CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application

No. 62/353,767, filed June 23, 2016, entitled "Wireless Interface for Aircraft Ground

Service Use," the entirety of which is hereby incorporated by reference.

FIELD

[0002] The present application generally relates to aircraft water and waste management.

BACKGROUND

[0003] Traditionally, aircraft water and waste data has been accessed in only two places: (1) in the cabin flight attendant panel by employees such as flight attendants, and (2) under the aircraft's belly service by ground service personnel. Depending on the aircraft, a ladder may be required for the ground service personnel to reach the water service panel to access aircraft water and waste data under the aircraft's belly service. Moreover, because the ground service personnel must have physical access to the aircraft to access the aircraft's water and waste data, the aircraft must be stationary (i.e., parked) for the ground service personnel to access the aircraft's water and waste data. Devices, systems, and methods that improve access to aircraft water and waste data for ground service personnel are needed. [0004] Furthermore, aircraft water and waste data has traditionally been contained to the aircraft and used by ground service personnel in only basic ways. For example, while servicing a stationary aircraft, ground service personnel typically access a water service panel under the belly of the plane to determine the current water level in the aircraft. Based on only the current water level in the aircraft and the distance to the next destination of the aircraft, without any further data or analytics, the ground service personnel typically fills the aircraft's water tank to ensure that there is enough water on the aircraft for the flight to the next destination. This basic way of filling an aircraft's water tank leads to inefficiencies. For example, an aircraft's water tank can be filled with more water than is required for a flight (or series of flights), thereby increasing weight and thus the operational cost of the aircraft. As another example, a water may be added to the aircraft's water tank when the aircraft already has sufficient water for a flight (or series of flights), thereby increasing the turnaround time for an aircraft (which can decrease overall income for the aircraft) and misallocating resources. Devices, systems, and methods that use aircraft water and waste data to reduce inefficiencies (and thereby reduce operational costs, decrease aircraft turnaround time, and/or better allocate resources) are needed.

SUMMARY

[0005] Various examples are described for devices, systems, and methods to manage aircraft water and waste servicing.

[0006] One example disclosed aircraft water and waste controller comprises: a first network interface device configured to receive water and waste data from at least one water and waste device in an aircraft via a data bus; a memory comprising executable instructions stored thereon, the memory configured to store the water and waste data received from the at least one water and waste device; a second network interface device configured to wirelessly transmit the water and waste data to a remote device; a processor communicatively coupled to the first network interface, the memory, and the second network interface, wherein the processor is configured to receive the executable instructions from the memory which, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform the operations of: receiving the water and waste data from the at least one water and waste device via the data bus using the first network interface device during a flight on the aircraft; storing the water and waste data from the at least one water and waste device in the memory during the flight on the aircraft; detecting a landing of the aircraft for the flight; and after detecting the landing of the aircraft for the flight, wirelessly transmitting the water and waste data stored in the memory to the remote device using the second network interface device.

[0007] One example disclosed system comprises one or more servers collectively comprising a first database comprising historical water and waste usage data, and a second database comprising upcoming flight data for an aircraft. In this example, the system further comprises: a ground service device in communication with a first server from the one or more servers, and a water and waste controller installed in the aircraft and configured to be communicatively coupled to a second server from the one or more servers only when the aircraft is not airborne; and a plurality of water and waste devices installed in the aircraft and communicatively coupled to the aircraft water and waste controller.

[0008] One example disclosed method of managing water in an aircraft comprises: wirelessly receiving water data from an aircraft water and waste controller in the aircraft once the aircraft has landed from a flight; determining at least one upcoming flight for the aircraft; determining an estimated water requirement for the at least one upcoming flight for the aircraft by analyzing historical water data corresponding to the at least one upcoming flight for the aircraft; determining whether the aircraft requires a water refill based on the received water data and the estimated water requirement; and wirelessly providing a notification to a ground service device, the notification based on whether the aircraft requires the water refill. [0009] These illustrative examples are mentioned not to limit or define the scope of this disclosure, but rather to provide examples to aid understanding thereof. Illustrative examples are discussed in the Detailed Description, which provides further description. Advantages offered by various examples may be further understood by examining this specification.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0010] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated into and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate one or more certain examples and, together with the description of the example, serve to explain the principles and implementations of the certain examples.

[0011] Figure 1 shows an illustrative system for the management of aircraft water and waste servicing according to an example.

[0012] Figure 2 shows an illustrative aircraft for the management of aircraft water and waste serving according to an example.

[0013] Figure 3 shows an illustrative aircraft for the management of aircraft water and waste serving according to an example.

[0014] Figure 4 shows an illustrative water and waste controller according to an example.

[0015] Figure 5 shows an illustrative method for the management of aircraft water servicing according to an example. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0016] Examples are described herein in the context of devices, systems, and methods to manage aircraft water and waste servicing.

[0017] Those of ordinary skill in the art will realize that the following description is illustrative only and is not intended to be in any way limiting. Reference will now be made in detail to implementations of examples as illustrated in the accompanying drawings. The same reference indicators will be used throughout the drawings and the following description to refer to the same or like items.

[0018] In the interest of clarity, not all of the routine features of the examples described herein are shown and described. It will, of course, be appreciated that in the development of any such actual implementation, numerous implementation-specific decisions must be made in order to achieve the developer's specific goals, such as compliance with application- and business-related constraints, and that these specific goals will vary from one implementation to another and from one developer to another.

[0019] Referring now to Figure 1, this figure shows an illustrative system 100 for the management of aircraft water and waste servicing. In Figure 1, an aircraft 105 has a water and waste controller 110 that is in communication with water and waste devices 115 on the aircraft 105. During a flight on aircraft 105, the water and waste controller 110 receives water and waste data from the water and waste devices 115. For example, during a flight on aircraft 105 the water and waste controller 110 may receive water and waste data such as the number of gallons of water used during the flight, the number of times the lavatories on the aircraft 105 have been flushed during the flight, and/or the current water level in the aircraft 105 from water and waste devices 115.

