System and method for aircraft braking system usage monitoring
First Claim
1. A system for monitoring wear of a consumable component of a landing gear assembly of an aircraft, comprising:
- at least one brake;
a wheel speed monitor for generating a wheel speed signal indicating wheel speed of the aircraft;
means for sensing aircraft yaw, and for generating a yaw signal indicating aircraft yaw;
means for determining an estimate of wear of the component based upon said wheel speed signal and said yaw signal, said means for determining an estimate of wear being operative to distinguish between static brake applications and moving brake applications based upon said wheel speed signal;
a linear brake wear indicator attached to the brake, wherein each time the brake is actuated, the linear brake wear indicator moves a discrete distance related to the wear of the consumable portion of the brake;
a linear position encoder for measuring and generating a linear position signal indicating the distance traveled by the linear brake wear indicator as an indication of brake usage;
means for determining an estimate of usage of the brake based upon said linear position signal;
means for measuring a period of time elapsed during each usage of the brake and generating an elapsed time signal; and
means for determining a distance over which each brake application occurs, based upon the wheel speed during each brake application and said period of time elapsed during each brake application, for determining the degree to which each individual brake application contributes to brake wear.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
The system and method for monitoring wear of one or more aircraft parts, such as an aircraft brake, an aircraft tire, a standby system, and landing gear. One or more sensors are provided for sensing a parameter of usage, and an estimate of usage of the part can be determined based upon the signal indicating the sensed value of the parameter of usage of the aircraft part. A plurality of sensors can be provided for sensing usage of a plurality of parts of the aircraft, and the estimate of usage of the part can be stored for access of the estimate by ground personnel. As applied to monitoring wear of an aircraft brake, a linear brake wear indicator attached to the brake moves a discrete distance when the brake is actuated, and a linear position encoder measures the distance traveled by the linear brake wear indicator as an indication of brake usage. A wheel speed monitor may also be provided for measuring the aircraft wheel speed, for distinguishing between static brake applications and moving brake applications, based upon the wheel speed signal.
59 Citations
16 Claims
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1. A system for monitoring wear of a consumable component of a landing gear assembly of an aircraft, comprising:
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at least one brake; a wheel speed monitor for generating a wheel speed signal indicating wheel speed of the aircraft; means for sensing aircraft yaw, and for generating a yaw signal indicating aircraft yaw; means for determining an estimate of wear of the component based upon said wheel speed signal and said yaw signal, said means for determining an estimate of wear being operative to distinguish between static brake applications and moving brake applications based upon said wheel speed signal; a linear brake wear indicator attached to the brake, wherein each time the brake is actuated, the linear brake wear indicator moves a discrete distance related to the wear of the consumable portion of the brake; a linear position encoder for measuring and generating a linear position signal indicating the distance traveled by the linear brake wear indicator as an indication of brake usage; means for determining an estimate of usage of the brake based upon said linear position signal; means for measuring a period of time elapsed during each usage of the brake and generating an elapsed time signal; and means for determining a distance over which each brake application occurs, based upon the wheel speed during each brake application and said period of time elapsed during each brake application, for determining the degree to which each individual brake application contributes to brake wear. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A system for monitoring wear of a consumable component of a landing gear assembly of an aircraft, comprising:
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at least one brake; a wheel speed monitor for generating a wheel speed signal indicating wheel speed of the aircraft; means for sensing aircraft yaw, and for generating a yaw signal indicating aircraft yaw; means for determining an estimate of wear of the component based upon said wheel speed signal and said yaw signal, said means for determining an estimate of wear being operative to distinguish between static brake applications and moving brake applications based upon said wheel speed signal; a linear brake wear indicator attached to the brake, wherein each time the brake is actuated, the linear brake wear indicator moves a discrete distance related to the wear of the consumable portion of the brake; a linear position encoder for measuring and generating a linear position signal indicating the distance traveled by the linear brake wear indicator as an indication of brake usage; means for determining an estimate of usage of the brake based upon said linear position signal; and means for sensing brake temperature, and for generating a temperature signal indicating brake temperature that is received by said means for determining an estimate of usage of the brake, and wherein said estimate of usage of the brake is based upon said temperature signal. - View Dependent Claims (8)
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9. A method for monitoring wear of a tire of an aircraft, the aircraft including a brake, comprising:
