Maintenance process and device for a radionavigation installation of an aircraft

• US 20060293803A1
• Filed: 09/03/2004
• Published: 12/28/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 09/05/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Airbus Operations SAS (Airbus SE)
• Original Assignee: Airbus France
• Inventors: Tatham, Gilles, Pomies, Dominique
• Granted Patent: US 7,519,456 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/3
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/006 Indicating maintenance
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/085 using electronic data carriers

Abstract

The maintenance device (1) comprises a first means of recording (7) for recording on a first recording medium (8) first events relating to data external to the aircraft, received by said radionavigation installation (2), a second means of recording (10) for recording on a second recording medium (11) second events relating to malfunctions occurring on board the aircraft, and means (13) for making it possible to analyze said first and second events recorded on said first and second recording media (8, 11), so as to determine whether said radionavigation installation (2) should or should not be disassembled.

Claims

1. A maintenance process for a radionavigation installation (2) of an aircraft (A),

wherein:

a) first events relating to data external to the aircraft (A), received by said radionavigation installation (2), are recorded in a first list, as appropriate;

b) second events relating to malfunctions occurring on board the aircraft (A) are recorded in a second list, as appropriate;

c) a check is carried out to verify whether said second list comprises at least one second event relating to a malfunction, and;

c1) if said second list comprises no second event, said radionavigation installation (2) is not disassembled; and

c2) if said second list comprises at least one second event relating to a malfunction, then all the second events of said second list are analyzed, and;

α

) if none of said second events relates to said radionavigation installation (2), then said radionavigation installation (2) is not disassembled; and

β

) if at least one of said second events relates to said radionavigation installation (2), then all the first events of said first list are analyzed, and;

β

1) if said first events make it possible to prove that the various malfunctions are due to problems relating to said data external to the aircraft (A), then said radionavigation installation (2) is not disassembled;

β

2) otherwise, said radionavigation installation (2) is disassembled.

2. The process as claimed in claim 1,

wherein said steps a) and b) are implemented during the flight of the aircraft (A) and said step c) is implemented at the end of said flight, after the aircraft (A) has returned to the ground.

3. The process as claimed in claim 1,

wherein said first events are recorded on a recording medium (8) of said radionavigation installation (2), and wherein said second events are recorded on a recording medium (11) of a system (5) of the aircraft (A), which receives information from said radionavigation installation (2).

4. The process as claimed in claim 1,

wherein said radionavigation installation (2) is a landing aid device of the aircraft (A) combined with a positioning system (6) based on satellites (S1, S2) and wherein said first events recorded represent the situations for which the external data received by said landing aid device (2) do not make it possible to supply a correct position indication of the aircraft (A).

5. The process as claimed in claim 4,

wherein said first events represent at least the following situations:

the number of satellites (S1, S2), from which the radionavigation installation (2) receives data, is insufficient to compute a position of the aircraft (A);

the level of the radiofrequency signals received by said radionavigation installation (2) is below a predetermined value;

anomalies exist in navigation messages transmitted by a satellite (S1, S2) of said positioning system (6);

a satellite (S1, S2) of said positioning system (6) is excluded by a ground station (P1, P2) of said positioning system (6);

corrections supplied by a ground station (P1, P2) of said positioning system (6) are too old for a satellite (S1, S2) of said positioning system (6);

a ground station (P1, P2) of said positioning system (6) is not operational;

there exists a problem with the integrity of data supplied by a ground station (P1, P2) of said positioning system (6);

there exists a loss of a signal received from a ground station (P1, P2) of said positioning system (6);

there exists an error of transmission of a signal received from a ground station (P1, P2) of said positioning system (6); and

there exists a loss of a predetermined level of protection.

10. An aircraft,

which comprises a device (1) able to implement the process specified under claim 1.

6. A maintenance device for a radionavigation installation (2) of an aircraft (A),

which device comprises:

a first means of recording (7) for recording on a first recording medium (8) first events relating to data external to the aircraft (A), received by said radionavigation installation (2);

a second means of recording (10) for recording on a second recording medium (11) second events relating to malfunctions occurring on board the aircraft (A); and

means (13) for making it possible to analyze said first and second events recorded on said first and second recording media (8, 11), so as to determine whether said radionavigation installation (2) should or should not be disassembled.

7. The device as claimed in claim 6,

wherein said first means of recording (8) is a means of recording of said radionavigation installation (2).

8. The device as claimed in claim 6,

wherein said second means of recording (11) is a means of recording of a system (5) of the aircraft (A), which receives information from said radionavigation installation (2).

9. An aircraft,

which comprises a device (1) such as that as specified under claim 6.