Method and device for assistance with the maintenance of an aircraft, especially of a helicopter

• US 6,246,341 B1
• Filed: 05/17/1999
• Issued: 06/12/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 05/18/1998
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Airbus Helicopters
• Original Assignee: Eurocopter
• Inventors: Germanetti, Serge Alexandre Marc
• Primary Examiner(s): Lee, Benjamin C.
• Application Number:
  US09/312,608
• Time in Patent Office: 757 Days
• Field of Search: 340/945, 340/946, 340/973, 701/35, 701/123, 701/14, 701/99, 701/100, 701/16, 702/147, 714/704, 714/703, 707/104, 707/103, 707/29
• US Class Current: 340/946
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 43/00 Arrangements or adaptations of instruments arrangements of cameras B64D47/08; aeronautical measuring instruments per se G01C
• CPC Class Codes: B64F 5/60 Testing or inspecting aircraft components or systems

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method and a device (1) for assistance with the maintenance of an aircraft, especially of a helicopter, intended for replaying maintenance information.

According to the invention, data relating to the operation of the said aircraft are recorded, with a view to their being replayed in the form of maintenance information, these data being accessible to a monitoring and visual display system (2) of the said aircraft, and only data capable of being visually displayed by the said monitoring and visual display system (2) are recorded with a view to presenting them to at least one pilot of the said aircraft.

Claims

1. A method for assisting the maintenance of an aircraft having a monitoring and visual display system for comprehensively and globally monitoring the aircraft, said method comprising:

comprehensively and globally monitoring the aircraft;

recording data relating to operation of the aircraft with a view to replaying said data in the form of maintenance information, wherein the data are accessible to the aircraft'"'"'s monitoring and visual display system, and wherein the only data that are recorded are data capable of being visually displayed by the monitoring and visual display system to at least one pilot of the aircraft in such a way that the pilot may personally and at any moment verify the data recorded; and

visually displaying the data recorded to the pilot in the form of maintenance information.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the said maintenance information includes indications, if appropriate, on failures of elements of the said aircraft.

3. The method as claimed in claim 2, wherein the said maintenance information moreover includes characteristic values likely to facilitate the understanding and the repair of the said failures.

4. The method as claimed in claim 2, wherein the said maintenance information moreover includes proposals for repair of the said failures.

5. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the following successive steps are carried out:

a) tests are performed for detecting failures;

b) when a failure is detected, all the data relating to the operation of the said aircraft and likely to be related to the said failure are recorded;

c) the said recorded data are processed so as to form maintenance information; and

d) the said maintenance information is replayed.

6. The method as claimed in claim 5, wherein at step a) at least one of the following tests is carried out, consisting respectively:

in the case of a monitoring and visual display system comprising at least two monitoring suites, in verifying coherence between the information generated respectively by the said suites;

in verifying the validity of values of defined parameters; and

in making comparisons between different values.

7. The method as claimed in claim 5, wherein at step b) after a failure has been detected and before data relating to the said failure are recorded, a characteristic signal is displayed indicating the existence of the failure, and the pilot is asked to take action with a view to recording the said data.

8. The method as claimed in claim 5, wherein in the event of an intermittent failure being detected, the recurrence of the said failure and an indication as to its presence at the end of flight are recorded at step b).

9. The method as claimed in claim 5, wherein the values, before and after the detection of the failure, of at least one parameter characteristic of the said failure are recorded at step b), and wherein, at step c), a comparison is carried out between the said values recorded in order to locate the said failure.

10. The method as claimed in claim 5, wherein at step c), in order to locate a failure, coherence processing operations are carried out.

11. The method as claimed in claim 5, wherein at step c), in order to locate a failure, account is taken of the probability of failure for a plurality of elements of the said aircraft and of the ease of replacing each of the said elements.

12. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the said maintenance information is grouped together so as to form pages of information.

13. The method as claimed in claim 12, wherein a menu page is formed, indicating the various pages of information available and allowing an operator to select at least one of the said pages of information, at least in order to view it.

14. The method as claimed in claim 12, wherein a set of at least j pages of information is formed, comprising information of the same type, for a number j of recent flights being an integer greater than or equal to 1.

15. The method as claimed in claim 14, wherein an entry page is formed, indicating the various pages of information available of the said set of j pages of information and allowing an operator to select one of the said pages of information, at least in order to view it.

16. The method as claimed in claim 12, wherein at least one information page is formed, including at least one of the last m flight reports, m being an integer greater than or equal to 1.

17. The method as claimed in claim 16, wherein the said flight report includes at least some of the following information:

the number of the flight;

the duration of the flight;

the number of cycles of the engine or engines;

the total number of cycles of the engine or engines;

the number of cycles of the free turbine;

the total number of cycles of the free turbine;

if appropriate, a message indicating the detection of a failure during the flight and, if appropriate, giving details of a sub-system detected to have failed; and

if appropriate, a message indicating the detection of limits exceeded.

18. The method as claimed in claim 12, wherein at least one page of information is formed including at least information relating to failures of the aircraft.

19. The method as claimed in claim 12, wherein at least one page of information is formed including at least information relating to limits exceeded.

20. The method as claimed in claim 12, wherein at least one page of information is formed including at least information on a health check of at least one engine of the said aircraft.

21. The method as claimed in claim 12, wherein at least one page of information is formed including at least information relating to times for implementing the said method and flight times of the said aircraft.

22. A device for implementing the method specified under claim 1, which includes:

means for detecting a failure;

means for recording data relating to the operation of the aircraft and likely to be related to the said failure;

means for forming maintenance information; and

means for replaying the said maintenance information.

23. The device as claimed in claim 22, which moreover includes selection means.

24. The device as claimed in claim 22, which is integrated, at least partially, into the said monitoring and visual display system (2).

25. The device as claimed in claim 22, which includes at least one replaceable module.

26. The device as claimed in claim 22, which is produced, at least partly, in a dual architecture format.

27. The method of claim 1, wherein the aircraft is a helicopter.