Dual-control stick for aircraft

Details Dual-control stick for aircraft Dual-control stick for aircraft

2000-07-26

2002-02-19

Eldred, J. Woodrow (Department: 3644)

Aeronautics and astronautics

Aircraft control

Pilot operated

C244S221000, C244S237000, C244S229000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06347770

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND
1. The Field of the Invention
This invention relates to aircraft control systems and, more particularly, to novel systems and methods for cockpit control levers for pitch and roll.
2. The Background Art
Aircraft move in several degrees of freedom. An aircraft can translate vertically, forward and backward, or side-to-side. Similarly, an aircraft can change orientation by rolling about a longitudinal axis, by pitching about a side-to-side axis, or yawing about a vertical axis through the center of gravity, or any other vertical axis. Thus, an aircraft may rise or drop, move forward or backward, move right or left, or rotate about a roll axis, pitch axis, or yaw axis.
In order to control an aircraft, one must know what type of aircraft is to be controlled. For example, some aircraft have a fixed wing. Other aircraft have a rotary wing. In rotary wing aircraft, some have power driving the rotary wing. Others have no power to the rotary wing. Similarly, an aircraft has control surfaces, such as ailerons, elevators, rudders, and so forth in order to orient the aircraft, and otherwise direct the aircraft to move in one of the available degrees of freedom.
Meanwhile, aircraft, whether fixed wing, helicopter, auto-gyro, or other variety, have some type of motive system such as an engine, propeller, combustion jet, or the like to drive the aircraft forward. Propellers or jets may provide forward thrust, a surface of an airfoil may provide lift, and various control surfaces may provide differentials in lift or load on a portion of an aircraft in order to rotate or translate all or part of the aircraft.
Typical controls for an aircraft include a throttle, as well as propeller, pitch angle, and the like for controlling the rate of advance of an aircraft in a forward direction. Similarly, ailerons may affect the roll of an aircraft. Typically, an elevator affects the pitch angle, while the rudder affects the yaw angle of an aircraft.
In rotor craft, control systems may be somewhat more complicated. Nevertheless, the same degrees of freedom apply. However, in a helicopter, for example, yaw is controlled by a tail rotor. Pitch is controlled to some extent by an airfoil in certain rotor craft, but is also controlled by the relationship between the rotor head and the fuselage of the aircraft. Similarly, whereas a fixed wing aircraft can roll by use of aileron positions, a rotor craft typically moves in a roll direction to some limited extent only, and then by affecting the angle between a rotor blade, or rotor head, sometimes defined in terms of a rotor disk, or the like, and the fuselage of the aircraft.
In aircraft control, a ubiquitous structure for pilot control of various aspects of an aircraft has been the stick. The stick is so ubiquitous as to be used in control systems for video games and other venues where multiple degrees of freedom may be called for simultaneously. One advantage of the conventional aircraft control stick is the ability to affect roll and pitch from a single control member simultaneously.
For example, pulling back on a stick (which typically pivots near the floor or some other mounting surface for the stick) effects a pitch angle, increasing the elevation of the nose with respect to the tail. Pushing a stick forward, pivoting the handle of the stick forward results in a nose down attitude tending to move the nose down with respect to the tail. In a fixed wing aircraft, forward and backward motion of the control stick typically operates on an elevator control surface in the tail of the aircraft.
Similarly, pivoting a stick to the left or right tends to roll an aircraft. In a fixed wing aircraft, tilting the stick to the left or right affects the positions of ailerons in the main wing surfaces. In a rotor craft, moving a stick control right or left typically affects the relative position of a fuselage with respect to a rotary wing. Thus, left to right typically controls roll angle, while forward and backward affects pitch angle of an aircraft.
Forward speed is typically controlled by a throttle and a propeller angle in a fixed wing aircraft, and by a combination of throttle and tilt of a rotor blade in a helicopter. Forward speed in an auto-gyro is controlled by a throttle setting to an engine, and the angle of pitch of the propeller, if properly driven, and the thrust of a jet, if jet driven.
Many aircraft have dual seating for pilot and co-pilot. Some aircraft may seat a pilot and copilot in tandem, one behind the other. Nevertheless, most aircraft seat a pilot and co-pilot side by side in a dual configuration. In a dual seating arrangement, both pilot and co-pilot have access to many or all of the same instruments. However, access to the same controls has been addressed in various ways. Many aircraft have dual control systems. For example, large, commercial, fixed-wing aircraft typically have two fill sets of controls, one in front of the pilot, another in front of the co-pilot.
In small aircraft, duplicating controls adds additional weight, complexity, additional parts to wear, and so forth. Moreover, in many smaller aircraft, a pilot and co-pilot sit shoulder-to-shoulder. Thus, access to instruments and many controls on a control panel may be readily available. However, typically, hand controls, such as the stick, can hardly be shared. The pilot or co-pilot needs a control stick in a particular location, preferably centered exactly in front of the individual. Duplicating controls can present several problems. For example, duplicate control sets may cause a difficulty if one of the persons in the seat beside a pilot is not a co-pilot. Having an extra control system to be bumped by a passenger is unsafe. Moreover, having a dual system of controls in front of a passenger can also be a waste of space. Moreover, having controls in front of a passenger creates problems for the passenger doing other activities. Thus, it would be desirable to have a system of controls that can be made optionally available to a pilot and co-pilot team, or a trainer and trainee, and yet stowed away when only a single flight-qualified operator is available or otherwise present.
What is needed is a control system that is readily deployable for use by either a pilot or copilot, and yet which has a configuration in which stowing the actuators dedicated to one person in a set of dual seats removes any difficulty of obstruction, safety, inappropriate or accidental actuation, or the like from the non-flight-qualified passenger.
What is needed is a fold-up system for aircraft stick controls to selectively render the control system readily accessible to a co-pilot, but stowed in a non-obstructing manner, safely for situations where a passenger occupies the second seat in a dual seating system.
BRIEF SUMMARY AND OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the invention to provide an aircraft stick control system that can readily adapt to use by either a pilot or co-pilot. In certain embodiments, it is an object of the invention to provide selectively deployable control actuation for a pilot and co-pilot in a dual-seating arrangement.
Consistent with the foregoing objects, and in accordance with the invention as embodied and broadly described herein, an apparatus and method are disclosed, in suitable detail to enable one of ordinary skill in the art to make and use the invention. In certain embodiments an apparatus and method in accordance with the present invention including an upright mounted to an aircraft to move in directions corresponding to control of pitch and roll of an aircraft. In general, the apparatus may have movements in a longitudinal and lateral direction, as well as a transverse direction, where all directions are substantially orthogonal to one another. The apparatus may include yokes, pins, brackets, links, clevises, or other fastening means to connect to cables, links, electrical controls, or other devices for effecting pitch and roll control of an aircraft.
In certain embodiments, the apparatus may include a receiver, for holding or adjusting an upright, at a lower e

Affiliated with

Also associated with

Rating

Dual-control stick for aircraft does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.

If you have personal experience with Dual-control stick for aircraft, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Dual-control stick for aircraft will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

Comments { 0 }

Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2952421