Real-time prognostic and health management system, program product, and associate methods

A diagnostic method for identifying the state of one or more electronic, mechanical devices, and electromechanical, the method comprising the steps of:

• generating prognostics and health management signature data for one or more devices associated with an aircraft, the prognostics and health management signature data comprising a plurality of prognostics and health management statuses each describing a different operating state of one or more devices, the one or more devices comprising one or more of the following:
• electronic devices, mechanical devices, and electromechanical devices;
• preloading the prognostics and health management signature data for the one or more devices associated with the aircraft into a tangible and non-transitory memory, the preloaded prognostics and health management signature data comprising a plurality of prognostics and health management statuses each describing a different operating state of the one or more devices;
• determining a first memory address portion from a first digital parameter value associated with one or more of the one or more devices;
• determining a second memory address portion from a second digital parameter value associated with one or more of the one or more devices;
• and
• accessing the prognostics and health management signature data to retrieve a prognostics and health management status of the one or more devices describing a present operating state thereof from among the plurality of prognostics and health management statuses,
• wherein a logic device generates a memory address of the prognostics and health management status of the one or more devices describing the present operating state thereof in real time,
• wherein the generated memory address comprises the first and second memory address portions determined from the respective first and second digital parameter values associated with the one or more devices.

A computer program product, stored on a tangible and non-transitory computer memory media, operable on a computer, the computer program product comprising a set of instructions that, when executed by the computer, cause the computer to perform the operations of:

• generating prognostics and health management signature data for one or more devices associated with an aircraft, the prognostics and health management signature data comprising a plurality of prognostics and health management statuses each describing a different operating state of one or more devices, the one or more devices comprising one or more of the following:
• electronic devices, mechanical devices, and electromechanical devices;
• preloading preflight the prognostics and health management signature data for the one or more devices associated with the aircraft into a first tangible and non-transitory memory, the preloaded prognostics and health management signature data comprising a plurality of prognostics and health management statuses each describing a different operating state of the one or more devices;
• calculating an address in the first tangible and non-transitory memory of one of the plurality of prognostics and health management statuses, the respective status describing a present operating state of the one or more devices;
• accessing the first tangible and non-transitory memory using a calculated address in real time to generate a prognostics and health management alert in flight responsive to the prognostics and health management signature data located at the calculated address,
• wherein one or more address portions of the address in the first tangible and non-transitory memory are determined from one or more parameter values associated with the one or more devices,
• wherein the one or more address portions determined from the one or more parameter values are utilized to calculate the address in the first tangible and non-transitory memory of the one of the plurality of prognostics and health management statuses describing the present operating state of the one or more electronic devices;
• accessing post flight a second tangible and non-transitory memory to retrieve fault log data, including the prognostics and health management alert;
• and
• analyzing the fault log data to thereby provide a prognostics and health management status.