Rockwell Collins, Inc.

Rockwell International Corporation

Hughes Aircraft Company

Hughes Electronics Corporation

Ralph P Phillipp

Richard E Sklar

James L Bartlett

Lawrence E Girard

Scott D Miller

Tracy L Decuir

Curtis J Larson

Jim C Williams

Dickey J Berry

David C Frankenbach

Lawrence Girard

Robert Walzer

Fredrick Fidel

Jay E Landenberger

Mark R Zimmerman

Robert U Walzer

A satellite television system that provides live television programming to passengers by integrating direct broadcast satellite services into an in-flight aircraft entertainment system. The system has an antenna disposed on the aircraft that is pointed at a plurality of satellites that are part of a direct broadcast satellite system. The antenna is controlled by an antenna controller and antenna interface unit that send control signals and process status signals to steer the antenna. The antenna is steered to lock it onto RF signals transmitted by the satellites. The antenna interface unit downconverts the received encoded RF signals to provide encoded left hand circularly polarized RF signals and right hand circularly polarized RF signals that contain different sets of television channels. The downconverted encoded RF signals are processed by a receiver to provide encoded video and audio signals of different television channels. The receiver does not decode or D/A convert the downconverted signals. The encoded video and audio signals containing the plurality of channels are modulated in a modulator, which also is used as a combiner to modulate signals derived from other video and audio sources. The modulated and encoded video and audio signals are routed to a video and audio distribution system which distributes the encoded video and audio signals to each passenger's seat. Seat electronics circuitry is located at each passenger's seat that contains a demodulator, decoder, digital to analog converters, and an optional tuner. The seat electronics circuitry demodulates, decodes and D/A converts the modulated and encoded video and audio signals into signals that may be viewed and heard by the passenger at that seat.

Distribution of a large number of live television programs to individual passengers in an aircraft

An in-flight entertainment system provides live video/audio programming to passengers and operators over an aircraft video/audio distribution system. The programming signals are derived from intermediate frequency (IF) signals that are produced by frequency downconverting satellite broadcast signals and supplied over a pair of IF signal output cables. The control signals and the DC power used in the frequency downconversion process are received over the same IF signal output cables, but in a reverse direction. A bias-T connector is provided in each of the IF signal output cables to extract out the control signals and the DC power.

Passenger entertainment system having downconverter control signals and power supplied over output cables

An in-flight entertainment system provides live video/audio programming to passengers and operators over an aircraft video/audio distribution system. The programming signals are derived from satellite broadcast signals that may be in either circular polarized form or linear polarized form. The broadcast signals are collected by two probes and extracted as right and left circular polarized signals. The right and left circular polarized signals are converted into either circular or linear polarized IF signals, and the IF signals are processed by a receiver/decoder unit to produce the live video/audio programming signals.

Passenger entertainment system providing live video/audio programming derived from satellite broadcasts

A lightning protection element is incorporated into the portion of an aircraft signal distribution system which connects an antenna to flight critical equipment. The lightning protection element rejects surge currents associated with direct lightning strikes on the antenna, or its surrounding radome, while passing communication signals without significant interference with those signals. In a preferred embodiment, the lightning protection element comprises an optical fiber isolator element. A segment of optical fiber in the isolator prevents surge currents associated with the lightning strikes from reaching the equipment while passing communications signals transmitted on the signal distribution system.

Method and apparatus for protecting aircraft electronics from lightning

The disclosure describes a moving receiver station capable of receiving broadcast entertainment signals from a first geostationary satellite associated with a first program provider, or from a second geostationary satellite associated with a second program provider. The receiver station is part of an aircraft and includes a tracking antenna and switching and control system that locks the tracking antenna on either the first or second satellite. The switching and control system receives position information, program attribute information and satellite coverage area information to determine when the aircraft is leaving one coverage area and entering another. The switching and control system switches the antenna to the second satellite when the aircraft enters the second coverage area, and limits the availability of received programming based on whether the aircraft is leaving the first coverage area or entering the second coverage area.

Method and apparatus for receiving broadcast entertainment transmissions

A system that provides live television programming to passengers by integrating direct broadcast satellite services into an in-flight aircraft entertainment system. The present invention is a satellite television system that has an antenna disposed on the aircraft that is pointed at a plurality of satellites that are part of a direct broadcast satellite system. The antenna is controlled by an antenna controller and antenna interface unit that send control signals and process status signals to steer the antenna. The antenna is steered to lock it onto RF signals transmitted by the satellites. The antenna interface unit downconverts the received RF signals to provide left hand circularly polarized RF signals and right hand circularly polarized RF signals that contain different sets of television channels. The downconverted RF signals are processed by a receiver/decoder that decodes them to provide video signals corresponding to different television channels. The video signals for the different channels are routed to an video and audio distribution system on the aircraft which distributes live television programming to the passengers. A low-cost single channel receiver/decoder version of the system is also disclosed that provides a single channel of television programming to overhead monitors in an aircraft.

Aircraft satellite television system for distributing television

Distribution of a large number of live television programs to individual

Growing community of inventors

Huntington Beach, CA, United States of America

Ralph P Phillipp