CN114204978A

CN114204978A - Airborne communication system and method for airplane

Info

Publication number: CN114204978A
Application number: CN202111552066.8A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 龚睿琪; 李庆瑞; 旷滨; 张旭; 刘明
Original assignee: Commercial Aircraft Corp of China Ltd
Current assignee: Commercial Aircraft Corp of China Ltd
Priority date: 2021-12-17
Filing date: 2021-12-17
Publication date: 2022-03-18
Anticipated expiration: 2041-12-17
Also published as: CN114204978B

Abstract

An airborne call system and method for an aircraft is disclosed. The airborne call system may include: the man-machine interaction interface is used for interacting with the airborne entertainment system; a communication component within the in-flight entertainment system for communicating telephony signals with the human machine interaction interface; and the cabin communication switch is coupled between the communication component and an external communication system, the external communication system is used for communicating with an external device, and the communication component is used for establishing a communication channel between the man-machine interaction interface and the external communication system through the cabin communication switch so as to realize the communication between the man-machine interaction interface and the external device. Methods and computer readable media for airborne telephony are also disclosed.

Description

Airborne communication system and method for airplane

Technical Field

The invention relates to the field of aircrafts, in particular to an airborne communication system and method for an airplane.

Background

With the development of communication technology, onboard personnel can communicate with ground equipment or other aerial equipment through onboard communication equipment. For example, satellite telephony equipment may be provided at one or more fixed locations within an aircraft passenger cabin. When a passenger leaves the seat to the fixed positions to call or answer by using the satellite communication equipment when carrying out satellite communication, unsafe factors and inconvenience in use can be brought. Meanwhile, the number of people participating in the call is limited by the number of the satellite call devices, which may cause inconvenience in the progress of the teleconference due to incomplete devices.

The flow when the passenger needs the attendant service is as follows: a) initiating a passenger call; b) a calling lamp of the cabin indication board is lightened, and the calling harmony sounds to carry out audio and visual prompt on the crew; c) crew members come to ask for demand; d) the crew provides the services. The disadvantage of this process is that the crew member must repeat the course of action while providing item picking-up type services. If the flight is in a difficult-to-walk stage such as a bumpy flight, the answering service cannot be provided in time.

Accordingly, there is a need in the art for an improved on-board telephony system and method.

Disclosure of Invention

The airplane communication system provides communication facilities for crew members and passengers, and is an important carrier for improving the comfort of commercial airplanes, wherein the communication can comprise satellite communication, service calls between crew members and passengers, communication between passengers and the like. The invention provides a design of an airborne communication system, which optimizes the operation flow of communication and improves the interactivity and the convenience of the communication system. The service session between the crew member and the passenger is provided, the workload of the crew member can be reduced to a certain extent, the timeliness of the service is improved, and the service session has practical significance for improving the user experience.

In one embodiment of the present invention, there is provided an onboard telephony system for an aircraft, comprising: the man-machine interaction interface is used for interacting with the airborne entertainment system; a communication component within the in-flight entertainment system for communicating telephony signals with the human machine interaction interface; an external communication system on the aircraft for communicating with off-board devices; and a cabin call switch coupled between the communication component and the external communication system, wherein the communication component is configured to establish a call channel between the human-computer interaction interface and the external communication system through the cabin call switch, so as to transmit a call signal between the human-computer interaction interface and the off-board device via the communication component, the cabin call switch and the external communication system.

In an aspect, the communication component is further configured to establish a call channel between two or more human interaction interfaces associated with the in-flight entertainment system to conduct a call between users of the two or more human interaction interfaces.

In an aspect, the call signal includes a call signal, an audio call, and/or a video call.

In one aspect, the human-machine-interaction interface is configured to switch between communicating a call signal with the communication component or receiving entertainment content from the in-flight entertainment system.

In one aspect, the communication component determines whether a called party's human machine interaction interface is currently communicating when a call is received, and suspends the current communication and prompts for a call on the called party's human machine interaction interface if the current communication is currently communicating and the call has a higher priority than the current communication.

