Patent Abstract:
An aircraft galley system is configured with a GAIN to GAIN network that allows for data exchange and communication between each GAIN on the system. By omitting reliance on a galley network controller for acquisition of GAIN data, the present system is simpler, lighter, and more cost-effective. Each GAIN may be polled for data by any other GAIN, such as via a data port, dedicated bus, or wireless connection. The data acquisition between the GAIN and a data collection and display device may be wired in network, wired out of network, or through a wireless link such as a Wi-Fi network.

Full Description:
CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 13/071,416, filed Mar. 24, 2011, which claims priority from U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/318,103, filed Mar. 26, 2010 incorporated by reference in its entirety. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    The present invention relates generally to the field of aircraft data transfer, and more particularly relates to an adaptive data transfer network for managing and sharing information, and this sharing can eliminate the need for a galley network controller. 
         [0003]    Present day commercial aircraft are traditionally configured with a food and beverage preparation area, commonly referred to as a galley. The galley can contain refrigeration units, heaters, and appliances for the preparation of food and beverages, such as ovens, beverage brewing machines, etc. In addition to the devices described above, galley equipment includes such devices as beverage dispensers, ovens, brewers, trash compactors, beverage carts, and the like. All of the galley&#39;s power consuming equipment can run off a single power source that services the network of devices. 
         [0004]    In a typical galley power distribution system, GAlley INserts, or “GAINs,” are power clients that request power in specific time intervals from a galley network controller. In the configuration of  FIG. 1 , the information pertaining to each GAIN has to be transmitted first to the GNC. As a result, a GNC is a necessary element of the system that contributes weight and complexity to the power system as well as costs. In addition, the system of  FIG. 1  does not allow for information to be accessed directly from the individual GAINs, but rather all information must be obtained via the GNC. For example, an aircraft mechanic cannot obtain information contained in a particular GAIN installed in the galley by directly interrogating either the GAIN in question or one of the other GAINs. Rather, the aircraft mechanic must interface with the GNC to investigate what is happening with the individual GAINs. The system&#39;s inflexibility increases the amount of time that an aircraft mechanic or other personnel requires to obtain information from the individual GAINs in addition to making the system heavier and more expensive. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0005]    In view of the foregoing, the present invention seeks to provide greater flexibility and cost savings in a system for a galley, where new equipment behavior may be introduced as part of an adaptive system. That is, each networked device can poll operational and functional characteristics of the other devices connected in the network, thereby eliminating the need for a galley network controller in the system. When additional devices are added or replaced in the system, there is no need to reconfigure a galley network controller since each device can automatically recognize and interrogate the new devices, making the system much more flexible and adaptive. 
         [0006]    The network connectivity and interrogation of various galley GAINs (e.g., coffee makers, water heaters, espresso makers, ovens, chillers, refrigerators, trash compactors and other equipment and appliance used in an aircraft galley environment) make it possible for any network device to transfer useful information (digital data) to any other network device without routing through a central galley network controller. A network display device for displaying the requested device information may be a wired GAIN already in the system, a wired non-GAIN device that may perform specialized data collection and display, a non-GAIN device that may plug into the system but is not a permanent component of the system, or a wireless device that can connect and receive data wireles sly from a GAIN in the network. 
         [0007]    An example of device data that may be collected and stored in a particular GAIN may be the maintenance and fault data for any device in the network. This information can be conveniently retrieved in the system of the present invention by connecting directly to a GAIN in the system, which can poll and store the information for all connected GAINs, and then display the information via a display device such as a laptop computer or a hand-held PDA or smartphone. Access to the galley digital network may be achieved from an access port on a GAIN (such as, for example, an included USB port), an access port on the digital network that connects the GAINs, or a wireless access point. Wireless access points are not limited to non-passive WiFi capability. In other words, data transfer can occur across passive infrared signals. 