[0020] The water and waste data can be stored by the water and waste controller 110 while the aircraft 105 is airborne and can be wirelessly sent to a ground service device 120 and/or a server 125 once the aircraft 105 has landed (i.e., the aircraft 105 is on the ground). For example, the water and waste data stored by the water and waste controller 1 10 can be wirelessly transmitted to ground service device 120 and/or server 125 while the aircraft 105 is still on the runway after landing (and thus before the aircraft 105 arrives at a destination gate for the flight).

[0021] The water and waste data can then be used by the ground service device 120 and/or server 125 to prepare the aircraft 105 for one or more upcoming flights. For example, ground service device 120 and/or server 125 can determine whether the aircraft requires additional water before departing on the one or more upcoming flights. As another example, ground service device 120 and/or server 125 can determine whether one or more of the water and waste devices needs maintenance or replacement before departing on the one or more upcoming flights. Any needed equipment can be scheduled to arrive at the aircraft's 105 destination gate by the time the aircraft 105 arrives at the destination gate. For example, if aircraft 105 requires additional water, then a water truck can be scheduled to arrive at the aircraft's 105 destination gate by the time aircraft 105 is scheduled to arrive at the destination gate. As another example, if a water or waste device in aircraft 105 needs replacement, then a new water or waste device can be scheduled to be delivered to the aircraft's destination gate by the time the aircraft 105 is scheduled to arrive at the aircraft's destination gate. This process may decrease turnaround time for the aircraft 105, decrease operational costs for the aircraft 105, and/or more efficiently allocate water and waste service resources at the airport where the aircraft 105 landed.

[0022] In one example, when aircraft 105 lands on a runway (and thus before the aircraft 105 arrives at a destination gate), the water and waste controller 110 can send the water and waste data - such as the current water level of the aircraft 105 - to the ground service device 120. A ground service technician using the ground service device 120 can then determine whether the aircraft 105 requires additional water prior to departing on an upcoming flight by communicating with server 125 and using data in historical water and waste system database 130 and flight database 135. Because, in this example, the ground service device 120 receives the water and waste data prior to the aircraft 105 arriving at the destination gate rather than requiring ground service personnel to physically access the aircraft once the aircraft 105 has arrived at the designation gate, the time required to prepare the aircraft 105 for an upcoming flight can be reduced. The ground service personnel can provide water and waste resources at the destination gate in a timelier manner (such as by the time the aircraft 105 arrives at the destination gate).

[0023] As another example, when aircraft 105 lands on a runway (and thus before the aircraft 105 arrives at a destination gate), the water and waste controller 110 can send the water and waste data for the aircraft 105 to server 125 via network 140. In this example, the server 125 uses the water and waste data for the aircraft 105, the historical water and waste system database 130, and flight database 135 to determine whether the aircraft 105 requires additional water (and if so, how much additional water is required) for an upcoming flight, and notifies ground service personnel by sending a notification to ground service device 120 before aircraft 105 arrives at the aircraft's destination gate. Again, the ground service personnel can provide water and waste resources at the destination gate in a timelier manner because the ground service personnel can receive notifications using ground service device 120 prior to the aircraft arriving at the destination gate instead of having to physically access aircraft 120. Further, if a water refill is required, the ground service personnel can add only the amount of water to the aircraft that is necessary for the aircraft's 105 upcoming flight(s) instead of the ground service personnel having to guess how much water to add to the aircraft which typically leads to filling the aircraft 105 with more water than is needed.

[0024] For example, server 125 can determine upcoming flight data for the aircraft 105 (e.g., flight time, flight route, number of booked passengers, whether meal service is offered, etc.) by querying the flight database 135. The server can then determine historical water usage data for the upcoming flight by querying the historical water and waste system database 130. The determined historical water usage data may be based on any number of factors. Exemplary factors for determining aircraft historical water usage include, but are not limited to, historical water usage for a same aircraft type as aircraft 105, historical water usage for a same or a similar flight time (such as time of day or flight length) as the upcoming flight for aircraft 105, historical water usage for a same or a similar flight route as the upcoming flight for aircraft 105, historical water usage for a same or a similar meal service offering as the upcoming flight for aircraft 105, historical water usage for a same or a similar number of passengers as booked on the upcoming flight for aircraft 105, or a combination thereof. [0025] Once the historical water usage data for the upcoming flight for aircraft

105 has been determined, the server 125 can compare the water and waste data for the aircraft 105 with the historical water usage data for the upcoming flight for the aircraft 105. This can allow the server 125 to determine whether the aircraft 105 requires additional water before leaving for the upcoming flight. Using the historical water usage data allows the server 125 to calculate, predict, and provide a recommended amount of water to be added to the aircraft when the aircraft is serviced. Without such a recommendation, ground service personnel guess how much water to add to the aircraft which can lead to loading the aircraft with more water than is needed thus increasing the operational cost of the aircraft.

[0026] If additional water is needed by aircraft 105, the server 125 can use the water and waste data for the aircraft 105, the historical water and waste system database 130, and/or flight database 135 to determine a minimal amount of water to be added to the aircraft 105 for the upcoming flight. For example, the sever 125 can compare the current water level of aircraft 105 with the determined historical water usage to determine a minimal amount of water to add to the aircraft 105 for the aircraft 105 to have sufficient water for the next upcoming flight.

[0027] The server 125 can then send the minimal amount of water to add to the aircraft 105 via network 140 to the ground service device 120 used by ground service personnel for preparing the aircraft 105 for the next upcoming flight. The ground service device 120 can present a user interface which shows the minimal amount of water to add to the aircraft 105.

