Computer system having fixed computers and mobile computers

• US 6,192,416 B1
• Filed: 11/18/1997
• Issued: 02/20/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 08/15/1997
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: AAV Australia Pty Ltd. (Audio Visual Services Group LLC)
• Original Assignee: AAV Australia Pty Ltd. (Audio Visual Services Group LLC)
• Inventors: Baxter, Geoffrey David
• Primary Examiner(s): Dinh, Dung C.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Salad, Abdullahi Elmi
• Application Number:
  US08/972,550
• Time in Patent Office: 1,190 Days
• Field of Search: 700/217, 700/203, 700/219, 700/229, 700/225, 710/10, 709/223, 709/248
• US Class Current: 709/248
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/08 for authentication of entities cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication H04L9/32
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/04 specially adapted for terminals or networks with limited capabilities; specially adapted for terminal portability
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1095 Replication or mirroring of data, e.g. scheduling or transport for data synchronisation between network nodes
• 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: H04L 67/125 involving control of end-device applications over a network
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99953 Recoverability

Abstract

A method and system for propagating data such as entertainment data in an airline system is disclosed. The entertainment data may comprise video, audio and games data. A computer server device is provided at an airline terminal, and a mobile computer is provided in an aircraft with a hard disk array for storage of the digital data. The data can be propagated in the system to aircraft and to further airline terminals by an automatic software function which occurs when an aircraft mobile computer electrically connects with the server computer at the terminal. Such connection is made between the aircraft and an aerobridge at the airline terminal. The software provides checking to see if the mobile computer is an authorized computer, and also to determine whether the data in the mobile computer is more recent than the data in the computer server or vice versa and then a data exchange occurs to replace the old data with new data. As further aircraft visit the airline terminal their data is updated and the data is therefor propagated in the system. Devices are also provided on each side of the connection between the aircraft and the airline terminal for initiating security checking and for providing data pass through capability. Each mobile computer has a personality module which configures the computer to the environment in which it is placed. Thus, identical computers can be used in an airline system which may have different types of aircraft. The personality module configures the computer to the particular aircraft.

Claims

1. A method of propagating data throughout a computer system having mobile computers, and a respective computer server device at each of a plurality of fixed sites, said method comprising providing relevant data at said computer server device to be transferred to said mobile computers, making a data exchange connection between a mobile computer and said computer server device when a mobile computer visits said site, providing authorisation checking when said data exchange connection is made to determine if said mobile computer is an authorised computer, conducting software checking to determine if relevant data resident in said computer server device is more recent than the relevant data in said mobile computer, invoking further software to transfer the relevant data from said computer server device to said computer if it is more recent than the relevant data in said mobile computer, and if the relevant data in said mobile computer is more recent than the relevant data in said computer server device, invoking said further software to transfer the relevant data from said mobile computer to said computer server device, so that the more recent of said relevant data is resident in both said mobile computer and said computer server device and repeating the process with further mobile computers when they visit said site whereby said relevant data can be propagated, and wherein when relevant data is required to be propagated it is only introduced to a computer server device at one of said fixed sites, and that it is propagated to a further one of said plurality of fixed sites by being transferred to a mobile computer visiting said one site and then to said further one of said plurality of sites when said mobile computer visits said further one of said plurality of sites, thereby providing said further one of said plurality of sites with the relevant data for propagation to further mobile computers which visit said further one of said plurality of sites.

2. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein said authorisation, said determining, and said data transfer are provided automatically upon making said data exchange connection.

3. A method as claimed in claim 2 wherein said system is an airline system having airport terminals each with a respective computer server device, and wherein aircraft of said airline each have a respective computer fitted therein so as each aircraft makes a journey the computers therein are rendered mobile, and those computers are said mobile computers in said system.

4. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein at least one of the computer server devices is connected to receive relevant data from an external source to said system.

5. A method as claimed in claim 4 wherein said external source is a media production house which has a data exchange link with said computer server device.

6. A method as claimed in claim 3 wherein said relevant data is data for use in providing entertainment and/or information to passengers of the aircraft.

7. A method as claimed in claim 3 wherein each airport terminal has a LAN and that each aircraft boarding area at said airport have a respective computer server connector connected to said LAN, and wherein when data is transferred to said computer server, it is made available at all other computer server connectors in said LAN which are for connecting with mobile computers.

8. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein when data is transferred it is transferred to unoccupied file area in storage memory, and that after transfer, software is invoked to determine if all data to be transferred has been transferred and only then causing that transferred data to be useable in lieu of any older data which may be in the storage memory.

9. A method as claimed in claim 8 wherein the transferred data is checked to determine that all data intended to be transferred has been transferred and then the data it is intended to replace is deleted.

10. A method as claimed in claim 9 wherein the transferred data is given the same file name or a same part file name as any data deleted.

11. A method as claimed in claim 3 wherein said computer server and the storage medium at the computer server are stored in a secure area at an airport.

12. A method of propagating data throughout a computer system having mobile computers, and a respective computer server device at each of a plurality of fixed sites, said method comprising providing relevant data at said computer server device to be transferred to said mobile computers, making a data exchange connection between a mobile computer and said computer server device when a mobile computer visits said site, providing devices on each side of the connection dedicated to security checking and operating independently of said computers, said devices communicating via a communication line separate to said data exchange line, one of the devices being an Initiator for initiating a security checking request, and the other of the devices being a Respondent for receiving a security checking request from an Initiator, and for providing a pass-through command on said communication line in response to such request, and only in response to said pass-through command allowing data to pass between the two computers via said data exchange line, conducting software checking to determine if relevant data resident in said computer server device is more recent than the relevant data in said mobile computer, invoking further software to transfer the relevant data from said computer server device to said computer if it is more recent than the relevant data in said mobile computer, and if the relevant data in said mobile computer is more recent than the relevant data in said computer server device, invoking said further software to transfer the relevant data from said mobile computer to said computer server device, so that the more recent of said relevant data is resident in both said mobile computer and said computer server device and repeating the process with further mobile computers when they visit said site whereby said relevant data can be propagated, and wherein when relevant data is required to be propagated it is only introduced to a computer server device at one of said fixed sites, and that it is propagated to a further one of said plurality of fixed sites by being transferred to a mobile computer visiting said one site and then to said further one of said plurality of sites when said mobile computer visits said further one of said plurality of sites, thereby providing said further one of said plurality of sites with the relevant data for propagation to further mobile computers which visit said further one of said plurality of sites.

13. A method as claimed in claim 12 wherein said system is an airline system having airport terminals each with a respective computer server device, and wherein aircraft of said airline each have a respective computer fitted therein so as each aircraft makes a journey the computers therein are rendered mobile and those computers are said mobile computers in said system.

14. A method as claimed in claim 12 wherein at least one of the computer server devices is connected to receive relevant data from an external source to said system.

15. A method as claimed in claim 14 wherein said external source is a media production house which has a data exchange link with said computer server device.

16. A method as claimed in claim 13 wherein said relevant data is data for use in providing entertainment and/or information to passengers of the aircraft.

17. A method as claimed in claim 13 wherein each airport terminal has LAN and that each aircraft boarding area at said airport have a respective computer server connector connected in said LAN, and wherein when data is transferred to said computer server, it is made available at all other computer server connectors in said LAN which are for connecting with mobile computers.

18. A method as claimed in claim 12 wherein when data is transferred it is transferred to unoccupied file area in storage memory, and that after transfer, software is invoked to determine if all data to be transferred has been transferred and only then causing that transferred data to be useable in lieu of any older data which may be in the storage memory.

19. A method as claimed in claim 18 wherein the transferred data is checked to determine that all data intended to be transferred has been transferred and then the data it is intended to replace is deleted.

20. A method as claimed in claim 19 wherein that the transferred data is given the same file name or a same part file name as any data deleted.

21. A method as claimed in claim 13 wherein said computer server and the storage medium at the computer server are stored in a secure area at an airport.

22. A method as claimed in claim 12 wherein data is allowed to pass by operation of switches within each of said devices which to complete said data exchange line at each computer.

23. A method as claimed in claim 12 wherein a password exchange is performed between said two devices during said security checking request.

24. A method as claimed in claim 12 wherein the Initiator checks if the Respondent is still connected during the passing of data and terminates the passing of data if the Respondent is not connected.

25. A method as claimed in claim 12 wherein the Respondent checks if the Initiator is still connected during the passing of data and terminates the passing of data if the Initiator is not connected.

26. A method as claimed in claim 12 wherein one of the computers is in a LAN and that the device connected with that computer is configured and operate as a Respondent, and the other computer is a mobile computer and the device connected with that computer is configured as an Initiator and operated as an Initiator.

