Method and system for remotely communicating and interfacing with aircraft condition monitoring systems
First Claim
1. A computer-implemented method for remotely communicating and interfacing with an aircraft condition monitoring system (ACMS) on an aircraft, comprising:
- providing a storage card with a process that has processing power and wireless transmission functionality, the storage card including a wireless interface;
plugging the storage card into the ACMS using a card interface, wherein the ACMS collects flight performance data and generates an ACMS report after one or more exclusive conditions are fulfilled, wherein the one or more exclusive conditions are selected from a group consisting of opening of cargo doors of the aircraft, a ground speed of the aircraft reaching zero, an engine fuel flow reaching zero, and closing of fuel valves of the aircraft;
using the processor embedded in the storage card to detect whether the ACMS report is generated;
after the one or more exclusive conditions are fulfilled and the ACMS report is generated, connecting the wireless interface to a ground-based network based on network attributes stored in a database on the storage card; and
automatically and wirelessly transmitting the flight performance data to a ground station through a wireless network.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method and corresponding system remotely communicate and interface with an Aircraft Condition Monitoring System (ACMS) on an aircraft. The method and system offer a global communication architecture that can be implemented with existing ACMS devices and with any flight data acquisition unit (FDAU) equipped with a storage card, such as a Personal Computer Memory Card. International Association (PCMCIA) card. In a preferred embodiment, the method and system offer real-time wireless communication between the ACMS on an aircraft and a ground station without any hardware and/or software modifications to the ACMS.
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Citations
25 Claims
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1. A computer-implemented method for remotely communicating and interfacing with an aircraft condition monitoring system (ACMS) on an aircraft, comprising:
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providing a storage card with a process that has processing power and wireless transmission functionality, the storage card including a wireless interface; plugging the storage card into the ACMS using a card interface, wherein the ACMS collects flight performance data and generates an ACMS report after one or more exclusive conditions are fulfilled, wherein the one or more exclusive conditions are selected from a group consisting of opening of cargo doors of the aircraft, a ground speed of the aircraft reaching zero, an engine fuel flow reaching zero, and closing of fuel valves of the aircraft; using the processor embedded in the storage card to detect whether the ACMS report is generated; after the one or more exclusive conditions are fulfilled and the ACMS report is generated, connecting the wireless interface to a ground-based network based on network attributes stored in a database on the storage card; and automatically and wirelessly transmitting the flight performance data to a ground station through a wireless network. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 23, 24, 25)
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17. A computer-implemented method for remotely communicating and interfacing with an aircraft condition monitoring system (ACMS) on an aircraft, comprising:
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providing a storage card with a processor that has processing power and wired transmission functionality; plugging the storage card into the ACMS using a card interface, wherein the ACMS collects flight performance data and generates an ACMS report after one or more exclusive conditions are fulfilled, wherein the one or more exclusive conditions are selected from a group consisting of opening of cargo doors of the aircraft, a ground speed of the aircraft reaching zero, an engine fuel flow reaching zero, and closing of fuel valves of the aircraft; using the processor embedded in the storage card to detect whether the ACMS report is generated; using an access point to establish a connection with a ground-based network through a wireless network; after the one or more exclusive conditions are fulfilled and the ACMS report is generated, determining whether there is a connection available between the storage card and a ground station; and automatically transmitting the flight performance data to the ground station through the available connection. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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Specification