In an aspect, the communication component is configured to determine a mission state of the aircraft and determine a priority order for a plurality of communication types based on the mission state of the aircraft, wherein the plurality of communication types have different priority orders when the aircraft is in different mission states, wherein the plurality of communication types include at least two of a call between passengers, a call between a flight crew and a passenger, a call between a flight crew and an off-board device, a call between a passenger and an off-board device, access to entertainment content of the on-board entertainment system.

In one aspect, if the second human machine interaction interface is performing current communication and the priority of the call is higher than that of the current communication, suspending the current communication and automatically putting through the call on the second human machine interaction interface.

In one aspect, the human-machine-interaction interface is disposed on a passenger seat, in a cockpit, on a trim panel, and/or near a cabin attendant seat.

In an aspect, the human-machine interaction interface comprises one or more of a key, a headset, a microphone, a touch screen.

In one embodiment of the present invention, there is provided an onboard call method for an aircraft, including: receiving a call in an in-flight entertainment system, wherein the call comes from a first human-machine interaction interface interacting with the in-flight entertainment system or a cabin call switch, wherein the cabin call switch passes call signals between the in-flight entertainment system and an external communication system on the aircraft, the external communication system for communicating with an off-board device; determining a called party of the call, wherein the called party interacts with the in-flight entertainment system through a second human-machine interaction interface; transferring the call to a second human-computer interaction interface of the called party; and establishing a call channel between the first human-machine interaction interface or the cabin call switch and a second human-machine interaction interface of the called party through the airborne entertainment system so as to carry out a call between the first human-machine interaction interface and the second human-machine interaction interface or carry out a call between the second human-machine interaction interface and the off-board equipment.

In one aspect, the airborne call method further includes: determining whether the second human-computer interaction interface is performing current communication when the call is received, wherein the current communication comprises a call or receiving entertainment content; and if the second human-computer interaction interface is carrying out current communication and the priority of the call is higher than that of the current communication, suspending the current communication and prompting that the call exists on the second human-computer interaction interface.

In one aspect, the airborne call method further includes: determining a mission status of the aircraft; and determining a priority order for a plurality of communication types based on the mission status of the aircraft, wherein the plurality of communication types have different priority orders when the aircraft is in different mission statuses, wherein the plurality of communication types include at least two of a call between passengers, a call between a flight crew and a passenger, a call between a flight crew and an off-board device, a call between a passenger and an off-board device, accessing entertainment content of the on-board entertainment system.

In one aspect, the airborne call method further includes: and if the second human-computer interaction interface is carrying out current communication and the priority of the call is higher than that of the current communication, suspending the current communication and automatically putting through the call on the second human-computer interaction interface.

In an aspect, the human machine interface is arranged on a passenger seat, in a cockpit, on a trim panel, and/or near a cabin crew seat, the human machine interface comprising one or more of a key, a headset, a microphone, a touch screen.

In one embodiment of the invention, a computer-readable medium is provided, which stores a computer program that, when executed by a processor, implements an on-board telephony method as described in any one of the above.

Drawings

Figure 1 is a diagram of an airborne call system architecture in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 2 is a diagram of an airborne call system infrastructure in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 3 is a flow diagram of an onboard service session in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 4 is a flow diagram of a method of receiving a call in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 5 is a flow diagram of initiating an external call in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 6 is a flow diagram of receiving an external call in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

The present invention will be further described with reference to the following specific examples and drawings, but the scope of the present invention should not be limited thereto.

Figure 1 is a diagram of an airborne call system architecture in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. On-board call system 110 is primarily used for user calls in an aircraft, including but not limited to satellite calls, crew-to-passenger calls, and/or passenger-to-passenger calls, among others. On-board call system 110 may provide for audio calls, video calls, and the like. By definition and design of the interface, the on-board communication system 110 can be cross-linked with the on-board entertainment system and the external communication system to form the cross-linked system 120. In addition, the interface can be installed on the interior trim, and communication with different requirements is achieved.

