Health monitoring of an actuator in a flying device

• US 10,431,019 B2
• Filed: 07/05/2016
• Issued: 10/01/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 07/06/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Invista North America Sarl (Invista), Liebherr-Aerospace Lindenberg GmbH (Liebherr-International AG)
• Original Assignee: Liebherr-Aerospace Lindenberg GmbH (Liebherr-International AG)
• Inventors: Dorkel, Andre, Dreyer, Nikolaus
• Primary Examiner(s): Tissot, Adam D
• Application Number:
  US15/202,008
• Publication Number:
  US 20170069145A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,183 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 2045/0085 Devices for aircraft health monitoring, e.g. monitoring flutter or vibration
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 45/00 Aircraft indicators or protectors not otherwise provided for camouflage F41H3/00
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 23/0254 based on a quantitative model, e.g. mathematical relationships between inputs and outputs; functions: observer, Kalman filter, residual calculation, Neural Networks
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/006 Indicating maintenance
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/0808 Diagnosing performance data testing of vehicles G01M17/00; testing of electrical installation on vehicles G01R31/005

Abstract

The present invention relates to health monitoring of an actuator in a flying device. The same comprises a processor unit for processing data and for operating a system model of the actuator 30, at least one sensor 151, 152, 153, 154, 155, 156 for detecting a correcting variable of the actuator 30 and a memory unit 54 on which characteristic data on the actuator 30 are deposited. The processor unit is designed to carry out health monitoring on the basis of the system model with reference to the correcting variable of the actuator 30 and the characteristic data of the memory unit 54. Advantageously, the processor unit is identical to the processor unit of an electronic control system 50 of the actuator 30.

Claims

1. An apparatus for health monitoring of a service life of an actuator (30) in a flying device, comprising:

a processor unit for processing data and for operating a system model of the actuator (30),

at least one sensor for detecting a correcting variable of the actuator and furthermore comprising at least one additional sensor which generates at least one correcting variable for health monitoring, and

a memory unit (54) in which characteristic data of the actuator (30) are stored,

wherein the processor unit determines a service life value of the actuator based on the system model, the correcting variable of the actuator and the characteristic data of the memory unit,

wherein the characteristic data stored in the memory unit (54) are data of at least one of damage, fatigue and wear of the actuator (30),

Wherein the characteristic data are known from a design phase of the actuator and obtained in the course of an approval of the actuator, and

wherein the characteristic data only consist of data which have not been generated for the purpose of health monitoring.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processor unit is the processor unit of an electronic control system (50) of the actuator (30) and is designed to perform the control of the actuator (30).

3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processor unit is designed to receive signals from at least one of a separate control system for driving the actuator (30), a communication with a superordinate computer (13, 14), and another actuator (30) connected in parallel with the actuator.

4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processor unit determines the service life value of the actuator to analyze the existing data with regard to an operating condition and an operational safety of the actuator (30), and determine the demand of at least one of maintenance measures, servicing measures, component replacement and device replacement.

5. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein

the processor unit is designed to tap at least one real-time signal for controlling an actuator (30) or for detecting a correcting variable of an actuator (30) and convert the same into a particular number of characteristic quantities, wherein preferably the number of the data of the real-time signal is greater than the number of the data of the characteristic quantities, and

the processor unit is designed to store the characteristic quantities into the memory unit (54) for at least one of subsequent forwarding, further processing and evaluation.

6. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the memory unit (54) is a memory unit (54) for an electronic control system (50) of the actuator (30).

7. The apparatus according to claim 5, wherein

reference values for the characteristic quantities are stored in the memory unit (54), and

the processor unit compares one of the characteristic quantities with its associated reference value, wherein

the reference values are generated in the course of a prior testing of the actuator (30).

8. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processor unit determines a remaining service life and the status of the actuator (30) based on the service life value.

9. The apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the remaining service life and status of the actuator are not to be transmitted in real time to a superordinate maintenance computer (14) or the flying device personnel, so that existing interfaces (24) of an electronic control system (50) of the actuator (30) can be utilized to transmit information.

10. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the at least one additional sensor is at least one of a structure-borne sound sensor (155), a vibration sensor (154), an oil pressure sensor (152), an oil quality sensor (153) and an oil temperature sensor (151).

11. The apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the energy supply of the at least one additional sensor is effected by the conversion of at least one of device vibrations and of heat.

12. A method for health monitoring of a service life of an actuator (30) in a flying device with an apparatus according to claim 1, comprising steps:

determining at least one of the correcting variable, reference variables and status variables from the control or regulation of a drive controller of the actuator (202, 218),

determining characteristic quantities for at least one of damage, fatigue and wear analyses (211, 223, 226) based on at least one of the correcting variable, reference variables and status variables,

determining the status of the actuator (213) based on the characteristic quantities, and

deriving at least one of a required maintenance and servicing action based on the determined status of the actuator (216).

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein one or more of the steps are carried out in at least one of a flight computer (13) or a maintenance computer (14) of the flying device.

14. The method according to claim 12, wherein the method comprises health monitoring of the entire flight control around a flight axis or direction of movement in longitudinal axis, transverse axis and/or vertical axis.

15. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the processor unit is designed to receive signals from at least one of a separate control system for driving the actuator (30), a communication with a superordinate computer (13, 14), and another actuator (30) connected in parallel with the actuator.

16. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processor unit determines the service life value of the actuator to analyze the existing data with regard to an operating condition and an operational safety of the actuator (30), and determine the demand of at least one of maintenance measures, servicing measures, component replacement and device replacement.

17. The method according to claim 12, wherein the determination of the characteristic quantities is based on a reduction of at least one of the correcting variable, the reference variables and the status variables.