Hoist health and usage monitoring system and components thereof

摘要

Health and usage monitoring systems for aircraft hoist systems are described herein. In some embodiments, a health and usage monitoring system comprises a capacitive load cell and a processing unit for communication with the capacitive load cell, the capacitive load cell comprising a load receiving surface and a capacitive assembly coupled to the load receiving surface, the capacitive assembly comprising parallel electrically conductive plates separated by a reversibly deformable spacer construction wherein the parallel plates comprise aligned apertures providing a passageway through the capacitive assembly for the hoist system cable.

主权项

1. A health and usage monitoring system for an aircraft hoist system, comprising:
a capacitive load cell comprising a load receiving surface and a capacitive assembly coupled to the load receiving surface, the capacitive assembly comprising parallel electrically conductive plates separated by a reversibly deformable spacer construction, wherein the parallel plates comprise aligned apertures providing a passageway through the capacitive load cell for a hoist system cable; and a processing unit for communication with the capacitive load cell, wherein the reversibly deformable spacer construction has an elastic modulus rendering a change in spacing of the parallel electrically conductive plates under an applied load in a first load range resulting in a measurable change in capacitance of the capacitive assembly, wherein the load cell is positioned between a striker plate and a hook bumper of an interface assembly for the aircraft hoist system.