Method for management of a maintenance routine for an aircraft and a maintenance system

• US 9,522,744 B2
• Filed: 09/05/2014
• Issued: 12/20/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 09/05/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: GE Aviation Systems LLC (GE Aerospace)
• Original Assignee: GE Aviation Systems LLC (GE Aerospace)
• Inventors: Buehler, Eric Daniel, Ward, Sally Mae, Frost, Brion Lee, McCurdy, Allan Anderson III
• Primary Examiner(s): Lee, Tyler J
• Application Number:
  US14/478,098
• Publication Number:
  US 20160068279A1
• Time in Patent Office: 837 Days
• Field of Search: 701/3, 701/14, 701/29.4, 701/33.2, 701/34.2, 701/34.4
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B64F 5/60 Testing or inspecting aircraft components or systems
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/006 Indicating maintenance
• 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 5/0841 Registering performance data recording measured values G01D; information storage G11B
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks

Abstract

A maintenance system for use with an aircraft and a method for management of a maintenance routine for an aircraft with a maintenance system comprising multiple communication terminals located physically about the aircraft and in data communication with each other, the method includes executing a maintenance software program for a maintenance routine comprising maintenance tests corresponding to components of the aircraft.

Claims

1. A method for management of a maintenance routine for an aircraft with a maintenance system comprising multiple communication terminals located physically about the aircraft and in data communication with each other, the method comprising:

executing, by the maintenance system, a maintenance software program for the maintenance routine comprising maintenance tests corresponding to components of the aircraft;

defining, by the maintenance system, an ultimate user; and

assigning a maintenance test to a communications terminal associated with a corresponding component to define an associated terminal for controlling the execution of the maintenance test by displaying a maintenance test indication on the associated terminal;

wherein the ultimate user may override the assignment of the maintenance test, including allowing the ultimate user to control a maintenance test being executed by a different user, or may end the maintenance routine before completion of the maintenance test.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the ultimate user is defined based on a predetermined hierarchy of multiple users.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the assigning the maintenance test further comprises utilizing the predetermined hierarchy of multiple users.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the ultimate user is defined based on one of a location of the user or an identity of the user.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising displaying, by the maintenance system, the maintenance routine on a communication terminal being utilized by the ultimate user.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the maintenance system defines a pilot as the ultimate user.

7. A maintenance system, comprising:

multiple communication terminals located physically about an aircraft and in data communication with each other and providing access to a maintenance routine such that the maintenance routine may be completed by at least one user via at least one of the multiple communication terminals and where the multiple communication terminals are configured to support a number of independent, non-interactive maintenance tests; and

at least one controller configured to execute a maintenance software program for the maintenance routine comprising maintenance tests corresponding to components of the aircraft, define an ultimate user, and assign a maintenance test to a communications terminal associated with a corresponding component to define an associated terminal for controlling the execution of the maintenance test by displaying a maintenance test indication on the associated terminal and where the ultimate user may override the assignment of the maintenance test, including allowing the ultimate user to end access to the associated terminal for a different user, or may end the maintenance routine before completion of the maintenance test.

8. The maintenance system of claim 7 wherein the controller is configured to allow multiple users to access the maintenance routine.

9. The maintenance system of claim 7 wherein the multiple communication terminals are configured to accept user inputs.

10. The maintenance system of claim 9 wherein the ultimate user is defined by the controller based on a user input.