Maintenance and warranty control system for aircraft

• US 6,003,808 A
• Filed: 07/11/1997
• Issued: 12/21/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 07/11/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Pratt & Whitney Canada Corporation (Rtx Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Pratt & Whitney Canada Corporation (Rtx Corporation)
• Inventors: Nguyen, Phuc Luong, Graham, Peter H., Goldman, Avrum, McCormick, R. Ian
• Primary Examiner(s): Jordan, Charles T.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Ducker, Jr., Charles R
• Application Number:
  US08/893,672
• Time in Patent Office: 893 Days
• Field of Search: 244/1 R, 701/29, 701/30, 364/184, 364/188, 364/424.03
• US Class Current: 244/1.00R
• CPC Class Codes: B64F 5/60 Testing or inspecting aircraft components or systems
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/31194 Multimedia integration into fieldbus

Abstract

The system provides engine maintenance information automatically from fault code data received from an onboard engine performance monitoring computer. The maintenance information is provided by an HTML repair guide electronically called by the control system using the fault code as part of the page address in the HTML guide. The control system automatically ensures that all fault codes are responded to, i.e. that maintenance personnel carry out the appropriate maintenance actions in response to each and every fault code, with a view to improve quality assurance of maintenance. Maintenance actions of maintenance personnel are automatically recorded for the purposes of validating and/or generating warranty claim applications. The system also has a warranty claim report generator for processing aircraft maintenance action log data. The generator has a warranty action discriminator for reading the action log data and outputting data representing possible warranty covered actions, and a warranty action validator receiving the possible warranty covered actions data and engine performance data for outputting data representing warranty claim actions. The warranty claim actions data are processed to produce warranty claim report output data.

Claims

1. An aircraft maintenance control system comprising:

a data store of engine performance data including engine fault code data, said engine performance data being obtained from an aircraft onboard engine performance monitoring and recording system;

a maintenance and repair information display system for displaying maintenance information in response to fault codes; and

a maintenance action controller connected to said data store for causing said information display system to display in response to user input maintenance information for all fault codes in said fault code data and for producing an output signal indicative of completion of displaying said maintenance information for all said fault codes in said fault code data,

whereby said display system is controlled to display said maintenance information for all fault codes obtained from said aircraft.

2. The control system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said display system comprises an HTML browser system, and said controller comprises means for calling said browser system to display a page corresponding to a fault code.

3. The control system as claimed in claim 2, wherein said means for calling add at least one of a predetermined prefix and a predetermined suffix to said fault code to obtain an address for said page.

4. The control system as claimed in claim 1, further comprising user action confirmation means for recording, in a maintenance action log, an action taken by a user in response to said fault codes.

5. The control system as claimed in claim 4, wherein said controller comprises means for prompting said user to enter said action taken for all said fault codes prior to generating said completion output signal.

6. The control system as claimed in claim 4, further comprising warranty action discriminator means for reading said action log and outputting data representing possible warranty covered actions.

7. The control system as claimed in claim 6, further comprising warranty action validator means receiving said possible warranty covered actions data and said engine performance data for outputting data representing warranty claim actions.

8. The control system as claimed in claim 7, further comprising warranty claim report generator means for processing said warranty claim actions data and producing a warranty claim report output.

9. An aircraft maintenance control system comprising:

a data store of engine performance data including engine fault code data, said engine performance data being obtained from an aircraft onboard engine performance monitoring and recording system;

a display system for displaying fault codes from said fault code data;

user action confirmation means for recording, in a maintenance action log, an action taken by a user in response to said fault codes; and

a controller prompting said user to enter an action taken for all said fault codes and for generating an output signal indicative of completion of recordal of said action for all said fault codes,

whereby said display system is controlled to display maintenance information for all fault codes obtained from said aircraft.

10. A warranty claim report generator system for processing aircraft maintenance action log data, said generator comprising:

a warranty action discriminator reading said action log data and outputting data representing possible warranty covered actions;

a warranty action validator receiving said possible warranty covered actions data and engine performance data and outputting data representing warranty claim actions; and

a warranty claim report generator processing said warranty claim actions data and producing warranty claim report output data.

11. The report generator system as claimed in claim 10, wherein said validator comprises user selection means for allowing a user to add to said warranty claim actions data at least some of said possible warranty covered actions data rejected by said validator for not meeting predetermined warranty conditions, whereby the user may override said validator for any possible warranty covered action.

12. The report generator system as claimed in claim 10, further comprising a modem for transmitting said claim report output data to a claim validation center.