Flap system for an aircraft high lift system or an engine actuation and method for monitoring a flap system

• US 9,868,514 B2
• Filed: 08/08/2014
• Issued: 01/16/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 08/09/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Liebherr-Aerospace Lindenberg GmbH (Liebherr-International AG)
• Original Assignee: Liebherr-Aerospace Lindenberg GmbH (Liebherr-International AG)
• Inventors: Schievelbusch, Bernd, Fischer, Manfred
• Primary Examiner(s): Xavier, Valentina
• Application Number:
  US14/455,071
• Publication Number:
  US 20150076283A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,257 Days
• CPC Class Codes: B64C 13/341 having duplication or stand-by provisions
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 2045/001 for indicating symmetry of flaps deflection
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 2045/0085 Devices for aircraft health monitoring, e.g. monitoring flutter or vibration
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 45/00 Aircraft indicators or protectors not otherwise provided for camouflage F41H3/00
• CPC Class Codes: F02K 1/54 Nozzles having means for reversing jet thrust reversing jet thrust using fluid jets F02K1/32

Abstract

The invention relates to a flap system for an aircraft high lift system or an engine actuation with a rotary shaft system, one or more drive stations as well as elements for transmitting the drive energy from the rotary shaft system to the one or more drive stations, wherein at least one drive station includes at least two independent load paths with at least one rotational transmission each for actuating the flap kinematics, and per load path at least one mechanically coupling-free synchronization unit is provided for compensating regular load fluctuations between the load paths. The invention furthermore relates to a method for monitoring a flap system with at least two redundant load paths which each comprise at least one rotational transmission, wherein it is cyclically checked whether the difference of the output-side torques of the at least two load paths exceeds a defined threshold value and/or lies within a defined limit range.

Claims

1. A method for monitoring an aircraft high lift system or an engine actuator having a rotary shaft and a first and a second load path from the rotary shaft, the method comprising the steps of:

arranging at least a first and a second redundant load path from a rotational shaft, the first and second load paths comprising a first and a second respective rotational transmission having a first and a second respective output shaft;

positioning a first and a second respective torque sensor (7a, 7b) on the first and second output shafts, reading the output torque values of the first and second output shafts from the first and second torque sensors of the first and second transmissions according to a predefined cycle, and determining the difference in torque output from the first and second rotational transmissions;

providing a predefined torque threshold value or range and according to the predefined cycle, determining whether the difference, if any, between the output-side torque values at the first and second rotational transmissions of the at least two load paths exceeds the predefined torque threshold value and/or lies within the defined range; and

generating a signal representing whether the cyclically measured difference in the torque value output from the first and the second rotational transmissions exceeds the threshold or range, and transmitting the signal to a control unit.

2. The method according to claim 1, comprising the steps of

providing a torque offset value and taking this offset value into consideration when calculating whether the cyclically measured difference in the torque value output from the first and the second rotational transmissions exceeds the threshold or range.

3. The method according to claim 1, comprising providing a first and a second respective torque overload fuse having a predetermined torque value on the rotary shaft drive side of the respective first and second rotational transmissions, which provide a fault interrupt when the torque exceeds the predefined value and first and second respective overload fuse state sensors for monitoring the state of the first and second overload fuses, generating a signal representing the state of the overload fuses and querying, cyclically, a drive-side state of the first and second rotational transmissions (5a, 5b) by checking the state of the first and second overload fuses (3a, 3b), positioned in each said load path, as determined by the first and second overload fuse sensors.

4. The method according to claim 3, comprising the step of creating a binary fault image signal representing whether the torque sensors and overload fuse sensors detected the load exceeding the predefined values based on an output-side/drive-side check of the load paths and transmitting the signal to the control unit.

5. The method according to claim 1, comprising the step of carrying out once, an initial output-side/drive-side check of the load paths.

6. The method according to claim 2, wherein the offset value corresponds to twice a voltage value of a sensor output at a load of zero.

7. The method according to claim 4, comprising the additional step of

providing a higher control hierarchy for further control logic in the control unit and generating a signal corresponding the fault image and forwarding the signal corresponding to the fault image to the higher control hierarchy for further control logic in the control unit.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein the fault image is a binary fault code.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein the load paths (2a, 3a, 4a, 5a, 6a, 8a, 9a;

2b, 3b, 4b, 5b, 6b, 8b, 9b) are arranged independently from one another or uncoupled from one another.