Electronic Flight Bag Testing via Central Maintenance Computer

The patent introduces a Central Maintenance Computer (CMC) as an intermediary system that coordinates and manages all EFB testing operations. The CMC establishes communication links with EFBs, initiates power loss presence tests and communication bus tests, and processes test results. This intermediary approach centralizes testing complexity in a dedicated system rather than distributing it across multiple ad-hoc test setups, thereby improving reliability while managing device complexity through specialization.

The patent implements preliminary testing actions by conducting power loss presence tests and communication bus tests before actual flight operations. The CMC initiates these tests in advance to verify EFB functionality, including testing critical application recovery after simulated power losses and verifying communication links with Line Replacement Units (LRUs). By performing these comprehensive tests preliminarily, the system ensures reliability is verified before use, preventing in-flight failures while the tests are completed during scheduled maintenance windows rather than delaying operations.

The patent designs the Central Maintenance Computer (CMC) with universal communication capabilities that can simultaneously establish and manage communication links with multiple EFBs. The CMC uses standardized communication protocols and data bus interfaces that allow it to interact with any EFB in the fleet using the same methodology. This universal approach enables parallel testing of multiple EFBs without requiring separate specialized test systems for each device, thereby improving maintenance productivity while managing communication complexity through standardization and multi-functionality.