JP4306407B2 - Device monitoring apparatus and method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a device monitoring apparatus and method.

For example, in the case of an aircraft (equipment) equipped with a plurality of engines (equipment), the operating state of each engine is monitored as follows. That is, the pilot or onboard maintenance personnel on board the aircraft read the indicated values of each instrument indicating the operating state of each engine, and the pilot or onboard maintenance personnel compare and judge the indicated values with appropriate values. It is determined whether the operating state of the engine is normal or abnormal.
Also, in aircraft equipped with FADEC system (Full Authority Digital Electronic Control System) and EMS (Engine Monitoring System), the system can automatically change the operating state of each engine without relying on the pilot or on-board maintenance personnel. Although it is determined, it is necessary to perform a drain analysis using past flight data in order to determine an abnormal sign in the previous stage leading to a complete abnormal state. Such drain analysis is often performed on the ground between aircraft flights.

In addition, about the said drain analysis, the detail is introduced, for example in the following well-known literature.
USAF ITADS (Intelligent Trending And Diagnostic System)

By the way, the engine monitoring method based on the judgment of the pilot or on-board maintenance personnel requires advanced knowledge and experience with respect to the engine to the pilot or on-board maintenance personnel as the monitoring personnel, and the burden on the monitoring personnel is large.
On the other hand, the monitoring method based on the drain analysis using the FADEC system or the EMS is not offline monitoring, that is, online monitoring for monitoring the engine state during the flight, and therefore lacks real-time performance. In addition, this drain analysis is an analysis of engine operation data acquired under predetermined operating conditions such as when an aircraft takes off or during cruise flight, that is, it is an analysis of limited operating conditions of the engine and is sufficiently effective. It is not an engine monitoring with.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and has the following objects.
(1) Online monitoring is automatically performed without relying on the manual operation of the device.
(2) Monitor the operating state of equipment that changes from moment to moment.
(3) The operation state of the device is monitored by simple arithmetic processing of the device operation data without using past operation data.

  In order to achieve the above object, in the present invention, when monitoring the operation state of each device in a facility in which a plurality of devices are operated in parallel, the monitoring unit compares device operation data indicating the operation state of each device with each other. And determining whether any device has an abnormality or an abnormality sign based on whether the difference exceeds a predetermined threshold and outputting the result of the determination to the outside. Adopt means.

According to such a solution, whether any device has an abnormality or a sign of abnormality by an extremely simple calculation process of mutually comparing device operation data of a plurality of devices that are operated in parallel. It can be determined whether or not.
In addition, since the monitoring unit adopts a configuration in which the device operation data of each device is compared with each other, it is possible not only to automatically monitor the operation state of the device without relying on human resources, but also from moment to moment. It is possible to monitor the operating status of changing equipment online.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
In the present embodiment, the present invention is applied to an aircraft (equipment) equipped with four engines (equipment).

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an engine monitoring apparatus according to the present embodiment. In this figure, E1 is a first engine, E2 is a second engine, E3 is a third engine, E4 is a fourth engine, L1 to L4 are throttle levers, K is a monitoring unit, and H is a notification unit. Each engine includes a FADEC device and a sensor. That is, the first engine E1 includes the FADEC device 1a and the sensor 1b, the second engine E2 includes the FADEC device 2a and the sensor 2b, the third engine E3 includes the FADEC device 3a and the sensor 3b, and the fourth engine E4 includes the FADEC device 4a. And a sensor 4b.

  Further, throttle levers are connected to the FADEC devices 1a to 4a of the respective engines, and the throttle position is supplied to the FADEC devices 1a to 4a. That is, the throttle lever L1 is connected to the FADEC device 1a, the throttle position of the throttle lever L1 is supplied to the FADEC device 1a, the throttle lever L2 is connected to the FADEC device 2a, and the throttle position of the throttle lever L2 is the FADEC device 2a. The throttle lever L3 is connected to the FADEC device 3a, the throttle position of the throttle lever L3 is supplied to the FADEC device 3a, the throttle lever L4 is connected to the FADEC device 4a, and the throttle position of the throttle lever L4 is It is supplied to the FADEC apparatus 4a.

