GB2417091A - Aircraft test and measuring instruments - Google Patents

Aircraft test and measuring instruments Download PDF

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Publication number
GB2417091A
GB2417091A GB0417241A GB0417241A GB2417091A GB 2417091 A GB2417091 A GB 2417091A GB 0417241 A GB0417241 A GB 0417241A GB 0417241 A GB0417241 A GB 0417241A GB 2417091 A GB2417091 A GB 2417091A
Authority
GB
United Kingdom
Prior art keywords
measurement
instrumentation according
instrumentation
downloading
database
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Withdrawn
Application number
GB0417241A
Other versions
GB0417241D0 (en
Inventor
John Corry
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Airbus Operations Ltd
Advanced Analysis and Integration Ltd
Original Assignee
Airbus Operations Ltd
Advanced Analysis and Integration Ltd
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Airbus Operations Ltd, Advanced Analysis and Integration Ltd filed Critical Airbus Operations Ltd
Priority to GB0417241A priority Critical patent/GB2417091A/en
Publication of GB0417241D0 publication Critical patent/GB0417241D0/en
Priority to PCT/GB2005/002996 priority patent/WO2006013340A1/en
Publication of GB2417091A publication Critical patent/GB2417091A/en
Withdrawn legal-status Critical Current

Links

Classifications

    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B64—AIRCRAFT; AVIATION; COSMONAUTICS
    • B64F—GROUND OR AIRCRAFT-CARRIER-DECK INSTALLATIONS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR USE IN CONNECTION WITH AIRCRAFT; DESIGNING, MANUFACTURING, ASSEMBLING, CLEANING, MAINTAINING OR REPAIRING AIRCRAFT, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; HANDLING, TRANSPORTING, TESTING OR INSPECTING AIRCRAFT COMPONENTS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • B64F5/00—Designing, manufacturing, assembling, cleaning, maintaining or repairing aircraft, not otherwise provided for; Handling, transporting, testing or inspecting aircraft components, not otherwise provided for
    • B64F5/60—Testing or inspecting aircraft components or systems
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
    • G01D—MEASURING NOT SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR A SPECIFIC VARIABLE; ARRANGEMENTS FOR MEASURING TWO OR MORE VARIABLES NOT COVERED IN A SINGLE OTHER SUBCLASS; TARIFF METERING APPARATUS; MEASURING OR TESTING NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • G01D9/00—Recording measured values
    • G01D9/005—Solid-state data loggers
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B64—AIRCRAFT; AVIATION; COSMONAUTICS
    • B64D—EQUIPMENT FOR FITTING IN OR TO AIRCRAFT; FLIGHT SUITS; PARACHUTES; ARRANGEMENTS OR MOUNTING OF POWER PLANTS OR PROPULSION TRANSMISSIONS IN AIRCRAFT
    • B64D47/00—Equipment not otherwise provided for
    • B64F5/0045—
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
    • G01N—INVESTIGATING OR ANALYSING MATERIALS BY DETERMINING THEIR CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
    • G01N27/00—Investigating or analysing materials by the use of electric, electrochemical, or magnetic means
    • G01N27/02—Investigating or analysing materials by the use of electric, electrochemical, or magnetic means by investigating impedance
    • G01N27/04—Investigating or analysing materials by the use of electric, electrochemical, or magnetic means by investigating impedance by investigating resistance
    • G01N27/20—Investigating the presence of flaws
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
    • G01R—MEASURING ELECTRIC VARIABLES; MEASURING MAGNETIC VARIABLES
    • G01R27/00—Arrangements for measuring resistance, reactance, impedance, or electric characteristics derived therefrom

Abstract

Aircraft testing instrument adapted to carry out a plurality of electrical measurements on aircraft structures repetitively over multiple locations in the structure, in particular aircraft wings. The measured values are recorded and downloaded to a database. The instrument measures loop resistance, bond integrity and electric continuity.