The interface 1 provides a man-machine interaction interface (or called a human-machine interaction interface) for a user to interact with the airborne entertainment system. The interface 1 includes, but is not limited to, a seat earphone jack, a communication jack integrated on an interior trim panel. The interface 1 may be integrated into an existing seat headset/microphone jack of an on-board entertainment system. After the interface 1 is crosslinked with an airborne entertainment system, a signal transmission channel between the airborne communication system 110 and the airborne entertainment system (IFE) can be established through the interface 1, and the functions of calling prompt and operation on an IFE display screen are realized. The on-board telephony system 110 may include communication components embedded in the on-board entertainment system server so that a telephony channel may be established between the different interfaces 1, allowing single-person or multi-person telephony and in-service telephony to be performed directly.

The interface 2 is used for establishing a call channel between the onboard call system and the external communication system. An external communication system is installed on the aircraft and is used to communicate with devices outside the aircraft, such as ground devices, satellites, and the like. By way of example and not limitation, the external communication system may communicate with a Ground based facility, such as using wireless communication technologies like WiFi, 4G, 5G, ATG (Air To group), satellite, and the like. The external communication system may also communicate with ground facilities via wired communication when the aircraft is parked on the ground.

Thus, a user in the aircraft can communicate with an external communication system, for example, a satellite call or an air-to-ground call, through the interface 1, the onboard communication system 110 and the interface 2.

The design scheme of the airborne communication system can realize the communication function by adding the airborne communication system and cross-linking the existing structure on the basis of the existing satellite communication and Passenger Control Unit (PCU), thereby reducing the complexity and cost for independently installing the airborne communication system.

Figure 2 is a diagram of an airborne call system infrastructure in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. The cross-linking is achieved through the on-board telephony system based on the existing on-board entertainment system 200 and the external communication system 240. An on-board telephony system may be implemented by adding communication component 212 to entertainment system server 210. The communication component 212 may be implemented using a software application or computer program, or using a hardware communication module, or using a combination of hardware and software.

The external communication system 240 is installed on an airplane for wireless communication with an off-board device, such as satellite communication, 4G communication, 5G communication, and the like. The external communication system 240 may include devices such as a human-machine interface, a microphone, an earphone, and the like. In one embodiment, the external communication system 240 may include or be connected to a telephone (e.g., an E-phone) that may be mounted in a suitable area on an aircraft (e.g., a crew work area, some area of a passenger cabin), or may be a mobile device. The on-board personnel can communicate with the off-board device through the telephone via the external communication system 240. The telephone may also be connected to or included as part of the cabin crew equipment (e.g., human interface devices, cabin signs and/or broadcast systems, etc.). In one example, an E-phone is a handheld handset for use by a crew member that can perform both on-board telephony (e.g., talk between crew members) and satellite communications (e.g., air-to-ground talk).

In-vehicle entertainment system 200 may include a seat PCU (e.g., a human interface) that may provide an ear-piece and microphone jack for a user to interact with in-vehicle entertainment system 200. In addition, the seat PCU may also provide a display screen for the user to visually interact with the in-vehicle entertainment system 200. Additionally, the seat PCU may provide an input device (e.g., a button, or touch screen) for a user to provide input or control to the in-flight entertainment system 200. For example, the passenger may access the entertainment system server 210 through the seat PCU, play music through headphones, play video on a display screen, and so on.

In addition, human-computer interaction interfaces (e.g., headphones and microphone jacks, display screens, etc.) may also be installed at the cockpit and cabin crew locations. For example, a human-machine interface may be installed at locations such as the cockpit, cabin crew seats, galley, etc. for the cockpit crew and cabin crew to interact with the in-flight entertainment system 200 either audibly and/or visually.

In one embodiment, the communication component 212 may establish a talk channel between any two or more human machine interaction interfaces associated with the in-flight entertainment system 200 such that the words of the passengers, the flight deck units, and the cabin units may be implemented.

