Automated flight throttle control

• US 10,106,270 B2
• Filed: 10/27/2017
• Issued: 10/23/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 03/10/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: The Boeing Co.
• Original Assignee: The Boeing Co.
• Inventors: Martindale, Ian Carey
• Primary Examiner(s): Soofi, Yazan A
• Application Number:
  US15/796,001
• Publication Number:
  US 20180050808A1
• Time in Patent Office: 361 Days
• Field of Search: 701 14
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 31/06 actuated automatically
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 43/02 for indicating aircraft speed or stalling conditions
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0833 using limited authority control

Abstract

Automated throttle control is described herein. One disclosed example method includes calculating, using a processor, a thrust resolver angle based on a flight condition of an aircraft, and controlling a throttle from moving past at least one of the thrust resolver angle or a range defined by the thrust resolver angle to maintain the aircraft in a preferred flight mode.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

calculating, using a processor, a thrust resolver angle based on a flight condition of an aircraft during a vertical height change maneuver of the aircraft; and

overriding throttle movement of a throttle lever from moving past at least one of the thrust resolver angle or a range defined by the thrust resolver angle to maintain the aircraft in a preferred flight mode.

2. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein calculating the thrust resolver angle is further based on a selected automated mode of the aircraft.

3. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein the flight condition includes at least one of velocity, pitch, yaw, roll, or altitude of the aircraft.

4. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein calculating the thrust resolver angle is based on a region defined by velocity and thrust ranges.

5. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein overriding the throttle movement includes electromechanical restriction of the throttle lever.

6. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein overriding the throttle movement further includes preventing an autothrottle system from being put into a hold mode that overrides the autothrottle system when the aircraft trends away from the preferred flight mode.

7. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein the preferred flight mode includes maintaining the aircraft at a speed exceeding a stick shaker velocity of the aircraft.

8. A tangible machine readable medium having instructions stored thereon, which when executed, cause a processor to:

determine that a flight input of an aircraft will cause the aircraft to be in a non-preferred flight condition during a vertical height change maneuver of the aircraft; and

based on the determination, override throttle movement of a throttle lever from moving past at least one of a thrust resolver angle or a range defined by the thrust resolver angle to maintain the aircraft in a preferred flight condition.

9. The machine readable medium having instructions stored thereon as defined in claim 8, which when executed, further cause the processor to direct an electromechanical system to inhibit motion of the throttle lever beyond the at least one of the thrust resolver angle or a range defined by the thrust resolver angle.

10. The machine readable medium having instructions stored thereon as defined in claim 8, wherein the flight input includes a command to perform an automated flight program.

11. The machine readable medium having instructions stored thereon as defined in claim 8, wherein the flight input includes a manual input.

12. An example apparatus comprising:

a sensor of an aircraft to determine a flight condition of the aircraft;

a processor to calculate at least one of a thrust resolver angle or a range defined by the thrust resolver angle based on the flight condition to maintain the aircraft in a preferred flight condition during a vertical height change maneuver of the aircraft; and

an electromechanical mechanism to override movement of a throttle lever from moving beyond the at least one of the thrust resolver angle or the range defined by the thrust resolver angle.

13. The apparatus as defined in claim 12, wherein the processor is to calculate the at least one of the thrust resolver angle or the range defined by the thrust resolver angle by comparing an airspeed of the aircraft to a region defined by velocity and thrust ranges.

14. The apparatus as defined in claim 12, wherein the processor is to calculate the at least one of the thrust resolver angle or the range defined by the thrust resolver angle further based on a flight input.

15. The apparatus as defined in claim 14, wherein the processor is to enable or disable a hold mode of an automated throttle control system that overrides the automated throttle control system based on the flight input.