Real-time aircraft maintenance terminal

• US 9,334,067 B2
• Filed: 08/28/2015
• Issued: 05/10/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 11/16/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Pratt & Whitney Canada Corporation (Raytheon Technologies Corporation d/b/a RTX)
• Original Assignee: Pratt & Whitney Canada Corporation (Raytheon Technologies Corporation d/b/a RTX)
• Inventors: Macchia, Enzo, Guglielmin, George
• Primary Examiner(s): Keith, Jack W
• Assistant Examiner(s): Nguyen, Chuong P
• Application Number:
  US14/839,092
• Publication Number:
  US 20150360798A1
• Time in Patent Office: 256 Days
• Field of Search: 701/3, 701/31.4, 701/31.5, 701/32.7, 701/33.2, 244/17.13, 244/194
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B64F 5/60 Testing or inspecting aircraft components or systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• 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 5/0816 Indicating performance data, e.g. occurrence of a malfunction
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/0841 Registering performance data recording measured values G01D; information storage G11B
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/085 using electronic data carriers

Abstract

There is described a portable data transmission unit comprising a communications link for electrical connection to an aircraft engine to be maintained; an application coupled to a processor and configured for capturing in real time performance data indicative of a performance of the aircraft engine and making the performance data available for analysis upon landing of the aircraft, retrieving maintenance data related to the aircraft engine and performing maintenance operations on the aircraft engine; a user interface to display the maintenance data and receive input data, the maintenance operations performed on the aircraft engine directly through the data transmission unit using the input data and the maintenance data; a microphone to convert sound waves into an electric current; a speaker to convert analog audio signals into air vibrations to make audible sound; and a transceiver to transmit and receive in real time voice and data signals wirelessly across a network.

Claims

1. An aircraft maintenance communication system comprising:

a portable data transmission unit adjacent to an aircraft engine to be maintained, the data transmission unit electrically connected to the aircraft engine via a communications link and part of an on-board engine performance monitoring system of the aircraft, the data transmission unit comprising;

an application coupled to a processor and configured for capturing in real time performance data indicative of a performance of the aircraft engine and making the performance data available for analysis upon landing of the aircraft, retrieving maintenance data relating to said aircraft engine, and performing maintenance operations on the aircraft engine;

a user interface configured to display said maintenance data and receive input data, the maintenance operations performed on the aircraft engine directly through the data transmission unit using the received input data and the displayed maintenance data;

a microphone arranged to convert sound waves into an electric current;

a speaker arranged to convert analog audio signals into air vibrations in order to make audible sound; and

a transceiver configured to transmit and receive in real time voice and data signals wirelessly across a network during said maintenance operations; and

at least one remote communication terminal configured to receive said voice and data signals transmitted from said data transmission unit across said network in real time and transmit voice and data signals to said data transmission unit across said network in real time.

2. A system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said application is configured to access and retrieve information for said maintenance from at least one remote database via said network.

3. A system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said data transmission unit comprises a camera arranged for capturing at least one of still photos and videos.

4. A system as claimed in claim 1, wherein at least one of said data transmission unit and said remote communication terminal is configured to convert a voice signal into a data signal and a data signal into a voice signal.

5. A system as claimed in claim 4, wherein said voice signal is in a first language and said data signal is in a second language.

6. A portable data transmission unit for an aircraft, the data transmission unit part of an on-board engine performance monitoring system of the aircraft and comprising:

a communications link arranged for electrical connection to an aircraft engine to be maintained, the data transmission unit adjacent to the aircraft engine;

an application coupled to a processor and configured for capturing in real time performance data indicative of a performance of the aircraft engine and making the performance data available for analysis upon landing of the aircraft, retrieving maintenance data related to said aircraft engine, and performing maintenance operations on the aircraft engine;

a user interface configured to display said maintenance data and receive input data, the maintenance operations performed on the aircraft engine directly through the data transmission unit using the received input data and the displayed maintenance data;

a microphone arranged to convert sound waves into an electric current;

a speaker arranged to convert analog audio signals into air vibrations in order to make audible sound; and

a transceiver configured to transmit and receive in real time voice and data signals wirelessly across a network to communicate with at least one remote communication terminal in real time during said maintenance operations.

7. A data transmission unit as claimed in claim 6, wherein said application is configured to access and retrieve information for said maintenance from at least one remote database via said network.

8. A data transmission unit as claimed in claim 6, further comprising a camera arranged for capturing at least one of still photos and videos.

9. A data transmission unit as claimed in claim 6, wherein said application is configured to convert a voice signal into a data signal and a data signal into a voice signal.

10. A data transmission unit as claimed in claim 9, wherein said voice signal is in a first language and said data signal is in a second language.