[0028] If additional water is not needed by aircraft 105, the server 125 can send a notification via network 140 to the ground service device 120 used by the ground service personnel stating that the aircraft 105 does not need any additional water before the next upcoming flight. The ground service device 120 can present a user interface which presents the notification. Providing such a notification can more efficiently allocate water and waste resources (such as water tank trucks) at the airport by not having water tank trucks arrive at an aircraft's destination gate if water is not needed by aircraft 105.

[0029] In some examples, ground service device 120 receives the minimal amount of water to add to the aircraft 105 or the notification that the aircraft 105 does not need any additional water before the next upcoming flight, prior to the aircraft 105 arriving at a destination gate. If water needs to be added to aircraft 105, the water tank truck may be present at the destination gate when aircraft 105 arrives at the destination gate because of the information wirelessly provided by the water and waste controller 110 when the aircraft 105 initially landed and the information provided by server 125 to ground service device 120. Thus, the time required to prepare the aircraft 105 for an upcoming flight can be reduced by having water and waste resources available at the destination gate in a timelier manner (such as by the time the aircraft 105 arrives at the destination gate).

[0030] Moreover, because server 125 analyzes information from the historical water and waste system database 130 to determine a minimal amount of water that is needed on the aircraft 105 for the upcoming flight, the aircraft 105 is not

unnecessarily loaded with more water than is required. Water weighs approximately 8.3 pounds per gallon and the cost of operating an aircraft is correlated to the weight of the aircraft when in flight. Using server 125 to determine a minimal amount of water that is needed on the aircraft 105 for the upcoming flight and providing the ground service device 120 with information about the minimal amount of water that needs to be added to the aircraft 105 for the upcoming flight can help reduce operating costs of the aircraft 105.

[0031] These illustrative examples are given to introduce the reader to the general subject matter discussed herein and the disclosure is not limited to this example. The following sections describe various additional non-limiting examples.

[0032] Still referring to Figure 1, aircraft 105 has a water and waste controller

110. In examples, the water and waste controller 110 can be a water and waste controller discussed herein. One exemplary water and waste controller 210 is illustrated in Figure 2. Another exemplary water and waste controller 310 is illustrated in Figure 3. Yet another exemplary water and waste controller 400 is illustrated in Figure 4.

[0033] In Figure 1, water and waste controller 110 is communicatively coupled to one or more water and waste devices 115. In examples, water and waste controller 110 communicates with the one or more water and waste devices 115 via a data bus. For example, water and waste controller 110 may communicate with the one or more water and waste devices 115 via a Controller Area Network ("CAN") data bus. In this example, the CAN data bus allows the water and waste controller 110 to communicate with the one or more water and waste devices 115 without using a host computer. Water and waste controller 110 may communicate with one or more water and waste devices 115 via data bus 345 discussed herein with respect to Figure 3.

[0034] Water and waste devices 115 can include water system pressure sensor(s) 350, waste system level sensor(s) 355, an air compressor motor drive 360, a vacuum generator motor drive 365, a water tank level indication panel 370, a water system fill / drain valve 375, galley equipment 380, lavatory equipment 385, additional devices 390, or a combination thereof. These water and waste devices (e.g., 350, 355, 360, 365, 370, 375, 380, 385, 390) are discussed herein with respect to Figure 3. One or more of the water and waste devices 1 15 can be an interchangeable modular component for an aircraft that is configured to be replaced at an operating location of the aircraft.

[0035] In addition, the water and waste controller 1 10 may be

communicatively coupled with other controllers in aircraft 105. For example, water and waste controller 1 10 may be communicatively coupled to an aircraft system controller. One example is aircraft system controller 395 discussed herein with respect to Figure 3.

[0036] In Figure 1, water and waste controller 1 10 can wirelessly

communicate with ground service device 120 and/or with server 125 via network 140 when the aircraft 105 is on the ground (i.e., not in flight). Water and waste controller 1 10 thus has a wireless network interface device, such as wireless network interface device 408 discussed herein with respect to Figure 4, that facilitates a wireless network connection with ground service device 120 and/or server 125. The wireless network interface device in the water and waste controller 1 10 may include, but is not limited to, wireless interfaces such as IEEE 802.1 1, IEEE 802.15.4, Bluetooth, or radio interfaces for accessing cellular telephone networks (e.g., transceiver/antenna for accessing a CDMA, GSM, UMTS, or other mobile communications network), or a combination thereof. Network 140 may be a single network or multiple networks which facilitate communication between water and waste controller 1 10 and ground service device 120, water and waste controller 110 and server 125, and/or the ground service device 120 and server 125.

[0037] In some examples, water and waste controller 110 may be configured to only wirelessly communicate with ground service device 120 and/or with server 125 when the aircraft 105 is not airborne. This can reduce interference with other devices in the aircraft 105 while aircraft 105 is airborne. In other examples, water and waste controller 110 may communicate with ground service 120 and/or with server 125 when the aircraft 105 is airborne. For example, if aircraft 105 offers Wi-Fi service, then water and waste controller 110 may wirelessly communicate with ground service device 120 and/or with server 125 when the aircraft 105 is airborne and the Wi-Fi service is enabled. This can allow water and waste data to be wirelessly transmitted to ground service device 120 and/or with server 125 further in advance of the aircraft 105 arriving at a destination gate and thus allows more time to schedule any needed maintenance equipment to arrive at the destination gate by the time the aircraft arrives at the destination gate.

[0038] As shown in Figure 1, server 125 includes a historical water and waste system database 130 and a flight database 135. Historical water and waste system database 130 can include historical data such as how much water was used in the past for various flights (e.g., various departure and destination airports, departure time, arrival time, etc.), aircraft types, other historical data, or a combination thereof. The historical water and waste system database may also include data that indicates whether a meal service was offered on various flights, the number of passengers that flew on various flights, other historical flight data, or a combination thereof. Flight database 135 can include data such as upcoming flights for aircrafts, whether meal service is offered on the flights, how many customers are booked (and/or how many customers are on standby) on the flights, other flight information, or a combination thereof.

