Unlted States Patent [19]
`Margis
`
`lllllllllIIlIlIIIIllllIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIlllIlllIllIllll
`USOO5568484A
`[11] Patent Number: '
`5,568,484
`[45] Date of Patent:
`Oct. 22, 1996
`
`[54] TELECOMMUNICATIONS SYSTEM AND
`METHOD FOR USE ON COMMERCIAL
`
`4,866,704
`4,897,714
`
`9/1989 Bergman .............................. .. 370/855
`1/1990 Ichise et a1. ..
`...... .. 348/8
`
`AIRCRAFT AND OTHER VEHICLES
`
`[75] Inventor. Paul A. Marg1s,Irv1ne, Cal1f.
`
`-
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`-
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`-
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`.
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`.
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`_
`
`.
`
`.
`
`.
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`[73] Ass‘gnee' Matsllshlia Am?“ sysitems
`Cowman”, 1mm’ Cahf-
`
`4,958,381
`5,001,642
`5,119,104
`5,142,550
`
`. . . . .. 455/4.1
`9/1990 Toyoshima . . . . . . . . . . . . .
`364/43112
`3/1991 Botzenhardt et a1. .
`6/1992 Heller ........................ .. 342/450
`8,1992 Tymes
`375/206
`
`5,151,896
`
`9/1992 Bowman BT31,
`
`5,168,272 12/1992 Akashi et a1.
`5,195,183
`3/1993 Miller et a1. ..
`
`.370/85.13
`
`395/200.18
`.... .. 395/2002
`
`[21] Appl. No.: 363,228
`_
`[22] Flledi
`
`Dec- 22, 1994
`
`'
`
`3
`
`[51] Int. Cl.6 .......................... .. H04J 3/16; H04L 12/433;
`H04N 7/08
`[52] US. Cl. ........................ .. 370/855; 370/8514; 348/8;
`348/837; 455/63
`[58] Field of Search ................................ .. 370/58.1,58.2,
`
`85.13, 85.14, 85.15, 94.1, 94.3; 379/67,
`88, 89, 93, 94, 101; 348/8, 10, 13, 14,
`15, 836, 837; 455/2, 3.1, 3.2, 4.1, 4.2, 5.1,
`6.3; 340/825.05, 825.06, 825.08, 825.5,
`825.51, 825.07, 325-22, 825-28, 325.29;
`364/424.01, 424.03, 424-04, 424-05, 424-1;
`395/200, 325
`
`[56]
`
`References Cited
`Us‘ PATENT DOCUMENTS
`
`'
`
`8/1993 Takats ......... ..
`5,237,659
`1/1994 Tyrnes et a1. .
`5,280,498
`5,283,868 2/1994 Baker et a1. ..... ..
`5,289,272 2/1994 Rabowsky et a1.
`5,289,378
`2/1994 Miller et a1. ......... ..
`5,301,185
`4,1994 Cherry _ _ I _ _ I _ _ _ _
`5,305,308 4/1994 English et a1.
`5,305,321
`4/1994 Crayford .............. ..
`5,311,515
`5/1994 Henderson et a1.
`5,383,178 "1995 Unverrich ----------- -
`KlOtZb?Ch 6t
`................ ..
`
`370/855
`....... .. 375/200
`340/825.08
`........... .. 348/8
`364/42404
`' _ ' _ _ _ " 370/16]
`370/321
`370/941
`370/855
`370/855
`
`Primary Examiner-AlpllS H. Hsu
`Attomey, Agent, or Firm—LyOn & Lyon
`
`ABSTRACT
`[57]
`A telecommunications system and method for use on aircraft
`and other vehicles. One or more token ring local area
`networks are utilized to provide a telecommunications link
`between a plurality of telephone units and a telephone data
`signal router circuit which, in turn, is coupled to a CEPT E1
`bus and provides telecommunications-data signals over the
`CEPT E1 bus to a cabin telecommumcations un1t.
