NL8402836A - AIRPLANE "IN-FLIGHT" CABIN CONTROL SYSTEM. - Google Patents

Description

? & C * ΊΜ 5560-47 Ned.M / EvF '“

Short indication! Airplane nin-flight "cabin control system.

The invention relates to an aircraft transport control system.

Today's aircraft regularly utilizes increasingly crowded airways on its flight with many aircraft being pressed into a duty roster, which circulates around the clock and covers increasingly larger global areas.

Generally speaking, it can be said that the days are gone when a single airplane with scope to span a world range was designated for a single, repeating flight path with the same group of cabin crew in rotation on the same air route. Small side air lines can both be characterized, but not the larger transport lines, which frequently include air routes of an international nature.

It is typical that many of the flight crews, and in particular the cabin crew, arrive at work on any given day without knowing exactly where the aircraft in which they are to perform their duties is going that day. Due to the arbitrariness of the destinations, ie national, international, etc. and the precise nature of the aircraft, ie wide-body, narrow-body, etc., the 20 flight crew and personnel are forced to use all flight information parameters, which are essential for the to carry the effective movement of the aircraft and maintain appropriate passenger service. All information required for the crew or personnel is either carried on board personally, stored in the aircraft 25 or delivered to the aircraft cabin, many moments before flight time. Food parcels and alcoholic beverages brought on board by catering companies must all be listed before the flight commences and then accounted for at the destination of the flight.

30 The determination of the public to require that aircraft depart on time has often resulted in the aircraft floating through the air without a manifesto, listing the passengers and their seat assignments. Although this is not critical to passenger service, the special identity of the passengers by name and seat allocation will greatly improve the attention perceived by the passenger they receive.

Regarding the cabin management economy, there is an 84 0 23 3 β r 'Φ · \ * - 2 - obvious problem with inventory leakage. The losses incurred by the airlines on alcoholic beverages alone are believed to be significant. Headset sales and duty-free sales are similarly considered potential airline loss zones.

5 International flights and flights connecting to international flights are causing increasing numbers of passengers offering foreign currency in exchange for on-board services with an exchange rate dilemma for airline personnel. Currency depreciation as well as strengthening of other currencies in IQ which is often a spontaneous day-to-day service have resulted in significant losses to the airline lines as there is no means available to allow aircraft personnel to keep abreast of these changes.

The attack on the problem outlined by the airlines has been 15. Those parties at the airline headquarters are quick to recognize changes in such issues as currencies, flight themes, and to provide supplemental Information Change Sheets for each staff member to enable them to update their information materials. Because the airline has no means of 2Q to know exactly which air routes an aircraft type the personnel will be involved in, the staff members receive, before the flight, over a period of time, book covers, full of new materials to replace old equipment, a necessity to change and keep up. -. "It is not surprising that staff members are in need of time to selectively update their information materials" to include only the information they think they will need. When and 'if this takes place, a staff member can see himself traveling (travel) to a destination of the air route without the most common information regarding that air error.

Today there is no solution. the above-mentioned problems. The invention to be described below provides an economical and new "solution" to the problems that airline companies have faced in the field of aircraft cabin control as set forth above.

More particularly, the invention relates to aircraft transport management systems for use with multiple passenger transport aircraft capable of moving geographically 84 0 28 3 6 - 3 - across a global area between discretely identifiable world locations located at identifiable as unified departure / destination pair locations, each aircraft maintaining world-class information related to parameters essential for the efficient movement of the aircraft and the maintenance of passenger service requirements.

The management system comprises an information handling unit carried on the aircraft, which is coupled to a memory device, which contains the world-wise information.

The memory device is operatively coupled to and through a microprocessor unit with a keyboard controlled video terminal having a cathode ray tube (CRT).

The keyboard is operative to recall information in the locations unified to a departure / destination pair from the world-wide information for display on the CRT of the video terminal.

It is therefore a primary object of the invention to provide an aircraft management system which facilitates the efficient movement of the aircraft and maintains the passenger service requirements within a global area by providing an aircraft-borne memory with global information, which is coupled via a central processor to a keyboard-controlled, controlled video terminal, where information relating to a place united in a departure / destination pair from the world-wise information is displayed on the video-25 terminal and is delivered in the form of a hard copy printout.

A secondary object of the invention is to provide a system that efficiently combines required aircraft cabin management functions with ground management functions via an air-to-ground, ground-to-air numeric communication link.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide an in-flight Management System with a memory, which can be modified from a more distant point on the ground or via a satellite.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide an aircraft cabin management system, which can be linked via a central processing unit to the video screens of the in-flight entertainment (entertainment) system.

Another object of the invention is to provide an aircraft cabin management system capable of transmitting information from the 8402836-4 aircraft to a ground station or headquarters regarding a wide range of aircraft cabin activities such as, but not limited to, discrepancy reporting, crew " block '' time, cabin maintenance items, passenger comments, in-flight measurement information, 5 statistical information regarding provisioning inventory for specific departure / destination flight segments, connecting passenger information, liquor sales, headset sales and duty-free sales.

In order to achieve the aforementioned objects, the invention aims at providing an aircraft management system for use in passenger transport aircraft capable of moving geographically over a global area between discretely identifiable world ground sites, which are identifiably distinguished as a departure / destination pair of unified places, in which each moving passenger passenger aircraft maintains world-wide information 15 regarding parameters that are essential for the efficient movement of the aircraft and the maintenance of passenger service requirements. The management system comprises a zehder / receiver unit carried by the aircraft coupled to a memory unit, which contains the worldwide information, with respect to the aforementioned essential parameters.

The system further contemplates that at least one / rerovered transmitter / receiver unit will be included to provide a communication link to the aircraft transmitter / receiver unit, thereby transferring the information into it. aircraft memory can be modified from the remote zehder / receiver unit and information generated in the aircraft relative to the parameters can be forwarded for use in the remote zehder / receiver unit. The remote transmitter / receiver unit may be located on a ground site or coupled to a grounded berth via a satellite numeric data coupler and / or the aircraft transmitter / receiver unit.

The memory in the aircraft is operatively coupled to and through a microprocessor to a. a keyboard driven video terminal, which works in conjunction "with a printer to provide hard copies", as well as the remote video entertainment system in the aircraft.

The keyboard is operable to call up information regarding locations united to a departure / destination pair from the worldwide information for display simultaneously with the video terminal or on the video screens of. the "entertainment system", as well as an 8402836 - 5 - harde ** \ hard copy printout.

The invention will be explained in more detail below with reference to some exemplary embodiments shown in the drawings rjo-r drawings.

FIG. 1 is a geographic representation of a global region of the planet earth where the invention finds application? FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a portion of the earth and a schematic of the various components involved in the practice of the invention. Fig. 3 is a block diagram of a preferred embodiment of the invention? FIG. 4 is a three-dimensional illustration of the device embodying the invention, as the device typically appears on board an aircraft? FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating the data base structure of the cabin management in the aircraft carried memory? FIG. 6 is a schematic representation of the structure of the general data base file which is part of the cahine management data base structure of FIG. 5 in the onboard aircraft 20 memory; FIG. 7 is a schematic representation of the structure of the "movie" file, which is part of the cabin management data base of FIG. 5 in the on-board memory? FIG. 8 is a schematic representation of the structure of the pleasure file which is part of the cabin management data base of FIG. 5 in the onboard aircraft memory? FIG. 9 is a schematic representation of the structure of the foreign language file which is part of the cabin management database of FIG. 5 in itself. memory on board the aircraft? FIG. 10 is a schematic representation of the structure of the general message file which is part of the cabin control database of FIG. 5 in the onboard aircraft 35 memory? FIG. 11 is a schematic representation of the structure of the special message file that is part of the cabin control database of FIG. 5 in the onboard aircraft 840 28 3 6 0-6; FIG. 12 is a schematic representation of the destination message file structure that is part of the cabin management database of FIG. 5 in the onboard aircraft memory; FIG. 13 is a schematic representation of the structure of the currency file which is part of the cabin management database of FIG. 5 in the on-board. the aircraft's standing memory; FIG. 14 is a schematic representation of the structure of the in-flight sales record, which is part of the cabin management database of FIG. 5 in the on-board memory; Fig. 15 is a schematic representation of the structure of the discrepancy file. that is part of the cabin management data base of Figure 5 in the onboard aircraft memory; FIGS. 16Ά, 16B and 16G are schematic representations of the structure of the File History data base, which is part of the cabin management data base of FIG. 5 in the onboard aircraft memory; Fig. 17 is a block diagram of the control structure for the cabin management system; Fig. 18 is a block diagram of the Greenwich. Mean Time {GMT) logic and start label '(Header) image logic; FIG. 19 illustrates an initial label image; Fig. 20, illustrates an illumination briefing display device; and FIG. 21 illustrates, partially cut-away, an on-board terminal for use with the cabin management system.

30. Reference is first made to Figure 1, which is intended to represent a global region 11 of the planet earth in which the system of the invention finds application. In order to illustrate the theory of the inventive principle, one has to resort to what is usually Bekehd in the Boolean algebra as eeh '"Venn Diagram".

35 A study of fig. 1 will show the contours of. disclose such a diagram. It will be understood that the use of the Venn diagram approach is only intended to clarify the magnitude of the problem, which problem has been solved by the invention and will be more complete hereinafter 84 0 28 3 6 -5 * Φ '- 7 - \ described, and is not intended to provide a mathematical equation, which will be used arbitrarily to limit the invention.

A circle 12 is shown, which covers most of the world-wise area 11. Circle 12 is intended to represent all world-wise information, concerning parameters, which are essential for the safe, efficient movement of a. aircraft, and any information related to the maintenance of services to those on board the aircraft within the global territory covered by the Global Information Circle 12 10. The term "airplane passenger" is intended to include both passengers and the airline crew of an airline.

For the sake of explanation only, four discrete geographic locations are identified by their code name, from left to right LAX (Los Angeles)? JFK (John F. Kennedy, 15 New York)? CCS (Caracas, Venezuela) and LHR (London Heathrow Airport).

It is important to note at this time that each airport in the world has, by agreement, a three letter "city / airport code". Each of the above airports has a corresponding circle, LAX has circle 13, JFK circle 14, CCS circle 16 and LHR 20 circle 17. Each of circles 13, 14, 16 and 17 is intended to represent all worldwide information, which relates to essential parameters related to the city / airport plotted in the center of each of circles 13, 4. 16 and 17.

Three planes 18, 19 and 21, as well as a satellite 22, and a ground station 23 are shown schematically in Figure 1. The plane 18 is intended to represent an aircraft departing from LAX (Los Angeles) for destination JFK (New York, New York). Airplane 19 has a departure / destination route, which can be characterized as JFK / CCS, and airplane 21 has a departure / destination airway, which can be characterized as LHR / JFK.

