The Boeing Company

Robert L Avery

Margaret Nomi

David R Leonhardi

Wendy Cronie

Paula M Kirkish

Jay P Maloney

Cheryl Khera

Erik Fromm

Patricia Rhodes

David Mitchell Anderson

David L Banks

Aydin Akdeniz

Matthew Bueser

Kevin Yong Ung

William Phillip Coop

Rebecca Shore

Swanee Yourkowski

William J Renton

Arun Ayyagari

Winfeng Li

Thanh Duc Hoang

Christopher B Kettering

Jay P Moloney

Grant T Thacker

Yucheng Zheng

Stephen T Lane

Steve Kopecki

Grant H Thacker

Wendy A Cronie

Margaret L Nomi

Matthew C Bueser

Patricia L Rhodes

Turnkey maintenance of a customer's aircraft fleet is managed by a single management service provider (MSP) controlling integrated maintenance and materials services from a central operations site. The MSP converts data received directly from on-board aircraft systems into information it uses to manage maintenance service providers and parts suppliers. The MSP contracts with and manages maintenance, repair and overhaul organizations (MROs) who perform the maintenance on the customers' aircraft at line and base stations. The MSP either remotely manages part inventories at the customer's site, or manages suppliers who deliver the parts to the MROs. Maintenance planning, scheduling and execution information is exchanged between the MSP, MROs, part suppliers and the customers through a shared data communication network controlled by the MSP. The MSP charges the customer for the maintenance services based on a flat rate per unit of aircraft flying time.

Central server for managing maintenance and materials for commercial aircraft fleets with fleet-wide benchmarking data

An aircraft safety and configuration monitoring system includes a plurality of RFID equipped items, a plurality of RFID interrogators communicating with the plurality of RFID equipped items, a processor communicating with the plurality of RFID interrogators and adapted to determine an issue with respect to any of the plurality of RFID equipped items and an indicating mechanism communicating with the processor and adapted to indicate the issue.

Aircraft safety and configuration monitoring system and method

A method and apparatus for managing identification devices on an aircraft. An occurrence of an event is identified using information for a plurality of identification devices. Each of the plurality of identification devices is associated with a plurality of components on the aircraft. The information for the plurality of identification devices comprises data received from the plurality of identification devices and specification data for the plurality of identification devices. In response to identifying the occurrence of the event, a number of operations for the plurality of identification devices are initiated.

Managing a plurality of radio frequency identification devices

A method and apparatus for detecting a vehicle. An apparatus comprises a proximity detection system, a vehicle management system, and a notification system. The proximity detection system is associated with an aircraft and operably connected to a transducer. The proximity detection system is configured to determine a distance of a vehicle from a surface of the aircraft and a velocity of the vehicle relative to the aircraft. The vehicle management system operably connected to the proximity detection system. The vehicle management system is configured to determine a time the vehicle will be a threshold distance from the surface of the aircraft and an threshold amount of time to bring the vehicle to a predetermined velocity. The notification system is associated with the proximity detection system and configured to generate a notification signal in response to a determination that the time is less than the threshold amount of time.

Ground vehicle collision prevention systems and methods

Integrated materials management for commercial aircraft fleets including access to real-time on-board systems information

Centralized management of maintenance and materials for commercial aircraft fleets with information feedback to customer

A formable RFID tag includes a tag inlay including a composite polymer material having a pliant and flexible pre-cured state and a hardened cured state, non-rigid RFID circuitry embedded in the tag inlay and a non-rigid RFID antenna embedded in the tag inlay and interfacing with the RFID circuitry.

Formable RFID tag

Integrated materials management for commercial aircraft fleets

The present invention comprises systems and methods for preventing collisions between aircraft and ground vehicles. In one embodiment, a system includes a proximity detection unit and a transducer proximate to a selected structural portion of an aircraft, the proximity detection unit being operable to emit ranging signals through the transducer and to receive reflected signals through the transducer to determine the position of an object within a ranging area adjacent to the structural portion. The system further includes an alarm device coupled to the proximity detection unit that is responsive to a signal generated by the proximity detection unit. In another embodiment, a method includes determining a distance between the ground service vehicle and a selected structural portion of the aircraft when the vehicle is positioned in a ranging area about the aircraft. The method further includes generating a proximity alarm based upon the distance.

Centralized management of maintenance and materials for commercial aircraft fleets with access to real-time information

Integrated maintenance and materials services for fleet aircraft using aircraft data to improve maintenance quality

Integrated maintenance and materials services for fleet aircraft using aircraft data to improve quality of materials

Radar based ground vehicle collision prevention

Centralized management of maintenance and materials for commercial aircraft fleets

Growing community of inventors

Woodville, PA, United States of America

Robert L Avery