Platform health monitoring system

• US 8,914,149 B2
• Filed: 10/18/2012
• Issued: 12/16/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 10/12/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: The Boeing Co.
• Original Assignee: The Boeing Co.
• Inventors: Safa-Bakhsh, Robab, Harris, Patrick Neal
• Primary Examiner(s): Amin, Bhavesh V
• Application Number:
  US13/655,169
• Publication Number:
  US 20130304307A1
• Time in Patent Office: 789 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 700/245
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/006 Indicating maintenance
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/008 communicating information to a remotely located station transmission systems for measured values G08C
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/0808 Diagnosing performance data testing of vehicles G01M17/00; testing of electrical installation on vehicles G01R31/005
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/085 using electronic data carriers
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 10/30 Wind power

Abstract

A platform health monitoring system including an associative memory. The associative memory stores a plurality of known health profiles for a platform. The platform health monitoring system also includes an input device in communication with the associative memory. The input device is configured to receive a current health profile of the platform. The platform health monitoring system also may include a comparator configured to compare, in conjunction with the associative memory, the current health profile with the plurality of known health profile to generate a comparison. The comparator is further configured to generate, based on the comparison and in conjunction with the associative memory, a report on a current health of the platform.

Claims

1. A method for monitoring a platform, the method comprising:

receiving information from monitoring the platform including training information obtained during a known health state of the platform by an input/output device and a communications unit that provides communications through the use of either or both physical and wireless communications links, wherein the information is received from a sensor network and a number of systems associated with the platform;

forming a plurality of observations from the information including the received training information to create a known profile in a number of known profiles;

creating associations between pieces of the information in an associative memory from metadata of the plurality of observations; and

creating a profile in the associative memory from the associations from the plurality of observations based on maintenance information and metadata used to select the portion of plurality of observations that are formed after replacement of a part, in which the profile is used to monitor the platform.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of forming the plurality of observations from the information comprises:

identifying a number of pieces of information in the information; and

creating an observation from each piece of information in the number of pieces of information to form the plurality of observations.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the profile is selected from one of a current profile and a known profile and wherein the step of creating the profile comprises:

grouping observations in the plurality of observations to form a number of groups corresponding to degraded health state, needs repair health state, faulty health state, and repair state based on similarities between the observations in the plurality of observations.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

associating the metadata with the information, wherein the metadata comprises at least one of a timestamp for a piece of information and an identifier of a source of the piece of information.

5. An apparatus for a platform including a health monitoring system comprising:

a sensor network associated with the platform in which the sensor network is configured to monitor health of the platform;

a number of systems associated with the platform in which the number of systems and the sensor network are configured to provide information for the platform; and

a computer system connected to the sensor network, and the number of systems in which the computer system is configured to receive the information and process the information, wherein the apparatus provides an improvement in scoring a plurality of observations in the information received, characterized in that;

an associative memory is connected to the computer system and is configured to create associations from the plurality of observations using metadata from the plurality of observations from the information including the received training information to create a known profile in a number of known profiles, and to create a current profile in the associative memory from a portion of the plurality of observations based on maintenance information and the metadata used to select associations from the portion of the plurality of observations that are formed after replacement of a part in the platform;

wherein the associative memory is further configured to use information in the current profile to identify a health state for the platform in groups corresponds to a degraded health state, a needs repair health state, a faulty health state, and a repair state.

6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the computer system is in a location remote to the platform and is connected to the sensor network and the number of systems through another computer system on the platform.

7. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the computer system is further configured to:

receive at least a portion of the information from the number of systems for the platform;

identify a number of pieces of the information in the information;

create an observation from each piece of information in the number of pieces of the information to form the portion of the plurality of observations;

selectively generate an alert based on the health state of the platform.

8. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein the number of systems comprises at least one of a navigation system, avionics for an aircraft, an environmental control system, a surface control system, a flight control system, a drive system, a landing system, and a propulsion system.

9. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the computer system is configured to create the current profile from the portion of the plurality of observations by analyzing the associative memory in the computer system.

10. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the training information comprises information previously collected for the platform, maintenance information about the platform, and timestamps of the information previously collected for the platform.

11. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the metadata is comprised of at least one of a timestamp for a piece of information and an identifier of a source of the piece of information.

12. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the training information for the known health state comprises the information received from one of before a selected date information, after the selected date information, and during a period of time information.

13. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein a portion of the information is received from a maintenance database in the number of systems.

14. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the information comprises at least one of data, commands, and messages.

15. The apparatus of claim 5 further comprising:

the platform, wherein the platform is selected from one of a mobile platform, a stationary platform, a land-based structure, an aquatic-based structure, a space-based structure, an aircraft, a surface ship, a tank, a personnel carrier, a train, a spacecraft, a space station, a satellite, a submarine, an automobile, a power plant, a bridge, a dam, a wind turbine, a manufacturing system, a building, a wing, a stabilizer, an engine, a hydraulic system, a power transmission gear box, and a shaft.

16. A system for monitoring health of a platform, the system comprising:

a sensor network associated with the platform;

a number of systems associated with the platform, wherein the number of systems and the sensor network are configured to provide information for the platform, wherein a plurality of observations is in the information; and

a computer system associated with the platform in which the computer system is in communication with the sensor network and the number of systems and is configured to receive the information including training information obtained during a known health state of the platform from the sensor network and the number of systems associated with the platform, to create associations between pieces of the information in an associative memory responsive to metadata in the plurality of observations;

to process the information in the associative memory to create a known profile in a number of known profiles, to group the plurality of observations into a number of groups based on similarities between ones of individual observations in the plurality of observations to form a current profile based on maintenance information and metadata used to select a portion of the plurality of observations that are formed after replacement of a part in the platform, to compare the current profile to a number of known profiles to form a comparison, and to identify a health state of the platform in groups corresponding to a degraded health state, a needs repair health state, a faulty health state, and a repair state using the comparison.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein the platform is an aircraft.