Patent Description:
This matter is under NON-US Government contract UK ATI UKRI Aerospace open Call Germany Luftfahrtforschungsprogramm VI-<NUM>.

This disclosure generally relates to systems and methods for monitoring supply air of a vehicle, such as an aircraft.

A supply of outside air to a vehicle may become contaminated from artefacts external to the vehicle or from contamination produced by systems internal to the vehicle. For aircraft, example sources of external artefacts that may contaminate an air supply include exhaust ingestion, pollution, deicing fluid, or engine wash products. Example sources of contamination from internal systems include fumes or smoke from engine oil, hydraulic fluid, fuel, or the like. The contamination may be associated with elevated concentrations of gaseous compounds, liquid aerosols, or solid particulates in air. Contaminated air in a vehicle may result in an odor in a cabin that can lead to failures such as trip cancellations or passenger dissatisfaction. <CIT>, according to its abstract, discloses an environmental control system (ECS) having contaminants in supply air that flows into an environment includes an outside air contaminant component that senses contaminants in outside air, wherein the outside air contaminant component is upstream of the environment. A recirculated air contaminant component is provided that senses contaminants in recirculated air supplied by the environment, wherein the recirculated air contaminant component is downstream of the environment. A voltage supply provides a non-linear variable voltage to at least one of the components. A controller is in communication with the components and the voltage supply, wherein, upon a measured resistance, from at least one of the components, that exceeds a threshold, the controller varies at least one of an outside air flow and a recirculated air flow in the ECS. <CIT> discloses airflow management in cabin of aircraft.

The present disclosure describes example devices, systems, and methods related to supply air contamination detection. A data processing system configured to mount on a vehicle is claimed in claim <NUM>.

A method for detecting contamination on a vehicle is claimed in claim <NUM>.

Various examples are described below that are generally directed to apparatuses, methods, systems, and computer program products, that relate to a network of sensing devices affixed to locations within a vehicle, such as an aircraft, a road vehicle, or a marine vessel. While aircraft are primarily referred to herein, in other examples, the example apparatuses, methods, systems, and computer program products described herein may be used with other types of vehicles.

The smell(s) in a cabin resulting from external artefacts such as deicing or exhaust fume ingestion are often indistinguishable from the smell(s) arising due to internal system artefacts such as poor auxiliary power unit (APU) maintenance. Thus, the mere presence of a smell in a vehicle cabin is not necessarily a good indicator of whether the vehicle needs maintenance. Moreover, in instances when a vehicle does need maintenance, the presence of a smell in the vehicle does not necessarily provide much guidance as to what maintenance is needed, or even as to where on the vehicle, or within which subsystem of the vehicle, maintenance is needed.

Many existing vehicles are not equipped with permanent, on-board sensors or detection systems that can detect early-stage issues with air contamination or determine which air pathway, e.g., which air supply line has been contaminated. As used in this disclosure, an air supply line may refer to a line, or fluid pathway, that transports bleed air, supply air, or any other type of air to or from the various subsystems within a vehicle. A duct is one example of an air supply line.

In some cases of bleed air contamination, issues, such as seals starting to leak under specific vehicle conditions, may go unnoticed until a severe leak enables contamination at sufficiently high concentrations to reach the cabin and cause odor during flight. Such a situation may force a crew to decide whether to divert, abort take off, or cancel while still taxiing, which happens as frequently as approximately in <NUM>% of such cases, or continue a flight. Even if a crew elects to continue with a flight, the crew may still need to commence maintenance and troubleshooting after the flight. After the flight, a maintenance crew may inspect all bleed air supply lines (e.g., engines, APU, etc.) and examine all possible contaminants but ultimately often identify no fault because the source of odor is not present anymore or at only trace amounts that are below a level of detection or surface contaminated with various liquids and debris cannot be clearly associated with actual odor event.

These smell in cabin (SIC) events can cause relatively large disruptions to vehicle operators and business. This disclosure describes a system that may help diagnose the cause of SIC events relatively early, e.g., before the SIC event is even detectable to humans. Moreover, by understanding the factors that caused, may in the future cause, a particular SIC event, the techniques of this disclosure may allow a vehicle operator to take appropriate action to prevent recurrence and to minimize the time/cost of unnecessary maintenance interventions. For example, this disclosure describes a system that may identify or help isolate the particular subsystem causing contamination.

By integrating sensed data from one or more sensors potentially along with context data, a system of this disclosure may accurately recommend maintenance on a component that may be causing contamination. This recommendation may allow for quicker and more targeted maintenance, less downtime for vehicles, and a lower likelihood that crewmembers or passengers experience any contaminated air. The system may be configured to output the recommended maintenance item to a display, a diagnostic device, and/or an external system.

