US 7,792,614 B2 · Apparatus and method suitable for measuring the global displacement or load on an aircraft component

Abstract

The load on an aircraft component is measured. In one embodiment, the system is a contactless, all-weather displacement measuring system including a processing unit and a plurality of pairs of controllable microwave emitters and microwave detectors. When the aircraft component is subjected to a load, relative movement of the emitter and detector is caused. The detector generates signals which convey information concerning the relative positions of the emitter and the detector of the pair, the signals being received and processed by a signal processor of the processing unit. The processing unit may, for example with the use of triangulation techniques, provide an output signal representative of the load sustained by the aircraft component. The system may be used to control braking in dependence on the output signal so as to maximise braking efficiency without overloading the landing gear leg.

Claims16

Dependent claims

An aircraft including an apparatus for measuring an operational load on an aircraft component, the apparatus including a processing unit and a plurality of pairs of electromagnetic radiation devices, wherein

each electromagnetic radiation device comprises an emitter paired to at least one detector, the emitter being an emitter of electromagnetic radiation, and the detector being able to detect radiation from the emitter, wherein either the emitter or the detector is mounted to the aircraft component and the paired electromagnetic radiation device mounted independently to the aircraft,
the separation of the emitter and the detector is altered upon application of the operational load, the emitter and the detector each include a signal generating component, and
wherein the processing unit receives a signal from the signal generating component of the emitter and the detector from which an indication of a deformation of the aircraft component may be ascertained and provides an output signal which provides an indication of the load sustained by the aircraft component, the output signal being ascertained by the processing unit by means of a calculation involving the signals received by the processing unit and load model data.

A method of measuring an operational load on an aircraft component, the method including the following steps:

(i) mounting at least one emitter and a corresponding at least one detector to the aircraft, such that the at least one emitter and the at least one detector form a pair and such that either the at least one emitter or the at least one detector is mounted to the aircraft component and the paired electromagnetic radiation device is mounted independently to the aircraft,
(ii) causing electromagnetic radiation to be emitted from the at least one emitter,
(iii) collecting data dependent on the change in separation between the at least one emitter and the corresponding at least one detector, the change in separation being caused by an operational load sustained by the aircraft component,
(iv) repeating steps (ii) and (iii) in respect of additional independently mounted different emitter emitters and/or detector detectors, and
(v) providing an indication of the operational load sustained by the aircraft component from the data collected in step (iii) and from load model data.

2 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Apparatus and method suitable for measuring the global displacement or load on an aircraft component

Life of this patent

Apparatus and method suitable for measuring the global displacement or load on an aircraft component

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims16