Patent Description:
For example, <CIT> discloses a method of displaying passenger information on a monitor at each seat using an in-flight entertainment (IFE) system.

Patent Application <CIT> relates to in-flight entertainment (IFE) communication for providing content to a passenger via a personal electronic device (PED). A PED is registered with the IFE system by generating a registration token image for each passenger seat display by the IFE controller. The passenger places the PED adjacent to the seat display and senses the token image with a PED built-in optical sensor. Based on the sensed registration token image, the PED sends via NFC a registration ID to the IFE controller. After registration, the user may select among functions, such as operating (i) the PED as remote control for controlling the displayed video, (ii) the PED video source to display video on the seat display, and (iii) the PED display to display thereon video. Patent Application <CIT> relates to in-flight entertainment (IFE) services and in particular, to provision of wireless connectivity between passenger terminals and video displays, controlled by a central Bluetooth (BT) controller. The wireless connectivity between passenger seat displays and user PEDS having a Bluetooth and/or WiFi capability is controlled. The entertainment system includes video display units establishing Bluetooth connections with user terminals. The user terminals (PEDs) initiate BT connections with the displays by transmitting BT connection requests to the displays. The central BT controller receives the connection authorization requests from the displays and generates connection authorization decisions based on a BT connection rule to the PED characteristics. The PEDs are identified from the connection authorization requests. The connection authorization decisions are used to control whether BT connections are established between the PEDs and the displays, and to control what security mode levels are used when establishing and using the BT connections.

The document <CIT> describes a communication system which includes a first electronic device and at least one second electronic device. The second electronic device has a communication function section having a function for performing communication and an identification image presentation section which provides, at a position that can be captured from outside, an identification image having device information including the type of a communication standard for the communication to be performed by the communication function section.

In recent years, many of the passengers carry their own wireless terminals such as smartphones. Passengers have a demand for using content etc. from the IFE system by allowing their wireless terminals to communicate with the IFE system. However, in moving objects such as aircrafts, the use of radio is often restricted in light of safety or by laws and regulations of countries. Furthermore, in an environment where passengers are not used, even if wireless communication is available, it may take time for passengers to make a wireless connection and thereby make passengers feel stressed.

The present disclosure provides a wireless communication management apparatus, a wireless communication management system, and a wireless communication management method that are effective to make the wireless connection accessible to users even in an environment where the use of wireless communication is restricted.

Hereinafter, embodiments will be described in detail, with reference to the drawings when appropriate. Any explanations deemed unnecessary may be omitted. For example, detailed descriptions of well-known aspects or duplicate descriptions of substantially identical components may be omitted from this disclosure.

It is to be noted that the attached drawings and the following description are provided to enable those skilled in the art to fully understand the present disclosure, and they are not intended to limit the claimed subject matter.

As shown in <FIG>, the wireless communication management system <NUM> according to Embodiment <NUM> is disposed in an aircraft, which is an example of a moving object.

As shown in <FIG> and <FIG>, the wireless communication management system <NUM> includes a wireless communication management apparatus <NUM>, a display devices <NUM> disposed on a seat where a passenger (hereinafter referred to as a user) is to be seated, a wireless terminal <NUM> used by the user, and a wireless access point (AP) <NUM>. The wireless communication management apparatus <NUM> is connected to a plurality of display devices <NUM> via a wired cable or a distributor (not shown). A plurality of wireless access points <NUM> are provided according to the size of the cabin of the aircraft and the number of seats.

The wireless communication management system <NUM> is connectable to the aircraft management system <NUM>, and acquires aircraft location information and the like, as will be described later. The aircraft management system <NUM> acquires, updates and stores management information for the aircraft. The management information includes operational information (estimated arrival time, departure time, velocity, direction of travel, etc.), location information (longitude, latitude, altitude, etc.) on the aircraft, seat information (seat number, etc.) and other such information.

The wireless communication management system <NUM> may function as a part of the IFE system.

The configuration of each device included in the wireless communication management system <NUM> will be described below with reference to <FIG>.

The wireless communication management apparatus <NUM> is, for example, a computer device that functions as a server. The wireless communication management apparatus <NUM> is connectable to one or more display devices <NUM> and provides a wireless communication service to users who are seated in front of the display devices <NUM>.

As shown in <FIG>, the wireless communication management apparatus <NUM> includes a CPU <NUM>, a memory <NUM> and a communication unit <NUM> connected to each other via a predetermined bus.

The CPU <NUM> (an example of a controller) implements each function of the wireless communication management apparatus <NUM> by executing a predetermined program. The wireless communication management apparatus <NUM> implements, as functions, a wireless communication determination portion <NUM>, a wireless terminal determination portion <NUM>, a user state determination portion <NUM> and an output ordering portion <NUM>.

