Abstract:
A flight delivery system that utilizes an architectural structure and network that allows real-time digital signals to be stored, retrieved and converted to an audio signal for radio transmission to achieve nearly instantaneous transmission of real-time data. The system, utilizes a computerized reservation system as a source of information and stores it on a database. The information is called up by a computer that converts the data to a digital audio signal. The digital audio signal is then broadcast over airport antennae. The system features programs that allow for a conversion from airport city codes to the common identification for local cities.

Description:
This application claims benefit of Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/038,884 filed Feb. 20, 1997. 
    
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to an improved information delivery system and, more specifically, to an architecture and network that allows real time digital signals to be stored, retrieved and converted to an audio signal for radio transmission to achieve the nearly instantaneous transmission of real-time data. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Without limiting the scope of the invention, the present invention relates to a network for gathering data and translating the data into a user-friendly format for transmission over a user-friendly medium. In such networks, emphasis is heavily placed on the accuracy of the information, the timeliness in the delivery of the information and the mode of the delivery of the information. 
     In the field pertaining to this invention, the transmitted data is airline flight arrival and departure information. In the history of scheduled passenger air transportation, it has always been a goal to get flight arrival and departure information to the public in as an efficient method as possible. In the beginning days of scheduled passenger flight, this information was generally delivered by voice and written word. Passengers would call or, if at the airport, ask an agent of the airline the time of departure or arrival of a particular flight. The information would be available either by the spoken word or a sign located within the confines of an airport. 
     Since that time and continuing to today, the passenger still gets the information the same way. Through the spoken word or through the written word. What has changed tremendously is the way the information is gathered and distributed. In the early days, the scheduling information was set by the airline and then distributed in schedule books. 
     This prior system did not address scheduling changes that occurred after the schedule book was printed. Changes could occur for any number of reasons, including delays due to weather, mechanical problems or because of changes in an airline&#39;s overall flight system. 
     The passengers would not be made aware of these changes until they entered the airport. The duty to inform the passengers fell to the agent at the airport. Overall, the prior manual system was a very inefficient system. 
     As time went on, technology began to introduce changes in the way information was gathered and distributed. With the advent of the Semi-Automated Business Research Environment (SABRE), airlines began to have a tool at their disposal that allowed them to gather information more efficiently. Today, SABRE, a computerized reservation service (CRS), and other CRS&#39;, such as Covia, Worldspan and Apollo, collect and disburse information regarding not only passenger reservation information but also flight information. These CRS&#39; enable information to be more timely disbursed over a wide geographic area almost instantaneously. Today that geographic area includes the entire world. 
     Today&#39;s methods of conveying the scheduled flight information to passengers, include automated telephone flight information services, e-mail, facsimile, use of television screens at airports along with public address systems at individual gates. There are video monitors placed inside the airport structures. Airports also have public address systems that are used to announce the most timely of information, flight cancellations, gate changes, explanations for other nonscheduled events. Large signs have been erected at some airports that provide flight information to people entering the airports. These signs have diminished value during inclement weather because visibility is poor, making it difficult for the visiting airport person to read. 
     Accordingly, today there are various overlays of ways flight information is delivered to the airport visitor. 
     In the case of various large airports where there may be more than one airport terminal, an improved system for providing flight information prior to entering the airport facilities is needed. 
     The instant invention gathers flight information from a variety of sources, both human and computer, and converts it to a user-friendly audio signal, then transmits it to the airport visitor&#39;s automobile via radio frequencies for reception in the airport visitor&#39;s automobile. In this way, real-time information is delivered timely, accurately and in a user-friendly medium. Radio reception is not affected by weather conditions except in the most extreme of conditions. Therefore, the airport visitor has the information needed to determine where they need to go to either take or meet a flight. The radio signal is strong enough that it will reach the airport visitor&#39;s automobile prior to arriving at the airport in most instances, further providing ease of use. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention is an improved flight information collection and delivery system that provides real-time information in a user-friendly format. The invention offers the advantage of delivering real-time information to the airport visitor prior to entering the airport terminal in a way that is timely, accurate and largely independent of environmental factors. 
     It is a primary advantage of the present invention to provide real-time flight information to airport visitors. This is accomplished by connecting input from a variety of sources to a virtual network. As information is gathered about a specific flight, it is fed through a network to a computerized network. The information may include expected time of arrival, departure times, flight number, gate information, etc. The computer network is a computerized reservation system (CRS). The flight information is gathered by the CRS as part of its normal operations. It is converted into a computer language that allows it to be processed by the computer and then used to do a variety of functions, including scheduling flights, assigning crews, keeping updated information on weather, etc. 
