Paperless records in aircraft maintenance
First Claim
1. A method, comprising:
- a) generating a digital document which records events occurring in maintenance of an aircraft; and
b) generating a Message Authentication Code, MAC, from the digital document.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A document management system. The system uses well known MACs, Message Authentication Codes, or equivalents. In general, an MAC is used to authenticate a copy of a document. First, the document is fed to a specific algorithm, which produces the MAC. Then a copy-to-be-verified is fed to the same algorithm. If the same MAC is obtained, the copy is taken as authenticated. Under the invention, when maintenance is undertaken on an aircraft, a technician uses a computer to generate a digital document describing the maintenance. An MAC is generated for the digital document. The technician encrypts the MAC, using the technician'"'"'s encryption key. The encrypted MAC is attached to the digital document, and the pair is stored. Now, any copies of the document can be validated by (1) de-crypting the MAC and (2) validating the document using the MAC. In one embodiment, no paper documents are generated, nor signed, at the time of the maintenance.
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Citations
17 Claims
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1. A method, comprising:
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a) generating a digital document which records events occurring in maintenance of an aircraft; and
b) generating a Message Authentication Code, MAC, from the digital document. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. A method of documenting an operation performed upon an aircraft by a party, comprising:
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a) accepting information from the party, and generating a digital document containing the information;
b) applying an algorithm to the digital document, and producing an output; and
c) encrypting the output into cypher text, using an encryption key in possession of the party. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A system, comprising:
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a) a first repository, containing;
i) multiple digital documents generated by parties involved in maintenance of aircraft;
ii) for each digital document, cypher text of a Message Authentication Code, MAC;
b) a second repository, containing;
i) a searchable database; and
ii) within the searchable database, data items extracted from the digital documents. - View Dependent Claims (13)
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14. Apparatus, comprising:
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a) a building;
b) an aircraft within the building;
c) means for generating maintenance records of the aircraft in digital format; and
d) a system for generating a Message Authentication Code, MAC, based on the records. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17)
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Specification