[0039] In Figure 1, server 125 is a single server including the historical water and waste system database 130 and flight database 135. However, in examples, server 125 may be a single server or multiple servers which collectively include the historical water and waste system database 130 and flight database 135. For example, one or more servers may include historical water and waste system database 130 and one or more other servers may include flight database 135. In some examples, data in historical water and waste system database 130 and/or data in flight database 135 may be retrieved from a third-party. For example, some or all of the historical data described herein may be retrieved from one or more third-party servers and/or one or more third-party databases and stored in historical water and waste system database 130. Likewise, some or all of the flight data described herein may be retrieved from one or more third-party servers and/or one or more third-party databases and stored in flight database 135. In some examples, historical water and waste system database 130 and/or flight database 135 may be maintained and/or controlled by one or more third-parties.

[0040] In Figure 1, ground service device 120 communicates with server 125 via network 140. In addition, as shown in Figure 1, ground service device 120 communicates with water and waste controller 110 directly or via network 140. In other examples, ground service device 120 may be in communication with server 125 via network 140 but is not in communication with the water and waste controller 110. In these examples, water and waste controller 110 can provide information regarding aircraft 105 to server 125 via network 140 and ground service device 120 can receive information regarding aircraft 105 from server 125. In a further example, ground service device 120 can be in communication with water and waste controller 110 directly or via network 140 but is not in communication with server 125. In these examples, water and waste controller 110 can provide information regarding aircraft 105 to ground service device 120 directly or via network 140. In various examples, water and waste controller 110 may or may not provide information regarding aircraft 105 to server 125.

[0041] Ground service device 120 may be a hand-held computing device. This can allow the ground service personnel to remain mobile but still receive the relayed information. Exemplary ground service devices include, but are not limited to, a smartphone, phablet, tablet, laptop, or another portable computing device. In some examples, ground service device 120 may include or be communicatively coupled with wearable computing devices, such as a wristwatch or wristband. In this example, information relayed to the ground service 120 can be presented to the ground service personnel using the wearable computing device. Ground service device 120 shown in Figure 1 is a single ground service device. In other examples, ground service device 120 can include multiple ground service devices. For example, multiple grounds service personnel at one or more airports may each have a ground service device.

[0042] Referring now to Figure 2, this figure shows an illustrative system 200 for the management of aircraft water and waste servicing. In Figure 2, system 200 shows an aircraft 205, a water and waste controller 210, water and waste devices 215, ground service device 220, server 225, third-party server 227, historical water and waste system database 230, flight database 235, and network 240. Aircraft 205, water and waste controller 210, water and waste devices 215, ground service device 220, historical water and waste system database 230, flight database 235, and network 240 may be the same as or similar to aircraft 105, water and waste controller 110, water and waste devices 115, ground service device 120, historical water and waste system database 130, flight database 135, and network 140, respectively. Server 225 and third-party server 227 alone or collectively may perform the functionality described herein with respect to server 125.

[0043] In Figure 2, server 225 includes historical water and waste system database 230 and third-party server 227 includes flight database 235. In this example, historical water and waste system database 230 includes historical data related to past flights from one or more aircraft and/or one or more airlines. The historical data in historical water and waste system database 230 may include historical data described herein with respect to historical water and waste system database 130 shown in Figure 1. The historical data in historical water and waste system database 230 (and/or in historical water and waste system database 130) can be updated as additional flights are completed. This additional historical data can provide more accurate analyses and more accurate servicing information to ground service personnel. For example, as additional historical data for flights is added to a historical water and waste database, this data can be used to provide more accurate servicing information (such as more accurate amounts of water that needs to be added to aircraft for upcoming flights) to ground service device(s) for ground service personnel to use when servicing aircraft for upcoming flight(s).

[0044] In Figure 2, server 225 and historical water and waste system database

230 may be maintained and/or controlled by one or more organizations. Third-party sever 227 and flight database 235 may be maintained by one or more third-parties. Thus, data in historical water and waste system 230 and/or data in flight database 235 may be maintained by multiple organizations and/or compiled from multiple organizations.

[0045] In Figure 2, server 225 is a single server including the historical water and waste system database 230, and third-party server 227 includes flight database 235. However, in examples, server 225 may be a single server or multiple servers which collectively include the historical water and waste system database 230. In some examples, third-party server 227 may be a single server or multiple servers which collectively include the flight database 235. Thus, one or more servers may include historical water and waste system database 230 and one or more other servers may include flight database 235. In some examples, data in historical water and waste system database 230 and/or data in flight database 235 may be retrieved from a third- party. For example, some or all of the historical data described herein may be retrieved from one or more third-party servers and/or one or more third-party databases and stored in historical water and waste system database 230. Likewise, some or all of the flight data described herein may be retrieved from one or more third-party servers and/or one or more third-party databases and stored in flight database 235. In some examples, historical water and waste system database 230 and/or flight database 235 may be maintained and/or controlled by one or more third- parties.

[0046] Referring now to Figure 3, this figure shows an illustrative system 300 including an illustrative aircraft 305 with various components for the management of aircraft water and waste. Aircraft 305 is shown having a water and waste controller 310 which is communicatively coupled to various water and waste devices (e.g., 350, 355, 360, 365, 370, 375, 380, 385, 390) via data bus 345. The water and waste controller 310 can be a water and waste controller described herein with respect to Figures 1, 2, 3 and/or 4. The water and waste devices communicatively coupled to water and waste controller 310 via data bus 345 can include, but are not limited to, water system pressure sensor(s) 350, waste system level sensor(s) 355, an air compressor motor drive 360, a vacuum generator motor drive 365, a water tank level indication panel 370, a water system fill / drain valve 375, galley equipment 380, lavatory equipment 385, additional devices 390, or a combination thereof. In one example, galley equipment 380 may include an integrated sink system, such as the integrated sink system described in U.S. Patent Publication No. 2017/0009438.

