System and method to prevent unintended aircraft engine shutdown
AssigneeGulfstream Aerospace Corporation
InventorsCraig Ziolkowski, Desmond Ruhan, Todd Abler, Andrew Martin
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Flight control systems, flight control methods, and aircraft are provided. An aircraft including a system and a method for receiving, via a fuel switch, a first control signal indicative of an off position on a fuel switch, determining a throttle resolver angle of a throttle controller in response to the first control signal, comparing the throttle resolver angle to a threshold throttle angle, and generating a pilot warning in response to the first control signal and the throttle resolver angle exceeding the threshold throttle angle.
Claims19
An aircraft comprising:
- a throttle having a throttle position;
- a fuel switch having an on position and an off position;
- a fuel cutoff valve operative to cut off a fuel supply in response to a fuel cutoff control signal;
- a combustion turbine engine having a fuel supply provided through the fuel cutoff valve and having a fuel supply rate proportional to the throttle position;
- and
- a processor operative to generate the fuel cutoff control signal in response to the fuel switch being in the off position and the throttle position being less than a throttle position threshold, the processor being further operative to generate a warning signal in response to the throttle position exceeding the throttle position threshold and the fuel switch being in the off position.
A method comprising:
- receiving, via a fuel switch, a first control signal indicative of an off position on the fuel switch;
- determining, by a processor, a throttle setting of a throttle controller in response to the first control signal;
- comparing, by the processor, the throttle setting to a threshold throttle level;
- generating, by the processor, a second control signal to close a fuel high-pressure shutoff valve in response to the first control signal and the threshold throttle level exceeding the throttle setting;
- and
- generating, by a processor, a pilot warning in response to the first control signal and the throttle setting exceeding the threshold throttle level.
An aircraft, comprising:
- a combustion turbine engine;
- a fuel tank;
- a fuel high-pressure shutoff valve;
- a fuel pump for coupling a fuel supply from the fuel tank to the combustion turbine engine via the fuel high-pressure shutoff valve;
- a throttle controller having a throttle resolution angle proportional to an angular displacement of a throttle handle;
- a fuel switch for generating a first control signal indicative of the fuel switch being in an off position;
- and
- a processor configured to receive the first control signal and the throttle resolution angle and to generate a warning signal in response to the throttle resolver angle exceeding a threshold throttle angle, the processor being further operative to maintain the fuel supply to the combustion turbine engine in response to the first control signal and the throttle resolver angle exceeding the threshold throttle angle.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.