27. A method as claimed in claim 12 wherein said one of the computers is configured to periodically poll the device connected therewith and if the device is in a pass-through mode to only then initiate a procedure to allow data transfer.

28. A method as claimed in claim 27 wherein said polling is performed not only prior to data transfer but also during data transfer, and if said device is not in a pass-through mode terminating the passing of data.

29. A computer system having mobile computers, and a respective computer server at each of a plurality of fixed sites, said system being for propagating data between said mobile computers and said computer server or vice versa, said computer server and said mobile computers each having a data exchange connection means to allow data exchange therebetween, and also resident software to automatically determine if a mobile computer in data exchange connection with said computer server is an authorized computer, and to determine if a version of data in said mobile computer is more recent than a version in said computer server, and for transferring the version in said computer server, and for transferring the version of said data from said mobile computer to said server if it is more recent than the version in said computer server, and for transferring the version of said data in said computer server to said mobile computer if it is more recent than the version in said mobile computer, and wherein when relevant data is required to be propagated it is first introduced to a computer server at one of those fixed sites, and then to other computer servers at other fixed sites by being transferred to a mobile computer visiting said one of those fixed sites, and to a computer server at another of those fixed sites when said mobile computer visits a further one of said fixed sites, thereby providing said further one of said fixed sites with data for propagation to further mobile computers which visit said further one of said sites.

30. A system as claimed in claim 29 being an airline system having airport terminals each with a respective computer server device, and wherein aircraft of said airline each have a respective computer fitted therein so as each aircraft makes a journey the computers therein are mobile.

31. A system as claimed in claim 29 wherein at least one of the computer server devices is connected to receive relevant data from an external source to said system.

32. A system as claimed in claim 31 wherein said external source is a media production house which has a data exchange link with said computer server device.

33. A system as claimed in claim 29 wherein said data is data for use in providing entertainment and/or information to passengers of the aircraft.

34. A system as claimed in claim 29 wherein each airport terminal has a LAN and that each aircraft boarding area at said airport have a respective computer server connector connected in said LAN, and wherein when data is transferred to said computer server, it is made available at all other computer server connectors in said LAN which are for connecting with mobile computers.

35. A system as claimed in claim 29 wherein said computer server and the storage medium at the computer server are stored in a server area at an airport.

36. A computer system having mobile computers, and a respective computer server at each of a plurality of fixed sites, said system being for propagating data between said mobile computers and said computer server or vice versa, said computer server and said mobile computers each having a data exchange connection means to allow data exchange therebetween, and also resident software to automatically determine if a mobile computer in data exchange connection with said computer server is an authorised computer, and to determine if a version of data in said mobile computer is more recent than a version in said computer server, and for transferring the version of said data from said mobile computer to said server if it is more recent than the version in said computer server, and for transferring the version of said data in said computer server to said mobile computer if it is more recent than the version in said mobile computer so that the more recent version of said data is stored in both said mobile computer and said computer server, there being devices on each side of the connection dedicated to security checking and operating independently of said computers, said devices communicating via a communication line separate to said data exchange line, one of the devices being an Initiator for initiating a security checking request, and the other of the devices being a Respondent for receiving a security checking request from an Initiator, and for providing a pass-through command on said communication line in response to such request, and only in response to said pass-through command allowing data to pass between the two computers via said data exchange line, said Respondent continually checking for the receipt of a security checking request from an Initiator regardless of whether an Initiator is connected thereto, said Initiator and said Respondent repeating the security checking throughout the passing of data between the two computers, and wherein when relevant data is required to be propagated it is only introduced to a computer server at one of those fixed sites, and then to other computer servers at other fixed sites by being transferred to a mobile computer visiting said one of those fixed sites, and to computer servers at another of those fixed sites when said mobile computer visits a further one of said fixed sites, thereby providing said further one of said fixed sites with data for propagation to further mobile computers which visit said further one of said sites.

37. A system as claimed in claim 36 being an airline system having airport terminals each with a respective computer server device, and wherein aircraft of said airline each have a respective computer fitted therein so as each aircraft makes a journey the computers therein are mobile.

38. A system as claimed in claim 36 wherein at least one of the computer server devices is connected to receive relevant data from an external source to said system.

39. A system as claimed in claim 36 wherein said external source is a media production house which has a data exchange link with said computer server device.

40. A system as claimed in claim 36 wherein said data is data for use in providing entertainment and/or information to passengers of the aircraft.