Onboard System for Identifying and Monitoring the Content of an Aircraft

• US 20100102934A1
• Filed: 10/15/2009
• Published: 04/29/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 10/24/2008
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Thales SA
• Original Assignee: Thales SA
• Inventors: Guichard, Philippe
• Application Number:
  US12/580,050
• Publication Number:
  US 20100102934A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/10.420
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/08 Logistics, e.g. warehousing, loading or distribution; Inventory or stock management

Abstract

The object of the invention is to allow exhaustive knowledge of the previously marked contents of an air transport means. The invention thus consists of a system for identifying and monitoring the set of the elements belonging to the content of a transport aircraft (V) allowing the user to ascertain in real time the content of said transport aircraft (V).

It relies notably on the use of means of remote reading (R1,R2,R3), such as RFID readers, positioned so as to form a portal at the level of at least one of the access doors (A1,A2,A3) of the transport aircraft (V), capable of acquiring the identity of the set of the elements entering or exiting said transport aircraft (V), and it is characterized by the fact that the power supply means and the communication means used by the system according to the invention can utilize the power supply and communication networks of the aircraft (V) which are designed to operate solely when said aircraft (V) is on the ground.

Claims

1. Onboard system for identifying and monitoring the content of an aircraft exhibiting at least one accessway, said aircraft comprising at least one pre-existing electrical device for a function other than that of the system according to the invention, making use, for its activation, of a power supply network designed and certified to be able to be powered up only when the aircraft is on the ground, said content consisting of a set of elements that can comprise objects and/or persons, each of said elements possessing an identity, said set of elements exhibiting a set of elements exiting, that is to say leaving the content of the aircraft, and a set of elements entering, that is to say joining the content of the aircraft, each of said elements comprising individual means of remote identification making it possible to ascertain the identity of said elements, said system comprising moreover:

a computerized system,

means of remote reading of said individual means of remote identification,

power supply means for said means of remote reading,

communication means,

said means of remote reading of said individual means of remote identification ensuring the acquisition of the identity of the elements entering and of the identity of the elements exiting, and communicating with the computerized system, so as to allow the ascertaining in real time of the identity of the set of the elements constituting the content of the aircraft wherein said power supply means draw their energy from said pre-existing power supply network, designed and certified so as to be able to be powered up only when the aircraft is on the ground.

2. System according to claim 1, wherein said communication means are designed to operate solely when the aircraft is on the ground.

3. System according to claim 1, wherein said communication means are of CPL type (the acronym standing for Communication on Power Lines), the physical communication channel or channels being in this case merged with the physical energy supply channel or channels.

4. System according claim 1, the aircraft comprising a pre-existing set of physical communications channels for functions other than that of the system according to the invention, and designed to be activatable only when the aircraft is on the ground, wherein said communication means of the system according to the invention use physical communication channels belonging to said pre-existing set of physical communication channels, with the exclusion of any physical communication channel.

5. System according to claim 3, the aircraft comprising a pre-existing set of physical communications channels for functions other than that of the system according to the invention, and designed to be activatable only when the aircraft is on the ground, wherein said communication means of the system according to the invention use physical communication channels belonging to said pre-existing set of physical communication channels, with the exclusion of any physical communication channel.

6. System according to any claim 1, wherein said individual means of remote identification comprise information relating to said elements.

7. System according to claim 6, comprising specific means for informing in real time a user of said system of the identity and information relating to the elements entering or to the elements exiting.

8. System according to claim 1, wherein at least one part of said communication means are non-wired.

9. System according to claim 1, wherein said individual means of remote identification are markers of AID type (the acronym standing for Automated Identification), i.e. “

AID tags”

as they are known in the art.

10. System according to claim 1, wherein said individual means of remote identification are RFID markers (the acronym standing for Radio-Frequency Identification), i.e. “

RFID tags”

as they are known in the art.

11. System according to claim 1, wherein said means of remote reading are adapted for reading one at least of the following types of AID markers:

alphanumeric, barcode, contactless marker—

such as RFID—

, contact-based marker—

such as memory card or memory button.

12. System according to claim 1, wherein said means of remote reading are RFID readers (the acronym standing for Radio-Frequency Identification).

13. System according to claim 12, wherein said RFID readers possess at least one emitting and receiving antenna able to use one at least of the following frequency bands:

low frequency LF, high frequency HF and very high frequency UHF.

14. System according to claim 1, comprising a theoretical list of the elements entering comprising the identities of a set of elements assumed to have to join the content of the aircraft, and means for comparing between said theoretical list of the elements entering and said elements entering actually joining the content of the aircraft.

15. System according to claim 1, comprising a theoretical list of the elements exiting comprising the identities of a set of elements assumed to have to leave the content of the aircraft, and means for comparing between said theoretical list of the elements exiting and said elements exiting actually leaving the content of the aircraft.

16. System according to claim 14, comprising means for alerting a user of said system in the event of contradiction between the theoretical list of the elements entering and the elements entering actually joining the content of the aircraft (V).

17. System according to claim 15, comprising means for alerting a user of said system in the event of contradiction between the theoretical list of the elements exiting and the elements exiting actually leaving the content of the aircraft.

18. System according to claim 1, comprising at least one monitoring box comprising a screen making it possible to display images and texts.

19. System according to claim 1, comprising portable means of remote reading, that can comprise power supply and communication supports.

20. System according to claim 1, wherein said means of remote reading are fixed, disposed so as to form a portal at the level of at least one of the access doors of the aircraft.

21. System according to claim 1, comprising processing units ensuring one at least of the following functions:

concentrator of data originating from said means of remote reading,

concentrator of data originating from said computerized system,

transmitter of data to the environment of the system,

transmitter of data to said computerized system.

22. System according to claim 1, wherein said power supply means comprise power supply couplers.

23. System according to claim 22, wherein said power supply couplers are supplied by an energy source dedicated to the monitoring of the accessway or accessways of the aircraft.

24. System according to claim 1, wherein said power supply means use one or more frequency bands not used by the aircraft for its inherent power supply.

25. System according to claim 1, wherein said communication means use one or more frequency bands not used by the aircraft for its inherent communications.

26. System according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said means of communications of the system according to the invention are of optical nature.

27. System according to claim 1, comprising it moreover comprises means for transmitting energy between the constituent elements of the system according to the invention, said means for transmitting energy being preferably of optical nature.

28. System according to claim 1, comprising a passenger monitoring box, notably for the passengers entering corresponding to said elements entering, and in that said passenger monitoring box indicates useful information to said passengers such as a position to be got to in the aircraft.

29. System according to claim 1, the aircraft comprising an in-flight entertainment system and passengers forming part of said content of the aircraft, said system moreover comprising a link with said in-flight entertainment system, so that said in-flight entertainment system can access the identity of the passengers, with a view to offering them customized services.

30. System according to claim 29, wherein said individual means of remote identification of the passengers entering are integrated into a boarding card.

31. System according to claim 1, wherein said means of remote reading furthermore comprise means of remote writing allowing a user of said system to modify said individual means of remote identification.

32. System according to claim 31, wherein said writing means are suited to one at least of the following AID markers:

alphanumeric, barcode, contactless marker—

such as RFID—

, contact-based marker—

such as memory card or memory button.

33. System according to claim 1, comprising means of inter-connection of said means of remote reading.