The flight crew in the case of the aircraft 18 on the way from LAX to JFK has a specific need for only that information, which is contained within the hatched section 24, which represents only that information of all the worldwide information, which is essential with regard to to plane 18, that. flies between Los Angeles (LAX) and New York (JFK). Accordingly, the flight segment, Los Angeles to New York and the sectional information resulting from the invention will be characterized as LAXJFK, a new expression, which is a paired departure / destination expression.

84028 36 I s - 8 -

Similarly, it will be appreciated that the hatched cross-section 26 of information circles 14, 16 represents only that information from all of the worldwide information, which is essential with respect to aircraft 19 flying between New York (JFK) and Caracas, Venezuela 5 ( CCS). The flight segment just described produces the following new expression: JFKCCS.

Finally, it will be understood that the hatched cross-section 27 of the information circles 14 and 17 represents only that information of the total global information essential to the aircraft 21 flying between London Heathrow Airport (LHR) and New York airport (JFK). The new expression for this flight segment will be LHRJFK.

From the foregoing, it can be seen that when an aircraft moves through a global region 11 between discretely identifiable world locations, such as LAX. JFK, CCS and LHR, any air route between cities can be characterized by places united to a departure / destination pair. The details of the device used to practice the invention, which utilizes a "departure / destination" pair of united sites, will now follow.

20 The cooperative function of the satellite 22 and the ground station 23 will become hereafter! considered when discussing the overall system operation of the invention.

It will be remembered that for each flight crew, which includes the cabin crew, it is a requirement that they have access to all global information, represented by the global information circle 12, starting from which reference is now made to FIG. is a dimensional illustration showing a portion of the earth and a schematic representation of the various components involved in the practice of the invention. FIG. 2 is intended to represent all facets of an aircraft management system. that could include: (1) an aircraft 18 equipped with an onboard hardware 31 for the aircraft management system, (2) a ground station 23 with a (non-reproduced) transmitter / receiver unit 35 connected by telephone lines 32 to a facility 33 of headquarters , and · (3) 'a communication satellite. 22, which is coupled to the ground station 23 resp. by plane 18 by numerical communication links.

8402836 * ί »* - 9 -

The aircraft 18 has a numerical communication link 35, shown between the aircraft 18 and the ground station 23.

Referring now to FIG. 3, this single block diagram of the in-plane hardware 31 of FIG. 2 shows the cabin 40 of the aircraft 18 in dotted contours, as well as an aircraft baggage net 41.

Within the aircraft and cooperating with the aircraft baggage net 41 is a high frequency transmitter / receiver unit 42, which acts as an information handling means. The invention also contemplates the use of a very high frequency (VHP) transmitter / receiver unit. The transmitter / receiver unit 42 is capable of communicating with the ground station 23 or a satellite 22 (Fig. 2} and applies a numeric signal operating at a standard rate of 2400 bits / sec. Typically, a message to or of a transmitter / receiver unit 42 15 less than half a second in length.

The high frequency transmitter / receiver unit 42 is coupled, as schematically represented by a line 43, to a high frequency buffered modem 44, which in turn is coupled over the central processing unit (CPU) 46 via connection 45 to a memory unit 49 via connections 47 , 48. The CPU 46 is a microprocessor of conventional design. In practice, all global information, including the essential parameters, is supplied to and through the CPU 46 to the memory unit 49 while the aircraft is on the ground. It is most important to note, however, that the memory unit and the information therein can be changed from the ground via the numerical data communication link 35. On the other hand, the memory unit 49 and the information stored therein can be changed from a satellite 22 via a communication link 36 (FIG. 2) on command from a ground station 23, which in turn has received an information change message 30 about telephony lines 32 'from an overhead line office facility. Typically, the remote stations such as the station · 23 are located at the airports, which are discretely Identifiable by the three letter city / airport code as mentioned above. In Fig. 2, the far station 23 is randomly selected, namely Chicago's 0's field, which has the three letter code ORD.

The memory unit 49 is operatively coupled to and through the microprocessor, which forms the CPU 46 through connections 47, 48 and through 8402836 9-10 connections 51, 52 to a keyboard 53, which connects a cathode ray tube (CRT) 55 through connection 54. Figure 4) controls at video terminal 56. A hard copy printer 58 is coupled through connection 57 to the microprocessor of the CPU 46 to thereby provide users of the system 5 with either a video visual message or a hard copy.

Typically, an airplane having video entertainment systems for the passengers includes a number of distant viewing screens. One such screen 60 is coupled through connection 59 to the CPU 46 to be controlled from the keyboard 53 when information that could assist the passengers, such as flight connections, is required just prior to reaching the planned destination.

A magnetic card reader 62 is coupled through connection 61 to the CPU 46 and provides a security means such that only those 15 flight crew members who are qualified can access the cabin management system.

A marker card reader 64 is coupled through connection 63 to the CPU 46 and provides an easy means for fast data or command input to the system.

The panel or rack of aircraft engineering equipment 41 shows an automatic communication addressing and reporting system management unit 70, the details of which are not part of the present invention. The management unit 70, which is mutually resp. coupled via connections 68, 69, is connected to the CPU 46 and the buffered modem 44, has interfaces with the pilot as well as with the data transmission lines in a manner. which is not 'shown, but is understood' in the commercial aircraft industry.

In operation, the keyboard 53 is operative to recall departure /? ': Destination paired information from the world information, 30 stored in the memory unit 49. " This' departure / destination paired information can be displayed alternately or simultaneously by the CRT 55 of the video terminal. 56 and / or one. " printout 80 (fig. 4) from the printer 58. In addition, as previously noted, the information may also be called up to be viewed by the passengers through the video ainusements system 60.

Referring now to £ 4, it illustrates in three-dimensional form the actual system, as it currently exists, for use in a commercial aircraft. The reference numerals used in FIG. 4 correspond to the reference numerals used hereinbefore with reference to the block diagram description of FIG.

From the foregoing, it will be apparent that a program schedule has been developed using the three letter airport and / or city codes used worldwide to access 10 world information. The city codes of the departure and arrival ports are combined to form a new expression. This combined new expression is then used to access the - specific information, which is unique for a special air segment.

The technique of using departure / destination paired locations in the form of a new phrase combines known information in an unusual way to solve the problem of displaying the information for the flight segment for use by the cabin crew.

As noted previously, the system has designed a security function therein, such that when the cabin management system is applied to initial power and the CKT 55 displays a request to the user for an "identity".

Insert the card into the magnetic card reader 62. This reader is of the type that reads a magnetically encoded strip or strip on a card 25 of the "credit card" type. This allows the user to specify personnel authorized to access the cabin management system and prevent its operation by passengers or other unauthorized personnel.

To enable the user to obtain pre-flight instructions, an authorized user must enter the departure and destination stations using the keyboard. The cathode ray tube 55 displays these stations, as well as the average Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), the local time at the departure and arrival stations and other information relevant to that flight, such as details of the flight provided 35 services.

As noted previously, a constant problem for the airline has focused on maintaining accurate records of the canteen stocks on each flight.

This is an inventory as well as a financial accounting function, which by virtue of the invention underlying the present description is effi ciently 8402836 i • Λ. '___ - 12 -' has been made more cient. The video terminals 56, and in particular the: image on the cathode ray tube 55, prompts the user to enter the number of meals brought to each class and further "headsets" the supply of spirits, tax-free items, all of which data must be inventoried when the relevant items are brought on board. This information can be entered via a market sign card reader 64 or the keyboard 55.

The design of the system is such that the inventory information can be communicated in the manner of a descending line through the high frequency transmitter / receiver 42 to a ground station 23, as shown in Fig. 2. The ground station includes a transmitter / receiver and an associated CPU memory etc., not shown.

The passenger loading information may be manually entered at the keyboard 53 for storage in memory 46. Should the information appearing on a pamphlet supplied to the cabin crew prove to be incomplete just prior to flight, a remote ground station transmit the complete pamphlet at the time of departure shortly after the airplane has lifted into the air.

Regarding in-flight announcements, which it is desired to deliver to the passengers, it will be clear that they are stored in the memory 46 desired announcements in which language the flight segment would be require. It should also be noted that legally approved notices may also be passed through cabin crew print printer 80 to use directly, as they make the necessary notices to the operator. passengers through the aircraft's intercom system.

In this regard, for course conversions, the cabin management system may function automatically upon: user's request to make available those course conversions via the 'printer 58 or video terminal 56' which are most relevant to the present flight segment - or possibly other rate conversions, which must be required by the flight crew. .

As far as control by customs is concerned, the cabin can be used. management system provide special textual information related to customs regulations or other documentation normally required for this unique departure / destination flight segment. If the user of a system embodying the invention so desires, the memory unit 46 may be queried through the keyboard 53 to provide efficient access to "manual type" cab-stored documentation 40. ,. .

84 0 28 3 6; > ^ • - 13 - '"*

With regard to subsequent flight information, this function is normally provided, by many users, through voice channel connections. This function can be significantly improved by the above-described invention. The cabin management system can provide connection flight information through its printer 58 or its video terminal 56 automatically at the printer and at the video terminal as well as through the entertainment system 60. This feature is especially suitable in cases of late arrival or arrival at another destination. It . cabin management system aims to allow unusual connection problems 10 for the passengers or crew to be sent down via the high frequency transmitter / receiver 42 and the digital data transmission line 35 for study by headquarters personnel experienced in receiving this type of problem .

* Another aspect of the system takes into account to maintain a record of cabin maintenance items, such as broken seats, lamps or other things, that could be recorded in memory and then sent down as described above, * -for maintenance after arrival at the place of destination.

At the end of each flight segment there is what is called a "debriefing" 20 (withdrawal of instructions) and flight reporting, which necessitates the entry of cabin crews. Here again, a summary of various transactions of the flight segments can be entered via the keyboard 53 or card reader 64 and then the user can recall from the memory 49 a printed printout 80 of a summary report from the printer 58. A static overview of spirits sales. ,? headsets "and duty-free items on the flight segment will enable the airline line to send (fire) flight crews who are found to have statistically significantly lower sales figures than normally experienced for a given departure / destination. flight segment - The ability for staff in the staff to detect such markedly low sales figures as well as the air crew involved will allow airlines to determine quickly from a ground-based parent memory or the low sales and flight crew have any correlation with other flight segments 35. This type of research study, or at least awareness of such capability, is expected to reduce losses currently believed to occur. "

At the end of each flight, as expected, there is 84028 36 - - ......

i - 14 - a logoff function, which serves the responsibility of the cabin crew. before the completed flight. This logout function will cause selected information generated during the flight segment to be permanently monitored in memory 49, and will allow the cabin-5 management system to return to the initial position for the next flight.

