Integrated communication and application system for aircraft

• US 10,707,951 B2
• Filed: 03/09/2018
• Issued: 07/07/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 10/30/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Westjet Airlines Limited
• Original Assignee: Westjet Airlines Limited
• Inventors: Hathaway, David
• Primary Examiner(s): Sample, Jonathan L
• Application Number:
  US15/916,559
• Publication Number:
  US 20180205445A1
• Time in Patent Office: 851 Days
• Field of Search: 701 1, 701 3- 18, 701 36, 244 751, 244 76 R, 345173
• CPC Class Codes: B64C 19/00 Aircraft control not otherwise provided for
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 2045/0075 Adaptations for use of electronic flight bags in aircraft; Supports therefor in the cockpit
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 45/00 Aircraft indicators or protectors not otherwise provided for camouflage F41H3/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 17/00 Digital computing or data processing equipment or methods, specially adapted for specific functions information retrieval, database structures or file system structures therefor G06F16/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/60 Software deployment
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/18506 Communications with or from aircraft, i.e. aeronautical mobile service
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0428 wherein the data content is protected, e.g. by encrypting or encapsulating the payload
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/04 specially adapted for terminals or networks with limited capabilities; specially adapted for terminal portability
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/34 involving the movement of software or configuration parameters network booting or remote initial program loading [RIPL] G06F9/4416

Abstract

A method of transferring aircraft data from an aircraft to a portable electronic device entails receiving at the portable electronic device the aircraft data from a data connection with an aircraft data source without writing data back to the aircraft or from a user interface while being capable of receiving aircraft data via the data connection and executing an application on the portable electronic device using the aircraft data to present new information about the aircraft or its operating environment that is not available for display on a cockpit display but which is displayable on the portable electronic device based on the aircraft data received by the portable electronic device.

Claims

1. An aircraft system comprising:

a first portable electronic device docked in a first cockpit holder, the first portable electronic device being connected to power for charging the first portable electronic device and for receiving data from a data hub;

a second portable electronic device docked in a second cockpit holder, the second portable electronic device being connected to power for charging the second portable electronic device and for receiving data from the data hub wherein the first and second portable electronic devices are communicatively connected so that user input received by one of the first and second portable electronic devices for one or more applications is displayed simultaneously on both of the first and second portable electronic devices; and

a third portable electronic device undocked and interchangeable with the first portable electronic device and the second portable electronic device.

2. The system as claimed in claim 1 wherein the data hub is an aircraft data integration device connected to an avionics data bus and to a flight data recorder data bus.

3. The system as claimed in claim 1 wherein the one or more applications includes a passenger and cargo loading application.

4. The system as claimed in claim 3 wherein the passenger and cargo loading application includes a digital load sheet with a graphical interface for confirming a seating arrangement.

5. The system as claimed in claim 1 wherein each of the first, second and third portable electronic devices comprises a card reader and executes a point of sale (POS) application.

6. The system as claimed in claim 1 wherein each of the first, second and third portable electronic devices comprises an embedded digital camera to scan a barcode or QR-code of a ticket, boarding pass or baggage tag.

7. The system as claimed in claim 1 wherein the one or more applications includes a turbulence indexing application that receives one or more accelerometer readings from an avionics data bus and an aircraft weight from the avionics data bus and then executes a turbulence computation to compute a turbulence index based on the one or more accelerometer readings and the weight and for communicating the turbulence index to a ground-based station.

8. The system as claimed in claim 1 wherein the one or more applications includes a runway braking condition application that receives one or more accelerometer readings from an avionics data bus indicative of a deceleration on a runway after a weight on wheels sensor senses contact with the ground on landing and an aircraft weight from the avionics data bus and then executes a runway braking condition computation to compute a runway braking condition index based on the one or more accelerometer readings and the weight and for communicating the runway braking condition index to a ground-based station.

9. The system as claimed in claim 1 wherein the one or more applications includes a dent-and-damage application for taking, annotating, storing and sending digital photographs.

10. The system as claimed in claim 1 wherein the one or more applications includes a weather application for receiving weather data and for displaying color graphical weather imagery.

11. The system as claimed in claim 1 wherein the first, second and third portable electronic devices each comprises a cellular transceiver and a W-Fi transceiver and wherein a processor of each of the first and second portable electronic devices selects the cellular transceiver to transmit ACARS data when located at a home airport and selects the W-Fi transceiver to transmit the ACARS data when roaming.

12. A method of presenting aircraft data from an aircraft on a portable electronic device, the method comprising:

docking a first portable electronic device in a first cockpit holder, the first portable electronic device being connected to power for charging the first portable electronic device and for receiving the aircraft data from a data hub;

docking a second portable electronic device in a second cockpit holder, the second portable electronic device being connected to power for charging the second portable electronic device and for receiving the aircraft data from the data hub wherein the first and second portable electronic devices are communicatively connected so that user input received by one of the first and second portable electronic devices for one or more applications is displayed simultaneously on both of the first and second portable electronic devices; and

providing a third portable electronic device that is undocked and interchangeable with the first portable electronic device and the second portable electronic device.

13. The method as claimed in claim 12 further comprising:

transmitting ACARS data via a cellular transceiver of one of the first, second and third portable electronic devices when located at a home airport; and

transmitting the ACARS data using a W-Fi transceiver of one of the first, second and third portable electronic devices when roaming.

14. The method as claimed in claim 12 wherein the one or more applications comprises a passenger and cargo loading application.

15. The method as claimed in claim 12 wherein the one or more applications comprises a point of sale (POS) application.

16. The method as claimed in claim 12 further comprising using an embedded digital camera in one of the first, second and third portable electronic devices to scan a barcode or QR-code of a ticket, boarding pass or baggage tag.

17. The method as claimed in claim 12 wherein the one or more applications comprises a turbulence indexing application that receives one or more accelerometer readings from an avionics data bus and an aircraft weight from the avionics data bus and then executes a turbulence computation to compute a turbulence index based on the one or more accelerometer readings and the weight and for communicating the turbulence index to a ground-based station.

18. The method as claimed in claim 12 wherein the one or more applications comprises a runway braking condition application that receives one or more accelerometer readings from an avionics data bus indicative of a deceleration on a runway after a weight on wheels sensor senses contact with the ground on landing and an aircraft weight from the avionics data bus and then executes a runway braking condition computation to compute a runway braking condition index based on the one or more accelerometer readings and the weight and for communicating the runway braking condition index to a ground-based station.

19. The method as claimed in claim 12 wherein the one or more applications comprises a dent-and-damage application for taking, annotating, storing and sending digital photographs.

20. The method as claimed in claim 12 wherein the one or more applications comprises a weather application for receiving weather data and for displaying color graphical weather imagery.