The Boeing Company

William Phillip Coop

Rebecca Shore

Kevin Yong Ung

Arun Ayyagari

Lois Hill

Swanee Yourkowski

Robert L Avery

Rocke Robert Koreis

Thanh Duc Hoang

Jose R Elias

Marc Rollo Matsen

Brian J Smith

Craig Farris Battles

Winfeng Li

Tommy T Nguyen

Christopher B Kettering

Paul F Seeger

Edwin Keith Riner

James Don Knox

Yucheng Zheng

David W Allen

Richard Neil Blair

David B Blackwell

Karl Loren Johnson

David Scott Kinney

Michael J Buckley

Charles K Bautz, Jr

Michael C Muma

Shella A Knoll

David Robert Tilzer

Steve Kopecki

Ronald Meir Sonntag

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 maintaining the airworthiness configuration of an aircraft. Airworthiness configuration information for an aircraft is identified by a data processing system. The airworthiness configuration information identifies an airworthiness configuration of the aircraft comprising a number of components of the aircraft. A number of automated identification technology devices are attached to the aircraft. The number of automated identification technology devices include component information for the number of components. The component information is read from the number of automated identification technology devices by a reader. The component information read from the number of automated identification technology devices is compared, by a processor unit, to the airworthiness configuration information to determine whether the aircraft complies with the airworthiness configuration.

Maintaining the airworthiness configuration of aircraft

Method and apparatus for managing equipment on an aircraft. An apparatus comprises an interrogator, a display system, and a processor unit. The interrogator is configured to read information from a set of wireless tags associated with a set of equipment in an aircraft. The processor unit is configured to identify the set of equipment from the information read from the set of wireless tags by the interrogator. The processor unit is further configured to display a layout of an interior of the aircraft on the display system. The processor unit is further configured to display a number of graphical indicators for the set of equipment on the layout in a number of locations on the layout corresponding to a number of locations of where the set of equipment is located in the interior of the aircraft.

Aircraft equipment management system

A method and apparatus for maintaining a component on a vehicle. Component maintenance information is read from an automated identification technology tag on the vehicle, wherein the automated identification technology tag is associated with an interior component on the vehicle. A remaining portion of a maintenance period for the interior component is determined using the component maintenance information. An indication of the remaining portion of the maintenance period is displayed on a user interface.

Aircraft interior component maintenance

A method and apparatus for reworking a component on a vehicle. An inconsistency on the component is identified. The component is reworked to remove the inconsistency. Component rework information is stored on an automated identification technology tag attached to the vehicle. The component rework information comprises information describing the reworking of the component to remove the inconsistency.

Aircraft rework management

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 data archiving system includes an archiving label including a label tag and a memory device carried by the label tag and a reading device adapted to retrieve repair information from the memory device.

Onboard data archiving system and method

A system for data synchronization of intermittently connected sensors may include an RFID system and an information management system. The system may also include an application to insure integrity of data retrieved or posted between the RFID system and the information management system.

Data synchronization and integrity for intermittently connected sensors

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

A computer implemented method, apparatus, and computer usable program code for managing data on an intermittently connected sensor. A data management system manages the data on radio frequency identification tags. The data management system comprises a radio frequency identification tag capable of storing the data, program code stored on the radio frequency identification tag, and a reader data processing system. The reader data processing system is capable of receiving the data and the program code from the radio frequency identification tag in a radio frequency signal and capable of executing the program code to read the data.

Data management for intermittently connected sensors

Methods and systems for an automated safety device inspection system for a vehicle are provided. The system includes an RFID reader including a transmit portion and a receive portion wherein the reader is physically translatable along a predetermined path, a directional antenna communicatively coupled to the reader wherein the antenna is configured to transmit and receive radio frequency (RF) signals in a direction substantially normal to the path, a relative position indicator configured to determine a relative position of the reader from a starting point, and a controller communicatively coupled to the reader. The controller includes a user interface, a processor communicatively coupled to the user interface, and a database communicatively coupled to the processor wherein the database includes location data of a plurality of safety devices in a plurality of different types of vehicles, the processor is configured to control the transmitted RF signals based on the location data.

Methods and systems for automated safety device inspection using radio frequency identification

An aircraft component identification and maintenance tracking system is disclosed. The system includes a plurality of aircraft components, a plurality of radio frequency identification (RFID) tags, and a transceiver operatively configured to transmit an activation signal to each of the RFID tags. Each of the RFID tags is associated with a respective one of the aircraft components and comprises identification and maintenance data information specific to the aircraft component to which it is associated. The transceiver is configured to receive information transmitted by each of the RFID tags which are configured to transmit identification and maintenance data information that is representative of a maintenance history for the aircraft component to which the RFID tag is associated.

System and methods for tracking aircraft components

A maintenance data management system uses RFID tags associated with aircraft components to store and manage component attributes such as maintenance and service history, useful in performing aircraft maintenance. A transceiver is used to write data into the tags, read data from the tags and transmit the data to a central database for storage and access by maintenance providers. The data may include the service and maintenance history of the component. Maintenance providers may remotely access the database through the Internet.

Growing community of inventors

Buckley, WA, United States of America

William Phillip Coop