Description

Test and Measuring Instruments This invention relates to instruments for
carrying out test and measurements on electrical properties of aircraft structures, in particular, aircraft wings, where it is important to verify that there is electrical continuity so that on gaps occur over which sparks can jump as a result of static build-up or an electrical storm..
The number of tests or measurements involved is quite large, running into hundreds and perhaps thousands on a single structure, and there are different types of tests or measurements (hereinafter referred to generally as 'operations'), all of which are safety- critical. It is required to take many measurements of loop resistance, bond integrity and antistatic coating continuity on an aircraft wing during its manufacture. A failure in any one of these properties at any point in the structure can lead to sparking due to static build-up or encountering an electrical storm in flight, and this can be catastrophic, as wings are used to store aviation fuel in large quantities.
Personnel carrying out the tests will need to follow a schedule of operations in a prescribed order or to make a careful note of operations carried out in order to accurately collate the results of the operations with the prescribed order. Especially where many operations have to be carried out in sequence, or where space is restricted and access to operation sites difficult, errors can creep into the results.
The present invention provides measurement and/or test instrumentation for electrical properties of aircraft structures that can eliminate risk of operator error.
The invention comprises instrumentation adapted to carry out a plurality of electrical measurements on aircraft structures repetitively over multiple locations in the structure, and a database adapted to store the measurements, the instrumentation comprising: measuring means et't'ecting the measurements; measurement recording means; and measurement downloading means adapted automatically to download measurements to the database.
The instrumentation may comprise means for making measurements of loop resistance, bond integrity and antistatic coating continuity.
The measurement recording means may comprise magnetic, electronic and/or optical data storage means.
The measurement identit'ying means may comprise time-ol'-measurement identifying means and/or location-of-measurement identifying means, and may comprise a local positioning system, which may comprise means reading a machine-readable label at the measurement location.
The measurement downloading means may comprise a wireless connection, such as a radio link, to the database. Downloading may take place immediately upon carrying out an operation. Successful downloading may require an automatic acknowledgement from a database, failing which the result of the operation may be stored in memory within the instrumentation until such time as it can be downloaded. Downloading via a radio link can be problematic when the operation is carried out inside a wing structure.
Downloading attempts, when data has accumulated without being downloaded, may be made automatically at predetermined intervals, or whenever a certain amount of data has been accumulated, or on operator demand. Downloading may, however, not be possible until the instrument is brought out of the structure.
The instrumentation may comprise an operations scheduler, which may carry a list of operations to be carried out and present them sequentially to an operator. The scheduler may be arranged to present each operation (after the first) only after the previous operation has been carried out. An interlock arrangement may be provided to prevent an inappropriate measurement being made. Different probes will be provided for different measurements, e.g. clamps surrounding a loop component for loop resistance measurement, and contact probes for a four point Kelvin technique resistance measurement, and the interlock arrangement can ensure that the measurement is not made using inappropriate probes.
The measuring means, the measurement recording means, the measurement identifying means and the measurement downloading means may be comprised in a single unit, which may be portable.
The instrumentation may comprise data input means, which may comprise a keyboard or keypad, and may be connectable, as by a plug-in or a wireless arrangement, to download measurement scheduling and pass/fail criteria from the database.
The instrumentation may comprise visual and/or audio output means for outputting information to an operator.
One embodiment of instrumentation according to the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure I is a view of a portable instrument for effecting multiple measurements; and Figure 2 is a block diagram of the instrument of Figure 1.
The Figures illustrate instrumentation 10 adapted to carry out a plurality of electrical measurements on aircraft structures repetitively over multiple locations in the structure, and a database 12 adapted to store the measurements, the instrumentation comprising: measuring means 13 effecting the measurements; measurement recording means 14; and measurement downloading means 16 adapted automatically to download measurements to the database 11.
The instrumentation 10 comprises a portable case 11, provided with a shoulder strap 17, which includes the measuring, recording, identifying and downloading means. The database 12 is remote. Such an arrangement may be configured for carrying out tests and measurement on aircraft structures such as a wing, where it is required to carry out a plurality of different measurements, namely loop resistance, bond integrity and antistatic coating continuity, all of which need to be carried out at a multiplicity of locations in the structure.
The case 11 has porting for various connectables. A mains inlet 18 is connected to a charger for a rechargeable battery 19. Probe ports 21 are provided for attaching various probes, of which probe 22, comprising a pair of coils 23, is for loop resistance measurement, another, 24, comprising point contacts 25, is for measuring bond integrity by measuring ohmic resistance across a metal to metal bond, and another, 26, is a resistance measuring probe for measuring antistatic coating continuity. The porting will be configured appropriately to the probes intended to be used with the instrumentation.
The measurement recording means comprises a section of a memory unit 27 served by a central processing unit (CPU) 28. The memory unit 27 may comprise any desired form of storage, including solid state, magnetic, optical disc and so forth.
The measurement identifying means 15 comprise both time-of-measurement and location-of-measurement means. The time-of-measurement means comprise an internal clock 29 of the CPU 28, and associated software can time and date stamp each operation.
The location-of-measurement means comprise a barcode reader 31, or an RFID tag interrogator 32, which can be used to scan barcodes or RFID tags pre-positioned at the measurement locations and identifying the same. A measurement routine would involve first reading the barcode or RFID tag, then carrying out the measurement, and software interlock arrangements could ensure that appropriate measurements were carried out at the locations. One such interlock would ensure that where a loop resistance measurement was scheduled, only the probes 23 would be functional. An attempt to use any other probe would result in an error message.
The downloading means 16 can comprise simply a wired or infra-red connection to the database 12, in a local PC or mainframe computer, that can be plugged in to a suitable port in the case 11 when the measurements have been completed. However a radio link through antenna 34, can connect to the CPU computer, and this allows for instantaneous communication, unless the signals are blocked by the structure An operations scheduler, provided in software loaded into the CPU 28, can carry a list of all the required tests and measurements and present them, on a VDU 35 on the case 1 1, or by means of a voice instruction, for the operator's attention, in the sequence in which they are to be performed.
A software interlock, again, can ensure that each operation, after the first, can only be carried out after the previous operation has been carried out.
The case 1 I has a keyboard or keypad 36 through which the operator may input data to the arrangement, for example, an override when a particular measurement in a sequence cannot for some reason be carried out, or has not been carried out successfully, as may be indicated on the VDU 35 or by an audible alarm through a speaker 37. The various input means can also be used for entering instructions and in the loading of software and downloading results.
The instrumentation can download results as they are generated, via its radio link, for example, requiring, however, an acknowledgement from the remote database 12. Without such acknowledgement, possibly with errorcorrection protocols, the result will be stored in memory unit 27 until it can be transmitted, and the arrangement may attempt transmission automatically at predetermined intervals or may wait until a test transmission established a link, or may be effected by operator selection, as may be convenient. A CD slot 41, a diskette slot 42 and USB or other porting 43 are provided for loading/downloading data and programs.
The instrumentation provides a means of ensuring that multiple, complex, measurements are efficiently and effectively carried out without risk of operator error through confusion or fatigue, even in cramped conditions, such as might preclude instantaneous writing down of result and comments, or in inclement outdoor conditions, with a log, which might be created immediately or so soon thereafter as possible, which itself cannot be liable to operator error. The instrumentation can be configured in many different ways to include different measurements and different measurement circumstances.