`
`4,774,514
`4,866,515
`
`9/1988 Hildebrandt et a1. ............ .. 340/825.06
`9/1989 Tagawa et a1. ......................... .. 348/15
`
`4 Claims, 5 Drawing Sheets
`
`CABIN
`TELECOMMUNICATIONS
`UNIT 20
`
`24v
`
`}
`
`25
`
`SATELLITE
`DATA COMMUNICATIONS
`UNIT 22
`
`PASSENGER ENTERTAINMENT
`SYSTEM CONTROLLER 1B
`
`TR
`A
`
`14
`)4
`SEAT
`ELECTRONICS
`BOX
`
`14
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`SEAT
`ELECTRONICS
`BOX
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`TRA
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`TRA
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`12
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`SEAT
`ELECTRONICS
`BOX
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`SEAT
`ELECTRONICS
`BOX
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`SEAT
`ELECTRONICS
`BOX
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`“A
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`TRA
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`14A
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`1 6
`SEAT
`ELECTRONICS 44‘ )
`BOX
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`TRO
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`AREA
`DISTRIBUTION
`BOX
`A
`
`SEAT
`ELECTRONICS —I;
`BOX
`'
`TRA
`(14A
`
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`7- ELECTRONICS
`TRA
`BOX
`64/1
`
`TKO
`
`SEAT
`ELECTRONICS
`BOX
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`TRN
`
`2
`TRN
`
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`AREA
`DISTRIBUTION
`BOXN
`
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`TRN
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`SEAT
`ELECTRONICS
`BOX
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`}
`TRN
`
`SEAT
`ELECTRONICS
`BOX
`Z14N
`
`‘
`
`SEAT
`ELECTRONICS
`BOX
`
`Petitioners' Ex. 1005 - Page 1
`
`

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`US. Patent
`
`Oct. 22, 1996
`
`Sheet 1 0f 5
`
`5,568,484
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`Petitioners' Ex. 1005 - Page 2
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`Petitioners' Ex. 1005 - Page 3
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`

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`Petitioners' Ex. 1005 - Page 4
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`Petitioners' Ex. 1005 - Page 5
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`

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`Petitioners' Ex. 1005 - Page 6
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`

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`5,568,484
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`1
`TELECOlVIMUNICATIONS SYSTEM AND
`METHOD FOR USE ON COMMERCIAL
`AIRCRAFT AND OTHER VEHICLES
`
`FIELD OF THE INVENTION
`
`The ?eld of the present invention is telecommunications
`systems and, more particularly, telecommunications systems
`for use on aircraft and other vehicles.
`Recently, substantial attention has been directed to the
`development of telecommunications systems for use on
`aircraft and other vehicles. These systems generally com
`prise a plurality of arm rest telephone units (ARTs) or
`telephone handsets; a plurality of seat telephone boxes
`(STBs); a plurality of zone telephone boxes (ZTBs); a cabin
`telecommunications unit (CTU); and a satellite data com
`munications unit (SATCOM). Generally, the arm rest tele
`phone units (ARTs), seat telephone boxes (STBs), zone
`telephone boxes (ZTBs), cabin telecommunications unit
`(CTU) and satellite data communications unit (SATCOM)
`are electronically coupled to one another via a standard
`telecommunications bus which employs some type of time
`domain multiplexing protocol. For example, in a conven
`tional aircraft telecommunications system a subset of the
`telephone handsets may be coupled electronically to each of
`the seat telephone boxes (STBs), and subsets of the seat
`telephone boxes (STBs) may be connected via a CEPT E1
`bus to a telephone communications card in each of the zone
`telephone boxes (ZTBs). Finally, the zone telephone boxes
`may be connected via a CEPT E1 bus to the cabin telecom
`munications unit (CTU), and the cabin telecommunications
`unit, in turn, may be coupled via a CEPT E1 bus to the
`satellite data communications unit (SATCOM). The opera
`tion of an aircraft telecommunication system, such as that
`described above and illustrated in FIG. 1, is well known in
`the art and, thus, is not described in detail here.
