US 11,999,499 B2
Autothrottle control for turboprop engines
Carmine Lisio, Laval (CA); and Kenneth Matheson, Montreal (CA)
Assigned to PRATT & WHITNEY CANADA CORP., Longueuil (CA)
Filed by PRATT & WHITNEY CANADA CORP., Longueuil (CA)
Filed on Jan. 29, 2020, as Appl. No. 16/775,489.
Application 16/775,489 is a continuation of application No. 15/446,262, filed on Mar. 1, 2017, granted, now 10,604,268.
Claims priority of provisional application 62/461,918, filed on Feb. 22, 2017.
Prior Publication US 2020/0164996 A1, May 28, 2020
This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.
Int. Cl. B64C 19/02 (2006.01); B64C 11/30 (2006.01); B64D 27/10 (2006.01); B64D 31/06 (2006.01); F02C 9/58 (2006.01)
CPC B64D 31/06 (2013.01) [B64C 11/30 (2013.01); B64C 11/303 (2013.01); B64D 27/10 (2013.01); F02C 9/58 (2013.01); F05D 2220/325 (2013.01); F05D 2270/051 (2013.01); F05D 2270/122 (2013.01)] 14 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. An aircraft control system for a turboprop engine of an aircraft, the aircraft control system comprising:
a power plant controller configured for controlling operation of the turboprop engine including a gas turbine engine and a propeller coupled to a shaft of the gas turbine engine, an output power of the gas turbine engine being regulated by regulation of a fuel flow to the gas turbine engine, the propeller converting rotary motion from the shaft of the gas turbine engine into thrust;
a power throttle having a single lever, a lever angle of the single lever dictating the output power of the gas turbine engine and a corresponding reference propeller governing speed for the propeller; and
an autothrottle controller operatively connected to the power plant controller and to the power throttle and configured to modulate the output power of the gas turbine engine and to set the reference propeller governing speed without pilot input by causing a change to the lever angle of the single lever based on a difference between an actual thrust of the turboprop engine and a desired thrust of the turboprop engine, wherein activation of the autothrottle controller is conditioned upon a take-off phase of the aircraft being complete, the aircraft being in airborne and the lever angle of the single lever being within a specified boundary.