Claims (21)

  1. Claims: I Instrumentation adapted to carry out a plurality of electrical
    measurements on aircraft structures repetitively over multiple locations in the structure and a database adapted to store the measurements, the instrumentation comprising: measuring means effecting the measurements; measurement recording means; and measurement downloading means adapted automatically to download measurements to the database.
  2. 2 Instrumentation according to claim 1, comprising means for making measurement of loop resistance, bond integrity and antistatic coating continuity.
  3. 3 Instrumentation according to claim I or claim 2, in which the measurement recording means comprise magnetic, electronic and/or optical data storage means.
  4. 4 Instrumentation according to any one of claims I to 3, in which the measurement identifying means comprise time-of-measurement identifying means.
  5. Instrumentation according to any one of claims I to 4, in which the measurement identifying means comprise location-of-measurement identifying means.
  6. 6 Instrumentation according to claim 7, in which the locationol:measurement means comprise means reading a machine-readable label at the measurement location.
  7. 7 Instrumentation according to any one of claims I to 6, in which the measurement downloading means comprise a wired connection or a wireless connection to a database.
  8. 8 Instrumentation according to claim 7, in which the database is comprised in a computer.
  9. 9 Instrumentation according to claim 7 or claim 8, in which the wireless connection comprises a radio link.
  10. Instrumentation according to any one of claims 7 to 9, in which the wireless connection comprises an infra-red connection.
  11. I I Instrumentation according to any one of claims I to 10, in which downloading takes place immediately upon carrying out an operation.
  12. 12 Instrumentation according to any one of claims I to 1 1, in which successful downloading requires an automatic acknowledgement from a database, failing which the result ofthe operation is stored in memory within the instrumentation until such time as it can be downloaded.
  13. 13 Instrumentation according to any one of claims I to 13, in which downloading attempts are made automatically at predetermined intervals, or on operator demand.
  14. 14 Instrumentation according to any one of claims 1 to 13, comprising an operations scheduler.
  15. 15 Instrumentation according to claim 14, in which the operations scheduler carries a list of operations to be carried out and presents them sequentially to the operator.
  16. 16 Instrumentation according to claim 15, in which the operations scheduler presents each operation (after the first) only after the previous operation has been carried out.
  17. 17 Instrumentation according to any one of claims 1 to 16, in which the measuring means, the measurement recording means, the measurement identifying means and the measurement downloading means are comprised in a single unit.
  18. 18 Instrumentation according to any one of claims 1 to 17, comprising data input means.
  19. 19 Instrumentation according to claim 18, in which the data input means comprise a keypad or keyboard.
  20. Instrumentation according claim 18 or claim 19, in which the data input means comprise machine reader means such as a bar code reader or an REID scanner.
  21. 21 Instrumentation according to any one of claims 1 to 20, comprising visual and or audio output means for outputting information to an operator.
GB0417241A 2004-08-03 2004-08-03 Aircraft test and measuring instruments Withdrawn GB2417091A (en)

