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Flight attendant actuated warning system and method

  • US 6,816,087 B2
  • Filed: 08/06/2002
  • Issued: 11/09/2004
  • Est. Priority Date: 08/06/2002
  • Status: Expired due to Fees
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1. A flight attendant actuated warning system in an aircraft for alerting a flight crew in a flight deck compartment of the aircraft that a potential hijacking, passenger initiated disturbance, or other troublesome situation for which a flight attendant is seeking assistance is occurring in a passenger cabin of the aircraft, comprising:

  • a receiver unit mounted in the flight deck compartment of the aircraft;

    the receiver unit having a radio transmitter means that, when in operation, transmits on an international emergency freguency or other preselected frequency to transmit a call sign and flight number of the aircraft;

    the receiver unit having receiving and activating means for receiving a first preselected activation signal transmitted from a portable transmitter unit located in the passenger cabin of the aircraft and for activating an audible alert means and a visual alert means of the receiver unit to alert a flight crew in the flight deck compartment of the aircraft that a troublesome situation is occurring in the passenger cabin of the aircraft and, after a preselected time delay period, for automatically turning on the radio transmitter means to initiate radio transmissions over the radio transmitter means and for changing a code squawked by a transponder of the aircraft to the international hijacking code;

    the receiver unit including a reset means that may be actuated by a member of the flight crew in the flight deck compartment of the aircraft during the preselected time delay period to prevent the radio transmitter means from being turned on and the changing of the code squawked by the transponder and that may be actuated by a member of the flight crew in the flight deck compartment of the aircraft to terminate an existing audio and visual alert, radio transmissions from the radio transmitter means, and squawking by the transponder of the international hijacking code and return the receiving and activating means of the receiver unit to a standby state where the receiver unit is ready to again be activated by receipt of the first preselected activation signal;

    a first portable transmitter unit located in the passenger cabin of the aircraft with a first flight attendant for actuation by the first flight attendant in the event a troublesome situation occurs in the passenger cabin of the aircraft;

    the first portable transmitter unit having means for transmitting the first preselected activation signal to activate the audio alert means and the visual alert means of the receiver unit and alert the flight crew in the flight deck compartment, through the audio alert means and the visual alert means, that a troublesome situation is occurring in the passenger cabin of the aircraft;

    the first preselected activation signal transmitted by the first portable transmitter unit having a transmission frequency outside a frequency range utilized by avionic and navigational equipment of the aircraft to avoid interfering with the function of the avionic and navigational equipment of the aircraft; and

    the first portable transmitter unit having transmitter actuating means for actuating the first portable transmitter unit to transmit the first preselected activation signal.

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