Method and system for exporting flight data for long term storage

• US 7,181,478 B1
• Filed: 08/11/2000
• Issued: 02/20/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 08/11/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: General Electric Company
• Original Assignee: General Electric Company
• Inventors: Fullington, Michael Dean, Korson, Shannon Lee, Garls, Sharon Ann, Goertemiller, Scott Allen
• Primary Examiner(s): Pham; Khanh B.
• Application Number:
  US09/637,442
• Time in Patent Office: 2,384 Days
• Field of Search: 707201-202, 707/204, 707/104.1, 707/100, 707/101, 731/16, 701 3- 14
• US Class Current: 707/667
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/254 Extract, transform and load [ETL] procedures, e.g. ETL data flows in data warehouses
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99952 Coherency, e.g. same view to multiple users
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99953 Recoverability
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99955 Archiving or backup

Abstract

The availability of flight data used in the maintenance of aircraft engines is enhanced by exporting data from the database of an engine condition monitoring program to a long term database. The data export is accomplished by first reading a time file to determine the last date and time that data was successfully exported to the destination database. The program database is then searched for data that is new or changed since the last successful export. Any data found in searching the program database is retrieved and exported to the destination database. After a successful export, the date and time of the successful export is updated in the time file.

Claims

1. A method of exporting data from an engine condition monitoring program database to a long term storage destination database, said method comprising:

downloading data recorded in a flight data recorder to a program database retaining only recent data in a ground-based computer system having an engine condition monitoring program, wherein the engine condition monitoring program generates smoothed output data, and using said program database for storage and analysis;

after said downloading of the data recorded, extracting from said program database data that is new or changed since a last date and time that data was successfully exported to the long term storage destination database;

reading an external configuration file that provides data mapping information between the program database and the long term storage destination database;

mapping the program database to the long term storage destination database, wherein said data comprises engine configuration data, aircraft configuration data, engine input data, engine raw output data, engine smoothed output data, aircraft input data, aircraft raw output data, aircraft smoothed output data, alert data, initialization data and compressed data, and wherein said extracted data includes re-alerted and backdated data;

exporting said extracted data to said long term storage destination database; and

after a new successful export, updating an external time file with a new date and time of said new successful export.

2. In a computer system having an engine condition monitoring program, a program database comprising a number of data tables data tables, and a long term storage destination database, a method of exporting data from said program database to said destination database, said method comprising:

downloading data recorded in a flight data recorder to said program database for short term storage and analysis;

generating smoothed output data from the engine condition monitoring program;

reading an external time file to determine a last date and time that data was successfully exported to said destination database;

searching said program database for data that is new or changed since said last successful export;

after said downloading of the data recorded, retrieving the new or changed data found in searching said program database;

reading an external configuration file that provides data mapping information between the program database and the long term storage destination database;

mapping the program database to the long term storage destination database, wherein said data comprises engine configuration data, aircraft configuration data, engine input data, engine raw output data, engine smoothed output data, aircraft input data, aircraft raw output data, aircraft smoothed output data, alert data, initialization data and compressed data, and wherein said retrieved data includes re-smoothed, re-alerted, and backdated data;

exporting said retrieved data to said long term storage destination database; and

after a new successful export, updating said external time file with a new date and time of said new successful export.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein said program database includes a flight data table, and a number of engine data tables and aircraft data tables and said step of searching said program database comprises searching said flight data table for flight data that is new or modified since said last successful export.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein said step of retrieving data comprises retrieving data from said engine data tables and said flight data tables for each flight data record found in said flight data table.

5. The method of claim 4 further comprising providing each of said engine data tables and said aircraft engine tables with an indication that data retrieval is completed after said flight data is retrieved from each table.

6. The method of claim 2 wherein said program database includes a process indicator table, and a number of engine data tables and aircraft data tables and said step of searching said program database comprises searching said process indicator table for reprocessed flight data that is changed since said last successful export.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein said step of retrieving data comprises retrieving data from said engine data tables and said aircraft data tables for each reprocessed flight data record found in said process indicator table.

8. The method of claim 7 further comprising providing each of said engine data tables and said aircraft engine tables with an indication that data retrieval is completed after said reprocessed flight data is retrieved from each table.

9. The method of claim 2 wherein said program database includes an initialization data table, and said step of searching said program database comprises searching said initialization data table for initialization data that is changed since said last successful export.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein said step of retrieving data comprises retrieving initialization data found in said initialization data table.

11. The method of claim 10 further comprising providing said initialization data table with an indication that data retrieval is completed after said initialization data is retrieved from said initialization table.

12. The method of claim 2 wherein said program database includes a compression data table, and said step of searching said program database comprises searching said compression data table for compression data that is changed since said last successful export.

13. The method of claim 12 wherein said step of retrieving data comprises retrieving compression data found in said compression data table.

14. The method of claim 13 further comprising providing said compression data table with an indication that data retrieval is completed after said compression data is retrieved from said compression table.