This disclosure describes techniques that may provide early detection, for various source locations within a vehicle, and if combined with other context data, such as relevant vehicle system data or other data, may also provide targeted guidance to a maintenance crew that leads to preventative maintenance that may eliminate or reduce future SIC events. The context data may include the operational status of the vehicle, the operational status of an engine or motor on the vehicle, a status of an auxiliary power unit, weight-on-wheels data, engine speed data, a status of a bleed valve, a status of a skin valve, a status of another valve, a status of recirculation air, a deicing status, an ambient temperature, and/or an ambient humidity. A system of this disclosure may receive the context data from another system that is onboard the vehicle, such as an engine, APU, or navigation system, or external to the vehicle, such as a weather forecaster or a traffic control system.

The system of this disclosure may include one or more sensors capable of sensing parameter values. Although a wide variety of types of sensors may be used to implement the techniques of this invention, by installing the sensors in strategic locations within the vehicle, the techniques of this disclosure may be implemented using relatively simple sensors. For example, instead of using more complicated sensors that are specifically tuned to sense compounds of a particular substance, such as gasoline or deicing fluid, fine particles, or specific chemical compound, such as one of the fatty acids, the techniques of this disclosure may be implemented using sensors that are configured to generate an output indicative of total volatile organic compound (TVOC) levels. That is, the parameter values obtained by the sensors may be TVOC levels or changes in TVOC levels. In other implementations, however, the one or more sensors may, for example, be configured to detect other specific parameters, e.g., specific types of VOCs and mixtures of such particles and ultrafine particles, representative of bleed air contamination sources, such as carbon monoxide, engine oil, deicing fluid, hydraulic fluid, exhaust fumes, fuel fumes, engine wash products, and the like.

The one or more sensors may be installed within a vehicle at specific locations. For example, multiple bleed air supply lines within the vehicle may have an installed sensor. Examples of such locations include positions downstream of a left engine, downstream of a right engine, downstream of an APU (e.g., upstream of intersection with an engine line), downstream of a left environmental control system (ECS) pack discharge, downstream of right ECS pack discharge, downstream of a low-pressure ground port (LPGP) supply, or downstream of a high-pressure ground port (HPGP) supply. The sensor positions that are downstream of an engine may be upstream of an intersection with another engine line and/or an APU line. In some cases, aircraft that have multiple left engines, multiple right engines, multiple APUs, multiple left ECS pack discharges, multiple right ECS pack discharges, multiple cabin air compressor intake and discharges, multiple LPGP supplies, or multiple HPGP supplies may utilize additional sensors, such that each subsystem has a dedicated sensor.

The one or more sensors may be configured to monitor, periodically in real-time, multiple air supply lines for the vehicle to collect values for the sensed parameters. A sensor may store and/or transmit sensor data that includes values for these sensed parameters. The sensors may additionally be configured, for example, to associate a value for a sensed parameter with a timestamp that identifies the time of measurement. Each sensor of the one or more sensors may also have a unique identifier, such as a name or identification number, such that the sensor data can be associated with the particular sensor that collected that sensor data. Thus, in addition to the values for the sensed parameters, the sensor data may also include timestamp data and an identification of the sensor that captured the parameter values.

The one or more sensors may transmit the sensor data to a processing device. The processing device may, for example, be on board the vehicle or be external to the vehicle. As will be explained in more detail below, the processing device then processes the sensor data and generates an output based on the sensor data. The output may include any or more of an indication of a type of maintenance that is recommended for the vehicle, an indication of a subsystem within the vehicle for which maintenance is recommended, an indication of a location within the vehicle for which maintenance is recommended, an identification of a sensor that is detecting contamination in the air supply, or an identification of the location of the sensor that is detecting contamination in the supply air. A system of this disclosure may be configured to generate and/or output a recommended maintenance item during vehicle travel. Additionally or alternatively, the system may be configured to generate and/or output the recommended maintenance item after the vehicle travel has finished, such as when an aircraft is on the ground, an automobile is in a garage, or a ship is at port.

An existing system may be configured to shut down part of a ventilation system, an engine, or another component in response to detecting contamination in the supply air for a vehicle. The existing system may take a corrective action such as powering off a compressor, closing one or more valves, and/or temporarily powering off an air supply system. The existing system may perform one or more of these corrective actions during the travel of the vehicle, which may impact the performance and operation of the vehicle. In addition, the shutdown may have negative impacts on the vehicle operator, crewmembers, and passengers. In some examples, the sensed contamination may be caused by a very low concentration of particles and/or an error in the sensor or processing circuitry. Thus, it may be desirable for a controller to be configured to refrain from shutting down parts of the system so that the supply air can be continually circulated and resupplied. Additionally or alternatively, the control logic may be configured to, based on feedback from cabin sensors, shut down the system for a period of time before reactivating the system when the air quality is acceptable for passengers and crewmembers. The control logic may be configured to ensure the flow of fresh air at or above a minimum threshold level.

