EP-4737328-A2 - AIRCRAFT THROTTLE QUADRANT ASSEMBLY WITH INTEGRATED VISUAL INDICATOR FEATURE

Abstract

A throttle quadrant system for an aircraft includes: a first throttle handle to control a first engine of the aircraft, the first throttle handle having a first activatable visual indicator integrated therein; a second throttle handle to control a second engine of the aircraft, the second throttle handle comprising a second activatable visual indicator integrated therein; and at least one controller to control activation and operation of the first activatable visual indicator and the second activatable visual indicator. The at least one controller responds to first engine data related to operating status of the first engine to selectively activate the first activatable visual indicator. The at least one controller also responds to second engine data related to operating status of the second engine to selectively activate the second activatable visual indicator.

Inventors

• HAUSMANN, JEFFREY
• FREEMAN, GARY
• KNIGHT, MICHAEL
• ATES, Ozan
• MEDIN, Kristin
• JORDAN, JIM
• BOHANAN, Scott

Assignees

• Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation

Dates

Publication Date

20260506

Application Date

20230515

Claims (15)

1. A throttle quadrant system that controls an engine for on an aircraft, the throttle quadrant system comprising: a throttle handle that controls the engine of the aircraft, wherein the throttle handle comprises an activatable visual indicator integrated therein; a controller coupled to the throttle handle, wherein the controller activates the activatable visual indicator in response to an operating status of the engine, wherein the activatable visual indicator indicates an operating status of the engine on the aircraft; and a user interface control element integrated within the throttle handle coupled to the controller, wherein the user interface control element initiates a corrective action from a user selection in response to the operating status of the engine on the aircraft.
2. The throttle quadrant system of claim 1, further comprising: a haptic feedback device to generate tactile and physical feedback for a user.
3. The throttle quadrant system of claims 1 or 2, wherein the user interface control element initiates the corrective action from the user selection in response to an abnormal condition of the operating status with respect to a left region or a right region of the engine.
4. The throttle quadrant system of any one of claims 1-3, wherein at least one of pulsing patterns and fading patterns of the activatable visual indicator are displayed to indicate different conditions of the engine on the aircraft.
5. The throttle quadrant system of any one of claims 1-4, wherein the user interface control element integrated within the throttle handle initiates a shutdown of the engine from the user selection in response to an abnormal condition that affects the operating status of the engine.
6. The throttle quadrant system of any one of claims 1-5, wherein the activatable visual indicator is configured to output different colors to indicate different operating statuses of the engine.
7. The throttle quadrant system of any one of claims 1-6, wherein the activatable visual indicator is configured to provide flashing indicators to alert crew members to take action with respect to the engine.
8. A throttle quadrant system for an aircraft, the throttle quadrant system comprising: a throttle handle that controls an engine of the aircraft; a controller coupled to the throttle handle, wherein the controller activates a visual indicator configured within the throttle handle to display status updates in response to data in relation to the engine, wherein the controller controls the visual indicator to display the status updates that indicate a current condition of the engine; and a user interface control element configured within the throttle handle, and coupled to the controller, wherein the user interface control element initiates corrective actions from user selections in response to the status updates of the visual indicator, wherein the corrective actions are initiated to address the current condition of the engine.
9. The throttle quadrant system of claim 8, wherein the user interface control element is positioned within the throttle handle to initiate, from the user selections, a fire extinguisher to address the current condition of the engine.
10. The throttle quadrant system of claims 8 or 9, wherein the controller selectively activates the visual indicator to display a health measurement of a left region or a right region of the engine.
11. The throttle quadrant system of any one of claims 8-10, wherein the visual indicator is configured to display different updates of the current condition of the engine.
12. The throttle quadrant system of any one of claims 8-11, further comprising: an auto-control element that provides an auto-throttle mode for the aircraft.
13. The throttle quadrant system of any one of claims 8-12, wherein the visual indicator is controlled to visually display a warning with respect to the aircraft.
14. The throttle quadrant system of any one of claims 8-13, wherein the controller responds to engine data in a left region or a right region of the engine to selectively activate the visual indicator.
15. An aircraft comprising a throttle quadrant system according to any one of claims 1-14.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD Embodiments of the subject matter described herein relate generally to vehicle control systems and their related sensors and instrumentation. More particularly, embodiments of the subject matter relate to an aircraft throttle quadrant system that includes visual indicator elements integrated with the throttle control handles. BACKGROUND Aircraft (and other types of vehicles) usually include a throttle quadrant assembly or system that includes throttle control handles to control the operation of the engines. Aircraft throttle handles have traditionally been part of a mechanism to control various engine functions from the flight deck via cables or other mechanical components between the engine and throttle mechanism. With the advent of electronic engine controls on nearly all modem jet aircraft, mechanical controls between the engine and the throttle quadrant assembly have been eliminated and replaced with electronic control and communication via a digital bus. However, the throttle quadrant assembly in the flight deck has changed very little. For example, many aircraft still utilize throttle quadrant assemblies with separate handles for reverse thrust as if they were still connected via mechanical cables. These additional levers add weight and size to the throttle quadrant system. Other switches and controls typically located on the throttle quadrant assembly are still retained and operated much like their older counterparts even with vast improvements in aircraft system self-monitoring and increased automation of aircraft systems. For example, most jet transport aircraft are equipped with an auto-throttle feature that controls the engine thrust automatically to maintain a commanded airspeed or other condition set by the flight crew. Despite messages and other external indications, it is not always obvious to the crew whether the auto-throttle feature is engaged or disengaged. Accordingly, it is desirable to have an improved throttle quadrant assembly or system that provides enhanced functionality, improved user convenience, and/or intuitive messaging or indicating functionality to achieve disambiguation of system behavior. Furthermore, other desirable features and characteristics will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and the foregoing technical field and background. BRIEF SUMMARY Disclosed herein is a throttle quadrant system for an aircraft having a first engine and a second engine. An embodiment of the throttle quadrant system includes: a first throttle handle to control the first engine of the aircraft, the first throttle handle having a first activatable visual indicator integrated therein; a second throttle handle to control the second engine of the aircraft, the second throttle handle having a second activatable visual indicator integrated therein; and at least one controller to control activation and operation of the first activatable visual indicator and the second activatable visual indicator. The at least one controller responds to first engine data related to operating status of the first engine to selectively activate the first activatable visual indicator. The at least one controller responds to second engine data related to operating status of the second engine to selectively activate the second activatable visual indicator. Also disclosed is a throttle quadrant system for an aircraft. An embodiment of the throttle quadrant system includes: a throttle handle to control an engine of the aircraft, the throttle handle having an activatable visual indicator integrated therein; and at least one controller to control activation and operation of the activatable visual indicator. The at least one controller responds to engine data related to status of the engine to selectively activate the activatable visual indicator. The at least one controller controls operation of the activatable visual indicator such that visual appearance of the activatable visual indicator is influenced by an operating status, state, condition, or health measurement of the engine. Also disclosed is an aircraft having: a left engine; a right engine; a left throttle handle to control the left engine, the left throttle handle having a first activatable visual indicator integrated therein; a right throttle handle to control the right engine, the right throttle handle having a second activatable visual indicator integrated therein; and at least one controller to control activation and operation of the first activatable visual indicator and the second activatable visual indicator. The at least one controller responds to left engine data associated with the left engine to selectively activate the first activatable visual indicator, and to control operation of the first activatable visual indicator such that visual appearance of the first activatable visual indicator is influenced by an operating status, state, condition