Background Art Providing in-flight passengers with music, movie and video entertainment is an important ingredient of today's commercial business aircraft operations. The flying public has become accustomed to having these services available during flight, and they are particularly indispensable during flights of long duration. Trouble free operation of the entertainment systems is a high priority necessity in the highly competitive airline business, and systems consisting of a few to several thousand components must be continually maintained in operating condition aboard today's commercial jets. Inoperable audio or video devices result in unhappy onboard customers, and equipment reliability in the range of 99% uptime is routinely demanded by the airlines. This places stringent requirements on maintenance, trouble shooting and repair processes both on the aircraft and throughout the fleet's entire operating and support systems.

Currently, malfunctions of onboard components of the entertainment system may be detected either through self test procedures activated by ground maintenance personnel of a potential component problem, or through the actual failure of a device which is immediately brought to the attention of a crew member. Whatever the difficulty, ultimately a flight attendant or pilot manually writes up the failure in a log book, and upon landing the log book is turned over to the cognizant maintenance personnel for action. In the art as presently practiced, there is no advance notice to ground maintenance personnel that an aircraft with an entertainment component failure or other problem such as in a lavatory, with a passenger seat or in a galley, is about to arrive, and without warning no advance preparation can be made to expeditiously repair the malfunction. With the aircraft at the terminal gate, the repair crew

must be notified and advised of the entry in the log book describing the failure. Maintenance personnel then attempt to diagnose the system and pinpoint the exact inoperable device, check inventory to determine if a replacement spare is quickly available, obtain the replacement unit and perform the repair, and then test the system to insure that the repair has been successfully completed. This entire sequence of events is to be accomplished during the short time that the aircraft is on the ground for deplaning and replacing of passengers, or while the aircraft is being turned around for a return flight. In current practice, the turnaround times for narrow- body commercial passenger aircraft is relatively short, and typically, maintenance crews are permitted only about ten minutes in the passenger cabin between when the last passenger from the inbound flight departs and when passengers for the outbound flight begin arriving in the cabin. With the many other activities which must be simultaneously performed on the aircraft during this short time period of a stop-over or turn-around, the maintenance program as presently performed, where information is transmitted on the ground by providing a manually written record or by word of mouth, is both inefficient and burdensome to the personnel involved.

Disclosure of Invention The present invention relates to a computer-implemented system, including conventional hardware and conventional system operating software, computer-implemented application program that provides the ability for automatic detection of problems with various electronic and non-electronic equipment found in passenger aircraft, and/or other commercial passenger transportation vehicles such as ships, trains and the like; as well as manual input through a graphical user interface with touchscreen function and menu capability by crew members of information identifying problems with the equipment; collection and storage in a data base of all problems detected in the equipment; and the capability of transferring, via conventional communication links, to a predetermined ground station, the information, whereby the appropriate ground-positioned maintenance personnel are made aware of specific equipment or component that has a problem, an identification of the problem corresponding to each piece of equipment or component, and the arrival time of the aircraft having the problem (s) to thereby enable the ground maintenance personnel to obtain appropriate replacement and/or repair equipment or tools and have them available at the aircraft upon

arrival, to thereby more efficiently repair and/or replace the equipment or component having the problem.

Rather than relying on a manually based system of reporting entertainment system component failure, the present invention employs on board digital computer within the entertainment system to perform automatic cyclical interrogation of the components of the system while in flight, and maintaining a stored register of components in the aircraft that have failed, are inoperable, or otherwise require repair, replacement or cleaning. This register is part of RAM or hard drive of the onboard digital computer, (designated as the Cabin Operations Manager, i. e., COM). The COM is programmed, preferably, to query the status of every component when a problem is detected, and to then store the relevant data in the RAM or hard drive. This data is designated as Maintenance Alert Data for the purpose of the present invention.

For example, Maintenance Alert Data may be collected by the on board digital computer in several ways, including polling individual system components or by querying the conventional central Bite collection component (i. e., Built-In-Test Equipment integral with system units) or other cabin systems. Maintenance Alert Data from the conventional, installed audio multiplexing system which distributes audio programming from a central audio source to each of the passenger seats of the aircraft may, as an option, be derived via a command to the multiplex system from the COM. On activation of the system, a Power-On Self Test (POST), under control of the COM, runs a series of intrusive tests by means of the conventional distribution system, and failures are detected and stored in the RAM or hard disk of the COM. (An intrusive test employs signals which would interfere with entertainment content as perceived by the passenger if such a test were run during normal system use.) Non- intrusive tests may also be programmed for periodic use during normal operational modes using sub-audio test signals that are undetectable by a passenger listening to the program material.

Other units of the entertainment system, such as the conventional audio file server, conventional video file server, video screen status, and relevant power supplies, which are not directly accessible through the standard multiplex unit are similarly cyclically and automatically tested by use of an installed"ethernet", or industry standard RS-485 two way signal channel between the individual units and the controlling COM.

The COM is also provided with at least one, interactive, graphical user interface touchscreen to provide data entry and display functional capability having a selectable menu of system functions. One display is a plan view of the cabin of the aircraft showing all seat video on screen positions and audio unit, and any seat position or video screen experiencing a problem may be highlighted by an eye catching icon showing that such a problem exists.

The"touchscreen"display capability enables cabin personnel to enter into the COM cabin maintenance items which are not detectable by the automated BITE or are not elements of the entertainment system but related to equipment, components, fixtures or provisions in the cabin which may require service on landing. For example, inoperative galley units or lavatory problems may be identified and stored in the COM memory, as well as a need for specific supplies.

In this manner, a continually updated record of inoperable and/or problem-prone components and addresses designating the component's location on the aircraft is stored in the COM.

