Aircraft system and method

Abstract

A method of communicating configuration data of a tire pressure monitoring device configured to be affixed to a wheel is disclosed. The method includes, at the tire pressure monitoring device, receiving a request to confirm configuration data, and responsive to receipt of the request to confirm configuration data, transmitting a configuration data signal which encodes the configuration data. The configuration data signal is configured to be received and understood by a human.

Claims

1. A method of communicating configuration data of a tire pressure monitoring device configured to be affixed to a wheel in use, the method comprising, at the tire pressure monitoring device: receiving a request to confirm configuration data; responsive to receipt of the request to confirm configuration data, transmitting a configuration data signal which encodes the configuration data; wherein the configuration data signal is configured to be received and understood by a human; wherein the configuration data signal comprises a visual signal, and the visual signal is transmitted using a visual indicator of the tire pressure monitoring device; wherein the visual indicator comprises a light source, and the method comprises selectively illuminating the light source to transmit the configuration data signal; and, wherein the configuration data signal comprises a number, and the selective illumination of the light source comprises encoding the number into an illumination sequence representing individual digits of the number.

2. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the configuration data signal comprises a signal indicative of a reference pressure for a tire.

3. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the configuration data signal comprises an audible signal, and the audible signal is transmitted using the tire pressure monitoring device.

4. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the configuration data signal comprises a start signal indicating a start of transmission, an end signal indicating an end of transmission, and an intermediate signal indicative of configuration data stored in the tire pressure monitoring device.

5. A method as claimed in claim 4, wherein the start signal and the end signal comprise a first type of signal, and the intermediate signal comprises a second type of signal.

6. A method as claimed in claim 5, wherein the first type of signal comprises a first colour light and the second type of signal comprises a second colour light different to the first colour light.

7. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the configuration data signal comprises a plurality of sub-signals, each sub-signal comprising a start signal indicating a start of transmission of the sub-signal, an end signal indicating an end of transmission of the sub-signal, and an intermediate signal indicative of at least a portion of configuration data stored in the tire pressure monitoring device.

8. A method as claimed in claim 7, wherein each sub-signal is confirmed as being received and understood by a human before a next sequential sub-signal is transmitted.

9. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the method comprises transmitting an alert indicating that transmission of the configuration data signal is about to begin.

10. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the method comprises verifying, by a human, that the configuration data of the tire pressure monitoring device matches expected configuration data, and verification by a human that the configuration data of the tire pressure monitoring device matches expected configuration data takes place using an untrusted device.

11. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein a request to confirm configuration data is submitted via a short-range communication protocol.

12. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the method comprises transmitting the configuration data signal to a further tire pressure monitoring device, and subsequently transmitting the configuration data signal from the further tire pressure monitoring device to be received and understood by a human.

13. A tire pressure monitoring device comprising a memory for storing configuration data, a visual indicator comprising a light source, and a processor configured to control the light source to transmit a signal indicative of configuration data stored in the memory, wherein the tire pressure monitoring device is configured to be affixed to a wheel and is configured to perform a method of communicating configuration data of the tire pressure monitoring device, wherein the method comprises: receiving a request to confirm configuration data; responsive to receipt of the request to confirm configuration data, transmitting a configuration data signal which encodes the configuration data; wherein the configuration data signal is configured to be received and understood by a human; wherein the configuration data signal comprises a visual signal, and the visual signal is transmitted using the visual indicator of the tire pressure monitoring device; wherein the method comprises selectively illuminating the light source to transmit the configuration data signal; and, wherein the configuration data signal comprises a number, and the selective illumination of the light source comprises encoding the number into an illumination sequence representing individual digits of the number.

14. A tire pressure monitoring device as claimed in claim 13, wherein the signal indicative of configuration data comprises a signal indicative of a reference tire pressure stored in the memory.

15. A tire pressure monitoring device as claimed in claim 13, wherein the tire pressure monitoring device is configured to communicate with a further tire pressure monitoring device.