         [0008]    The invention uses networked self-aware and system-aware adaptive aircraft galley equipment that can access specialized data from all connected GAINs and transfer the information to any type of digital network access point. It should be noted that this invention could be used even if a GNC is present in the system. For example, a user (flight attendant, aircraft mechanic, etc.) could still access the information by connecting (physically or wirelessly) to one of the GAINs present in the system, without going through the GNC directly. 
         [0009]    The introduction of a small galley network makes it possible for GAIN-to-GAIN information sharing that implements power control arbitration (consistent with ARINC 812 Decentralized Power Control). Other advantages include that a single network display device could be used to locally control and poll all galley equipment for selected information. That is, since the GAINs provide detailed status information and allow for remote control operation, a single, centralized point of control streamlines in-galley operations by having a time-dependent central point of catering control. 
         [0010]    One advantage of this invention is that it provides for multiple options for data collection, status, control and analysis of GAIN-centric specialized data. For example, a wireless (or wired) hand-held device can readily offload data (catering-specific data, maintenance data, FDA-compliant data, etc) from the entire galley network (all GAINs) with the touch of a button, such as for example a smart phone application. In addition, data integrity of the network may be secured via various network authentication methods. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0011]      FIG. 1 : A prior art galley network system architecture; 
           [0012]      FIG. 2 : A GAIN network with in-network wired data collector; 
           [0013]      FIG. 3 : A GAIN network with off-network wired data collector; 
           [0014]      FIG. 4 : A GAIN network with off-network wireless data collector; and 
           [0015]      FIG. 5 : A block diagram of a GAIN device used in the present invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0016]    The present invention is an adaptive, GAIN-to-GAIN data distribution network for collecting galley equipment data from a component of the network without the need for a dedicated galley network controller.  FIG. 2  illustrates a first type of system  10  encompassing the present invention, where a series of galley devices  20  are designated GAIN  1 , GAIN  2 , GAIN  3 , . . . , GAIN n. The GAINs of the system are self-aware and system-aware equipment, in that the devices can not only recognize, store, poll, and communicate its own diagnostic and operational data, but also can recognize, store, poll, and communicate and receive data from other devices on the network. 
         [0017]    The GAINs  20  may be kitchen equipment, such as coffee makers, trash compactors, auxiliary galley lighting, or they may be ovens, refrigerators, drink carts, or the like. The system includes a digital data bus  30  that connects each GAIN  20  to each other in parallel, and permits each GAIN  20  to communicate with each other GAIN in the system. The digital bus provides a conduit by which data can be exchanged throughout the system, and links each of the devices in the system to every other device. It should be noted that other types of connections are possible between the GAINs of the system, including logical connections and wireless connections (see, e.g.,  FIG. 4 ). 
         [0018]    Also connected to the bus  30  is a display device  40  that collects data about the system and displays it on command. That is, the display device  40  can, for example, poll GAIN  1  and request or access certain information about GAIN  1 , such as current power consumption, hours of operation, temperature, life cycles, status, or other diagnostic information that may be present in the device&#39;s memory. Similarly, the display device can request information from GAINs  2 ,  3 , . . . n in a similar manner, and display the information on a designated display screen. However, the display device  40  can access GAIN  1  to interrogate or poll GAINs  2 -n and obtain their data as well. In this embodiment, the display device  40  is hardwired into the system  10  at the data bus  30 . This has the advantage of ensuring that the display device  40  is adapted for the particular system and can be selected to meet the particular needs of the network. In one preferred embodiment, the display device  40  may be a component of one of the GAINs itself. For example, many galley devices already include a display, such as for example brewing equipment, ovens, and refrigerators. These displays can be used to transmit the requested service data of the device or other connected devices. Alternatively, the display device  40  can be a separate, dedicated display device  40  that is not part of any GAIN, but is a permanent member of the network. 
