach speed. Having the pilot operate the flap control lever increases pilot workload while the pilot is also managing many other tasks during takeoff and landing. SUMMARY In a particular implementation, an aircraft includes actuators coupled to a lift device. The aircraft also includes a lift device control interface disposed on a flight deck of the aircraft. The lift device control interface is configured to receive a pilot input. The aircraft further includes a flight control system configured to generate a command corresponding to a target lift device position. The flight control system is also configured to send the command to the lift device control interface to cause the lift device control interface to indicate the target lift device position. The flight control system is further configured to send a control signal to the actuators to set the lift device to the target lift device position. In another particular implementation, a method includes determining, at a flight control system of an aircraft, a target lift device position. The method also includes sending, from the flight control system to a lift device control interface of the aircraft, a command to indicate the target lift device position at the lift device control interface. The method further includes sending a control signal from the flight control system to actuators to set a lift device of the aircraft to the target lift device position. In another particular implementation, a line-replaceable unit includes a flight control system configured to generate a command corresponding to a target lift device position. The flight control system is also configured to send the command to a lift device control interface of an aircraft to cause the lift device control interface to indicate the target lift device position. The flight control system is further configured to send a control signal to actuators to set a lift device of the aircraft to the target lift device position. The features, functions, and advantages described herein can be achieved independently in various implementations or may be combined in yet other implementations, further details of which can be found with reference to the following description and drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a diagram that illustrates a system configured to perform aircraft lift control. FIG. 2 is a diagram of a particular implementation of components of the system of FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a diagram of another implementation of components of the system of FIG. 1. FIG. 4 is a diagram of another implementation of components of the system of FIG. 1. FIG. 5 is a diagram that illustrates a flow chart of an example of a method of aircraft lift control. FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a life cycle of an aircraft of FIG. 1. FIG. 7 is a block diagram of a particular implementation of the aircraft of FIG. 1. FIG. 8 is a block diagram of a computing environment including a computing device configured to support aspects of computer-implemented methods and computer-executable program instructions (or code) according to the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION Aspects disclosed herein present systems and methods of aircraft lift control. A flap control lever is used to extend or retract high lift surfaces. Typically, the flap control lever is moved and placed in different detents by a pilot to adjust the high lift surfaces. Having the pilot operate the flap control lever increases pilot workload while the pilot is also managing many other tasks during takeoff and landing. An aircraft includes actuators that are coupled to a lift device. For example, the lift device includes flaps, slats, leading edge devices, spoilers, etc. A lift device control interface is disposed on a flight deck of the aircraft. In a lever implementation, the lift device control interface includes a control lever (e.g., a flap control lever) that is movable between lever positions. Each lever position corresponds to a respective lift device position. In a button implementation, the lift device control interface includes buttons with each button corresponding to a respective lift device position. The lift device control interface includes one or more sensors that are configured to generate sensor data corresponding to a target lift device position. In a particular aspect, the lift device control interfa