System and method for aircraft braking system usage monitoring
First Claim
1. A system for monitoring wear of parts of an aircraft, comprising:
- at least one brake usage sensor for sensing usage of a brake of the aircraft and for generating a signal indicating a sensed value of usage of the brake, said at least one brake usage sensor including a linear brake wear indicator associated with the brake and a linear position encoder operative to measure a distance traveled by the linear brake wear indicator, and said linear position encoder being operative to generate a linear position signal indicating a distance traveled by the linear brake wear indicator as an indication of usage of the brake;
means for sensing aircraft yaw generating a yaw signal indicating aircraft yaw;
a wheel speed monitor generating a wheel speed signal indicating wheel speed of the aircraft; and
control means for determining an estimate of usage of the brake based upon said linear position signal and an estimate of usage of a tire of the aircraft based upon said wheel speed signal and said yaw signal.
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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.
60 Citations
12 Claims
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1. A system for monitoring wear of parts of an aircraft, comprising:
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at least one brake usage sensor for sensing usage of a brake of the aircraft and for generating a signal indicating a sensed value of usage of the brake, said at least one brake usage sensor including a linear brake wear indicator associated with the brake and a linear position encoder operative to measure a distance traveled by the linear brake wear indicator, and said linear position encoder being operative to generate a linear position signal indicating a distance traveled by the linear brake wear indicator as an indication of usage of the brake; means for sensing aircraft yaw generating a yaw signal indicating aircraft yaw; a wheel speed monitor generating a wheel speed signal indicating wheel speed of the aircraft; and control means for determining an estimate of usage of the brake based upon said linear position signal and an estimate of usage of a tire of the aircraft based upon said wheel speed signal and said yaw signal. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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Specification