US-12617378-B2 - Selective electromechanical brake actuator braking for power consumption reduction

Abstract

An electromechanical brake system is disclosed herein. The electromechanical brake system includes at least two electromechanical brake actuators and an electronic brake actuator controller. The electronic brake actuator controller is coupled to the at least two electromechanical brake actuators. Responsive to receiving a requested braking force, the electronic brake actuator controller is configured to: determine whether the requested braking force is above a predetermined percentage of a total amount of braking available; and, responsive to the requested braking force being at or below the predetermined percentage of the total amount of braking available, selectively control one electromechanical brake actuator of the at least two electromechanical brake actuators and selectively control an amount of braking force applied by the one electromechanical brake actuator.

Inventors

• MARC J GEORGIN
• Michael J Kordik

Assignees

• GOODRICH CORPORATION

Dates

Publication Date

20260505

Application Date

20240614

Claims (20)

1. 1 . An electromechanical brake system, the electromechanical brake system comprising: at least two electromechanical brake actuators; and an electronic brake actuator controller, the electronic brake actuator controller coupled to the at least two electromechanical brake actuators, wherein, responsive to receiving a requested braking force, the electronic brake actuator controller is configured to: determine whether the requested braking force is above a predetermined percentage of a total amount of braking available; and responsive to the requested braking force being at or below the predetermined percentage of the total amount of braking available: selectively control only one electromechanical brake actuator of the at least two electromechanical brake actuators while the other electromechanical brake actuator of the at least two electromechanical brake actuators remain unactuated; and selectively control an amount of braking force applied by the only one electromechanical brake actuator.
2. 2 . The electromechanical brake system of claim 1 , the electronic brake actuator controller is further configured to: responsive to the requested braking force being above the predetermined percentage of the total amount of braking available, control the at least two electromechanical brake actuators to each apply the requested braking force.
3. 3 . The electromechanical brake system of claim 1 , wherein the amount of braking force applied by the only one electromechanical brake actuator is greater than the requested braking force.
4. 4 . The electromechanical brake system of claim 3 , wherein the amount of braking force applied by the only one electromechanical brake actuator is between 10 percent and 100 percent more than the requested braking force.
5. 5 . The electromechanical brake system of claim 1 , wherein the at least two electromechanical brake actuators are at least four electromechanical brake actuators spaced equidistance around a wheel, wherein the electronic brake actuator controller is configured to: responsive to the requested braking force being at or below the predetermined percentage of the total amount of braking available: selectively control two or more electromechanical brake actuators of the at least four electromechanical brake actuators, wherein at least two of the two or more electromechanical brake actuators are opposite one another.
6. 6 . The electromechanical brake system of claim 1 , wherein the at least two electromechanical brake actuators are at least four electromechanical brake actuators spaced equidistance around a wheel, wherein the electronic brake actuator controller is configured to: responsive to the requested braking force being at or below the predetermined percentage of the total amount of braking available: selectively control two or more electromechanical brake actuators of the at least four electromechanical brake actuators, wherein at least two of the two or more electromechanical brake actuators are adjacent to one another.
7. 7 . The electromechanical brake system of claim 1 , wherein the electronic brake actuator controller is configured to selectively control the only one electromechanical brake actuator of the at least two electromechanical brake actuators and selectively control the amount of braking force applied by the only one electromechanical brake actuator in response to engines of an aircraft in which the electromechanical brake system is installed are shut off, aircraft braking operations are provided by batteries, and the aircraft is either moving slowly or is stopped.
8. 8 . The electromechanical brake system of claim 1 , wherein the electronic brake actuator controller is configured to selectively control the only one electromechanical brake actuator of the at least two electromechanical brake actuators and selectively control the amount of braking force applied by the only one electromechanical brake actuator in response to engines of an aircraft in which the electromechanical brake system is installed are shut off, aircraft braking operations are provided by batteries, and a parking brake of the aircraft is employed.