16. An aircraft comprising a tire pressure monitoring device as claimed in claim 13.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) Embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

(2) FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a tire pressure monitoring device according to an example;

(3) FIG. 2 is a schematic illustration of a first signal indicative of configuration data of a tire pressure monitoring device;

(4) FIG. 3 is a schematic view illustrating a first example method of communicating configuration data of a tire pressure monitoring device;

(5) FIG. 4 is a schematic illustration of a second signal indicative of configuration data of a tire pressure monitoring device;

(6) FIGS. 5A to 5G are schematic views illustrating a display of an untrusted device used to verify the signal of FIG. 4;

(7) FIG. 6 is a schematic view illustrating a second example method of communicating configuration data of a tire pressure monitoring device;

(8) FIG. 7 is a schematic view of a network of tire pressure monitoring devices according to an example;

(9) FIG. 8 is a schematic view illustrating a method of operating the network of FIG. 7;

(10) FIG. 9A is schematic illustration of a third signal indicative of configuration data of a tire pressure monitoring device;

(11) FIGS. 9B and 9C are schematic views illustrating a display of an untrusted device used to verify a location indication in the signal of FIG. 9A; and

(12) FIG. 10 is a schematic view illustrating an aircraft comprising the tire pressure monitoring device of FIG. 1 or the network of FIG. 7.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(13) A tire pressure monitoring device 10 according to an example is shown schematically in FIG. 1. The tire pressure monitoring device 10 comprises a processor 12, a memory 14, a transceiver 16, a visual indicator or display which is an LED 18 in this example, a sensor 19 and a power source 21.

(14) The processor 12 may be any suitable processor including single and multi-core processors, an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) or like. The processor 12 is communicatively coupled to the transceiver 16, the LED 18, the memory 20 and the sensor 21.

(15) Memory 14 is a flash memory that stores configuration data 20 and also computer readable instructions for execution by the processor 12 in operation, although it will be appreciated that other types of memory may be used. The configuration data 20 can therefore be updated as required with configuration data. A reference tire pressure is stored in the configuration data 20. Additional data can also be stored in the configuration data 20, for example an aircraft identifier (such as an aircraft Tail identifier) and a wheel position.

(16) Transceiver 16 is an appropriate transceiver capable of receiving a request to confirm the configuration data 20. In this embodiment, the transceiver 16 comprises a short-range radio signal transceiver operating according to the NFC protocol. It will be appreciated, however, that other communication protocols may be used, including, for example, a Bluetooth low energy (BLE) communication protocol. When the transceiver 16 receives a request to confirm the configuration data 20, the processor 12 encodes the configuration data 20 stored in the memory 14 of the tire pressure monitoring device 10, and transmits a signal 22 indicative of the configuration data 20 via the LED 18 to a user 24 observing the tire pressure monitoring device 10. Here the LED 18 is a two-colour LED which is capable of displaying both red and green coloured light. Other examples may use a different number of colours of light than two and/or use other colours than red and green. In examples herein, the user 24 is a human.

(17) An example of the signal 22 is shown schematically in FIG. 2, where the signal encodes a reference tire pressure stored in configuration data 20 of the tire pressure monitoring device 10. Checking a reference tire pressure has been correctly stored in a tire pressure monitoring device is an important part of setup to confirm correct operation after configuration. It is possible that the configuration data is corrupted and stores an incorrect value, or an incorrect value may have been loaded in error or by a bad actor. The consequences of an incorrect reference tire pressure level in use may be severe, for example making a tire blow-out more likely if the tire operated at too low a pressure.

(18) As shown in FIG. 2, the reference tire pressure of the tire pressure monitoring device 10 is 178 PSI (1.23 MPa). The signal 22 as a whole has a start signal 26 in the form of a green flash of light from the LED 18, and an end signal 28 in the form of another green flash of light from the LED. The signal 22 is split into a number of sequential sub-signals 30, with each sub-signal 30 being representative of a digit of the reference tire pressure. Each sub-signal 30 has a start signal in the form of a green flash of light from the LED 18, an end signal in the form of another green flash of light from the LED 18, and an intermediate signal in the form of a flash/a number of red flashes of light from the LED 18.

(19) As shown in FIG. 2, the start of the first sub-signal 30 is coincident with the start signal 26 of the overall signal 22, and the end of the last sub-signal 30 is coincident with the end signal 28 of the overall signal 22, such that the start 26 and end 28 signals resemble prolonged flashes of the LED 18. Furthermore, a flash of the LED to indicate the end of the first sub-signal 30 also functions as a start signal of the second sub-signal.

(20) In the signal 22, the intermediate signals of each sub-signal 30 encode and are indicative of the reference tire pressure. For example, in the first sub-signal 30, there is one flash of red light from the LED 18, indicating that the first digit of the reference tire pressure is the number “1”. In the second sub-signal 30, there are seven flashes of red light from the LED 18, indicating that the second digit of the reference tire pressure is the number “7”. In the third sub-signal 30, there are eight flashes of red light from the LED 18, indicating that the third digit of the reference tire pressure is the number “8”. Thus the LED 18 can be used to output the signal 22 to the user 24, with the signal 22 being in a manner that is easily receivable and understandable by the user 24. The duration of each flash can be chosen depending on the length of the overall sequence and the length of flash needed to be clear to the user 24, and in the example of FIG. 2 each flash is 0.5 s long. In other examples, the colour of the flashes can be different, for example with a different colour of light being used for each digit of the reference tire pressure so that a first colour indicates “units”, a second colour indicates “tens” and a third colour indicates “hundreds”.