Additionally, the aircraft's tail number, its automatically updated location over the ground derived from the plane's inertial guidance system, and the aircraft's flight schedule are stored in COM memory. Using this information and under control of a supervisory COM program, the plane's next scheduled landing site is determined. The COM then activates a plane to ground maintenance center station communication channel well in advance of the aircraft's arrival at the site's terminal, and the failure information stored in the COM is downloaded to a centrally located Maintenance Alert Operations Center (MAOC) computer.

The communication channel may be an ordinary air to ground telephone channel, an internet access network, or a private intranet network, and the message is routed to the landing maintenance center at the site where the aircraft will and. For efficient communication, the Maintenance Alert Data is, preferably, encoded and compressed by the COM before transmission to the ground.

The MAOC, which may be one of a series of interconnected maintenance center stations, includes one or more which decode and processes the incoming data for distribution to appropriate ground personnel. The MAOC generates a work order and assigns the job responsibility to a ground crew repairman and automatically contacts him/her by means of a hand held cell phone, PCS or other device preferably having a visual display. The visual

display on the portable receiver shows the aircraft number, its gate location when on the ground, and states the problem to be corrected. It also alerts stores that a replacement unit should be held available, if required. It will be noted that the entire operation is computer generated and sequenced without the intervention of intermediate personnel, and with repair crews alerted in advance of landing they need only go aboard incoming aircraft that have previously reported problems.

The information accumulated in the computer of the MAOC may also be downloaded onto other fleet system computers. For example, Maintenance Alert Data may be transferred daily to Management Ground Stations where reports on entertainment system performance, and statistical analysis of equipment reliability may be generated.

Brief Description Of The Drawings Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the foregoing detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a block diagram showing the major functional components of the invention and their relative positional relationship in an aircraft maintenance and reporting system, and Figure 2 is a block diagram showing the functional relationship of the onboard cabin operations manager computer touch screen, the computer and the keyboard input devices to each other.

Figure 3 is the main menu screen display of the preferred embodiment, together with five graphical user interface (GUI) screen displays of the five second level screens that appear upon touching the active portion of the main menu screen display associated with each of the five preferred system control, management and status features of the preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 4 is a block diagram showing the functional relationship of the cabin operations manager video control unit feature of the present invention.

Figure 5 is a block diagram showing the functional relationship of the cabin operations manager media server control feature of the present invention.

Figure 6 is a block diagram illustrating the functionality of the cabin operations manager cabin management feature of the present invention.

Figure 7 is a block diagram showing a functionality of the cabin operations manager BITE and media load status reporting feature of the present invention.

Figure 8 is a block diagram showing the functionality of the cabin operations manager medical alert, first aid assistant feature of the present invention.

Figure 9 is a functional block diagram showing the cabin operations manager automated media download to servers feature of the present invention.

Figure 10 is a GUI interactive screen display illustrating one stage of display and decision making functionality of the cabin operations manager feature of the present invention.

Figure 11 is a GUI screen display of a preferred way of identifying various sections and rows of an aircraft cabin with the present invention.

Figure 12 is a GUI screen display of a preferred way of identifying a particular seat in a passenger aircraft that may have a problem associated with it in accordance with the present invention.

Figure 13 is a GUI screen display of a preferred identification of illustrative problems associated with a seat of a passenger aircraft in accordance with the present invention.

Figure 14 is a GUI screen display illustrating a preferred method of locating a region that includes a particular component of the video system of a passenger aircraft in accordance with the present invention.

Figure 15 is a GUI screen display of a preferred listing of typical problems associated with a video system in a passenger aircraft in accordance with the present invention.

Figure 16 is a GUI screen display of a preferred way of locating and identifying components of the audio system of the passenger aircraft in accordance with the present invention.

Figure 17 is a GUI screen display illustrating a preferred way in which an intrusive test may be initiated of a particular audio component of a passenger entertainment system on an aircraft in accordance with the present invention.

Figure 18 is a GUI screen display of a preferred way of displaying the status of particular equipment in the entertainment system of a passenger aircraft, a description of faults and other pertinent information regarding the equipment in accordance with the present invention.

Figure 19 is a GUI screen display of a preferred way of identifying and locating components of the video system of a passenger aircraft for further identification of problems associated therewith in accordance with the present invention.

Figure 20 is a GUI screen display illustrating a particular problem with a video display retractor, and related information useful in repairing or replacing the equipment having a fault in accordance with the present invention.

Figure 21 is a GUI screen display illustrating information typical for use by a crew member in handling a medical emergency that might occur on the aircraft during flight in accordance with the present invention.

Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention Referring to Figure 1, an aircraft 10 has a conventional entertainment system installed to provide video and audio program material at passenger seat positions, e. g. 12,14 in the aircraft cabin 10. Audio is generated in a conventional audio file server 16, that includes a distribution amplifier system and an audio source which may include standard audio cassettes, digital audio tape (DAT), or CDS.

In accordance with the present invention, a general purpose digital computer is provided and is designated as the Cabin Operations Manager (COM) 18. The COM 18 is provided with, and has the capability of, decoding digitally recorded audio and transferring the decoded audio to the audio file 16 for distribution through the aircraft.

The COM 18 also functions to store, display and transmit entertainment equipment failure conditions and operational status, as well as failure conditions and status on other equipment, components and provisions typically located in the passenger cabin.

In the aircraft 10, the audio is distributed through a conventional multiplexing system channel 20 to all the seats, e. g. 12,14 of the aircraft 10. The COM 18 is also connected to the conventional main multiplexer (MUX) 20, and the COM 18 may be programmed to send either intrusive or non-intrusive test signals to the audio multiplexing system components of the seat positions via the main MUX 20. As previously stated, intrusive testing is preferably performed prior to activation of the audio system for passenger use, while non intrusive testing uses sub-audible test signals on the multiplex channel during normal operation. These test signals are configured so that inoperative audio components are detected by the COM 18, and

the seat address of the nonoperative unit is stored in RAM at the COM 18. The COM 18 also tests and stores the status of the units comprising the audio file server 16 by means of test signals sent on a conventional bi-directional link 22.