9. 9 . An aircraft, the aircraft comprising: an electromechanical brake system, the electromechanical brake system comprising: at least two electromechanical brake actuators; and an electronic brake actuator controller, the electronic brake actuator controller coupled to the at least two electromechanical brake actuators, wherein, responsive to receiving a requested braking force, the electronic brake actuator controller is configured to: determine whether the requested braking force is above a predetermined percentage of a total amount of braking available; and responsive to the requested braking force being at or below the predetermined percentage of the total amount of braking available: selectively control only one electromechanical brake actuator of the at least two electromechanical brake actuators while the other electromechanical brake actuator of the at least two electromechanical brake actuators remain unactuated; and selectively control an amount of braking force applied by the only one electromechanical brake actuator.
10. 10 . The aircraft of claim 9 , the electronic brake actuator controller is further configured to: responsive to the requested braking force being above the predetermined percentage of the total amount of braking available, control the at least two electromechanical brake actuators to each apply the requested braking force.
11. 11 . The aircraft of claim 9 , wherein the amount of braking force applied by the only one electromechanical brake actuator is greater than the requested braking force.
12. 12 . The aircraft of claim 11 , wherein the amount of braking force applied by the only one electromechanical brake actuator is between 10 percent and 100 percent more than the requested braking force.
13. 13 . The aircraft of claim 9 , wherein the at least two electromechanical brake actuators are at least four electromechanical brake actuators spaced equidistance around a wheel, wherein the electronic brake actuator controller is configured to: responsive to the requested braking force being at or below the predetermined percentage of the total amount of braking available: selectively control two or more electromechanical brake actuators of the at least four electromechanical brake actuators, wherein at least two of the two or more electromechanical brake actuators are opposite one another.
14. 14 . The aircraft of claim 9 , wherein the at least two electromechanical brake actuators are at least four electromechanical brake actuators spaced equidistance around a wheel, wherein the electronic brake actuator controller is configured to: responsive to the requested braking force being at or below the predetermined percentage of the total amount of braking available: selectively control two or more electromechanical brake actuators of the at least four electromechanical brake actuators, wherein at least two of the two or more electromechanical brake actuators are adjacent to one another.
15. 15 . The aircraft of claim 9 , wherein the electronic brake actuator controller is configured to selectively control the only one electromechanical brake actuator of the at least two electromechanical brake actuators and selectively control the amount of braking force applied by the only one electromechanical brake actuator in response to engines of the aircraft in which the electromechanical brake system is installed are shut off, aircraft braking operations are provided by batteries, and the aircraft is either moving slowly or is stopped.
16. 16 . The aircraft of claim 9 , wherein the electronic brake actuator controller is configured to selectively control the only one electromechanical brake actuator of the at least two electromechanical brake actuators and selectively control the amount of braking force applied by the only one electromechanical brake actuator in response to engines of the aircraft in which the electromechanical brake system is installed are shut off, aircraft braking operations are provided by batteries, and a parking brake of the aircraft is employed.
17. 17 . A method of controlling at least two electromechanical brake actuators of a brake assembly comprising: responsive to receiving a request to apply a requested braking force to the brake assembly, determining, by an electronic brake actuator controller, whether the requested braking force is above a predetermined percentage of a total amount of braking available; and responsive to the requested braking force being at or below the predetermined percentage of the total amount of braking available: selectively controlling, by the electronic brake actuator controller, only one electromechanical brake actuator of the at least two electromechanical brake actuators while the other electromechanical brake actuator of the at least two electromechanical brake actuators remain unactuated; and selectively controlling, by the electronic brake actuator controller, an amount of braking force applied by the only one electromechanical brake actuator.
18. 18 . The method of claim 17 , further comprising: responsive to the requested braking force being above the predetermined percentage of the total amount of braking available, controlling, by the electronic brake actuator controller, the at least two electromechanical brake actuators to each apply the requested braking force.
19. 19 . The method of claim 17 , wherein the amount of braking force applied by the only one electromechanical brake actuator is greater than the requested braking force.
20. 20 . The method of claim 19 , wherein the amount of braking force applied by the only one electromechanical brake actuator is between 10 percent and 100 percent more than the requested braking force.

