The Boeing Company

Joseph Frank Floyd

Brent Louis Hadley

Patrick Jan Eames

Stephen Paul Miller

Robert James Martin

John Robert Linn

Darren Brian Macer

Jeffrey Reyner Kollgaard

Steven Donald Blanchard

Michael K Rodgers

Kyle M Hadley

Chul Young Park

Robert John Rencher

Arne Kenneth Lewis

Jeremy David Scott

Lawrence Stimson Lindgren

Alimuddin Mohammad

Pradeep Krishnaswamy

Shan Luh

William J Ahl

Craig Greenberg

Carrie A LaPonza

Gail L Bohnhoff-Hlavacek

Paul A Sesny

Quentin S Patterson

Brian Lee Coker

Patrick James Eames

Binoy V Varughese

David A Okrent

Roger L Guay

Michael W Boyd

Nicholas Shepherd

Ivan Rumsey

Christian Isaacs

John Timothy McCarty

Patrick J Eames

Phillip J Fisher

A system for evaluating a measure of appropriateness of additive manufacturing (AM) to manufacture a vehicle part of a vehicle is provided. The system includes a plurality of data source importers to import a plurality of datasets from a plurality of data sources to a data collection system with a composite dataset including data of the plurality of datasets. The system also includes a dataset manager system (DMS) to manage the data collection system. The system further includes a client application coupled to the DMS. The client application receives a user request for the measure of appropriateness of AM to manufacture the vehicle part of the vehicle during a lifecycle of the vehicle. In response to the user request, the client application produces the measure of appropriateness using an evaluation of a plurality of assessments on the data retrieved from the composite dataset.

Quester evaluation for additive manufacturing of a vehicle part

A method is provided for compressing a binary geometry file for a structural product. The method includes accessing the binary geometry file that contains a geometric model of a structural product that is formed of component parts, the geometric model including an assembly of geometric models of instances of the component parts. The method includes identifying the component parts of the structural product, and generating a master binary geometry file for the structural product that contains geometric models of the component parts. The method includes applying the binary geometry file to a coder that generates a corresponding compressed binary geometry file. The coder searches the binary geometry file for the geometric models of the instances of the component parts, and substitutes references to respective ones of the geometric models of the component parts in the master binary geometry file.

Compressing binary geometry files for structural products

A method is provided for reconfiguring a vehicle for transfer from a first operator to a second operator. The method includes accessing first datasets that define an initial configuration of the vehicle, importing second datasets that describe maintenance, repair or service of the vehicle during in-service operation with the first operator, and generating a first composite dataset defining a current configuration of the vehicle. The method also includes accessing third datasets that define requirements of the vehicle for in-service operation with the second operator, and generating a second composite dataset that defines a target configuration of the vehicle from the first composite dataset and based on data of the third datasets. The method includes comparing the first and second composite datasets to identify modifications to reconfigure the vehicle from the current configuration to the target configuration, and generating a visual presentation of the modifications to facilitate reconfiguration of the vehicle.

Reconfiguring a vehicle for transfer from a first operator to a second operator

A method for managing a program relating to a product, the program including a plurality of program requirements for performing a plurality of program tasks, includes: (a) establishing a location reference system for a representation of the product in three dimensions; (b) identifying a plurality of task-loci in a display; the display presenting the representation of the product according to the location reference system; each respective task-locus of the plurality of task-loci being associated with a respective program task of the plurality of program tasks; (c) characterizing each respective task-locus associated with an accomplished respective program task as a respective completed task-locus; and (d) accounting for accomplishment of the respective program tasks by accounting for the respective completed task-loci.

Method and system for managing a program relating to a product

An apparatus is provided for implementation of a system for visualization and diagnostic analysis of a complex system such as an aircraft composed of a plurality of elements. The apparatus may receive and process data for a physical instance of the complex system to identify a maintenance message for the complex system. A diagnostic procedure defined for and associated with the maintenance message, may involve or implicate one or more interested elements of the plurality of elements. The apparatus may generate a visual presentation of at least a portion of the complex system. The visual presentation may be digital media and depict the interested element(s) and one or more other elements of the plurality of elements. And the apparatus may apply a visual effect to the interested element(s) depicted by the visual presentation to distinguish the interested element(s) from the other element(s) depicted by the visual presentation.

Visualization and diagnostic analysis of interested elements of a complex system

A database access computing device for utilizing a three dimensional model to access databases for information regarding one or more parts in a vehicle is provided. The database access computing device includes at least one processor. The database access computing device is configured to display a three dimensional model representing at least one version of a vehicle, receive a selection of a location within the three dimensional model, identify at least one part number associated with the location in a first database, retrieve part information from at least a second database using the part number, and display the part information retrieved from at least the second database on the three dimensional model.

