Apparatus and method suitable for measuring the displacement or load on an aircraft component
First Claim
1. An aircraft including an apparatus for measuring a load on an aircraft component, the apparatus including a processing unit, a watertight housing, a controllable source of light, and a detector able to detect light emitted from said source, whereinthe source and the detector are situated in the watertight housing and are thereby situated in a region that is protected from the environment to the exterior of the aircraft,the apparatus is arranged so that, when the aircraft component is subjected to a load of the type to be measured, relative movement of the detector and the position of the light from the source in the region of the detector is caused,the detector in use generates in response to light received from the source a signal that is received by the processing unit, the signal being dependent on the relative positions of the detector and the light from the source in the region of the detector, andthe processing unit is arranged to provide an output signal dependent on the load sustained by the aircraft component.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
The load on an aircraft component, such as the load on a landing gear leg during braking, is measured with a contactless, all-weather displacement measuring system. The system includes a control unit a controllable microwave emitter of electromagnetic radiation and a microwave detector comprising a plurality of antennae. When the aircraft component is subjected to a load relative movement of the emitter and detector is caused. The detector generates in response to microwave radiation received from the focused beam of radiation emitted by the emitter a signal that is received by a signal processor of the control unit. The signal received by the control unit depends on the relative positions of the emitter and detector. The control unit is arranged to provide an output signal representative of the load sustained by the aircraft component. The system may be used to control braking in dependence on the output signal so as to maximize braking efficiency without overloading the landing gear leg.
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Citations
23 Claims
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1. An aircraft including an apparatus for measuring a load on an aircraft component, the apparatus including a processing unit, a watertight housing, a controllable source of light, and a detector able to detect light emitted from said source, wherein
the source and the detector are situated in the watertight housing and are thereby situated in a region that is protected from the environment to the exterior of the aircraft, the apparatus is arranged so that, when the aircraft component is subjected to a load of the type to be measured, relative movement of the detector and the position of the light from the source in the region of the detector is caused, the detector in use generates in response to light received from the source a signal that is received by the processing unit, the signal being dependent on the relative positions of the detector and the light from the source in the region of the detector, and the processing unit is arranged to provide an output signal dependent on the load sustained by the aircraft component.
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16. An apparatus for measuring a load on an aircraft component, the apparatus including a controllable source of light, and a detector able to detect light emitted from said source, wherein
the source and the detector are situated in a watertight housing that defines a protected region, the apparatus is arranged so that, when the housing is subjected to a load of the type to be measured, relative movement of the detector and the position of the light from the source in the region of the detector is caused, and the detector in use generates in response to light received from the source a signal that depends on the relative positions of the detector and the light from the source in the region of the detector, the signal being suitable for conversion into an output signal that depends on the load sustained by the aircraft component.
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17. A method of measuring a load on an aircraft component, the method including the following steps:
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causing light to be emitted from a source, measuring the light received by a detector from the source, the light measurement being dependent on the relative movement of the detector and the position of the light from the source in the region of the detector caused by a load on the aircraft component, protecting the source and the detector from moisture in the environment to the exterior of the aircraft, and calculating an indication of the load sustained by the aircraft component from the light measurement together with data concerning the relationship between the light measurement and the load sustained by the component. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. A method of measuring a load on an aircraft component of an aircraft, the method including the steps of
providing an apparatus for measuring the load, the apparatus including a processing unit, a watertight housing, a controllable source of light, and a detector able to detect light emitted from said source, the source and the detector being situated in the watertight housing, the source emitting light, the detector receiving light from the source, subjecting the aircraft component to a load of the type to be measured, measuring relative movement of the detector and the position of the light from the source in the region of the detector, generating a signal from the detector in response to light received from the source, the signal being dependent on the relative positions of the detector and the light from the source in the region of the detector, receiving said signal by the processing unit, and providing an output signal by the processing unit, said output signal dependent on the load sustained by the aircraft component.
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23. An aircraft including an apparatus for measuring a load on an aircraft component, the apparatus including a processing unit, a housing, a controllable source of light, and a detector able to detect light emitted from said source, wherein
the source of light and the detector are situated in the housing and are thereby situated in a region that is protected from the environment to the exterior of the aircraft, the source of light includes a lens to focus the light through a gas to a detector, the apparatus is arranged so that, when the aircraft component is subjected to a load of the type to be measured, relative movement of the detector and the position of the light from the source in the region of the detector is caused, the detector in use generates in response to light received from the source a signal that is received by the processing unit, the signal being dependent on the relative positions of the detector and the light from the source in the region of the detector, and the processing unit is arranged to provide an output signal dependent on the load sustained by the aircraft component.
Specification