     The present invention takes this raw data in its computer language form and retrieves arrival and departure information. It should be noted that this information is the most current and comprehensive information that can be obtained about a particular flight. This information is taken from the CRS and stored on a file server. A personal computer, p.c., then accesses the file server on a periodic basis. It takes the information, retrieves and transmits it to a second p.c. that converts the computer language into a form that permits audio reception on radios. The signal is broadcast via a radio transmitter to the airport visitor. In this way, the airport visitor receives the most current information in a convenient and timely manner. 
     Another advantage of this invention is that the system will reboot itself, without human intervention and the reboot will be virtually invisible to the ultimate user. By utilizing a particular memory location and placing a bit where one was not before, the system will automatically recognize when the bit is missing. The bite will be missing when the system is not receiving information from the data storage on the file server. Monitoring the location is a background task. The background task will read that that location is empty and force a hard reading. 
     For a more complete understanding of the present invention, including its features and advantages, reference is now made to the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     In the drawings: 
     FIG. 1 is a high level block diagram of a network according to one aspect of this invention; 
     FIG. 2 is a high level block diagram of the equipment that receives the data through to the transmission; and 
     FIG. 3 is a high level block flow chart of the steps the system undertakes to present the information. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     In the following detailed description, a user shall mean and encompass a single user, a plurality of users or anyone of a plurality of users. The word &#34;user&#34; shall be used to mean anyone using an airport facility. Also, a node shall be understood to mean an entry point into a network, a network element, server or other designated point of access. Other similar connotations shall be obvious to those skilled in the art upon reference to this disclosure. 
     In FIG. 1, the flight information network is shown and generally denoted as 5. Flight information network 5 is a network connected to a variety of flight information sources. The information enters through various nodes. The nodes consist of output monitors 10, printers 15, computerized reservation system (CRS) 20, and a file server 25 having a database 30. The output monitors 10 are used to output information regarding flight arrivals and departures at various locations from around the world. The flight information is sent to CRS 20 from various sources where it is stored and then transmitted out to the nodes. This information is received at an airport local area network LAN 35. 
     The information stored in the CRS 20 is delivered to the airport LAN 35 where it is then disbursed to various nodes. These nodes may include the monitors 10, the printers 15 and other output devices. 
     The present invention is a part of, and accesses, the LAN 35 to retrieve the information it needs to broadcast to the airport visitor. As previously mentioned, the LAN 35 also has a database 30 as part of a file server 25. The database 30 also captures the flight information received from the CRS 20 and culls it out from the other information. The information is held here until it is called up by personal computer 45. It is the role of personal computer 45 to receive flight information from the file server 25. Personal computer 45 takes the information retrieved from the file server 25 and converts it to an audio wave file. In the present invention, this is a typical audio wave file as developed by Microsoft. In this process, the soundblaster is initialized. The core of this function is called playwave. It first initializes the soundblaster. Then in the next step it allocates memory to receive the header information. It checks to make sure the digital signal processor is present and functioning properly. The playwave function calls all subsequent functions to the header file to read the wave. The timing loop is also set during this time. The time is set in the file server 25 from input from the CRS 20. 
     In FIG. 2, a high level block diagram of the equipment that receives the data is shown. Personal computer 45 is configured with a digital signal processor, DSP, which is 100% soundblaster compatible 16, version 4.0 or greater, with a 16 bit DMA access. Such a DSP is manufactured by Creative Labs. It is available royalty free over the Internet and needs slight customization for use with the invention. The necessary modifications are obvious to one skilled in the art. 
     The database 30 has a spelling disk 50 associated with it. Each airport has a separate and distinct city code associated with it. For example, the airport located between Dallas and Fort Worth is identified by the city code DFW. The city code of the airport at Fresno is FAT. The city code for Chicago&#39;s O&#39;HARE field is ORD. Accordingly, one of the things the program must do is to translate the airport name from the city code into an audio wave file the name of the city that is recognizable to the user. 
     To do this a spelling disk 50 is associated with the local personal computer 45. The spelling disk uses a routine that automatically translates from city code to user language. A separate routine is required for this because the system needs to be able to differentiate between similar city names. For example, when the city San Jose is mentioned, one needs to know if this is San Jose, Calif. or San Jose, Costa Rica. Another example would be Monterrey, Calif. and Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico. 