  Each of the FADEC apparatuses 1a to 4a automatically controls the engine, and outputs an operation amount related to the engine control to the monitoring unit K as one of engine operation data D11 to D41 indicating the operation state of the engine. That is, the FADEC device 1a indicates engine operation data D11 indicating the operation amount of the first engine E1, the FADEC device 2a indicates engine operation data D21 indicating the operation amount of the second engine E2, and the FADEC device 3a indicates the operation amount of the third engine E3. The FADEC device 4a outputs engine operation data D41 indicating the operation amount of the fourth engine E4 to the monitoring unit K.

  Here, the operation data D11 to D41 include the throttle position of each throttle lever L1 to L4 and the control mode (operation mode) of each engine as one of the operation amounts. In the case of an aircraft equipped with a plurality of engines such as the aircraft of the present embodiment, for example, the operation mode that defines the output range of the engine is switched for each engine in accordance with the state of flight of each engine. Although not shown, the operation mode is switched by operating the cockpit operation panel, and the operation information, that is, the operation mode setting information is input to the FADEC apparatuses 1a to 4a.

  Each of the sensors 1b to 4b detects various control amounts related to engine operation, such as the temperature and pressure of each part of the engine, the fuel supply amount, and the like, and the engine control data D12 to indicate the operation state of the engine. Output to the monitoring unit K as one of D42. That is, the engine operation data D11 to D41 and D12 to D42 in the present embodiment are composed of various operation amounts and various control amounts indicating the operation state of each engine. Such engine operation data D11 to D41 and D12 to D42 are input to the monitoring unit K as monitoring data for monitoring the operating state of each engine.

  This engine monitoring apparatus is comprised from the monitoring part K and the alerting | reporting part H so that it may show in figure. The monitoring unit K determines whether or not an abnormality or an abnormality sign has occurred in any of the engines based on the engine operation data D11 to D41 and D12 to D42, and an abnormality in which an abnormality or an abnormality sign has occurred. The engine is specified, and the determination result and the specification result are output to the notification unit H as a monitoring result. The monitoring unit K is a kind of computer that determines engine abnormality or abnormality sign by performing arithmetic processing on engine operation data D11 to D41 and D12 to D42 based on a specific monitoring program and identifies an abnormal engine. .

  Further, when the monitoring unit K determines an abnormality or an abnormality sign of any engine, an alarm signal indicating the determination and an operation amount or a control amount (abnormal operation amount) indicating the abnormality or abnormality sign are notified to the notification unit H. When the abnormal engine is specified, the engine number of the abnormal engine is output to the notification unit H. The processing operation of the monitoring unit K will be described in detail below.

  The notification unit H is provided in a cockpit of an aircraft, for example, and a sounding device for notifying an occupant of engine abnormality or abnormality sign by sounding based on the alarm signal, and a display device for displaying the abnormal operation amount and the engine number of the abnormal engine It is composed of

  Next, the operation of the engine monitoring apparatus configured as described above (mainly the processing operation of the monitoring unit K) will be described in detail with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. This flowchart shows a characteristic processing operation of the monitoring unit K.

  Although the engine operation data D11 to D41 and D12 to D42 that change sequentially in time series are always input to the monitoring unit K, the monitoring unit K stores such engine operation data D11 to D41 and D12 to D42. The data is taken in at a predetermined time interval, and the corresponding engine operation data D11 to D41, D12 to D42 are relatively compared (step S1).

