The present invention describes a drive system for an aircraft involving one or more nose wheel motors. Data regarding the nose wheel rotation is used to control the ground travel of the aircraft, to predict potential problems, to provide more precise control over the aircraft, and to improve aircra
The present invention describes a drive system for an aircraft involving one or more nose wheel motors. Data regarding the nose wheel rotation is used to control the ground travel of the aircraft, to predict potential problems, to provide more precise control over the aircraft, and to improve aircraft safety.
대표청구항▼
1. A drive system for an aircraft including two nosegear wheels and main gear wheels, comprising a. at least one onboard motor connected to at least one aircraft nosegear wheel or an aircraft main gear wheel for powering taxi operations of said aircraft;b. data collector means attached to said noseg
1. A drive system for an aircraft including two nosegear wheels and main gear wheels, comprising a. at least one onboard motor connected to at least one aircraft nosegear wheel or an aircraft main gear wheel for powering taxi operations of said aircraft;b. data collector means attached to said nosegear or a main gear for collecting data from said nosegear or main gear wheels or said at least one onboard motor relating to the operation of said wheels or said at least one onboard motor;c. data processor means for receiving and processing said data collected by said data collector means; andd. data compare means for comparing processed data from said data processor means and from sources other than said nosegear wheels or said at least one onboard motor, including said main gear wheels, wherein said compared data is used to control ground travel of said aircraft. 2. The drive system of claim 1, further including guidance system means for guiding operations selected from the group consisting of: automatic taxi, semi-automatic taxi, manual forward taxi, manual reverse taxi, manual steering taxi, dealing with uneven drive conditions, and pre-rotating wheels prior to landing based on said compared data. 3. The drive system of claim 1, wherein said data collector means comprises one or more sensors selected from the group consisting of speed sensors, torque sensors, and temperature sensors. 4. The drive system of claim 1, wherein said at least one onboard motor is mounted on an aircraft main gear wheel. 5. A method for controlling ground travel of an aircraft equipped with two nose wheels and an onboard motor located within each nose wheel to electrically power the nose wheel, said method comprising a. providing data collector means attached to said nose wheels and said motors for collecting data relating to the rotation of each said nose wheels and said onboard motors and collecting said data;b. providing data processor means to receive and process the collected data and receiving and processing the collected data;c. providing data compare means to compare the processed data with data from sources other than said nose wheels and said onboard motors and comparing the processed data with the data from other sources to compare between the rotational data of each nose wheel and onboard motor and determine the rate of change of the rotational data; andd. using the compared data to determine a desired speed or torque of the nose wheels or motors and driving the aircraft on the ground by electrically powering said onboard motors to move the nose wheels at the desired speed or torque. 6. A method for controlling ground travel of an aircraft equipped with two nose wheels and an onboard motor located within each nose wheel to electrically power the nose wheel, said method comprising a. providing data collector means for collecting data relating to the rotation of each said nose wheels and said onboard motors;b. providing data processor means to receive and process the collected data and receiving and processing the collected data;c. providing data compare means to compare the processed data with data from sources other than said nose wheels and said onboard motors and comparing the processed data with the data from other sources to compare between the rotational data of each nose wheel and onboard motor and determine the rate of change of the rotational data; andd. using the compared data to determine a desired speed or torque and driving the aircraft on the ground by electrically powering said onboard motors to move the nose wheels at the desired speed or torque, wherein said aircraft is steered during ground travel by providing a speed differential between the nose wheels. 7. The method of claim 6, wherein the speed differential between the nose wheels is provided by braking one of the nose wheels. 8. The method of claim 6, wherein said aircraft is driven on the ground in a forward direction or in a reverse direction, and said aircraft is driven in a reverse direction by applying a reversing gear between the onboard motor and the nose wheel or by supplying the onboard motor with electrical power to turn the nose wheel in a reverse direction. 9. The drive system of claim 1, wherein said at least one onboard motor is housed within the nosegear. 10. The drive system of claim 9, wherein said at least one onboard motor comprises an independently driven motor housed within each wheel of the nosegear. 11. The drive system of claim 10, wherein said data collector means comprises a data collector connected to the motor within each nosegear wheel for collecting data regarding rotational operation of the wheel by the measurement of motor characteristics, wherein said motor characteristics are selected from the group consisting of: motor speed, motor torque, motor temperature, and motor slip. 12. The drive system of claim 1 wherein said data collector is equipped to measure one or more of the variables selected from the group consisting of: wheel speed, wheel torque, wheel temperature, and gear ratio. 13. The drive system of claim 1 wherein said data processor means comprises a central processing unit and said sources other than said nosegear wheels or said onboard motor are selected from the group consisting of: main gear wheel measured speed, GPS, radar, radio transporters, airport maps, airport lighting, nose wheel steering position, main gear angle, aircraft weight, a speedometer measuring the rotational speed of the main gear, Laser Doppler velocimeters, aircraft position, video cameras, and airspeed. 14. The drive system of claim 13, wherein said at least one onboard motor comprises an independently driven motor housed within each wheel of the nosegear, said data collector means is attached to each wheel of the nosegear to collect rotational data from both wheels and said data compare means comprises means to compare between the rotational data of each nosegear wheel and means to determine the rate of change of the rotational data of each nosegear wheel. 15. The drive system of claim 2 wherein said guidance system means comprises means for guiding ground steering operations within defined safety parameters, wherein said ground steering operations are selected from the group consisting of: speed of aircraft during turns, angles of turns, and ground positioning of aircraft during turns. 16. The drive system of claim 2 wherein said guidance system means comprises an output selected from the group consisting of: automatic taxi, semi-automatic taxi, digital display, lights, audible warnings, pilot override, and resetting the range of a pilot input command unit. 17. The drive system of claim 1 wherein said at least one motor-comprises a high phase order motor. 18. The drive system of claim 1 wherein said at least one motor is connected to rotationally drive an axle between two nose wheels, and wherein said axle is connected to drive the two nose wheels. 19. The drive system of claim 1, wherein said at least one motor is housed in a nosegear wheel and said drive system further includes gearing connecting said at least one motor and the nosegear wheels. 20. The method of claim 6, wherein providing a speed differential between the nose wheels comprises reducing the speed of one of the motors. 21. The method of claim 6 wherein providing a speed differential between the nose wheels comprises reducing a speed of one of the motors and simultaneously increasing a speed of the other of the motors to maintain a steady aircraft speed throughout whilst steering. 22. The method of claim 6, wherein providing a speed differential between the nose wheels comprises providing a differential between speed/torque ratios of the motors. 23. The method of claim 22 wherein providing a differential between the speed/torque ratios of the motors comprises varying the harmonic content of the drive waveform of a mesh connected high phase order motor. 24. The method of claim 6, further comprising comparing speeds of the nose wheels during taxi with commanded nose wheel speeds and with a speed of the aircraft deduced from other sources, and if said comparison indicates that either nose wheel is operating at an incorrect speed, applying a corrective action or halting the aircraft. 25. The method of claim 6, further comprising determining a speed differential between the two nose wheels, comparing the speed differential with safe differential limits, and warning against or preventing the differential limits from being exceeded, thereby protecting the aircraft from tipping.
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이 특허에 인용된 특허 (31)
Hartley James M. (1831 Pennsylvania St. Columbus IN 47201), Aircraft landing gear prerotation system.
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