System and method for utilizing a three dimensional model for accessing databases

A method is provided for rendering a scene including a digital three-dimensional (3D) model of a structure. The method includes traversing a scene graph composed of a hierarchical group of nodes representing respective 3D objects of the digital 3D model, and selecting nodes of the hierarchical group of nodes. The method includes adding a plurality of objects represented by the selected nodes to a render queue, performing a multiple-pass rendering of the plurality of 3D objects from the render queue. This includes in a pass of a plurality of passes, rendering a threshold portion but not all of the plurality of 3D objects to a framebuffer for output to a display device, with at least one of the plurality of 3D objects being left in the render queue after rendering the threshold portion. The method may also include a mesh simplification and/or z-occlusion.

Multiple-pass rendering of a digital three-dimensional model of a structure

A system for supporting maintenance of an aircraft is provided. The system includes a plurality of database importers. The database importers import a plurality of datasets from a plurality of data sources to a database with a composite dataset including data of the plurality of datasets. The system also includes a database-management system (DBMS) to manage the database. The system further includes a client application coupled to the DBMS. The client application receives a user request for a demand for replacement aircraft parts for maintenance during an in-service lifecycle of the aircraft. In response to the user request, the client application predicts and thereby produces a prediction of the demand based on the data retrieved from the composite dataset.

Supporting maintenance of aircraft

A method is provided that includes receiving a first electronic document for a manufactured product, with the first electronic document including first data regarding the manufactured product. The method includes extracting the first data from the first electronic document. And the method includes correlating the first data so extracted and second data regarding the manufactured product to produce aggregated data including the first data and second data, and storing the aggregated data in a storage from which the aggregated data is queryable.

Extraction, aggregation and query of maintenance data for a manufactured product

A system includes a differencing engine and a layout engine of the differencing engine or coupled to the differencing engine. The differencing engine is configured to direct comparison of two or more document components each of which includes respective media content, and each of which has associated metadata providing information about the respective document component. The layout engine is configured to generate a layout of a panoptically-arranged visual representation of the document components or a comparison thereof according to a layout model, and according to the associated metadata. And the differencing engine is configured to communicate the layout.

Panoptic visualization document differencing

A system is provided for panoptic visualization of a document having a structure defined according to a particular schema. The system is configured to generate a layout of pages of the document, panoptically arranged in a manner that reflects logical relationships between the pages according to the structure of the document, which may in turn reflect relationships between the subjects or their objects depicted by the content. These logical relationships may be established by links between pages, which may be identified by information provided in associated metadata for the pages. This type of arrangement may enable a user to see the content in a single view, and in an arrangement that facilitates a better understanding of the relationships between the content and their subjects or objects, which may be otherwise difficult to comprehend.

Panoptic visualization of a document according to the structure thereof

A system is provided that includes a model viewer configured to receive selection of a point on a visual presentation of a digital 3D model of a complex system, and translate the point to a location within a coordinate system of the complex system. A search engine configured to identify a document component that depicts an element of the complex system at or within a volume about the location. The document component is from a collection for which at least some components depict elements of the complex system and have associated metadata that includes information reflecting the 3D geometry of at least some depicted elements. A layout engine configured to generate a layout of panoptically-arranged document components including the identified document component and other document component(s) identified according to the associated metadata for the identified document component, which further includes information identifying a link between the respective document components.

Panoptic visualization of elements of a complex system using a model viewer

An apparatus is provided for implementation of a system for integrated visualization and analysis of a complex system such as an aircraft composed of a plurality of elements. The apparatus may receive data for a physical instance of the complex system, and this data may include a list of the plurality of elements that reflects a relationship between at least some of them. The apparatus may generate a visual presentation of a digital three-dimensional (3D) model of the complex system. The apparatus may generate a layout of document components depicting elements of the plurality of elements, with the layout including one or more two-dimensional (2D) images depicting at least some of the elements. And the apparatus may integrate the data, visual presentation of the 3D model and layout to produce a visual definition of the complex system.

Integrated visualization and analysis of a complex system

A system is provided for panoptic visualization of a 3D representation of a complex system. The system includes a visualization engine configured to receive a digital 3D model of a complex system and produce a plurality of electronic document components including 2D images depicting elements of the complex system. The system also includes a data extractor configured to generate 2D derivatives of the 3D model, and communicate the 2D derivatives for inclusion in a panoptic visualization document collection. The data extractor may be configured to receive a document component including a 2D image depicting an element of the complex system, and extract from the 3D model, information identifying a spatial, design or functional relationship between the respective element and one or more other elements of the complex system. The data extractor may then be configured to provide the extracted information in metadata associated with the document component.

Growing community of inventors

University Place, WA, United States of America

Joseph Frank Floyd