Programmable entertainment system having back-channel capabilities

• US 6,266,815 B1
• Filed: 02/26/1999
• Issued: 07/24/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 02/26/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Rockwell Collins, Inc. (Raytheon Technologies Corporation d/b/a RTX)
• Original Assignee: Sony Transcom Incorporated (Rockwell International Corporation), Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Do, Ton M., Borras, Peter, Shen, Konwei
• Primary Examiner(s): GRANT, CHRISTOPHER C
• Application Number:
  US09/258,686
• Time in Patent Office: 879 Days
• Field of Search: H04/N.716, H04/N.7173, 455/2, 455/6.2, 455/6.3, 455/5.1, 455/4.2, 348/2, 348/1, 348/8, 348/12, 348/13, 348/7, 345/327
• US Class Current: 725/76
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/352 involving special game server arrangements, e.g. regional servers connected to a national server or a plurality of servers managing partitions of the game world
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/48 Starting a game, e.g. activating a game device or waiting for other players to join a multiplayer session
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/513 server hierarchy, e.g. local, regional, national or dedicated for different tasks, e.g. authenticating, billing
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/636 involving process of starting or resuming a game
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/8064 Quiz
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2146 located in mass transportation means, e.g. aircraft, train or bus flight-deck installations for entertainment or communications B64D11/0015; arrangements specially adapted for transportation systems in broadcast systems H04H20/62; moving wireless networks H04W84/005
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/475 End-user interface for inputting end-user data, e.g. personal identification number [PIN], preference data
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4758 for providing answers, e.g. voting
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/173 with two-way working, e.g. subscriber sending a programme selection signal

Abstract

A vehicle entertainment control system having back-channel capabilities to provide an interactive feature for capturing, collecting, and storing passenger response data. In one embodiment, the system includes a system control unit for controlling the devices in the system. The system also includes a back-channel server unit that provides the interactive content to the passengers over the system, capturing and collecting passenger response data via the back-channel. The interactive feature includes display units located throughout a cabin of a vehicle for displaying questions, and a control unit at the passengers'"'"' seats. The questions displayed on the display units and the passenger response data are synchronized, and the passenger response data is collected by the server unit. The back-channel is a bi-directional bus that allows passengers to provide passenger response data using the control unit. The back-channel also allows passengers to select and control audio channels and adjust the volume.

Claims

1. A control sequence for a passenger entertainment system, comprising:

transmitting a first command requesting a video signal from a controller to a server;

transmitting a video signal from the server to the controller for displaying the video signal to passengers on a plurality of display units;

transmitting the video signal from the controller to the plurality of display units

detecting, by each of a plurality of control units, passenger response data provided by passengers in response to the video signal;

transmitting the passenger response data from the control units to intermediate devices;

transmitting from the server to the controller a second command for collection of data;

transmitting a third command, from the controller to the intermediate devices for the passenger response data; and

collecting the passenger response data from the intermediate devices at the controller; and

transmitting the passenger response data collected from the intermediate devices to the server.

2. The control sequence of claim 1, wherein prior to transmitting a second command by the server to the controller for collection of data, the server waiting a predetermined amount of time.

3. The control sequence of claim 1, wherein transmitting the first command by the controller to the server comprises transmitting the first command by the controller to the server to start a new game.

4. The control sequence of claim 1, wherein transmitting the first command by the controller to the server comprises transmitting the first command by the controller to the server to start a survey.

5. The control sequence of claim 1, wherein prior to transmitting the passenger response data collected from the intermediate devices to the server, each of the plurality of intermediate devices, transmitting the passenger response data, if any, to the controller via a bi-directional serial bus.

6. The control sequence of claim 1 wherein the passengers are aircraft passengers.

7. A passenger entertainment system, comprising:

a plurality of display devices;

a controller coupled to the plurality of display devices, the controller transmitting video signals for display on the plurality of display devices, the controller further transmitting commands to collect passenger response data following the display of a video signal;

a plurality of control devices each having one or more inputs operable by a passenger for allowing passengers to indicate responses, each of the control devices transmitting passenger response data representing the inputs selected by a passenger;

a plurality of intermediate devices, each intermediate device coupled to the controller and to a plurality of control devices, the plurality of intermediate devices receiving commands to collect passenger response data from the controller, and responsive thereto, transmitting passenger response data received from the plurality of control units to the controller; and

a server coupled to the controller, the server providing the video signals to the controller, transmitting commands to the controller to collect passenger response data and receiving passenger response data from the controller.

8. The passenger entertainment system of claim 7 further comprising a multiplexer coupled between the controller and the plurality of intermediate devices.

9. The passenger entertainment system of claim 7 wherein the plurality of intermediate devices are coupled to the controller via a bi-directional serial bus.

10. The passenger entertainment system of claim 7 further comprising a video reproducer unit coupled to the controller, the controller to distribute video programming from the video reproducer unit to the plurality of display units.

11. The passenger entertainment system of claim 8 further comprising an audio reproducer unit coupled to the multiplexer, the multiplexer to distribute audio programming from the audio reproducer unit to the plurality of control devices.

12. The passenger entertainment system of claim 7 wherein the entertainment system is an in-flight entertainment system and the passengers are aircraft passengers.

13. A passenger entertainment system, comprising:

a plurality of display devices;

a controller coupled to the plurality of display devices, the controller transmitting video signals for display on the plurality of display devices;

a plurality of control devices coupled to the controller each having one or more inputs operable by a passenger, each of the control devices transmitting inputs selected by a passenger to the controller;

a plurality of intermediate devices, each intermediate device coupled to the controller and to the plurality of control devices, the plurality of intermediate devices receiving commands to collect passenger inputs from the controller, and responsive thereto, transmitting passenger inputs received from the plurality of control units to the controller; and

a server coupled to the controller, the server providing video signals to the controller for transmission to the display devices, the server transmitting commands to the controller to collect, from the control devices, inputs selected by passengers in response to the displayed video and the server receiving the passenger inputs from the controller.

14. The system of claim 13 further comprising a multiplexer coupled between the controller and the plurality of intermediate devices.

15. The improvement of claim 13, wherein the server waits a predetermined amount of time after providing video signals to the controller before transmitting commands to the controller to collect passenger inputs.

16. The improvement of claim 13, wherein the server receives a command from the controller to start a new game and in response provides video signals to the controller for transmission to the display devices.

17. The improvement of claim 13, wherein the server receives a command from the controller to start a survey and in response provides video signals to the controller for transmission to the display devices.