`Those skilled in the art will appreciate that, while con
`ventional aircraft telecommunications systems such as that
`described above are used on numerous aircraft, it is quite
`di?icult to integrate those systems with the passenger enter
`tainment systems and cabin management systems which are
`currently being offered on some aircraft. Moreover, using
`conventional telecommunications systems it is presently
`common, if not necessary, where both a telecommunications
`system and a passenger entertainment system are to be
`installed on an aircraft, to utilize two separate data commu
`nications systems (one dedicated to telecommunications
`signals and one dedicated to entertainment signals) on the
`aircraft. One reason for this is that in conventional aircraft
`telecommunications systems connectivity between system
`components is provided solely by CEPT E1 standard or
`equivalent buses. Because it is highly desirable to rrrinimize
`the weight of all systems which are to be installed on an
`aircraft, those skilled in the art will recognize that a need
`exists for a telecommunications system which can be readily
`integrated with other systems, such as passenger entertain
`ment systems, already installed on the aircraft. Moreover, a
`telecommunications system, which could be readily inte
`grated with an existing passenger entertainment system, and
`which could utilize much of the same wiring used by an
`existing passenger entertainment system, would be quite
`desirable.
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`SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
`
`The present invention is directed to a telecommunication
`system and method for use on aircraft and other vehicles
`which may be readily integrated with other systems, such as
`
`2
`passenger entertainment systems, already installed on those
`aircraft or vehicles. Moreover, the present invention is
`directed to an innovative system and method for distributing
`telecommunications signals within an aircraft or other
`vehicle.
`In one preferred form, an aircraft telecommunications
`system in accordance with the present invention comprises
`a plurality of telephone units, for example, arm rest tele
`phone units (ARTs); a plurality of ?rst telephone cards each
`disposed in, for example, a seat electronics box (SEB) and
`electronically coupled to a subset of the telephone units; a
`second telephone card disposed in, for example, a passenger
`entertainment system control unit (PESC); a cabin telecom
`munications unit (CTU); at least one token ring local area
`network (LAN) providing a connectivity between the second
`telephone card and the plurality of ?rst telephone cards; and
`a CEPT E1 bus providing a connectivity between the second
`telephone card and the cabin telecommunications unit
`(CTU).
`Those skilled in the art will recognize that at least some
`passenger entertainment systems now on the market, for
`example, the System 2000BTM manufactured by Matsushita
`Avionics Systems of Irvine, Calif, utilize one or more token
`ring local area networks (LANs) to provide data communi
`cations between a passenger entertainment system controller
`(PESC) and a plurality of seat electronics boxes (SEBs).
`Thus, a system in accordance with the present invention may
`be readily integrated with those passenger entertainment
`systems and may use much of the same wiring utilized by
`those entertainment systems._ -
`Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to
`provide a telecommunications system which can be readily
`integrated with an existing passenger entertainment system
`or cabin management system on an aircraft.
`It is another object of the present invention to provide an
`improved system and method for distributing telecommu
`nications signals within an aircraft or other vehicle.
`It is still another object of the present invention to provide
`a telecommunications system and method for use on aircraft
`and other vehicles, wherein at least one general purpose
`local area network (LAN), for example, a token ring net
`work, is used to carry telecommunications voice data from
`a plurality of passenger seat locations to and from a tele
`communications routing circuit which, in turn, provides a
`communications link to a cabin telecommunications unit.
`It is still another object of the present invention to provide
`a telecommunications system for use on aircraft and other
`vehicles, wherein it is not necessary to provide a telecom
`munications connectivity between a plurality of seat loca
`tions using a CEPT E1 bus.
`
`BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
`
`FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a prior art telecom
`munications system for use on aircraft and other vehicles.
`FIG. 2 is a block diagram representing an aircraft tele
`communications system in accordance with one preferred
`form of the present invention.
`‘
`FIG. 3 is a block diagram representing the telecommuni
`cations circuitry disposed in a seat electronics box (SEB) in
`accordance with a preferred form of the present invention.
`FIG. 4 is a block diagram representing the telecommuni
`cations routing subsystem which may be disposed in an area
`distribution box (ADB) in accordance with a preferred form
`of the present invention.
`
`Petitioners' Ex. 1005 - Page 7
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`

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`5,568,484
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`3
`FIG. 5 is a block diagram representing the telecommuni
`cations circuitry disposed in a passenger entertainment sys
`tem controller in accordance with a preferred form of the
`present invention.