(21) Once the signal 22 is received by the user 24, the user 24 may take appropriate action to confirm that the reference tire pressure stored in the memory 14 is correct, or may take appropriate remedial action if the reference tire pressure is incorrect. In some examples, the user 24 uses an untrusted device 32, for example a mobile phone or tablet computer running an application, to verify the configuration data 20. As the user 24 can be taken to be a trusted source, and the tire pressure monitoring device 10 is itself a trusted source, the untrusted device 32 can be used to input the user's verification of the configuration data 20. For example, the untrusted device 32 can display a prompt with an expected reference pressure. The verification can be trusted because it occurs between the user 24 (who is trusted) and tire pressure monitoring device 10 (which is trusted because of its certification to a particular DAL).

(22) Whilst the tire pressure monitoring device 10 is depicted in FIG. 1 as comprising an LED 18, and the signal 22 comprises flashes of the LED 18, it will be appreciated that in another embodiment the tire pressure monitoring device 10 may comprise a transducer in the form of a beeper or speaker, and that that the signal 22 may instead comprise audible noises instead of flashes of light.

(23) A method 100 of operating the tire pressure monitoring device 10 is shown schematically in FIG. 3. The method 100 comprises receiving 102 a request to confirm the configuration data 20 of the tire pressure monitoring device 10 at the transceiver 16. Responsive to the request, a configuration data signal 22 encoding the configuration data 20 is transmitted 104 by the LED 18.

(24) In another example, a signal 22′ takes a different form, as illustrated schematically in FIG. 4. In this instance, sub-signals 30′ are discrete signals separate from one another. This allow the signal 22′ to be split such that each sub-signal 30′ is easily recognisable and verifiable by a user. In this example, an untrusted device 32 may communicate with a tire pressure monitoring device 10, and the tire pressure monitoring device 10 may cause a sequence of discrete sub-signals 30′ to be provided in response to instructions received over the receiver from the untrusted device.

(25) For example, in response to a request from the user 24, submitted via the untrusted device 32, to check or determine the configuration data stored in a tire pressure monitoring device 10, a first message indicating what form a first sub-signal 30′ will take is displayed on the untrusted device 32. This first message is shown schematically in FIG. 5A. It provides data of what the reference pressure is expected to be, in this case 178 PSI (equivalent to 1.23 MPa, or 12.3 BAR), and of what signal is expected to be provided by the tire pressure monitoring device 10. In this case the signal is one red flash, indicating the digit 1, and one green flash, indicating the end of a sub-signal for that digit. The user 24 interacts with a user interface element 52 on the untrusted device 32 to cause the first sub-signal 30′ to be transmitted by the LED 18. In this case, the user interface element is a button displayed on a touch screen of the untrusted device 32 which displays the text “go”. In response to activation of the user interface element 52, such as by a tap, the untrusted device 32 transmits a signal to the tire pressure monitoring device 10 to cause it to transmit or communicate the first sub-signal 30′. Meanwhile, the untrusted device 32 displays a first verification message, allowing the user 24 to indicate that the first sub-signal 30′ has been received and understood by a user interface element 54, as shown schematically in FIG. 5B. A message is also provided to remind the user what they should have observed, in this case one red flash.

(26) When the user interface element 54 is activated, such as by a tap on a touch screen of the untrusted device 32, a second message indicating what form a second sub-signal 30′ will take is displayed on the untrusted device, as shown schematically in FIG. 5C. Again this states the reference pressure and what the next signal is expected to be, in this case seven red flashes for the digit 7 followed by a green flash to indicate the end of the sub-signal. A user interface element 56 is provided which, when selected by the user, causes the tire pressure monitoring device 10 to transmit or communicate the second sub-signal 30′, in the same way as described above for FIG. 5A. Once the second sub-signal 30′ has been transmitted, a second verification message is displayed on the untrusted device 32, shown schematically in FIG. 5D. A user can confirm the second sub-signal 30′ has been observed by interacting with a user interface element 58, in the same as described above for FIG. 5B.

