Self-restoring on-board information system

• US 8,549,270 B2
• Filed: 02/20/2008
• Issued: 10/01/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 02/22/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Airbus Operations SAS (Airbus SE)
• Original Assignee: Airbus Operations SAS (Airbus SE)
• Inventors: Gobbo, Gilles, Escourbiac, Magalie
• Primary Examiner(s): Huynh, Kim
• Assistant Examiner(s): Choudhury, Zahid
• Application Number:
  US12/034,253
• Publication Number:
  US 20080209195A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,050 Days
• Field of Search: 713/1, 713/2
• 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, including a central processing unit; a first non-rewritable memory containing a boot program; a volatile memory; and a second non-rewritable memory containing an operating system as well as a set of executable files. The boot program is configured 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 initialized.

Claims

1. An on-board information system for an aircraft, comprising:

a central processing unit;

a first non-rewritable memory containing a boot program;

a volatile memory; and

a second non-rewritable memory containing an operating system of the on-board information system and a set of executable files,

wherein, after maintenance operations comprising data transfers between a maintenance terminal and said on-board information system have been completed,

said on-board information system is initialized by being shut down and powered up again, and

said boot program is configured after said powering up to load, in a secure encryption mode, and verify the integrity of the operating system and at least a portion of the executable files into the volatile memory.

2. The on-board information system according to claim 1, wherein said second non-rewritable memory also contains all of the permanent data files required for executing said executable files via said central processing unit.

3. The on-board information system according to claim 2, wherein the boot program is configured to load said permanent data files into the volatile memory when said on-board system is initialized.

4. The on-board information system according to claim 1, wherein the first non-rewritable memory is a ROM memory.

5. The on-board system according to one of the preceding claims, wherein 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. An aircraft comprising an on-board information system according to claim 1.

6. A network system including a plurality of on-board information systems for an aircraft, each being run by a software program in order to perform a predetermined function and including a processing unit, a first non-rewritable memory containing a boot program, as well as a volatile memory, said network system comprising:

a plurality of file servers, each server including a non-rewritable mass memory; and

an on-board network to which said on-board information systems and said file servers are connected,

wherein for at least one of said on-board information systems, after maintenance operations comprising data transfers between a maintenance terminal and said at least one on-board information system have been completed,

said at least one on-board information system is initialized by being shut down and powered up again, and

said boot program is configured after said powering up to download in a secure encryption mode, from at least one of said servers, an operating system of the on-board information system and an executable file or files, and verify the integrity of the operating system and said executable file or files, said operating system being stored in a second non-rewritable memory, and to load said operating system and said executable file or files into said volatile memory.

7. The network system according to claim 6, wherein the network system includes at least two file servers, the respective mass memories of which contain identical files.

8. The network system according to one of the claims 6 to 7, wherein files are downloaded from said servers according to a secure file transfer protocol.