As will also be explained in greater detail below, the processing device is configured to process the sensor data in view of context data. As one example, context data may include weather conditions when the sensor data was obtained. Thus, if a sensor in a bleed air system senses a parameter that may be indicative of contamination, then the processing device may use the weather data to determine if the air temperature at the time of takeoff for a flight during which the sensor data was obtained was such that a source of the contamination may be deicing fluid. As another example, context data may include a flight stage for when the sensor data was obtained. Thus, if a sensor in a bleed air system senses a parameter that may be indicative of contamination, then the processing device may use the flight stage data to determine if the vehicle was taxiing or at the gate when the sensor data was obtained to determine if exhaust from another vehicle is a possible source of the contamination.

This disclosure describes systems and techniques that may be used to detect bleed air contamination to provide an early warning that vehicle maintenance may be needed or desirable. Additionally, this disclosure describes systems and techniques that may identify a particular source, such as an engine or APU, of the bleed air contamination, and thus provide a maintenance crew with guidance as to which subsystem within a vehicle may be the source of the contamination and in need of maintenance. Additionally, this disclosure describes systems and techniques that may identify a particular cause, such as a pilot error or a mechanical failure, that led to the bleed air contamination, and thus provide a maintenance crew with guidance as to whether maintenance may be needed, and if so, what type of maintenance. Additionally, this disclosure describes techniques and systems that may be able to determine a type of contaminant source, such as whether the source is an internal contaminant such engine oil or an external contaminant such as exhaust.

<FIG> is a conceptual block diagram of an example supply air contamination detection system in which vehicle <NUM> includes a plurality of sensors, shown in <FIG> as remote sensors 112A-112F (collectively remote sensors <NUM>). Although <FIG> shows six remote sensors, vehicle <NUM> may include a smaller or larger number of remote sensors in other examples, such as two, three, four, five, or more than six sensors. Vehicle <NUM> also includes ECS <NUM> and control panel <NUM>, which are configured to communicate with each other and with sensors <NUM> over network <NUM>.

Although shown in <FIG> as having a fixed-wing form factor, vehicle <NUM> generally represents any sort of vehicle, and although the techniques of this disclosure may be used in conjunction with any sort of vehicle, the techniques described herein may be of particular benefit for passenger vehicles that include a cabin for passenger travel. Although various techniques of this disclosure will be described with respect to a passenger cabin of an airplane, it should be understood that the techniques are equally applicable to other compartments of other vehicles.

Remote sensors <NUM> may be located in any one or more of a location downstream of an engine, a location downstream of an APU, a location downstream of an ECS, such as ECS <NUM>, a location downstream of an LPGP, a location downstream of an HPGP, a location in a bleed duct, or any other such location. In some examples, remote sensors <NUM> may all be the same type of sensor. That is, all of remote sensors <NUM> may be configured to sense the same parameter, or even be the same model of sensor. In other examples, remote sensors <NUM> may not all be the same type, and remote sensor 112A may, for instance, be configured to sense a different parameter than remote sensor 112B. In some implementations, one or more of sensors <NUM> may be modified to optimize the sensors for specific mounting locations to account for extreme cold, extreme heat, the presence of moisture, different composition of contaminants, or other such considerations.

ECS <NUM> may, for example, be configured to control the general comfort and safety in the passenger cabin of vehicle <NUM> by, for instance, circulating conditioned air to the passenger cabin, as well as to various other portions of vehicle <NUM>, such as the flight deck, galleys, other occupied compartments, cargo compartments, electronic equipment bays, and the like. ECS <NUM> may perform such operations to provide a certain level of air quality in the cabin by, for example, maintaining desired temperatures and humidity levels within the cabin of vehicle <NUM>. Additional example details of environmental control systems are described in commonly assigned <CIT>.

Control panel <NUM> represents any sort of centralized data processing device configured to receive and process values sensor date detected by remote sensors <NUM>. Control panel <NUM> can be a specialized electronic device, such as an application running on a computing device, such as a tablet, or can be integrated into an existing vehicle system, such as a vehicle cabin control system that controls the temperature, lighting, entertainment systems, and other aspects of passenger experience.

Network <NUM> represents any suitable wired or wireless communications network by which control panel <NUM> can communicate with remote sensors <NUM>. As examples of wired communications, control panel <NUM> may communicate with remote sensors <NUM> over direct wiring, twisted pair, fiber optic cable, coaxial cable, or the like. As examples of wireless communications standards, control panel <NUM> may communicated with remote sensors <NUM> using an IEEE <NUM> specification (e.g., WiFi™), an IEEE <NUM> specification (e.g., ZigBee™), a Bluetooth™ standard, or the like. In some instances, network <NUM> may also include any number of intermediary devices such as routers or switches.