The wireless communication determination portion <NUM> determines whether wireless communication is enabled or disabled in the aircraft. Whether wireless communication is enabled or disabled is determined by, for example, the state of the aircraft, such as whether it is being takeoff or landing, or in stable flight, etc.). Whether wireless communication is enabled or disabled can be also determined by the laws and regulations of the countries that are to be applied to the aircraft. Therefore, the wireless communication determination portion <NUM> determines, for example, from the location information of the aircraft, whether it is currently permitted to use wireless communication within the aircraft. The location information of the aircraft may be obtained from GPS information of the aircraft.

The wireless terminal determination portion <NUM> determines a wireless terminal to be used by the user based on an image of the user seated in front of the display device <NUM>. The wireless terminal determination portion <NUM> mainly determines the presence and type of the wireless terminal. The wireless terminal determination portion <NUM> determines whether or not the acquired image includes an image of a wireless terminal, based on characteristic information (shapes etc.) of various types of wireless terminals. The characteristic information is stored in memory in advance. The wireless terminal determination portion <NUM> further determines the type of the wireless terminal. The type of wireless terminal is, for example, whether it is a smartphone, headphones, a digital camera, a portable game terminal, a handset, a remote controller, PC or the like.

The wireless terminal determination portion <NUM> further determines a wireless communication system applied to the wireless terminal. The wireless communication system is, for example, Wi-Fi (registered trademark) or Bluetooth (registered trademark). For example, if the wireless terminal determined by the wireless terminal determination portion <NUM> is a smartphone, the wireless communication system is determined to be Wi-Fi. If the wireless terminal is headphones, the wireless communication system is determined to be Bluetooth. Alternatively, the wireless terminal determination portion <NUM> may determine the wireless communication system by identifying a mark for the wireless communication system within the image, such as a mark or logo indicated on the wireless terminal.

The user state determination portion <NUM> determines whether the user is using a wireless terminal. The user state determination portion <NUM> determines whether the user is using the wireless terminal from the image. The determination can be made based on, for example, whether the user is holding the wireless terminal in hand or the user is moving his hand near the wireless terminal in the image. Alternatively, the user state determination portion <NUM> may determine whether the user needs a wireless connection, based on the user's expression or action included in the image. For example, the user state determination portion <NUM> may determine that the user needs a wireless connection by judging that the user is in a state of being confused because the user does not know how to make the wireless connection setting. On the other hand, when the user state determination portion <NUM> determines from the image that the user is closing his/her eyes (in a sleeping state), it can determine that the user does not need a wireless connection with the user's wireless terminal. The user state determination portion <NUM> may also obtain the operation information of the display device <NUM>, for example, information on whether a movie or program is being distributed to the display device <NUM> by IFE, based on which the state of the user can be determined. For example, during distribution of a movie or program, it may be determined that the user does not need a wireless connection with the user's wireless terminal.

The output ordering portion <NUM> transmits an order to a corresponding display device <NUM> to display connection information when wireless communication is enabled. The connection information indicates how to make a wireless connection for performing wireless communication using the user's wireless terminal. The connection information is information corresponding to the wireless terminal determined by the wireless terminal determination portion <NUM>. More specifically, the connection information is connection information according to the wireless communication system determined by the wireless terminal determination portion <NUM>, such as how to set ID information and a password for connecting to the wireless access point <NUM>, or how to set pairing.

The output ordering portion <NUM> may transmit an order to each display device <NUM> to display wireless communication information indicating whether the wireless communication is enabled or disabled. The wireless communication information may include information on an access point capable of wireless communication with the wireless terminals, such as ID information and a password. The output ordering portion <NUM> may transmit an order to each display device <NUM> so as to display scheduled time when the wireless communication is enabled or when the wireless communication is disabled, based on the location information and /or the operation schedule of the aircraft.

The memory <NUM> includes a semiconductor memory, a flash memory, a nonvolatile memory such as an HDD, or a combination thereof. The memory <NUM> stores software programs used in the wireless communication management apparatus <NUM> and various data. In particular, the memory <NUM> includes an image storage <NUM>, location information storage <NUM>, wireless terminal information storage <NUM>, and connection information storage <NUM>.