`FIG. 6 is a block diagram representing an aircraft tele
`communications system in accordance with another pre
`ferred form of the present invention.
`
`DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE
`PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
`
`4
`The function of a telecommunication system 10 in accor
`dance with the present invention is discussed in some detail
`below but may be summarized as follows. Once it has been
`established that a channel is available on the CEPT E1 bus,
`and the system 10 is ready to commence the transmission of
`voice data over the various local area networks and the
`CEPT E1 bus, the analog voice signals, which are provided
`by an arm rest telephone unit (ART) 12 to a seat electronics
`box (SEB) telephone subsystem 14, are converted to digital
`data signals and stored as data packets in a memory 46
`(shown in FIG. 3). The data packets, in turn, are transmitted
`over the token ring local area networks (LANs) to the
`passenger entertainment system controller (PESC) tele~
`phone card 18 and, from there, transmitted over the CEPT
`E1 bus 24 to the cabin telecommunications unit (CTU) 20.
`Finally, the digital data packets are reformatzted in the cabin
`telecommunications unit (CTU) and forwarded to the satel—
`lite data communications unit (SATCOM) 22 in a conven
`tional fashion for transmission from the aircraft.
`When telecommunications data is received by the satellite
`data communications unit (SATCOM) 22, that data is trans
`mitted back through the system 10 in essentially the reverse
`order of that described above.
`In a preferred for in, data communications over the token
`ring local area networks (LAN s) TR0_N meet IEEE 802.5
`token ring standards, and the token ring data transmission
`rate is preferably set at 16 Mbps. Data communications over
`the CEPT E1 bus 24 preferably meet CCITT standards per
`documents G703, Section 6; 6.704, Section 2.3; and G732,
`Sections 1-7, and the CEPT E1 transmission rate is prefer~
`ably 2.048 Mbps.
`Those skilled in the art will appreciate that at least some
`passenger entertainment systems now on the market, for
`example, the System 2000BTM manufactured by Matsushita
`Avionics Systems of Irvine, Calif., utilize one or more token
`ring local area networks (LANs) to provide data communi
`cations between a passenger entertainment system controller
`(PESC) and a plurality of seat electronics boxes (SEBs).
`Thus, a system in accordance with the present invention may
`be readily integrated with those passenger entertainment
`systems and may utilize much of the same wiring utilized by
`those entertainment systems.
`SEB Telephone Subsystem
`Turning now also to FIG. 3, in a preferred form a seat
`electronics box (SEB) telephone subsystem 14 in accor
`dance with the present invention may comprise a seat box
`telephone board 28, which is coupled via a data bus 30, to
`a seat box microprocessor board 32 and a local area network
`(LAN) interface board 33. The seat box telephone board 28
`comprises a coder/decoder (CODEC) circuit 34, for
`example, part no. CS4231 manufactured by Crystal Semi
`conductor of Austin, Tex.; a direct memory access controller
`(DMAC) 36, for example, part no. 82C206 manufactured by
`Chips and Technology, Inc., of San Jose, Calif; a dual tone
`multifrequency generator (DTMF) circuit, 40, for example,
`part no. TP5088 manufactured by National Semiconductor
`of Santa Clara, Calif; and a subscriber line interface circuit
`(SLIC) 42, for example, part no. HC-5524 manufactured by
`Harris Semiconductor of Melbourne, Fla. The seat box
`microprocessor board 32 comprises a microprocessor 44, for
`example, part no. MC68340 manufactured by Motorolla,
`Inc. of Phoenix, Ariz.; a universal asynchronous receiver
`transmitter circuit (UART) 38, for example, part no.
`SCC26988 manufactured by Signetics, Inc. of Sunnyvale,
`Calif; and a memory circuit 46 (preferably a dual port
`random access memory). The LAN interface board 33
`comprises a token ring local area network (LAN) interface
`
`In an effort to highlight various embodiments and inno
`vative aspects of the present invention, a number of sub
`headings are provided in the following discussion. In addi
`tion, where a given structure appears in several drawings,
`that structure is labeled using the same reference numeral in
`each drawing.