In some examples, ECS <NUM> may also interface with control panel <NUM> via a controller of ECS <NUM>. The controller of ECS <NUM> may, for example, be a computer having processing circuitry and a memory, configured to control an air purification subsystem and other subsystems of ECS <NUM>. In some implementations, the controller of ECS <NUM> and control panel <NUM> may be highly integrated or even implemented in the same device.

According to techniques of this disclosure, control panel <NUM> may be configured to receive sensor data from sensors <NUM> and process the sensor data to generate an output based on the sensor data. Control panel <NUM> may determine that a sensed parameter value for a sensor of sensors <NUM> is indicative of supply air contamination by, for example, comparing the sensed parameter to a threshold value and/or detecting a change (e.g., an absolute increase or decrease or a percentage increase or decrease) in the parameter level (e.g., VOC level) relative to a predetermined baseline, which can indicate contamination of the air supply or an emerging contamination.

For example, control panel <NUM> may determine a sensed parameter value for a sensor of sensors <NUM> is indicative of supply air contamination by at least determining that the sensed parameter is greater than or equal to an upper threshold value for the sensed parameter or less than or equal to a lower threshold value for the sensed parameter. The thresholds can be predetermined and stored in a memory of any suitable device. In response to determining that the sensed parameter value for the sensor is indicative of supply air contamination, control panel <NUM> may determine a location associated with the specific sensor of sensors <NUM> that detected the sensed parameter value indicative of supply air contamination. Control panel <NUM> may then output, based on the location of the specific sensor, an indication of a specific subsystem or location within vehicle <NUM> that may be in need of maintenance.

Control panel <NUM> may also utilize context data when analyzing the sensor data and, based on the context data, determine a likely location or subsystem within the vehicle from which the contamination is emanating. Control panel <NUM> may additionally or alternatively utilize the context data to determine a likely source for the contamination. For example, control panel <NUM> may receive context data indicating that vehicle <NUM> is parked on the ground without the engines running. Based on this context data and based on determining that an APU is running while engines are not running, control panel <NUM> may be configured to recommend that the APU be inspected.

Control panel <NUM> may be configured to store, during flight and/or during ground operations, the values for the one or more sensed parameters for the supply air for the vehicle cabin and transmit, either during flight or post flight via network <NUM>, the values for the one or more sensed parameters to data servers <NUM>. Data servers <NUM>, which can include any suitable processing circuitry in some examples, may then process the sensed parameters data obtained from vehicle <NUM>. For example, based on a comparison of the sensed parameters data obtained from vehicle <NUM> with aggregated sensed parameters data from other vehicles, data servers <NUM> may analyze the health of vehicle <NUM> to determine if there is supply air contamination within vehicle <NUM> that is indicative of a subsystem needing maintenance. If data servers <NUM>, for example, determines that a level of a contaminant detected by a sensor that is downstream from ECS <NUM> is higher than that detected by other similarly situated sensors for other similarly situated flights, then data servers <NUM> may output a maintenance recommendation that ECS <NUM> be inspected.

Network <NUM> represents any suitable communication links between control panel <NUM> and data servers <NUM>, including wireless communication links according to a cellular communication standard, such as <NUM>, <NUM>-LTE (Long-Term Evolution), LTE Advanced, <NUM>, or the like, or an IEEE <NUM> specification, an IEEE <NUM> specification (e.g., ZigBee™), a Bluetooth™ standard, or the like. Network <NUM> may also include any number of wired communication links and include intermediary devices such as routers and switches.

Although various techniques for processing the sensor data of sensors <NUM> have been described herein as being performed by control panel <NUM>, it should be understood that in some alternate implementations, those techniques may be performed entirely or partially by an external processing device such as data servers <NUM>. Control panel <NUM> may, for example, collect sensor data from sensors <NUM> and periodically, either during flight or post flight, transmit the collected sensor data, via network <NUM>, to data servers <NUM>.

In one example use case of the techniques described above, during a deicing procedure, deicing fluid may deposit on entries to a bleed air system. The deposits can heat up and vaporize or burn, which can create a range of compounds in the bleed air, which are not normally present. These compounds may enter the cabin and be inhaled by passengers and crew, but these compounds may not cause a perception of odor. One or more of sensors <NUM> may be configured to detect TVOC levels or concentrations of key marker compounds, such as glycols, aldehydes, or carboxylic acids, that are indicative of contamination.

