Computer system of maintenance for airplane

FIELD: information technologies.

SUBSTANCE: system comprises the first software module, installed in the avionics zone, and the second software module installed in the open zone, besides, the first module is made as capable of following a logical tree of fault search, and the second module is made as capable of provision of an electronic document of maintenance with passage along this logical tree of fault search by the first module, which automatically and synchronously generates representation of pages of the specified document of maintenance by the second module, and such pages are accordingly related to nodes of the specified tree.

EFFECT: simplified process of maintenance software update with provision of integrity and efficient protection against malicious access and damage of software and data, which present maintenance tools.

9 cl, 11 dwg

The technical field to which the invention relates.

This invention in General relates to the field of aircraft maintenance.

The level of technology

Traditionally, the maintenance of the aircraft is on the ground service personnel on the basis of paper documents.

These documents had previously been in the form of guides and magazines, maintenance and repair, respectively known by the abbreviations CNS (maintenance) (AMM) and the RDA (Guide Troubleshooting) (TSM). These documents presented a comprehensive description of the procedures, preventive maintenance, and detection and repair of faults that can occur in any equipment of the aircraft.

Similarly, reports of the pilots was recorded in on-Board recording, called "logbook", also in paper form. Staff then used this journal for maintenance purposes during intermediate stops.

Recently, in connection with a tendency to reduction or even elimination of all securities in the cabin (Paperless cockpit) leadership RTO and the RDI and logbook replaced installed on the aircraft computer software applications.

More precisely, now leadership RTO and the RDA has taken the form of electronic documents is s, in which the operator maintenance is able to search through hyperlinks. These documents contain a description of the equipment in the aircraft and failures that occur in it, allowing the operator maintenance to identify and detect the failure.

Similarly, the logbook also took the form of an electronic document, entitled "electronic journal".

The above mentioned documents are also connected to each other via hyperlinks, so the operator can easily move from one application to another.

In addition to testing unit remote equipment uses a centralized maintenance system (CSTO) (CMS)when this unit is equipped with a module Board hardware test (Wat) (BITE), as well as to send error messages and associate them with each other or with failures to facilitate the process of finding failures.

Therefore, the operator maintenance has at its disposal a variety of different computer tools, which he must know to be able to locate faults and to investigate any failures.

However, these tools maintenance have a number of disadvantages.

First of all, the operator is not always direct in his actions to search not what spravnosti. He is free to follow the procedure which seems to him most appropriate, and if necessary to pass some test stages or even to change the order specified in the manual, with the risk of more or less rapid passage according to the selected options.

Then taking into account recent developments due to the separation of the on-Board network on the protected area and an unprotected area is difficult to determine, hosting computer software applications associated with maintenance. More precisely, the in-vehicle network in General is divided into two subnets, the first of which is the so-called area of avionics, and the second in the so-called open or unprotected zone. Communication between the two subnets as needed are unidirectional, leading from the subnet avionics to open the subnet. On the other hand, in any given subnet communication can be bidirectional.

Placement tools maintenance in the outdoor area can not guarantee their integrity or, in other words, effective protection from malicious access and (or) damage to programs and data, which they are. As a consequence, tools maintenance unfit to undergo the process of any certification. In addition, improper use of tools for technical services to the Oia (unplanned or uncoordinated tests) can harm the proper operation of the systems in the area of avionics.

On the contrary, the placement of these instruments in the area of avionics can hardly be envisaged, as this will require the development of specific and expensive applications, thereby eliminating the ability to perform frequent updates.

One objective of the present invention is to offer tool maintenance for the aircraft, which does not show the above-mentioned disadvantages, which means, first, that he always provides guidance for the operator and, secondly, enables the implementation, i.e. it is compatible with the separation of the on-Board network.