`Telecommunications System Overview
`Turning now to the drawings, FIG. 1 comprises a block
`diagram illustrating a conventional, prior art, aircraft tele
`communications system 1, wherein a plurality of CEPT E1
`buses 3 provide a connectivity between virtually all ele
`ments of the system.
`FIG. 2 comprises a block diagram representing a tele
`communications system in accordance with the present
`invention. As shown in FIG. 2, in one preferred form a
`telecommunications system 10 in accordance with the
`present invention may comprise a plurality of arm rest
`telephone units (ARTs) 12, a plurality of seat electronics box
`(SEB) telephone subsystems 14, one or more area distribu
`tion box (ADB) telephone subsystems 16, a passenger
`entertainment system controller (PESC) telephone card 18,
`a cabin telecommunications unit (CTU) 20, a satellite data
`communications unit (SATCOM) 22; a plurality of token
`ring local area networks (LAN s) TRO’N; and a CEPT E1 bus
`24.
`Each arm rest telephone unit (ART) may comprise, for
`example, a telephone handset, model number RD-AA6501
`XX manufactured and distributed by Matsushita Electronics
`Industrial Co., Ltd., of Osaka Japan. In a preferred form,
`three (3) arm rest telephone units (ARTs) 12 are coupled
`electronically, in a conventional fashion, to each seat elec
`tronics box (SEB) telephone subsystem 14.
`In a preferred form, a plurality of seat electronics box
`(SEB) telephone subsystems 14A_N each servicing a plural
`ity of passenger seat locations are arranged in one or more
`daisy chains and are electronically coupled to each of a
`plurality of area distribution box (ADB) telephone sub
`systems 16A_N via a set of token ring local area networks
`(LAN s) TR A_N. More speci?cally, each area distribution box
`(ADB) telephone subsystem 16 may have coupled thereto as
`many as four (4) daisy chains of seat electronics box (SEB)
`telephone subsystems 14, and all of the seat electronics box
`(SEB) telephone subsystems 14, which are connected via the
`daisy chains to a single area distribution box (ADB) tele~
`phone subsystem 16, are interconnected via a single token
`ring local area network (LAN ) TR A_N. Similarly, each of the
`area distribution box (ADB) telephone cards 16 A_N are
`arranged in a daisy chain and connected to one another and
`to the passenger entertainment system controller (PESC)
`telephone card 18 via another token ring local area network
`(LAN) TRO. The passenger entertainment system controller
`(PESC) telephone card 18 is coupled to the cabin telecom
`munications unit (CTU) 20 via a CEPT E1 bus 24, and the
`cabin telecommunications unit (CTU) 20 is coupled to the
`satellite data communications unit (SATCOM) 22 via a
`CEPT E1 bus 25.
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`Petitioners' Ex. 1005 - Page 8
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`5
`circuit 48, for example, part no. TMS 380 manufactured by
`Texas Instruments, Inc., of Dallas, Tex. Because the opera
`tion of the above-described circuits is well known in the art,
`only a summary description of the function of the above
`described circuits within the telephone system 10 of the
`present invention is provided below.
`Once a passenger activates a handset 12 by, for example,
`removing the handset 12 from an associated mount (not
`shown), the handset 12 will provide to the microprocessor
`44 via the universal asynchronous receiver-transmitter cir
`cuit 38 an “off-hook” message. In response to this message,
`the microprocessor 44 will forward to the LAN interface
`circuit 48 via the bus 30 a message identifying the handset
`12 and requesting that a channel on the CEPT E1 bus be
`made available for the call to be placed via the handset 12.
