A system and method for civil aircraft throttle table graduated warning

Abstract

The present invention relates to a system and method for throttle table staging warning. In the method of the present invention, a thrust level selection input is first received and a maximum allowable engine speed corresponding to the selected thrust level is determined as an engine target speed based on the selected thrust level, then a throttle lever control command is generated according to the engine target speed so as to determine a throttle lever angle based on the throttle lever control command. A throttle lever command speed is then determined according to the throttle lever angle. Finally, a staging warning determination is made for different aircraft states based on the engine target speed, the throttle lever command speed, the current speed and the critical speed of the aircraft, and a wheel load signal.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of aviation safety, and more specifically to a system and method for graded alarms on the throttle console. Background Technology

[0002] Currently, some mainstream wide-body / narrow-body mainline passenger aircraft use a non-servo throttle soft-lock design for their throttle consoles. When the pilot selects a target thrust level but fails to move the throttle lever to the correct lock position, a corresponding alarm is triggered. While this triggers an alarm when the throttle lever is not in the correct lock position, it fails to differentiate alarm levels based on the direction of deviation and the scenario, leading to increased pilot cognitive load and reduced decision-making efficiency. Other mainstream wide-body / narrow-body mainline passenger aircraft use a servo throttle console design, requiring the pilot to keep their hand on the throttle lever and monitor thrust during takeoff. If the throttle lever is not pushed to the planned thrust position, the pilot must push it forward. Because this requires manual monitoring of thrust and adjusting the throttle lever accordingly, it increases the pilot's workload, and the aircraft cannot provide appropriate instructions, requiring the pilot to rely on experience for judgment, without any alarm information.

[0003] Therefore, there is an urgent need for a method and system to further improve the existing throttle warning scheme for civil aircraft. Summary of the Invention

[0004] This summary is provided to introduce, in a simplified form, some concepts that will be further described in the following detailed description section. This summary is not intended to identify key or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to help determine the scope of the claimed subject matter.

[0005] To address the problems in existing technologies, this application discloses a hierarchical warning system and method for aircraft throttle consoles based on dynamic scenario criteria. Addressing the shortcomings of traditional aircraft throttle warning systems, such as their inability to dynamically adapt to ground / air scenarios and their reliance on a single warning mechanism and manual monitoring, this application proposes a collaborative judgment method integrating aircraft status, target engine speed, throttle lever command speed, and wheel-mounted signals. Through dynamic analysis of aircraft speed and engine speed, and a multi-level warning strategy, hierarchical warnings are achieved for different scenarios. The technical solution of this invention can also significantly improve the safety margin during the reduced-thrust takeoff phase, effectively solving the problems of pilots' difficulty in noticing, misoperation, or delayed response when the aircraft is about to exceed or has already exceeded its controllability range during takeoff, which are problems encountered in existing technologies using servo throttle consoles.

[0006] Specifically, in a first aspect of the present invention, a method for throttle-level warning is disclosed, the method comprising: Receives input for selecting the thrust level; The target engine speed is determined based on the selected thrust level, which corresponds to the upper limit of the engine speed. Based on the upper speed limit, a throttle control command is generated so that the throttle console can determine the throttle angle based on the throttle control command. The throttle lever angle is used to determine the throttle command speed; and The alarm is triggered by comparing the target engine speed with the speed commanded by the throttle lever.

[0007] In an alternative implementation, the method may further include: receiving a wheel-mounted signal and determining whether the wheel-mounted signal indicates that the aircraft is on the ground or in the air.

[0008] In one alternative implementation, triggering the alarm may further include when wheel-mounted signals indicate that the aircraft is on the ground: Determine the aircraft's current speed and critical speed; The first alarm is triggered when the current speed is greater than the critical speed and the throttle input speed is greater than the engine target speed; and If the throttle lever command speed is less than the engine target speed, a second alarm is triggered. The level of the second alarm is lower than that of the first alarm.