The invention

The present invention relates to computer system maintenance for an aircraft equipped with a network that is divided into a protected area, called area of avionics, and an open area, in fact the computer system has a first software module located in the area of avionics, and the second software module is placed in an open area, where the first module is arranged to follow the logical tree search failure, and the second module is arranged to view an electronic document maintenance through this logical tree search failure of the first module, automatically and synchronously generating the representation of the second module of the countries of the C of the above document maintenance associated, respectively, with related sites.

Mainly, each node mentioned in the logical tree search failure with at least one task of the maintenance, and the first module transmits the second module is a hyperlink that points to a page of document maintenance associated with this task, when the first module reaches this node.

The first module, as a rule, determines the next node as a function of the result of the execution of the said maintenance tasks corresponding to this node.

Boolean search tree failure is determined, for example, an identification code of the refusal, and he mentioned code is obtained from the analysis of the recording in the electronic logbook located in the area of avionics.

If the first module determines that the piece of equipment in the plane completes its passage through the logical tree search failure, the system may be configured to confirm the presence of this equipment list the minimum equipment (SMO) (MEL) of the aircraft contained in the area of avionics.

If the failed unit is present in the MES, the system is arranged to calculate the corresponding cost in terms of loss of performance or pre who ate the safety of the aircraft.

It is also possible to include a third software module located in the area of avionics, and the fourth software module is placed in an open area, and the third module is configured to search for and select items SMO, and the fourth software module is page of the document corresponding to the said equipment item is selected, said third software module, automatically and synchronously generating the representation of the fourth module page of the document associated with the element.

For each item SMO third module mainly transmits the fourth module is a hyperlink that points to a uniform resource locator (CID) (URL)that contains the page of the document associated with the given element.

The first module, and if necessary the third module can be accommodated in the first computer in the area of avionics, and the second module and having a fourth module can be placed in the second computer in an open area, where the second computer is further connected with a part of the network in the area of avionics unidirectional line of communication with the open area and the wireless access point.

According to the variant of the first module and optionally the third module can be accommodated in the first computer in the area of avionics, and the second module and having a fourth module can razmeshati the second computer in an open area, moreover, the inputs and outputs of the first and second computers connected to the KVM switch, mentioned a switch configured to switch the above-mentioned inputs and outputs on a common interface I / o.

Detailed description of the invention

Other characteristics and advantages of the invention will be understood when reading the following description of a preferred implementation of the invention is presented with reference to the attached drawings.

Figure 1 is conventionally illustrates a first way of implementing the maintenance system according to the invention.

Figure 2 is conventionally illustrates an implementation option maintenance system according to the invention.

Figure 3 illustrates the operation of the maintenance system according to the invention.

Figure 4 shows an example of the logical tree search failure.

Figa-5G respectively represent the contents of the first screen and the second screen of the system maintenance during the passage of the search module refusal for the following one behind the other nodes in the logical tree search failure.

A detailed view of a specific implementation methods

The basic idea of the invention is to provide a maintenance system, the first software module located in the area of avionics and the second software module, RA is displaced in an open area, the first is the search module failure, is made to follow a logical path in the logical tree search failure, and the second is intended to represent document maintenance appointments nodes in the logical tree search failure when automatic and synchronous generating a representation of the document pages, connected respectively to the nodes.

Figure 1 illustrates computer system maintenance for one implementation of the invention.

This system consists of two parts 101 and 102, respectively, in the zone () (AW) avionics and in the outdoor area (03) (OW). Each of these parts of the system includes a variety of equipment connected together via bidirectional lines, such as a virtual line in a switched Ethernet network. On the other hand, these two parts are connected to one another by one or more unidirectional line leading from the zone into the zone of OZ, that the drawing is symbolically indicated by the diodes.

The part in the area of avionics includes an on-Board terminal 110 maintenance (BTO) (OMT), containing in itself a centralized system 113 maintenance (CSTO) (CMS). This system, in particular, includes a first software module 115, referred to as the search module failure and carried out the with the ability to follow a predetermined logical tree search failure. BTO also includes a software module 120, which is responsible for the superintendence of a log book. BTO also connected with built-in test modules 130, implemented in a subject testing equipment, and unit 160, which is responsible for the management of all breakers associated with this equipment. The operation of the breaker is used to cut off power to one or more items of equipment, so it can be replaced in complete safety. Finally, the terminal BTO has the interface 150 I / o, which in particular has a display screen and keyboard.