In another embodiment, the communication component 212 may communicate signals with the external communication system 240 via the cabin talk switch 230 (e.g., interface 2 described with reference to fig. 1), enabling onboard personnel to use the human machine interface to make satellite calls, air-to-ground calls, etc. via the communication component 212.

The human interaction interface can switch between communicating a call signal with the communication component 212 or receiving entertainment content from the on-board entertainment system 200. For example, the passengers may access entertainment content provided by the in-flight entertainment system 200 through a human-machine interface. Subsequently, when the passenger is to place or receive a call, the human machine interface can be switched to the communication component 212 for a call, and the entertainment content provided by the in-flight entertainment system 200 can be re-accessed after the call is over. The switching of the man-machine interaction interface can be realized through keys, options on a touch screen and the like.

Calls initiated by the flight crew or passenger or calls from the ground may specify a called party, such as a crew member or another passenger. A server of the in-flight entertainment system (e.g., communication component 212) routes the call to the human machine interaction interface of the called party based on the information of the called party. For example, if a passenger calls a crew member through an on-board entertainment system, the on-board entertainment system routes the call to the cabin crew device (e.g., human machine interface, cabin sign, and/or broadcast system) and provides audio visual cues on the cabin crew device accordingly. If a passenger calls another passenger (e.g., specifies another passenger's identification number, seat number, etc.), the server of the in-flight entertainment system routes the call to the other passenger's human machine interface.

According to one embodiment of the invention, a call initiated via the in-flight entertainment system 200 may be prioritized over access to entertainment content provided by the in-flight entertainment system 200. While a user is accessing entertainment content provided by the in-flight entertainment system 200, if the in-flight entertainment system 200 (e.g., the communication component 212) receives a call for the user, the in-flight entertainment system 200 may suspend/suspend entertainment content access and prompt the user for a call on the human machine interaction interface. After the call or the corresponding call is finished, the entertainment content can be continuously provided on the man-machine interaction interface of the user automatically or through manual operation.

In one embodiment of the invention, the communication component 212 is configured to determine a mission state of the aircraft and configure a priority order for a plurality of communication types based on the mission state of the aircraft, wherein the plurality of communication types may have different priority orders when the aircraft is in different mission states. The mission status of an aircraft may be set by the pilot or crew through a control system (e.g., cockpit crew, cabin crew, e-phone, etc.). The communication types may include, for example, a call between passengers, a call between a flight crew and a passenger, a call between a flight crew and an off-board device, a call between a passenger and an off-board device, accessing entertainment content of the on-board entertainment system, and the like. The communication component 212, upon receiving the call, can determine whether the called party is in an existing communication and, if not, can prompt the called party for the call on a human machine interaction interface of the called party. If an existing communication exists and the priority of the existing communication is equal to or higher than the newly initiated call, the existing communication is continued and the called party is optionally prompted for a call on the human machine interface of the called party. If the existing communication is lower priority than the call, the existing communication may be suspended and the call may be prompted on the called party's human machine interface or automatically connected.

For example, when the aircraft is in a normal flight mission state, the priority order may be that an onboard call is prioritized over an air-to-ground call, and a call between a crew and passengers is prioritized over a call between passengers. Thus, by way of example, and not limitation, one may set:

1) while an in-service call is being made on the phone (a call between a crew and a passenger), the ground-initiated satellite phone may not cut off the in-service call but may make an audio or visual prompt on the called party's human machine interface (e.g., cabin signs, in-flight entertainment displays, headphones, etc.);

2) while an on-board call is in progress, an on-board initiated call (e.g., a call between passengers) may not cut off the on-board call but may prompt on the called party's human machine interface;

3) when an on-board meeting is being conducted on the machine, the on-board meeting can not be cut off by the satellite telephone initiated on the ground, but the prompt can be made on a man-machine interaction interface of a called party;

4) when a satellite call or an air-ground telephone conference is carried out on the airplane, a conference call request initiated on the airplane can cut off the currently carried satellite call and directly enter the airplane conference or prompt the airplane conference;

5) other priority settings.