(27) Next, a third message indicating what form a third sub-signal 30′ will take is displayed on the untrusted device 32, as shown schematically in FIG. 5E. Again this includes the reference pressure and an indication that the third sub-signal 30′ will comprise eight red flashes, corresponding to the digit 8. As discussed above with reference to FIG. 5A, the user interacts with a user interface element 60 that causes the third sub-signal 30′ to be transmitted or communicated by the LED 18. Once the third sub-signal 30′ has been transmitted, a third verification message 62 is displayed on the untrusted device, allowing the user to indicate that the third sub-signal 30′ has been received and understood, as shown schematically in FIG. 5F.

(28) Finally a confirmation message is displayed on the untrusted device 32 once all sub-signals 30′ have been received, as shown schematically in FIG. 5G. Although described here with reference to three sub-signals, it will be recognised that the number of sub-signals may vary depending on the configuration data requested. Other configuration data than pressure may be indicated and alphabetical data as well as numerical data can be communicated. Other encoding schemes can also be used, for example Morse code, but a direct correlation between a numerical value and the number of flashes has the benefit of requiring no specific user knowledge and potentially more reliable to recognise.

(29) As discussed above with reference to FIGS. 5A to 5G, only a single user interface element is displayed to allow the user to provide positive confirmation. A timer may be associated with each screen after which a negative result may be assumed and the process terminates without confirmation. Alternatively a specific negative option, to cancel the process or to indicate that the observed sequence did not match that which was expected, can be included in the user interface to allow a user to indicate that the data has not been confirmed.

(30) This process allows an untrusted device to guide a user through the process because if the untrusted device attempts to mislead the user as to the configured pressure, the user, who is trusted, will notice that the signal from the tyre pressure monitoring device does not match what is expected. Similarly, the use of a simple encoding where the number of flashes matches the digit, a user can identify potential false guidance on the untrusted device.

(31) A further example method 200 of operating a system comprising the tire pressure monitoring device 10 and the untrusted device 32 is shown schematically in FIG. 6, with the signal 22′ taking the form depicted in FIG. 4.

(32) The method 200 comprises submitting, at block 202, a request for configuration data from the tire pressure monitoring device using the untrusted device 32, by interacting with the user interface of the untrusted device 32. In response to the request, a start transmission option is chosen, at block 204, by interacting with the user interface of the untrusted device. The first sub-signal 30′ is transmitted at block 206, and a user is required to verify at block 208 that the first sub-signal 30′ has been correctly received by interacting with the user interface of the untrusted device 32. A start transmission option is chosen 210 for the second sub-signal 30′, again interaction with a user interface of the untrusted device 32. The second sub-signal 30′ is transmitted at block 212, and a user is required to verify at block 214 that the second sub-signal 30′ has been correctly received by interacting with the user interface of the untrusted device 32. A start transmission option is then chosen at block 216 for the third sub-signal 30′, again using a user interface of the untrusted device 32. The third sub-signal 30′ is transmitted at block 218, and a user is required to verify at block 220 that the third sub-signal 30′ has been correctly received, using the user interface of the untrusted device 32. The transmission sequence is then ended 222.

(33) In such a manner, the method 200 may transmit the sub-signals 30′ in a stepwise manner, with verification of each sub-signal 30′ being required before a next sub-signal in the sequence is transmitted. This can improve clarity of the signal for the user, and provide for easier verification of the configuration data in use while also reducing user error because there is less reliance on a user's memory.

(34) An example of a network 300 of a first 302 and a second 304 tire pressure monitoring devices is shown schematically in FIG. 7. The first 302 and second 304 tire pressure monitoring devices have generally the same structure as the tire pressure monitoring device 10 of FIG. 1, but with differences that will now be described.

(35) Each of the first 302 and second 304 tire pressure monitoring devices has a processor 306, and a memory 308. The processor 306 may be any conventional processor, and the memory 308 stores respective configuration data 310,312. The first tire pressure monitoring device 302 has a receiver 314 for communicating with an untrusted device 316, a transceiver 318 for communicating with the second tire pressure monitoring device 304, and a visual indicator in the form of an LED 320. The LED 320 in this example is an LED which is capable of displaying both red and green coloured light as discussed above with reference to FIG. 1, other examples may use other types of visual indicator and other colours of light. The second tire pressure monitoring device 304 has a transceiver 322 for communicating with the transceiver 318 of the first tire pressure monitoring device 302. Two devices are shown here for clarity, it will be appreciated that there will typically be more than two devices, with each tire having an associated tire pressure monitoring device.