In order to provide information regarding the various operations in the passenger compartment management to the aircraft crew and the airline management as briefly summarized above, 10 in the most effective and rapid manner, it has been determined that the most important data should be stored in the on-board memory 49. Furthermore, these data should be organized in such a way as to ensure efficient storage and retrieval. In Fig. 5, the preferred embodiment 15 is illustrated of the data organization in the on-board memory. 49. The cabin management data base is composed of a number of data and program elements. For example, the memory unit 49, which in the preferred embodiment of the invention is a winchester-type hard disk, includes a disk lead 100 which the CPU 46 provides. physically placing the various data files and programs on disk 49. In addition, the cabin management data base on disk 49 'will include a storage zone 102 for a working system such as iRMX-86 for the CPU 46 as well as a storage zone 104' for the computer programs. to realize the cabin management functions.

The data structure on the disk memory 49 also includes various files for storing cabin management data. It includes 'eeh' general data base 106, which is a. data record for each flight segment and is illustrated in detail in FIG. 6. Also included in the cabin management data base 49 is a series: data base auxiliary files comprising: a movie file 108, a file with attractions. 110, a language file 112, a general shopping file. 1.14, a special shopping file 116, a destination shopping file 118, a currency file 120, an in-flight sale 35, a discrepancy file 124 and an invalid employee number file 126. The structures of these files are illustrated in Figures 7-15 ',

The general database or flight segment file 106 is organized in a series of records as indicated by reference 84 0 28 3 6 <s% - 15 digits 107A-107D. At the very least, there should be one record for each flight segment, over which the aircraft is likely to operate. It will be understood that there may be a large number of records 107A-D, especially for the larger overhead lines due to their extensive route structures. The "headings" or headings for the various fields in records 107A-D provide a brief description of the contents of each field of the records. For example, the first field 106A in each record 107A-D is a three character alpha field containing the departure airport identifier for a special flight segment, and the second field 106B is a three character alpha field containing the arrival airport identifier for the flight segment. As a result, each of the records 107A-D in the general database 106 contains information pertaining to a particular flight segment as identified by the combination of the departure airport 106A and the arrival airport 106B,

In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the general database base file 106 is stored in a random access memory 49, which may preferably be embodied in a rotary disk memory such as a winchester type disk. Individual 20 records such as 107A, representing flight segments, can be accessed from the general database 106 by combining the departure station code, such as IAX for Los Angeles International Airport, with the arrival station code, such as QBB for Chicago 0. 'Hare International Airport, to generate the combined expression 25 LftXORD. This combined expression or "string" can then be used as a disk file address or key to directly access the global database base record 107A-D, which contains the information for the desired flight segment as defined by the combined departure / arrival identifiers. The file structure, as illustrated in Figure 6 combined with the method of access described above, provides an unusually efficient means of organizing cabin management data as well as providing a quick means of accessing that data, which is of particular utility can be for the aircrew and airline management. Together with the fields 1Ό6Α and B containing the departure and arrival station codes or identifiers, the flight segment file records 10.7A-D comprise a field 106C, which stores a flight number for a special flight segment. The flight number segment 106C is a four- .840 28 3 6 i * i - 16 - character ASCII number field, identifying the official airline flight number. Normally flight numbers are specified by a three digit number from 1 to 999. However, special flights for certain airlines are often specified by flight numbers 1000-1999.

This special field 106C can also be combined with the departure and arrival identifiers 106A and 106B to provide a database key to access one of the records 107A-D, which represent a flight segment for a special flight number. Separate flight segment or general data base records 107A-D 10 may be required for other flight numbers, where the information contained in the general database base 106 will vary over the same flight segment for different flights. For example, on a morning flight over a special segment such as from Los Angeles to Chicago, breakfast can be served, while on a later 15 flight dinner will be served. are served, requiring two separate records although the flight segment is the same.

Similarly, the type of aircraft to be flown on a special flight segment is present in a field 106D. The aircraft type field 106D may consist of a three character 20 alpha numeric field used to indicate the aircraft type specified in the particular flight segment record 107A-D. An object of this field is to provide individual records containing the actual service and data for a particular flight segment when more than one aircraft type is used on that flight segment. This field can also be used as a key providing access to the database in the manner described above. An example of three character codes that can be used in the field 1Q6D is illustrated in Table I below.

30 TABLE, I

• 721. - Boeing 727-35 '722 - Boeing 727-235 727 - Boeing 727-21 72Ά - Boeing Strech 727-221 35 72S - Boeing 727-2D4

732 - Boeing 737-2QO

747 - Boeing wide-body 747-100 ''

74L - Boeing wide-body 747-SP

8402836 * «- 17 -

Dll - Douglas DClO-10 DlC - Douglas DC10-30 L15 - Lockheed L-1011-500 5 Also included in the general data base records 107A-D are two fields 106E and F, which indicate the departure time. include arrival time for special flight segment. The departure time 106E and arrival time 106F are represented in fields 106E and F as a four character numeric fields containing the local departure and arrival times from the specified departure and arrival airport ports. Times are stored in a 24 hour military time format.

In addition to the arrival time and departure time, each flight segment record 107A-D includes a field 1Q6G, which contains the determined flight time for that flight segment. The 1Q6G field is a four character numeric field, 15 which contains the estimated elapsed time from the departure station gate to the arrival station gate. This time is stored in the 24 hour military time format.

An eighth space 1Q6H is a three character alpha space, used to store the Official Airport Marker for a 20 airline designated service base. This field 106H can be used to identify the base station for a specified aircraft.

In case the arrival time in 106B and the departure time in 1Ό6Ε are stored in Gt £ T time, a field marked with 1061 25 can be provided to store the delta quantities, representing the difference between GMT and local time for one or both of the departure time 1Q6E and arrival time 106F.

The distance in miles between the departure station and the arrival station is stored in a field 1Q6J.

30 In practice, some airlines have multiple flight numbers for the same flight. For example, on an airplane flying around the world, a Base flight number such as 0Q1 may be issued to indicate a round-the-world route, while individual flight numbers may be issued 35 for intermediate segments of the flight such as 427 for the segment from Los Angeles to New York, and 319 for a segment from London to Rome. These alternative flight numbers can be stored in an aka field indicated at 106K of the general database 106.

For aircraft or flight beginnings, which extend over 840 28 3 6 -18- substantial pieces of water, it is often necessary or a matter of law, that life jackets are included on the aircraft. In a field 106L of the general database base 106, a flag is displayed indicating whether or not a life jacket is required on that flight-5 segment.

For longer flights, the air lines often provide a film to amuse the passengers. Information regarding the films that can be shown on a special flight segment is contained in a field 106M of the general data base. This field 10 stores the numbers of the individual records in the movie file 108, which contain the information related to the movie to be displayed on that flight segment. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the field 106M of, for example, data record 107A will contain a first number (number of records), indicating the number of 15 movie records that can be accessed for that flight, being three numbers (EEC H) in this illustration, represent the record numbers in the movie file 108, which. contain the information related to the films shown or to be displayed on that flight segment.

The record numbers (REC #) can then be used as disk file-20 addresses for direct access to the record from the movie file 108. In the example shown in Figure 6, the first number in the record 107A indicates that there are two records in the movie file 108 of FIG. 7, which contains information regarding the movies to be displayed on that flight segment, and the second numbers 6 and 10 are the record numbers 25 of the records containing that information, and these numbers can be used as keys for direct access to those records from the movie file 108 '. In the preferred embodiment of the movie file 108 'shown in Fig. 7, the information stored in the records indicated by 108A, B and C is stored in a form or format, which can be directly displayed on the terminal display screen 55 in Fig. 4 without additional processing.

Another category of information stored in the records of the general data base 106 is the meals to be served during the Flight. This information is stored in a field 106N in the general data base file 106 'in the form of a code such as O for breakfast, L for lunch or D for dinner.

A further important category of information to be made available to the flight crew is the type of attractions to be provided to passengers during 8402836 - 19 - that special flight segment. Since on some long international flights, the list of attractions provided to first class, business class and second class passengers can be very comprehensive, each record in the global database 106 is provided with a field 5 1060 containing the key, which contains a identifies record number in the attractions file 110 as shown in Fig. 8. As shown in Fig. 8, the attractions are stacked in the attractions file 110 in such a way that the information in each record is ready for immediate mapping without further data manipulation. The structure 10 of the attraction field 1060 is the same as the structure of the movie field 106M in that the number of records is stored together with their addresses.

It is also desirable for international flights to have crew members who are able to speak several foreign languages.

The foreign languages required for a particular flight segment are indicated by a field 106P in the general data base 106, which contains a key identifying a special record in the foreign language file 112, as shown in Fig. 9. There will be a record in the foreign language file 112 for any combination of foreign languages that may be required for any flight segment.

In the preferred embodiment of the cabin management data base 49, measures have been taken to store three types of messages or management means to communicate with the aircraft crew or other employees on board the aircraft. The first category of messages is called "general message" and will typically include such information that it will be pertinent on a society-wide basis such as the acquisition of new aircraft or new social policy. The general messages are accessed by means of the general database base file 106, which has a general message field 1Q6Q, which has a structure similar to the field 106M indicating records in the general message file 114 of Fig. 10, which will be applicable to a special flight segment. As shown in Fig. 10, the general message file 114 consists of a number of records. each having a field indicating the original data 114A and original time of the general message along with an identification of the sender in the field 114C. Also, a field 114D is provided to store the erasure date of the general message and a field 114E, which contains the text 84 0 28 3 6 »43! - 20 - 'of the general message. In normal operation of the cabin management system, the general message will only be displayed if the current date is earlier or equal to the delete date in field 114D.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the text field 114E 5 will contain a ma-sri τητιτη of 1024 alpha numeric characters with a maximum of 25 records in the general message file 114.

Similarly, measures have been taken to display special messages, which only apply to that special flight segment on a special date. To this end, a field 106R is present in the general data base 106, which contains a key that gives access to the pertinent records from the special message file 116 as illustrated in Fig. 11. The structure and operation of the special message file 116 is the same as the general message file 114 of FIG. 10, except that an additional field 15 116 is provided to store the date when the special message applies.

In a manner similar to the provision of the special messages, the cabin management data base 149 also provides destination messages containing information applicable at the arrival station or airport for a special flight segment. As with the general accounts and special messages, measures have been taken in the general database base 106 for a field 106S, which contains keys that give access to the pertinent destination messages from the destination message file 118 of Fig. 12 for a special flight segment. The structure and operation of the destination message file 1.18 is the same as the general message file 114 and the special message file 116.

On many international flights, a variety of on-board currencies are used to purchase various items such as beverages or goods offered in flight. Since different currencies in different parts of the world together 'with exchange rates, which in some cases can' vary daily, can significantly complicate the work of the aircraft crew, the measure has been taken in the cabin management data-35 basis 49 to display information refers to the appropriate currency and exchange rates to be used on a special flight segment. This is accomplished by providing a field 10.6T. in the general data base 106, which contains a key to the 840 28 3 6 - 21 - appropriate records in the vaiuta file 120 for a particular flight segment. As is the case with the field 106M, the field 106T in the general data base record 107A-D will include a first digit (number of records), representing the number of different currencies to be handled on the flight segment and the remaining digits in the field 1Q6T. display the record numbers ... for those currencies in the vaiuta file 120.