In another example, when the aircraft is in a state of performing an emergency mission (e.g., emergency rescue), the priority order may be that the air-to-ground call has a higher priority than the on-board call, and the priority of the call between passengers is higher than the priority of the call between the crew and the passengers. Thus, by way of example, and not limitation, one may set:

1) when a call is in progress while the aircraft is on (a call between a crew member and a passenger, a call between passengers), the ground-initiated satellite phone can cut off the on-going on-board call, directly enter the air-ground conversation or prompt to enter the air-ground conversation on the man-machine interaction interface;

2) when an on-board call is in progress (a call between a crew and a passenger), an on-board initiated call (e.g., a call between passengers, an on-board conference call, etc.) can disconnect the on-board call and can directly make a newly initiated call or prompt on a human-machine interaction interface;

3) while on-board an air-to-ground call (e.g., satellite call or air-to-ground teleconference)

When the conference call is initiated on the machine, the currently-performed air-ground call cannot be cut off, but the prompt can be performed on a man-machine interaction interface;

4) other priority settings.

Thus, the communication component 212 may be configured to determine whether the called party is in an existing communication when a call is received, and if the called party is in an existing communication and the priority of the existing communication is equal to or higher than the call, the existing communication may be continued and the call prompted on the called party's human machine interface. If the priority of the existing communication is lower than the call, the existing communication can be suspended and the call can be prompted or automatically connected on the man-machine interaction interface of the called party. While examples of prioritization of communication types are provided above, it should be understood that different prioritization may be set as desired or other airplane modes.

In step 301, a passenger initiates a service call through a human-machine interface with an in-flight entertainment system.

In step 302, the passenger's call signal is passed through a server of the in-flight entertainment system to a human machine interface (e.g., a human machine interface, a cabin sign, and/or a broadcast) of the crew member, providing audio and/or visual cues.

In step 303, the crew member listens to/sees the audio and visual cues and then turns on the E-phone or headset/microphone (crew member's human machine interface).

In step 304, a call channel is established between the passenger's human machine interface and the crew's human machine interface to initiate an in-service call.

After the service session is completed, any party hangs up and can end the service session.

Fig. 4 is a flow diagram of a method of receiving a call in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. The method may be implemented by a computer, server, processor, integrated circuit, etc. For example, the method may be implemented by an in-flight entertainment system (e.g., communication component 212 and/or entertainment system server 210) as described above.

In step 401, an in-flight entertainment system may receive a call, which may specify one or more called parties. The call may be from a flight crew, a passenger, or an off-board device. For example, passenger 1 or a flight crew initiates a call to passenger 2 through human machine interface 1 with an in-flight entertainment system. On the other hand, the external communication system 240 receives a call request from an external device (e.g., a terrestrial device, a satellite, etc.) and passes the call request through the cabin telephony switch 230 to a communication component in the in-flight entertainment system server.

At step 402, the in-flight entertainment system may determine whether the called party is communicating. For example, the called party may currently be talking or receiving entertainment content through their human interactive interface. If the called party is not currently communicating, an audio and/or visual call indication may be provided on the called party's human machine interface at step 405. For example, the call signal of passenger 1 is passed to human-machine interaction interface 2 of passenger 2 via the server of the in-flight entertainment system. By way of example and not limitation, call indications may be displayed on the human machine interface 2 of the passenger 2 and/or audio call indications may be provided in the headphones of the passenger 2 in case the passenger 2 uses headphones.

If the called party is currently communicating, then at step 403, it may be determined whether the received talk call has a higher priority than the current communication. As described above, the communication component 212 may be configured or configured with a priority order of a plurality of communication types, which may include, for example, a call between passengers, a call between a flight crew and a passenger, a call between a flight crew and an off-board device, a call between a passenger and an off-board device, access to entertainment content of the on-board entertainment system, and so forth. Further, the priority order of the different communication types may vary depending on the mission state of the aircraft.