Part of the system in the outdoor area includes a terminal that is used for the consultation document maintenance and hereinafter referred to as an information terminal. This terminal may, for example, take the form of a portable computer 190 or electronic notebooks 195 (tablet PC). Document maintenance is placed either directly into a portable computer 190 or electronic notebook 195, if the size of its memory is quite small, or otherwise in the on-Board server 170. A laptop or an electronic notebook can be connected to a wireless connection with a linear network through an access point (AP) (AP). If the access point is connected is part of the avionics or to the network, this connection is made through a unidirectional line 181, as shown in the drawing). Personnel switches, denoted by SW, used for routing on the various lines of the network.

According to the second method of implementation, is presented in figure 2, a common interface 155 I / o (keyboard, screen and mouse if needed) is used in conjunction with computer 110 containing the search module failure, and the computer 191 containing the document maintenance. The inputs and outputs of these computers are connected via the switch 185 keyboard, video and mouse (KVM) (KVM) with this common interface, and the above-mentioned switch is used to switch manually or automatically between two computers. It is seen that only the video signal from the computer 110 passes from the open area in the area of avionics, so that the security of the latter is not influence. Operator maintenance can therefore easily switch from the search screen failure on the screen of the document, as will be seen later.

In the event of a failure of the system CSTO reported either directly by sending a message transmitted flight alarm system (PAS) (FWS)or a comment from the pilot, registered as a record in a logbook 120, or both together. The CBT system is able to correlate between different failures, to find the total probable causes. In any case, the system CSTO generates the identification code of the likely failure together with typical elements replacement (TEK) (LRU).

Module 115 search of rejection identification failure code and retrieves a Boolean search tree failure corresponding to this code. Module 115 is configured to reconcile this logical tree search failure with the instructions issued by the operator maintenance and(or) integrated test modules to be verified equipment. Boolean search tree failure in General includes a first portion relating to the confirmation of this refusal, and the second part relating to due to eliminate it when this failure actually confirmed.

Each node in the logical tree search failure includes the subject to perform a task or series of tasks, the result of which determines the choice of the next node.

Each node in the logical tree search failure corresponds to a page of document maintenance, intended for display on the information terminal 190 or 195. The following Boolean search tree failure simultaneously and automatically leads to navigating through pages of documents related to the cross nodes. More precisely, each time the search module failure visits the site, the terminology is IC BTO passed hyperlink to the said terminal. The latter includes a navigation module that automatically syncs to find the CID specified by the hyperlink. The corresponding page can be retrieved locally in the information terminal, if the document is stored there, or in fact, if the page is available in the cache memory, or again in the on-Board server 170. Alternatively, the document page can be retrieved from the server on earth.

Thus, the operator maintenance is automatically routed through the search procedure for refusal, but at the same time able to consult with document maintenance related to each of the stages of this procedure.

Storage of document maintenance in the outdoor area facilitates the update operation. The latter can be, for example, by a method of loading data in accordance with the Protocol ARINC 615 or simple replacement of the memory chips. The update usually leaves the logical tree search failure constant that ensures the integrity of the system maintenance.

Boolean search tree failure can be extracted from an existing document maintenance, i.e. of the above guidelines RTO and the RDI. More precisely, the logical tree search failure corresponds to a tree structure is ur leadership of the RDI. When the step in the repair procedure failure corresponds to a node in the tree structure management of the RDI, it requires some maintenance. In this case, the tree that makes these tasks locally transferred to the above site. All nodes in this tree structure, the leadership of the RDI, which are thus transferred to the trees of maintenance tasks related to the nodes form a logical tree search failure.