In response to receiving this sensor data from sensors <NUM>, control panel <NUM> or data servers <NUM> may determine context data for the sensor data to determine a possible source of the contaminant. If, for example, the context data indicates that the wheels of vehicle <NUM> were on the ground, a speed of vehicle <NUM> was zero km/h, and the air temperature outside was suitably low such that deicing fluid was used, then control panel <NUM> or data servers <NUM> may determine that deicing fluid was the source of the contamination. Additionally, control panel <NUM> or data servers <NUM> may determine if, at the time the sensor data was obtained, certain bleed valves were open or closed, whether an air recirculation system is one on or off, whether an APU was on or off, and other such context information. Based on this additional context data, control panel <NUM> or data servers <NUM> may be configured to determine, for example, whether the contamination entered the supply air due to a mechanical failure, maintenance crew error, or pilot error.

In another example use case of the techniques described above, engine oil may leak from a main engine or APU and enter bleed air. The engine oil may heat up and vaporize or burn, creating a range of compounds in bleed air that are not normally present or are only present in very low quantities. The vapor or fumes of burning oil is often reported as being associated with and undesirable odor that may worry passengers. One or more of the sensors <NUM> may be configured to sense indicators of contamination, such as elevated concentrations of key marker compounds like aldehydes, synthetic fatty acetic, aromatics, and the like. In response to receiving this sensor data from sensors <NUM>, control panel <NUM> or data servers <NUM> may determine context data for the sensor data to determine a possible source of the contaminant.

Control panel <NUM> or data servers <NUM> may be configured to determine if the sensor data was obtained while vehicle <NUM> was at a top of a climb, a top of a descent, or dry cranking with wheels on the ground, or recently after oil maintenance has been performed, some or all of which may be examples of context data and/or an operational status of vehicle <NUM>. Based on this context data, control panel <NUM> or data servers <NUM> may, for example, generate a recommendation to a user (e.g., a maintenance crewmember) to check if there has been recent oil tank over-servicing, if bearing or seals are beginning to fail, if a drain passage is blocked, if a nacelle is improperly vented, if a gearbox is leaking, if an oil filter is leak, if turbine starter is leaking, if an oil transmitter is leaking, if an oil breather vent is failing, of if an external leak is present. This list of recommended maintenance checks may include fewer maintenance checks than a maintenance crew would otherwise need to make, and thus may save a vehicle operator time and money. The generation of a recommended maintenance item by control panel <NUM> to inspect for one of the issues listed above may be based on additional context data, such as an operational status of an engine, motor, or APU on vehicle <NUM>.

<FIG> is a conceptual diagram depicting an example system architecture for a supply air contamination detection system within vehicle <NUM>. Vehicle <NUM> includes multiple subsystems, including main engines 212A and 212B, ECS 214A and 214B, APU <NUM>, LPGP <NUM>, and several other subsystems. In the example of <FIG>, the stars represent example locations for sensors 220A-220F. Locations 220A and 220B represent examples of locations downstream of an engine. Specifically, location 220A is located after a pre-cooler and downstream of a left engine of a main engines 212A and 212B, and location 220B is located after a pre-cooler and downstream of a right engine of a main engines 212A and 212B. Location 220C represents an example of a location downstream of an APU. Location 220C is upstream of the intersection of the line from APU <NUM> and the line from main engines 212A and 212B. Location 220D represents an example of a location downstream of an LPGP. Locations 220E and 220F (e.g., left pack and right pack) represent examples of locations that are downstream of an ECS. Specifically, location 220E is downstream of ECS 214A (e.g., a left pack), and location 220F is downstream of ECS 214B (e.g., a right pack).

Vehicle <NUM> also includes on-board maintenance system (OMS) <NUM>, which may generally perform similar functionality to control panel <NUM>, discussed above with respect to <FIG>. OMS <NUM> may be configured to transmit sensor data collected by the sensors to external data analysis system <NUM>, which may generally perform similar functionality to data servers <NUM>, discussed above with respect to <FIG>. External data analysis data <NUM> may be located outside of the vehicle, and OMS <NUM> may be configured to communicate with external data analysis system <NUM>.

OMS <NUM> and/or external data analysis system <NUM> may be configured to receive data from sensors positioned at any of locations 220A-220F. For example, maintenance crew on the ground may be able to read data on a diagnostic device that wirelessly receives data from the sensors. OMS <NUM> and/or external data analysis system <NUM> may be configured to also receive context data from engines 212A and 212B, ECS 214A and 214B, APU <NUM>, and/or avionics <NUM>. OMS <NUM> and/or external data analysis system <NUM> may be configured to generate a recommended maintenance item based on the sensor data and the context data. For example, OMS <NUM> and/or external data analysis system <NUM> may be configured to generate a recommendation that an oil tank or an oil breather on the vehicle be inspected, that a bearing on the vehicle or a seal on the vehicle be inspected, that a drain passage on the vehicle be inspected for a blockage, that a nacelle on the vehicle be inspected for proper ventilation, or that a gearbox on the vehicle, an oil filter on the vehicle, a turbine starter on the vehicle, or an oil transmitter on the vehicle be inspected for a leak. OMS <NUM> and/or external data analysis system <NUM> may be configured to generate a recommendation to perform a specific action with respect to any of the components listed above (e.g., oil tank, oil breather, etc.).

