Aircraft in-flight entertainment system including digital radio service and associated methods
First Claim
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1. An aircraft in-flight entertainment (IFE) system comprising:
- a headend unit comprising at least one digital satellite radio receiver;
a plurality of seat electronic boxes (SEBs) spaced throughout the aircraft; and
a local area network (LAN) connecting said at least one digital satellite radio receiver for providing digital satellite radio signals to said plurality of SEBS;
said headend unit, said plurality of SEBs and said LAN using a desired communications protocol so that the digital satellite radio signals are broadcast from said headend unit to said plurality of SEBs without receipt of acknowledgements from said plurality of SEBs.
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Abstract
An aircraft in-flight entertainment (IFE) system includes a headend unit, and a plurality of seat electronic boxes (SEBs) spaced throughout the aircraft. The headend unit includes a digital satellite radio receiver. A local area network (LAN) connects the digital satellite radio receiver for providing digital satellite radio signals to the SEBs. The IFE system further includes a plurality of passenger control units (PCUs) connected to the plurality of SEBs, with each PCU permitting passenger selection of the digital satellite radio signals.
129 Citations
49 Claims
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1. An aircraft in-flight entertainment (IFE) system comprising:
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a headend unit comprising at least one digital satellite radio receiver; a plurality of seat electronic boxes (SEBs) spaced throughout the aircraft; and a local area network (LAN) connecting said at least one digital satellite radio receiver for providing digital satellite radio signals to said plurality of SEBS; said headend unit, said plurality of SEBs and said LAN using a desired communications protocol so that the digital satellite radio signals are broadcast from said headend unit to said plurality of SEBs without receipt of acknowledgements from said plurality of SEBs. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. An aircraft in-flight entertainment (IFE) system comprising:
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a headend unit comprising at least one digital satellite radio receiver, and a processor for receiving the digital satellite radio signals from said at least one digital satellite radio receiver; a plurality of seat electronic boxes (SEBs) spaced throughout the aircraft; a local area network (LAN) connecting said processor to said plurality of SEBs for providing the digital satellite radio signals thereto; said headend unit, said plurality of SEBs and said LAN using a desired communications protocol so that the digital satellite radio signals are broadcast from said headend unit to said plurality of SEBs without receipt of acknowledgements from said plurality of SEBs; and a plurality of passenger control units (PCUs) connected to said plurality of SEBs, each PCU for permitting passenger selection of the digital satellite radio signals. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33)
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34. A method for operating an aircraft in-flight entertainment (IFE) system comprising a headend unit comprising at least one digital satellite radio receiver, and a plurality of seat electronic boxes (SEBs) spaced throughout the aircraft, the method comprising:
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distributing digital satellite radio signals from the at least one digital satellite radio receiver to the plurality of SEBs via a local area network (LAN); the headend unit, the plurality of SEBs and the LAN using a desired communications protocol so that the digital satellite radio signals are broadcast from the headend unit to the plurality of SEBs without receipt of acknowledgements from the plurality of SEBs. - View Dependent Claims (35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49)
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Specification