A conventional video file server 24 provides video information in the form of movies and other visual entertainment or information for projection by conventional video displays, e. g. 26,28 located throughout the cabin. The video information is transmitted from the video file server 24 to the video displays, e. g. 26,28 by means of a conventional cable network 30.

The COM 18 is connected to the video file server 24 by circuits 32 and to the video displays e. g. 26,28 so that the COM 18 can poll the video file 24 and the video displays and receive operational status information. Failures of components in the video system are thereby detected, and the information stored in the COM RAM.

Flight"Time to Destination"information is available from the aircraft's navigation system 34. The COM 18 is programmed to use this information to calculate the time interval until arrival at the next scheduled landing site. At a pre-designated and appropriate time during the flight, the COM 18 activates a conventional wireless communication link 36 which dials up a ground maintenance stations 38,40. The communications link, referred to at 39, may be by ordinary telephone connection, internet network or a private intranet network linking the ground maintenance stations, e. g. 38,40 and the aircraft 10 via e-mail, internet website, etc. The failure information stored in COM 18 RAM or hard disk is transmitted in digital form to diagnostic computers, e. g. 41,42, that are programmed to determine the anticipated, required repair based on the input failure information, and to select and notify an on site repair person of the action to be taken. The diagnostic computers, e. g. 42, preferably activates a dial up network 44 to contact a portable cell phone having a display, 46, carried by the selected maintenance technician, and the service information and work order is downloaded to the visual display of the cell phone 46 or other portable electronic device capable of such communication, such as hand-held computer. The maintenance person can then prepare to repair the problem prior to the arrival of the aircraft 10 at the airport, and can draw the necessary components from inventory and proceed to the correct gate. The MAOC, e. g. 47 also, via link to a management station preferably generates management reports on the performance of the fleet wide entertainment systems.

Referring to Figure 2, the COM 18 also, preferably, has a GUI touchscreen, menu driven display which serves a variety of functions. One function is to display the footprint of the cabin, showing the location of the units of the entertainment system, e. g., video screens 28, e. g. audio boxes 14. Other screens may then show greater detail regarding specific locations, equipment and status. For example, an inoperable audio box may be highlighted by a flashing or colored icon, e. g., 50 on a screen. In this way maintenance personnel as well as the cabin attendants can see at a glance the pre-repair and the post repair status of the audio equipment of the entertainment system.

The display 48 is preferably configured for GUI"touch"control for interactive entry of information related to other aircraft systems as well as the entertainment system. For example, the menu selection of the"touch"function preferably, provides access to, for example,"Galley"or"Lavatory"icons on the screen. This capability allows cabin personnel to enter related problems into the COM 18 merely by touching the face of the screen, or in some cases, touching the appropriate locations on several screens. Additional information may be entered, optionally, into the COM 18 via a keyboard 52. The COM 18 and the display 48 provide access to other entertainment operational functions such as activating the cabin's audio and video systems, as well as selection of program material for these systems, as will be described.

In the best mode of practicing the present invention, the COM with the GUI touchscreen forms the heart of the in-flight entertainment system (IFE) and provides the airline owning the aircraft and other aircraft with an unprecedented ability to implement a wide range of service enhancing, and cost reducing initiatives. For example, as will be described in greater detail below, the COM together with its related components, transforms the IFE system into a cabin communication system that provides major benefits to passengers, crew as well as the airline operations and maintenance organizations.

In its preferred embodiment, the COM provides video control functionality and also provides a relatively simple, user control interface for the entire system. The COM 18, optionally, may be designed to incorporate a singe, illuminated on/off button on its front panel which, when activated, powers up the video system into a predefined"default"configuration as will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in this art. From that point on, predefined, that is scripted media may be presented to the passengers in a completely automated

sequencing. In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the COM 18 is used in conjunction with a conventional video control unit available from Transdigital Communications Corporation, Brea, California, as its AERIS-FX digital video server and airborne en route information system. Preferably, manual control of the video system is accomplished via the COM 18 touch screen LCD display with each control screen custom designed to particular airline company specifications, or, having standard format and information on each touch screen. Conventional 6.5", or other size, VGA touch screens with LCD displays are preferred for use in the present invention, although other means of display and control may be used with the present invention, as will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in this field.

The COM 18 also provides manual control interfaces to other media source products that are installed on an aircraft. The various media source products typically would include an audio file, video file, and digital satellite receiver units. In its preferred usage, the COM 18 also is programmed to be capable of automatic download of digital media files from an internal DVD drive to the hard drive (s) of other media source products installed on the aircraft, such as the audio file server and/or the video file server. Preferably, the media content download is accomplished via a conventional Ethernet link, for which the COM 18 acts as the hub. This advantageous feature enables the process of downloading any new digital media content to the audio file and video file servers as simple as inserting a DVD disc into the COM's DVD-ROM drive. Preferably, the COM's DVD-ROM drive is located behind a protective front panel door, although it could be installed elsewhere in the system. Also, alternatively, and although DVD media is preferred, other media, such as DAT or other including a direct communication link from a ground station, may be incorporated in and employed with the present invention.

In accordance with the above described, the COM is capable of performing, simultaneously, or in series, a number of tasks that include: 1. Background downloading of media files contained on, preferably DVD-ROM's to the various media servers installed on the aircraft via lOBaseT and/or 100BaseT Ethernet.

2. Manual control of media server products, including selection of video, audio or other multimedia programs for playback.

3. Transferring, i. e., copying of media files from any other digital media sources on the aircraft to another, for example a digital satellite receiving unit, the video file, the audio file, or any other media server having an Ethernet port via the COM's internal Ethernet hub.