ECS 214A and 214B includes valves and sensors, anti-ice system, fuel tank inerting system (FTIS), ECS components, and ozone converter / combined hydrocarbon and ozone converter (CHOC) 230A and 230B. CHOC 230A and 230B may be referred to as a bleed catalytic converter. As an alternative to CHOC 230A and 230B, vehicle <NUM> may include a single-purpose ozone converter (OC) for removing ozone by converting ozone molecules to dioxygen molecules. Note, that some aircraft may not be equipped with CHOC or OC. Additional example details of ozone converters are described in commonly assigned <CIT>.

Mixer <NUM> may be configured to receive recirculated air from cabin <NUM> and receive supply air from ECS 214A and 214B and/or LPGP <NUM>. Mixer <NUM> can mix the air from these two sources and deliver the air to flight deck <NUM> and cabin <NUM>. One or more sensors may be positioned upstream or downstream from mixer <NUM>. For example, a first sensor may be positioned downstream of ECS 214A and 214B and upstream of mixer <NUM> (e.g., locations 220E or 220F), a second sensor may be positioned downstream of LPGP <NUM> and upstream of mixer <NUM> (e.g., location 220D), a third sensor may be positioned downstream of recirculation air treatment <NUM> and upstream of mixer <NUM> (e.g., location <NUM>), and a fourth sensor may be positioned downstream of mixer <NUM> (e.g., location <NUM>). Additional sensor(s) may be positioned in the cabin and/or cockpit of the vehicle.

<FIG> is a conceptual block diagram of an example remote sensing device. In the example of <FIG>, remote sensing device <NUM> includes power source <NUM>, communication circuitry <NUM>, sensors <NUM>, processing circuitry <NUM>, and storage device <NUM>. Remote sensing device <NUM> is an example implementation of any of remote sensors <NUM> described above with respect to <FIG>. Remote sensing device <NUM> may be positioned anywhere in a vehicle, including at a location downstream of an engine, a location downstream of an APU (e.g., upstream of the intersection of the APU line and the engine line), a location downstream of an environmental control system, a location downstream of an LPGP, a location downstream of an HPGP, or a location in a bleed duct.

Power source <NUM> represents all sources of power for the various components of remote sensing device <NUM> and may include one or more batteries, one or more capacitors, circuitry for receiving alternating current (e.g., <NUM> volts of <NUM> volts), or circuitry for receiving direct current (e.g., <NUM> volts).

Communication circuitry <NUM> generally represents any one or more of wireless transmitters, wireless receivers, modems, wired networking components (e.g., Ethernet cards), wireless communication components that operate according to any of a variety of IEEE <NUM> standards, or other physical components for facilitating the communication over network <NUM> described above with respect to <FIG>.

Sensors <NUM> generally represent the sensing capabilities of remote sensing device <NUM> and are configured to sense one or more air quality parameters. For example, sensors <NUM> may include one or more of a TVOC sensor or other sensors configured to sense compounds such as aldehydes, carboxylic acids, synthetic fatty acetic, aromatics, glycols, particles and/or ultrafine particles, or any other such compounds. Sensors <NUM> include any suitable sensing circuitry configured to sense the parameter of interest. For example, sensors <NUM> may include any one or more of nondispersive infrared sensors, chemical-based sensors, electromechanical sensors, catalytic bead sensors, photoionization sensors, infrared point sensors, infrared imaging sensors, semiconductor-based sensors, ultrasonic sensors, frequency resonance, or holographic sensors. In some examples, sensors <NUM> may include one or more biosensors, including electrochemical biosensors, optical biosensors, electronic biosensors, piezoelectric biosensors, gravimetric biosensors, or pyroelectric biosensors.

Processing circuitry <NUM> generally represents any of the circuitry of remote sensing device <NUM> needed to carry out any of the functionality described herein, and may include one or more microprocessors, digital signal processors (DSPs), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), discrete logic, software, hardware, firmware, or any combinations thereof.

Storage device <NUM> represents any one or more of read only memory (ROM) or random access memory (RAM), including dynamic random access memory (DRAM), including synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), magnetoresistive RAM (MRAM), resistive RAM (RRAM). Storage device <NUM> may alternatively or additionally include optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage, or other magnetic storage devices, flash memory, or any other medium that can be used to store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer, such as control panel <NUM>.

Storage device <NUM> may be configured to store sensor data <NUM>, which represents the sense parameter values obtained by sensors <NUM>. In this regards, storage device <NUM> may represent a short term, temporary storage, such as a buffer that stores the sensed parameter values prior to transmission by communication circuitry <NUM>, or may represent a longer term, non-volatile storage that that stores the sensed parameter values indefinitely for future processing.

