Serial networking fiber-to-the-seat inflight entertainment system

• US 9,532,082 B2
• Filed: 08/11/2015
• Issued: 12/27/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 08/06/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Anuvu IP Holdings LLC
• Original Assignee: Lumexis Corporation
• Inventors: Petrisor, Gregory C., Cline, Douglas, Wicklund, Rolf
• Primary Examiner(s): Hamza, Faruk
• Assistant Examiner(s): HAQUE, ABUSAYEED M
• Application Number:
  US14/823,845
• Publication Number:
  US 20160134899A1
• Time in Patent Office: 504 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 10/038 using bypasses
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/40182 by using a plurality of communication lines
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/437 Ring fault isolation or reconfiguration for SDH/SONET ring networks H04J3/085
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/4028 the transportation system being an aircraft
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0668 by dynamic selection of recovery network elements, e.g. replacement by the most appropriate element after failure
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0677 Localisation of faults
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/18 Loop-free operations
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks
• 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 21/2221 being a cable television head-end CATV in broadcast systems H04H20/78
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2225 Local VOD servers
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/41422 located in transportation means, e.g. personal vehicle arrangements specially adapted for transportation systems in broadcast systems H04H20/62
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/43632 involving a wired protocol, e.g. IEEE 1394 high-speed IEEE 1394 serial bus H04L12/40052

Abstract

An entertainment system that has improved failure recovery characteristics and reduces the connection components is disclosed. In one aspect, an inflight entertainment system comprises a plurality of physically interconnected head end line replaceable units and a plurality of serially-connected networking line replaceable units physically interconnected in a serial configuration, wherein two of the serially-connected networking line replaceable units at the edge of the serial configuration are physically interconnected with two of the head end line replaceable units, respectively, wherein a loop-free head end data path is maintained between active head end line replaceable units by regulating link participation in the head end data path, and wherein one or more loop-free serially-connected networking data paths are maintained between at least one of the two head end line replaceable units and active serially-connected networking line replaceable units by regulating link participation in the serially-connected networking data paths.

Claims

1. An inflight entertainment system comprising:

a first head end line replaceable unit (HE-LRU);

a second HE-LRU;

a third HE-LRU;

the first, second, and third HE-LRUs each comprising;

a first fiber optic transceiver;

a second fiber optic transceiver; and

a processor communicatively coupled with the first and second fiber optic transceivers;

the first, second, and third HE-LRUs configured to communicate via a head-end data-path comprising;

a first link connecting the first fiber optic transceiver of the first HE-LRU with the second fiber optic transceiver of the second LRU;

a second link connecting the second fiber optic transceiver of the first HE-LRU with the first fiber optic transceiver of the third LRU; and

a third link connecting the first fiber optic transceiver of the second HE-LRU with the second fiber optic transceiver of the third LRU;

wherein, in response to determining that the head-end data-path forms a closed system, the first HE-LRU, under control of its processor, deactivates communication via the second link, thereby forming a loop-free head-end data-path; and

wherein, in response to a failure of the first link, the first HE-LRU, under control of its processor, activates communication via the second link, thereby restoring the loop-free head-end data-path.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the third link comprises one or more additional HE-LRUs.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the first HE-LRU further comprises a video server configured to store video data and to provide, in response to a request, the video data to one or more serially-connected line replaceable units (SN-LRUs).

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the first HE-LRU is directly connected, via a fourth link and without an intervening area distribution box, with a first serially-connected line replaceable unit (SN-LRU).

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the first SN-LRU comprises a video display unit positioned at a passenger seat.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the second HE-LRU is directly connected, via a fifth link and without an intervening area distribution box, with a second SN-LRU.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the second SN-LRU comprises a video display unit positioned at another passenger seat.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the first and second SN-LRUs are connected via a SN-LRU data path, and wherein the first SN-LRU is configured:

to determine that the SN-LRU data path comprises a closed loop; and

in response, to break the closed loop.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein:

the third HE-LRU is directly connected, via a fourth link and without an intervening area distribution box, with a first serially-connected line replaceable unit (SN-LRU); and

the first HE-LRU is directly connected, via a fifth link and without an intervening area distribution box, with a second SN-LRU.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the first SN-LRU comprises a cabin management terminal.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the first and second SN-LRUs are connected with a sixth link, the sixth link comprising one or more additional SN-LRUs.

12. An inflight entertainment system comprising:

a first head end line replaceable unit (HE-LRU) comprising;

a first transceiver;

a second transceiver;

a third transceiver; and

a processor operatively coupled with the first, second, and third transceivers;

the first transceiver being configured to communicate directly, via a first link and without an intervening area distribution box, with a serially-connected line replaceable unit (SN-LRU);

the second transceiver being configured to communicate with a second HE-LRU via a second link; and

the first HE-LRU configured such that, under control of the processor and in response to a failure of the second link, the first HE-LRU activates a third link that enables the third transceiver to communicate with a third HE-LRU.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein, under control of the processor, in response to a failure of the second HE-LRU, the first HE-LRU activates the third link.

14. The system of claim 12, wherein the first HE-LRU further comprises a video server configured to store video data and to provide, in response to a request, the video data to the SN-LRU.

15. The system of claim 12, wherein the first, second, and third transceivers comprise fiber optic transceivers, and the first, second, and third links comprise fiber optic cables.

16. The system of claim 12, wherein the first HE-LRU is directly connected with the second and third HE-LRUs.

17. The system of claim 12, further comprising the second and third HE-LRUs.

18. The system of claim 12, further comprising the SN-LRU.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the SN-LRU comprises a video display unit positioned at a passenger seat.

20. A method of installing an inflight entertainment system, the method comprising:

obtaining a first head end line replaceable unit (HE-LRU) comprising;

a first transceiver;

a second transceiver;

a third transceiver; and

a processor operatively coupled with the first, second, and third transceivers;

directly connecting, via a first link and without an intervening area distribution box, the first transceiver with a serially-connected line replaceable unit (SN-LRU);

directly connecting, via a second link and without an intervening area distribution box, the second transceiver with a second HE-LRU;

directly connecting, via a third link and without an intervening area distribution box, the third transceiver with a third HE-LRU;

programming the first HE-LRU to determine whether the first, second, and third HE-LRUs are connected in a closed-loop data path and, in response to the closed-loop data path being found, to cease communicating on the third link; and

programming the first HE-LRU such that, in response to a failure of the second link, the first HE-LRU begins communicating on the third link.