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monitoring wheel speed of the aircraft and generating a wheel speed signal indicating wheel speed of the aircraft; sensing aircraft yaw, and generating a yaw signal indicating aircraft yaw; determining an estimate of wear of the tire based upon said wheel speed signal and said yaw signal; distinguishing between static brake applications and moving brake applications of the aircraft based upon said wheel speed signal; measuring a period of time elapsed during each usage of the brake and generating an elapsed time signal; and determining a distance over which each brake application occurs, based upon the wheel speed during each brake application and said period of time elapsed during each brake application, for determining the degree to which each individual brake application contributes to brake wear. - View Dependent Claims (10)
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11. A method for monitoring wear of a tire of an aircraft, the aircraft including a brake, comprising:
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monitoring wheel speed of the aircraft and generating a wheel speed signal indicating wheel speed of the aircraft; sensing aircraft yaw, and generating a yaw signal indicating aircraft yaw; determining an estimate of wear of the tire based upon said wheel speed signal and said yaw signal; distinguishing between static brake applications and moving brake applications of the aircraft based upon said wheel speed signal; sensing brake temperature, and generating a temperature signal indicating brake temperature; and determining an estimate of usage of the brake based upon said temperature signal. - View Dependent Claims (12)
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13. A system for monitoring wear of a consumable component of a landing gear assembly of an aircraft, said landing gear assembly including a landing gear, comprising:
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at least one brake; a wheel speed monitor for generating a wheel speed signal indicating wheel speed of the aircraft; means for sensing aircraft yaw, and for generating a yaw signal indicating aircraft yaw; means for determining an estimate of wear of the component based upon said wheel speed signal and said yaw signal, said means for determining an estimate of wear being operative to distinguish between static brake applications and moving brake applications based upon said wheel speed signal; a linear brake wear indicator attached to the brake, wherein each time the brake is actuated, the linear brake wear indicator moves a discrete distance related to the wear of the consumable portion of the brake; a linear position encoder for measuring and generating a linear position signal indicating the distance traveled by the linear brake wear indicator as an indication of brake usage; means for determining an estimate of usage of the brake based upon said linear position signal; means for sensing load on the landing gear and for generating a load signal; and means for determining an estimate of usage of the landing gear.
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14. A system for monitoring wear of a consumable component of a landing gear assembly of an aircraft, comprising:
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at least one brake; a wheel speed monitor for generating a wheel speed signal indicating wheel speed of the aircraft; means for sensing aircraft yaw, and for generating a yaw signal indicating aircraft yaw; means for determining an estimate of wear of the component based upon said wheel speed signal and said yaw signal, said means for determining an estimate of wear being operative to distinguish between static brake applications and moving brake applications based upon said wheel speed signal; a linear brake wear indicator attached to the brake, wherein each time the brake is actuated, the linear brake wear indicator moves a discrete distance related to the wear of the consumable portion of the brake; a linear position encoder for measuring and generating a linear position signal indicating the distance traveled by the linear brake wear indicator as an indication of brake usage; means for determining an estimate of usage of the brake based upon said linear position signal; a standby system; means for sensing input power to said standby system and for generating an input power signal; and means for determining an estimate of usage of said standby system.
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15. A method for monitoring wear of a tire of an aircraft, the aircraft including a brake and a standby system, comprising:
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monitoring wheel speed of the aircraft and generating a wheel speed signal indicating wheel speed of the aircraft; sensing aircraft yaw, and generating a yaw signal indicating aircraft yaw; determining an estimate of wear of the tire based upon said wheel speed signal and said yaw signal; distinguishing between static brake applications and moving brake applications of the aircraft based upon said wheel speed signal; sensing input power to the standby system and for generating an input power signal; and determining an estimate of usage of said standby system based upon said input power signal.
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16. A method for monitoring wear of a tire of an aircraft, the aircraft including a brake and a landing gear, comprising:
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monitoring wheel speed of the aircraft and generating a wheel speed signal indicating wheel speed of the aircraft; sensing aircraft yaw, and generating a yaw signal indicating aircraft yaw; determining an estimate of wear of the tire based upon said wheel speed signal and said yaw signal; distinguishing between static brake applications and moving brake applications of the aircraft based upon said wheel speed signal; sensing load on the landing gear and for generating a load signal; and determining an estimate of usage of the landing gear based upon said load signal.
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Specification