Priority Applications (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
GB0417241A GB2417091A (en) 2004-08-03 2004-08-03 Aircraft test and measuring instruments
PCT/GB2005/002996 WO2006013340A1 (en) 2004-08-03 2005-07-29 Test and measuring instruments

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
GB0417241A GB2417091A (en) 2004-08-03 2004-08-03 Aircraft test and measuring instruments

Publications (2)

Publication Number Publication Date
GB0417241D0 GB0417241D0 (en) 2004-09-01
GB2417091A true GB2417091A (en) 2006-02-15

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Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
GB0417241A Withdrawn GB2417091A (en) 2004-08-03 2004-08-03 Aircraft test and measuring instruments

Country Status (2)

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GB (1) GB2417091A (en)
WO (1) WO2006013340A1 (en)

Cited By (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP2995559A1 (en) * 2014-09-12 2016-03-16 The Boeing Company Component measurement apparatus, system, and method

Citations (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4721903A (en) * 1985-02-27 1988-01-26 The Boeing Company Probe and method for electrically contacting surfaces with protective coatings
EP0375375A1 (en) * 1988-12-21 1990-06-27 British Aerospace Public Limited Company Loop impedance tester
US5115200A (en) * 1984-10-22 1992-05-19 Societe Nationale Industrielle Aerospatiale Method and apparatus for testing the impedance of two electrically conducting members using two pairs of electrodes in which the spacing of the pairs is adjustable and the electrodes are independently axially slidable
US5245293A (en) * 1991-12-23 1993-09-14 Teledyne Ryan Aeronautical, Division Of Teledyne Industries, Inc. Adhesive bond degradation monitor
WO2002023403A2 (en) * 2000-09-11 2002-03-21 Pinotage, Llc. System and method for obtaining and utilizing maintenance information

Family Cites Families (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
FR2666655B1 (en) * 1990-09-06 1994-01-28 Aerospatiale Ste Nationale Indle DEVICE FOR THE NON-DESTRUCTIVE EXAMINATION OF A PLURALITY OF TRUNKS OF JUNCTIONS.
US6697764B2 (en) * 2000-03-22 2004-02-24 General Electric Company Reduced access field inspection system and apparatus
US7385392B2 (en) * 2000-11-13 2008-06-10 Jentek Sensors, Inc. Eddy current sensing arrays and system
US7341197B2 (en) * 2002-07-31 2008-03-11 Sap Aktiengesellschaft Component tagging with maintenance related information in open and closed formats

Patent Citations (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US5115200A (en) * 1984-10-22 1992-05-19 Societe Nationale Industrielle Aerospatiale Method and apparatus for testing the impedance of two electrically conducting members using two pairs of electrodes in which the spacing of the pairs is adjustable and the electrodes are independently axially slidable
US4721903A (en) * 1985-02-27 1988-01-26 The Boeing Company Probe and method for electrically contacting surfaces with protective coatings
EP0375375A1 (en) * 1988-12-21 1990-06-27 British Aerospace Public Limited Company Loop impedance tester
US5245293A (en) * 1991-12-23 1993-09-14 Teledyne Ryan Aeronautical, Division Of Teledyne Industries, Inc. Adhesive bond degradation monitor
WO2002023403A2 (en) * 2000-09-11 2002-03-21 Pinotage, Llc. System and method for obtaining and utilizing maintenance information

Cited By (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP2995559A1 (en) * 2014-09-12 2016-03-16 The Boeing Company Component measurement apparatus, system, and method
US9639530B2 (en) 2014-09-12 2017-05-02 The Boeing Company Component measurement apparatus, system, and method

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
WO2006013340A1 (en) 2006-02-09
GB0417241D0 (en) 2004-09-01

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WAP Application withdrawn, taken to be withdrawn or refused ** after publication under section 16(1)