Page 1 US 20140061382A1 (19) United States (12) Patent
Contents
1. US 2014 0061382 1 Mar 6 2014 Sheet 2 of 2 Patent Application Publication ie re eet emt ig ae le te 096 AYOISIH Luvd d3LY134409 l l l JNI NI NOLLVTSYNO9 l l l viva l este NOLLVENOLINOD I OZE LaVYOUlV 016 l l l l l l l oze 2 3 1 2 2 222 L__ SNC eee SE EE 4 1 8 0 US 2014 0061382 Al LONG AND SHORT RANGE STORAGE AND TRANSMISSION SYSTEM ON AIRCRAFT PARTS TECHNICAL FIELD 0001 This invention relates generally to storage solutions on aircraft parts and more particularly to long and short range storage and transmission system on aircraft parts BACKGROUND 0002 aircraft such as rotorcraft may be manufac tured from a variety of parts Some of these parts may be moved between aircraft Some of these parts may also be serviced maintained and or replaced during the life of the part SUMMARY 0003 Particular embodiments of the present disclosure may provide one or more technical advantages A technical advantage of one embodiment may include the capability to store and transmit aircraft configuration and part history information from a part on an aircraft A technical advantage of one embodiment may include the capability to increase the transmission range for aircraft configuration information and increase the storage ca2. Users 5 may be associated with an organization An organization may include any social arrangement that pursues collective goals One example of an organization is a business A business is an organization designed to provide goods or services or both to consumers governmental entities and or other businesses 0034 Computer system 10 may include processors 12 input output devices 14 communications links 16 and memory 18 In other embodiments computer system 10 may include more less or other components Computer system may be operable to perform one or more operations of various embodiments Although the embodiment shown provides one example of computer system 10 that may be used with other embodiments such other embodiments may utilize comput ers other than computer system 10 Additionally embodi ments may also employ multiple computer systems 10 or other computers networked together in one or more public and or private computer networks such as one or more net works 30 0035 Processors 12 represent devices operable to execute logic contained within a medium Examples of processor 12 include one or more microprocessors one or more applica tions and or other logic Computer system 10 may include one or multiple processors 12 0036 Input output devices 14 may include any device interface operable to enable communication between com puter system 10 and external components including commu nication with a user or ano
3. tropical environments where the air is more saturated with humidity As another example rotorcraft 100 may operate in marine environments where the air has higher levels of salinity which may cause corrosion As yet another example rotor craft 100 may operate in deserts where sand and other par ticulates may wear down rotorcraft components 0025 Such environmental stresses are not limited to when rotorcraft 100 is flying For example operation of rotorcraft 100 in a desert environment may include both flying rotor craft 100 and parking rotorcraft 100 between flights In this example both flying and parking rotorcraft 100 may subject rotorcraft 100 to sand and other particulates 0026 Damage to part 200 may depend on the severity of exposure to environmental stresses For example damage may result from prolonged exposure from environmental stresses In addition damage may result from extreme expo sure to environmental stresses even if such exposure is short lived Furthermore some parts 200 may be more susceptible to prolonged exposure to environmental stresses whereas other parts may be more susceptible to extreme environmen tal stresses US 2014 0061382 Al 0027 Aircraft parts may be designed to withstand expected environmental stresses Different aircraft may fly in many different environments however Some aircraft may be exposed to more environmental stresses whereas other air craft may be exposed to less environme
4. wirelessly or through a wired connection In this example environmental sensor 230 may be configured to communicate environmental history information to second storage device 220 over an extended period of time e g multiple flights or missions 0030 Insome embodiments however environmental sen sor 230 may be a sacrificial sensor Sacrificial sensors are sensors that are permanently altered after performing one or more measurements such that the sacrificial sensor must be replaced before performing additional measurements For example some corrosivity sensors may detect corrosion of nearby parts by itself becoming corroded In some embodi ments measurements from sacrificial sensors may be col lected by a worker at the time of replacement who may upload these measurements to second storage device 220 In some embodiments these measurements may be associated with an approximate timestamp indicating when the mea surements are believed to have been taken Alternatively measurements may be associated with a known period of exposure based on an installation timestamp indicating when the sensor was installed and a removal timestamp 0031 In the example of FIG 2A environmental sensor 230 is coupled to part 200 In some embodiments however environmental sensor 230 may be coupled proximate to part 200 but not necessarily to part 200 For example if part 200 is a bearing environmental sensor 230 may be coupled to a surfac
