SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR MONITORING AND/OR DETECTING AN OPERATIONAL STATE OF A MOVABLE COMPONENT OF AN AIRCRAFT

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a system for monitoring and/or detecting an operational state of a movable component of an aircraft, wherein the system has a movable component and a monitoring device, wherein the system also has a combination sensor connected to the monitoring device, which is designed and arranged to detect a kinematic and/or kinetic state of the component, wherein the monitoring device is designed to monitor and/or detect an operational state of the component.

Claims

1. System for monitoring and/or detecting an operational state of a movable component of an aircraft, wherein the system has a movable component and a monitoring device, wherein the system also has a combination sensor connected to the monitoring device, which is designed and arranged to detect a kinematic and/or kinetic state of the component, wherein the monitoring device is designed to monitor and/or detect an operational state of the component.

2. System according to claim 1, wherein the operational state comprises or is a skew of the component and/or a disconnect of the component from a structure.

3. System according to claim 1, wherein the monitoring device is designed to monitor the functionality of the combination sensor.

4. System according to claim 3, wherein the monitoring device is designed such that the functionality can be monitored by comparing a kinematic state of the component detected by the combination sensor with a kinetic state of the component detected by the combination sensor.

5. System according to claim 1, wherein the combination sensor comprises a kinematic sensor and a kinetic sensor.

6. System according to claim 5, wherein the kinematic sensor is a discrete and/or incremental sensor and/or wherein the kinetic sensor is designed to detect a direction of a kinetic state of the component.

7. System according to claim 1, wherein the system comprises an actuator, wherein the combination sensor is arranged in or on the actuator and/or wherein there are no combination sensors and/or sensors arranged in the component.

8. System according to claim 1, wherein the component comprises or consists of a lift aid.

9. System according to claim 1, wherein the system comprises a further combination sensor, wherein the monitoring device is designed such that monitoring and/or detecting the operational state of the component and/or monitoring the functionality of the combination sensor and/or the further combination sensor can be performed by comparing a kinematic and/or kinetic state of the component detected by the combination sensor with a kinematic and/or kinetic state of the component detected by the further combination sensor.

10. System according to claim 9, wherein the comparison of a kinematic or kinetic state of the component detected by the combination sensor with a further kinematic or kinetic state of the component detected by the further combination sensor can be performed by converting the kinematic or kinetic state into a kinematic or kinetic state.

11. Aircraft, having a system according to claim 1.

12. Method for monitoring and/or detecting an operational state of a movable component of an aircraft having a system according to claim 1, wherein the method comprises the following steps: detecting a kinematic and/or kinetic state of a component using a combination sensor, monitoring and/or detecting an operational state of the component.

13. Method according to claim 12, wherein the operational state comprises or is a skew of the component and/or a disconnect of the component from a structure.

14. Method according to claim 12, wherein a disconnect of the component that takes place in front of an area in which the combination sensor is arranged, takes place by detecting a kinematic and kinetic state of the component and a disconnect of the component that takes place behind an area in which the combination sensor is arranged, takes place only by detecting a kinetic state of the component.

15. Method according to claim 12, wherein monitoring and/or detecting an operational state of the component is performed by detecting a kinematic state of the component after a kinetic state of the component reaches or exceeds a limit value and/or in that monitoring and/or detecting an operational state of the component is performed by detecting a kinetic state of the component after a kinematic state of the component reaches or exceeds a limit value.

16. System according to claim, wherein the kinematic sensor and the kinetic sensor share an element.

17. System according to claim 16, wherein the kinematic sensor and the kinetic sensor share exactly, a measuring coil.

18. System according to claim 17, wherein the kinematic sensor and the kinetic sensor have a common housing at least in certain areas.

19. System according to claim 18, where the certain areas include a leading-edge slat or a landing flap, an actuator and/or a drive train.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

[0044] Further advantages, features and effects of the present disclosure are shown in the following description of exemplary embodiments with reference to the figures, in which the same or similar components are designated by the same reference numerals. In the figures:

[0045] FIG. 1 shows a schematic view of an embodiment of a system according to the disclosure.

[0046] FIG. 2 shows a schematic view of an embodiment of a system from the prior art.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0047] FIG. 1 shows a system according to the disclosure with two flaps 1 of an aircraft 100. A flap 1 is driven by two actuators 2. Each actuator 2 has a combination sensor 3. The actuators 2 are driven via a drive train, which is driven by a drive unit 4. The drive train has a brake 5. An asymmetry sensor 6 is also provided.

[0048] FIG. 2 shows a conversion from the prior art, which has a position sensor 3a independently connected to the flap instead of a combination sensor 3.

[0049] In other words, position and torque sensors are combined in one device, i.e. in a combination sensor for monitoring skew and/or disconnect errors in a high-lift system.

[0050] Optionally, position and torque sensors are integrated in an actuator and/or in a device at an output. The combination sensor may have a single housing, such as the actuator 2 housing 101.