Thus, it is possible for the flight crew to display a number of different currencies that will be suitable for that special flight segment. The vaiuta file 120, in turn, consists of a number of 10 different fields, including a first field 120A, which contains the date on which the currency information was entered into the vaiuta file 120.

The second field 12QB contains the name of the country and the third field 120C contains the name of the currency such as the Franc for France or the pound for Great Britain. The currency exchange rate from entry date 120A15 is stored in a field 120D. Along with the currency ratio in the 120D field, rounded equivalents for specified dollar quantities are ensured to be settled. In the example shown in Fig. 13, the equivalent of $ 1..Q0 in ANTIGUA EC dollars is placed in a field 120E which in this case is EC $ 3.00. For the 20 Australian dollars, the Australian would be $ 1.15. Similarly, the equivalent of US $ 2.50 and US $ 3.00 has been provided in fields 120F and 120G, which, as shown in Fig. 13, would correspond to EC $ 7.50, respectively. EC $ 9.00. The amounts of $ 1.00, $ 2.50 and $ 3.00 have been selected as they represent the typical transaction for the price of a drink or "headset" which most of the cabin staff are dealing with.

In-flight sales information is also stored in the cabin management data base 149 and is accessible to special flight segments through a field 106U 30 in the general data base 106 for a special flight segment. The field 106U contains a number again composed of a first digit (digit) indicating the number of suitable records in the sales during the flight file 122 of Fig. 14 to allow access to a special flight segment. The remaining digits in the sales in-flight field 106U of the general data base represent the special records, which contain the information pertaining to the type of goods to be sold in that special flight segment. In-flight sales file 122 is organized 84 0 2 8 3 6 i ~ i - 22 - each record contains a field 122A, which contains a description of the type of goods, a field 122B containing the units, in which the goods will be sold, a field 122C containing the cost of the goods, a field 122D containing the product identification number, and a field 122E containing the name of the relevant good to be sold as identified in that record. When this information is contained in the sales during the flight file 122, it is possible for the flight crew to display complete information regarding the type of goods that will be sold during a special air segment.

A first type of information that may be particularly useful to the flight crew is a list of discrepancies in the installation on board that special aircraft. This is obtained by listing in the discrepancy file 124 a list of faulty installations or problems that exist in the aircraft. In the example of the discrepancy file 124 shown in Figure 15, a first field 124A is used to describe the nature of the problem, for example, a broken seat or a lack of magazines in the aircraft. Fields 124B and 124C indicate the time and day when the failure was probed at fields 124D and 124E, indicating the flight number as well as the sector where the problem was probed. Since discrepancies relate to the particular aircraft and not a flight segment, it is not necessary to use the general data base to access this file.

In the cabin management data base 49 as illustrated in Fig. 5, the general data base 106 and the auxiliary database files 108-126 are primarily concerned with storing what is called worldwide information, which is applicable to the airline flight operations in general . As described above, it contains general database base file. 106 individual records 106A-D, which define global data related to a specific flight segment by either storing that data in the flight segment record itself or applying a key or disk file address to access a predetermined record in one of the 35 data base help files 108-126.

A second type of data, which may be termed flight operation data, is used by the preferred embodiment of the cabin management system. In the cabin management database 49, illustrated 8402836 * '*****' '* - 23 - in Figure 5, the flight operational data is stored in a flight history database based on 128. An example of a flight history database is provided in Figure 5. 16Ar B and C. As shown in Figures 16A, B and C, the flight history data base file 5 128 is composed of a number of records indicated by reference numerals 130 and 132. In normal operation, there will be one flight history data base record 132 for each flight segment that is .applied to collect operational data for that special flight segment. Although only two flight history data base records 130 and 132 are shown in Figures 16A, B and C, the flight history data base file 128 contains as many records as are required to store the data that has been accumulated on various flight segments until it can be be transferred to a ground base computer and no longer need to be stored on the aircraft. In those cases where the flight segment operational data is immediately forwarded to a ground base computer after each flight segment, only one flight history data base record 130 will be required in the system.

As will be apparent from a consideration of Figures 16A, B and Cf, each flight history data base record 130 and 132 contains a large amount of data. Each record in the flight history database 128 is identified by a flight history database (FHDB) identifier. In case there is more than one flight history data base record 130, 132, it will be necessary to identify that record. In Fig. 16A, this identification is accomplished by the FHDB identification field 134, which contains the same basic flight segment identification data stored in the general data base records, including the departure airport, arrival airport, flight number, aircraft type and service base. In addition, the departure time and arrival time, together with the flight time, may form part of the FHDB identifier.

Thus, while the cabin management system is in operation, the FHDB identifier can be used as a key to access the disk file address of the flight history data base record containing the operational information for a special flight segment.

In the example shown in Figure 16A, the flight history data base records 35 and 132 will include a drain field 136 indicating the date and time at which the information contained in that special flight history data base record is forwarded to a central computer or loaded on a floppy disc for transfer to a ground-based central computer. A (non-displayed) field similar in 8402836 - 24 - configuration to the unloading field 136, is used to store the date and time that that special record has been started, which usually takes place during the login process, which is in a subsequent section of this application will be discussed.

Each flight history data base record also includes fields for storing the flight number, aircraft type and tail number of the special aircraft in which the cabin management system is installed. These fields, as shown in Fig. 16A, are resp. 138, 140 and 142. The departure airport for a flight segment is stored in a field 144 and the final airport for that flight segment is stored in a field 146. In the event that there are one or more intermediate airports for that special flight segment, their identifiers be stored in the field indicated by 148 * in the flight history data base record.

The name, employee number and basis of the supervisory first class staff member or purser shall be stored in a field 150 just as is the case with the name, employee number and basis of the flight crew member or purser in the economy class.

20 Information to be entered into the flight history data base prior to departure for a flight segment is stored in. fields, which are generally designated as DEPARTURE 1, DEPARTURE 2, DEPARTURE 3 and DEPARTURE 4, which are indicated in Fig. 16A by the respective reference numerals 152, 154, 156 and 158. In the DEPARTURE 1 field 152, sub- fields used to store the number of barrels of liquor in the first class 160, the number of carts in the first class and in the ècönoraie class 162, the number of coolers in the first class and in the economy class 164 along with the identification of the station * where the kegs and carts were packaged in field 166 and the employee number of the individual packaging the first class kegs and carts in field 168. In. In the particular embodiment of the invention, shown in Fig. 16A, there is also a flag field 170 to indicate whether or not there is bonded or valued hard liquor. The DEPARTURE 1 field 152 also includes subfields F5 at 172 and L2 at 174, storing the first five digits and the last two digits of the seal numbers for the caskets that have been loaded in the first class. Similarly, fields 176 and 178 contain the same information regarding seal numbers.

The DEPARTURE 2 field 154 contains a number of sub-fields, including a sub-field 180, in which the departure inventory of fifths of liquor in the first class is stored, a field 182, in which the initial inventory 5 of tenths of liquor in the first class are stored. a field 184 in which the initial inventory of miniature bottles of Spirits is stored in the first class, a field 186 in which the initial inventory of wine in the first class is stored, a field 188 in which the initial inventory of beer in the first class is stored and a 10 field 190 in which an initial inventory of complementary cigarettes in the first class is stored. Similarly, fields 192, 194, and 196 are used to identify the departure or opening inventory of economy, mini-spirits, wine, and beer bottles.

The DEPARTURE 3 field 156 includes subfields, which contain the start or departure inventory for the economy class, including subfield 198 containing the number of kegs of liquor, subfield 200 containing a list of the number of serving carts ", sub-field 202 contains a list of the number of coolers and sub-field 204 contains the identifier of the station or airport of departure where the packaging was made and the employee number of the individual who did the packaging in the field 206. at DEPARTURE 1 field 152, there are fields 210, 212, 214 and 216 for storing the first five digits and the last two digits of the seals applied to the caskets of liquor.

The DEPART 4 field 158 includes the departure or initial inventory 25 for the economy class mini bottles in a sub-field 218, a sub-field 220 for the wine of the economy class, a sub-field 222 for the beer of- the economy class, a sub-field 224 for the number of "headsets" sold in the economy class and similarly in field 226 the number of cigarettes in the economy class.

30 In the section of the flight history data base file shown in Figure 16B, there are four ARRIVAL 1, ARRIVAL 2, ARRIVAL 3 and ARRIVAL 4 fields, which are used to store the final inventory or inventory of various items in an aircraft at the end of a flight segment. As can be seen by comparing the arrival 35 fields 228, 230, 232 and 234 with the departure fields 152, 154, 156 and 158 of Fig. 16A, the same general information or fields for storing the inventory counts are provided in the arrival fields .

As shown in Fig. 16B, the flight history data base file includes a field for the amount of currency received from the passengers first class and business class. This field is broken down into a number of sub-fields as illustrated by the sub-field 238 and the sub-field 240, which indicate the country of the currency and the amount of currency 5 in that country's money. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the identification of the country in the sub-field 238 is displayed as a code, which can be used as a key or disk file address to access information about that country's currency from the currency file 120 of FIG. 13. As shown in FIG. 16B, this embodiment of the invention provides for registering or storing currencies from five different countries.

Also included in the flight history database, as shown in Fig. 16B, is a count of the number of first 15 class, business class and economy class passengers in fields 242, 244 and 246, respectively. Each of these passenger counting fields 242, 244 and 246 is broken down into sub-fields as illustrated by fields 248, 250 and 252, which store the passenger rack for the departure airport, intermediate airports and the terminal airport.

In the particular embodiment of the invention shown in Fig. 16B, a field 254 is provided for storing the currency received from the economy-class passengers. The structure of this field is identical to the structure of the currency receiving field 236.

The portion of the flight history database shown in Fig. 16B also includes a field 256 and a field 258 for storing the value in US dollars of the currency received in the first class and in the business class, and the currency received in the economy- class. The contents of each of the five sub-fields in the currency fields 256 and 258 represent the amount of US dollars of the foreign currency stored in the 30 amount of sub-fields represented by 240. The US dollar equivalent stored in fields 256 and 258 is calculated using the conversion ratio, which is located in the field 120D of the currency file of Fig. 13.

The end portion of the flight history data base file 35 shown in Fig. 16C includes fields in each record 130 and 132 ', showing the consumption of the various inventory items recorded in departure fields 152, 154, 156 and 158 and arrival fields 228, 230, 232 and 234 , is being saved. Consumption figures for the first class and the business 84 0 2 8 3 6 - 27 - class are stored in the field 260 and as such represents the number of fifths of spirits in the field 262, the number of tenths of spirits in the field 264, the number of minis in 266, the number of bottles of wine in 268, the number of bottles of beer in 270 together with the number of 5 gift cigarettes used in the flight segment. Similarly, the number of liquor minis used in the business class is stored in the field 274 along with the consumption of wine and beer in the business class in the fields 276 and 278. The consumption of liquor minis, wine, beer, " economy class headset and cigarettes are stored in a similar manner in a field 280. Since spirits, headsets and cigarettes are typically sold in the economy class as opposed to their free distribution in the first class and in the business class, in the flight history database of Fig. 16C, a measure is taken in a field 282 to store the dollar value of the minis, wine, beer, headsets and cigarettes used in the field 280. The dollar value of the various items sold in the economy class can be obtained from the on-flight sales 122 of Fig. 14.