If the priority of the call is higher than the priority of the current communication, it may proceed to step 404, suspend the current communication, and proceed to step 405, providing an audio and/or visual call indication on the man-machine interaction interface of the called party. In another alternative implementation, step 407 may be proceeded after step 404, and the call is automatically connected and made directly on the man-machine interaction interface of the called party.

If the priority of the call is not higher than (e.g., equal to or lower than) the priority of the current communication, then step 405 may be proceeded to provide an audio and/or visual call indication on the called party's human machine interface. In this case, the current communication can be continued without being interrupted.

After listening/viewing the audio visual cue, passenger 2 may choose to place or reject the call at step 406.

In step 407, if passenger 2 places the call, a call channel is established between the human machine interface of passenger 2 and the calling party (e.g., human machine interface of passenger 1 or the flight crew, ground equipment) to initiate a call between the calling party and passenger 2.

After the call is completed, any party hangs up and can end the call. On the other hand, if the called party does not answer the call, the call is ended after a designated time.

An on-board or multi-party conference may also be conducted using the on-board entertainment system provided herein. For example, an on-board meeting may be performed when a passenger in two or more compartments needs to be discussed. The ground device may also initiate an air-to-ground conference specifying multiple called parties. In this case, the call in step 401 may include a plurality of called parties, whereby

step

402 and 407 may be performed for each called party, and one or more called parties may be put through to conduct an on-board conference.

At step 501, an on-board user initiates an external call request (e.g., a satellite call command, an air-to-ground communication command, etc.) through a human-machine interaction interface with an in-board entertainment system.

At step 502, the in-flight entertainment system server communicates an outside call application to the outside communication system through the cabin call switch.

At step 503, the external communication system establishes communication with an external device (e.g., a satellite phone).

In step 504, a communication channel between the onboard user and the external device is established through a communication component in the onboard entertainment system server, the cabin call switch and the external communication system, and audio or video signals are transmitted to realize satellite call or air-ground call.

After the call is completed, any party hangs up and can end the call.

In step 601, an external communication system receives a call request from an external device (e.g., a terrestrial device, a satellite, etc.).

In step 602, a call request is transmitted to a communication component in an in-flight entertainment system server through a cabin talk switch.

In step 603, the communication component determines the recipient of the call request. The call recipient may be determined by a crew member through a human machine interface, or the recipient may be automatically determined by the communication component based on the identification.

In step 604, the communication component communicates the call request to the human machine interface of the recipient. For example, the call indication may be displayed on a human-machine interface of the recipient (e.g., passenger, crew member, etc.) or provided in the recipient's headset if the recipient uses the headset. In one embodiment, step 604 may include step 402-.

In step 605, the receiving party selects to connect or reject the call after listening/viewing the audio visual cue.

In step 606, if the receiving party connects the call, a call channel between the receiving party and the external device is established through the communication component in the onboard entertainment system server, the cabin call switch and the external communication system, and audio or video signals are transmitted to realize satellite call or air-ground call.

After the call is completed, any party hangs up and can end the call.

In addition, a teleconference, such as an onboard person-initiated teleconference or a ground-initiated teleconference, can also be implemented. For the telephone conference initiated by the on-board personnel, the on-board personnel can initiate a satellite telephone, and after the satellite communication is established, the on-board personnel needing to participate in the conference are switched to a communication channel to start the telephone conference. For the ground-initiated teleconference, the attendants receive telephone calls from the ground, after confirming that the teleconference needs to be carried out, the teleconference is transferred to a plurality of receivers through an E-phone or an airborne entertainment system, and the attendants switch to a communication channel after seeing or hearing the prompt, so that the teleconference can be started.

