Aircraft Actuator Monitoring Circuit for In-Flight Replacement Alerts
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing technologies do not allow for timely determination of actuator replacement needs during an airplane's flight, leading to delays in maintenance and impacting on-time performance.
Innovation Solution
An actuator unit with a monitoring circuit that calculates the moving distance of a piston and outputs a notification signal when it exceeds a predetermined threshold, enabling real-time monitoring and notification of replacement timing, even during flight, with a controller integrated to manage position control and notification.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If ground crew visually check the airplane for fluid leakage before and after flight or at predetermined intervals, then the actuator break down can be detected, but the detection is delayed and repair preparation takes time
Solution Approach 1:
The monitoring circuit performs preliminary detection of actuator status by continuously measuring piston moving distance during flight operations. When the moving distance approaches a predetermined threshold indicating impending failure, the system generates a notification signal in advance, allowing maintenance personnel to prepare repairs before the actuator actually fails, thus eliminating detection delays and reducing repair preparation time.
2Reliability
If actuator monitoring and position control are performed by separate systems, then each function can be optimized independently, but the number of components increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the actuator monitoring circuit and the position control system into a single integrated unit. The monitoring circuit shares the piston position detection infrastructure with the control system, using the same sensors and signal processing pathways. This merging reduces the number of separate components while maintaining both the reliability of position control and the functionality of failure prediction through moving distance accumulation monitoring.
Data Source
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AI summary
An actuator monitoring circuit (1) which is mounted in an airplane and monitors an actuator (30) having a piston (output portion) calculates the moving distance of the piston, and outputs, when the moving distance exceeds a predetermined threshold, an approaching notification signal (78s) and a progression notification signal (79s) to notify the excess over the threshold.