[0009] In one alternative implementation, triggering the alarm may further include when a wheel-mounted signal indicates that the aircraft is in the air: The first alarm is triggered when the throttle input speed is lower than the engine target speed; and If the throttle lever command speed is greater than the engine target speed, a second alarm is triggered. The level of the second alarm is lower than that of the first alarm.

[0010] In one alternative implementation, the method may further include receiving information indicating ambient temperature, engine thrust, and total aircraft weight, and the critical speed may be calculated based on the ambient temperature, engine thrust, and total aircraft weight.

[0011] In one alternative implementation, when the wheel-mounted signal indicates that the aircraft is on the ground, a first alarm is used to indicate that the aircraft will have insufficient controllability after a single engine failure, and a second alarm is used to indicate that the throttle lever angle is incorrect.

[0012] In one alternative implementation, when the wheel-mounted signal indicates that the aircraft is in the air, a first alarm is used to indicate that the aircraft's climb capability is limited, and a second alarm is used to indicate that the throttle lever angle is incorrect.

[0013] In a second aspect of the invention, a system for throttle panel graded alarms is disclosed, the system comprising: A thrust level input module, which can be configured to receive input for selecting the thrust level; An engine control module that can be configured to determine the upper limit of the engine speed corresponding to the selected thrust level as the target engine speed; A thrust control module, which can be configured to generate a throttle control command based on the upper speed limit for the throttle console to determine the throttle angle based on the throttle control command, wherein the engine control module can be further configured to determine the throttle command speed based on the throttle angle; and; The alarm judgment module can be configured to trigger an alarm based on a comparison between the engine target speed and the throttle lever command speed.

[0014] In an alternative implementation, the alarm determination module may be further configured to receive wheel-mounted signals and determine whether the wheel-mounted signals indicate that the aircraft is on the ground or in the air.

[0015] In an alternative implementation, the alarm determination module can be further configured to detect when a wheel-mounted signal indicates that the aircraft is on the ground: Determine the aircraft's current speed and critical speed; The first alarm is triggered when the current speed is greater than the critical speed and the throttle input speed is greater than the engine target speed; and If the throttle lever command speed is less than the engine target speed, a second alarm is triggered. The level of the second alarm is lower than that of the first alarm.

[0016] In an alternative implementation, the alarm determination module can be further configured to detect when a wheel-mounted signal indicates that the aircraft is in the air: The first alarm is triggered when the throttle input speed is lower than the engine target speed; and If the throttle lever command speed is greater than the engine target speed, a second alarm is triggered. The level of the second alarm is lower than that of the first alarm.

[0017] In one alternative implementation, the alarm determination module is further configured to receive information indicating ambient temperature, engine thrust, and total aircraft weight, and to calculate the critical speed based on the ambient temperature, engine thrust, and total aircraft weight.

[0018] In one alternative implementation, when the wheel-mounted signal indicates that the aircraft is on the ground, a first alarm is used to indicate that the aircraft will have insufficient controllability after a single engine failure, and a second alarm is used to indicate that the throttle lever angle is incorrect.

[0019] In one alternative implementation, when the wheel-mounted signal indicates that the aircraft is in the air, a first alarm is used to indicate that the aircraft's climb capability is limited, and a second alarm is used to indicate that the throttle lever angle is incorrect.

[0020] In a third aspect of the invention, a computer-readable storage medium having instructions stored thereon is disclosed, the instructions comprising: Used to receive instructions for selecting the thrust level; This command is used to determine the upper limit of the engine speed corresponding to the selected thrust level as the target engine speed. The instruction used to generate throttle control commands based on the upper speed limit so that the throttle console can determine the throttle angle based on the throttle control commands; The command used to determine the throttle lever speed based on the throttle lever angle; and A command used to trigger an alarm based on a comparison between the target engine speed and the speed commanded by the throttle lever.

