The Boeing Company

Trent Daryl Miller

John J Gowan

Thomas Todd Griffith

Jay S Kallaher

Methods for reducing brake wear during aircraft taxiing are disclosed. As one example, a method comprises determining a sequence to apply brakes of a given set of landing gear during a brake event, wherein the determining includes selecting a warmer brake of the brakes to initially apply at a start of the brake event, and selecting a cooler brake of the brakes to subsequently apply when the warmer brake is released during the brake event. The method further comprises applying the warmer brake and the cooler brake in the determined sequence during the brake event. In another example, an aircraft brake system comprises brakes and a controller that is programmed to, during taxiing, apply a warmer subset of the brakes before applying a cooler subset of the brakes during a brake event.

Methods and brake systems to reduce brake wear during aircraft taxiing

Methods and Apparatus to monitor components of an aircraft landing system are disclosed herein. An example method includes determining an initial temperature of at least one of a wheel or a fuse plug based on a temperature value to be provided by a first temperature sensor; estimating a temperature of a brake assembly based on a temperature value provided by a second temperature sensor; after determining the initial temperature, estimating a subsequent temperature of the at least one of the wheel or the fuse plug; and determining if the subsequent temperature is a peak temperature.

Methods and apparatus to monitor components of an aircraft landing system

Methods and apparatuses for selecting a plurality of brake assemblies desired for activation during an aircraft taxi braking event from a total number of brake assemblies are disclosed. One method includes determining an estimated peak temperature for each brake assembly and determining a first subset of the brake assemblies having an estimated peak temperature within a predetermined temperature range. The method also includes determining whether the number of first subset brake assemblies is greater than or equal to the number of brake assemblies desired for braking. At least a portion of the first subset brake assemblies is then activated if the number of brake assemblies in the first subset is determined to be greater than or equal to the number of desired brake assemblies, wherein the number of brake assemblies in the activated portion of the first subset is greater than or equal to the number of desired brake assemblies.

Brake selection system and methods

A tire pressure monitoring system for wheeled vehicles is presented that uses a vehicle computer, a vehicle position sensor, a tire pressure sensor, and ambient temperature readings to determine whether the vehicle has remained stationary for a predetermined time period before determining and reporting cold tire pressure.

Tire pressure monitoring system

Methods and Apparatus to monitor components of an aircraft landing system are disclosed herein. An example method includes determining a first temperature of a wheel of an aircraft via a first temperature sensor, and determining a second temperature of a brake assembly operatively coupled to the wheel via a second temperature sensor. The example method further includes estimating a peak temperature of a fuse plug disposed on the wheel based on the first temperature and the second temperature.

An apparatus, method, and computer program product for monitoring a tire are provided. An apparatus comprises a laser system comprising a number of lasers configured to identify a radius of a tire of a vehicle located on a ground, wherein a laser in the number of lasers is associated with an axle of the tire. The apparatus also comprises a tire monitoring system configured to identify a set of acceptable radii for the tire using a weight of the vehicle and information about the tire, determine whether the radius of the tire is within the set of acceptable radii, and generate an indication that the radius of the tire is not within the set of acceptable radii comprising the radius of the tire responsive to an absence of a determination that the radius of the tire is within the set of acceptable radii.

Tire monitoring in vehicles

At low speeds, an antiskid/autobrake control system applies a brake release current to the antiskid valves of the brake system associated with selected wheels of an airplane to prevent brake shudder caused by gear walk. The control system obtains a measured wheelspeed value from each of the selected wheels and calculates a reference wheelspeed based the measured wheelspeed. Tests are made to determine if the reference wheelspeed is below some predetermined magnitude, e.g., 15 knots, and if the airplane ground speed is below some predetermined magnitude, e.g., 50 knots. If the tests are passed, the value of a low-speed brake release current to be applied to the antiskid valves of the airplane's brake system is determined. In order to prevent an abrupt change in braking, the low-speed brake release value ramps off as the airplane slows to a stop. Releasing some of the brakes results in the pilot increasing pressure on the remaining brakes, thereby eliminating brake shudder due to gear walk. Preferably, the low-speed brake release signal is only generated if a valid wheelspeed value has been detected in a predetermined period of time, e.g., 0.5 seconds. Further, a low-speed brake release current is generated only if the low-speed brake release current is greater than an antiskid control current.

Growing community of inventors

Seattle, WA, United States of America

Trent Daryl Miller