The overall logic of the program stored in field 104 of the data base 49 of Fig. 5, which operates the cabin management system, is illustrated in the logic diagram of Fig. 17. When energization is turned on, as indicated by arrow 300, a title displayed on the CRT or flat screen display 55 of the terminal shown in Figures 4 and 21 * Preferably, this display 25 will automatically appear when aircraft power becomes available, so that the title display will be generated on display 55 without the requirement that the display or terminal unit is turned on by a member of the flight crew. The generation of this image is indicated by the logic box 302 in FIG. 17. The Imaging Device 30 may be any suitable imaging device, which preferably identifies or identifies the nature of the system and provides an instruction to an operator for the following step. Typical instructions may be to unlock and pull out the keyboard 53 from the terminal shown in Figure 21 and instructions to release the magnetic 35 I.D. scroll the employees' card through the magnetic card reader 60. In response to a valid card, the system will automatically generate a menu image on the display unit 55 as indicated by the block 306 as indicated by the arrow 304 * It will be understood that the program to accomplish the logic illustrated in FIG. 17 8402836, will be stored in the. cabin management database management program file 104, which. in turn is stored on the disk file 49, as shown in Fig. 21 as well as in Fig. 4.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the menu image will be of the shape shown below, which includes an inscription portion at the top identifying the flight segment.

MENU

——I -———

LAX 12:15 pm 07 SEP LHR 8:15 pm 07 SEP GMT20: 15 07 SEP

MENU

REGISTRATION

PRE-FLIGHT INSTRUCTIONS DEPARTURE LIST 15 PASSENGERS BOARDED

'CURRENCY CONVERSION ARRIVAL INVENTORY INSTALLATION DISCREPANCIES INVENTORY CLOSURE CURRENCY CLOSURE SELLING IN FLIGHT REPORT END OF FLIGHT

20

Select the desired option using the up or down arrow keys.

Execute the selected option by pressing the "RETURN" button.

PROMPTS: 25 Select the desired option by using the up / down arrow keys.

Execute the selected option by pressing the "RETURN" button.

It should be noted that the part of the inscription, which indicates 30 the departures. arrival airport, will not be completed until after the registration procedure indicated at box 308 is completed.

At this point, the only allowable selection from the above menu, allowed by the logic in the box 306, will be the login logic 308, as indicated by the arrow 310.

When the logon logic of the box 308 is selected, for example, by pressing a "RETURN" key on the keyboard 53, an image will be generated on. the display unit 55, which will ask: 8402836> i, - 29 - "P-FNT ü THE FIRST CLASS PURSER?"

In the event that. the answer, which is typed by the operator, is yes, for example by pressing a "Y" key on the keyboard 53, the next image will be produced on the display unit 55.

REGISTRATION PURSER OF THE FIRST CLASS

--------------------- 4 * -----—---- r --------- · —f ---- -----—— i ------------- f ---------— APPLICATION PURSER FIRST CLASS <3MT 20.15 Sep 7

Name first class purser: 10

Employee nunnner:

Purser base:

Flight number :

From :

To: ^ To: S.v.p. type YOUR full name: CAROLE JAGKSON PROMPTS:

Please enter your name FOLLOW 20 Please enter your EMPLOYEE: NUMBERï Please enter your BASIC CODE:

In the above illustrated illustration, the capitalized text portions after the colon represent the information entered by the operator. After pressing the return key, the next economy class login image would be generated on the display unit 55.

REGISTRATION PURSER ECONOMY CLASS

30 - (.—---------------- + ---------— f- ------ h --------- —R —---- GMT 20.15 Sep 7

REGISTRATION PURSER ECONOMY CLASS

Economy class purser name: JACKIE SMITH Employee number: 84381

35 Purser base: MIA

Flight number: 515!

From: LAX To: JPK To: LHR

84028 36 40 ----------------------------------------------- ---------------- - 30 - Please type Your full name: PROMPTS:

Please type your name FULLY:

Please type your EMPLOYEE NUMBER: 5 Please type your BASE CODE: THE FOLLOWING PROMPTS ARE NOT PICTURED IF ALREADY ENTERED BY THE ECONOMY CLASSE PURSER:

Please enter your FLIGHT NUMBER:

Please enter the DEPARTURE CODE:

Please enter the INTERMEDIATE CODEWindow RETURN if none): \

Please enter the DESTINATION CODE: 15 Again, in the image illustrated above, the text parts after the capital letter represent the information entered by the operator. As can be seen from the above prompts, either the ecomony class purser or the first class purser would be required to enter the flight number, departure code, intermediate codes and destination codes, which will serve to identify the flight segment identify the system.

At this point, it should be noted that the logon logic may include logic to access the invalid employee numbers file 126 in the booth management database 49, 25 as shown in Fig. 5, so that the validity of the employee numbers is typed into the system by the operator, can be determined. After registration is completed, the menu will be automatically displayed on the display unit 55, as indicated by the arrow 312 of Fig. 17.

Typically, the next selection from menu 30 will be the PRE-FLIGHT INSTRUCTIONS, as indicated by the arrow 314 in the logic diagram of Fig. 17. The PRE-FLIGHT INSTRUCTIONS, as indicated in Fig. 17 by the logic box 316 will cause the image shown in Fig. 20 to be generated on the display unit 55. The first line of the infig. 20 PRE-FLIGHT INSTRUCTIONS shown is the "heading" 35 or "inscription" that. generates the airport identification codes for the departure station, in this case LAX for Los Angeles International Airport and JFK for Kennedy Airport in New York. The generation of the image of this "head" is illustrated in detail in the logic shown in Figures 18 and 19. As shown in Fig. 18, a hardware clock 40-318 is provided in the cabin management system. The outputs of the hardware clock 318, as illustrated in Fig. 18, include signals on lines 320, 322, 324, and 326, respectively. displaying GMT in hours (GMTHR), GMT in minutes QfTMIN), GMT in days (GMTDAG) and GMT in months (GMPMND). Signals representing these amounts are input into a GMTSET logic system, indicated at block 328 along with amounts on lines 330 and 332 from the appropriate flight segment record in the general data base 106, as indicated by arrow 324, respectively. determine the difference in hours from the time of the departure station to GMT and the difference in hours from the destination station, in this case 10 LHR to GMT. As further shown in Fig. 18, these amounts are converted by the GMTSET logic 328 into amounts representing the time, day and month at the departure station LAK and the destination station LHR in GMT. These amounts, generally indicated by reference numeral 336, are then fed to a "header" or "caption" logic 338, 15 which generates the "header" 340 shown in FIG. 19. Thus, a "caption" can be automatically generated for each image, where the fundamental information is stored in the HEADIS logic 338 of Fig. 18 without the need to recalculate this information for individual images.

Thus, the logic logic 316 of FIG. 17 uses the. 20, the information generated in the "caption" logic in FIG. 18 in combination with the basic flight segment information available in the general data base file 106 and the data base auxiliary files of FIGS. 7-15 to generate the appropriate instruction information for the flight crew for that special flight segment.

After an image of the basic pre-flight instructions in Fig. 20 is produced on the display unit 55, the operator would, by pressing the CONTINUOUS key, cause the system, as indicated by the arrow 342, to display any general messages which may apply to the flight segment from the data base auxiliary file 314 to the display unit 55. This logic is indicated at block 344 of Fig. 17.

After the general messages have been optionally displayed, pressing the CONTINUOUS key by the operator, as indicated by the arrow 346 of Fig. 17, will cause the system to display each special message that may be of interest to the flight segment . This logic is indicated by block 348 of Fig. 17. An example of the display of a special message is provided below.

40 8402835 <- 32 - PRE-FLIGHT INSTRUCTIONS / SPECIAL MESSAGES + + ---------- (.------------ 1 ---------- - + ---------- 1 ----------- + ---------- + ----- LAX 12:15 nm 07: Sep JFK : 8: 15nm 07 Sep GMT 20:15 07 Sep SPECIAL FLIGHT MESSAGES 116

5 SPECIAL FILM OFFERS

ZONE 1: FLASH DANCING PG 1:36 ZONE 2: THE MIRROR CRACKED PG 1:45 ZONE 3: MAX DUGAN RETURNS PG 1:38 ZONE 4: BEST FRIENDS PG 1:50 1Q ZONE 5: TOOTSIE PG 1:56

Press CONTINUOUS to continue i Press MENU key to return to MENU! PROMPTS:

Press CONTINUOUS key to continue! Press the MENU key to return to MENU! 15

Likewise, destination information can be produced automatically, as indicated by arrow 350 on the display unit 55. An example of a destination image is provided below. PRE-FLIGHT INSTRUCTIONS / DESTINATION INFORMATION

+ --------— + ---------- + ---------- + ----------- + ----- ---: - + ---------- + ------- 20 LAX 12: 15nm 07 Sep JFK 8:15 nm 07 Sep GMT 20:15 07 Sep

DESTINATION INFORMATION FOR FLIGHT 11: 6 FROM: LAX TO: JFK

JOHN F. KENNEDY AIRPORT NEW YORK, NEW YORK US COST HAS LANDING TRACKS

FOR JET AIRCRAFT

ARRIVAL ARRIVAL PROCEDURES: CHECK PURSERS OUTSIDE THEIR BASE WITH 25 CREW'S "DESK" INSTRUCTION PROCEDURES CREW: ROOM 1236 WORLD PORT, directly across the street from international arrival zone.

DISTANCE TO THE CITY: 16 MILES

TAX FREE STORE: OPEN FROM 7.30 AM TO 45 MIN. V55R DEPARTURE LAST PLANE

30 GROUND TRANSPORT: BUS, UNDERGROUND, TAXI HOTELS AT THE AIRPORT

PURSER WAREHOUSE LOCATION: SOUTHERN DEPARTMENT, level next to Citybank FACILITIES PASS MESSAGES ON BOARD: yes, tel .: 632-4090 CAR RENTAL: yes RESTAURANTS: yes 6 MISCELLANEOUS: Helicopter service, free for 1 class and business class PAX to 35 N.Y. City and EWR and back.

PROMPTS:

Press CONTINUOUS key-in to continue! Press MENU key-in to return to MENU! 40 840 28 3 6

Jr »- 33 - \ foals strokes in the logic of. Fig. 17, once the sequence of pre-flight instructions has been completed, the menu, as indicated, on logic block 306 will then be re-displayed on the display. 55.

