Aircraft weight and center of mass estimation system
AssigneeGoodrich Corporation
InventorsSusanne M. Reber, Kevin Hawko, Amir Fazeli, Adnan Cepic
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A system and various methods for determining a center of mass of an aircraft with a plurality of shock strut assemblies is illustrated. Multiple sensors, including a gas pressure sensor, and/or a position sensor, may be used to gather data and determine the center of mass of the aircraft. Various methods illustrated herein may evaluate the center of mass relative to a wheelbase axis and a wheel tread axis based on the gathered data.
Claims20
A method for estimating a center of mass of an aircraft via a shock strut system comprising:
- receiving, by a processor, a first gas pressure data of a first shock strut from a takeoff phase to a landing phase of the aircraft from a first gas pressure sensor;
- receiving, by the processor, a second gas pressure data of a second shock strut from the takeoff phase to the landing phase of the aircraft from a second gas pressure sensor;
- receiving, by the processor, a third gas pressure data of a third shock strut from the takeoff phase to the landing phase of the aircraft from a third gas pressure sensor;
- determining, by the processor, the center of mass of the aircraft based on the first gas pressure data, the second gas pressure data, the third gas pressure data, a wheel tread distance, a wheelbase distance, and landing gear rake angles;
- and
- transmitting, by the processor, the center of mass of the aircraft to a device.
A center of mass estimation system, comprising:
- an aircraft;
- a landing gear arrangement including:
- a right hand side (RHS) landing gear assembly having a first shock strut with a first pressure sensor;
- a left hand side (LHS) landing gear assembly having a second shock strut with a second pressure sensor, the LHS landing gear assembly and the RHS landing gear assembly separated by a wheel tread distance along a wheel tread axis;
- a center landing gear assembly having a third shock strut having a third pressure sensor, the center landing gear assembly separated from the wheel tread axis by a wheelbase distance along a wheelbase axis, the wheelbase axis being perpendicular to the wheel tread axis;
- and
- a controller in electrical communication with the first pressure sensor, the second pressure sensor, and the third pressure sensor;
- and
- a device electrically coupled to the controller, the device configured to receive a center of mass estimation along a horizontal plane, the horizontal plane defined by the wheel tread axis and the wheelbase axis, wherein the controller is configured to:
- receive a first pressure data from the first pressure sensor, receive a second pressure data from the second pressure sensor, and receive a third pressure data from the third pressure sensor from a takeoff phase to a landing phase of the aircraft,
- determine, based on the first pressure data, the second pressure data, and the third pressure data, the center of mass estimation, and
- transmit the center of mass estimation to the device.
(canceled)
An article of manufacture including a non-transitory, tangible computer readable storage medium having instructions stored thereon that, in response to execution by an aircraft center of mass estimation system, cause the aircraft center of mass estimation system to perform operations comprising:
- receiving, by the aircraft center of mass estimation system, a first pressure data of a first shock strut from a takeoff phase to a landing phase of an aircraft;
- receiving, by the aircraft center of mass estimation system, a second pressure data from the takeoff phase to the landing phase of the aircraft;
- receiving, by the aircraft center of mass estimation system, a third pressure data from the takeoff phase to the landing phase of the aircraft;
- generating, by the aircraft center of mass estimation system, a center of mass estimation of the aircraft based on a first average pressure over a first period of time from the first pressure data, a second average pressure over a second period of time from the second pressure data, a third average pressure over a third period of time from the third pressure data, a wheel tread distance, and a wheelbase distance;
- and
- transmitting, by the aircraft center of mass estimation system, the center of mass estimation to a device in the aircraft.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.