Brake wear control system
First Claim
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1. A brake controller for managing friction material wear for each of a plurality of brakes, said controller configured to:
- receive data indicative of available friction material at each of the plurality of brakes;
selectively vary a force applied by each brake as a function of the available friction material to maintain the available friction material for each brake within a predetermined range of one another;
a plurality of brakes, each brake comprising a friction material;
a wear sensor operative to provide data indicative of available friction material, wherein the wear sensor is communicatively coupled to the controller; and
a first aircraft landing gear,wherein the plurality of brakes correspond to the first aircraft landing gear,wherein the controller is configured to manage wear of the friction material on the first aircraft landing gear, independent of a wear of friction material on a second aircraft landing gear.
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Abstract
A system, apparatus and method provide a means for managing wear of brake friction material such that even friction material wear is experienced between brakes. The available friction material of each brake is monitored to determine an amount of wear. Based on the amount of wear, a braking force applied by each brake may be varied to ensure even wear between brakes.
37 Citations
17 Claims
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1. A brake controller for managing friction material wear for each of a plurality of brakes, said controller configured to:
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receive data indicative of available friction material at each of the plurality of brakes; selectively vary a force applied by each brake as a function of the available friction material to maintain the available friction material for each brake within a predetermined range of one another; a plurality of brakes, each brake comprising a friction material; a wear sensor operative to provide data indicative of available friction material, wherein the wear sensor is communicatively coupled to the controller; and a first aircraft landing gear, wherein the plurality of brakes correspond to the first aircraft landing gear, wherein the controller is configured to manage wear of the friction material on the first aircraft landing gear, independent of a wear of friction material on a second aircraft landing gear. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A method of managing friction material wear on a plurality of brakes, each brake including a brake disk stack, and at least one actuator for applying and releasing braking force, comprising:
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monitoring available friction material for each brake of the plurality of brakes associated with a first aircraft landing gear and a second aircraft landing gear; and selectively varying a force applied by each brake to maintain the available friction material for each brake in the first aircraft landing gear within a predetermined range of one another, independent of a wear of friction material on the second aircraft landing gear. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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Specification