[0021] Other aspects, features, and embodiments of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art after reading the following description of specific exemplary embodiments of the invention in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Although features of the invention may be discussed below with reference to certain embodiments and drawings, all embodiments of the invention may include one or more of the advantageous features discussed herein. In other words, while one or more embodiments may be discussed having certain advantageous features, one or more of such features may also be used according to the various embodiments of the invention discussed herein. Similarly, although exemplary embodiments may be discussed below as embodiments of devices, apparatuses, or methods, it should be understood that such exemplary embodiments can be implemented in various devices, apparatuses, and methods. Attached Figure Description

[0022] To gain a more detailed understanding of the features described above in this disclosure, reference can be made to a more specific description of the above-briefly summarized aspects, some of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. However, it should be noted that the drawings illustrate only certain typical aspects of this disclosure and should not be considered as limiting its scope, as other equivalent aspects are permissible in this description.

[0023] Figure 1 This is a schematic block diagram of a system for throttle-level alarm according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0024] Figure 2 This is a data flow diagram of the modules in a system for throttle level alarm according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0025] Figure 3 This is a flowchart of a method for throttle-level alarm according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Detailed Implementation

[0026] The various embodiments will now be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, which form part of this invention and illustrate specific exemplary embodiments. However, the embodiments may be implemented in many different forms and should not be construed as limiting the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of these embodiments to those skilled in the art. The embodiments may be implemented as methods, apparatus, or devices. Therefore, these embodiments may be implemented in hardware, entirely in software, or in a combination of software and hardware aspects. Therefore, the following detailed description is not intended to be limiting.

[0027] The steps in each flowchart can be performed by hardware (e.g., processor, engine, memory, circuitry), software (e.g., operating system, application, driver, machine / processor executable instructions), or a combination thereof. As will be understood by those skilled in the art, the methods involved in each embodiment may include more or fewer steps than shown.

[0028] Traditional throttle console designs lack a real-time linkage alarm mechanism between throttle position (i.e., throttle lever command speed) and engine target thrust parameters (including engine target speed), resulting in pilots being unable to promptly detect potential command deviations and a lack of differentiated alarm levels based on different scenarios. This invention proposes a dynamic matching alarm mechanism for throttle position and engine target speed in a throttle console. Specifically, in this invention, the system first receives a thrust level selection input and determines the upper limit of the engine speed corresponding to the selected thrust level as the engine target speed. Then, a throttle lever control command is generated based on this engine target speed to determine the throttle lever angle. Next, the throttle lever command speed is determined based on the throttle lever angle. Finally, a graded alarm judgment is performed based on the engine target speed, throttle lever command speed, aircraft current speed and critical speed, and wheel load signals, tailored to different aircraft states.

[0029] The various aspects of the present invention will now be described in detail.

[0030] Figure 1 This is a schematic block diagram of a system 100 for throttle level alarm according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0031] In one embodiment of the present invention, such as Figure 1 As shown, the system 100 for throttle level alarm may include a thrust level input module 102, an engine control module 104, a thrust control module 106, and an alarm judgment module 108.

[0032] In this embodiment, the thrust level input module 102 can be configured to receive input for selecting a thrust level. For example, the thrust level input module 102 can receive a selection input for a thrust level from a pilot. As those skilled in the art will understand, the thrust level can include any suitable thrust level, such as TO (Take Off) 1, TO 2, etc.

[0033] In this embodiment, the engine control module 104 can be configured to determine the upper limit of the engine speed corresponding to the selected thrust level as the engine target speed. The engine control module 104 can determine the upper limit of the engine speed corresponding to the received thrust level (i.e., the upper limit of the engine fan speed N1) and use this upper limit as the engine target speed. N tar ).

[0034] In this embodiment, the thrust control module 106 can be configured to generate a throttle control command based on the upper speed limit, so that the throttle console can determine the throttle angle (or throttle position) based on the throttle control command. The throttle console can cause the throttle lever to move accordingly to achieve the determined throttle angle or throttle position (or alternatively, the pilot can push the throttle lever to the determined throttle angle or throttle position according to the throttle control command). After the throttle console determines the throttle angle, the engine control module 104 can be further configured to determine the throttle command speed based on the throttle angle ( N cmd In another alternative implementation, the thrust control module 106 may also generate throttle control commands based on the selected thrust level.

