Electronic checklist system with checklist inhibiting

• US 6,262,720 B1
• Filed: 07/24/1998
• Issued: 07/17/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 07/24/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: The Boeing Co.
• Original Assignee: The Boeing Co.
• Inventors: Boorman, Daniel J., Hartel, Martin C., Jeffrey, Gary S.
• Primary Examiner(s): Bayerl, Raymond J.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Nguyen, Cao H.
• Application Number:
  US09/122,309
• Time in Patent Office: 1,089 Days
• Field of Search: 345/326, 345/333, 345/334, 345/338, 345/339, 345/345, 345/348, 345/347, 345/352, 707/500, 707/526, 707/513
• US Class Current: 715/710
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 23/0272 Presentation of monitored results, e.g. selection of status reports to be displayed; Filtering information to the user

Abstract

An electronic checklist system (ECL) for a complex system and corresponding method for controlling the presentation of non-normal checklists based on signals generated by a crew alert system according to non-normal operating conditions of the complex system. The ECL system automatically inhibits all non-relevant non-normal checklists, thereby removing the burden from the crew of having to determine what checklists are redundant or inappropriate based on the occurring non-normal conditions. An inhibited non-relevant non-normal checklists does not include a checklist status icon displayed adjacent to its associated crew alert message. This indicates to the crew that the associated non-normal checklist is not required to be accomplished. In addition, the inhibited checklist is removed from the checklist queue, its operational notes are removed from the notes file, its deferred line items are removed from the predefined normal checklist, and the checklist state is preserved. A software interface tool allows for remote modification of the checklists.

Claims

1. A method for displaying non-normal checklists which are provided for display by an electronic checklist system of an operational system in response to determined non-normal operating conditions of the operational system, said method comprising:

determining if prestored non-normal checklists exist for any determined non-normal operational condition; and

if two or more non-normal checklists exist, managing access to the existing non-normal checklists based on predefined non-normal checklist status rules.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein managing access comprises:

determining the status of the two or more existing non-normal checklists based on the predefined non-normal checklist status rules, wherein the determined status is inhibited or uninhibited.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein managing access further comprises:

displaying a checklist icon if the determined status of the existing non-normal checklist is uninhibited.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein managing access further comprises:

if the determined status of the existing non-normal checklist is uninhibited, saving any operational notes of the existing uninhibited non-normal checklist to a notes file,

saving the existing uninhibited non-normal checklist in a checklist queue, and

saving any deferred items of the existing uninhibited non-normal checklist to one or more predefined normal checklists.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein managing access further comprises:

displaying the non-normal checklists saved in the checklist queue; and

displaying a non-normal checklist based on a selection from the displayed checklist queue.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the predefined non-normal checklist status rules comprise:

a first non-normal checklist is uninhibited if no other existing checklist includes an active inhibit attribute for the first non-normal checklist.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein an inhibit attribute is active if the non-normal checklist that contains the inhibit attribute is uninhibited and if the inhibit attribute is contained within a conditional line item within the uninhibited non-normal checklist, the conditional line item is determined true.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein managing access further comprises:

inhibiting an uninhibited non-normal checklist, if another non-normal checklist that includes an inhibit attribute associated with the uninhibited non-normal checklist becomes active after the uninhibited non-normal checklist was determined to exist, wherein inhibiting an uninhibited non-normal checklist comprises;

removing any operational notes of the uninhibited non-normal checklist from a notes file;

removing the uninhibited non-normal checklist from a checklist queue;

removing the checklist status icon from the checklist'"'"'s associated crew alert message;

removing any deferred items of the uninhibited non-normal checklist from one or more predefined normal checklists; and

preserving the current state of the uninhibited non-normal checklist.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein if two or more of the existing non-normal checklists are a set of referring checklists, the first determined existing referring checklist in the set is uninhibited and the one or more other referring checklist in the set is inhibited.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

modifying checklists remotely from the system; and

updating the checklists according to the modified checklists.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein modifying comprises:

modifying within a non-normal checklist the other non-normal checklists that are associated with inhibit attributes; and

identifying the inhibit attributes'"'"' location within a non-normal checklist.

12. An electronic checklist system for displaying non-normal checklists of an operational system in response to determined non-normal operating conditions of the operational system, said system comprising:

a checklist determining component for determining if prestored non-normal checklists exist for any determined non-normal operational condition; and

a checklist manager for managing access to the existing non-normal checklists based on predefined non-normal checklist status rules, if two or more non-normal checklists exist.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the checklist manager comprises:

a status determining component for determining the status of the two or more existing non-normal checklists based on the predefined non-normal checklist status rules, wherein the determined status is inhibited or uninhibited.

14. The system of claim 12, wherein the checklist manager further comprises:

an icon display component for displaying a checklist icon if the determined status of the existing non-normal checklist is uninhibited.

15. The system of claim 13, wherein the checklist manager further comprises:

if the determined status of the existing non-normal checklist is uninhibited, a first saving component for saving any operational notes of the existing uninhibited non-normal checklist to a notes file,

a second saving component for saving the existing uninhibited non-normal checklist in a checklist queue, and

a third saving component for saving any deferred items of the existing uninhibited non-normal checklist to one or more predefined normal checklists.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the checklist manager further comprises:

a checklist queue display component for displaying the non-normal checklists saved in the checklist queue; and

a checklist display component for displaying a non-normal checklist based on a selection from the displayed checklist queue.

17. The system of claim 12, wherein the predefined non-normal checklist status rules comprise:

a first non-normal checklist is uninhibited if no other existing checklist includes an active inhibit attribute for the first non-normal checklist.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein an inhibit attribute is active if the non-normal checklist that contains the inhibit attribute is uninhibited and if the inhibit attribute is contained within a conditional line item within the uninhibited non-normal checklist, the conditional line item is determined true.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the checklist manager further comprises:

an inhibiting component for inhibiting an uninhibited non-normal checklist, if another non-normal checklist that includes an inhibit attribute associated with the uninhibited non-normal checklist becomes active after the uninhibited non-normal checklist was determined to exist, wherein the inhibiting component comprises;

a first removing component for removing any operational notes of the uninhibited non-normal checklist from a notes file;

a second removing component for removing the uninhibited non-normal checklist from a checklist queue;

a third removing component for removing the checklist status icon from the checklist'"'"'s associated crew alert message;

a fourth removing component for removing any deferred items of the uninhibited non-normal checklist from one or more predefined normal checklists; and

a fifth capturing component for capturing the current state of the uninhibited non-normal checklist.

20. The system of claim 12, wherein if two or more of the existing non-normal checklists are a set of referring checklists, the first determined existing referring checklist in the set is uninhibited and the one or more other referring checklist in the set is inhibited.

21. The system of claim 12, further comprising:

a checklist editor for modifying checklists remotely from the system; and

a checklist updating component for updating the checklists according to the modified checklists.

22. The system of claim 21, wherein the checklist editor comprises:

a inhibit attribute modifying component for modifying within a non-normal checklist the other non-normal checklists that are associated with inhibit attributes, and for identifying the inhibit attributes'"'"' location within a non-normal checklist.