The image storage <NUM> stores an image of the user at each seat where the display device <NUM> is installed. The image of the user is updated at every predetermined time. The location information storage <NUM> stores location information of the aircraft. The location information of the aircraft is updated at every predetermined time. The wireless terminal information storage <NUM> stores characteristic information (shape, etc.) according to the types of wireless terminals. These pieces of characteristic information may be updated by accumulating image information each time the number of types of wireless terminals that need to be determined increases. The connection information storage <NUM> stores connection information of wireless communication systems that can be applied to various types of wireless terminals.

The communication unit <NUM> includes a circuit for communicating with a computer device connected to the wireless communication management apparatus <NUM>, such as a network card or a network adapter. The communication unit <NUM> is connected to the display devices <NUM> and the wireless access point <NUM> via a cable or the like.

A display device <NUM> is installed at each seat. As shown in <FIG>, the display device <NUM> includes a CPU <NUM>, a memory <NUM>, a wire communication unit <NUM>, a near-field wireless communication unit <NUM>, a monitor <NUM>, an input unit <NUM>, and a camera <NUM> for implementing the functions of the display device <NUM>.

The CPU <NUM> implements each function of the display device <NUM> by executing a predetermined program. In response to a displaying order from the wireless communication management apparatus <NUM>, the CPU <NUM> causes the monitor <NUM> to display information on whether the wireless communication is enabled or disabled, how to make a wireless connection with the designated wireless terminal, or the like. The CPU <NUM> also acquires an image of the user captured by the camera <NUM>, which will be described later. The CPU <NUM> transmits the image to the wireless communication management apparatus <NUM> via the wire communication unit <NUM>.

The memory <NUM> stores data transmitted from the wireless communication management apparatus <NUM> and a program for controlling the display device <NUM>.

The monitor <NUM> has a display screen such as an LCD or an organic EL display. The monitor <NUM> is attached at such a position that the user, who is a passenger and seated, can see the monitor <NUM> easily. The position may be, for example, the rear portion of a seat in front of the user.

The input unit <NUM> is an input unit such as a touch panel displayed on the monitor <NUM> or a remote controller provided with operation buttons. The input unit <NUM> transmits information input by the user's operation to the CPU <NUM>.

The wire communication unit <NUM> includes, for example, a connection terminal, and is connected to the wireless communication management apparatus <NUM> via a cable or the like.

The near-field wireless communication unit <NUM> (an example of a wireless communication unit) includes an antenna for wireless communication, a wireless circuit, or the like, and performs data communication with a wireless terminal by wireless communication at close range. For example, Bluetooth is used as a wireless communication system used in this data communication. The near-field wireless communication unit <NUM> is turned on or off according to an order from the wireless communication management apparatus <NUM>. If wireless communication is disabled in the aircraft, the near-field wireless communication unit <NUM> is turned off, and if wireless communication is enabled, it is turned on.

The camera <NUM> is disposed so as to have an imaging range in front of the monitor <NUM>. The camera <NUM> captures an image of the user seated in front of the monitor <NUM>.

As shown in <FIG>, the wireless access point <NUM> is, for example, a Wi-Fi access point. The wireless access point <NUM> includes a CPU <NUM>, a memory <NUM>, a wireless communication unit <NUM>, and an in-flight network (NW) communication unit <NUM>.

The CPU <NUM> implements each function of the wireless access point <NUM> by executing a predetermined program. In particular, the CPU <NUM> controls the wireless connection between the wireless communication unit <NUM> and the wireless terminal <NUM> to connect each wireless terminal <NUM> to the wireless communication management apparatus <NUM>.

The memory <NUM> stores data and a program for controlling the wireless access point <NUM>.

The wireless communication unit <NUM> transmits a beacon signal and establishes a wireless connection with the wireless terminal <NUM> when wireless communication is enabled in the aircraft.

The in-flight network communication unit <NUM> includes, for example, a connection terminal, and is connected to the wireless communication management apparatus <NUM> via a cable or the like.

The wireless access point <NUM> may have such a configuration that is connected to the aircraft management system <NUM> (<FIG>) and connectable to the wireless communication management apparatus <NUM> via the aircraft management system <NUM>.

The wireless terminal <NUM> is a computer terminal that the user owns or can use. The wireless terminal <NUM> is, for example, a computer device capable of having a wireless communication function, such as a smartphone, headphones, a digital camera, a portable game terminal, a handset, a remote controller, a PC and the like. For example, the wireless terminal <NUM> has a wireless communication function according to one or more wireless communication systems such as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.

The operation of the wireless communication management apparatus <NUM> will be described with reference to <FIG>.

