Patent ID: 8214089
Filing Date: 2012-07-03
Classification: G05D

Abstract:
1. A flight control apparatus operable to deploy at least one control surfaces of a flight vehicle to create automatic protections in order to protect the flight vehicle, the flight control apparatus comprising: a processor; an inceptor including a command sensor to sense and deliver inceptor commands to the processor; a plurality of sensors to sense and deliver a plurality of parameters to the processor; a first transformation routine associated with the processor to transform the inceptor commands; a second transformation routine associated with the processor to transform the transformed inceptor commands into output commands; a determination routine associated with the processor to determine whether a protection is engaged; and an actuator driven by the output commands to control the at least one control surface, wherein said determination routine is capable of determining whether a stall protection, a buffeting protection, a low speed protection and/or a high attitude protection is engaged; wherein if the stall protection, the buffeting protection and/or the low speed protection is engaged, said first transformation routine is operable to transform the inceptor commands to an angle of attack reference value; wherein if the high attitude protection is engaged, said first transformation routine is operable to transform said inceptor commands to a pitch angle reference value; wherein said transformation performed by said second transformation routine depends on whether the stall protection, the buffeting protection, the low speed protection and/or the high altitude protection is engaged and is different for each of the protections; and wherein said plurality of sensors are operable to sense at least an angle of attack, an angle-of-attack rate, a mach number, a flap position, a landing gear position and an ice condition of the flight vehicle, said flight control apparatus further including: a calculation routine associated with the processor to compute an angle-of-attack threshold equal to the angle-of-attack plus a bias based at least in part on the angle-of attack rate; a computation routine associated with the processor to compute the angle-of-attack reference value based at least in part on the Mach number, the flap position, the landing gear position and the ice condition; and a comparison routine associated with the processor to compare the angle-of-attack threshold to the angle-of-attack reference value, wherein the processor is configured to use an automatic function to command the actuator if the angle-of attack threshold is larger than the angle-of-attack reference value.