[0035] In this embodiment, the alarm determination module 108 can be configured to trigger an alarm based on a comparison between the target engine speed and the throttle lever command speed. In an alternative embodiment, the alarm determination module 108 can be further configured to receive a wheel-mounted signal (WOW) and determine whether the wheel-mounted signal indicates that the aircraft is on the ground or in the air. By way of example and not limitation, when WOW=1, the wheel-mounted signal indicates that the aircraft is on the ground, and when WOW=0, the wheel-mounted signal indicates that the aircraft is in the air.

[0036] In this embodiment, the alarm determination module 108 can be further configured to determine the aircraft's current speed (V) and critical speed (V) when the wheel-mounted signal indicates that the aircraft is on the ground. G ); when the current speed is greater than the critical speed (V>V) G And the throttle lever command speed is greater than the engine target speed. N cmd > N tarIn the event that the throttle lever command speed is less than the engine target speed, the first alarm is triggered; and when the throttle lever command speed is less than the engine target speed, the first alarm is triggered. N cmd < N tar In the event of a situation where (regardless of the comparison between the current speed and the critical speed), a second warning is triggered. The second warning is of a lower level than the first warning; that is, the first warning can be a high-level warning (such as ENG TLAOVER, CAUTION), and the second warning can be a low-level warning (such as ENG TLA INCORRECT, ADVISORY). As an example and not a limitation, the first warning can be used to indicate a lack of aircraft control after a single engine failure, prompting an abort of takeoff; the second warning can be used to indicate an incorrect throttle lever angle, prompting the throttle lever to be pushed to the correct position.

[0037] In the above embodiments, the alarm judgment module 108 may be further configured to receive information indicating ambient temperature, engine thrust, and total aircraft weight, and calculate the critical speed based on the ambient temperature, engine thrust, and total aircraft weight. As those skilled in the art will understand, any suitable method can be used to calculate the critical speed based on ambient temperature, engine thrust, and total aircraft weight, or it can be determined based on any other suitable information besides ambient temperature, engine thrust, and total aircraft weight, and the critical speed may be the ground minimum control speed (V). mcg Or any other suitable critical speed.

[0038] In this embodiment, the alarm judgment module 108 can be further configured to, when the wheel-mounted signal indicates that the aircraft is in the air (at this time, the relationship between the aircraft's current speed and critical speed is not considered): when the throttle lever command speed is less than the engine target speed ( N cmd < N tar In the event that the throttle lever command speed is greater than the engine target speed, the first alarm is triggered; and when the throttle lever command speed is greater than the engine target speed, the first alarm is triggered. N cmd > N tar In the event of a situation where the first alarm is lower than the first alarm, a second alarm is triggered. That is, the first alarm can be a high-level alarm (such as ENG TLA LOW, CAUTION), and the second alarm can be a low-level alarm (such as ENG TLAINCORRECT, ADVISORY). As an example, and not a limitation, the first alarm can be used to indicate that the aircraft's climb capability is limited, prompting the throttle stick to be pushed to the TOGA position, while the second alarm can be used to indicate that the throttle stick angle is incorrect, prompting the throttle stick to be pushed to the correct position.

[0039] Figure 2This is a data flow diagram 200 of the modules in a system for throttle level alarm according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0040] In one alternative implementation, such as Figure 2 As shown, the engine control module 104 can transmit the current engine speed (current N1) and engine status (such as available, powered, configuration, etc.) to the thrust level input module 102. The thrust level input module 102 transmits the thrust level input (i.e., thrust level request) received (from the pilot, etc.) to the thrust control module 106, which forwards the selected thrust level to the engine control module 104. The engine control module 104 activates the corresponding thrust level based on the thrust level request and determines the upper limit of the engine speed (N1 upper limit) corresponding to the selected thrust level.

[0041] In the above embodiment, the engine control module 104 and the thrust control module 106 can form a closed-loop control loop. The engine control module 104 can feed back the received thrust level and the upper limit of the speed corresponding to the thrust level to the thrust control module 106, and the thrust control module 106 can feed back the activated thrust level to the thrust level input 102, and transmit the determined engine target speed (i.e., the upper limit of N1 of the current thrust level) to the alarm judgment module 108.