     The same logistics encountered with the real time automated voice response system for flight information occurs here with this system. A person having ordinary skill in the art would be familiar with the work necessary to handle all the nuances that are associated with changing city codes to audible city names. Listed below is the table that is used to convert city code to audible city names. 
     
         ______________________________________   ABE   Allentown-Bethlehem   ABI   Abilene   ABQ   Albuquerque   ACA   Acapulco   ACK   Nantucket, MA   ACT   Waco   ACV   Eureka Arcata CA   AEX   Alexandria LA   AFW   Alliance-Afw   AGP   Malaga   AKL   Auckland, New Zealand   ALB   Albany   ALO   Waterloo   AMA   Amarillo   ANC   Anchorage   ANU   Antigua   APF   Naples FL   ARN   Stockholm   ASE   Aspen   ASU   Asuncion   ATL   Atlanta   AUA   Aruba   AUH   Abu Dhabi   AUS   Austin   AVL   Asheville   AXA   Anguilla   AZO   Kalamazoo   BAH   Bahrain, Bahrain   BAQ   Barranquilla   BDA   Bermuda   BDL   Hartford-Springfield   BFL   Bakersfield   BGI   Barbados   BHM   Birmingham AL   BHX   Birmingham UK   BJX   Leon Mexico   BMI   Bloomington IL   BNA   Nashville   BOG   Bogota, Colombia   BOI   Boise, Idaho   BOS   Boston   BPT   Beaumont-Port Arthur   BQK   Brunswick GA   BQN   Aguadilla PR   BRL   Burlington IA   BRU   Brussels, Belgium   BTR   Baton Rouge   BUD   Budapest, Hungary   BUF   Buffalo   BUR   Burbank   BWI   Baltimore-Washington   BZE   Belize City, Belize   CAE   Columbia SC   CAK   Akron-Canton   CCS   Caracas   CGH   Sao Paulo, Brazil   CHA   Chattanooga   CHS   Charleston SC   CIC   Chico CA   CID   Cedar Rapids-Iowa City   CKB   Clarksburg WV   CLD   Carlsbad CA   CLE   Cleveland   CLL   College Station   CLO   Cali, Colombia   CLT   Charlotte NC   CMH   Columbus OH   CMI   Champaign-Urbana   CNF   Belo Horizonte Brazil   COS   Colorado Springs   CPT   Cape Town   CRP   Corpus Christi   CSG   Columbus GA   CUN   Cancun   CUR   Curacao, Netherland Anti   CUU   Chihuahua, Mexico   CVG   Cincinnati   CWA   Wausau-Stevens Pt   CZM   Cozumel   DAB   Daytona Beach   DAY   Dayton   DBQ   Dubuque   DCA   Washington-National   DEC   Decatur IL   DEN   Denver   DFW   Dallas-Ft Worth   DOH   Doha, Qatar   DOM   Dominica   DRO   Durango Colorado   DSM   Des Moines   DTW   Detroit   DUS   Dusseldorf   EGE   Vail CO   EIS   Tortola Beef Island   ELP   El Paso   ESF   Alexandria   EUG   Eugene OR   EVV   Evansville IN   EWN   New Bern NC   EWR   Newark   EYW   Key West   EZE   Buenos Aires, Argentina   FAI   Fairbanks   FAR   Fargo   FAT   Fresno   FAY   Fayetteville NC   FDF   Fort De France   FLL   Ft Lauderdale   FLO   Florence SC   FMN   Farmington NM   FMY   Fort Myers   FNT   Flint   FPO   Freeport, Bahamas   FRA   Frankfurt, Germany   FSD   Sioux Falls   FSM   Ft Smith   FTW   Fort Worth   FWA   Ft Wayne   FYV   Fayetteville AR   GCM   Grand Cayman   GDL   Guadalajara, Mexico   GEO   Georgetown, Guyana   GGG   Longview-Kilgore   GGT   George Town   GHB   Governors Hrbr   GIG   Rio De Janeiro   GLA   Glasgow UK   GLS   Galveston, Texas   GND   Grenada   GPT   Gulfport Biloxi   GRB   Green Bay   GRR   Grand Rapids   GRU   Sao Paulo, Brazil   GSO   Greensboro   GSP   Greenville-Spartanburg   GSW   Ft.worth-Great Southwest   GTR   Columbus-Starkville   GUA   Guatemala City   GUC   Gunnison   GYE   Guayaquil, Ecuador   HDN   Steamboat Springs   HDQ   Test City   HEL   Helsinki, Finland   HHH   Hilton Head   HKY   Hickory NC   HNL   Honolulu   HOU   Houston-Hobby   HPN   Westchester Cty   HRL   Harlingen   HSV   Huntsville   HUF   Terre Haute   HUX   Huatulco MX   IAD   Washington-Dulles   IAH   Houston Intercontinental   