System and method for aircraft braking system usage monitoring
First Claim
1. A system for monitoring wear of a plurality of aircraft parts of an aircraft, comprising:
- at least one linear brake wear indicator attached to an aircraft brake, said at least one linear brake wear indicator being configured to move a discrete distance each time the aircraft brake is actuated, said linear brake wear indicator having a plurality of longitudinally arranged markings indicating a distance traveled by the linear brake wear indicator as an indication of brake usage;
at least one corresponding linear position encoder configured to count said plurality of longitudinally arranged markings of said at least one linear brake wear indicator passing by said at least one linear position encoder, respectively, to measure the distance traveled by said at least one linear brake wear indicator, respectively, as an indication of brake usage, and said at least one linear position encoder being operative to generate a linear position signal indicating the distance traveled by said at least one linear brake wear indicator, respectively, as an indication of brake usage;
a wheel speed monitor for generating a wheel speed signal indicating wheel speed of the aircraft;
at least one secondary sensor for sensing a parameter of usage of an aircraft part, said at least one secondary sensor being configured to generate a signal indicating a sensed value of said parameter of usage of said aircraft part; and
a control unit configured to determine an estimate of usage of the brake based upon said linear position signal, said control unit being configured to receive said wheel speed signal for distinguishing between static brake applications and moving brake applications based upon said wheel speed signal, said control unit being configured to measure a period of time elapsed during each brake application, and said control unit being configured to determine a distance over which each brake application occurs and to estimate a degree to which each individual brake application contributes to brake wear, based upon the wheel speed during each brake application and said period of time elapsed during each brake application.
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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.
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Citations
12 Claims
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1. A system for monitoring wear of a plurality of aircraft parts of an aircraft, comprising:
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at least one linear brake wear indicator attached to an aircraft brake, said at least one linear brake wear indicator being configured to move a discrete distance each time the aircraft brake is actuated, said linear brake wear indicator having a plurality of longitudinally arranged markings indicating a distance traveled by the linear brake wear indicator as an indication of brake usage; at least one corresponding linear position encoder configured to count said plurality of longitudinally arranged markings of said at least one linear brake wear indicator passing by said at least one linear position encoder, respectively, to measure the distance traveled by said at least one linear brake wear indicator, respectively, as an indication of brake usage, and said at least one linear position encoder being operative to generate a linear position signal indicating the distance traveled by said at least one linear brake wear indicator, respectively, as an indication of brake usage; a wheel speed monitor for generating a wheel speed signal indicating wheel speed of the aircraft; at least one secondary sensor for sensing a parameter of usage of an aircraft part, said at least one secondary sensor being configured to generate a signal indicating a sensed value of said parameter of usage of said aircraft part; and a control unit configured to determine an estimate of usage of the brake based upon said linear position signal, said control unit being configured to receive said wheel speed signal for distinguishing between static brake applications and moving brake applications based upon said wheel speed signal, said control unit being configured to measure a period of time elapsed during each brake application, and said control unit being configured to determine a distance over which each brake application occurs and to estimate a degree to which each individual brake application contributes to brake wear, based upon the wheel speed during each brake application and said period of time elapsed during each brake application. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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Specification