         [0019]      FIG. 3  discloses an alternate embodiment to the system of  FIG. 2 , where the data display device  40   a  is not hardwired into the system  50 , but rather can connect to the system  50  at a data port  180  or other circuit entry point to read the system&#39;s information and display it to a user. The off-network display device  40   a  offers the benefit of multiple possible entry points, and can allow the system  50  to be smaller since the display device  40   a  can be stored elsewhere when not in use. This provides for a more compact configuration and can also provide flexibility as to the type of display device  40   a  used. For example, the system may offer the opportunity to be read by a laptop computer or a hand-held display device such as a PDA, smartphone, or the like. The display device  40   a  may plug into the system using a cable that connects to a data port  180 , and uses a software program or application to tap into the network, and interrogate/retrieve the desired information from one or more of the GAINs  20 . The use of a hand-held display device simplifies the system&#39;s maintenance and lower&#39;s its weight while reducing the overall costs of the system. 
         [0020]      FIG. 4  illustrates yet a third embodiment of the invention, where the display device  40   b  communicates with the network using a wireless link  75  across either a WiFi network, a bluetooth connection, a passive infrared coupling, or other type of wireless communication. In this case, the display device  40   b  links wirelessly to one of the GAINs  20   a  in the system  60 , and extracts the desired information from the GAIN  20   a  in a wireless data exchange. The connected GAIN  20   a  can in turn retrieve and provide information from other GAINs  20  across the connected designated data bus  20 . Alternatively, the GAINs  20   a,    20  can be connected using a wireless connection  70 , or a logical connection (not shown). The benefit of the wireless data acquisition is that a wired connection is not necessary, allowing a technician to retrieve the system&#39;s  60  information without physically connecting directly into the system. Where accessibility is problematic in tight quarters such as aircraft galleys, a wireless connection  75  can prove to be a very helpful feature to those who need to retrieve the information quickly without disassembling or rearranging the galley equipment. 
         [0021]      FIG. 5  illustrates a GAIN  20  that may be used with the present invention, and can represent a chiller, an oven, or any device on the network. The GAIN  20  receives and sends information across the digital data bus  30 , although data exchange as set forth above may take place across other types of connections, both physical and wireless. The data bus  30  connects to a network interface  80  that is part of the GAIN, where data is sent back and forth between a microcontroller  100  that manages the GAIN&#39;s operation. The network interface  80  can be a wired connection, an ethernet connection, a CAN connection, a wireless connection, or the like. The microcontroller  100  interfaces with sensors  110  that monitor the status of the GAIN, and can be current sensors, voltage sensors, temperature sensors, and other types of sensors depending upon the type of equipment. 
         [0022]    The microcontroller  100  also communicates with actuators  120  that perform certain functions of the GAIN, such as a hydraulic actuator for a trash compactor, a solenoid, or a heating element for a beverage brewing apparatus. The microcontroller  100  can also manage and monitor the electro-mechanical status  130  of the GAIN to determine such characteristics as power usage, motor control, heating element control, and the like. Power  160  from a power feeder (not shown) is delivered to the GAIN at a power interface  150 , and the power is converted to usable power by the GAIN at a power conversion circuit  140 , which powers the microcontroller  100  as well as the electro-mechanical actuators  130 . 
         [0023]    A user interface  90  that is accessible from the GAIN&#39;s exterior surface can be a touch screen, keyboard, pointing device, LED indicators, buttons, or the like that may be used to enter and request information into/from the system. Finally, a screen  170  is connected to the GAIN at the user interface  90  and the microcontroller  100  for displaying information and/or data to the user. The data can be data for the GAIN shown, or the data can be from another GAIN that is polled by the microcontroller  100  across the bus  30  or other connection within the network. Thus, in this manner any GAIN&#39;s information can be displayed on display  170 , even GAINs that are not wired physically to the network. 
         [0024]    From the foregoing, it will be appreciated that specific embodiments of the invention have been described herein for purposes of illustration, but that various modifications may be made without deviating from the spirit and scope of the invention. For example, although the food storage and food processing units described above have been described in the context of aircraft usage, in other embodiments, food storage and food processing units that include aspects of the present invention can be used in other food storage and food processing contexts. Accordingly, the invention is not limited except as by the appended claims.

Technology Classification (CPC): 6