Method and system for preparing aircraft maintenance application data for portable devices

• US 9,522,745 B2
• Filed: 09/24/2014
• Issued: 12/20/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 09/24/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
• Original Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
• Inventors: Rudrappa, Rupa, Mahalingaiah, Pradeep, Kathirvel, Kannan, Christensen, Michael
• Primary Examiner(s): Jen, Ian
• Application Number:
  US14/494,933
• Publication Number:
  US 20160083118A1
• Time in Patent Office: 818 Days
• Field of Search: 701/100
• 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 5/0841 Registering performance data recording measured values G01D; information storage G11B

Abstract

Embodiments of the subject matter described herein relate generally to preparing aircraft maintenance application data for retrieval by portable devices. The method or system encompasses different components of the aircraft maintenance domain and meets the requirements of multiple stakeholders each seeking a customized record of aircraft maintenance application data. The method or system is also capable of expansion to support future requirements.

Claims

1. A method for preparing aircraft maintenance application data in an aircraft with onboard memory, the method comprising:

in a central maintenance computer onboard the aircraft,

collecting raw aircraft maintenance data while the aircraft is in service;

storing the raw aircraft maintenance data in the onboard memory;

analyzing the raw aircraft maintenance data;

building, in the onboard memory, prognostic data consistent with the analyzed raw data;

collating the prognostic data for use in stakeholder-specific maintenance application data records; and

concurrently generating, in the onboard memory, based on the collated prognostic data a plurality of customized stakeholder-specific maintenance application data records, wherein each maintenance application data record is customized based on a respective stakeholder'"'"'s system architecture.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of analyzing comprises identifying a predictive pattern in the raw aircraft maintenance data that is indicative of a subsystem issue.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the subsystem is one of a plurality of subsystems and the step of analyzing further comprises identifying a respective predictive pattern for more than one of the subsystems.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the step of building prognostic data further comprises generating an error recovery mechanism consistent with each predictive pattern.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising transmitting the collated prognostic data to an application layer of the onboard memory.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein concurrently generating a plurality of customized stakeholder-specific maintenance application data records comprises duplicating at least one prognostic datum.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein concurrently generating a plurality of customized stakeholder-specific maintenance application data records comprises configuring a maintenance application data record consistent with a first stakeholder'"'"'s requirement.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the first stakeholder'"'"'s requirement is one of a plurality of stakeholder'"'"'s requirements and further comprising configuring each of the plurality of customized stakeholder-specific maintenance application data records consistent with a respective stakeholder'"'"'s requirement of the plurality of stakeholder'"'"'s requirements.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

performing the step of collecting in a first layer of onboard memory, the steps of analyzing and building in a second layer of onboard memory, and the step of collating in a third layer of onboard memory; and

storing the plurality of maintenance application data records in an application layer of the onboard memory.

10. A method for preparing onboard maintenance application data records based on aircraft maintenance data collected while an aircraft is in service, the aircraft having onboard memory and a subsystem, the method comprising:

collecting raw aircraft maintenance data;

identifying a predictive pattern in the raw aircraft maintenance data that is indicative of an issue with the aircraft subsystem;

creating an error recovery mechanism according to the predictive pattern;

building a prognostic data report for the aircraft subsystem;

receiving a first stakeholder'"'"'s requirements comprising (i) a maintenance data request and (ii) system architecture constraints; and

generating the maintenance application data record in the onboard memory, wherein the maintenance application data record is (i) reflective of the prognostic data report, (ii) customized to the requirements of the first stakeholder, and (iii) and configured for remote retrieval by the first stakeholder.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising retrieving the maintenance application data record by the first stakeholder.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the first stakeholder is one of a plurality of stakeholders, and further comprising:

receiving, for each stakeholder of the plurality of stakeholders, a unique stakeholder'"'"'s requirement comprising (i) a maintenance data request and (ii) system architecture constraints;

and

wherein the maintenance application data record is one of a plurality of unique maintenance application data records generated concurrently in the onboard memory, and each maintenance application data record of the plurality of unique maintenance application data records is (i) customized to the requirements of a respective stakeholder, and (iii) and configured for remote retrieval by the respective stakeholder.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising duplicating at least one prognostic datum within two or more of the plurality of unique maintenance application data records.

14. The method of claim 12, further comprising retrieving, by a second stakeholder, a second stakeholder'"'"'s maintenance application data record that is different from the first stakeholder'"'"'s maintenance application data record.

15. A system for preparing for remote retrieval a maintenance application data record collected while an aircraft having a subsystem is in service, the system comprising:

an onboard memory device; and

an onboard processor coupled to the memory device and configured to

     1) collect raw aircraft maintenance data;

     2) identify a predictive pattern in the raw aircraft maintenance data that is indicative of an issue with the subsystem;

     3) generate an error recovery mechanism according to the predictive pattern;

     4) build a prognostic data report for the subsystem;

     5) receive requirements of a first stakeholder, and

     6) generate the maintenance application data record, wherein the maintenance application data record is (i) reflective of the prognostic data report, (ii) customized to the requirements of the first stakeholder, and (iii) and configured for remote retrieval when initiated by the first stakeholder;

wherein the first stakeholder is one of a plurality of stakeholders, and the processor is further configured to

receive, for each stakeholder of the plurality of stakeholders, a unique stakeholder'"'"'s requirement comprising (i) a maintenance data request and (ii) system architecture constraints;

concurrently generate, for each stakeholder of the plurality of stakeholders, a unique maintenance application data record that is (i) customized to requirements of a respective stakeholder, and (ii) and configured for remote retrieval by the respective stakeholder.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the processor is further configured to transmit the maintenance application data record to the first stakeholder.

17. The system of claim 15, further comprising:

A remote retrieval device coupled to the vehicle for retrieving the first stakeholder'"'"'s maintenance application data record, the remote retrieval device comprising system architecture constraints consistent with the first stakeholder'"'"'s requirement.

18. The system of claim 15, wherein the subsystem is one of a plurality of subsystems, and wherein the processor is further configured to build a prognostic data report for each of the subsystems.