At this point in the preferred embodiment of the invention, the operator will have complete freedom to select the various procedures indicated by the arrows emanating from the logic block menu 306, as shown in Fig. 17.

In normal airline operation, the operator will select from the menu 10 the departure inventory logic, as indicated by the arrow 354 in fig. 17. The first portion of the departure logic, as indicated by the block 370 is the production on the display 55 of an image of the type shown below.

15 DEPARTURE INVENTORY FIRST CLASS AND BUSINESS CLASS

+ --------- (------- 1 -------- J --------- + —-------- (- -------- + —-— LAX 12: 15nm 07 Sep LHR 8:15 nm 07 Sep GMT 20:15 07 Sep

VEHICLE INVENTORY FIRST CLASS AND BUSINESS CLASS

BARRELS: 23 CARDBOARDS: 10 COOLERS: 20 PACKED AT: LAX BY: ί 345678 2q le 5 five digits last 2 digits DEPARTURE 12345: 11,12,13, -14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21 , 22,23,23,2.4 SEAL-67890: 42,43,44,45,46,47,48,49,50,51,52,53,54,55,56 NUMBERS 69696: 21,22,23, 24,25,26,27,28,29,30,31,32,33,34 ^ 35 25 NUMBER OF FIFTH UNITS STRONG DRINK FOR THE FIRST CLASS ............. 25 NUMBER OF TENTH UNITS STRONG DRINK FOR THE FIRST CLASS ............ 10 NUMBER OF MINI1S FOR THE FIRST CLASS ......................... ......... 999 NUMBER OF BOTTLES OF WINE / CHAMPAQIE FOR THE FIRST CLASS ................... 88 NUMBER OF CANNES (12 oz) BEER FOR THE FIRST CLASS ..................... 12 30 NUMBER OF FREE CIGARETTES TO GIVE AWAY - 4's ..... ....... 10 NUMBER OF MINI'S STRONG DRINK FOR THE BUSINESS CLASS ......... 525 NUMBER OF WINE / CHAMPAGNE BOTTLES FOR THE BUSINESS CLASS ................... 789 NUMBER OF CANNES (12 oz) BEER FOR THE BUSINESS CLASS. ...................., 25 35 Please type whether these articles are TAX PAID or WAREHOUSE (T or I): P ROMPTS: 40 84 0 28 3 6 - 34 - TYPES PLEASE THE COUNT OF THE CARTONS FOR THE FIRST CLASS / BUSINESS CLASS TYPES THE COUNT OF THE COOLERS FOR THE FIRST CLASS / BUSINESS CLASS Please type TYPES OF LOCATION OF EMPLOYER STOCK EMPLOYEE. OF THE PACKER 5, TYPES PLEASE CHECK THAT THESE ARTICLES ARE TAX PAID OR WAREHOUSE (T OR I):

TYPES FIRST 5 DIGITS OF THE FIRST CLASS / BUSINESS CLASS DEPARTURE SEALING NUMBER

TYPES LAST 2 DIGITS OF THE 10 FIRST CLASS / BUSINESS CLASS DEPARTURE SEALING NUMBER

TYPES FIFTH UNITS STRONG DRINKS AT THE BEGINNING FOR THE FIRST CLASS BREAKS TENTH UNITS OF STRONG DRINKS AT THE BEGINNING FOR THE FIRST CLASS BREAKS MINIS AT THE BEGINNING FOR THE FIRST CLASS WINE / CHAMPAGNE AT THE BEGINNING OF 12 FIRST CLASS 15. AT THE BEGINNING OF FIRST CLASS

TYPES OF CIGARETTES (4's) AT THE BEGINNING ,. FIRST CLASS INTYPES MINI'S AT THE BEGINNING, BUSINESS CLASS WINE / CHAMPAGNE BEGINS AT THE BEGINNING, BUSINESS CLASS BREAKING BEER (12 oz.) AT THE BEGINNING, BUSINESS CLASS.

20

As can be seen from the figure above, the logic in block 370, responding to the entries by the system operator, will fill inventory departure information in departure fields 152, 154, 156 and 158 of the flight history database-23 file 128 as illustrated in Fig. 16A.

Once the first class departure inventory is completed, the logic of the system, as indicated by arrow 372, will start with the economy class departure inventory, represented by block 374 of fig. 7. This will be displayed on the display unit 55 below. induce.

DEPARTURE INVENTORY ECONOMIC CLASS + ———---- Η ——------ h -———————— | -----—----- Η -—---— i- ----— LAX 12: 15nm 07 Sep LHR 8: 15nm 07 Sep GMT 20:15 07 Sep

35 DEPARTURE INVENTORY ECONOMIC CLASS

BARRELS: 23 CARTONS: 10 COOLERS: 20 PACKED AT: LAX BY: Φ 345678 first; \ 5 digits last 2 digits DEPARTURE: 12345: 11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21 , 22,23,23,24 SEAL-: 67890: 42,43,44,45,46,47,48,49,50,51,52,53,54,55,56 HIMJEES 69696 21,22,23, 24,25,26,27,28,29,30,31,32,33,34,35 8402836 * «· - 35 - NUMBER OF MINT1 s FOR ECONOMIC CLASS ............... ................... 999 NUMBER OF BOTTLES OF INTERNATIONAL WINE FOR ECONOMIC CLASS ............. 100 NUMBER OF CAN BEERS (12 02.) FOR ECONOMIC CLASS ................... 999 NUMBER OF BOTTLES OF HOUSE WINE FOR ECONOMIC CLASS. ................ .888 5 NUMBER OF SALES HEADSETS * * ......................... ............ .525 NUMBER OF SALES SLIPPED CIGARETTES ................................ .425

Please type the location of the PROVIDER'S STOCK

10 PROMPSTi

In types please the COUNT OF THE KEGS STRONG DRINK FOR THE ECONOMIC CLASS Type in please THE COUNTING OF THE CARTONS FOR THE ECONOMIC CLASS 15 Please type THE COOLERS FOR THE ECONOMIC CLASS Please type The LOCATION OF THE PRIVATE STOCK Please type the EMPLOYE NUMBER OF THE PACKAGER

Please enter whether these articles are TAX PAID or ENTRPOT (T or I):

Type first 5 digits DEPARTURE SEALING NUMBER FOR THE ECONOMIC CLASS 20 In last two digit types DEPARTURE SEALING NUMBER FOR THE ECONOMIC CLASS Type MINIS at the beginning for the ECONOMIC CLASS Type International wine at the beginning for the ECONOMIC CLASS in the ECONOMY BEER (12 oz.) HOUSE WINE at the beginning for the ECONOMIC CLASS 25 Typing salable "HEADSETS" at the beginning for the ECONOMIC CLASS

Type salable CIGARETTE SLOTS at the beginning for the ECONOMIC CLASS

As with the first class departure inventory, economy class departure inventory 374 will load the information input 30 in the above image into the arrival fields 230, 232, 234, and 228 of the flight history database 128, as shown in. Fig. 16B. After the economy class departure inventory has been completed by the operator, the system will automatically fire, as indicated by arrow 376, to menu logic 306.

35 Either before or after the departure inventory, the system operator can select the PASSENGERS BOARDED menu item in order to enter the number of passengers boarded at the departure or intermediate airports in the flight history database in fields 242, 244 and 246, as shown in Fig. 16B. This logic will be started 40 over a line 360 and executed as indicated by block 378 8402836 - 36 - in Figure 17 ..

At any time during the flight, the system operator will be able to use the menu to initiate the currency conversion logic, as indicated at block 380 of Fig. 17.

5 The currency conversion logic of block 380 will produce a screenshot of the type shown below, using the currency data contained in the currency file 120 shown in Fig. 13. As noted above, up to the appropriate records in the currency file 120 accessed by using the flight segment information to obtain the appropriate records from the general database of Fig. 6.

CURRENCY CONVERSION

I -------— + ---------- 1 ---------- + ---------- + ------— + --------- (.------ 15 LAX 12rl5 nm 07 Sep LHR 8: 15nm 07 Sep GMT 21:15 07 Sep

CURRENCY CONVERSION

LAST UPDATED 10:15 PM 23 MAR 83 COUNTRY CURRENCY - $ 1.00 = $ 1.50 = $ 2.50 => $ 3.00 20 ————————— '- -

Great Britain Around 0.50 0.75 1.25 1.50

Germany German Mark 2.60 3.90 6.50 7.80

France Franc 8.00 12.00 20.00 24.00 25 Enter the name of an additional country: AUSTRALIA (press MENU until EXIT) PROMPTS:

Enter the name of the additional country: (press MENU to EXIT)

The system operator will also have the option of using the menu to call up an image, using the logic of block 382, which reflects the discrepancies of the installation. The mapping of the discrepancies will display on the display 55 the information shown in FIG. 15 and allow the operator to delete or add additional discrepancies 35 '.

At the end of the flight segment, the system operator will select from the menu image the arrival inventory operation, as indicated by arrow 356 in fig. 7. The first operation, 4q as indicated by logic block 384, is to produce an arrival 84028 3 6 -37- i? '· * .. · ZCiτ, ς vco *: first? class and. business class of the type shown below.

ARRIVAL INVENTORY FOR FIRST CLASS AND BUSINESS CLASS

5 4 ------ <—---; ---- + ---------- + ------- i --------- H—- ------ 1 ------ LAX 12:15 nm 07 Sep LHR 8:15 nm 07 Sep GMT 20:15 07 Sep

ARRIVAL INVENTORY FOR FIRST CLASS AND BUSINESS CLASS

BARRELS: 23 CARDBOARDS: 10 COOLERS: 20 TAX PAID

Last 5 digits Last 2 digits ARRIVAL: 17777: 11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23,24 SEAL-: 22145: 41,42,43,44, 45,46,47,48,49,50,51,52,53,54 NDMMB®S 54321: 67,68,69,70,71,72,83,74,75,76,77,78,79, 80 REMAINING NUMBER OF FIVE FIFTH UNITS STRONG DRINK FOR THE 1® kl. . .,. “.25 REMAINING NUMBER OF BEGINNED FIFTH UNITS OF STRONG DRINK FOR THE 1® kl.2 REMAINING NUMBER OF FULL TENTH UNITS OF STRONG DRINK FOR THE 1® kl. 10 REMAINING NUMBER OF JOURNAL TENTH UNITS STRONG DRINK FOR THE 1® class 1 REMAINING NUMBER OF MINI'S FOR THE FIRST CLASS ....................... 999 20 REMAINING NUMBER WEJN / CHAMPAGNE FOR THE FIRST CLASS .................. 88 REMAINING NUMBER OF BEER (12 oz.) FOR THE FIRST CLASS ............ ...... 12 REMAINING NUMBER OF FREE GIFT CIGARETTES - 4's ....................... 10 '25 Enter first 5 digits of the ARRIVAL SEAL NUMBER of the FIRST CLASS / BUSINESS CLASS: 17777 PROMPTS:

Enter first 5 digits of the ARRIVAL SEAL NUMBER of the FIRST CLASS / BUSINESS CLASS

Enter the last 2 digits of the ARRIVAL SEAL NUMBER of the 30 FIRST CLASS / BUSINESS CLASS

Enter remaining number FULL FIFTH: UNITS STRONG DRINK FOR THE "1® CLASS

Enter remaining number FIRST FIVE UNITS STRONG DRINK FOR THE FIRST CLASS

Enter number FULL TENTH UNITS STRONG DRINK FOR THE FIRST CLASS 35 Enter number BREAKED TENTH UNITS STRONG DRINK FOR THE FIRST CLASS Enter remaining number of MINIS FOR THE FIRST CLASS Enter remaining number WINE / CHAMPAGNE FOR THE FIRST CLASS Type 12 oz. FOR THE FIRST CLASS Type of remaining number of CIGARETTES (4's): 40 When the information or the arrival inventory has been entered 8402836 - 38 - the operator will automatically enter it by the logic shown in block 384 to fields 228 and 230 of the flight history database ,. as shown in Fig. 16B. Once this is complete, the system logic, as indicated by arrow 386, will start the logic in block 388, to produce an economy class arrival inventory image to display unit 55 of the type shown below.