The airborne communication system design of the invention has the following advantages:

a) through the airborne communication system, the communication operation of the onboard personnel can be directly finished on the seat without getting up, and the onboard communication system is more suitable for the onboard environment;

b) the number of people participating in the conversation is not limited by the number and the layout of the handheld telephone receivers, and the conversation of multiple people can be carried out;

c) the call information can be prompted on an IFE display screen, and the call can be connected, switched or hung up on the display screen, so that the interactivity of the call system is improved;

d) on the basis of the existing passenger calling audio and visual prompt, the onboard communication system can be used for carrying out service internal communication between the crew member and the passenger, so that the service quality is improved, and the workload of the crew member is reduced;

e) on the basis of not changing the existing airplane structure, the communication function and the communication logic are realized by adding a communication component in the onboard entertainment server, wherein the communication function comprises the service internal communication between passengers and crew members, the conference communication between passengers in different cabin areas and the like;

f) if the airplane selects a broadband satellite communication system, the airborne entertainment system and the broadband satellite communication system are crosslinked through the added communication software, so that the on-board and ground communication is realized, including point-to-point satellite telephones, and the ground and a plurality of on-board passengers carry out telephone conferences;

g) the communication component is internally provided with a conversation priority logic, so that the operation logics of airborne conversation and air-ground conversation are ensured.

The various steps and modules of the methods and apparatus described above may be implemented in hardware, software, or a combination thereof. If implemented in hardware, the various illustrative steps, modules, and circuits described in connection with the disclosure may be implemented or performed with a general purpose processor, a Digital Signal Processor (DSP), an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), or other programmable logic component, hardware component, or any combination thereof. A general purpose processor may be a processor, microprocessor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine, among others. If implemented in software, the various illustrative steps, modules, etc. described in connection with the disclosure may be stored on or transmitted over as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium. A software module implementing various operations of the present disclosure may reside in a storage medium such as RAM, flash memory, ROM, EPROM, EEPROM, registers, hard disk, a removable disk, a CD-ROM, cloud storage, and the like. A storage medium may be coupled to the processor such that the processor can read information from, and write information to, the storage medium, and execute the corresponding program modules to perform the various steps of the present disclosure. Furthermore, software-based embodiments may be uploaded, downloaded, or accessed remotely through suitable communication means. Such suitable communication means include, for example, the internet, the world wide web, an intranet, software applications, cable (including fiber optic cable), magnetic communication, electromagnetic communication (including RF, microwave, and infrared communication), electronic communication, or other such communication means.

The numerical values given in the embodiments are only examples and do not limit the scope of the present invention. In addition, other components or steps not recited in the claims or specification of the invention may be present as a whole. Moreover, the singular reference of a component does not exclude the plural reference of such components.

It is also noted that the embodiments may be described as a process which is depicted as a flowchart, a flow diagram, a structure diagram, or a block diagram. Although a flowchart may describe the operations as a sequential process, many of the operations can be performed in parallel or concurrently. In addition, the order of the operations may be rearranged.

The disclosed methods, apparatus, and systems should not be limited in any way. Rather, the present disclosure encompasses all novel and non-obvious features and aspects of the various disclosed embodiments, both individually and in various combinations and sub-combinations with each other. The disclosed methods, apparatus, and systems are not limited to any specific aspect or feature or combination thereof, nor do any of the disclosed embodiments require that any one or more specific advantages be present or that a particular or all technical problem be solved.

The present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, which are only illustrative and not restrictive, and those skilled in the art can make many modifications without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

Claims

1. An airborne call system for an aircraft, comprising:

the man-machine interaction interface is used for interacting with the airborne entertainment system;

a communication component within the in-flight entertainment system for communicating telephony signals with the human machine interaction interface;

an external communication system on the aircraft for communicating with off-board devices; and

a cabin talk switch coupled between the communication component and the external communication system,

the communication component is used for establishing a call channel between the man-machine interaction interface and the external communication system through the cabin call switch, so that call signals are transmitted between the man-machine interaction interface and the off-board equipment through the communication component, the cabin call switch and the external communication system.

