The Boeing Company

Grant J Erickson

Arlene McKeeman Brown

Joe Heeter

Kari L Stromsland

Robert Steinle

David W Kwolek

Winson Taam

A device senses a static charge resulting from the impingement of particles on a surface, such as an aircraft's outer skin. The device includes a sensor adapted to be installed on the surface and a corona guard for guarding against corona discharge from the sensor.

Method and device for measuring static charge

A precipitation static sensor includes a bottom flexible dielectric layer (e.g., a layer of urethane tape) configured to be attached to a wing or other external surface of an aircraft, a flexible conductive layer (e.g., a layer of aluminum tape) formed over a portion of the first flexible dielectric layer, and a conductor (such as a twisted-pair wire) coupled to the flexible conductive layer. A top flexible dielectric layer is formed over a portion of the bottom dielectric layer and a portion of the flexible conductive layer, thus forming an exposed detector region. In accordance with a further embodiment, multiple such precipitation static sensors are used and coupled to a meter device (e.g., a picoammeter), which may also be coupled to a data acquisition and display for providing a visual indication of the charge accumulated by the precipitation static sensors.

Methods and apparatus for an in-flight precipitation static sensor

Growing community of inventors

Enumclaw, WA, United States of America

Grant J Erickson