`This message is sent by the LAN interface circuit 48 to an
`area distribution box (ADB) telephone subsystem 16 and,
`from there, forwarded to the passenger entertainment system
`controller (PESC) telephone card 18. Upon being received
`by the passenger entertainment system controller (PESC)
`telephone card 18, the message is reformatted and forwarded
`over the CEPT E1 bus 24 to the cabin telecommunications
`unit (CTU) 20. In response to this message the cabin
`telecommunications unit (CTU) 20 will designate a channel
`on the CEPT E1 bus for transmission of the call to be made
`by the handset 12 and will forward back through the
`designated channel and the remainder of the system 10 a
`message identifying which CEPT E1 channel will be made
`available for the call. The CTU 20 will also forward back
`through the system a “credit card prompt” instructing the
`user of the handset 12 to enter his or her credit card data by,
`for example, running the user’s credit card through a mag
`netic strip reader disposed in the handset 12. The user’s
`credit card information is provided by the handset 12 to the
`microprocessor 44 via the universal synchronous receiver
`transrnitter (UART) circuit 12 and, then, forwarded through
`the system 10 to the cabin telecommunications unit (CTU)
`20 in the manner described above. If the user’s credit card
`is approved by the cabin telecommunications unit (CTU) 20,
`a message comprising a “dial prompt” (i.e. a prompt to enter
`a desired number and depress the “send” key) is sent by the
`CTU 20 back through the system 10 to the handset 12. Upon
`receipt of a dial tone at the handset 12, the user may enter
`a number to be called and depress the “send” key (not
`shown) of the handset 12 and, in doing so, cause a digital
`message representing the desired number to be forwarded
`from the handset 12 to the microprocessor 44 via the
`universal asynchronous receiver-transmitter (UART) circuit
`12. The digital representation of the number to be called will
`then be forwarded through the system 10 in the manner
`described above to the cabin telecommunications unit
`(CTU) 20 and the CTU will initiate the call via the satellite
`data communications unit (SATCOM) 22.
`Once a call is established, analog voice data provided by
`the handset 12 to the seat electronics box (SEB) telephone
`board 28 is processed in the following manner. The analog
`voice signal generated by the handset: 12 is provided to the
`coder/decoder circuit (CODEC) 34, which comprises a
`digital-to-analog D/A and analog-to-digital A/D converter
`with dynamic A-Law compression. The CODEC 34, in turn,
`converts the analog voice signal to a pulse code modulated
`(PCM) digital data signal with A-Law encoding and, under
`the control of the direct memory access controller (DMAC)
`36, delivers the converted PCM digital data signal via the
`bus 30 to the memory 46. As the PCM digital data signal is
`stored in the memory 46, it is broken into a plurality of data
`packets, each of which comprises 128 bytes of PCM digital
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`voice data. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the
`preferred size of the packets may vary from system to
`system. For example, the packet size might be set to 256
`bytes or 64 bytes depending on the operating characteristics
`of a given system. Once a complete packet of PCM digital
`voice data is collected in the memory 46, that packet is
`transferred under the control of the direct memory access
`controller (DMAC) 36 and the microprocessor 44 via the
`bus 30 to the LAN interface circuit 48. During this process
`the microprocessor 44 adds a header to the beginning of the
`PCM digital data packet and an identi?cation byte to the end
`of the packet. The header de?nes the address within the
`token ring LAN TRO_N to which the PCM digital data packet
`is to be sent, and the identi?cation byte identi?es which
`handset 12 transmitted the packet and within which channel
`of the CEPT E1 bus the packet will be transmitted.
`Upon receiving the packet, header and identi?cation bytes
`from the memory 46, the LAN interface circuit 48 forwards
`the packet, header and identi?cation bytes to the appropriate
`address within the token ring LAN TRA_N. Generally, any
`packets which are transmitted over the token ring LAN s by
`the seat electronics box (SEB) Subsystems 14 will be
`addressed to the area distribution box (ADB) subsystem 16
`which is coupled to the relevant seat electronics box (SEB)
`daisy chain. However, this need not be the case in all
`instances, as the data packets might just as easily be sent to
`other seat electronics box (SEB) locations on the relevant:
`daisy chain or to other seat electronics box (SEB) locations
`within the system 10.