5. 100 Fuselage 130 represents the body of rotorcraft 100 and may be coupled to rotor system 110 such that rotor system 110 and blades 120 may move fuselage 130 through the air Landing gear 140 supports rotorcraft 100 when rotorcraft 100 is land ing and or when rotorcraft 100 is at rest on the ground Empennage 150 represents the tail section of the aircraft and features components of a rotor system 110 and blades 120 Mar 6 2014 Blades 120 may provide thrust in the same direction as the rotation of blades 120 so as to counter the torque effect created by rotor system 110 and blades 120 Teachings of certain embodiments relating to rotor systems described herein may apply to rotor system 110 and or other rotor systems such as other tilt rotor and helicopter rotor systems It should also be appreciated that teachings regarding rotor craft 100 may apply to aircraft and vehicles other than rotor craft such as airplanes and unmanned aircraft to name a few examples 0010 An aircraft such as a rotorcraft may be manufac tured from a variety of parts Some of these parts may be moved between aircraft Some of these parts may also be serviced maintained and or replaced during the life of the part 0011 Workers may track aircraft part configurations by periodically recording which parts are installed on a particu lar aircraft To perform this task workers may inspect the aircraft and record a part number or serial number for each par
6. 200 and determine the environmental history of the cor responding aircraft Such correlated part and aircraft history may be stored in correlated part history 340 0044 Modifications additions or omissions may be made to the systems and apparatuses described herein without departing from the scope of the invention The components of the systems and apparatuses may be integrated or separated Moreover the operations of the systems and apparatuses may be performed by more fewer or other components The methods may include more fewer or other steps Addition ally steps may be performed in any suitable order 0045 Although several embodiments have been illus trated and described in detail it will be recognized that sub stitutions and alterations are possible without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims 0046 To aid the Patent Office and any readers of any patent issued on this application in interpreting the claims appended hereto applicants wish to note that they do not intend any of the appended claims to invoke paragraph 6 of 35 U S C 8112 as it exists on the date of filing hereof unless the words means for or step for are explicitly used in the particular claim What is claimed is 1 A rotorcraft comprising a body a power train coupled to the body and comprising a power source and a drive shaft coupled to the power source a hub a rotor blade c
7. 23 The aircraft part storage system of claim 22 wherein the environmental condition sensor is configured to transmit environmental data to the second storage device for storage
8. US 20140061382 1 as United States Patent Application Publication Pub No US 2014 0061382 1 Tucker 43 Pub Date Mar 6 2014 54 LONG AND SHORT RANGE STORAGE AND 52 U S Cl TRANSMISSION SYSTEM ON AIRCRAFT B64F 5 0036 2013 01 PARTS USPC 2441 R 75 Inventor Brian E Tucker Fort Worth TX US 57 ABSTRACT 73 Assignee BELL HELICOPTER TEXTRON According to one embodiment an aircraft part storage system INC Fort Worth TX US includes a first storage device and a second storage device 21 Appl No 13 597 717 The first storage device is configured to be coupled to an be aircraft part and operable to store and transmit a first set of 22 Filed Aug 29 2012 information about the aircraft part The second storage device is configured to be coupled to the same aircraft part and Publication Classification operable to store and transmit a second set of information about the aircraft part The second storage device has a larger 51 Int Cl storage capacity than the first storage device but a shorter B64F 5 00 2006 01 transmission range than the first storage device 200 FIRST SECOND MEMORY MEMORY DEVICE DEVICE US 2014 0061382 1 Mar 6 2014 Sheet 1 of 2 Patent Application Publication dc DIA ASIA AXOWSW 5 15414 1002 Ve DIA 51 30 935 002 AIAG AYOWAW 15414
9. ch as network 30 Network 30 may represent any number and combination of wireline and or wireless networks suit able for data transmission Network 30 may for example communicate internet protocol packets frame relay frames asynchronous transfer mode cells and or other suitable data between network addresses Network 30 may include a public or private data network one or more intranets a local area network LAN a metropolitan area network MAN a wide area network WAN a wireline or wireless network a local regional or global communication network an optical net work a satellite network a cellular network an enterprise intranet all or a portion of the Internet other suitable com munication links or any combination of the preceding Although the illustrated embodiment shows one network 30 teachings of certain embodiments recognize that more or fewer networks may be used and that not all elements may communicate via a network Teachings of certain embodi ments also recognize that communications over a network is one example of a mechanism for communicating between parties and any suitable mechanism may be used 0041 Aircraft configuration data repository 310 may store aircraft configuration information from first storage device 210 For example aircraft configuration data repository 310 may store for a certain aircraft the part and serial numbers for each part installed on the aircraft at a certain time Aircraft config