4. The video control unit functionality such as manual, touch screen or automated control of the overhead video system including switching any of four video source inputs to any of four cabin video zone outputs as well as public announcement system keying and volume control.

5. Preview of any video program stored on video media components via internal software MPEG decoding.

6. Mode selection and control of the video file map system including determination of time to next destination and distance to next destination.

7. The city pair entry, i. e., origination and destination airport codes.

8. Maintenance alert reporting, referring to the capability for the COM to poll all systems to which it is connected for BITE information and system status, collating the information into a standardized data base format, and transmitting the information, preferably via the COM's internal modem, to the airline's maintenance tracking system and/or a maintenance alert computer located at the destination airport in-flight service base, or elsewhere.

9. Cabin management functionality using external ports on the COM's rear connector to allow the connection of a larger, remotely mounted VGA touch screen monitor with LCD and a keyboard. This remote, large touch screen and keyboard may be used by cabin crew to perform various cabin management functions and customer service functions such as logging onto the airline's reservation system via the COM's internal modem. In this regard, custom cabin management software application programs may be provided for custom usages by a particular airline.

As described above, the COM 18 thus provides a relatively simple, menu driven user interface. Standard, conventional aircraft hardware interfaces are preferably used to control and/or download data to other products on the aircraft, or on the ground and to other systems, with additional software including an appropriate interface control code.

The internal components for the COM include a conventional processor, preferably an industrial grade Pentium 200 MHZ single board computer provided on a rugged, PC-104 standard printed circuit board with an on-board SCSI, 100BaseT Ethernet and 2 RS-485 communication ports. The present invention employs conventional, commercially available hardware components. The COM 18 is housed within conventional, aircraft grade and aircraft approved housings. The computer-implemented software of the present invention that provides for the indication, control and data input functions as described in greater detail herein, is designed to work with conventional, commercially available operating systems such as, for example, Windows 95, Windows 98 or Linnex brand software. The specific language for which the software of the present invention may be written is preferably C, C + +, Page Maker, or other conventional software, as will be appreciated by those skilled in this art. The present invention will be described with reference to illustrative controls, indications and other features implemented in the software, and by reference to various touch screen displays and functional block diagrams. Writing specific application software code that implements the functions and touch screen displays described herein is well within the ordinary skill in this field, and therefore, specific application code is not set forth in detail herein. The COM 18 also includes, a preferably an integral telephone modem, which would connect it to the aircraft's air to ground telephone system, and allows system BITE information and the media and cabin equipment status information to be transmitted to the ground. The Ethernet 100BaseT hub connection provides for a relatively high speed media local area network (LAN) on the aircraft and is used for downloading media files from, preferably a DVD ROM to the media servers on board, and also to communicate control instructions from the COM 18 to the servers. Preferably, a total of six Ethernet clients may be connected to the COM's connector, which is preferably positioned in the rear of the unit. A seventh Ethernet port is accessible, preferably from behind the COM's front panel door. All Ethernet ports are downward compatible to lOBaseT clients. The COM 18 also includes a video/audio cross-point switch which is conventional and provides VCU functionality with computer controlled switching of up to four video/audio input sources to any of four video zones in the aircraft. The COM 18 also includes a conventional DVD-ROM drive, which supports DVD-ROM discs with up to 17 Gigabytes of storage preferably.

With reference to Figures 3-21, the preferred embodiment of the present invention and its operation will be described in further detail.

Referring to Figure 3, the main menu screen 102 of the present invention cabin operations manager system is shown with five categories of control, management and/or status features. Each of the five features is illustrated with text surrounded by a bar, of a different color, having rounded edges and located adjacent to a circle. As shown in Figure 3, the video system control feature 104 is shown as the top or first of the five features. Underneath, are listed the media control 106, the cabin management 108, the IFE system status 110 and, a medical alert 112. Other types of features, and other text designations for the cabin operations management system may be employed, within the scope of the present invention. Also, numerous other screen displays may be used to identify desired cabin operation management features, and the form shown in Figure 3 is considered to be merely one, of numerous such forms that may be used to accomplish the function of identifying, in a main menu screen, those specific categories of management features desired in a particular application of the present invention.

Referring to the right hand side of the Figure 3 illustration, pressing a video system control bar 104,106,108,110 or 112, or its associated circle to the left, causes a video system control second level screen to appear. The second level screen 114, in the present embodiment, indicates two areas in the aircraft, first being a first class area 116 and second, a main cabin area 118. Each of these two areas may be supplied with one of two video programs, and in the Figure 3 embodiment a highlighted"Video 1"label indicates that video program 1 is currently selected for both the first class area and the main cabin area of the aircraft. The display area 120 for the video system control indicates whether the video system is on or off, and, as shown in 120, the lighted"ON"label indicates that the video system is on, and playing, as described above, video program 1 in both the first class and main cabin.

On the lower right of screen 114 is shown an indicator and control screen for the PA system at 122. In the present example, the PA system is indicated as being"ON"by virtue of the lighted portion being shown with that designation. In the practice of the present invention, a video system could, for example be turned off by simply pressing the dark rectangular area to the right of the"ON"highlighted bar in the area 120 of screen 114. Similarly, the video program shown in the first class, or main cabin sections can be changed to, for example video

program 2, by simply pressing the black, rectangular area to the right of the lighted designation, respectively, in regions 116 and 118 of the screen 114.

Referring to GUI touchscreen display 128, the media control status screen is illustrated, with an example of the city pair Chicago-to-Los Angeles, being indicated on the top status line 130. Beneath the city pair designation, three media programs are illustrated at 132, with program number 1"SAFETY BRIEFING: ENGLISH"having a line drawn through it indicating that at the present time video program number 1 has been completed. Video program scroll bar 134 has an up arrow and a down arrow, to enable a crew member to scroll through the entire video program available for showing to the passengers, and programmed to be shown during the flight between the city pair shown at 130. An additional indicator control bar 136 provides the functions of previewing, stopping, pausing and playing the video programs. Beneath the control/indication bar 136 is an indicator bar indicating"VIDEO CONTROL"as the title of the current screen, and beneath the video control indicator bar, is another bar entitled"MAIN MENU", the depressing of which will return the COM 18 display to the main menu 102, as described above.