[0047] Data bus 345 may be a CAN data bus, an Aeronautical Radio,

Incorporated ("ARJNC") 812-compatible data bus, or another suitable data bus. In some examples, data bus 345 can be any wired network that facilities communication between the water and waste controller 310 and the water and waste devices (e.g., 350, 355, 360, 365, 370, 375, 380, 385, 390). In yet other embodiments, one or more of the water and waste devices (e.g., 350, 355, 360, 365, 370, 375, 380, 385, 390) may wirelessly communicate with the water and waste controller 310. Thus, in examples, data bus 345 may not be required if the water and waste devices (e.g., 350, 355, 360, 365, 370, 375, 380, 385, 390) wirelessly communicate with the water and waste controller.

[0048] As shown in Figure 3, the water and waste controller 310 is also communicatively coupled to an aircraft system controller 395. The water and waste controller 310, one or more of the water and waste devices (e.g., 350, 355, 360, 365, 370, 375, 380, 385, 390), and/or aircraft system controller 395 can each have one or more network interface devices to facilitate communication between the water and waste controller 310 and the water and waste devices. Example network interface devices include, but are not limited to, wired interfaces such as Ethernet, USB, IEEE 1394, and/or wireless interfaces such as IEEE 802.1 1, IEEE 802.15.4, Bluetooth, or radio interfaces for accessing cellular telephone networks (e.g., transceiver/antenna for accessing a CDMA, GSM, UMTS, or other mobile communications network), or a combination thereof.

[0049] Water and waste controller 310 can receive water and waste data from one or more of the water and waste devices (e.g., 350, 355, 360, 365, 370, 375, 380, 385, 390). For example, water and waste controller 310 may receive water and waste data from one or more of the water and waste devices (e.g., 350, 355, 360, 365, 370, 375, 380, 385, 390) during a flight. Such water and waste data may include, but is not limited to, a water level in aircraft 305, a number of times a lavatory on aircraft 305 has been flushed during a flight, how long water in the lavatory has run during the flight, water pressure in aircraft 305, or a combination thereof.

[0050] In some examples, water and waste controller 310 can communicate with the water and waste devices (e.g., 350, 355, 360, 365, 370, 375, 380, 385, 390) when the aircraft 305 is airborne, but cannot communicate with remote devices (i.e., devices not on the aircraft such as ground service device 120 and server 125) when aircraft 305 is airborne. The water and waste controller 310 can receive the water and waste data from one or more of the water and waste devices (e.g., 350, 355, 360, 365, 370, 375, 380, 385, 390) and can store this data while the aircraft is airborne. [0051] The water and waste controller 310 may wirelessly transmit the stored water and waste data to one or more remote devices when the aircraft 305 is no longer airborne. For example, the water and waste controller 310 may wirelessly transmit the stored water and waste data to one or more remote devices (such as ground service device 120 and/or server 125) when the aircraft 305 lands on a runway. In some examples, the water and waste data can be wirelessly transmitted by water and waste controller 310 to one or more remote devices (such as ground service device 120 and/or server 125) prior to the aircraft stopping at its destination gate. For example, the water and waste data can be wirelessly transmitted after the aircraft 305 has landed while the aircraft 305 is still on the runway.

[0052] As discussed above, one or more of the remote devices (such as ground service device 120 and/or server 125) can use the water and waste data to determine maintenance requirements related to one or more of the water and waste devices (e.g., 350, 355, 360, 365, 370, 375, 380, 385, 390). For example, ground service device 120 and/or server 125 may determine whether the aircraft 305 requires additional water before departing on an upcoming flight, how much additional water the aircraft 305 requires before departing on the upcoming flight, whether one or more of the water and waste devices (e.g., 350, 355, 360, 365, 370, 375, 380, 385, 390) requires maintenance or replacement, other maintenance requirements, or a combination thereof.

[0053] In some examples, the maintenance requirements are determined by the ground service device 120 and/or server 125 and displayed on ground service device 120 in real-time while the aircraft 305 is taxiing towards a destination gate after landing. In some examples, equipment needed to complete the maintenance requirements can be ordered by ground service device 120 and/or server 125 in realtime in an effort to have the equipment arrive at the destination gate by the time the aircraft 305 arrives at the destination gate. Thus, if a determination is made by ground service device 120 and/or server 125 that the aircraft 305 requires additional water before departing for an upcoming flight, then ground service device 120 and/or server 125 can order a water refill truck with a scheduled arrival time at the aircraft's 305 destination gate at a same or similar time as the aircraft's 305 scheduled arrival time at the destination gate. Thus, the water refill truck can be ordered after the aircraft 305 has landed and while the aircraft 305 is taxiing to its destination gate thereby decreasing the turnaround time before the aircraft 305 is ready to depart on an upcoming flight.

[0054] In examples, water and waste controller 310 encrypts the water and waste data prior to transmitting the data to one or more remote devices such as ground service device 120 and/or server 125 shown in Figure 3. In some examples, spread spectrum data security such as frequency -hopping spread spectrum ("FHSS") or direct-sequence spread spectrum ("DSSS") may be used.

[0055] Moreover, a remote device can have security features to limit access to the water and waste data to only authorized personnel. Likewise, any communications between ground service device 120 and server 125 may be encrypted. In some examples, a username and password may be required by personnel to access water and waste data on ground service device 120 and/or server 125. For example, ground service personnel may use ground service device 120 to access a website provided by server 125 and the website may require that the ground service personnel provide authentication credentials using the ground service device 120 for the ground service device 120 to access water and waste data.