That is, the monitoring unit K calculates the difference Δ for all engine combinations as shown in the following formula for the engine operation data D11 to D41 related to the operation amount and the engine operation data D11 to D41 and D12 to D42 related to the control amount. .
Δ121 = D11−D21 (1)
Δ131 = D11−D31 (2)
Δ141 = D11−D41 (3)
Δ231 = D21−D31 (4)
Δ241 = D21−D41 (5)
Δ341 = D31−D41 (6)
Δ122 = D12−D22 (7)
Δ132 = D12−D32 (8)
Δ142 = D12−D42 (9)
Δ232 = D22−D32 (10)
Δ242 = D22−D42 (11)
Δ342 = D32−D42 (12)
Since the individual engine operation data D11 to D41 and D12 to D42 are data including a plurality of operation amounts and control amounts as described above, the difference Δ is more accurately calculated for each operation amount and control amount. The

  For example, the difference Δ121 represented by the equation (1) is obtained by calculating the engine operation data D11 related to the operation amount output from the FADEC device 1a of the first engine E1 and the engine operation data D21 related to the operation amount output from the FADEC device 2a of the second engine E2. This is a value indicating a relative comparison. Further, for example, the difference Δ122 represented by the equation (7) is obtained by comparing the engine operation data D12 related to the control amount output from the sensor 1b of the first engine E1 and the engine operation data D22 related to the control amount output from the sensor 2b of the second engine E2. This is a value indicating a relative comparison.

  Each difference Δ obtained for each combination of the FADEC apparatuses 1a to 4a and the sensors 1b to 4b of all engines indicates the result of relative comparison with respect to the operating states of the two engines.

  When the calculation of each difference Δ is completed, the monitoring unit K compares each difference Δ with a threshold value R set in advance for each difference Δ, so that each difference Δ is one of the engines. It is determined whether or not an abnormality or a sign of abnormality is present (step S2). As an example, when the difference Δ121 is greater than the threshold value R set in advance for the difference Δ121, the operation amount output from the FADEC device 1a of the first engine E1 or the FADEC device 2a of the second engine E2 One of the operation amounts to be output is an abnormal value.

  In this case, if the difference Δ131 is not greater than the threshold value R preset for the difference Δ131, the operation amount output by the FADEC device 1a of the first engine E1 or the third engine E3 Since the operation amount output from the FADEC device 3a is a normal value, it is detected by comparison between the difference Δ121 and the difference Δ131 that the operation amount output from the FADEC device 2a of the second engine E2 is abnormal. As a result, the abnormality of the second engine E2 is specified.

  That is, although it is not possible to specify which of the first engine E1 and the second engine E2 is an abnormal engine by the difference Δ121, for example, an abnormal engine is specified by taking into account other differences such as the difference Δ131. be able to. As a problem of possibility, for example, it is conceivable that both the first engine E1 and the second engine E2 are abnormal at the same time. In this case, the difference Δ121 does not exceed the threshold value R, but two It is considered that the fact that the engine has become abnormal at the same time is a situation with a very low probability as a real problem, and that it is actually not necessary to consider.

  By the way, when the above-described difference Δ121 exceeds the threshold value R, this can naturally occur if the throttle position of the throttle lever L1 and the throttle position of the throttle lever L2 are different. The throttle lever L1 regulates the output of the first engine E1, and each operation amount of the FADEC device 1a changes according to the throttle position of the throttle lever L1, and each control amount detected by the sensor 1b in accordance with this change. Also changes. Such a situation is exactly the same for other engines.

  In consideration of such circumstances, the monitoring unit K determines whether or not there is a difference in the throttle position for the engine related to the difference Δ that exceeds the threshold value R when the processing in step S2 is completed ( Step S3). This determination is easily obtained from the difference Δ between the engine operation data D11 to D41 related to the operation amount including information related to the throttle position.

  In addition, even if the throttle position is the same, when the operation mode of each engine is different, the operation amount and the control amount are different. In consideration of such circumstances, the monitoring unit K determines whether there is a difference in the operation mode for the engine related to the difference Δ exceeding the threshold value R following the determination in step S3 (step S3). S4).

  If the determinations in steps S3 and S4 are “Yes”, that is, there is no difference in any of the throttle position and the operation mode, the engine related to the difference Δ exceeding the engine number of the abnormal engine and the threshold value R. The operation data and the alarm signal are output to the notification unit H (step S5).

