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US 12,570,396 B2Granted
Aircraft braking system
AssigneeAirbus Operations GmbH
InventorsJulian Gale, Ashley Bidmead, Andrew Hebborn
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A method of parking an aircraft is disclosed including flight crew pedal braking to cause a brake force to be applied to the aircraft wheel brakes to slow the aircraft to a stationary state in which it is ready to be parked. Flight crew then activate a parking brake device and then release the pedal braking. An electronic control device, forming part of the aircraft's braking system for example, automatically intervenes, following the manual release of the pedal braking, to cause a brake force to continue to be applied to the wheels. This may be until sufficient brake force is applied, as a result of the activation of the parking brake device, to hold the aircraft in its parked state or may be for a predetermined period of time, say, ten seconds.
Claims20
An electronic control device for use when effecting braking of wheels of an aircraft, the aircraft comprising
- a first brake system for braking one or more of the wheels, the first brake system having a first input device which is manually controllable by flight crew to generate a braking command which causes a braking force to be applied that can be different values across a range of braking forces allowing an amount of braking applied to the one or more wheels to be varied under manual control of the first input device from zero to full braking, and
- a second brake system for braking one or more of the wheels, the second brake system having a second input device which is manually controllable by flight crew to activate an aircraft parking mode in which a braking force sufficient to hold the aircraft stationary in a parked state is applied to one or more wheel brakes, and which is manually controllable by flight crew to de-activate the aircraft parking mode so that the braking force is reduced to a level at which the aircraft is released from such a parked state,
- the electronic control device being configured to
- monitor the braking command demanded by the first brake system and/or a level of braking actually applied by the first brake system,
- monitor the braking command demanded by the second brake system and/or a level of braking actually applied by the second brake system,
- apply, in an event that certain first pre-set criteria are met, a higher level of braking by the first brake system than would otherwise be applied, and
- cease to apply, in the event that certain second pre-set criteria are met, said higher level of braking by the first brake system,
- the first pre-set criteria including both the flight crew activating the aircraft parking mode with the use of the second input device, and there being a premature reduction in the braking command demanded by the first brake system and/or in the level of braking actually applied by the first brake system, and
- the second pre-set criteria including whether the aircraft parking mode is demanded by the second input device active, and whether it can be concluded that a braking force sufficient to hold the aircraft stationary in the parked state is being applied to one or more wheel brakes,
- wherein the electronic device automatically intervenes, following release of the first input device by flight crew, to cause a braking force to continue to be applied by the first brake system until one or more conditions are met from which it can be deduced that sufficient braking force is being applied by the second brake system to hold the aircraft stationary.
7 more elements
A method of operating an aircraft, the aircraft comprising
- a first brake system for one or more wheels of the aircraft, the first brake system having a first input device which is manually controllable to generate a braking command which causes a braking force to be applied that can be different values across a range of braking forces allowing an amount of braking applied to the one or more wheels to be varied under manual control of the first input device from zero to full braking,
- a second brake system for one or more wheels of the aircraft, the second brake system having a second input device which is manually controllable to activate an aircraft parking mode in which a braking force sufficient to hold the aircraft stationary in a parked state is applied to one or more wheel brakes, and which is manually controllable to de-activate the aircraft parking mode so that the braking force is reduced to a level at which the aircraft is released from such a parked state,
- the method comprising steps of
- manually using the first input device to command an application of braking to one or more wheels of the aircraft by the first brake system when the aircraft is in a state ready to be parked and/or to slow the aircraft to such a state,
- manually using the second input device to activate the aircraft parking mode, while the first input device continues to be manually used to command the application of braking,
- after the aircraft parking mode has been activated, manually using the first input device to generate a lower or zero braking command,
- an electronic control device overriding the lower braking command, if certain first pre-set criteria are met, so that the braking force applied by the first braking system is higher than so commanded,
- wherein the electronic device automatically intervenes, following release of the first input device by flight crew, to cause a braking force to continue to be applied by the first brake system until one or more conditions are met from which it can be deduced that sufficient braking force is being applied by the second brake system to hold the aircraft stationary, and
- holding the aircraft in a parked state with use of the second braking system.
6 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.