If the leadership of the RTO and the RDA have documents in XML or SGML, Boolean search tree failures will happen with the exception of such elements visual representations as formatting, images, three-dimensional diagrams and animation scripts. These elements move in the part of the document. On the other hand, all functional elements will be stored in the logical tree search failure, in particular hyperlinks that are used to run the test application, to download software in an item of equipment for operation or opening of the circuit breaker, etc.

Therefore, there is, first, the logical tree search failure and, secondly, from a purely documentary file, both they, for example, in XML or SGML, but they have different descriptions of the type of document (CTD) (DTD). In addition, every node l is formed of a search tree failure is associated hyperlink to the page of the document file.

Boolean search tree failure and the document file can also be created in parallel, provided, however, confirm their respective CTD and consistency of hyperlinks between these two documents.

Figure 3 illustrates an example of the operation of computer maintenance system according to the invention.

Authentication failure code is passed to the search module failure, for example, a team from the logbook. Model search waiver is looking for a Boolean search tree failure (designated here as "Task N")corresponding to this code. This tree is divided into two parts, shown as I and II, corresponding respectively to the procedure of confirmation of the refusal and the procedure to eliminate failure.

In the process of moving through the logical tree search waiver document view maintenance is synchronized with the passing of each node in the tree. For example, when the search module failure is node 5, the information terminal displays a page of the document associated with subtask 5. It is useful to note, however, that the passage from one node to the next does not require the change to be displayed on the page. In addition, the operator maintenance can navigate in the document as desired by means of hyperlinks. For example, the operas the torus can click on the hyperlink "subtask 5-2", to view the page associated with this subtask. However, when the search module failure moves to the next node (in this case, the node 8), the screen information of the terminal will automatically display the document page that is associated with the last node ("subtask 8").

At the end of this passage in the logical tree search failure or eliminate the failure or refusal remains and a corresponding entry is placed in the logbook. If the failure remains, defective equipment will be entered into the list and is compared with the contents of the minimum equipment list (SMO). This list is in contrast to what its name indicates, gives a list of equipment, correct work which is optional for on-Board electronic equipment. Thus, if an item of equipment identified as defective, not specified in this list, the flight should be cancelled. On the other hand, if the item of equipment identified as defective, SMO, the system determines the limits imposed by the improper functioning of the equipment, and the cost associated with this, from the point of view of loss of performance or security limit. For example, a malfunction of the item of equipment may impose a limit on the number of tons of the fuel, which can take the plane, which in turn determines the upper limit of its range. The above value is stored in a file that is contained in the area of avionics.

According to a variant implementation, which is not represented, a computer system according to the invention includes a third software module located in the area of avionics, for example in the terminal of search failure, allowing the pilot or operator maintenance view SMO and choose any item of equipment in this list. The computer system also includes a fourth software module is placed in an open area, for example in the information terminal, is responsible for displaying the document associated with the elements of the CMO. This document is stored in an open area, for example, an information terminal or onboard server 170. Alternatively, the document can be placed in a server on earth. For its part, SMO is stored in the area of avionics, for example, in the terminal of search failure.

When an item from the MES is selected by the third software module, it passes over the network to the fourth module is a hyperlink pointing to the CID, which generates a page of the document associated with this element. The fourth software module then retrieves the page and displays it on the screen of the information terminal. The passage is Ooty on the elements of the MES automatically and synchronously generates a representation of the respective pages of the document information by the terminal.

Figure 4 gives an example of the logical tree search failure used in the module 115 search failure that matches the given code failure, marked here as TSM 31-50-810-982, corresponding to a fault in the software flight alarm system (FWS 2). Part of this tree is associated with the confirmation procedure that is associated with the allotment, divided by the horizontal dashed line. Figa-5G show the content of the screens of the terminal BTO and information terminal for one example of a path through the logical tree search failure, are presented in figure 4.

