Process and computer program for controlling a simulator, and simulator therefor

Abstract

The invention relates to a process for controlling a simulator, wherein acceleration forces along the vertical axis of the vehicle are to be simulated by tilting the simulator booth.

Claims

1. A method for controlling a simulator for simulating a translational and/or rotational motion behavior of a vehicle, wherein on a basis of a simulation model of the vehicle specific forces acting on vehicle axes of the vehicle are made available and transformed into control commands for controlling the simulator in order to simulate the translational and/or rotational motion behavior by motion of a simulator cabin of the simulator, comprising the following steps executed under control of a computing unit: making available a translational force (f.sub.aaz) acting in a vertical axis of the vehicle from the simulation model of the vehicle as a translational acceleration in the vertical axis of the vehicle, calculating a pitch-attitude angle of the simulator cabin between a horizontal plane and a longitudinal axis of the simulator cabin, wherein the pitch-attitude angle of the simulator cabin is adjustable by a rotation of the simulator cabin about a transverse axis of the simulator cabin as a function of the force made available, generating rotational control commands for controlling the simulator as a function of the calculated pitch-attitude angle of the simulator cabin, and controlling the simulator on a basis of the generated rotational control commands in order to simulate the translational force (f.sub.aaz) acting in the vertical axis of the vehicle by the pitch-attitude angle.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein a low-frequency component (Z.sub.pp,.sub.TP) of the translational force (f.sub.aaz) acting in the vertical axis of the vehicle is ascertained using a low-pass filter, and the pitch-attitude angle is calculated as a function of the ascertained low-frequency component (Z.sub.pp,.sub.TP) of the translational force (f.sub.aaz) acting in the vertical axis of the vehicle.

3. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein a high-frequency component (Z.sub.pp,.sub.HP) of the translational force (f.sub.aaz) acting in the vertical axis of the vehicle is ascertained using a high-pass filter (HP), and a vertical translational acceleration of the simulator cabin in the vertical axis of the vehicle is calculated as a function of the high-frequency component (Z.sub.pp,.sub.HP) of the translational force (f.sub.aaz) acting in the vertical axis of the vehicle, wherein control commands for controlling the simulator in the controlling step are generated as a function of the calculated vertical translational acceleration of the simulator cabin, and the simulator is controlled on the basis of the calculated control commands in order to simulate the translational force (f.sub.aaz) acting in the vertical axis of the vehicle by the translational acceleration of the simulator cabin.

4. The method as claimed in claim 1 wherein a rate of turn of the simulator cabin about the transverse axis of the simulator cabin for the purpose of adjusting the calculated pitch-attitude angle is calculated as a function of the calculated pitch-attitude angle, and rotational control commands are generated as a function of the calculated rate of turn.

5. The method as claimed in claim 4, wherein the rate of turn is limited to a value that lies below a physiological perception threshold.

6. The method as claimed in claim 4 wherein the rate of turn is limited to a value of less than or equal to 3° per second.

7. A computer program with program-code encoded on a non-transient storage memory and which is set up for carrying out the method as claimed in claim 1 when the computer program is executed on a computing machine.

8. A simulator for simulating translational and rotational motions of a vehicle, comprising: a simulator cabin which is moveable in relation to a fixed reference plane by actuators, and a control device that has been set up for carrying out the method as claimed in claim 1 for controlling the simulator.

Description

(1) The invention will be elucidated in greater detail by way of an example with reference to the appended figures. Shown are:

(2) FIG. 1 representation of a schematic filter arrangement for controlling the simulator;

(3) FIG. 2 schematic representation of the principle of action.

(4) FIG. 1 shows a filter arrangement, on the basis of which the values to be simulated can be ascertained and so, on the basis thereof, the control commands for controlling the simulator can be ascertained. By way of input signal, the filter receives the vertical acceleration in the normal axis of the vehicle as the translational force f.sub.aax acting in the vertical axis of the vehicle. However, since this acceleration includes the acceleration due to gravity, the latter has to be subtracted (P.sub.1) within the coordinate system that is fixed with respect to the simulator in order to arrive at the actually desired acceleration of the cabin. The result is a load factor Z.sub.pp in the vertical normal axis of the vehicle.

(5) This load factor Z.sub.pp in the normal axis of the vehicle is then conducted as input into a high-pass filter HP which may be, for instance, a third-order high-pass filter. The high-pass filter HP filters out the high-frequency components of the load factor Z.sub.pp and forwards this result Z.sub.pp,HP to a signal-limiter. The signal-limiter limits the result Z.sub.pp,lim to a value that can be represented for the simulator, so that here, in particular, the system boundaries of the simulator are taken into consideration.

(6) The result of this filter which is known from the prior art is then used for the purpose of controlling the simulator, in order to move the simulator translationally in the normal axis and in this way to be able to simulate the high-frequency components of the translational acceleration in the normal axis.

(7) In accordance with the invention, however, use is mow made of the low-pass components of the input signal, in that the high-frequency component Z.sub.pp,HP is subtracted from the load factor Z.sub.pp (without component of acceleration due to gravity), this happening at point P.sub.2. The result is the low-frequency component Z.sub.pp,TP of the load factor Z.sub.pp, which in accordance with the invention is now processed further. The filter according to the invention for the low-frequency component of the vertical acceleration can be seen in the lower part of FIG. 1.

(8) The lower part of FIG. 1 describes the determination of the definitive pitch-attitude angle of the simulator platform or of the simulator cabin (θ.sub.S,gCorr) as the sum (P4) of the pitch-attitude angle in consequence of a specific force in the longitudinal direction (θ.sub.□x) and an additional pitch-attitude angle in consequence of the low-frequency component, described above, of the translational acceleration in the vertical direction (θ.sub.fz). The latter component is calculated from the low-frequency component of the acceleration of the cabin in the vertical direction (z.sub.pp,TP). By means of division by the acceleration due to gravity g, this signal is converted into an equivalent angle. The subsequent multiplication by a factor Fak ensures the adjustability of this angle correction for application-specific boundary conditions. A further parameter is the maximally permissible pitch-attitude angle for this method (θ.sub.max), which restricts the additional pitch-attitude angle, found above, with the aid of the limiting function (L).

(9) FIG. 2 shows the principle of action of the present invention on the basis of an example of a sitting person. In the example shown in FIG. 2, the simulator cabin has already been rotated about a pitch attitude. The acceleration due to gravity acts on the body in unchanged manner, but component g.sub.1 is reduced in comparison with the normal, non-rotated seat position, whereas component g.sub.2, which is perpendicular to the seat back 1, is increased in comparison with the normal, non-rotated position. This has the consequence that the pressure on the seat face 2 is reduced, whereas the pressure on the seat back 1 is increased.

(10) By reason of habituation to the sitting position, the reduction in the force on the seat face 2 is perceived less strongly than the increase in the pressure on the seat back 1. Since, as a result, a load factor in the normal axis also leads to an increase in the pressure on the seat back, this being, as a rule, perceived more strongly than the increase in the pressure on the seat face 2, the pressure on the seat back 1 can be increased by a tilting of the seat position, this being perceived distinctly more strongly than the reduction on the seat face 1. This has the consequence that the impression arises that a vertical acceleration in the normal axis of the vehicle is acting on the simulator. Consequently, prolonged translational acceleration forces—such as arise, for instance, in the case of centrifugal forces in curvilinear flight—can be simulated.