Smart Sensor Redundancy in Digital Aircraft Monitoring Networks
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Aircrafts face significant weight and cost issues due to the numerous analog sensors and redundant wiring required for monitoring critical physical components, leading to increased fuel consumption and maintenance costs.
Innovation Solution
Implementing smart sensor devices with primary and backup sensing functions that can communicate and coordinate with each other to perform both primary and backup sensing tasks, reducing the need for redundant sensors and wiring.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If dedicated redundant sensors are used for each physical component, then safety and reliability are improved, but aircraft weight and associated costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies multi-functionality by enabling smart sensors to perform both their primary sensing function and a backup sensing function. Each smart sensor is configured with a primary function for sensing a specific physical component and a backup function for sensing another physical component. When the primary sensor fails, the backup sensor automatically activates to provide redundant monitoring, thereby maintaining safety while reducing the total number of sensors required.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent combines multiple sensing functions into a single smart sensor device. Instead of using separate dedicated sensors for primary and backup functions, the invention merges these functions into one intelligent sensor that can dynamically switch between different sensing roles based on system needs and sensor operational status.
2Reliability
If multiple redundant sensors are installed for each critical component, then monitoring reliability is improved, but installation and maintenance costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
Smart sensors are designed with universal functionality to perform multiple sensing roles. Each sensor contains a primary sensing function for its designated component and a backup sensing function for another component. This multi-functionality reduces the total sensor count, thereby lowering installation complexity and maintenance costs while preserving monitoring reliability through automatic failover capabilities.
3Reliability
If analog sensors with dedicated wiring are used for each component, then sensing reliability is maintained, but aircraft weight and fuel consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces traditional analog sensing systems with digital smart sensor devices that communicate through digital networks. This substitution eliminates the need for extensive analog wiring infrastructure, significantly reducing aircraft weight and associated fuel consumption while maintaining sensing reliability through digital communication protocols and networked architecture.
Solution Approach 2:
Smart sensors provide multi-functional capabilities including primary sensing, backup sensing, self-diagnostics, and communication through digital networks. This universal functionality consolidates multiple system roles into single devices, reducing overall system weight and fuel consumption compared to traditional dedicated analog sensor installations.
Data Source
AI summary
Techniques for employing a smart sensor device (102) that has a primary sensing function for sensing a state of a physical component and can concurrently enable one or more backup functions for sensing one or more states of one or more other physicals components in response to one or more other smart sensor devices (102 and/or 116) not being able to perform their primary function of sensing and/or reporting on the one or more states of the one or more other physical components.