The cabin management screen display is shown at 138, with four functions illustrated.

The first cabin management function is the maintenance log function, which may be activated by a crew member pressing either the MAINTENANCE LOG BAR 140, or its adjacent button 142. Additionally, a PROVISIONING QA function is provided to monitor and report on the quality assurance of provisions in the cabin, as illustrated at 144 : The INCIDENT REPORT control bar 146 is shown and the connecting flight information bar 148, with reference to a particular brand name"SABRE"illustrated at 148. As described in detail above, and as found on all screens that are not the main menu screen, a MAIN MENU bar is located at the bottom and pressing the main menu bar returns the cabin operations manager system to the MAIN MENU screen.

Screen display 150 is used to identify, control and provide reporting information on various components of the in-flight entertainment system. A small icon representing a plan view of the aircraft cabin is shown at 158, in a rectangle. Within the rectangle 158 another, smaller rectangle 160 is shown with its borders surrounding several very small rectangles, each one indicating a row of seats on the aircraft, and as located in the front right side of the passenger cabin, at 160. The row information contained within the boundaries of the rectangle

160 are shown in rectangle 156, in an enlarged view, with sufficient enlargement to identify specific rows by number. In the example of Figure 3, rows 3,4,5,6,7,9 and 10 are shown.

Also, in the present example, row 9 is shown at 166, as being highlighted (the 9 is white, the numerals 3,4,5,6,7 and 10 are black). The operator of the system uses the touch screen 150 to locate an in-flight entertainment system component that has a problem for which a report has been made or is to be made. The operator selects the main menu 102, then selects the IFE system status bar 110 and presses the status bar, or its associated button, to display screen 150, then, the operator, in this example, knowing that the problem is located in row 9, touches his or her finger in the front right portion of the rectangle 158, which then causes the rectangle 160 to move from wherever location it was, to the location corresponding to the right front part of the passenger cabin, with the point at which the crew member's finger touches the rectangle 158 programmed to be the center of the rectangle 160. The seats designated within the rectangle 160 are then shown in area 156 of screen 150, in highlighted and enlarged form, with the crew member then pressing one of the rows shown at 156. For example, if the crew member presses row 9, then the display of row 9 is highlighted, as shown at 166. Further details of identification and reporting a fault in the information entertainment system components will be described later.

Referring to display screen 150, the scroll bar left and right advance arrows 162 and 164 are illustrated. Shown in the indicator bar between the arrows 162 and 164 is a designation of the current in-flight entertainment system which is active, and for which the display icons 156,158,160 and 166 are selected. In the present example, the"AUDIO SYSTEM"has been selected by the crew member pressing either of the arrows 162 or 164 so that"AUDIO SYSTEM"is shown in the display bar. Other options would include, for example the video system, the video retractor system and so forth. Reference numeral 168 refers to another control button, i. e., the audio BITE control function. Pressing this button, in the preferred embodiment of the present invention, activates, manually the intrusive BITE test for the audio system of the aircraft. Preferably, the BITE system is automatically initiated when passengers are not listening to the audio system, such as for example when the plane is in the ground. In such situations, the cabin operations manager computer may be programmed to initiate the BITE program when any cabin door is opened, thus indicating that passengers are either entering, leaving or not in the plane. In some instances, it is useful to initiate the

BITE manually, and this may be done, for example, by pressing the area 168 as shown on screen 50, for the audio system.

Screen 170 illustrates medical alert or emergency information that may be placed in the system and displayed in various forms. For example, the screen 170 is shown with information relating to a crew member's dealing with a passenger who has stopped breathing, and as is shown in greater detail in Figure 21. Various information, such as symptoms, and instructions on how to deal with specific medical problems may be provided in the MEDALERT function 112, with specific instructions and information to be determined on a specific, application by application basis, and in languages of choice.

With reference to Figure 4, the COM block diagram includes the COM 174 which features a system on/off push button, a default power up setting chosen for specific applications, touch screen control of the video system, capability of switching of the video source to predesignated aircraft zones, such as shown on screen 114, the public address system on and off control, and public address volume control, such as illustrated on screen 114. The COM function 174 is also connected to and controls conventional video file server 176, via conventional video cabling 178, audio connection 180 and Ethernet 182. The COM function 174 also communications with and receives information from a conventional digital satellite receiver 184 via video connection 186, audio connection 188, and Ethernet connection 190.

The COM function 174 also may receive video input from conventional video recorder 192 via conventional video and audio connections 194 and 196, respectively. The cabin's operation manager also outputs video to video displays located throughout the cabin via conventional video lines 204 and, keyline 206 to conventional 6.5" retractable monitors located at 200,202, in for example, the first class cabin illustrated at 198. The COM 174 also, similarly provides video to the economy cabin, via similar components as shown at 208. The COM 174 also provides audio to the various areas of the cabin via a main audio multiplexer 210 via, preferably a first class audio line 212 and an economy class audio line 214. The multiplexer used in the present invention is a conventional multiplexer. The COM 174 also outputs information through the public address system 216 via conventional public address audio line 218 and public address key line 220.