Root 410 logical tree 400 of search failure is associated with a document page represented in the left part figa. This page indicates the main stages of the assessment procedure and the allocation failure. Node 410, the search module failure test failure indicated in the logbook. In this case, the status of the fault is acknowledged (node 420) and the search module failure goes to the node 441.

Site 441 associated with the performance of the built-in test program (VAC) (BITE) of a model element replacement (TEK) in the PAS system, called the CPIOM-C2 (basic module processing I / o). As illustrated in figv, the terminal screen, BTO indicates the degree of execution of the test program, and the information screen gives details of the procedure.

In Dan is the first case when the test program returns the error code as indicated on the terminal screen, BTTO on figs. Therefore, the failure to block CPIOM-C2 is allocated (node 441 on the logical tree search failure). At this stage, the page of the document remains unchanged.

Node 451 corresponds to the procedure for replacing the unit CPIOM-C2, as illustrated in fig.5D, and the screen information of the terminal gives the details. The first stage is triggered circuit breaker power supply CPIOM-C2 or, in other words, cut off his power, and then in the second stage (see figa) is a new block.

When a new unit is installed and restored the power, the search module failure again tests the PAS system, which means that it returns to the root 410 Boolean search tree failure. Testing of the system at this time is going smoothly (no error code), as shown in fig.5G. Page of the document, of course, is the same as that displayed during the first pass through the logical tree search failure.

Therefore, the operator maintenance concludes that the failure is resolved, and places a record in a logbook.

1. Computer system maintenance for an aircraft equipped with a network that is divided into a protected area, called area (101) avionics, and an open area (102), characterized in that it includes
the first computer, the soda is containing the first software module, the first computer located in the area of avionics, and
the second computer containing the second software module, the second computer is placed in an open area and is associated with the first computer via a unidirectional communication line, running from the area of avionics to an open area,
the first module is arranged to follow the logical tree search failure, and the second module is arranged to view an electronic document maintenance and the ability to automatically and synchronously to generate a representation of the pages of an electronic document maintenance, associated respectively with the sites mentioned tree, when the first module in the logical tree search failure.

2. A computer system according to claim 1, characterized in that each node mentioned in the logical tree search failure with at least one task of the maintenance, and the first module transmits the second module is a hyperlink that points to a page of document maintenance associated with this task, when the first module reaches this node.

3. A computer system according to claim 2, characterized in that for each node in the logical tree search failure of the first module determines the next node as a function of the result of execution will what Uta maintenance tasks for this node.

4. A computer system according to one of the preceding paragraphs, wherein the logical tree search failure is determined from the identification code of the refusal, and he mentioned code is obtained from the analysis of the recording in the electronic logbook (120), located in the area of avionics.

5. A computer system according to claim 1, wherein, if the first module upon completion of its passage through the logical tree search failure determines that the item of equipment in the aircraft is failure, the system is adapted to confirm the availability of this equipment list the minimum equipment of the aircraft, known as SMO (MEL)contained in the area of avionics.

6. A computer system according to claim 5, characterized in that, if the failed piece of equipment exists in SMO, the system is adapted to calculate the appropriate value from the point of view of loss of performance or security limit.

7. A computer system according to claim 5 or 6, characterized in that it comprises a third software module hosted on the first computer, and a fourth software module hosted on a second computer, and the third module is configured to search for and select items from SMO, and the fourth software module is configured to view the pages of the document, according to dtweedie mentioned equipment, so, what would the item is selected, said third software module automatically and synchronously generated representation of the fourth module page of the document associated with the element.

8. A computer system according to claim 7, characterized in that for each element of the SMO third module transmits the fourth module is a hyperlink that points to a uniform resource locator (CID), containing the mentioned page of the document associated with the given element.

9. A computer system according to claim 7, characterized in that the inputs and outputs of the first and second computers connected to the switch the keyboard, video and mouse (KVM), and the aforementioned switch is arranged to switch the above-mentioned inputs and outputs on a common interface I / o.