Gas turbine engine having on-engine data storage device

• US 20080125950A1
• Filed: 11/27/2006
• Published: 05/29/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 11/27/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Rtx Corporation
• Original Assignee: United Technologies Corporation (Raytheon Technologies Corporation d/b/a RTX)
• Inventors: Brown, Rork S.
• Granted Patent: US 8,565,998 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/100
• CPC Class Codes: F02C 9/00 Controlling gas-turbine plants; Controlling fuel supply in air- breathing jet-propulsion plants controlling air intakes F02C7/057; controlling turbines F01D; controlling compressors F04D27/00; controlling in general G05
• CPC Class Codes: F05D 2260/80 Diagnostics
• CPC Class Codes: F05D 2270/71 synthesized, i.e. parameter computed by a mathematical model

Abstract

An on-engine data storage device for a gas turbine engine includes a housing, an interface device, and a memory device. The interface device can communicate with a peripheral device. The memory device is mounted within the housing and is operable to store engine data related to the gas turbine engine.

Claims

1. A on-engine data storage device for a gas turbine engine, comprising:

a housing;

an interface device that can communicate with a peripheral device; and

a memory device mounted within said housing and operable to store engine data related to the gas turbine engine.

2. The device as recited in claim 1, wherein said engine data includes at least one of engine history data and engine parts data.

3. The device as recited in claim 1, comprising a microcontroller, an antenna, a transceiver and a receiver mounted within said housing and connected to said memory device to communicate with the peripheral device by wireless transmissions.

4. The device as recited in claim 1, including a peripheral device, said peripheral device being at least one of a cellular phone and a computer.

5. The device as recited in claim 1, wherein said memory device includes at least one of a hard drive, RAM, ROM, magnetic storage and an integrated circuit.

6. The device as recited in claim 1, wherein said interface device comprises a universal serial bus (USB).

7. A gas turbine engine, comprising:

a compressor, a combustor and a turbine; and

a data storage device removably mounted to said gas turbine engine, wherein said data storage device is operable to store engine data related to said gas turbine engine.

8. The gas turbine engine as recited in claim 7, wherein said engine data includes at least one of engine history data and engine parts data.

9. The gas turbine engine as recited in claim 7, wherein said data storage device includes a housing, an interface device and a memory device mounted within said housing.

10. The gas turbine engine as recited in claim 7, wherein said data storage device is mounted within a cavity of a core cowl of said gas turbine engine, wherein said cavity includes a cover having a dielectric which conceals said data storage device and seals said data storage device from debris and excessive temperature fluctuations.

11. The gas turbine engine as recited in claim 7, wherein said data storage device communicates with a peripheral device to upload said engine data onto said data storage device.

12. The gas turbine engine as recited in claim 11, wherein said data storage device communicates with said peripheral device via wireless transmissions.

13. The gas turbine engine as recited in claim 7, wherein said engine data is directly reported from said gas turbine engine to said data storage device.

14. The gas turbine engine as recited in claim 13, comprising an engine controller which directly communicates said engine data to said data storage device.

15. The gas turbine engine as recited in claim 13, comprising at least one engine part which directly communicates engine parts data to said data storage device.

16. A method of recording the life history of a gas turbine engine:

(a) tracking engine data; and

(b) uploading the engine data onto a data storage device mounted to the gas turbine engine.

17. The method as recited in claim 16, wherein the engine data includes at least one of engine history data and engine parts data.

18. The method as recited in claim 16, wherein said step (b) comprises the steps of:

connecting a peripheral device to the data storage device; and

communicating the engine data from the peripheral device to the data storage device.

19. The method as recited in claim 16, wherein said step (b) comprises the step of:

directly communicating the engine data from an engine controller to the data storage device.

20. The method as recited in claim 16, wherein said step (b) comprises the step of directly communicating the engine data from at least one engine part to the data storage device.