Referring to Figure 5, the COM manager 174 is illustrated functionally with respect to its media server control functions, and as such is referred to as COM 222 in Figure 5. The

media server control COM 222 communicates with the video file server 224 through Ethernet connections 226, and the video file server communicates with the conventional flight management computer 240 via a conventional ARINC 429 connection shown at 242. The media server control manager 222 communicates with the video file server, shown at 228, via Ethernet line 230, for video program selection, play and preview, as shown, for example and described in connection with screen 128. The media server control 222 also communicates with the audio file server 232 via Ethernet connection 234 to provide pre-recorded announcements and background music selection and playback. Automated video playback via city pair script is also provided by the media server control 222, in conjunction with the video file server, shown at 224, and in conjunction with the flight management computer 242. The media server control also communicates with the digital satellite receiver 236 via the Ethernet connection 238, and the digital satellite receiver communicates with the flight management computer 240 via conventional connection ARINC 429 as shown at 246 in Figure 5.

Referring to Figure 6, the cabin operations manager 174 includes the cabin management function, referred to as 248 and in this capacity, functions to provide various cabin management functions by connecting to remote peripherals; obtains computer reservation functions via an internal modem to access flight information and passenger re-booking; provides in-flight medical assistance via a medical alert function, provides for cabin maintenance log gives and provides for provisioning and quality assurance servicing and logging. In this capacity, the cabin management function 248 includes a conventional modem 264, which is connected to a conventional air/ground phone system 266 via a conventional line 268. The air/ground phone system in turn may be connected to a conventional computer reservation system, illustrated at 270. The cabin management function is provided, preferably through a 10 inch to 14 inch SVGA touch screen 250 via a conventional SVGA connection 252 and with an input/output pointing device shown at 254. An optional keyboard, shown at 256, is connected to the main COM via line 258. Also, optionally, a printer 260 may be connected to the COM via a parallel port and conventional line 262. As such, the cabin operations manager functionality is described in reference to the screen display 138 as shown in Figure 3.

With reference to Figure 7, the functionality of the COM 174, with respect to the BITE and media load status reporting function will be described. In its BITE and media load status

reporting function the cabin operations manager is referred to at 272 and functions to poll the video system components for BITE fault codes, polls other in-flight entertainment systems for various fault codes as are determined for a specific application, polls the various media servers for media load status. The COM 272 function then collects the BITE and media information, formats the information into pre-determined formats and transmits the information to a designated destination such as a ground operations center for maintenance and/or for statistical data collection, via a conventional modem. In its capacity as a BITE and media load status reporting function 272, the COM also includes the conventional modem, referred to in Figure 7 at 304, which is in turn connected to the conventional air/ground phone system 308 via conventional line 306, and the phone system in turn is connected to the ground operation center (s) shown at 310, via conventional communication links. In its BITE and media load status reporting function the COM 272 communicates with the video file server 274 via Ethernet 276; and communicates with the digital satellite receiver 278 via the Ethernet connection 280; communicates with a conventional to audio file server 282 via conventional Ethernet connection 284; and communicates with a conventional VCR 286 via a conventional RS-485 connection shown at 288 on Figure 7. The COM 272 also communicates with the video monitors in first and economy class shown at 290,292,294 and 298 via conventional RS-485 connections shown at 296. The BITE and media load status reporting for the audio is also accomplished through a connection to the main multiplexer 300 via a conventional RS- 485 connection, shown at 302.

With reference to Figure 8, the COM 174, shown functionally as 312 in its medical, first aid assistant function will be described. The COM 312 functions to provide fast, relatively easy access to first aid procedures and information. Through use of the remote touch screen it provides an additional medical alert access point for such information. A keyboard and the touch screen either together or alone, may be used to generate an incident report and the internal modem may be used to transmit the report to an airline medical center or to other designated location. Also, the medical alert function may be used as an onboard training device. The medical alert function 312 includes use of the conventional modem 328, which in turn is connected to the air/ground phone system 330 via the conventional link 332 and thus may be connected to an airline medical center 334, or some other medical center or source of assistance. The cabin operation medical assistant function 312 employs the remote VGA touch

screen 314 via the conventional connection 316 and conventional pointing device 318. The medical assistant function 312 also, optionally, may use a keyboard 320 with conventional connection 322 and, optionally, a printer, shown at 324, connecting with a conventional parallel port connection shown at 326.

The med-alert screen 172 (Figure 3), as shown, refers to"symptoms"and specifies that, for example the crew member specifies to the crew member"Don't worry about doing emergency procedures perfectly. It's more important to carry out the treatment than to do it exactly as described."An indicator screen provides a shorthand reminder to"Check the ABCs"with A referring to airway, B referring to breathing, and C referring to circulation.

Additional touch screen touch bars have been labeled"Choking" ;"Loss of Consciousness" ; "Chest Pain" ; and"Seizure", to indicate sources of additional information for each of these symptoms.

With reference to Figure 9, the automated media download to servers function of the cabin operations manager will be described. In this capacity, the COM is referred to at 336 and includes for its functionality the Ethernet hub connected to the media servers and provides for automated background transfer of media files from, preferably, DVD-ROM disc to the media servers. Optionally, the media programs may be preloaded for automatic switching on at a predetermined date and time. Also, as will be appreciated, the Ethernet hub supports automatic download of the media to the servers via a satellite. Shown in Figure 9 within the COM 336 is a representation of the DVD-ROM drive 338 to indicate that the drive is located, preferably, within the same housing that includes the CPU and its associated touch screen.

With reference to prior description, the COM as functioning to automatically download media to servers, is connected to the conventional video file server 340 via a conventional Ethernet connection 342; to a second or any number of additional video file servers 344 via an Ethernet connection; 346 is connected to one or more video file servers 348 via a conventional Ethernet connection 350; and, is connected to a digital satellite receiver 352, via a conventional Ethernet connection 354.