ICT   Wichita   IDA   Idaho Falls   IFP   Laughlin-Bullhead City   ILE   Killeen   ILM   Wilmington NC   IND   Indianapolis   INT   Winston-Salem   ISP   Long Island MacArthur   IYK   Inyokern CA   JAC   Jackson Hole   JAN   Jackson MS   JAX   Jacksonville   JFK   New York-JFK   JNB   Johannesburg   JXN   Jackson MI   KIN   Kingston, Jamaica   LAF   Lafayette IN   LAN   Lansing   LAS   Las Vegas   LAW   Lawton   LAX   Los Angeles   LBB   Lubbock   LCH   Lake Charles   LEX   Lexington   LFT   Lafayette LA   LGA   New York-LGA   LGB   Long Beach   LGW   London-LGW   LHR   London-LHR   LIM   Lima, Peru   LIT   Little Rock   LMT   Klamath Falls   LPB   La Paz, Bolivia   LRD   Laredo   LRM   Casa De Campo-LRM   LSE   Lacrosse-Winona   LYH   Lynchburga VA   MAD   Madrid, Spain   MAF   Midland-Odessa   MAN   Manchester UK   MAR   Maracaibo   MAZ   Mayaguez, PR   MBJ   Montego Bay, Jamaica   MBS   Saginaw   MCE   Merced CA   MCI   Kansas City   MCO   Orlando   MCT   Muscat Oman   MDT   Harrisburg   MDW   Chicago-Midway   MEI   Meridian MS   MEL   Melbourne, Australia   MEM   Memphis   MEX   Mexico City   MFE   McAllen   MFR   Medford Oregon   MGA   Managua, Nicaragua   MGM   Montgomery   MHH   Marsh Harbor, Bahamas   MIA   Miami   MIE   Muncie   MKE   Milwaukee   MKG   Muskegon MI   MLB   Melbourne FL   MLI   Moline IL   MLU   Monroe   MOB   Mobile   MOD   Modesto CA   MQT   Marquette   MRY   Monterey CA   MSN   Madison WI   MSP   Minneapolis-St Paul   MSY   New Orleans   MTH   Marathon FL   MTY   Monterrey, Mexico   MUC   Munich, Germany   MVD   Montevideo, Uruguay   MWX   Mosstown Bahamas   MXP   Milan, Italy   MYR   Myrtle Beach   NAP   Naples FL   NAS   Nassau, Bahamas   NRT   Tokyo-Narita   OAJ   Jacksonville NC   OAK   Oakland   OGG   Kahului Maui   OKC   Oklahoma City   OMA   Omaha   ONT   Ontario CA   ORD   Chicago   ORF   Norfolk   ORY   Paris, France   OWB   Owensboro KY   OXR   Oxnard   PAH   Paducah KY   PAP   Port Au Prince   PBI   West Palm Beach   PDX   Portland OR   PGV   Greenville NC   PHF   Newport News   PHL   Philadelphia   PHX   Phoenix   PIA   Peoria   PIE   St Petersburg   PIT   Pittsburgh   PLS   Providenciales, Turks   PNS   Pensacola   POP   Puerto Plata, DR   POS   Port Of Spain, Trinidad   POU   Poughkeepsie   PRX   Paris, TX   PSE   Ponce, Pr   PSP   Palm Springs   PTP   Pointe A Pitre   PTY   Panama City   PUJ   Punta Cana, Dr   PVD   Providence   PVR   Puerto Vallarta   RDD   Redding   RDM   Redmond OR   RDU   Raleigh-Durham   RFD   Rockford IL   RIC   Richmond   RNO   Reno   ROA   Roanoke   ROC   Rochester NY   RST   Rochester MN   RSW   Fort Myers   SAL   San Salvador   SAN   San Diego   SAP   San Pedro Sula   SAT   San Antonio   SAV   Savannah   SBA   Santa Barbara   SBN   South Bend   SBP   San Luis Obispo   SCC   Deadhorse-Prudhoe Bay AK   SCK   Stockton CA   SCL   Santiago, Chile   SCQ   Sntiago D Cmpst   SDF   Louisville   SDQ   Santo Domingo   SEA   Seattle-Tacoma   SEL   Seoul, Korea   SFB   Sanford FL   SFO   San Francisco   SGF   Springfield MO   SHV   Shreveport   SID   Cape Verde Is   SIN   Singapore   SJC   San Jose, California   SJD   Los Cabos   SJO   San Jose, Costa Rica   SJT   San Angelo   SJU   San Juan   SKB   St Kitts   SLC   Salt Lake City   SLU   St Lucia   SMF   Sacramento   SMX   Santa Maria   SNA   Orange County   SPI   Springfield IL   SPS   Wichita Falls   SRQ   Sarasota   STL   St Louis   STS   Santa Rosa, CA   STT   St Thomas, USVI   STX   St Croix, USVI   SUX   Sioux City IA   SVD   St Vincent   SVO   Moscow, Russia   SWF   Newburgh Stewart   SXM   St Maarten   SYD   Sydney, Australia   SYR   Syracuse   TAM   Tampico   TCB   Treasure Cay   TCL   Tuscaloosa   TFS   Tenerife   