Asymmetrical wing sweep control actuator (AWSCA) for roll control of a winged flight vehicle

1 . A winged flight vehicle, comprising:

an airframe having a primary axis that extends lengthwise along the airframe;

first and second wing pivots mounted on the airframe on opposite sides of the primary axis and oriented along first and second wing pivot axes;

first and second wings, said first wing including a first wing mount rotationally coupled to the first wing pivot and said second wing including a second wing mount rotationally coupled to the second wing pivot;

first and second push rods, one end of the first push rod coupled to the first wing mount and offset from the first wing pivot axis to form a first moment arm, one end of the second push rod coupled to the second wing mount and offset from the second wing pivot axis to form a second moment arm;

a symmetric wing deployment actuator (SWDA) including a first actuator and a common end mount (CEM) coupled to the other end of both push rods, said first actuator responsive to a wing deployment command to drive the CEM along the primary axis to an extended position to displace the first and second push rods, which act on the first and second moment arms to rotate the first and second wings to a symmetric wing sweep, wherein the first and second wings are rigidly and mechanically linked to each other through the SWDA; and

an asymmetric wing sweep control actuator (AWSCA) including

a pivot mount that supports the SWDA and is configured to rotate about a SWDA pivot axis that lies on the primary axis of the airframe; and

a second actuator responsive to a roll control command to rotate the pivot mount and SWDA about the SWDA pivot axis to drive the first and second push rods in opposite directions relative to the primary axis of the airframe causing one of said first and second wings to sweep forward and the other of said first and second wings to sweep aft to superimpose an asymmetric wing sweep onto the symmetric wing sweep to induce a roll moment to the airframe.

2 . The winged flight vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the first and second wing pivot axes and the SWDA pivot axis are perpendicular to a plane that includes the first and second wing pivots and the primary axis.

3 . The winged flight vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the SWDA pivot axis lies within a range of travel of the CEM along the primary axis.

4 . The winged flight vehicle of claim 3 , wherein the SWDA pivot axis lies at a fully extended position of the CEM at the end of the range of travel, said WDA pivot axis lying at the middle of a line that extends between the centers of the first and second wing mounts as the SWDA rotates about the SWDA pivot axis.

5 . The winged flight vehicle of claim 4 , wherein the SWDA locks the CEM in place at the fully extended position.

6 . The winged flight vehicle of claim 5 , wherein the first actuator is a 1-shot actuator whereby the first and second wings are locked into the symmetric wing sweep at the fully extended position of the CEM and cannot be changed.

7 . The winged flight vehicle of claim 4 , wherein the first and second wings sweep forward and aft by equal but opposite degrees of rotation.

8 . The winged flight vehicle of claim 4 , wherein the first and second wings rotate in opposite directions to impose the asymmetric wing sweep producing moments on the SWDA and CEM that negate each other.

9 . The winged flight vehicle of claim 4 , wherein any displacement of the SWDA pivot axis from the fully extended position of the CEM causes the induced roll moment to differ from a commanded roll moment, further comprising

a flight controller responsive to a measured roll of the airframe to adjust the roll control command to produce the commanded roll moment.

10 . The winged flight vehicle of claim 3 , wherein the SWDA pivot axis lies at a nominal extended position of the CEM within the range of travel, wherein the SWDA is responsive to the wing deployment command to displace the CEM from the nominal extended position to vary the symmetric wing sweep.

11 . The winged flight vehicle of claim 10 , wherein displacement of the CEM from the nominal extended position causes the first and second wings to sweep forward and aft by different degrees of rotation such that the induced roll moment differs from a commanded roll moment, further comprising:

a flight controller responsive to a measured roll of the airframe to adjust the roll control command to produce the commanded roll moment.

12 . The winged flight vehicle of claim 10 , wherein the second actuator includes a pivot arm that is coupled to the pivot mount and a linear actuator that drives the other end of the pivot arm to rotate the pivot mount.

13 . The winged flight vehicle of claim 12 , wherein the first and second wings rotate in opposite

directions to impose the asymmetric wing sweep producing moments on the SWDA and CEM that negate each other.

14 . The winged flight vehicle of claim 12 , further comprising:

a flight controller responsive to a measured roll of the airframe to adjust the roll command signal to produce a desired roll moment.

