SYSTEM FOR CENTRALIZED MAINTENANCE OF ONBOARD ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT

• US 20080147740A1
• Filed: 12/07/2007
• Published: 06/19/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 12/08/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Thales SA
• Original Assignee: Thales SA
• Inventors: BAILLY, Carine, Albouy, Christian, Fournier, Francois
• Granted Patent: US 7,809,527 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/104.1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/006 Indicating maintenance
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/085 using electronic data carriers

Abstract

A centralized maintenance system is disclosed for aircraft. The aircraft includes line replacement units having components termed LRUs. The LRUs comprise items of equipment and/or electronic modules of the aircraft and/or physical links. The system comprises at least one first digital database whose data are information relating to the LRUs. Means are provided for updating the data of the database. The lifetime information for the LRUs is known and contained in the digital database. The latter comprises the mean time between failure (MTBF) data of each LRU. The MTBF data being able to be modified and updated, according to at least one event modifying the failure probabilities for at least one LRU.

Claims

1. A centralized maintenance system for aircraft, the aircraft including line replacement units (LRUs), the LRUs including items of equipment and/or electronic modules of the aircraft and/or physical links, the system comprising:

at least one first digital database including data which is information relating to the LRUs;

means for updating the data of the database allowing an interface between a centralized maintenance system and means specific to the operator,

wherein lifetime information for the LRUs is known and included in the centralized maintenance system, wherein said digital database comprises a mean time between failure (MTBF) data of each LRU, the MTBF data being able to be modified in the database by the updating means, in the course of the life of each LRU, according to at least one event modifying the failure probabilities for at least one LRU.

2. The system according to claim 1, wherein at least one event is a change of hardware configuration of an LRU, the MTBF information cue associated with the LRU and with its hardware configuration, denoted MTBF_PN, being updated and saved in the database.

3. The system according to claim 1, wherein an event entails taking into account the mean MTBF, denoted CMTBF, corresponding to the mean of a set of measurements relating to the measured duration between two consecutive failures of an LRU, said measurements being carried out on an enumerated set of LRUs of the same type that are integrated within other aircraft and constitute a feedback of experience relating to the reliability of said LRU.

4. The system according to claim 3, wherein each LRU of the set possesses the same hardware configuration.

5. The system according to claim 1, wherein the remaining lifetime of at least one LRU is saved in the database, the latter being calculated on the basis of the information arising from the item of equipment and readjusted on the basis of the information of the database comprising the modifiable MTBF information.