Method and device for communication with a personal electronic device in an aircraft

• US 9,548,623 B2
• Filed: 08/22/2014
• Issued: 01/17/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 08/30/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Airbus Operations GmbH (Airbus SE)
• Original Assignee: Airbus Operations GmbH (Airbus SE)
• Inventors: Bruechmann, Gerd, Rittner, Ulrich
• Primary Examiner(s): Siek, Vuthe
• Application Number:
  US14/465,881
• Publication Number:
  US 20150061587A1
• Time in Patent Office: 879 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/10 using inductive coupling
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 5/24 Inductive coupling
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 5/72 for local intradevice communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 5/79 for data transfer in combination with power transfer
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/18506 Communications with or from aircraft, i.e. aeronautical mobile service

Abstract

A communication module includes a communication module, having an inductive energy transfer unit, a transfer driver coupled to the inductive energy transfer unit and configured to generate driver signals for operating the inductive energy transfer unit, a charging processor coupled to the transfer driver and configured to control the inductive energy transfer unit to operate in an inductive power charging operation mode, and a communication processor coupled to the transfer driver and configured to control the inductive energy transfer unit to operate in a near field communication (NFC), operation mode.

Claims

1. A communication module, comprising:

an inductive energy transfer unit;

a transfer driver coupled to the inductive energy transfer unit and configured to generate driver signals for operating the inductive energy transfer unit;

a charging processor coupled to the transfer driver and configured to control the inductive energy transfer unit to operate in an inductive power charging operation mode; and

a communication processor coupled to the transfer driver and configured to control the inductive energy transfer unit to operate in a near field communication (NFC), operation mode,

wherein the communication processor is further configured to allocate a network authentication code to a personal electronic device (PED) via NFC for accessing a wireless network.

2. The communication module according to claim 1, further comprising:

a receptacle configured to accommodate the PED, having a NFC unit which comes to rest in the vicinity of the inductive energy transfer unit when being accommodated in the receptacle.

3. The communication module according to claim 2, wherein the charging processor is configured to output control signals to the transfer driver adapted to charge a battery of the PED via inductive energy transfer between the inductive energy transfer unit and the NFC unit.

4. The communication module according to claim 2, wherein the communication processor is configured to output control signals to the transfer driver adapted to initiate NFC between the communication module and the PED by way of inductive signal transfer between the inductive energy transfer unit and the NFC unit.

5. The communication module according to claim 4, wherein the communication processor is further configured to access a wireless communication unit or the PED via NFC.

6. The communication module according to claim 5, wherein the wireless communication unit is a Bluetooth®

communication unit.

7. A method for providing communication between a personal electronic device (PED), and a communication module, the method comprising:

initiating communication between a near field communication unit of the PED and an inductive energy transfer unit of the communication module;

selecting a charging processor of the communication module to control the inductive energy transfer unit to operate in an inductive power charging operation mode, if a battery of the PED is to be wirelessly charged;

selecting a communication processor to control the inductive energy transfer unit to operate in a near field communication (NFC), operation mode, if the PED is to receive and/or send data signals from or to the communication module;

allocating, by the communication processor, a network authentication code to the PED via NFC; and

accessing, by the PED, a wireless network using the allocated network authentication code.

8. The method according to claim 7, further comprising:

accessing, by the communication processor, a wireless communication unit or the PED via NFC.