15 . A winged flight vehicle, comprising:

an airframe having a primary axis that extends lengthwise along the airframe;

first and second wing pivots mounted on the airframe on opposite sides of the primary axis along first and second wing pivot axes;

first and second wings, said first wing including a first wing mount rotationally coupled to the first wing pivot and said second wing including a second wing mount rotationally coupled to the second wing pivot;

first and second push rods, one end of the first push rod coupled to the first wing mount and offset from the first wing pivot axis to form a first moment arm, one end of the second push rod coupled to the second wing mount and offset from the second wing pivot axis to form a second moment arm;

a symmetric wing deployment actuator (SWDA) including a 1-shot actuator and a common end mount (CEM) coupled to the other end of both push rods, said 1-shot actuator responsive to a wing deployment command to drive the CEM along the primary axis to a fully extended position to displace the first and second push rods, which act on the first and second moment arms to rotate the first and second wings to a symmetric wing sweep that is locked and cannot be changed, wherein the first and second wings are rigidly and mechanically linked to each other through the SWDA; and

an asymmetric wing sweep control actuator (AWSCA) including

a pivot mount that supports the SWDA and is configured to rotate about a SWDA pivot axis that lies on the primary axis of the airframe at the fully extended position of the CEM, said SWDA pivot axis lying at the middle of a line that extends between the centers of the first and second wing mounts as the SWDA rotates about the SWDA pivot axis; and

an actuator responsive to a roll control command to rotate the pivot mount and SWDA about the SWDA pivot axis to drive the first and second push rods in opposite directions relative to the axis of the airframe causing one of said first and second wings to sweep forward and the other of said first and second wings to sweep aft by equal but opposite degrees of rotation to superimpose an asymmetric wing sweep onto the symmetric wing sweep to induce a roll moment to the airframe.

16 . A wing deployment actuator (WDA) for a winged flight vehicle in which a pair of wings are rotationally coupled via wing mounts to a pair of wing pivots mounted on an airframe on opposite sides of a primary axis, said WDA comprising:

a pair of push rods coupled to the wing mounts and offset from rotational axes of the wing pivots to form a pair of moment arms;

a symmetric wing deployment actuator (SWDA) including a first actuator and a common end mount (CEM) coupled to both push rods, said actuator configured to drive the CEM along the primary axis to displace the pair of push rods, which act on the pair of moment arms to rotate the pair of wings to a symmetric wing sweep, wherein the pair of wings are rigidly and mechanically linked to each other through the SWDA; and

an asymmetric wing sweep control actuator (AWSCA) including

a pivot mount that supports the SWDA and is configured to rotate about a SWDA pivot axis that lies on the primary axis; and

a second actuator responsive to a roll control signal to rotate the pivot mount and SWDA about the SWDA pivot axis to differentially change a relationship between the wing pivots/moment arms and the CEM causing one of wings to sweep forward and the other wing to sweep aft to superimpose an asymmetric wing sweep onto the symmetric wing sweep to induce a roll moment to the airframe.

17 . The WDA of claim 16 , wherein the SWDA pivot axis lies at a fully extended position of the CEM, said WDA pivot axis lying at the middle of a line that extends between the centers of the first and second wing mounts as the SWDA rotates about the SWDA pivot axis.

18 . The WDA of claim 17 , wherein any displacement of the SWDA pivot axis from the fully extended position of the CEM causes the induced roll moment to differ from a commanded roll moment, further comprising

a flight controller responsive to a measured roll of the airframe to adjust the roll control command to produce the commanded roll moment.

19 . The WDA of claim 17 , wherein the first actuator is a 1-shot actuator whereby the first and second wings are locked into the symmetric wing sweep at the fully extended position of the CEM and cannot be changed.

20 . The WDA of claim 16 , wherein the SWDA pivot axis lies at a nominal extended position of the CEM within the range of travel, wherein the SWDA is responsive to the wing deployment command to displace the CEM from the nominal extended position to vary the symmetric wing sweep causing the first and second wings to sweep forward and aft by different degrees of rotation such that the induced roll moment differs from a commanded roll moment, further comprising:

a flight controller responsive to a measured roll of the airframe to adjust the roll control command to produce the commanded roll moment.