SELF-RESTORING ON-BOARD INFORMATION SYSTEM

• US 20080209195A1
• Filed: 02/20/2008
• Published: 08/28/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 02/22/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Airbus Operations SAS (Airbus SE)
• Original Assignee: Airbus France
• Inventors: ESCOURBIAC, Magalie, GOBBO, Gilles
• Granted Patent: US 8,549,270 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 713/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/4416 Network booting; Remote initial program loading [RIPL]

Abstract

This invention relates to an on-board information system, comprising:

• • a central processing unit (140);
  • a first non-rewritable memory (110) containing a boot program (111);
  • a volatile memory (130);
  • a second non-rewritable memory (120) containing an operating system (121) as well as a set of executable files (123), said boot program being adapted to load the operating system and at least a portion of the executable files into the volatile memory when the on-board information system is initialised.

Claims

1. On-board information system comprising:

a central processing unit (140);

a first non-rewritable memory (110) containing a boot program (111);

a volatile memory (130);

characterised in that it further includes;

a second non-rewritable memory (120) containing an operating system (121) as well as a set of executable files (123), said boot program being adapted to load the operating system and at least a portion of the executable files into the volatile memory when the on-board information system is initialised.

2. On-board information system according to claim 1, characterised in that said second non-rewritable memory also contains all of the permanent data files (125) required for executing said executable files via said central processing unit.

3. On-board information system according to claim 2, characterised in that the boot program is adapted to load said permanent data files into the random access memory when said on-board system is initialised.

4. On-board information system according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the first non-rewritable memory is an ROM memory.

5. On-board system according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the second non-rewritable memory is a locked read-only hard disk, a locked read-only flash memory, a CD-ROM or a DVD.

9. Aircraft comprising an on-board information system according to one of claims 1 to 5, or a network system according to one of claims 6 to 8.

6. Network system comprising a plurality of on-board information systems, each being run by a software program in order to perform a predetermined function and comprising a processing unit (140), a first non-rewritable memory (110) containing a boot program as well as a volatile memory (130), said networks system being characterised in that it further includes:

a plurality of file servers (170), each server comprising a non-rewritable mass memory (160);

an on-board network (200) to which said on-board systems and said file servers are connected;

and in that, for at least one of said on-board systems, the boot program is adapted, upon each initialisation, to download, from at least one of said servers, an operating system and/or an executable file or files, said operating system being stored in a second non-rewritable memory, and to store it/them in said volatile memory.

7. Network system according to claim 6, characterised in that it includes at least two file servers (170, 170m) the respective mass memories of which contain identical files.

8. Network system according to one of the claims 6 to 7, characterised in that files are downloaded from said servers according to a secure file transfer protocol.