Wireless engine monitoring system

• US 9,239,578 B2
• Filed: 05/04/2010
• Issued: 01/19/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 07/23/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Harris Corporation (L3Harris Technologies, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Harris Corporation (L3Harris Technologies, Inc.)
• Inventors: Ziarno, James J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Swarthout, Brent
• Application Number:
  US12/773,263
• Publication Number:
  US 20100211236A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,086 Days
• Field of Search: 340/945, 340/963, 340/971, 701/14, 701/35, 701/3, 701/9, 701/34.4
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 2045/0085 Devices for aircraft health monitoring, e.g. monitoring flutter or vibration
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 29/00 Power-plant nacelles, fairings, or cowlings nacelles not otherwise provided for B64C
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 45/00 Aircraft indicators or protectors not otherwise provided for camouflage F41H3/00
• CPC Class Codes: F02C 9/00 Controlling gas-turbine plants; Controlling fuel supply in air- breathing jet-propulsion plants controlling air intakes F02C7/057; controlling turbines F01D; controlling compressors F04D27/00; controlling in general G05
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/13 Plc programming
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2223/06 Remote monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 23/0213 Modular or universal configuration of the monitoring system, e.g. monitoring system having modules that may be combined to build monitoring program; monitoring system that can be applied to legacy systems; adaptable monitoring system; using different communication protocols
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 23/0264 Control of logging system, e.g. decision on which data to store; time-stamping measurements
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/008 communicating information to a remotely located station transmission systems for measured values G08C
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/18506 Communications with or from aircraft, i.e. aeronautical mobile service
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 50/60 Efficient propulsion technologies, e.g. for aircraft

Abstract

A wireless engine monitoring system (WEMS) includes an engine monitoring module that is mounted directly on an aircraft engine and records, stores, encrypts and transmits full flight engine data. The system preferably interfaces to the Full Authority Digital Engine Controller/Engine Control Unit (FADEC/ECU) and can record hundreds of engine parameters with a preferred sampling frequency of about one second. The engine monitoring module is preferably formed as a miniaturized module directly mounted on the aircraft engine within its cowling and has a conformal antenna. The engine monitoring module can also upload data for onboard processing.

Claims

1. A monitoring system for an aircraft engine, comprising:

an engine monitoring module comprising;

a housing configured to be mounted at the aircraft engine,

a wireless transmitter carried by said housing,

a memory carried by said housing, and

a processor carried by said housing and coupled to said memory and said wireless transmitter and configured to;

collect and store in said memory engine data relating to at least one engine parameter sensed during operation of the aircraft engine by a plurality of engine sensors, the at least one engine parameter including an exhaust gas temperature (EGT) of the aircraft engine, and

transmit the engine data via said wireless transmitter, and

a data address assigned to the engine monitoring module and linking the data address to an engine serial number for tracking the aircraft engine.

2. The monitoring system according to claim 1, wherein the at least one engine parameter comprises a low compressor speed (N1) and a high compressor speed (N2) of the aircraft engine.

3. The monitoring system according to claim 2, wherein the at least one engine parameter comprises engine oil pressure of the aircraft engine.

4. The monitoring system according to claim 2, wherein the at least one engine parameter comprises oil temperature of the aircraft engine.

5. The monitoring system according to claim 2, wherein the at least one engine parameter comprises fuel flow of the aircraft engine.

6. The monitoring system according to claim 2, further comprising a ground based wireless receiver configured to receive the engine data from said wireless transmitter.

7. A monitoring system for an aircraft engine, comprising:

an engine monitoring module comprising;

a housing configured to be mounted at the aircraft engine,

a wireless transmitter carried by said housing,

a memory carried by said housing,

a processor carried by the housing and coupled to said memory and said wireless transmitter and configured to;

collect and store in said memory engine data relating to at least one engine parameter sensed during operation of the aircraft engine by a plurality of engine sensors, and

transmit the engine data and an IP address linked to an identifier of the aircraft engine via said wireless transmitter, and

a data address assigned to the engine monitoring module and linking the data address to an engine serial number for tracking the aircraft engine.

8. The system according to claim 7, wherein the identifier of the aircraft engine comprises a serial number of the aircraft engine.

9. The system according to claim 7, and further comprising a ground based receiver and communications network configured to receive the engine data and IP address transmitted from the wireless transmitter and transport the engine data across the communications network to a location based on the IP address.

10. The system according to claim 7, wherein said memory comprises an archival data store configured to record and store full flight engine data relating to operation of the aircraft engine.

11. The system according to claim 7, wherein said engine parameters comprise data regarding the sensed exhaust gas temperature (EGT) of the aircraft engine during flight.

