FAULT DIAGNOSIS DEVICE AND METHOD FOR OPTIMIZING MAINTENANCE MEASURES IN TECHNICAL SYSTEMS

• US 20100100259A1
• Filed: 10/22/2009
• Published: 04/22/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 10/22/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Airbus Operations GmbH (Airbus SE)
• Original Assignee: Airbus Operations GmbH (Airbus SE)
• Inventors: Geiter, Denis
• Granted Patent: US 8,442,702 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/3
• CPC Class Codes: G06N 5/045 Explanation of inference; Explainable artificial intelligence [XAI]; Interpretable artificial intelligence

Abstract

The present invention provides a fault diagnosis device for optimizing maintenance measures in a system, in particular a flying object. The diagnosis device has a storage unit for storing diagnosis rules, which each have a fault condition indicating the presence of a fault, and a fault conclusion formed by logical combinations of potential fault causes of the respective fault. Furthermore, a logic unit is provided, which logically combines those stored fault conclusions whose associated fault conditions are met and, on the basis of the combined fault conclusions, determines a logical diagnosis result having at least one fault cause hypothesis. A calculation unit subsequently calculates an occurrence probability for each fault cause hypothesis of the logical diagnosis result determined.

Claims

1. A fault diagnosis device for optimizing maintenance measures in a system comprising:

a storage unit for storing diagnosis rules, which each have a fault condition indicating the presence of a fault, and a fault conclusion formed by logical combinations of potential fault causes of the respective fault;

a logic unit, which logically combines those stored fault conclusions whose associated fault conditions are met and, on the basis of the combined fault conclusions, determines a logical diagnosis result having at least one fault cause hypothesis; and

comprising a calculation unit, which calculates an occurrence probability for each fault cause hypothesis of the logical diagnosis result.

2. The fault diagnosis device according to claim 1,

wherein the calculation unit transmits the calculated occurrence probabilities of the fault cause hypotheses of the logical diagnosis result to a maintenance device via an interface.

3. The fault diagnosis device according to claim 2,

wherein the maintenance device has a maintenance unit, which successively performs maintenance procedures, respectively provided with regard to a fault cause hypothesis of the diagnosis result, in a manner dependent on the calculated occurrence probabilities of the fault cause hypotheses until the fault is rectified.

4. The fault diagnosis device according to claim 1,

wherein the calculation unit sorts the fault cause hypotheses of the logical diagnosis result in accordance with the calculated occurrence probabilities of the fault cause hypotheses.

5. The fault diagnosis device according to claim 1,

wherein the fault diagnosis device is provided in an object of the system, in particular a flying object.

6. The fault diagnosis device according to claim 5,

wherein the fault diagnosis device transmits the calculated occurrence probabilities of the fault cause hypotheses to the maintenance device via a radio interface during flight operation of the flying object, said maintenance device being situated at a destination airport of the flying object in order to prepare maintenance measures.

7. The fault diagnosis device according to claim 1,

wherein the logic unit logically ANDs the stored fault conclusions of the diagnosis rules with one another.

8. The fault diagnosis device according to claim 7,

wherein the logic unit automatically determines the logical diagnosis result by means of logical Boolean calculation specifications on the basis of the combined fault conclusions of the diagnosis rules.

9. The fault diagnosis device according to claim 5,

wherein, in order to meet a fault condition, a diagnosis rule is detected by a fault detector of a flying object component within the flying object.

10. The fault diagnosis device according to claim 9,

wherein a diagnosis rule comprises logical combinations of flying object components which lie in a signal path leading to that flying object component which has the fault detector for detecting the fault condition of the diagnosis rule.

11. The fault diagnosis device according to claim 1,

wherein for each fault cause hypothesis at least one associated maintenance procedure (TSP) is present, comprising a plurality of maintenance measures.

12. The fault diagnosis device according to claims 3, 11,

wherein the maintenance procedures (TSP) are performed by the maintenance unit in the order of the sorted occurrence probabilities of the associated fault cause hypotheses.

13. The fault diagnosis device according to claim 10,

wherein the potential fault causes each have a flying object component and a functional state of said flying object component.

14. The fault diagnosis device according to claim 9,

wherein the flying object components of the flying object have actuators, sensors, lines, data switching units and data processing units.

21. A flying object component comprising the fault diagnosis device according to claims 1 to 14.

22. A flying object comprising at least one flying object component according to claim 21.

15. A method for optimizing maintenance measures in an object of a system comprising the following steps:

providing diagnosis rules, which each have a fault condition indicating the presence of a fault, and a fault conclusion comprising a logical combination of potential fault causes of the fault;

logically combining those fault conclusions whose associated fault condition is met in order to determine a logical diagnosis result having at least one fault cause hypothesis;

calculating an occurrence probability for each fault cause hypothesis of the logical diagnosis result determined.

16. The method according to claim 15,

wherein the fault cause hypotheses are sorted in accordance with the calculated occurrence probability and maintenance procedures associated with the fault cause hypotheses are performed in the order of the sorted fault cause hypotheses.

17. The method according to claim 15,

wherein the presence of a fault is detected by a fault detector during operation of the object, in particular of a flying object.

18. The method according to claim 17,

wherein the order of the sorted fault cause hypotheses, after detection of a fault, is transmitted to a destination airport of the flying object via a radio interface in order to prepare corresponding maintenance procedures.

19. A computer program for carrying out the method according to claims 15 to 18.

20. A data carrier, which stores the computer program according to claim 19.

23. A maintenance device for the maintenance of flying objects at a destination airport comprising:

a radio interface for receiving occurrence probabilities of fault cause hypotheses from a flying object; and

comprising

a maintenance unit, which prepares maintenance procedures (TSP) associated with the fault cause hypotheses in accordance with the received occurrence probabilities of fault cause hypotheses and automatically performs them successively after the flying object has landed at the destination airport.