10. e may be appropriate for maintenance information because storage capacity may be a higher priority than transmission range e g because maintenance information is used primarily by workers that have direct contact with the aircraft part when servicing or replacing the part 0016 FIG 2A shows a part 200 according to one embodi ment Part 200 may represent an aircraft part associated with an aircraft such as rotorcraft 100 of FIG 1 For example part 200 may represent a rotor blade an abrasion strip on a rotor blade a bearing or any number of other parts 0017 Inthe example of FIG 2A a first storage device 210 and a second storage device 220 are coupled to part 200 In some embodiments first storage device 210 and or second storage device 220 may be coupled proximate to part 200 but not necessarily to part 200 For example if part 200 is a bearing first storage device 210 and or second storage device 220 may be coupled to a surface near part 200 0018 First storage device 210 may be operable to store and transmit a first set of information identifying part 200 Examples of first storage device 210 may include but are not limited to passive and active radio frequency identification RFID tags RFID is the use of a wireless non contact system that uses radio frequency electromagnetic fields to transfer data from a tag attached to or near an object Passive RFID tags may not require a battery but rather may be powered by the elec
11. e near part 200 As another example part 200 and environmental sensor 230 may be located in the same enclosed area such as shown in FIG 2B For example a humidity sensor may be located in areas within rotorcraft 100 where humidity may build up due to humidity in the air surrounding rotorcraft 100 Mar 6 2014 0032 FIG 3 shows aircraft part information correlation system 300 according to one example embodiment In gen eral system 300 features an aircraft configuration data reposi tory 310 a part history repository 320 a correlation engine 330 and a correlated part history repository 340 Aircraft configuration data repository 310 and part history repository 320 may receive information from first storage device 210 and second storage device 220 through interfaces 315 and 325 respectively In one example embodiment interface 315 is an RFID tag scanner and interface 325 is a CMB reader 0033 Users 5 may access system 100 through computer systems 10 For example in some embodiments users 5 may access aircraft configuration data repository 310 part history repository 320 correlation engine 330 and correlated part history repository 340 through computer systems 10 Users 5 may include any individual group of individuals entity machine and or mechanism that interacts with computer sys tems 10 Examples of users 5 include but are not limited to a pilot service person engineer technician contractor agent and or employee
12. environment of which the aircraft part is subject to 8 The rotorcraft of claim 7 wherein the environmental condition sensor is configured to transmit environmental data to the second storage device for storage 9 The rotorcraft of claim 7 wherein the environmental condition sensor is coupled to the aircraft part 10 An aircraft part storage system comprising a first storage device configured to be coupled to an aircraft part and operable to store and transmit a first set of information about the aircraft part and a second storage device configured to be coupled to the same aircraft part and operable to store and transmit a second set of information about the aircraft part the second storage device having a larger storage capacity than the first storage device but a shorter transmission range than the first storage device 11 The aircraft part storage system of claim 10 wherein the first set of information about the aircraft part comprises information identifying the aircraft part 12 The aircraft part storage system of claim 11 wherein the information identifying the aircraft part comprises a part number unique to a category of parts Mar 6 2014 13 The aircraft part storage system of claim 11 wherein the information identifying the aircraft part comprises a serial number unique to the individual aircraft part 14 The aircraft part storage system of claim 11 wherein the information identifying the aircraft part consist
13. ers using the same wireless communication tech nique Teachings of certain embodiments recognize how ever numerous problems associated with using the same communication technique to transmit both aircraft configu ration information and maintenance information For example in general transmitting larger amounts of informa tion may necessarily require an increase in power consump tion and or a decrease in transmission range Maintenance information may include much larger amounts of information than aircraft configuration information and transmitting maintenance information with aircraft configuration infor mation may increase the power consumption necessary to transmit the aircraft configuration information and or reduce the transmission range of the aircraft configuration informa tion 0015 Teachings of certain embodiments recognize there fore the ability to optimize the tradeoff between transmission range versus storage capacity by providing two storage and transmission devices a long range transmission device hav ing a limited amount of storage and a short range transmis US 2014 0061382 Al sion device having a greater amount of storage In some embodiments the long range transmission device may store and transmit aircraft configuration information whereas the short range transmission device may store and transmit main tenance information Unlike aircraft configuration informa tion the short range transmission devic