TGU   Tegucigalpa   TLH   Tallahassee FL   TOL   Toledo   TPA   Tampa   TPL   Temple TX   TSS   MidtownManhattan   TUL   Tulsa   TUS   Tucson   TVC   Traverse City   TXK   Texarkana   TXL   Berlin   TYR   Tyler   TYS   Knoxville   UIO   Quito, Ecuador   UVF   St Lucia   VIJ   Virgin Gorda   VIS   Visalia   VLN   Valencia   VPS   Ft Walton Beach   VRB   Vero Beach, Fl   VVI   Santa Cruz, Bolivia   WAW   Warsaw   YEG   Edmonton   YHM   Hamilton, Canada   YHZ   Halifax   YOW   Ottawa   YQB   Quebec City   VPS   Ft Walton Beach   VRB   Vero Beach, Fl   VVI   Santa Cruz, Bolivia   WAW   Warsaw   YEG   Edmonton   YHM   Hamilton, Canada   YHZ   Halifax   YOW   Ottawa   YQB   Quebec City   YUL   Montreal   YVR   Vancouver BC   YWG   Winnipeg MB   YYC   Calgary   YYZ   Toronto   ZIH   Zihuatanejo   ZRH   Zurich, Switzerland   ZRK   Rockford IL   ZSA   San Salvador BH______________________________________ 
    
     The CRS 20 retrieves, stores and dispatches information about every matter concerning a flight. This information includes all take offs and landings. They are reported through the CRS 20 and then the information is dispensed throughout the system. The flight information is retrieved and stored into a database 30. This information is, in turn, be called up for use by the file server 25 in response to periodic requests from personal computer 45. 
     Because a large amount of information is received from the CRS 20, other information above and beyond arrival and departure times may also be retrieved. These enhancements would include other airline information. For example, the present invention may be used to identify not only the flight arrival time, but also the airline for which the craft is flying. 
     In another embodiment the present invention may have a continuous loop that periodically repeats the identity of the airline for whom the flight information is being provided. 
     All of this information is fed into the personal computer 45 where, as stated previously, a wave file is called up to translate the information from machine language into a user-friendly format. 
     From the personal computer 45, the information is transmitted to an audio plug 55 The audio plug 55 goes directly to a regular telephone circuit 60. The audio plug connects personal computer 45 with the airport network. The circuit may be a dedicated line or part of a vertical network. In the preferred embodiment, it is a part of a dedicated line. 
     The telephone circuit goes out to an airport LAN 63 shown at FIG. 2. The airport LAN 63 includes a radio transmitter 65 located at the airport. In the preferred embodiment the radio transmitter is a 60 watt transmitter with a broadcast radius of 10 miles. The broadcast is received on a user&#39;s radio and the user then audibly hears pertinent information regarding flight arrival and departure. 
     FIG. 3 is a high level flow chart showing the steps of the software program. In general, the program first loads the software configuration. Then it looks for and connects to the network. From the network, the software locates the file server and transfers flight information into half of a buffer. At the same time, it initializes the soundblaster and wave files and DMA. Next, it sets up the wave file and DSP. The information is then converted to an audio format and then sent to the airport LAN 63 to be sent to an equalizer 70. From the equalizer 70, the information is sent to a transmitter 65 and from there out through airport antennaes 75. 
     A copy of the source code follows. It is an embodiment of the invention but the invention should not be limited to this code. It is provided as an example. ##SPC1##