[0051] Optionally, the system has single flap actuators with sensors in the actuator only, without the additional need for sensors on or very close to the flap.

[0052] Optionally, information from absolute and/or incremental position sensors and torque sensors is used together to mutually increase the robustness of the monitoring by a control unit of the aircraft having a processor with instructions therein for receiving the output of the combination sensor 3 and monitoring performance of the aircraft components in FIG. 1 in response to the sensor outputs as described herein.

[0053] Optionally, the torque information is used to detect a load zero crossing and the information is used to enable incremental sensors with higher resolution and/or less hysteresis.

[0054] Optionally, the position and/or load information is used to monitor the correct function of the other sensor type.

[0055] It is advantageous to combine two sensor systems, e.g. a load sensor and a position sensor, and to combine the advantages of the respective sensor systems in one concept.

[0056] In an advantageous way, the robustness of the skew and/or disconnect monitoring device is increased by using both sets of sensor information.

[0057] In an advantageous manner, both sensors are integrated at an easily accessible location that is more accessible than a location at which known position sensors are arranged.

[0058] The use of a plurality of sensor technologies has the advantage of reducing the amount of cabling required.

[0059] In an advantageous manner, the required resolution of the respective sensors is reduced. For example, a discrete sensor can be used instead of an absolute sensor for position detection and/or a lower resolution can be used for load detection. This is a more cost-effective implementation.

[0060] In an advantageous manner, the sensors monitor each other's function and thus exclude or reduce dormant faults, for example my comparing the variation of each sensor's output in real-time to confirm that motion changes correspond with torque changes for proper functioning.

[0061] In an advantageous manner, the installation effort during assembly is reduced by combining two sensors.

[0062] In an advantageous manner, the accessibility of the sensors to be installed is improved.

[0063] In an advantageous manner, the required installation space is reduced.

[0064] In an advantageous manner, costs are reduced by sharing components, e.g. a solenoid coil, a plug, a housing and/or cabling.

[0065] In an advantageous manner, the robustness of the monitoring functions is increased.

[0066] In an advantageous manner, a load reduction is achieved in the actuator and in the affected structure by reducing the forces that occur in the event of a fault.

[0067] In an advantageous manner, the sensors, in particular both sensors, monitor each other's function and thus exclude or reduce dormant faults.

[0068] The combination sensor is arranged as close as possible to the component, e.g. flap, in particular in order to be able to monitor the event of a disconnect in all necessary components.

[0069] The combination sensor is designed and arranged in such a way as to detect and/or limit the required differential angles or loads to the required extent in all relevant skew and/or disconnect conditions.

[0070] The combination sensor combines all the functionalities of prior art sensors in one unit and extends them to include load measurement and monitoring of the sensor technology.

[0071] The known faults that lead to a skew or a powered skew usually have a fault location in front of the measuring point of torque and/or position of an actuator. Therefore, the monitoring of skew errors can be carried out via the two sensors in particular or together in combination. Optionally, the resolution of the monitoring can be increased or the robustness can be increased by using the sensor information, in particular from both sensors.

[0072] Optionally, all faults are detected in front of the measuring point in the actuator via position-based and/or torque-based measurements. All faults that occur behind the measuring point are recognised via pure torque measurement. Here too, the robustness and resolution of the combination sensor can be advantageous.

[0073] The robustness as well as the recognisability of error cases can be increased by introducing a combined monitoring of both values. For example, load difference monitoring can only be activated if the difference angles are greater than a certain value.

[0074] This can also be the case in reverse, i.e. differential angle monitoring is only activated when a minimum load is present. By combining both measuring principles, depending on the current position, a more robust limit value can be defined for each of the individual monitoring devices without exceeding the required target values.

[0075] Optionally, in the case of independent measuring principles, it is therefore also possible to compare both sensor values and/or sensor differences of a flap or the opposing wings with each other or the deviation from the measured position (APPU, PPU) and thus to make a statement about the function of the sensors via a correlation of the differences and/or deviations. When converting the differential position via the stiffness to a load, the values of the position sensors can thus be compared to the values of the torque sensors.

[0076] With incremental measuring systems, the achievable accuracy is also influenced by the occurring clearances and stiffnesses. Higher accuracy can be achieved with these systems if the additional information on load direction is available. This advantage can therefore have a significant impact and enable the benefit of cost-effective incremental systems.

[0077] It is particularly advantageous if the combination sensor is designed in such a way that parts of the measuring systems can be used together in the combination sensor, thus enabling the functionality of certain function groups to be checked. For example, the same measuring coil can be used for torque and position measurement.

[0078] The selection of the position of the sensors, e.g. input or output, can also be changed by combining the sensors, which would not be possible if only one sensor principle were used due to an independent connection to the structure. This means that the combination sensor can only be arranged in the actuator and no other sensors can be arranged in the structure, i.e. in moving parts.