System for the radio transmission of real-time airline flight information

• US 20050094664A1
• Filed: 11/04/2004
• Published: 05/05/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 02/20/1997
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Sabre Incorporated (Sabre Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sabre Incorporated (Sabre Corp.)
• Inventors: Weber, Christopher S.
• Application Number:
  US10/981,296
• Publication Number:
  US 20050094664A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/466
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/02 Reservations, e.g. for tickets, services or events
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/025 Coordination of plural reservations, e.g. plural trip segments, transportation combined with accommodation
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 27/00 Public address systems circuits for preventing acoustic reaction H04R3/02; circuits for distributing signals to loudspeakers H04R3/12; monitoring or testing arrangements for public address systems H04R29/007; amplifiers H03F

Abstract

A flight delivery system that utilizes an architectural structure and network that allows real-time digital signals to be stored, retrieved and converted to an audio signal for radio transmission to achieve nearly instantaneous transmission of real-time data. The system utilizes a computerized reservation system as a source of information and stores it on a database. The information is called up by a computer that converts the data to a digital audio signal. The digital audio signal is then broadcast over airport antennae. The system features programs that allow for a conversion from airport city codes to the common identification for local cities.

Claims

1-10. -10. (canceled)

11. A computer-readable medium containing instructions for controlling a data processing system to perform a method for audible announcement generation, the method comprising the steps of:

a) storing flight information in a signal conversion database;

b) retrieving flight information from the signal conversion database;

c) sorting retrieved flight information into a desired sequence;

d) differentiating different city codes in the flight information;

e) radio broadcasting the flight information in the desired sequence;

f) radio broadcasting standardized opening messages;

g) determining an end program sequence termination request; and

h) verifying that the flight information is current before storing the flight information in the signal conversion database.

12. The computer-readable medium of claim 11, wherein determining an end program sequence termination request comprises:

determining whether a designated key has been depressed; and

terminating performance of the method based on a determination that the designated key has been depressed.

13. The computer-readable medium of claim 11, wherein the steps of verifying that the flight information is current comprises the substeps of:

determining whether flight information has been received from a flight information file server within a predetermined period of time;

establishing communications with the flight information file server based on a determination that flight information has not been received within a predetermined period of time; and

performing steps a) through g).

14. The computer-readable medium of claim 11 further comprising the step of retrieving the flight information from a computerized reservation system and said storing step comprises storing the flight information in the signal conversion database.

15. The computer-readable medium of claim 14 further comprising the step of converting the flight information retrieved by said retrieving step from the computerized reservation system into an audio file format.

16. The computer-readable medium of claim 11, wherein said differentiating step converts city codes into city names.

17. A computer-readable medium containing instructions for controlling a data processing system to perform a method for audible announcement generation, the method comprising the steps of:

a) receiving flight information from a computer reservation system and storing the flight information in a signal conversion database;

b) sorting retrieved flight information into a desired sequence;

c) converting the flight information in the signal conversion database into an audio format file such that the data is stored in the desired sequence;

c) providing the audio format file containing the flight information to an antenna; and

d) radio broadcasting the flight information in the audio format file in the desired sequence.

18. The computer-readable medium of claim 17, wherein said converting step comprises sorting retrieved flight information into a desired sequence and radio broadcasting step comprises radio broadcasting the flight information in the desired sequence.

19. The computer-readable medium of claim 17, wherein said radio broadcasting step comprises:

radio broadcasting the flight information in the desired sequence;

radio broadcasting standardized opening messages; and

determining an end program sequence termination request.

20. The computer-readable medium of claim 17 further comprising:

verifying that the flight information is current before storing the flight information in the signal conversion database.

21. The computer-readable medium of claim 19, wherein determining an end program sequence termination request comprises:

determining whether a designated key has been depressed; and

terminating performance of the method based on a determination that the designated key has been depressed.

22. The computer-readable medium of claim 20, wherein the steps of verifying that the flight information is current comprises the substeps of:

determining whether flight information has been received from a flight information file server within a predetermined period of time; and

establishing communications with the flight information file server based on a determination that flight information has not been received within a predetermined period of time.

23. The computer-readable medium of claim 17 further comprising the step of retrieving the flight information from a computerized reservation system and storing the flight information in the signal conversion database.

24. The computer-readable medium of claim 17 further comprising the step of differentiating different city codes in the flight information.

25. The computer-readable medium of claim 24, wherein said differentiating step converts city codes into city names.

26. A computer-readable medium containing instructions for controlling a data processing system to perform a method for audible announcement generation, the method comprising the steps of:

a) receiving flight information from a computer reservation system and storing the flight information in a signal conversion database;

b) differentiating different city codes in the flight information;

c) converting the flight information in the signal conversion database into an audio format;

e) providing the audio format file containing the flight information to an antenna; and

f) radio broadcasting the flight information in the audio format file.

27. The computer-readable medium of claim 26, wherein said converting step comprises sorting retrieved flight information into a desired sequence and radio broadcasting step comprises radio broadcasting the flight information in the desired sequence.

28. The computer-readable medium of claim 26, wherein said radio broadcasting step comprises:

radio broadcasting the flight information in the desired sequence;

radio broadcasting standardized opening messages; and

determining an end program sequence termination request.

29. The computer-readable medium of claim 26, wherein said differentiating step converts city codes into city names.