ARRIVAL INVENTORY FOR THE ECONOMIC CLASS

10 + ----------- + ---------- μ ---------- + ---------- + --- ------- + ---------- + ------ + LAX 12:15 nm 07 Sep LHR 8:15 nm 07 Sep GMT 20:15 07 Sep

ARRIVAL INVENTORY FOR THE ECONOMIC CLASS

BARRELS: 23 CARDBOARDS: 1.0 COOLERS: 20 PACKED AT: LAX DOOR:% 345678

Tax paid ^ Last 5 digits last 2 digits ARRIVAL: 55667: 11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23,24 SEAL-: 93321: 41,42,43 , 44,45,46,47,48,49,50,51,52,53,54 *: ^: 10000: 07,08,09,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17, 18,19,20 2Q REMAINING NUMBER OF MINI'S FOR THE ECONOMIC CLASS ........................ 999 REMAINING NUMBER OF BOTTLES OF INTERNATIONAL WINE FOR THE ECONOMIC CLASS ... 100 REMAINING NUMBER OF CANS (12 ozj '' BEER FOR THE ECONOMIC CLASS ......... 999 REMAINING NUMBER OF BOTTLES OF HOUSE WINE FOR THE ECONOMIC CLASS .............. 888 REMAINING NUMBER OF SALES "HEADSETS". .............................. 444 25 REMAINING NUMBER OF SALES SLIPPER CIGARETTES ............. ......... 425

Enter S.v.p. THE REMAINING NUMBER OF SALES "(HEADSETS" PROMPTS:

• Enter last 5 digits ARRIVAL SEALING NUMBER FOR THE ECONOMIC CLASS 30 Enter last 2 digits ARRIVAL SEALING NUMBER FOR THE ECONOMIC CLASS Enter remaining MINI "S FOR THE ECONOMIC CLASS

Enter remaining BOTTLES INTERNATIONAL WINE FOR THE ECONOMIC CLASS In remaining types of BEERS (12 oz.) FOR THE ECONOMIC CLASS Enter remaining - BOTTLES OF HOUSE WINE FOR THE ECONOMIC CLASS 35 remaining types. SALESABLE. HEADSETS FOR THE ECONOMIC CLASS

Typing remaining SALES CIGARETTE SLOTS FOR THE ECONOMIC CLASS

As is the case with the first class arrival inventory, the information in the above figure will be input 40 by the logic 388 in fields 232 and 234 of the flight history database 120.

84028 3 6 * - 39 -

Also at the end of the flight segment, the system operator may select the inventory cancellation procedure from the menu, which will initiate logic block 390 as indicated by line 358 of Fig. 17, To cancel the first class inventory, the 5 image shown below are generated on the display unit 55.

INVENTORY CLOSURE FIRST CLASS AND BUSINESS CLASS -------- 1 ----- j ------ f-— ---- 1 —---- h ----- f —-- - (------ l · ------ f *

LAX 12:15 pm 07 SEP LHR 8:15 pm 07 SEP GMT 20:15 07 SEP

INVOLVEMENT FIRST CLASS AND BUSINESS CLASS

--- FIRST CLASS ------------------- BUSINESS CLASS -----------------

STRONG STRONG STRONG WINE / BEER SIG. STRONG. WINE / BEER

DRINK DRINK DRINK CHAMP: DRINK. CHAMP.

^ S ^ den 10-den minis 750 ml 12 oz 4's minis 187 ml 12 oz DEPARTURE .0 .0

ARRIVAL

20 V0L _____

ARRIVAL

BEGINNING "° _____ ______ _____ ___________ _________

ARRIVAL _, 0 ___. Q

25 CONSUMPTION .0_ __. 0_______ ______ ______________ ______ _____.

PLEASE CHECK YOUR INVENTORY as shown above. ' IF CORRECT, use ACCEPT key, or press MENU key and 30 select either DEPARTURE or ARRIVAL INVENTORY and enter the correct entry.

PROMPTS: PLEASE CHECK YOUR INVENTORY as shown above. ' IF CORRECT, use ACCEPT key, pf press MENU key and 35 select either DEPARTURES or ARRIVALS INVENTORY and type the correct entry (entry).

When the first class inventory has been verified as indicated by the above image, the system will automatically, like 8402836 - 40 - indicated by arrow 392, start operation of the cancellation class for the economics class, shown in block 394. This will produce an image, as indicated below.

5 LIFTING PROCEDURE OF ECONOMY CLASS INVENTORY

------ + ------ + - --- + ------ + —----- + ------ + —— + ------ + ------ + -----'- + ---

LAX 12:15 pm 07 SEP LHR 8:15 pm 07 SEP GMT 20:15 07 SEP

LIFTING PROCEDURE OF ECONOMY CLASS INVENTORY

--------------------ECONOMY----------------------------- -------

10 STRONG INTERNAT. HOME HEADSETS CIGARETTES

BEVERAGE WINE BEER WINE

MINIMS

VALUE $ 2 ^ 50 $ 1.50 $ 1.50 $ 1.50 $ 3.00 $ 1.00 DEPARTURE ______ _________ ____ ______ 15 ARRIVAL ______ _________ ____ _____ ________ .__________ CONSUMPTION ____ ____ ____ ______ ________ ___________

CONSUMPTION

20 ____ mm ___ ::::::::: __ mi____mn___mum___ i_______ PLEASE VERIFY your INVENTORY as shown above IF CORRECT, use ACCEPT key, or press MENU key and select either DEPARTURE or ARRIVAL INVENTORY and type 25 the correct entry ( entry).

RROMPTS: PLEASE CHECK YOUR INVENTORY as shown above! IF CORRECT, use ACCEPT key, or press MENU key and select either DEPARTURE or ARRIVAL INVENTORY and enter the correct entry (30).

Once the economy inventory has been verified, the system will automatically revert to menu logic 306.

Together with the inventory cancellation, their currency cancellation function, indicated by block 396 in Fig. 17, can be started by selecting the currency cancellation option from the menu. An image will be generated by the logic of block 396 for the currency cancellation for the first class of the type illustrated below.

84 0 28 3 6 - 41 -

CURRENCY EXEMPTION FIRST CLASS AND BUSINESS CLASS

--- + ---- 1 ------ {---- 4 ------ 1 ----- i ------ 1 ------- 1- ---------- 1 ----

LAX 12:15 pm 07 SEP LHR 8:15 pm 07 SEP. GMT 20:15 07 SEP

CURRENCY EXEMPTION FIRST CLASS AND BUSINESS CLASS

5 ---------- COLLECTED CURRENCY -----------------

COUNTRY QUANTITY X EXCHANGE RATE TOTAL

USA 99999.99 X 1.00 99999.99 GREAT BRITAIN 99999.99 X .50 99999.99 GERMANY 99999.99 X 2.30 99999.99 10 FRANCE 99999.99 X 7.00 99999.99

X

X

__ X _______________

15 QUANTITY IN DEPOT

PROMPTS: 20

Enter the AMOUNT OF COLLECTED US CURRENCY:

Enter the name of each additional country or press "RETURN":

Enter the QUANTITY OF COLLECTED XXXXXXX CURRENCIES:

Enter the NUMBER OF FIRST CLASS PASSENGERS from XXX to YYY: 25 Enter the NUMBER OF BUSINESS CLASS PASSENGERS from XXX to YYY:

After the first class currency cancellation is completed, a similar image will be generated for the economy class currency cancellation.

30 At the end of the flight segment, when all miscellaneous I

functions described above have been performed by system operators,! ! who are usually members of the flight crew, the end of the flight option selected from the menu that starts the logic, indicated in block 398. One of the primary functions of the end of the 35 flight logic is to lock the data in the flight history data base so that changes can no longer be made by members of the flight crew, ensuring that accurate data can be provided to management.

8402836 - 42 -

The preferred embodiment of an aircraft on-board terminal includes a memory for storing the cabin management data base as illustrated in Fig. 5 as well as a display unit for displaying the type of data described above, a keyboard for entering the data into memory and a magnetic card reader is provided in FIG. 21. A more detailed description of this terminal is provided in the U.S. co-pending patent application of Metz et al, no ...... filed for .... For purposes of this description, the elements in the terminal of FIG. 21, 10 which are similar to the elements in the terminal illustrated in FIG. 4 are given the same reference numerals. The terminal as shown in Fig. 21 is enclosed by a housing 400 'and includes a front panel 410. It is envisaged that the terminal housing 400 will normally be mounted within the passenger area of the aircraft cabin 15 such that the front panel 410 will be accessible to members of the flight crew. Located in the top right portion of the front panel 410 is the visual display unit 55, which in the preferred embodiment of the invention is a flat panel display device. One of the basic considerations from an ergonomic standpoint is the legibility of the image in the aircraft cabin environment. The characters projected on display 55 must be of sufficient size to be easily legible for the flight crew member. that the system operates, while at the same time, display 55 must display enough information to minimize the need for unrolling or otherwise calling additional data pages, which would contribute significantly to the complexity of operating the system. With regard to the various images discussed in the preceding section of this description of the invention, the preferred image allows the generation of eighty characters on twenty four lines.

Also included in the front panel 410 is a keyboard door, which is folded down in the view of Fig. 21: the keyboard 53 is below and hence is not visible in this figure. The door has a latch included to provide access to keypad 35 for authorized personnel. Due to the fact that certain categories of information, in particular related to on-board inventories, are of economic significance to airlines, it is considered important to provide various means to limit access to this information. The keyboard 53 includes special function keys 8402836 - 43, generally indicated by 411, which includes a "RETURN" key, a "MENU" key, a "CONTINUOUS" key and an "ACCEPT" key for easy operation of the system.