[0042] In this embodiment, the thrust control module 106 generates a throttle control command based on the determined upper limit of engine speed and transmits the generated throttle control command to the throttle console. The throttle console determines the throttle angle based on the command. The engine control module 104 calculates the throttle command speed based on the throttle angle and transmits the calculated throttle command speed along with the current engine speed to the alarm judgment module 108. The alarm judgment module can receive information including external ambient temperature, current aircraft speed, and wheel load signals from external sensors (including ambient temperature sensors, speed sensors, and wheel load signal sensors), and this information may also include the aircraft's total weight and engine thrust. Therefore, the alarm judgment module 108 can identify different aircraft states (including ground and air) based on wheel-mounted signals and issue graded alarms based on current speed, critical speed, throttle lever command speed and engine target speed for different aircraft states. The alarm information and the current engine speed are transmitted to the display module. The thrust control module 106 can also transmit the N1 upper limit of the current thrust level, thrust level and throttle position to the display module for the crew to be prompted with this information.

[0043] Figure 3 This is a flowchart of a method 300 for throttle level alarm according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0044] like Figure 3 As shown, method 300 begins at step 302, receiving input for selecting the thrust level.

[0045] Next, method 300 continues to step 304, determining the upper limit of the engine speed corresponding to the selected thrust level as the engine target speed based on the selected thrust level.

[0046] Subsequently, method 300 continues to step 306, generating a throttle control command based on the upper speed limit so that the throttle console can determine the throttle angle based on the throttle control command.

[0047] Then, method 300 continues to step 308, determining the throttle lever command speed based on the throttle lever angle.

[0048] Finally, method 300 continues to step 310, triggering an alarm based on a comparison between the engine target speed and the throttle lever command speed.

[0049] In an alternative embodiment, the method 300 may further include: receiving a wheel-mounted signal and determining whether the wheel-mounted signal indicates that the aircraft is on the ground or in the air. In this embodiment, step 310 may further include, when the wheel-mounted signal indicates that the aircraft is on the ground: determining the aircraft's current speed and critical speed; triggering a first alarm if the current speed is greater than the critical speed and the throttle lever commanded speed is greater than the engine target speed; and triggering a second alarm, the second alarm being of a lower level than the first alarm, if the throttle lever commanded speed is less than the engine target speed. The method 300 may also include receiving information indicating ambient temperature, engine thrust, and aircraft gross weight, and determining the critical speed may further include calculating the critical speed based on the ambient temperature, engine thrust, and aircraft gross weight. In this embodiment, step 310 may further include, when the wheel-mounted signal indicates that the aircraft is in the air: triggering a first alarm if the throttle lever commanded speed is less than the engine target speed; and triggering a second alarm, the second alarm being of a lower level than the first alarm, if the throttle lever commanded speed is greater than the engine target speed.

[0050] After step 310, method 300 ends.

[0051] In summary, this invention proposes a throttle console warning scheme for civil aircraft. This scheme can solve the problems of pilots not being able to easily detect when the throttle lever position is not in accordance with requirements in the traditional throttle console design of civil aircraft, which increases the operational burden and affects flight safety when the operation is not in accordance with requirements.

[0052] The embodiments of the present invention have been described above with reference to block diagrams and / or operational descriptions of methods and apparatus according to embodiments of the present invention. The functions / actions indicated in the blocks may appear in a different order than shown in any flowchart. For example, depending on the functions / actions involved, two blocks shown consecutively may actually be executed substantially simultaneously, or these blocks may sometimes be executed in reverse order.