(36) A method 400 of operating the network 300 is shown schematically in FIG. 8. The method 400 comprises receiving, at block 402, at the receiver 314 of the first tire pressure monitoring device 302, a request to confirm the configuration data 312 stored in the memory 308 of the second tire pressure monitoring device 304. The first tire pressure monitoring device 302 uses its transceiver 318 to transmit, at block 404, the request to the transceiver 322 of the second tire pressure monitoring device 304. In response to receipt of the request, the processor 306 of the second tire pressure monitoring device 304 encodes the configuration data 312 stored in the memory 308 of the second tire pressure monitoring device 304, and the processor 306 uses the transceiver 322 of the second tire pressure monitoring device 304 to transmit, at block 406, a signal representative of the configuration data 312 to the transceiver 318 of the first tire pressure monitoring device 302. The LED 320 of the first tire pressure monitoring device 302 then transmits 408 a signal 324 representative of the configuration data 312 stored in the memory 308 of the second tire pressure monitoring device 304 in manner such that the signal 324 can be received and understood by a user 24.

(37) Thus the configuration data 312 stored in the memory 308 of the second tire pressure monitoring device 304 can be requested at and subsequently displayed by the first tire pressure monitoring device 302. This can provide for easier and simpler operation in use, as a user can request configuration data from multiple tire pressure monitoring devices at a single tire pressure monitoring device. This can also reduce the time taken to obtain configuration data, as a user does not need to move from device to device in order to request and obtain configuration data.

(38) In some examples, the signal communicated to the user may include additional elements to indicate which tire pressure monitoring device the configuration data applies to, for example by encoding a wheel position before or after the reference pressure. For example, where the second tire pressure monitoring device 304 is at a wheel allocated number “3”, the LED 320 of the first tire pressure monitoring device 302 may flash three times to indicate that it is the configuration data of the tire pressure monitoring device of wheel “3” that is transmitted as the signal 324.

(39) FIG. 9A depicts an example of a signal 324 including a location indication 350 of a tire pressure monitoring device. The location indication is an example of additional information as described above. An associated indication message and confirmation message to be displayed on the untrusted device 316 are depicted in FIGS. 9B and 9C, respectively. The indication message of FIG. 9B is displayed as a message which indicates the number of red flashes corresponding to the tire pressure monitoring device location being checked, followed by a green flash to indicate end of transmission expected be observed by the user on the LED 320. In the example of FIG. 9B, the wheel location is “3” and the message indicates that three red flashes for the location indication 350 are expected. In response to user interaction with a user interface element 352 on the untrusted device 316, the location indication 350 is communicated or transmitted by causing the LED to provide three red flashes followed by a green flash.

(40) Subsequent to communicating the location indication 350, the confirmation message of FIG. 9C is displayed by the untrusted device 316 which asks the user 24 to confirm that they have correctly received the location indication 350. Confirmation is provided via interaction with a user interface element 354 on the untrusted device 316. Once confirmation has taken place, an initial message similar to that of FIG. 5A may be displayed on the untrusted device 316, and the remainder of the signal 324 may take a form similar to that of the signal 22′ of FIG. 4, with the user continuing to work through the method of FIG. 6 to confirm the configuration data.

(41) In some examples, a unique identifier may be used to identify one or both of the first 302 and second 304 tire pressure monitoring devices and used to indicate which device(s) should communicate stored configuration information. The unique identifier can be determined by an untrusted device or entered manually into the untrusted device. For example, the unique identifier can be determined by the untrusted device by: Near Field Communication (NFC) or Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) interrogation of the tire pressure monitoring device; by reading a printed indication of the serial number, such as a barcode (one- or two-dimensional) using a camera, reading characters of a serial number using Optical Character Recognition (OCR) using a camera or the like. Manual entry may involve entering the unique identifier as printed on a device or instead providing an aircraft tail identifier and an associated wheel position for which it is desired to confirm the configuration data.

(42) The tire pressure monitoring device described above is useful for confirming safety critical configuration data with a high degree of reliability assurance. It is particularly suited for use in aircraft. An aircraft 500 comprising a respective tire pressure monitoring device 10 of FIG. 1 for each tire 502 is shown schematically in FIG. 10. The tire pressure monitoring devices can form a network as discussed above with reference to FIG. 7 or operate independently.

(43) It is to be noted that the term “or” as used herein is to be interpreted to mean “and/or”, unless expressly stated otherwise.

(44) The above embodiments are to be understood as illustrative examples of the invention. Further embodiments of the invention are envisaged. In some embodiments, configuration data other than tire reference pressure may be communicated. For example, a position identifier, or an installation date may be communicated. It is to be understood that any feature described in relation to any one embodiment may be used alone, or in combination with other features described, and may also be used in combination with one or more features of any other of the embodiments, or any combination of any other of the embodiments. Furthermore, equivalents and modifications not described above may also be employed without departing from the scope of the invention, which is defined in the accompanying claims.