AUTOMATED FLIGHT THROTTLE CONTROL

• US 20170259931A1
• Filed: 03/10/2016
• Published: 09/14/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 03/10/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: The Boeing Co.
• Original Assignee: The Boeing Co.
• Inventors: Martindale, Ian Carey
• Granted Patent: US 9,828,108 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• 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; 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, wherein controlling the throttle 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.

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 controlling the throttle includes restricting a range of movement of a throttle lever.

6. The method as defined in claim 5, wherein restricting the throttle includes electromechanical restriction of the throttle lever.

8. 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.

7. (canceled)

9. A method for controlling an autothrottle control of an aircraft comprising:

analyzing, using a processor, a received flight input and at least one flight condition to determine whether the flight input will place the aircraft in a state different from a preferred flight state;

upon determining that the flight input will not place the aircraft in the state different from the preferred flight state, enabling the autothrottle control to be placed into a hold mode that overrides the autothrottle control; and

automatically preventing the autothrottle control from entering the hold mode when the aircraft trends away from the preferred flight state.

10. The method as defined in claim 9, further including upon determining that the flight input will place the aircraft in the state different from the preferred flight state, automatically changing a mode of the autothrottle control.

12. The method as defined in claim 9, further including controlling a throttle level above a thrust resolver angle, wherein the thrust resolver angle is based on a region defined by velocity and thrust ranges.

13. The method as defined in claim 9, wherein the preferred flight state includes a velocity greater than a stick shaker velocity of the aircraft.

11. (canceled)

14. 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; and

based on the determination, prevent an autothrottle mode of the aircraft from entering a hold mode that overrides the autothrottle mode to maintain the aircraft in a preferred flight condition.

15. The machine readable medium having instructions stored thereon as defined in claim 14, which when executed, further cause the processor to calculate at least one of an allowable throttle limit or throttle range.

16. The machine readable medium having instructions stored thereon as defined in claim 15, which when executed, further cause the processor to direct an electromechanical system to inhibit motion of a throttle lever beyond the at least one of the allowable throttle limit or throttle range.

17. The machine readable medium having instructions stored thereon as defined in claim 14, wherein the flight input includes a command to perform an automated flight program.

18. The machine readable medium having instructions stored thereon as defined in claim 14, wherein the flight input includes a manual input.

19. The machine readable medium having instructions stored thereon as defined in claim 14, wherein the processor determines that the aircraft is trending away from the preferred flight condition to determine that the flight input will cause the aircraft to be in the non-preferred flight condition.

20. An apparatus comprising:

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

a processor to calculate at least one of a throttle limit or a throttle range based on the flight condition and a flight input to maintain the aircraft in a preferred flight condition, wherein the processor is to prevent an automated throttle control system of the aircraft from entering a hold mode that overrides the automated throttle control system based on the flight input trending the aircraft away from the preferred flight condition; and

an electromechanical mechanism to control a throttle lever from moving beyond the at least one of the throttle limit or the throttle range.

21. The apparatus as defined in claim 20, wherein the processor is to calculate the at least one of the throttle limit or the throttle range by comparing an airspeed of the aircraft to a region defined by velocity and thrust ranges.

22. The apparatus as defined in claim 20, wherein the processor is to calculate the at least one of the throttle limit or the throttle range further based on the flight input.

23. (canceled)