[0056] In some examples, aircraft 305 may have a mode select quantity indication ("MSQI") device. In these examples, the MSQI device may have a wireless network interface device (such as wireless network interface device 408 described below with respect to Figure 4) and can wirelessly transmit data to one or more remote devices when the aircraft is not airborne. In other examples, aircraft 305 may not have a MSQI device. In this example, water and waste controller 310 can wireless provide quantity indication information to one or more remote devices, such as ground service device 120 and/or server 125. Numerous other embodiments are disclosed herein and variations are within the scope of this disclosure.

[0057] Figure 4 shows an illustrative water and waste controller 400. In various examples, water and waste controller 400 can be used as water and waste controller 110 shown in Figure 1 and/or water and waste controller 310 shown in Figure 3.

[0058] As shown in Figure 4, water and waste controller 400 has a housing

401 which has various components such as processor 402, memory 404, data bus 406, wireless network interface device 408, network interface device 410, I/O device 412, and storage 414. The processor 402 is interfaced with other hardware via data bus 406. A memory 404, which can comprise any suitable tangible (and non-transitory) computer-readable medium such as RAM, ROM, EEPROM, or the like, may embody program components that configure operation of the water and waste controller 400.

[0059] In addition, the water and waste controller 400 has a wireless network interface device 408 communicatively coupled to the processor 402. Wireless network interface device 408 can represent one or more of any components that facilitate a wireless network connection. Examples include, but are not limited to, wireless interfaces such as IEEE 802.11, IEEE 802.15.4, Bluetooth, or radio interfaces for accessing cellular telephone networks (e.g., transceiver/antenna for accessing a CDMA, GSM, UMTS, or other mobile communications network), or a combination thereof.

[0060] The wireless network interface device 408 can wirelessly communicate water and/or waste data to remote devices (such as ground service device 120 and/or server 125) when an aircraft in which the water and waste controller 400 is installed is on the ground. In some examples, wireless network interface device 408 may wirelessly communicate with water and waste devices on the aircraft (such as water system pressure sensor(s) 350, waste system level sensors 355, air compressor motor drive 360, vacuum generator motor drive 365, water tank level indication panel 370, water system fill / drain valve 375, galley equipment 380, lavatory equipment 385, additional devices 390, or a combination thereof). In other examples, wireless network interface device 408 does not communicate with water and waste devices on the aircraft.

[0061] In some examples, water and waste controller 400 may further include network interface device 410 communicatively coupled to the processor 402. Network interface device 110 can represent one or more of any components that facilitate a network connection. Examples include, but are not limited to, wired interfaces such as Ethernet, USB, IEEE 1394, and/or wireless interfaces such as IEEE 802.11, IEEE 802.15.4, Bluetooth, or radio interfaces for accessing cellular telephone networks (e.g., transceiver/antenna for accessing a CDMA, GSM, UMTS, or other mobile communications network), or a combination thereof. In some examples, network interface device 410 may wirelessly communicate with water and waste devices on the aircraft (such as water system pressure sensor(s) 350, waste system level sensors 355, air compressor motor drive 360, vacuum generator motor drive 365, water tank level indication panel 370, water system fill / drain valve 375, galley equipment 380, lavatory equipment 385, additional devices 390, or a combination thereof).

[0062] In one example, wireless network interface device 408 is configured to communicate with remote devices (i.e., devices that are not on the aircraft) such as ground service device 120 and/or server 125 when the aircraft is on the ground. In this example, network interface device 410 is a wired network interface and is configured to communicate with water and waste devices on the aircraft (such as water system pressure sensor(s) 350, waste system level sensors 355, air compressor motor drive 360, vacuum generator motor drive 365, water tank level indication panel 370, water system fill / drain valve 375, galley equipment 380, lavatory equipment 385, additional devices 390, or a combination thereof) when the aircraft is on a flight.

[0063] As discussed above, the water and waste controller 400 also includes memory 404. Memory 404 may have one or more program components that performs at least part of method 500 in Figure 5. In examples, memory 404 comprises one or more program components that are configured to receive data via wireless network interface device 408 and/or network interface device 410 from one or more water and waste devices when the aircraft in which the water and waste controller 400 is installed is airborne and store the received data in the memory 404 and/or storage 414. In examples, memory 404 also comprises one or more program components that are configured to wirelessly send the stored water and waste data via wireless network interface device 408 to a remote device (such as a ground service device 120 and/or server 125) when the aircraft in which the water and waster 400 is installed is on the ground.

[0064] Further, the memory 404 also comprises one or more program components that are configured to determine whether the aircraft in which the water and waste controller 400 is airborne or on the ground. In one example, water and waste controller 400 includes or is in communication with a global positioning system ("GPS") device (not shown in Figure 4) that is used to determine whether an aircraft is airborne or on the ground and/or whether the aircraft is taxiing or stationary and thus whether wireless network interface device 408 can wirelessly transmit the water and waste data stored in the water and waste controller 400 to one or more remote devices. As another example, water and waste controller 400 may receive a signal indicating whether the aircraft is airborne or on the ground and/or whether the aircraft is taxiing or stationary. For example, referring to Figure 3, water and waste controller 310 may receive a signal from aircraft system controller 395 that indicates whether aircraft 305 is airborne or not and/or whether the aircraft is taxiing or stationary. In one example, water and waste controller 310 receives a signal from an integrated module avionics ("IMA") device that indicates whether aircraft 305 is airborne or not and/or taxiing or stationary.