`In a preferred form, the token ring local area networks
`(LANs) TRO_N function in accordance with industry stan
`dard IEEE 802.5 protocol, and the various LAN interface
`circuits 48, 54, 56 and 58 are connected to one another by
`two 100 Ohm twisted pair conductors, i.e. data buses DATA
`1 and DATA 2. Further, in a preferred form only the DATA
`1 bus is used for message transmission. Thus, if a message
`is to be delivered from the ?rst seat electronics box (SEB)
`subsystem 14 A to an associated area distribution box (ADB)
`subsystem 16 A, the message will be passed down the daisy
`chain on the DATA 1 bus to the last seat electronics box
`(SEB) subsystem 16N in the daisy chain and, then, passed up
`the DATA 2 bus (passing through each intervening seat
`electronics box (SEB) subsystem 14) to the area distribution
`box (ADB) subsystem 16. Communications between the
`passenger entertainment system controller (PESC) tele
`phone card 18 and the various area distribution box (ADB)
`subsystems 16 proceed in a similar fashion.
`Those skilled in the art will appreciate that just as the
`handsets 12 may provide analog audio signals to the
`CODEC 34, so also may the dual tone multifrequency
`generator (DTMF) circuit 40 and the subscriber line inter
`face circuit (SLIC) 42. Moreover, the DTMF may, at the I
`instruction of the microprocessor 44, be used to generate
`tones when the numbered keys (not shown) of the handset 12
`are depressed, and the SLIC may comprise a two-to-four
`wire facsimile interface and may be used to provide the
`analog tone signals generated by a facsimile modem to the
`CODEC 34. The transmission of either of these types of
`signals over the system 10 proceeds in the same fashion as
`that described above.
`ADB Telephone Subsystem
`Turning now also to FIG. 4, each area distribution box
`(ADB) subsystem 16 may comprise a microprocessor board
`49 having mounted thereon a microprocessor 50 (for
`example, part No. MC68340 manufactured by Motorolla,
`Inc.) and a memory 52 (preferably RAM); and two LAN
`boards 51 and 53, each having a LAN interface circuit (for
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`Petitioners' Ex. 1005 - Page 9
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`example, part no. TMS 380 manufactured by Texas Instru
`ments, Inc:, of Dallas, Tex.) 54 or 56 disposed thereon. The
`components disposed on the microprocessor board 49 and
`the components disposed on the two LAN boards 51 and 53
`are interconnected via a data bus 55.
`In a preferred form, one of the LAN interface circuits 54
`is coupled to a seat electronics box (SEB) token ring LAN
`TRA_N, and one of the LAN interface circuits 56 may
`comprise a node in token ring LAN TRO which links each
`area distribution box (ADB) subsystem 16 to the passenger
`entertainment system controller (PESC) telephone board 18.
`The primary function of the area distribution box (ADB)
`subsystem 16 is to provide system routing between and
`among the seat electronics box (SEB) subsystems 14, the
`area distribution box (ADB) subsystems 16, and the pas
`senger entertainment system controller (PESC) telephone
`card 18. More speci?cally, as data packets transmitted from
`the seat electronics box (SEB) subsystems 14 are received
`by the LAN interface circuit 54 those data packets are
`forwarded to, and stored in, the memory 52 under the control
`of the microprocessor 50. Next, the data packets are
`retrieved from the memory 52 and provided to the LAN
`interface circuit 56 for transmission to the passenger enter
`tainment system controller (PESC) telephone board.
`It may be noted that the addresses headers, which are
`appended to the data packets transmitted to the area distri
`bution box (ADB) telephone cards 16 from the seat elec
`tronics box (SEB) subsystems 14, comprise both a physical
`address layer and an internet protocol address layer. When
`data packets to be delivered to the passenger entertainment
`system controller (PESC) telephone card 18 are received by
`an area distribution box (ADB) subsystem 16 and forwarded
`to the passenger entertainment system controller (PESC)
`telephone card 18, the physical address layer is removed
`from the header and replaced with a layer identifying the
`physical address of the passenger entertainment system
`controller (PESC) telephone card 18.
`PESC Telephone Card
`Turning now to FIG. 5, in a preferred form the passenger
`entertainment system controller (PESC) telephone card 18
`may comprise a token ring LAN interface circuit 58 (for
`example, part no. TMS 380 manufactured by Texas Instru
`ments, Inc., of Dallas, Tex.), a microprocessors 60 (for
`example, part no. MC68EC020 manufactured by Motorola,
`Inc. of Phoenix, A1iz.), a dual port memory 62, a direct
`memory access controller (DMAC) 64 (for example, part no.