Description

FIELD The present disclosure relates to aircraft braking systems, and more specifically, to selective electromechanical brake actuator braking for power consumption reduction. BACKGROUND Typically, an aircraft may comprise an electromechanical brake (E-brake) system that utilizes a plurality of electromechanical brake actuators (EBAs) configured to apply force to a brake stack on an aircraft wheel. As aircrafts are converted to utilize more electricity and thus utilize such E-brake systems, there is a need to conserve electric power during various ground operations, such as, for example, towing, especially when the electric brake system operates only electric power provided by batteries, i.e. the engines are shut off. SUMMARY An electromechanical brake system is disclosed herein. The electromechanical brake system includes at least two electromechanical brake actuators and an electronic brake actuator controller. The electronic brake actuator controller is coupled to the at least two electromechanical brake actuators. Responsive to receiving a requested braking force, the electronic brake actuator controller is configured to determine whether the requested braking force is above a predetermined percentage of a total amount of braking available; and, responsive to the requested braking force being at or below the predetermined percentage of the total amount of braking available: selectively control one electromechanical brake actuator of the at least two electromechanical brake actuators while the other electromechanical brake actuator of the at least two electromechanical brake actuators remain unactuated and selectively control an amount of braking force applied by the one electromechanical brake actuator. In various embodiments, the electronic brake actuator controller is further configured to, responsive to the requested braking force being above the predetermined percentage of the total amount of braking available, control the at least two electromechanical brake actuators to each apply the requested braking force. In various embodiments, the amount of braking force applied by the one electromechanical brake actuator is greater than the requested braking force. In various embodiments, the amount of braking force applied by the one electromechanical brake actuator is between 10 percent and 100 percent more than the requested braking force. In various embodiments, the at least two electromechanical brake actuators are at least four electromechanical brake actuators spaced equidistance around a wheel, wherein the electronic brake actuator controller is configured to, responsive to the requested braking force being at or below the predetermined percentage of the total amount of braking available, selectively control two or more electromechanical brake actuators of the at least four electromechanical brake actuators, wherein at least two of the two or more electromechanical brake actuators are opposite one another. In various embodiments, the at least two electromechanical brake actuators are at least four electromechanical brake actuators spaced equidistance around a wheel, wherein the electronic brake actuator controller is configured to, responsive to the requested braking force being at or below the predetermined percentage of the total amount of braking available, selectively control two or more electromechanical brake actuators of the at least four electromechanical brake actuators, wherein at least two of the two or more electromechanical brake actuators are adjacent to one another. In various embodiments, the electronic brake actuator controller is configured to selectively control one electromechanical brake actuator of the at least two electromechanical brake actuators and selectively control the amount of braking force applied by the one electromechanical brake actuator in response to engines of an aircraft in which the electromechanical brake system is installed are shut off, aircraft braking operations are provided by batteries, and the aircraft is either moving slowly or is stopped. In various embodiments, the electronic brake actuator controller is configured to selectively control one electromechanical brake actuator of the at least two electromechanical brake actuators and selectively control the amount of braking force applied by the one electromechanical brake actuator in response to engines of an aircraft in which the electromechanical brake system is installed are shut off, aircraft braking operations are provided by batteries, and a parking brake of the aircraft is employed. Also disclosed herein is an aircraft. The aircraft includes an electromechanical brake system. The electromechanical brake system includes at least two electromechanical brake actuators and an electronic brake actuator controller. The electronic brake actuator controller is coupled to the at least two electromechanical brake actuators. Responsive to receiving a requested braking force, the electronic brake actuator