With reference to Figures 10-13, use of the present invention for reporting a specific problem with a specific component of the passenger cabin will be described. Figure 10 provides an enlargement of the cabin management GUI screen 138, as shown and described with reference to Figure 3. In the present example, a crew member has detected a problem

with the seat back pouch on seat 21E of an aircraft that incorporates the present invention. To report the problem, the crew member would press the cabin management control bar 108 on the main menu screen 102 as shown in Figure 3. Upon pressing that control bar, the screen 138 would then appear and, the crew member would then press either the maintenance log control bar 140, or its associated button 142. Then a screen similar to screen 356, Figure 11, would appear. The crew member, knowing that seat 21 is adjacent to the right wing of the aircraft, would then touch his or her finger at a spot within the rectangle 358 as shown on Figure 11. By pressing this area, the small rectangle would move from wherever it had previously been positioned to be positioned as shown within screen 356, with the point at where the crew member touched the screen 356 being the center of the rectangle 360. As is within the skill of the art in the GUI programming field, the shape of the designator could be other than a rectangle. For example, a square, a circle, a star, or other shapes could be used to perform the function of identifying a specific region within the cabin where the problem component is located. Also, choice of, and writing software code for designating the size of the shape used for this designation is variable and within the skill of the art. For example, the length and/or width of the rectangle may be made to be larger, or smaller than that as shown in Figure 11, and, smaller or larger sizes or areas or other geometric forms may also be used and are considered to be equivalent functional designators within the scope of the present invention. Once the crew member has designated a region within the cabin, and has thus caused the rectangle to move from its prior location to being centered around the point where the crew member's finger touched the screen, an enlarged area on the screen, shown at 362, will appear. In the present example, the crew member wishes to report a problem with a seat, and consequently has pushed either the left scroll bar arrow 368 or the right scroll bar arrow 370 to scroll through all component selections available until the selection"SEATS"appears in the indicator bar at 366. Once the SEATS component is selected using the scroll bar, then the upper part of the screen 356, shown at 362, provides an indication of the various rows in the chosen area of the cabin. In the present example, each of the rows is shown with a small rectangle and the row number is also indicated within each of the rectangles to indicate the row number. The crew member then, knowing which row the problem seat is located, in this case being row 21, simply touches the rectangle having the number 21 in region 362 of screen 356.

By touching the rectangle having the 21, the 21 becomes lighted, i. e., activated and produces a next, more detailed screen 372, as shown in Figure 12.

The screen 372 is an overlay for the region of screen 356 shown at 362, and, for the case of"SEATS"components, then provides a more detailed representation of the three seats located on the right side of the aircraft in row 21. Specifically, in this example, SEATS D, E and F are illustrated with the number 21 being shown to the left to indicate that these three seats of row 21 are selected. In the present example, the crew member wishes to report a problem with seat 21E, and thus, touches the screen in the rectangle in which the letter"E" is shown, thereby highlighting the E, in comparison to the other two letters for seats in row 21 and, causing screen display 374 to replace screen display 372, as shown in Figure 13.

Screen display 374 then presents to the crew member a choice of problems or areas of the component which has a problem. In the case of the present example with an airline seat being the component under consideration, four choices are presented, including"arm rest", "seat back pouch","tray"and"upholstery". In the present example, the crew member has noted a problem with the seat back pouch on seat 21E, and therefore would press either the words seat back pouch, or the box located to the left of the words"SEAT BACK POUCH", to activate that part of the screen, and generate a report that the SEAT BACK POUCH on seat 21E of that aircraft had a problem. The crew member would then touch the bar near the bottom of screen 374 to indicate"DONE", meaning that the reporting of the problem with the SEAT BACK POUCH of seat 21E had been completed. The crew member could then return to the main menu and report a problem with a different component, or otherwise use the cabin operation manager of the present invention. Alternatively, if seat 21E had a second problem, in addition to the SEAT BACK POUCH problem, the crew member would then return to reporting on seat 21E and, when the screen 374 appeared, would simply touch one of the other three choices. For example, if there was a problem with the upholstery on seat 21E, the crew member would touch the word UPHOLSTERY or the box adjacent UPHOLSTERY to report the second problem with seat 21E.

With respect to Figure 11, typical, other systems that would be included within this function, and for which the scroll bar would provide indication would include: Audio System; Galley; Lavatory; Emergency Equipment; and Video System.

Referring to Figure 14, another example of the use of the present invention will be described. In this example, the reporting of a problem with the video system will be described, wherein the use of the main menu is as described before to enter a second level screen. The crew member will use the system to enter the maintenance log screen, and use the scroll bar to scroll to"VIDEO SYSTEM", to report a problem of a component within the video system, with the video system display shown at 378. In a typical aircraft cabin, the video system components will be numbered and in the present case, the crew member wishes to report a problem with component 11 in the video system, which is located on the right hand side of the cabin, toward the rear. In that case, once the crew member has scrolled to"VIDEO SYSTEM", as shown at 378, then an icon of the cabin, shown at 382, will appear as shown in Figure 14, in the video system reporting, the small, cabin icon will identify the location of the various components of the video system, as shown in 382 and 380. With the crew member knowing that the problem video component is located on the right side and toward the rear of the cabin, will touch the part of the screen 382 near where the problem video is located. This touching of the screen at region 382 will cause the rectangle to move from wherever it had previously been located to be centered around the point where the crew member touched the screen. At that time, the enlarged part of the rectangle 382 will be shown in the upper part of screen 376, with each of the video systems shown in greater detail, and with an identifying number. In the present example, video system 11 is shown at 386, as being positioned between rows 26 and 27 of the aircraft. The crew member then would touch the icon or designation on the portion of the screen 376 which represented the video system that had a problem and for which the crew member wished to report. Upon touching the screen 376 at position 386, screen display 388, shown in Figure 15 would appear.

The screen display 388 would be an overlay over that portion of the screen shown in Figure 14 as portion 376. In the present example, the text on the screen would indicate that video system 11 was the system about to be reported on, and that, in the present example, four choices for reporting a problem are available. In the present example, the crew member would press the screen at the words"Video Source"or the rectangle adjacent the words"Video Source"to indicate that there appeared to be a problem with obtaining a signal to video system 11. This information would then be processed, as described above, and transmitted,

ultimately, to the airline's maintenance facility whereby trained maintenance personnel would evaluate the possible problems associated with a"Video Source"report.