14. le computer readable and or computer executable storage medium Examples of memory 18 include computer memory for example Random Access Memory RAM or Read Only Memory ROM mass storage media for example a hard disk removable storage media for example a Compact Disk CD or a Digital Video Disk DVD database and or network storage for example a server and or other com puter readable medium 0039 some embodiments memory 18 stores logic 20 Logic 20 facilitates operation of computer system 10 Logic 20 may include hardware software and or other logic Logic 20 may be encoded in one or more tangible non transitory media and may perform operations when executed by a com puter Logic 20 may include a computer program software computer executable instructions and or instructions capable of being executed by computer system 10 Example logic 20 may include any of the well known OS2 UNIX Mac OS Linux and Windows Operating Systems or other operating systems In particular embodiments the operations of the embodiments may be performed by one or more computer readable media storing embodied with and or encoded with a computer program and or having a stored and or an encoded computer program Logic 20 may also be embedded within any other suitable medium without departing from the scope of the invention 0040 Various communications between computers 10 or components of computers 10 may occur across a network su
15. ntal stresses Accord ingly teachings of certain embodiments recognize the capa bility to measure and store an environmental history of part 200 0028 In the example of FIG 2A part 200 features an environmental sensor 230 Environmental sensor 230 may measure aspects of the natural environment of which part 200 is subject to Examples of environmental sensor 230 may include but are not limited to a humidity sensor a salinity sensor a corrosivity sensor a particulate sensor a pressure sensor and a vibration sensor Humidity sensors are operable to measure humidity in the atmosphere proximate to part 200 Salinity sensors are operable to measure salinity in the atmo sphere proximate to part 200 Corrosivity sensors are oper able to measure existence of corrosive substances proximate to part 200 or conditions favorable for corrosion part 200 Particulate sensors are operable to measure existence of par ticulates proximate to part 200 Particulate sensors may also measure the size and density of particulates as well as other information Pressure sensors may measure and determine information such as ambient air pressure or pressure alti tude and dynamic air pressure such that airspeed may be determined Vibration sensors may measure vibration forces on part 200 0029 In the example of FIG 2A environmental sensor 230 is configured to communicate environmental history information directly to second storage device 220 either
16. ore a service manual indicating how part 200 should be inspected as well as information detailing the results of previous inspections of part 200 0023 Teachings of certain embodiments also recognize that maintaining this second set of information with part 200 may make the second set of information more useful for workers For example storing maintenance records with the part makes such information more accessible as compared to storing such information in a database Not only may it be more convenient to collect such information when the worker is physically working with the part but the worker may not even have access to databases The worker may not even have access to the internet which could make it difficult for the worker to access service manuals for the part Furthermore different part models may be associated with different service manual versions and storing the appropriate service manual locally with the part may help ensure that the worker uses the correct service manual when servicing the part For example different part models may have different damage limits and it may be important for workers to access the correct service manual in order to apply the correct damage limit values when servicing the part 0024 In some embodiments second storage device 220 may store environmental history of part 200 In general some aircraft parts may be subject to different environmental stresses For example rotorcraft 100 may operate in