2. The on-board telephony system of claim 1, wherein the communications component is further configured to establish a telephony channel between two or more human interaction interfaces associated with the on-board entertainment system for conducting a call between users of the two or more human interaction interfaces.

3. The airborne call system of claim 1, wherein the call signal comprises a call signal, an audio call, and/or a video call.

4. The on-board telephony system of claim 1, wherein the human interaction interface is configured to switch between communicating telephony signals with the communications component or receiving entertainment content from the on-board entertainment system.

5. The on-board telephony system of claim 1, wherein the communications component determines, upon receipt of a telephony call, whether a called party's human machine interface is currently communicating, suspends the current communication and prompts for a telephony call on the called party's human machine interface if current communication is currently communicating and the telephony call has a higher priority than the current communication.

6. The on-board telephony system of claim 5, wherein the communications component is configured to determine a mission status of the aircraft and determine a priority order for a plurality of communication types based on the mission status of the aircraft, wherein the plurality of communication types have different priority orders when the aircraft is in different mission statuses, wherein the plurality of communication types include at least two of a call between passengers, a call between a crew member and a passenger, a call between a crew member and an off-board device, a call between a passenger and an off-board device, access to entertainment content of the on-board entertainment system.

7. The on-board telephony system of claim 6, wherein if the second human machine interaction interface is engaged in a current communication and the telephony call is of higher priority than the current communication, suspending the current communication and automatically placing the telephony call on the second human machine interaction interface.

8. The airborne communication system of claim 1, wherein said human machine interface is disposed on a passenger seat, in a cockpit, on an interior trim panel, and/or near a cabin attendant seat.

9. The airborne communication system of claim 1, wherein said human-machine interaction interface comprises one or more of a key, an earpiece, a microphone, a touch screen.

10. An on-board call method for an aircraft, comprising:

receiving a call in an in-flight entertainment system, wherein the call comes from a first human-machine interaction interface interacting with the in-flight entertainment system or a cabin call switch, wherein the cabin call switch passes call signals between the in-flight entertainment system and an external communication system on the aircraft, the external communication system for communicating with an off-board device;

determining a called party of the call, wherein the called party interacts with the in-flight entertainment system through a second human-machine interaction interface;

transferring the call to a second human-computer interaction interface of the called party; and

and establishing a call channel between the first human-computer interaction interface or the cabin call switch and a second human-computer interaction interface of the called party through the airborne entertainment system so as to carry out a call between the first human-computer interaction interface and the second human-computer interaction interface or carry out a call between the second human-computer interaction interface and the off-board equipment.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

determining whether the second human-computer interaction interface is performing current communication when the call is received, wherein the current communication comprises a call or receiving entertainment content;

and if the second human-computer interaction interface is carrying out current communication and the priority of the call is higher than that of the current communication, suspending the current communication and prompting that the call exists on the second human-computer interaction interface.

12. The method for on-board telephony of claim 11, further comprising:

determining a mission status of the aircraft; and

determining a priority order for a plurality of communication types based on a mission state of the aircraft, wherein the plurality of communication types have different priority orders when the aircraft is in different mission states, wherein the plurality of communication types include at least two of a call between passengers, a call between a flight crew and a passenger, a call between a flight crew and an off-board device, a call between a passenger and an off-board device, accessing entertainment content of the on-board entertainment system.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

and if the second human-computer interaction interface is carrying out current communication and the priority of the call is higher than that of the current communication, suspending the current communication and automatically putting through the call on the second human-computer interaction interface.

14. The method of claim 10, wherein the human machine interface is disposed on a passenger seat, in a cockpit, on an interior trim panel, and/or near a cabin crew seat, the human machine interface comprising one or more of a keypad, a headset, a microphone, a touch screen.

15. A computer-readable medium, characterized in that the computer-readable medium stores a computer program which, when executed by a processor, implements the on-board telephony method of any of claims 10-14.