Providing enhanced functionality in an interactive electronic technical manual

Abstract

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide methods, apparatus, systems, computer program products for importing information of a source document for a publication of technical documentation for an item into an interactive electronic technical manual system (IETM). In one embodiment, a method is provided comprising: for each format structure found in the information: reading the format structure configured to contribute to an organizational framework of the source document; and assigning a tag to a component corresponding to the format structure, wherein the tag (1) identifies the format structure and the component and (2) allows display of the format structure on a window; receiving a request to view the information; and responsive to receiving the request: generating the window based on the tag for each format structure to display each format structure on the window along with the corresponding component to provide the organizational framework of the source document on the window.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]The present application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17 / 026,636, filed Sep. 21, 2020, the contents of which are incorporated by reference in their entirety into the present application.TECHNOLOGICAL FIELD[0002]Embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to providing enhanced functionality in an interactive electronic technical manual (IETM). The inventors have developed solutions that increase the efficiency, functionality, speed, capabilities, and user friendliness over conventional IETMs.BACKGROUND[0003]IETMs and other technical data generally hold large amounts of information that can include multiple volumes and hundreds or thousands of data modules when in electronic format. When users of IETMs, or other technical data that are provided electronically, need to look for a specific subject, they need to go over a lengthy electronic table of contents, similar to a paper book, but using links, which ca...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The present patent provides methods, apparatus, and computer storage media for providing an electrical schematic associated with wiring data for an item. The technical effect of this patent is that it allows users to access and view the wiring data for an item through an interactive electronic technical manual system (IETM viewer), providing a more convenient and efficient means of learning about the wiring of an item. The method involves providing a window for display via the IETM viewer, allowing users to select wires and components of the electrical schematic, and then generating a diagram of the wire and its terminal ends for display in a second view pane. The user can also select specific parts of the wire for display, and the system will retrieve information on those parts and display it for the user's viewing. This allows users to access and view the wiring data for an item in a more convenient and efficient way.

Problems solved by technology

This results in a lot of time spent by users, trying to look in many different places (and sometimes, out of exasperation, just look from A to Z) to find the information, which results in inefficiency, loss of time, and waste of expensive resources.

Furthermore, although many conventional IETMs provide some type of interactive functionality with respect to the technical data that allow users to interactively view the data, such functionality is typically limited to capabilities and do not address many of the technical issues encountered when providing an electronic interface for a large amount of information, as well as technical improvements that provide features beyond just simply allowing the user to view such information.

Many conventional IETMs fail to provide functionality to control secure access to the technical data, as well as control user functionality within the IETMs in viewing and using the technical data in a secure manner.

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