17. oupled to the hub an aircraft part and an aircraft part storage system comprising a first storage device coupled to the aircraft part and operable to store and transmit a first set of information identifying the aircraft part and asecond storage device coupled to the same aircraft part and operable to store and transmit a second set of information about the aircraft part the second storage device having a larger storage capacity than the first storage device but a shorter transmission range than the first storage device 2 The rotorcraft of claim 1 wherein the first storage device comprises a radio frequency identification tag US 2014 0061382 Al 3 The rotorcraft of claim 1 wherein the second storage device comprises a contact memory button 4 The rotorcraft of claim 3 wherein the first set of infor mation identifying the aircraft part comprises a part number unique to a category of parts 5 The rotorcraft of claim 3 wherein the first set of infor mation identifying the aircraft part comprises a serial number unique to the individual aircraft part 6 The rotorcraft of claim 1 wherein the second set of information about the aircraft part comprises a maintenance history of the aircraft part 7 The rotorcraft of claim 1 further comprising an environ mental condition sensor coupled to the rotorcraft proximate to the aircraft part the environmental condition sensor oper able to measure at least one aspect ofa natural
18. pacity for part history information A technical advantage of one embodiment may include the capability to eliminate the need for access to the Internet or part databases when servicing an aircraft part 0004 Certain embodiments of the present disclosure may include some all or none of the above advantages One or more other technical advantages may be readily apparent to those skilled in the art from the figures descriptions and claims included herein BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 0005 To provide a more complete understanding of the present invention and the features and advantages thereof reference is made to the following description taken in con junction with the accompanying drawings in which 0006 FIG 1 shows a rotorcraft according to one example embodiment 0007 FIGS 2A and 2B show parts associated with the rotorcraft of FIG 1 according to one example embodiment and 0008 FIG 3 shows an aircraft part information correlation system according to one example embodiment DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 0009 FIG 1 shows a rotorcraft 100 according to one example embodiment Rotorcraft 100 features a rotor system 110 blades 120 a fuselage 130 a landing gear 140 and an empennage 150 Rotor system 110 may rotate blades 120 Rotor system 110 may include a control system for selec tively controlling the pitch of each blade 120 in order to selectively control direction thrust and lift of rotorcraft
19. s of a part number unique to a category of parts and a serial number unique to the individual aircraft part 15 The aircraft part storage system of claim 10 wherein the second set of information about the aircraft part comprises a maintenance history of the aircraft part 16 The aircraft part storage system of claim 10 wherein the second set of information about the aircraft part comprises maintenance information about the aircraft part 17 The aircraft part storage system of claim 10 wherein the second set of information about the aircraft part comprises an environmental history of the aircraft part 18 The aircraft part storage system of claim 10 wherein the first storage device comprises a radio frequency identifi cation tag 19 The aircraft part storage system of claim 10 wherein the second storage device comprises a contact memory but ton 20 The aircraft part storage system of claim 10 wherein the first storage device is operable to wirelessly transmit the first set of information 21 The aircraft part storage system of claim 10 wherein the second storage device is operable to transmit the second set of information in response to physical contact 22 The aircraft part storage system of claim 10 further comprising an environmental condition sensor coupled to the aircraft part the environmental condition sensor operable to measure at least one aspect ofa natural environment of which the aircraft part is subject to
20. t installed In some cases such a task may be very resource intensive For example aircraft may include a large number of parts and some of these parts may be not convenient to the workers e g inside a small compartment or located high off the ground Accordingly teachings of certain embodiments recognize the capability to wirelessly transmit aircraft con figuration information to workers 0012 Workers may also use maintenance information of aircraft part when servicing maintaining and or replacing the part For example workers may access maintenance information describing a history of the aircraft part e g maintenance history environmental history service history repair history as well as service manuals indicating how the part should be inspected and maintained 0013 In some circumstances such maintenance informa tion may be stored in a database accessible by the workers Such a database however may not always be accessible by the workers For example the aircraft may undergo repair in remote locations where database access is not available Accordingly teachings of certain embodiments recognize the ability to provide a storage medium with the aircraft part that is configured to store maintenance information about the part 0014 As stated above aircraft configuration information may be transmitted wirelessly to workers It may be possible therefore to also wirelessly transmit maintenance informa tion to work
