Microserver engine control card

• US 7,844,385 B2
• Filed: 01/28/2004
• Issued: 11/30/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 01/28/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Rtx Corporation
• Original Assignee: United Technologies Corporation (Raytheon Technologies Corporation d/b/a RTX)
• Inventors: Stetson, Douglas P., Padykula, Peter Joseph, Loda, David C., Wood, C. Bruce
• Primary Examiner(s): Tran; Dalena
• Application Number:
  US10/767,601
• Publication Number:
  US 20050165534A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,498 Days
• Field of Search: 701/1, 701/3, 701/23, 701/29, 701/33, 701/35, 701/100, 235/379, 235/380, 709/40.R, 709/223, 340/500, 702/182, 702/185
• US Class Current: 701/100
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/008 communicating information to a remotely located station transmission systems for measured values G08C
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/025 for remote control or remote monitoring of applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/04 specially adapted for terminals or networks with limited capabilities; specially adapted for terminal portability
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]

Abstract

An integrated system for monitoring a deployed product on a movable platform, gathering data about the deployed product, and disseminating the, data about the deployed product is disclosed. The system includes a server located on the movable platform capable of communication with the server from a remote location. The server communicates with a source of data about the deployed communicates with a source of data about the deployed product. The system further includes a portal onto which data gathered by the server may be downloaded and with which one can upload information to the server. The server may be provided in the form of a card adapted to be mounted into a pre-existing electronic controller of the deployed product.

Claims

1. A gas turbine engine, comprising:

a compressor section;

a combustion section downstream of the compressor section;

a turbine section downstream of the combustion section;

a casing surrounding the compressor section, combustion section and turbine section;

an electronic controller mounted to the casing, the electronic controller controlling and monitoring operation of the engine and having a microserver, wherein the microserver generates a wireless system surrounding the engine and adapted to connect to the Internet.

2. The engine of claim 1, wherein the microserver resides on a card.

3. The gas turbine engine of claim 2, wherein the microserver card hosts a web page, wherein the webpage has an IP address available for a plurality of Internet protocols.

4. The gas turbine engine of claim 2, wherein the microserver card is communicably coupled to other cards within the electronic control box.

5. The gas turbine engine of claim 1, wherein the microserver is communicably coupled to sensors installed on the engine.

6. The gas turbine engine of claim 5, wherein the microserver is hard-wired to the sensors.

7. The gas turbine engine of claim 5, wherein the microserver communicates with the sensors wirelessly.

8. The gas turbine engine of claim 7, wherein the microserver communicates by way of radio frequency identification tags.

9. The gas turbine engine of claim 1, wherein the microserver card connects to the Internet by way of a local area network.

10. The gas turbine engine of claim 1, wherein the microserver card connects to the Internet by way of cellular network.

11. The gas turbine engine of claim 1, wherein the microserver card connects to the Internet by way of satellite.

12. The gas turbine engine of claim 1, wherein the electronic controller comprises an electronic control box mounted to the casing and the microserver card is mounted in the electronic control box.

13. The gas turbine engine of claim 12, wherein the microserver card receives data about the gas turbine engine and hosts a web page through which said data is accessible.

14. The gas turbine engine of claim 13, wherein the microserver card is programmed to allow an interested party to carry out diagnostic operations on the gas turbine engine.

15. The gas turbine engine of claim 13, wherein the microserver card is programmed to download said data on an occurrence of a specific event.

16. The gas turbine engine of claim 1, further comprising an antenna for facilitating communication between the microserver card and the Internet.