Method and user interface device for efficient collaboration in a maintenance environment

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9747008-B2
Application number	US-201313975124-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 23, 2013
Priority date	Aug 24, 2012
Publication date	Aug 29, 2017
Grant date	Aug 29, 2017

Abstract

Embodiments include methods for creating collaborative information threads relating to maintenance or repair, comprising receiving a user selection of an equipment unit; displaying information related to one or more collaborative threads, where each thread corresponds to a task related to the selected unit; receiving user selection of one of the collaborative threads; and displaying at least a portion of the selected collaborative thread, including one or more previous actions and one or more continuation options. Embodiments also include methods for interactive selection and display of maintenance or repair information, comprising displaying a visual representation of an equipment; receiving user selection of a region for which information is desired; displaying a list of elements within the region; receiving a user selection of one of the elements; and displaying information related to the selected element. Embodiments also include user interface devices and computer-readable media embodying one or more of these methods.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method for creating collaborative threads of information relating to maintenance or repair operations, comprising:
graphically displaying status information on a user interface device for a plurality of equipment units;
receiving a first signal from the user interface device indicating a user selection of one of the plurality of equipment units;
displaying a list of one or more elements pertaining to the selected equipment unit;
displaying information related to a selected element based on the user's selection of an element from the list of one or more elements, wherein the displayed information comprises a list of one or more documents related to the selected element and a list of previous maintenance or repair collaborations referencing the selected element, wherein the list of previous maintenance or repair collaborations includes a collaborative thread that corresponds to a task related to the selected element, wherein the displayed information further comprises a timeline showing periods of activity for each task including icons identifying individuals who worked on the task and the time during which each individual worked on the task;
receive a second signal indicating user selection of one of the collaborative threads;
display at least a portion of the information comprising the selected collaborative thread, wherein the displayed information comprises one or more previous actions within the collaborative thread and one or more thread continuation options; and,
receiving a third signal from the user interface device indicating user selection of one of the documents in the list;
rendering the selected document on the user interface device; and
displaying an indicator of the relative importance of a portion of the document,
wherein the relative importance of a portion comprises a metric based on one or more of the number of views, number of zooms, number of annotations, and number of bookmarks of the portion; and
the indicator comprises an icon displayed with a color that is determined based on the value of the metric;
initiating a service request; which comprises of:
creating a new collaborative thread;
prompting the user to enter information identifying the new thread;
receive the user entry; and
associate the entry with the new thread.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
receiving a fourth signal from the user interface device indicating user selection of a thread continuation option;
capturing information related to the selected collaborative thread; and
appending the captured information to the selected collaborative thread, wherein the captured information is appended as the most recent entry in the selected collaborative thread.

3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
receiving a fifth signal via a communications port of the user interface device, the fifth signal comprising information related to the selected collaborative thread;
appending at least a portion of the received information to the selected collaborative thread; and
displaying at least a portion of the information comprising the selected collaborative thread, wherein the at least a portion comprises the appended received information.

4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising displaying information related to a plurality of equipment units, wherein the information displayed for a particular equipment unit comprises one or more previous actions within a collaborative thread related to the particular equipment unit.

5. The method of claim 4 , further comprising selecting the plurality of equipment units for which information is displayed based at least in part on their respective distances from the user interface device.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first and second signals are received and the collaborative thread information is displayed via a touch screen display of the user interface device.

7. A method for interactive selection and display of information related to an equipment subject to maintenance or repair, comprising:
displaying a visual representation of at least a portion of the equipment;
receiving a first signal from a user interface device indicating user selection of a region of the equipment for which information is desired;
displaying an indicator of an equipment region and a list of one or more elements within the indicated equipment region;
receiving a second signal from the user interface device indicating user selection of one of the elements in the list;
displaying information related to the selected element, wherein the displayed information comprises a list of one or more documents related to the selected element and a list of previous maintenance or repair collaborations referencing the selected element, wherein the list of previous maintenance or repair collaborations includes a collaborative thread that corresponds to a task related to the selected element, wherein the displayed information further comprises a timeline showing periods of activity for each task including icons identifying individuals who worked on the task and the time during which each individual worked on the task;
receiving a third signal from the user interface device indicating user selection of one of the documents in the list;
rendering the selected document on the user interface device; and
displaying an indicator of the relative importance of a portion of the document,
wherein the relative importance of a portion comprises a metric based on one or more of the number of views, number of zooms, number of annotations, and number of bookmarks of the portion; and
the indicator comprises an icon displayed with a color that is determined based on the value of the metric.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the selected document comprises at least one of video, audio, images, and text.

9. The method of claim 7 , wherein the portion of the document comprises one of an image, a single page of text, and a segment of a video.

10. The method of claim 7 , further comprising receiving a fourth signal from the user interface device designating the at least a portion of the equipment for which the visual representation is to be displayed.

11. The method of claim 10 , wherein:
the visual representation is a three-dimensional model; and
the fourth signal comprises one of a pan signal, a rotation signal, and a scaling signal.

12. A user interface device capable of creating collaborative threads of information relating to maintenance or repair operations, comprising:
a display;
a processor; and
at least one memory including program code that, when executed by the processor, causes the user interface device to:
graphically display status information on a user interface device for a plurality of equipment units;
receive a first signal indicating a user selection of one of a plurality of equipment units;
displaying a list of one or more elements pertaining to the selected equipment unit;
displaying information related to a selected element based on the user's selection of an element from the list of one or more elements, wherein the displayed information comprises a list of one or more documents related to the selected element and a list of previous maintenance or repair collaborations referencing the selected element, wherein the list of previous maintenance or repair collaborations includes a collaborative thread that corresponds to a task related to the selected element, wherein the displayed information further comprises a timeline showing periods of activity for each task including icons identifying individuals who worked on the task and the time during which each individual worked on the task;
receive a second si

Assignees

• Allgair Gregory Paul
• Northrop Grumman Systems Corp

Inventors

• Allgair Gregory Paul

Classifications

• G06F3/04842 Primary

  Selection of displayed objects or displayed text elements (G06F3/0482 takes precedence) · CPC title

• G06Q10/101

  Collaborative creation, e.g. joint development of products or services · CPC title

• G06Q10/06311 Primary

  Scheduling, planning or task assignment for a person or group · CPC title

• G06Q10/103

  Workflow collaboration or project management · CPC title

• G06Q10/0633

  Workflow analysis · CPC title