[0053] The above description is merely a preferred embodiment of the present invention, but the scope of protection of the present invention is not limited thereto. Any variations or substitutions that can be easily conceived by those skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in the present invention should be included within the scope of protection of the present invention. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present invention should be determined by the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A method for throttle panel graded alarm, the method comprising: Receives input for selecting the thrust level; The upper limit of the engine speed corresponding to the selected thrust level is determined as the engine target speed; Based on the upper speed limit, a throttle control command is generated so that the throttle console can determine the throttle angle based on the throttle control command. The throttle lever command speed is determined based on the throttle lever angle; as well as An alarm is triggered based on a comparison between the target engine speed and the throttle lever command speed. The alarm triggering methods include: Receive wheel-borne signals and determine whether the wheel-borne signals indicate that the aircraft is on the ground or in the air; When the wheel-mounted signal indicates that the aircraft is on the ground: Determine the aircraft's current speed and critical speed; A first alarm is triggered if the current speed is greater than the critical speed and the throttle lever command speed is greater than the engine target speed; and If the throttle lever command speed is less than the engine target speed, a second alarm is triggered, and the level of the second alarm is lower than that of the first alarm. When the wheel-mounted signal indicates that the aircraft is in the air: If the throttle input speed is less than the engine target speed, a first alarm is triggered; and If the throttle lever command speed is greater than the engine target speed, a second alarm is triggered, and the level of the second alarm is lower than that of the first alarm.

2. The method as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The method also includes receiving information indicating ambient temperature, engine thrust, and total aircraft weight, wherein the critical speed is calculated based on the ambient temperature, engine thrust, and total aircraft weight.

3. The method as described in claim 1, characterized in that, When the wheel-mounted signal indicates that the aircraft is on the ground, the first alarm is used to indicate that the aircraft will have insufficient controllability after a single engine failure, and the second alarm is used to indicate that the throttle lever angle is incorrect.

4. The method as described in claim 1, characterized in that, When the wheel-mounted signal indicates that the aircraft is in the air, the first alarm is used to indicate that the aircraft's climb capability is limited, and the second alarm is used to indicate that the throttle lever angle is incorrect.

5. A system for throttle panel graded alarms, the system comprising: A thrust level input module is configured to receive input for selecting a thrust level; An engine control module is configured to determine the upper limit of the engine speed corresponding to the selected thrust level as the engine target speed based on the selected thrust level. A thrust control module configured to generate a throttle lever control command based on the upper speed limit for a throttle console to determine a throttle lever angle based on the throttle lever control command, wherein the engine control module is further configured to determine the throttle lever command speed based on the throttle lever angle; and; The alarm judgment module is configured to trigger an alarm based on a comparison between the target engine speed and the throttle lever command speed. The alarm judgment module is further configured to trigger an alarm through the following operations: Receive wheel-borne signals and determine whether the wheel-borne signals indicate that the aircraft is on the ground or in the air; When the wheel-mounted signal indicates that the aircraft is on the ground: Determine the aircraft's current speed and critical speed; If the current speed is greater than the critical speed and the throttle lever command speed is greater than the engine target speed, a first alarm is triggered. as well as If the throttle lever command speed is less than the engine target speed, a second alarm is triggered, and the level of the second alarm is lower than that of the first alarm. When the wheel-mounted signal indicates that the aircraft is in the air: If the throttle lever command speed is less than the engine target speed, a first alarm is triggered; as well as If the throttle lever command speed is greater than the engine target speed, a second alarm is triggered, and the level of the second alarm is lower than that of the first alarm.

6. The system as described in claim 5, characterized in that, The alarm judgment module is further configured to receive information indicating ambient temperature, engine thrust, and total aircraft weight, and to calculate the critical speed based on the ambient temperature, engine thrust, and total aircraft weight.

7. The system as described in claim 5, characterized in that, When the wheel-mounted signal indicates that the aircraft is on the ground, the first alarm is used to indicate that the aircraft will have insufficient controllability after a single engine failure, and the second alarm is used to indicate that the throttle lever angle is incorrect.

8. The system as described in claim 5, characterized in that, When the wheel-mounted signal indicates that the aircraft is in the air, the first alarm is used to indicate that the aircraft's climb capability is limited, and the second alarm is used to indicate that the throttle lever angle is incorrect.

9. A computer-readable storage medium having instructions stored thereon, which, when executed, cause a computer to perform the method as described in any one of claims 1-4.

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