Aircraft Landing Identification Using Wheel Pulse Voting
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional aircraft systems fail to accurately identify landing events, leading to suboptimal performance when landing systems like weight on wheels (WOW) or landing gear down lock malfunction, necessitating alternative methods to determine landing occurrences.
Innovation Solution
A landing identification system that measures angular displacement of wheels over time, compares the data to a threshold value, and uses a voting scheme among multiple wheels to verify landing events, reducing false positives and signal noise through a combination of wheel speed sensors, timers, comparators, and monostable multivibrators.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional aircraft systems use weight on wheels (WOW) or landing gear down lock signals to identify landing events, then the landing identification is simple to implement, but the system reliability deteriorates when landing systems fail
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the landing identification function into multiple independent measurement channels by monitoring angular displacement of multiple wheels separately. Each wheel's sensor data is processed independently through comparators and logic circuits, allowing the system to identify landing events through redundant measurements rather than relying on a single landing system signal.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces wheel angular displacement sensors as intermediary measurement elements that indirectly detect landing events. Instead of directly using landing system signals, the system uses wheel rotation measurements as an intermediate indicator that reflects the landing state, providing an alternative detection path when primary landing systems fail.
2Measurement precision
If the system uses wheel angular displacement measurements to identify landing events, then the landing identification accuracy improves, but the device complexity increases due to additional sensors and processing circuits
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes the wheel angular displacement measurement system serve multiple functions: it provides both normal operational data for flight control and serves as a backup landing detection system. The same sensors and basic circuits used for wheel speed monitoring are also utilized for landing event identification, eliminating the need for separate dedicated landing sensors.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses its existing wheel speed measurement infrastructure to automatically provide landing detection capability. The same pulse counters and timing circuits that measure wheel rotation for flight control purposes also generate landing identification signals when appropriate threshold conditions are met, making the system self-sufficient without requiring external dedicated landing detection equipment.
3Reliability
If the system processes pulse information from multiple wheels to reduce false positives, then the landing identification reliability improves, but the processing time and computational load increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs periodic sampling of wheel angular displacement data at fixed time intervals using timer circuits. Instead of continuously processing all pulse information, the system periodically evaluates accumulated pulse counts against threshold values, reducing processing overhead while maintaining reliable detection of landing events that occur within each sampling period.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent processes pulse information from multiple wheels but only fully utilizes data from wheels that meet specific criteria or show consistent landing-indicating patterns. The system may process excessive data initially through simple counters and then apply more intensive analysis only to subsets of data that appear relevant, reducing overall processing time while maintaining high reliability through selective detailed examination.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods disclosed herein may be useful for use in landing identification. In this regard, a method is provided comprising receiving pulse information over a first time period, wherein the pulse information is indicative of an angular distance traveled by a first wheel, comparing the pulse information to a threshold value, and determining a likelihood of a landing event based upon the comparison. In various embodiments, a system is provided comprising a monstable multivibrator in electrical communication with a metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET), a resistor-capacitor network in electrical communication with the MOSFET, and a comparator that receives a voltage from the resistor-capacitor network and a reference voltage.