12. A method of monitoring an aircraft engine, comprising:

mounting an engine monitoring module at the aircraft engine, said engine monitoring module comprising a housing that is mounted at the aircraft engine, a wireless transmitter carried by the housing, a memory carried by the housing, and a processor coupled to the memory and the wireless transmitter; and

collecting and storing in the memory engine data relating to at least one engine parameter sensed during operation of the aircraft engine by a plurality of engine sensors,

transmitting the engine data and an IP address linked to an identifier of the aircraft engine via the wireless transmitter; and

assigning a data address to the engine monitoring module and linking the data address to an engine serial number for tracking the aircraft engine.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein the identifier of the aircraft engine comprises the serial number of the aircraft engine.

14. The method according to claim 12, comprising receiving the engine data and IP address from the wireless transmitter within a ground based receiver and communications network and transporting the engine data across the communications network to a location based on the IP address.

15. The method according to claim 12, and further comprising recording and storing full flight engine data relating to operation of the aircraft engine within an archival data store.

16. The method according to claim 12, wherein said engine parameters comprise data regarding the sensed exhaust gas temperature (EGT) of the aircraft engine during flight.

17. A wireless engine monitoring system for an aircraft engine comprising:

a Full Authority Digital Engine Controller/Engine Control Unit (FADEC/ECU) having a data output,

a plurality of engine sensors associated with the aircraft engine and coupled to the FADEC/ECU and

an engine monitoring module comprising;

a housing configured to be mounted at the aircraft engine,

a FADEC/ECU interface coupled to the data output of the FADEC/ECU,

a wireless transmitter carried by said housing,

a memory carried by said housing, and

a processor carried by said housing coupled to said memory and said wireless transmitter and configured to;

collect from the data output of the FADEC/ECU engine data relating to at least one engine parameter sensed during operation of the aircraft engine by the plurality of engine sensors,

store the engine data in said memory, and

transmit the engine data via said wireless transmitter, and

a data address assigned to the engine monitoring module and linking the data address to an engine serial number for tracking the aircraft engine.

18. The system according to claim 17, wherein said aircraft engine includes a cowling and said FADEC/ECU and engine monitoring module are mounted under the cowling.

19. The system according to claim 17, wherein said FADEC/ECU is configured to sample at a predetermined frequency the at least one engine parameter sensed during operation of the aircraft engine.

20. The system according to claim 19, wherein said processor is configured to set a sampling frequency for the FADEC/ECU.

21. The system according to claim 17, wherein said memory comprises an archival data store configured to record and store full flight engine data relating to operation of the aircraft engine.

22. The system according to claim 17, wherein said at least one engine parameter comprises data regarding the sensed exhaust gas temperature (EGT) of the aircraft engine during flight.

23. A wireless engine monitoring system for an aircraft engine comprising:

an engine monitoring module comprising;

a housing configured to be mounted at the aircraft engine,

a wireless transceiver carried by said housing,

a memory carried by said housing,

a processor carried by said housing coupled to said memory and said wireless transceiver and configured to;

collect and store in said memory engine data relating to at least one engine parameter sensed during operation of the aircraft engine by a plurality of engine sensors,

transmit the engine data via said wireless transceiver, and

receive data uploaded to the engine monitoring module via the wireless transceiver; and

process the received data, and

a data address assigned to the engine monitoring module and linking the data address to an engine serial number for tracking the aircraft engine.

24. The system according to claim 23, wherein said wireless transceiver comprises a spread spectrum wireless transceiver configured to transmit and receive a wideband spread spectrum communications signal.

25. The system according to claim 23, and further comprising a conformal antenna carried by the housing and connected to the wireless transceiver through which a wireless communications signal is transmitted and received.

26. The system according to claim 23, wherein said memory comprises an archival data store configured to record and store full flight engine data relating to operation of the aircraft engine.

27. The system according to claim 23, wherein said at least one engine parameter comprises data regarding the sensed exhaust gas temperature (EGT) of the aircraft engine during flight.

28. A wireless engine monitoring system for an aircraft engine comprising:

an engine monitoring module comprising;

a housing configured to be mounted at the aircraft engine,

a wireless transmitter carried by said housing,

a memory carried by said housing,

a processor carried by said housing coupled to said memory and said wireless transmitter and configured to

collect engine data relating to a plurality of engine parameters sensed at regular sampling intervals during operation of the aircraft engine by a plurality of engine sensors,

compress and store the collected engine data in said memory; and

transmit the compressed and stored engine data via said wireless transmitter, and

a data address assigned to the engine monitoring module and linking the data address to an engine serial number for tracking the aircraft engine.

29. The system according to claim 28, wherein the plurality of engine parameters comprises at least one hundred engine parameters.

30. The system according to claim 28, wherein said processor is further configured to encrypt the compressed and stored engine data for transmitting.

31. The system according to claim 28, wherein said wireless transmitter comprises a cellular transceiver.

32. The system according to claim 28, wherein the aircraft engine includes a cowling and further comprising an antenna mounted on the cowling and coupled to said wireless transmitter.