<FIG> is a conceptual block diagram of an example control panel device. In the example of <FIG>, control panel <NUM> includes power source <NUM>, communication circuitry <NUM>, processing circuitry <NUM>, storage devices <NUM>, and user interface (UI) device <NUM>. Control panel <NUM> is an example implementation of control panel <NUM> described above with respect to <FIG>.

Power source <NUM> represents all sources of power for the various components of control panel <NUM> and may include one or more batteries, one or more capacitors, circuitry for receiving alternating current (e.g., <NUM> volts of <NUM> volts), or circuitry for receiving direct current (e.g., <NUM> volts).

Communication circuitry <NUM> generally represents any one or more of wireless transmitters, wireless receivers, modems, wired networking components (e.g., Ethernet cards), wireless communication components that operate according to any of a variety of IEEE <NUM> standards, or other physical components for facilitating the communication over network <NUM> described above with respect to <FIG>. Communication circuitry <NUM> may also include components for communicating via a cellular communication standard, such as <NUM>, <NUM>-LTE (Long-Term Evolution), LTE Advanced, <NUM>, or the like. Via communication circuitry <NUM>, control panel <NUM> may communicate with other systems and components onboard a vehicle as well as with systems external to the vehicle, such as airport based systems or other ground-based systems. Communication circuitry <NUM> may also include components for communicating, during flight, with other vehicle- or ground-based systems.

Processing circuitry <NUM> generally represents any of the circuitry of control panel <NUM> needed to carry out any of the functionality described herein, and may include one or more microprocessors, DSPs, ASICs, FPGAs, discrete logic, software, hardware, firmware, or any combinations thereof.

Storage device <NUM> represents any one or more of ROM or RAM, such as DRAM, including SDRAM, MRAM, RRAM. Storage device <NUM> may alternatively or additionally include optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage, or other magnetic storage devices, flash memory, or any other medium that can be used to store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures.

UI device <NUM> may be any one or more of a display, indicator lights, sound generating circuitry (e.g., a speaker), or any other such device for conveying information to a user of control panel <NUM>. UI device <NUM> may, for example, be configured to output a visual warning indicator or an audible warning indicator in response to control panel <NUM> detecting an a supply air contamination event. UI device may also include user input components such as a keyboard, mouse, touchscreen display or the like. Although shown as part of control panel <NUM> in <FIG>, UI device <NUM> may be physically sperate from, but in communication with, the other components of control panel <NUM>.

<FIG> is a flowchart illustrating example process for generating a recommended maintenance item, in accordance with some examples of this disclosure. The example process of <FIG> is described with reference to control panel <NUM> shown in <FIG>, although other components may exemplify similar techniques. For example, data servers <NUM> or OMS <NUM> shown in <FIG> and <FIG> may be configured to carry out the example process of <FIG>, as well as any other steps described herein as being performed by control panel <NUM> or <NUM>.

In the example of <FIG>, control panel <NUM> receives sensor data from one or more of sensors 112A-112F (<NUM>). Control panel <NUM> may receive the sensor data from sensors <NUM> via network <NUM>. Control panel <NUM> receive the sensor data as a series of measurements (e.g., sensed parameter values) taken by sensors <NUM>. The sensor data may include a timestamp representing the time at which the sensor data was acquired. Additionally or alternatively, the sensor data may include a potential source location or source component of the contamination. Control panel <NUM> also receives context data from another system such as an avionics system, and engine, an APU, an ECS, and/or any other system in vehicle <NUM>. The context data may indicate the current or past status of vehicle <NUM>, an engine or motor on vehicle <NUM>, or an APU on vehicle <NUM>.

In the example of <FIG>, control panel <NUM> determines a contamination level of a supply air of vehicle <NUM> (<NUM>). Control panel <NUM> may be configured to determine a respective contamination level based on data received from each of sensors 112A-112F. For example, control panel <NUM> can determine a first contamination level for a first location based on data received from sensor 112A, a second contamination level for a second location based on data received from sensor 112B, and so on.

Additionally or alternatively, control panel <NUM> may be configured to determine the source of the contamination based on the data received from each of sensors 112A-112F. For example, control panel <NUM> can use the contamination levels at each sensor location to determine the likely source location and/or source type of the contamination. Control panel <NUM> may be configured to determine whether the contamination source is internal to the vehicle, external to the vehicle, and whether the source type is exhaust, deicing fluid, or oil.

Control panel <NUM> may be configured to determine that a contamination level does not satisfy a threshold level by determining that a contamination level is greater than or equal to instantaneous threshold level (e.g., <NUM> ppb), determining that an average contamination level over a time duration is greater than or equal to a threshold level (e.g., <NUM> ppb), determining that a contamination level is outside of an acceptable range, and/or determining that a contamination level exceeds a baseline level by more than a threshold amount.