`Bt807l manufactured by Brooktree, Inc., of San Diego,
`Calif), a CEPT E1 interface circuit 66 (for example, part
`nos. Bt85 l0 and Bt8069 manufactured by Brooktree, Inc. of
`San Diego, Calif), and a data bus 68.
`The primary function of the passenger entertainment
`system controller (PESC) telephone card is to provide a
`communications link between the seat electronics box (SEB)
`telephone subsystems 14 (i.e. the SEB and/or ADB token
`ring LANs TROVN) and the cabin telecommunications unit
`(CTU) 20 (i.e. the CEPT E1 bus 24). The function of this
`communications link may be summarized as follows. As
`data packets are received by the token ring LAN interface
`58, the data packets are delivered to, and stored in, the dual
`port memory 62. The data packets are then retrieved from
`the dual port memory 62, reformatted in accordance with
`CEPT E1 protocol (i.e. the headers and identi?cation bytes
`are removed from the packets), and delivered to the CEPT
`E1 interface circuit 66 under the control of the micropro
`cessor 60. Similarly, as data frames are received by the
`CEPT E1 interface circuit 66, data from the frames are
`delivered to, and stored in, the dual port memory 62. During
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`this process, the data packets are reformatted (i.e. headers
`and identi?cation bytes are added) in accordance with IEEE
`802.5 protocol. Then, the data packets are retrieved from the
`dual pore memory 62 and delivered to the token ring LAN
`interface circuit 58.
`As explained in part in the preceding sections, data
`communications over the token ring local area networks
`(LANs) TRCHV meet IEEE 802.5 token ring standards. The
`token ring data transmission rate is preferably set at 16
`Mbps, and the token ring interface circuits are preferably
`interconnected via two 100 ohm shielded twisted pair con
`ductors (i.e. the DATA 1 and DATA 2 buses). Further, data
`communications between the passenger entertainment sys
`tem controller (PESC) telephone card 18 and the cabin
`telecommunications unit (CTU) 20 are provided by the
`CEPT E1 bus 24. The CEPT E1 bus 24 meets CCI'IT
`standards per documents G.703, Section 6; G.704, Section
`2.3; and 6.732, Sections l-7. The CEPT E1 transmission
`rate is preferably 2.048 Mbps, and the CEPT E1 transmis
`sions are provided over two 120 Ohm shielded .twisted pair
`conductors.
`Cabin Telecommunications Unit
`The structure and function of the cabin telecommunica
`tions unit (CTU) 20 is well known in the art and will not be
`explained in detail herein. Moreover, the CTU 20 functions
`in accordance with ARINC speci?cation 746, and may be
`purchased from either Matsushita Electronics Industrial Co.,
`Ltd., of Osaka, Japan (model no. RD-ATl003), or Claircom
`Communications, Inc., of Seattle, Wash.
`Satellite Data Communications Unit Subsystem
`Like the cabin telecommunications unit (CTU) 20, the
`structure and function of the satellite data communications
`unit (SATCOM) 22 is well known in the art and, therefore,
`will not be discussed in detail herein. The SATCOM 22 may
`be purchased, for example, from Honeywell, Inc. of Min
`neapolis, Minn., and its function is also de?ned by ARINC
`speci?cations.
`An Alternative System Con?guration
`Turning now to FIG. 6, in an alternative embodiment a
`telecommunications system 10 in accordance vwith the
`present invention may be con?gured in such a fashion that
`the cabin telecommunications unit (CTU) may be linked
`directly to each of a plurality of zone network: controller
`(ZNC) telephone cards 26 via separate CEPT E1 buses 28,
`and the seat electronics box (SEB) telephone subsystems 14
`may be connected in, for example, one or more daisy chains
`over a token ring local area network (LAN) TR to the zone
`network controller (ZNC) telephone cards 26. In such an
`embodiment, the zone network controller (ZNC) cards 26
`would comprise the same elements and the passenger enter
`tainment system controller (PESC) telephone cards 18
`described above and would function in essentially the same
`manner.
`While the invention is susceptible