[0065] In yet another example, referring to Figure 3, water and waste controller 310 can receive data from one or more of the water and waste devices (e.g. 350, 355, 360, 365, 370, 375, 380, 385, 390) on the aircraft 305 that indicates whether aircraft 305 is airborne or not and/or taxiing or stationary. For example, one or more of the water and waste devices (e.g. 350, 355, 360, 365, 370, 375, 380, 385, 390) on aircraft 305 may have an accelerometer that provides acceleration data to water and waste controller 310 and the acceleration data can be used by the water and waste controller 310 to determine whether aircraft 305 is airborne or not and/or taxiing or stationary. As another example, one or more of the water and waste devices (e.g. 350, 355, 360, 365, 370, 375, 380, 385, 390) on aircraft 305 may have a gyroscope that provides gyroscopic data to water and waste controller 310 and the gyroscopic data can be used by the water and waste controller 310 to determine whether aircraft 305 is airborne or not and/or taxiing or stationary.

[0066] As yet another example, one or more of the waste devices (e.g. 350,

355, 360, 365, 370, 375, 380, 385, 390) on aircraft 305 can have a pressure sensor and/or a vacuum sensor that provides pressure data to the water and waste controller 310 and the pressure data can be used by the water and waste controller 310 to determine whether aircraft 305 is airborne or not and/or taxiing or stationary. For example, when the pounds per square inch gauge ("PSIG") transitions to zero or near zero for a predetermined length of time, then a determination may be made that the aircraft is on the ground (i.e., not airborne).

[0067] In some example, acceleration data, gyroscopic data, pressure data,

GPS data, or a combination thereof, received by water and waste controller 310 from one or more water and waste devices (e.g. 350, 355, 360, 365, 370, 375, 380, 385, 390) is used to determine whether aircraft 305 is airborne or not and/or taxiing or stationary. For example, when the PSIG transitions to zero or near zero for a predetermined length of time, then a determination may be made that aircraft 305 is on the ground (i.e., not airborne) and taxiing, and then when the acceleration along the x-axis is zero and the y-axis is zero then a determination may be made that aircraft 305 is on the ground (i.e., not airborne) and stationary. In some examples, water and waste controller 310 includes an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a pressure sensor, a GPS unit, and/or other sensor(s) that provide sensor data which individually or collectively is used to determine whether aircraft 305 is on the ground (i.e., not airborne), not on the ground (i.e., airborne), taxiing, and/or stationary.

[0068] In some examples, a water and waste controller described herein that is installed in on aircraft can flush the waste disposal equipment on the aircraft after determining that the aircraft is on the ground (i.e., not airborne). The determination of whether the aircraft is on the ground (i.e., not airborne) can be made in one or more of the ways described herein. In some examples, a remote device triggers the flushing of the waste disposal equipment on the aircraft. For example, referring to Figure 1, ground service device 120 and/or server 125 can wirelessly send (either directly or through network 140) a flush command to water and waste controller 110 when aircraft 105 is on the ground (i.e., not airborne) and the water and waste controller 110 can flush the waste disposal equipment in the water and waste devices 115. In one example, ground service device 120 and/or server 125 wirelessly sends the flush command to water and waste controller 110 after water and waste controller 110 has determined that aircraft 105 is on the ground (i.e., not airborne) and water and waste controller 110 has initiated communication with ground service device 120 and/or server 125.

[0069] In one example, ground service device 120 and/or server 125 wirelessly sends the flush command to water and waste controller 110 after determining that aircraft 105 will be parked overnight. For example, after aircraft 105 lands, water and waste controller 110 can determine that the aircraft 105 has landed and begin transmitting water and waste data to ground service device 120 and/or server 125. In this example, the ground service device 120 and/or server 125 may determine that the next upcoming flight for aircraft 105 is not scheduled until the following day based on the flight data for aircraft 105 in flight database 135. In response to determining that the aircraft 105 does not have any more flights scheduled that day (and thus that aircraft 105 is scheduled to be parked overnight), ground service device 120 and/or server 125 can send a flush command to water and waste controller 110 to flush waste disposal equipment in the water and waste devices 115.

[0070] In some examples, I/O 412 in water and waste controller 400 may include a sensor that can detect whether a service panel door is open. In this example, the water and waste controller may determine that the aircraft is on the ground (i.e., not airborne) and/or stationary when the service panel door is open.

[0071] I/O components 412 may be used to facilitate a connection to devices such as one or more displays, keyboards, speakers, buttons, joysticks, sensors, and/or other hardware used to input data or output data. I/O components 412 may be used to facilitate a connection to one or more water and waste devices (e.g., 350, 355, 360, 365, 370, 375, 380, 385, 390 shown in Figure 3).

[0072] Additional storage 414 represents nonvolatile storage such as read-only memory, flash memory, random access memory (RAM), ferroelectric RAM (F- RAM), magnetic, optical, or other storage media included in the water and waste controller 400 or coupled to processor 402.

[0073] In various examples, the systems and devices described herein provide remote access to water and waste data from an aircraft. Feedback for the water and waste devices can be provided to remote devices when the aircraft is not airborne. Moreover, the MSQI device can be eliminated from an aircraft in various examples which may reduce the aircraft's weight, require less installation effort for water- and waste-related devices, require less space on the aircraft, and/or reduce power consumption. In some examples, water and waste data can be stored in one or more databases and used to determine maintenance schedules or requirements for water and waste devices which can lead to less downtime due to unexpected maintenance.

[0074] Figure 5 shows an illustrative method 500 for the management of aircraft water. Method 500 may be performed in a system such as system 100 shown in Figure 1 and/or system 200 shown in Figure 2. At least part of method 500 may be performed by a water and waste controller (such as water and waste controller 110, water and waste controller 210, water and waste controller 310, or water and waste controller 400). In some examples, at least part of method 500 may be performed by one or more servers, such as server 125, server 225, and/or server 227. In some examples, at least part of method 500 may be performed by a ground service device, such as ground service device 120 shown in Figure 1 and/or ground service device 220 shown in Figure 2.