  That is, even if the monitoring unit K detects that the difference Δ is a significant value exceeding the threshold R by the processing of steps S1 and S2, there is no difference in either the throttle position or the operation mode. Only when the engine abnormality or the occurrence of an abnormality sign is output to the notification unit H. As a result, the notification unit H notifies the crew member of the occurrence of an engine abnormality or abnormality sign, and at the same time, the engine number of the abnormal engine and the engine operation data indicating the abnormality (that is, the operation amount or control indicating the abnormality). Amount) is displayed.

  According to the present embodiment as described above, the monitoring unit K applies each of the four engines operated in parallel, that is, the first engine E1, the second engine E2, the third engine E3, and the fourth engine E4. By determining the difference Δ between the engine operation data D11 to D41 and D12 to D42 of the engine, it is determined whether or not an abnormality or an abnormality sign has occurred in any of the engines. In other words, it is possible to automatically monitor the engine operating state by an extremely simple calculation process of taking each difference Δ and without depending on the pilot or maintenance personnel, and the engine operating state that changes every moment. Because it is possible to monitor online during the flight, it is possible to quickly detect engine abnormalities or signs of abnormalities.

In addition, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment, For example, the following modifications can be considered.
(1) Although the above embodiment relates to engine monitoring in an aircraft, the present invention is not limited to this, and can be applied to any facility as long as a plurality of devices are operated in parallel.

(2) In the above embodiment, the difference Δ is taken for the four engines, and the abnormal engine is identified by mutual comparison of the differences Δ. However, when there is no need to specify an abnormal engine, it is not necessary to perform a mutual comparison of each difference Δ. If there are at least three engines, a plurality of differences are calculated based on the corresponding device operation data, so that an abnormal engine can be identified.

(3) In the case of an aircraft equipped with two engines, it is not possible to identify which engine is an abnormal engine. However, if it is possible to detect that an abnormality or an abnormal sign has occurred in the engine, the purpose is sufficiently achieved. In some cases, the present invention is effective.

It is a block diagram of the engine monitoring apparatus concerning one Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the processing operation of the engine monitoring apparatus concerning one Embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

E1 ... 1st engine, E2 ... 2nd engine, E3 ... 3rd engine, E4 ... 4th engine, L1-L4 ... Throttle lever, K ... Monitoring part, H ... Notification

Claims (5)

A device for monitoring the operating state of each engine in an aircraft in which a plurality of engines are operated in parallel,
Engine operation data indicating the operating state of each engine is compared with each other, and it is determined whether an abnormality or an abnormality sign has occurred in any engine based on whether the difference exceeds a predetermined threshold. , comprising a monitoring unit for outputting a result of the determination to the outside,
When the difference exceeds a predetermined threshold, the monitoring unit determines a difference in the position of the throttle lever of each engine based on the engine operation data, and when there is no difference in the position of the throttle lever, the engine A device monitoring apparatus characterized in that a difference in operation mode of each engine is determined based on operation data, and when there is no difference in the operation mode, an abnormality of the engine or occurrence of an abnormality sign is output . 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when there are three or more engines , the monitoring unit identifies an abnormal engine in which an abnormality or an abnormality sign has occurred by comparing engine operation data of each engine with each other. Monitoring device. The device monitoring apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a notification unit that notifies a determination result of the monitoring unit to the outside. A method for monitoring the operating state of each engine in a facility in which a plurality of engines are operated in parallel,
The engine operation data indicating the operation state of each engine is compared with each other, and if the difference exceeds a predetermined threshold value, the position of the throttle lever of each engine is determined based on the engine operation data, and the throttle lever If there is no difference in the position of the engine, the difference in the operation mode of each engine is determined based on the engine operation data, and if there is no difference in the operation mode, an abnormality of the engine or occurrence of an abnormal sign is output. Device monitoring method. 5. The apparatus monitoring method according to claim 4, wherein when there are three or more engines, an abnormal engine in which an abnormality or an abnormality sign is generated is specified by comparing engine operation data of each engine with each other. .

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