21. ther system Example input output devices 14 may include but are not limited to a mouse keyboard display and printer 0037 Network interfaces 16 are operable to facilitate communication between computer system 10 and another element of a network such as other computer systems 10 Network interfaces 16 may connect to any number and com bination of wireline and or wireless networks suitable for data transmission including transmission of communica tions Network interfaces 16 may for example communicate audio and or video signals messages internet protocol pack ets frame relay frames asynchronous transfer mode cells and or other suitable data between network addresses Net work interfaces 16 connect to a computer network ora variety of other communicative platforms including but not limited to a public switched telephone network PSTN a public or private data network one or more intranets a local area network LAN a metropolitan area network MAN a wide US 2014 0061382 Al area network WAN a wireline or wireless network a local regional or global communication network an optical net work a satellite network a cellular network an enterprise intranet all or a portion of the Internet other suitable network interfaces or any combination of the preceding 0038 Memory 18 represents any suitable storage mecha nism and may store any data for use by computer system 10 Memory 18 may comprise one or more tangib
22. torage device 220 may include but is not limited to a contact memory button CMB or flash memory device CMBs are electronic devices that can receive store and or transmit information when contacted with a touch probe CMBs may have a larger storage transmission capacity than RFID tags but may also have a shorter transmission range For example CMBs may store approximately four gigabytes of information whereas an RFID tag may store approximately Mar 6 2014 512 bits of information The CMBs however may have a 0 foot transmission range i e transmits information only when contacted whereas the 512 bit RFID tag may transmit information up to 20 feet 0021 Another example of second storage device 220 may include but is not limited to a higher capacity RFID tags For example a higher capacity RFID tag may store approxi mately 4000 or 8000 bytes of information This higher ca pacity RFID tag however may only have a transmission range of approximately 4 feet which is substantially smaller than the 20 foot transmission range of a 512 bit RFID tag 0022 Second storage device 220 may store a myriad of information about part 200 For example storage device 200 may store information describing a history of part 200 e g maintenance history environmental history service history repair history as well as service manuals indicating how the part should be inspected and maintained For example sec ond storage device 220 may st
23. tromagnetic fields used to read them Active RFID tags on the other hand may usea local power source and emit radio waves electromagnetic radiation at radio frequencies An RFID tag may contain electronically stored information which can be read at a distance Unlike a bar code the RFID tag does not necessarily need to be within line of sight of the reader and may even be embedded in the tracked object 0019 In some embodiments the first set of information stored and transmitted by first storage device 210 may repre sent the aircraft configuration information from the previous example For example the first set of information identifying the aircraft part may include a part number unique to a cat egory of aircraft parts and a serial number unique to the individual aircraft part As stated above the more information that is stored and transmitted may reduce the transmission range of first storage device 210 Accordingly teachings of certain embodiments recognize that limiting first storage device 210 to a small amount of information e g only part number and serial number may optimize the transmission range of first storage device 210 0020 Second storage device 220 may be operable to store and transmit a second set of information about part 200 Second storage device 210 may have a larger storage trans mission capacity than first storage device 210 but may also have a shorter transmission range For example one example of second s
24. uration data repository 310 may store such information for multiple aircraft and over a period of time such that one may determine both how aircraft configurations have changed over time and how parts have moved over time For Mar 6 2014 example aircraft configuration data repository 310 may indi cate for a certain aircraft part whether or not the aircraft part has been in service and if so each aircraft in which the part has been installed 0042 Part history repository 320 may store part informa tion from second storage device 220 For example part his tory repository 320 may store for a certain aircraft part maintenance history environmental history service history and repair history In some embodiments information stored in part history repository 320 may duplicate information stored by second storage device 220 proximate to part 200 0043 Correlation engine 330 may correlate information between aircraft configuration data repository 310 and part history repository 320 For example part history repository 320 may include environmental history information for part 200 but may not indicate the aircraft associated with part 200 at the time the environmental history was recorded Correla tion engine 330 may identify the aircraft corresponding to part 200 during the environmental history by referring to aircraft configuration data repository 310 In this manner correlation engine 330 may take environmental history for part
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