[0075] Method 500 begins at block 510 when water data is received by a water controller during a flight on an aircraft. For example, referring to Figure 3, water and waste controller 310 may receive water usage data and/or water level data from one or more devices (such as one or more of the water and waste devices 350- 390 shown in Figure 3) during a flight on aircraft 305. The water usage data and/or water level data may be received via a network interface (such as network interface 410) in the water controller. [0076] At block 520, the received water is stored by the water controller during the flight on the aircraft. For example, referring to Figure 4, water data received by the water and waste controller 400 during the flight on the aircraft can be stored in memory 404. As another example, water data received by the water and waste controller 400 during the flight on the aircraft may be stored in additional storage 414.

[0077] At block 530, a determination is made by the water controller that the aircraft is on the ground (i.e., that the aircraft is not airborne). For example, referring to Figure 4, water and waste controller 400 may receive a sensor signal from I/O 412 that indicates that the aircraft is on the ground. As another example, the water controller may include a GPS unit that is used to determine that the aircraft has landed.

[0078] At block 540, the stored water data is wirelessly transmitted by the water controller to one or more remote devices while the aircraft is on the ground. For example, referring to Figure 1, water and waste controller 110 can transmit the water data stored on the water and waste controller 110 to ground service device 120 and/or server 125 when aircraft 105 is on the ground. As another example, referring to Figure 4, water and waste controller 400 can transmit water data stored in memory 404 and/or additional storage 414 to one or more remote devices via wireless network interface device 408. In examples, the water data is wirelessly transmitted by the water controller to the one or more remote devices after the aircraft has landed and prior to the aircraft arriving at the aircraft's destination gate.

[0079] At block 550, the wirelessly transmitted water data from the aircraft is used to determine a water refill requirement for the aircraft by at least one remote device. For example, as previously discussed herein, if server 125 receives the water data, then server 125 may use the water data, the historical water information stored in database 130, and an upcoming flight schedule for the aircraft 105 stored in flight database 135 to determine whether water needs to be added to the aircraft 105 for the upcoming scheduled flight(s). If server 125 determines that aircraft 105 does not need additional water, then a notification may be sent by server 125 to ground service device 120 that is configured to notify ground service personnel for the aircraft that aircraft does no need additional water. As another example, as previously discussed herein, if server 125 receives the water data and determines that aircraft 105 needs additional water, then server 125 can use the water data, the historical water information stored in database 130, and an upcoming flight schedule for the aircraft 105 stored in flight database 135, to determine a minimal amount of water needed to be added to the aircraft 105 for the upcoming flight schedule (e.g., for the next upcoming flight or next series of flights). In this example, a notification may be sent by server 125 to ground service 120 that is configured to notify ground service personnel of the minimal amount of water needed to be added to the aircraft 105.

[0080] At block 560, the determined water refill requirement for the aircraft is displayed on a display of at least one remote device. For example, if server 125 determines that aircraft 105 does not need additional water, then ground service device 120 can display the notification received from server 125 on a display of the ground service device 120 to notify ground service personnel that the aircraft 105 does not need additional water. As another example, if server 125 determines a minimal amount of water needed to be added to the aircraft 105, then the ground service personnel can display the notification received from server 125 on a display of the ground service device 120 to notify ground service personnel of the minimal amount of water needed to be added to the aircraft 105.

[0081] While some examples of devices, systems, and methods herein are described in terms of software executing on various machines, the methods and systems may also be implemented as specifically-configured hardware, such as field- programmable gate array (FPGA) specifically to execute the various methods. For example, examples can be implemented in digital electronic circuitry, or in computer hardware, firmware, software, or in a combination thereof. In one example, a device may include a processor or processors. The processor comprises a computer-readable medium, such as a random access memory (RAM) coupled to the processor. The processor executes computer-executable program instructions stored in memory, such as executing one or more computer programs for editing an image. Such processors may comprise a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application- specific integrated circuit (ASIC), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), and state machines. Such processors may further comprise programmable electronic devices such as PLCs, programmable interrupt controllers (PICs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), programmable read-only memories (PROMs), electronically programmable read-only memories (EPROMs or EEPROMs), or other similar devices.

[0082] Such processors may comprise, or may be in communication with, media, for example computer-readable storage media, that may store instructions that, when executed by the processor, can cause the processor to perform the steps described herein as carried out, or assisted, by a processor. Examples of computer- readable media may include, but are not limited to, an electronic, optical, magnetic, or other storage device capable of providing a processor, such as the processor in a web server, with computer-readable instructions. Other examples of media comprise, but are not limited to, a floppy disk, CD-ROM, magnetic disk, memory chip, ROM, RAM, ASIC, configured processor, all optical media, all magnetic tape or other magnetic media, or any other medium from which a computer processor can read. The processor, and the processing, described may be in one or more structures, and may be dispersed through one or more structures. The processor may comprise code for carrying out one or more of the methods (or parts of methods) described herein.

[0083] Examples of methods disclosed herein may be performed in the operation of computing devices. The order of the blocks presented in the examples above can be varied-for example, blocks can be re-ordered, combined, and/or broken into sub-blocks. Certain blocks or processes can be performed in parallel. Thus, while the steps of methods disclosed herein have been shown and described in a particular order, other examples may comprise the same, additional, or fewer steps. Some examples may perform the steps in a different order or in parallel. In some examples, one or more steps in a method described herein may be optional.

[0084] The foregoing description of some examples has been presented only for the purpose of illustration and description and is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosure to the precise forms disclosed. Numerous modifications and adaptations thereof will be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure.

[0085] Reference herein to an example or implementation means that a particular feature, structure, operation, or other characteristic described in connection with the example may be included in at least one implementation of the disclosure. The disclosure is not restricted to the particular examples or implementations described as such. The appearance of the phrases "in one example," "in an example," "in one implementation," or "in an implementation," or variations of the same in various places in the specification does not necessarily refer to the same example or implementation. Any particular feature, structure, operation, or other characteristic described in this specification in relation to one example or implementation may be combined with other features, structures, operations, or other characteristics described in respect of any other example or implementation.