As may be appreciated by those skilled in the art, the specific designations of problems for any particular component, such as a video system, is a matter of specific choice for a particular application. For example, greater or lesser detail may be chosen for a particular application to describe types of problems. Similarly, the graphical form in which the cabin is presented, the region of the cabin in which a problem location is presented, and the form in which specific components are identified, may be presented in numerous ways, and still enable the functions of identification and reporting to be performed within the scope of the present invention. As with respect to the above example concerning a problem with a seat, when the crew member has completed the report of a problem with a"Video Source"on video system 11, the crew member would then push the"Done"bar on screen 388 and continue with reporting other problems or otherwise using the cabin operations manager of the present invention.

With reference to Figures 16-18, an example of obtaining a status report on an in-flight entertainment system component will be described. As described above in reference to Figure 3, the crew member would select from the main menu the IFE system status touch bar 108, and upon pressing that bar, a screen such as screen 156 would be shown. The screen 156 as shown in Figure 3, is reproduced in an enlarged form, in Figure 16 as screen 390. In this example, the crew member wishes to check on the status of the audio system, and would use the forward or reverse arrows to advance or reverse the system scroll bar 398 until"AUDIO SYSTEM" appeared. In this example the crew member wishes to check on the status of the audio system located in the right side of the cabin in row 9. Thus, the crew member, knowing that row 9 is located in the right side, front part of the plane, would touch the cabin icon part of the screen at an appropriate place, as shown in rectangle 392, to cause the smaller rectangle 394 to move from wherever it had previously been located to be centered around the point at which the crew member touched the screen in the region at 392. The rectangle 394 would then be positioned as shown in Figure 16, and an enlarged portion of that area of the cabin would be displayed at 396 as shown on the upper part of the screen. The crew member would then point or touch the rectangle representing the right side of row 9, shown at 400 on Figure 16, and, could then, in this example, press the audio BITE button to initiate a manual audio BITE test

sequence to be performed on the audio system in the right hand side of row 9. By pressing the audio BITE button 402, screen 404 would be displayed. This screen 404 will provide the ability for the crew member to, upon entering an appropriate pass code, activate the intrusive BITE testing to determine the status of the audio system. Once the appropriate code had been entered, the crew member would push the return button 406, and the system would perform the conventional, BITE test on the audio system on the right hand side of row 9. With a diagnostic report then being presented on a screen, such as illustrated at 408, in Figure 18.

In the present example, the equipment status scroll bar would indicate that it was the audio system status that was being reported at status bar 410. The status bar 412 would be reserved for reporting on certain categories of information, and, in the present example, when no fault was found, the indication"NONE"would be an appropriate indicator. In a scroll box located thereunder, shown at 414, an additional indicator such as"NO FAULTS FOUND" could indicate that a BITE check had been made, but had not found any fault. To the right are advance and reverse arrows that function to advance through other fault designations for the particular equipment under consideration. Toward the bottom of screen 408 are two report areas regarding the status of the equipment under consideration. The first report area, or window, shown at 416, could report typical types of information, for example in this case it could provide for the channel assignment, in other words, which of the various channels of the audio equipment was being reported, such as channel 8. Similarly, underneath, in status bar 418 other information could be provided, such as the type of plane, e. g.,"narrow body standard". The types of information and the detail of information reported in the various fault and status locations would depend on the specific application chosen, and the specific degree of detail wished to be reported by airline personnel. In any particular application a balance must be struck between providing enough information to be useful and helpful, but not so much information that the presentation of extraneous data would create an inefficiency in the overall maintenance and error reporting system.

With reference to Figures 19 and 20, an example of a status report on the video retractor system of an airplane will be described. As is conventional in many aircraft, the video entertainment is provided through a series of relatively small, retractable video screens positioned throughout the airplane cabin. Typically, these video screens are placed in a retractable housing, which is positioned underneath the overhead luggage bins on a passenger

aircraft. These video screen displays are a source of maintenance problems and, thus, reporting on the status of the retractor of each screen is a useful feature of the present invention. With respect to the present example, consider that a new crew member wishes to determine what the status is on video retractor 3, in order to see whether a report has been made, and if not, to initiate a report, or, if a maintenance person wants to check on the status of video retractor 3, the crew member or maintenance person would, with reference to Figure 3, press the IFE SYSTEM STATUS bar 110 and see a screen similar to that as shown on Figure 3 as screen 156. The crew member or maintenance person would then use the left or right scroll bar to scroll to"VIDEO RETRACTOR SYSTEM"as shown on Figure 19, and, knowing that video retractor 3 is located in the forward part of the plane on the right side, would touch the small icon of the plane cabin, shown at 422 on the touch screen representing the front and right part of the cabin so that the rectangle, shown at 424, would move so that it was centered around the point where the screen had been touched. At that time, an enlarged display of the representation of the cabin would be shown, as at 426 in Figure 19. The screen retractor 3 icon, shown at 428, would then be pressed and, a screen display, as shown in Figure 20 would appear. In information box 432 VIDEO RETRACTOR SYSTEM would be indicated and in display box 434 would appear, for example the display that a crew report had indicated that the retractor number 3 had been reported as a fault. In fault display box 436, the display would display, in this example"JAMMED"to indicate that some crew member had previously reported that retractor 3 was jammed.

Figure 21 provides another example of information that could be displayed on, a medical alert screen, as shown at 438, with the information shown therein self-explanatory.

It is understood that the above-described preferred embodiments examples, and figures are simply illustrative of the general principals of the present invention. Other formulations, arrangements, assemblies and materials may be used by those skilled in this art and which embody the principals of the present invention, which is limited only by the scope and spirit of the claims set forth below.