Control panel <NUM> may be configured to determine whether and to what extent the contamination level exceeds a baseline level. The baseline level may be an indication of the historical level of contamination at a location on the vehicle (e.g., in a specific duct) and/or a geographic location (e.g., latitude and longitude). Control panel <NUM> may be configured to determine the baseline level based on past measurements from the respective one of sensors 112A-112F. Additionally or alternatively, the baseline level may be a predetermined value that is set during manufacture or a software update, where the predetermined value is based on a fleet-wide or industry-wide acceptable level. The use of a baseline level may allow for the detection of an increase in contamination, even where the sensed contamination level remains below any other threshold level.

In the example of <FIG>, control panel <NUM> generates a recommended maintenance item to be performed for vehicle <NUM> based on the sensor data and/or based on the contamination level (<NUM>). Control panel <NUM> may be configured to select a subset of one or more maintenance items from a set of possible maintenance items. The recommended maintenance item may include a recommendation to inspect a component of ECS <NUM> or another component on vehicle <NUM>. For example, control panel <NUM> may be configured to generate a recommendation to inspect an oil tank, bearing, seal, oil breather, drain passage, nacelle, gearbox, oil filter, turbine starter, and/or oil transmitter on vehicle <NUM>. In some examples, the recommended maintenance item may include a rating of the urgency and/or importance of performing the maintenance item. Control panel <NUM> may be configured to generate an item that recommends no maintenance action but informs the user of an issue that has been identified.

Control panel <NUM> may be configured to generate a recommended maintenance item based on the location at which contamination was detected. For example, in response to detecting maintenance downstream of an APU and upstream of the engine lines, control panel <NUM> may be configured to generate a recommendation that the APU be inspected. Thus, control panel <NUM> may provide information to a technician or other user about how to address the source of any contamination.

Control panel <NUM> may be configured to present the recommended maintenance item to a user via a display in vehicle <NUM> and/or via a display external to vehicle <NUM>. The display on vehicle <NUM> may be part of the avionics system (e.g., where vehicle <NUM> is an aircraft). Additionally or alternatively, control panel <NUM> may be configured to transmit an indication of the recommended maintenance item to network <NUM> and/or data servers <NUM>.

Additionally or alternatively, control panel <NUM> may be configured to output information about the sensed parameters, such as a contamination level associated with a location in vehicle <NUM>. Control panel <NUM> may be configured to output other information such as a timestamp and/or context information associated with the contamination level. Control panel <NUM> may be configured to output the recommended maintenance item including a rating of the urgency and/or importance associated with the item, as well as a timeline, deadline, or date associated with the item. Control panel <NUM> may be configured to generate a notice of an issue that does not include a corrective action.

Control panel <NUM> may be configured to also output a category or list of maintenance items for further inspection and/or a location to further inspect. For example, control panel <NUM> can output a portion of the system that should be inspected, along with a list of the components in that portion of the system. Control panel <NUM> can select, from a list of items, one or more maintenance items associated with the identified issue so that the technician can check each of the items. Each of these maintenance items may possibly fix the issue, but the technician should check each item to discover whether there are any problems or defects that require maintenance.

The various electronic devices described in this disclosure may be implemented as one or more ASICs, as a magnetic nonvolatile RAM or other types of memory, a mixed-signal integrated circuit, a central processing unit (CPU), an FPGA, a microcontroller, a programmable logic controller (PLC), a system on a chip (SoC), a subsection of any of the above, an interconnected or distributed combination of any of the above, or any other type of component or one or more components capable of performing the techniques described herein.

Functions executed by electronics associated with the devices systems described herein may be implemented, at least in part, by hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. For example, various aspects of the techniques may be implemented within one or more processors, including one or more microprocessors, DSPs, ASICs, FPGAs, or any other equivalent integrated or discrete logic circuitry, as well as any combinations of such components, embodied in electronics included systems described herein. The terms "processor," "processing device," or "processing circuitry" may generally refer to any of the foregoing logic circuitry, alone or in combination with other logic circuitry, or any other equivalent circuitry.

Such hardware, software, firmware may be implemented within the same device or within separate devices to support the various operations and functions described in this disclosure.

Claim 1:
A data processing system configured to mount on a vehicle (<NUM>), the data processing system comprising:
communication circuitry (<NUM>) configured to:
receive sensor data from a sensor (<NUM>) on the vehicle, wherein the sensor data indicates a contamination level of a supply air for the vehicle; and
receive context data from another system on the vehicle; and
processing circuitry (<NUM>) configured to:
determine an extent to which the contamination level exceeds a baseline level, wherein the baseline level is an indication of the historical level of contamination at a location on the vehicle and/or at a geographic location of the vehicle; and
generate a recommended maintenance item to be performed on the vehicle based on the sensor data and further based on the context data.