System and method to assess and report the health of landing gear related components

• US 9,671,314 B2
• Filed: 04/07/2014
• Issued: 06/06/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 08/11/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: The Boeing Co.
• Original Assignee: The Boeing Co.
• Inventors: Followell, David A., Maggiore, Jeanne C., Majkowski, Wayne R.
• Primary Examiner(s): Black, Thomas G
• Assistant Examiner(s): LOUIE, WAE LENNY
• Application Number:
  US14/246,143
• Publication Number:
  US 20140222325A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,156 Days
• Field of Search: 701 314, 701 339, 701 343, 701500
• CPC Class Codes: B60C 2200/02 for aircrafts
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 2045/008 Devices for detecting or indicating hard landing
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 2045/0085 Devices for aircraft health monitoring, e.g. monitoring flutter or vibration
• CPC Class Codes: B64F 5/60 Testing or inspecting aircraft components or systems
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 23/005 Flight directors indicating arrangements specially adapted for rotary gyroscopes G01C19/32
• CPC Class Codes: G01M 1/125 of aircraft
• CPC Class Codes: G01M 17/04 Suspension or damping

Abstract

The different advantageous embodiments provide an apparatus comprising a number of landing gear components for a vehicle, a number of systems, and a number of processor units. The number of systems is configured to generate data about the number of landing gear components and the vehicle. The number of processor units is configured to monitor the data and manage health of the number of landing gear components.

Claims

1. An apparatus for managing the health of landing gear components associated with an aircraft, comprising:

a processor unit positioned remote from the aircraft, the processor unit configured to receive data about a number of landing gear components associated with the aircraft, determine whether the data meets a first threshold, manage the health of the number of landing gear components if the data meets the first threshold, and monitor the data for a second threshold; and

a communications unit configured to receive the data and provide the data to the processor unit.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processor unit plans maintenance for the number of landing gear components based on the data, the first threshold, and the second threshold.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising:

a user interface, wherein the processor units provides information to the user interface to display the information about the number of landing gear components.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processor unit is further configured to generate a number of status messages associated with the number of landing gear components.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein receiving the information is triggered by an event selected from the group consisting of landing gear retraction, landing gear extension, or a time from landing gear retraction or landing gear extension.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processor unit is further configured to store information about the number of landing gear components.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processor unit is configured to present alerts based on the data exceeding either of the first threshold and the second threshold.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the data about the number of landing gear components comprises sensor system information.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the processor unit is further configured to format the sensor system information and process the sensor system information by a number of algorithms after formatting.

10. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the number of landing gear components include tires and brakes and the data includes tire pressure and braking torque.

11. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the data further includes tire temperature and brake temperature.

12. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the sensor system information includes information from a number of RFID tags associated with the number of landing gear components, the data including RFID configuration information for the number of landing gear components.

13. A method for managing the health of a number of landing gear components associated with an aircraft, the method comprising:

receiving in a processor unit positioned remote from the aircraft data about a number of landing gear components associated with the aircraft;

determining whether the data meets a first threshold;

managing the health of the number of landing gear components if the data meets the first threshold;

monitoring the data for a second threshold; and

planning maintenance for the number of landing gear components based on the data, the first threshold, and the second threshold.

14. The method of claim 13 further comprising:

the processor unit generating information about the number of landing gear components; and

a user interface displaying the information.

15. The method of claim 13, further comprising the processor unit generating a number of status messages associated with the number of landing gear components.

16. The method of claim 13, further comprising storing information about the number of landing gear components.

17. The method of claim 13, further comprising presenting alerts based on the data exceeding either of the first threshold and the second threshold.

18. A system for managing the health of landing gear components associated with an aircraft, comprising:

a first processor unit onboard the aircraft, the first processor unit configured to monitor for a first threshold based on data received from a number of systems onboard the aircraft that are configured to generate data about the landing gear components;

a communications unit configured to receive the data and provide the data to a second processor unit when the first threshold is exceeded, the second processor unit being offboard the aircraft; and

wherein the second processor unit is configured to receive the data from the communications unit, determine whether the data meets a second threshold, and plan maintenance for the landing gear components when the data exceeds the second threshold.

19. The system of claim 18 further comprising:

a user interface, wherein the first processor unit and the second processor unit are both configured to provide information to the user interface to display information about the number of landing gear components, to display information about a maintenance plan for the landing gear components, or a combination thereof.

20. The system of claim 18, wherein the first processor unit is further configured to generate a number of status messages associated with the number of landing gear components.

21. The system of claim 18, wherein the processor unit is configured to present alerts based on the data exceeding either of the first threshold and the second threshold.

22. The system of claim 18, wherein the number of systems generates sensor information, the sensor system information including information from a number of radio frequency identification (RFID) tags associated with the number of landing gear components, the data including RFID configuration information for the number of landing gear components.