Location information of the aircraft is acquired by the wireless communication determination portion <NUM> of the wireless communication management apparatus <NUM> (S101). Based on the location information of the aircraft, it is determined whether wireless communication is enabled (S102). For example, if the aircraft is in a state in which in-flight wireless communication may be performed in light of the law that is to be applied to the aircraft and in light of safety, the wireless communication is set to be enabled. The wireless access point <NUM> or the display device <NUM> may be given an order and set to enable or disable the wireless communication via the wireless communication management apparatus <NUM>.

When the wireless communication is enabled (Yes in S102), the wireless terminal determination portion <NUM> acquires an image of the user acquired from the camera <NUM> of each display device <NUM> (S103). The wireless terminal determination portion <NUM> determines whether the wireless terminal <NUM> is present or not from the acquired image (S104). The presence or absence of the wireless terminal <NUM> is determined based on the characteristic information (such as a shape) of the wireless terminal <NUM>, which is stored in advance. The wireless terminal determination portion <NUM> also determines the type of the wireless terminal <NUM>. For example, it is determined that the wireless terminal <NUM> is a smartphone.

The user state determination portion <NUM> determines whether the user is using the wireless terminal <NUM> based on the image (S105). For example, when the user is moving his hand near the wireless terminal <NUM>, it can be determined that the user needs a wireless connection with the wireless terminal <NUM>.

The wireless terminal determination portion <NUM> determines a wireless communication system to be applied to the determined wireless terminal <NUM> (S106). For example, in the case of a smartphone, Wi-Fi can be determined as the wireless communication system.

The output ordering portion <NUM> acquires from the memory <NUM> connection information corresponding to the determined wireless communication system, and orders the display device <NUM> to display the connection information (S107). Here, the display device <NUM> displays information on how to make a Wi-Fi connection, such as setting ID information and a password for connecting the wireless terminal <NUM> to the wireless access point <NUM>. The user can connect the wireless terminal <NUM> to the wireless access point <NUM> by operating the wireless terminal <NUM> at hand according to the connection information displayed on the display device <NUM>.

On the other hand, when the wireless terminal <NUM> determined in step S104 is headphones, Bluetooth is determined as the wireless communication system (S106). In this case, the corresponding display device <NUM> displays information on how to make a Bluetooth connection, such as pairing setting.

The flowchart shown in <FIG> is not limited to the one described. The order of the processes may be partially exchanged or may be performed in parallel.

In the wireless communication management apparatus <NUM> or the wireless management method according to Embodiment <NUM>, an image of the user is acquired, and the type of the wireless terminal <NUM> used by the user is determined based on the image. When the wireless communication is enabled, the display device <NUM> displays connection information indicating how to make a wireless connection for performing the wireless communication using the wireless terminal <NUM>. The connection information is information according to the determined type of the wireless terminal <NUM>.

Even in an environment where it is difficult for the user to use the wireless communication, such as in an aircraft, the display device <NUM> automatically displays information on how to make a wireless connection using Wi-Fi or Bluetooth when needed by the user. This helps the user to make a wireless connection with the user's wireless terminal <NUM>, thereby reducing stress on the user. On the other hand, it is possible to prevent giving unnecessary information and annoyance to the user who does not need a wireless connection. In addition, the cost for preparing operation manuals for the wireless communication in the aircraft can be reduced, and the crew members in the aircraft can have a less burden due to a number of inquiries from passengers.

In addition to the determination on whether the wireless terminal <NUM> is present or not and what the type of the wireless terminal <NUM> is, connection information can be displayed on the display device <NUM> only when it is determined that the user is using the wireless terminal <NUM>. Therefore, the connection information can be provided only to a user who is highly likely to use the wireless communication.

Claim 1:
A wireless communication management apparatus (<NUM>) connectable to one or more display devices (<NUM>) for providing a service of wireless communication to a user in front of the display device (<NUM>), the wireless communication management apparatus (<NUM>) comprising:
a wireless communication determination portion (<NUM>) for determining whether the wireless communication is enabled or disabled;
a memory (<NUM>) for storing characteristic information according to a type of a wireless terminal (<NUM>) and connection information, said type including any of a smartphone, a headphone, a digital camera, a portable game terminal, a handset, a remote controller, or a PC;
the connection information being information corresponding to the type of wireless terminal (<NUM>) determined by a wireless terminal determination portion (<NUM>);
an output ordering portion (<NUM>) operable to cause the display device (<NUM>) to output the connection information when the wireless communication is enabled, the connection information indicating how to make a wireless connection for performing the wireless communication using the wireless terminal (<NUM>),
characterized by the wireless communication management apparatus further comprising;
a communication unit (<NUM>) for acquiring an image of the user; and
the wireless terminal determination portion (<NUM>) for determining the type of the wireless terminal (<NUM>) used by the user, based on the image and the characteristic information.