Front panel 410 also includes a printer door 412, behind which printer 58 is normally located. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the printer 58 is a high speed rotary electrically operated printer, for example 2000 characters per second, of the type disclosed in U.S. Patent 4,178,583. A fast printer of this type has a special applicability in that it allows one of the images discussed earlier to be printed quickly. For example, a printout of the destination message image will facilitate reading this information about the aircraft's public address system.

In the terminal shown in Fig. 21 as well as the terminal of Fig. 4, care has been taken to input data by means of data cards. In particular, this measure is provided by the magneto-selector 64, which accepts brand scan data cards from an opening 414 and ejects the cards through the top opening 416.

As can be seen in Fig. 21, the printer '58 also includes a protective plate 419 formed with a curved slot 420 'through which spouts exit from the printer.

The keyboard 51 is supported on a pair of tracks or rails 422 and 424, which are attached to the housing 14, enabling the keyboard to be slidably retracted into the housing 400 below the display unit 55. The keyboard 53 is included. a magnetic card reader, generally indicated at 60. The keyboard 53 has a slot 426 through which a magnetic card can be inserted into the magnetic card reader 60. One of the primary purposes of the magnetic card reader is to provide an operator 30 identification or authorization such as the system can be limited in terms of usage by authorized personnel.

A number of components are mounted within the housing 12, including a voltage source indicated at 428 for the printer 58 along with voltage sources 429 for the other components at the printer.

35 In the rear section of the terminal, a number of printed switch panels are mounted within the housing 400. " The printed circuit panels, which are not visible in the cut-out portion of the housing 400, include the microprocessor or micro-computer CBU 46 of FIG. 3 and associated circuitry. The microprocessor or microprocessor 46 uses the operative system programs 102 and the management programs 104 stored in the memory 49 of FIG. 5.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention, as illustrated in Fig. 21, the data base for the cabin management system 49 as illustrated in Fig. 5 is contained in the terminal and resides on the winch disk 49. However, since an aircraft provides difficult environmental operating conditions for a winchester disk drive, such as that shown at 49 of Fig. 21, attention should be paid to the mounting and orientation of the disk drive 10. In Fig. 21, the preferred orientation of the winch disk drive in a airplane illustrated. The winchester disk drive 49 is shown in a broken away form so that the major internal components of the system can be viewed. A number of fixed rotating hard disks, indicated by 430, 15, are included in the disk drive 49. A read / write head mechanism 432 is provided between the discs, which in turn is controlled by a stepper motor 434.

Since it has been found that the most severe vibrations in an aircraft occur in the vertical or up and down directions that may occur during landing, the orientation of the disc 430 and the heads 432 in an essential vertical position, as shown in Fig. 4, result in a significant number of misreading of numerical data Rotating the disk drive 49 through 90 ° such that the disks 430 are horizontal will significantly reduce the number of misreading resulting from aircraft vibrations. disk drive oriented in this manner, the system is subject to head crashes due to severe vibrations in the vertical direction, resulting in potentially serious damage to the read / write heads 432 and the disks 430 itself. As a result, it is believed to be preferable to orient the winch disc 49 as shown in Fig. 21 and to ensure proper possible redundant reading capability under the control of the operating system 102 of the cabin management database 49.

In order to provide relatively large amounts of data in numerical form to the data base 49 and to remove flight history data 35 from a ground-based computer, particularly where data transmission means of the type shown in Fig. 3 are not available, a floppy disk is inserted. disc drive 436 is provided. A suitable floppy-disk drive assembly is a 3.5 "floppy-disk drive from Sony with a data storage capacity of approximately 160 kilobites." As shown in Fig. 21, the micro floppy disk is 84 0 28 3 6 -45.- *%. disc drive attached to the upper left portion of the housing 40 behind the printer disk door 412 and directly above the printer 58. The micro floppy disc drive 436 includes a slot 438 for inserting a floppy disc into the drive 5 436. A button 440 is provided to release the floppy disc In order to protect · the micro floppy disc drive 436 from unauthorized access, a drive plate 442 is attached to the upper portion of the printer protection plate 418.

Another method of providing large amounts of data in numerical form to and from the data base 49 is illustrated in Figures 3 and 21, where a numerical data base 442 in the form of an "umbilical" data transmission device can be used instead of the floppy disc drive 436. The "umbilical" data transmission rail 442 is connected to a ground station 444 by a cable 446 when the aircraft is in the port.

The terminal of Fig. 21 as described above provides a particularly efficient and convenient, as well as economical mechanism for communicating with the airborne cahine management data base 49 of Fig. 5. By combining the various components of the terminal into one housing 400 in the manner shown in Fig. 21, it is possible to construct a terminal that is compact and highly adaptable for use in a passenger aircraft. One of the major features of the terminal disclosed in Fig. 21 is the front panel 410. This feature allows the terminal to be located in parts of the aircraft where access to the top and sides of the terminal may not be possible . The terminal can thus be placed in a maximum number of potential places within the aircraft.

Another very important feature of the terminal disclosed in Fig. 21 is the front panel 410. This measure allows the terminal to be placed in parts of the aircraft where access to the top and sides of the terminal may not be possible .

The terminal can thus be placed in a maximum number of potential places within the aircraft. Another very important feature of the terminal is the provision of the floppy disc drive 436, which allows the filling or emptying of portions of the data base such as the flight history data base 128 as described in detail in Figures 16A, 16B and 16C. .

8402836

Claims (36)

1. Aircraft management system for use on a passenger transport aircraft capable of moving geographically over a world area between discretely identifiable world locations, identified as 5 locations united as a departure / destination pair, each passenger aircraft maintaining world information on parameters relating to the effective movement of the aircraft and the maintenance of passenger service requirements, characterized by an information handling means carried on board the aircraft coupled to an on-board memory unit containing the world information relating to these parameters, which memory unit is operatively coupled is a keyboard-controlled video terminal with and via a computer, which keyboard is operative to retrieve information regarding locations united to a departure / destination pair from the world information stored in the memory unit for 15 images eelding on the video terminal. An on-board cabin management system for use in aircraft, characterized by data processing means comprising a numerical computer mounted within the aircraft for processing cabin management data; terminal means mounted in the aircraft and operatively connected to the data processing means for communicating with the numerical computer including display means for displaying a cabin management data display to an operator and data input means for providing a mechanism for entering cabin management data by an operator; and a data base mounted in the aircraft and operatively connected to the numerical computer, including global flight segment data, which displays information pertinent to each flight segment that the aircraft is highly likely to fly pocket. System according to claim 2, characterized in that the global flight segment data comprises means of identification of the departure and arrival ports for each flight segment stored in the data base. System according to claim 3, characterized in that the flight segment data additionally comprise flight numbers. System according to claim 4, characterized in that the flight segment data additionally contains departure and arrival times for each flight segment stored in the data base. 8402836 * * - ~ 47 - System according to claim 2, characterized in that the flight segment data comprises meal service data. System according to claim 6, characterized in that the flight segment data additionally comprises passenger service information. System according to claim 4, characterized in that the flight segment data also includes aircraft type data, System according to claim 2, characterized in that the data base comprises a general database base file containing a number of flight segment files, wherein each of the flight segment files comprises at least a portion of the global flight segment data for a special flight segment. A system according to claim 9, characterized in that the flight segment files comprise identifiers of the departure and arrival ports for that special flight segment. System according to claim 10, characterized in that the flight segment files comprise the flight number for that special flight segment. System according to claim 9, characterized in that the flight segment files comprise meal service data for that special flight segment. System according to claim 9, characterized in that the flight segment files contain departure and arrival times for that special flight segment. System according to claim 11, characterized in that the flight segment files containing the flight numbers also include passenger service information for that special flight segment. A system according to claim 9, characterized in that the data processing means comprises flight segment files addressing means for addressing and accessing the flight segment files using the departure and arrival 3q ports identifiers defining a flight segment. 16. System according to claim 15, characterized in that the flight segment files are stored at addressable places in the data base and the segment addressing means comprise combining means for combining the departure and arrival identifiers into a desired flight segment file for creating a combined expression, and means to convert the combined expression to. the address of the addressable record in which the desired flight segment file is located. System full-mesh claim 16, characterized in that the combining means comprises the flight number for the desired flight segment file 8402836 - 48 - in the combined expression. System according to claim 17, characterized in that the combiner comprises the aircraft type for the desired flight segment file in the combined expression. System according to claim 16, characterized in that the general database base file is stored on a disk file, and wherein the address represents the disk file address of the desired flight segment file. 20. On-board aircraft cabin management system for use in an aircraft characterized by: data processing means, comprising a numerical computer mounted in the aircraft for processing cahine management data; terminal parts mounted in the airplane and operatively connected to the data processing means for communicating with the numerical computer, including an image unit providing an image of the cabin management data to an operator, and data input means providing an mechanism for an operator input of cahine management data; and a data base mounted in the aircraft and operatively connected to the numerical computer, including global flight data, which display predetermined information useful in the cabin management functions and flight history data, which represent operational data cooperating with one or more flight segments. · 21. System according to claim 20, characterized in that at least part of the worldwide flight data is stored in a general database base file, comprising a number of flight segment records. System according to claim 21, characterized in that each of the flight segment records includes global information related to a predetermined flight segment. System according to claim 22, characterized in that the data base comprises at least one auxiliary data base, which includes global information in addition to the global information stored in the general data base, and wherein the flight segment records include the location of the global information in the auxiliary data bases, which are pertinent to a predetermined flight segment. System according to claim 23, characterized in that the location identification comprises the address in the auxiliary data base of the information pertinent to a predetermined flight segment. 8402836 ί - 49, System according to claim 21, characterized in that the flight segment records comprise flight segment identifiers, which include identification codes of the departure and arrival airports. System according to claim 25, characterized in that the flight-5 segment identifiers additionally comprise a flight number. System according to claim 25, characterized in that the flight segment records comprise passenger service information. A system according to claim 27, characterized in that the passenger information is stored in at least one auxiliary database 10 and at least a portion of the passenger service information in the flight segment records is in the form of a key to a predetermined record in one of the auxiliary databases. 29. System according to claim 20, characterized in that at least part of the flight history data is stored in a history file. System according to claim 29, characterized in that the flight history file contains information for the operating personnel about a flight segment. System according to claim 29, characterized in that the history file contains at least one record for a flight segment. System according to claim 31, characterized in that the record comprises a flight segment identifier. 33. System according to claim 20, characterized in that the data processing means comprise menu means for generating a menu image on the display unit and for enabling operator selection, by means of the data input means, of one or more of a number of cabin management operations. 34. Structure according to claim 33, characterized in that one of the cabin management operations is a notification operation which requests the operator 30 to enter information related to a flight segment. System according to claim 33, characterized in that one of the cabin management operations is a pre-flight instruction operation. A system according to claim 33, characterized in that one of the cabin management operations is a departure inventory entry operation. 37. System according to claim 33, characterized in that one of the cabin management operations is a currency conversion operation. 8402836