U.S. patent application number 10/744836 was filed with the patent office on 2005-06-23 for content delivery coordinator apparatus and method.
Invention is credited to Taylor, Scott P..
Application Number | 20050136917 10/744836 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 34678979 |
Filed Date | 2005-06-23 |
United States Patent
Application |
20050136917 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Taylor, Scott P. |
June 23, 2005 |
Content delivery coordinator apparatus and method
Abstract
Apparatus and method for managing and coordinating the delivery
of information content in a manner that makes efficient use of the
bandwidth of satellite based transponders being used to relay the
information content to the mobile platforms. The apparatus makes
use of a content management coordinator system having a graphical
user interface (GUI). The GUI interfaces with one or more mobile
platform operators to allow each of the operators to define the
criteria by which various types of information content to be
supplied to the mobile platforms. The apparatus further includes a
file spaced storage monitoring subsystem which allows the file
storage space available on each mobile platform to be monitored,
and files deleted therefrom if necessary, to ensure that newly
requested information content can be stored by the mobile platform.
Information content is coordinated and aggregated as needed to
ensure that transponder bandwidth is used most effectively for
delivering various types of information content to each mobile
platform requesting the content within each coverage region being
controlled by the apparatus.
Inventors: |
Taylor, Scott P.; (Renton,
WA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
HARNESS, DICKEY & PIERCE, P.L.C.
P.O. BOX 828
BLOOMFIELD HILLS
MI
48303
US
|
Family ID: |
34678979 |
Appl. No.: |
10/744836 |
Filed: |
December 23, 2003 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
455/432.1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04L 67/36 20130101;
H04L 67/12 20130101; H04B 7/18508 20130101; H04L 67/2842 20130101;
H04L 67/26 20130101; H04L 29/06027 20130101; H04L 69/329 20130101;
H04L 67/1095 20130101; H04W 4/029 20180201 |
Class at
Publication: |
455/432.1 |
International
Class: |
H04Q 007/20 |
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A system for managing the availability of information content to
be supplied to at least one mobile platform operating within a
predefined geographic coverage region, via a satellite
communications link, the system comprising: a content management
coordinator system for providing said information content to said
mobile platform; an interface operably associated with said content
management coordinator system and accessible via a wide area
network connection with an operator of said mobile platform, and
also with a user on said mobile platform via said satellite
communications link; said interface enabling said operator to
define at least one of: type of information content to be made
available to said mobile platforms from said content management
coordinator system; and a time frame during which said information
content is to be made available to said mobile platform from said
content management coordinator system.
2. The system of claim one, further comprising a delivery apparatus
for interfacing with said content management system and delivering
said information content to said mobile platform in accordance with
selections made by said operator.
3. The system of claim 1, wherein said interface further enables
said operator to select one of three priorities for a delivery of
said information content to said mobile platform, said three
priorities comprising: mandatory delivery of said information
content to said mobile platform; a best effort made to deliver said
information content to said mobile platform; and no priority given
to delivering said information content to said mobile platform.
4. The system of claim 1, wherein said content management
coordinator system monitors an amount of information content
supplied to said mobile platform and supplies commands to a server
on said mobile platform to delete sub quantities of said
information content previously delivered to said mobile platform,
to manage storage of said information content on said server.
5. The system of claim 1, wherein said interface enables said
operator to select a specific type of said information content to
be delivered to said mobile platform at predetermined time
intervals.
6. The system of claim 1, wherein said interface provides
information to at least one of said operator and said user
regarding a cost of providing a given type of said information
content within a given time of day.
7. The system of claim 1, wherein said interface monitors for the
arrival of said mobile platform within said coverage region and
automatically begins supplying said information content in
accordance with a selection previously made by said operator.
8. The system of claim 1, wherein said interface comprises a
graphical user interface.
9. The system of claim 1, wherein said interface enables
communication with an individual located remotely from said system
to enable said individual to pre-select information content to be
made available to him/her on said mobile platform.
10. A system for managing the availability and supplying of
information content to a plurality of one mobile platforms
operating within a predefined geographic coverage region, via a
satellite communications link, the system comprising: a content
management coordinator system for providing said information
content to said mobile platforms; a graphical user interface
operably associated with said content management coordinator system
and accessible via a wide area network connection with an operator
of said mobile platforms, and also with a user on each of said
mobile platforms via said satellite communications link; and said
graphical user interface enabling at least one of said operator and
at least one of said users to select a specific type of information
content to be supplied to said mobile platforms from said content
management coordinator system.
11. The system of claim 10, wherein said graphical user interface
enables at least one of said users and said operator to select a
time frame during which said information content is to be made
available to a give one of said mobile platforms from said content
management coordinator system.
12. The system of claim 10, wherein said graphical user interface
further enables said operator to select one of three priorities for
a delivery of said information content to each of said mobile
platforms, said three priorities comprising: mandatory delivery of
said information content to said mobile platforms; a best effort
made to deliver said information content to said mobile platforms;
and no priority given to delivering said information content to
said mobile platforms.
13. The system of claim 10, wherein said content management
coordinator system monitors an amount of information content
supplied to a given one of said mobile platforms and supplies
commands to a server on said given mobile platform to delete sub
quantities of said information content previously delivered to said
given mobile platform, to manage storage of said information
content on said server of said given mobile platform.
14. The method of claim 10, wherein said graphical user interface
enables said operator to select a specific type of said information
content to be delivered to said mobile platforms at predetermined
time intervals.
15. The system of claim 10, wherein said graphical user interface
provides information to at least one of said operator and one of
said users regarding a cost of providing a given type of said
information content during a given time of day.
16. The system of claim 10, wherein said graphical user interface
monitors for the arrival of said mobile platform within said
coverage region and automatically begins supplying said information
content in accordance with a selection previously made by said
operator.
17. The system of claim 10, wherein said interface enables
communication with an individual located remotely from said system
to enable said individual to pre-select information content to be
made available to him/her on said mobile platform.
18. A system for managing the availability of information content
to be supplied to at least one mobile platform operating within a
predefined geographic coverage region, via a satellite
communications link, the system comprising: a content management
coordinator system for providing said information content to said
mobile platform; a graphical user interface operably associated
with said content management coordinator system and accessible via
a wide area network connection with an operator of said mobile
platform; said graphical user interface providing said operator
with selections for selecting at least one of the following: a
specific type of information content to be made available to said
mobile platform from said content management coordinator system;
and a cost of providing said specific type of information content
to said mobile platform for a given time of day.
19. The system of claim 18, wherein said graphical user interface
further allows said operator to designate a time frame during which
said information content is to be made available to said mobile
platform from said content management coordinator system.
20. The system of claim 18, wherein said graphical user interface
further allows said operator to designate if said specific type of
information content is to be automatically supplied to said mobile
platform as soon as said mobile platform enters said predefined
geographic region.
21. The system of claim 18, wherein said content management
coordinator system monitors availability of storage resources on a
server on said mobile platform.
22. The system of claim 21, wherein said content management
coordinator system further deletes previously stored information
content from said server.
23. The system of claim 18, wherein a user on said graphical user
interface is accessible by a user on said mobile platform to
request delivery of a specific type of information content.
24. The system of claim 18, further comprising a delivery mechanism
for delivering said information content to said mobile
platform.
25. A method for managing a supply of information content to a
mobile platform operating within a predefined geographic coverage
region, via a satellite communications link, the method comprising:
providing a terrestrial based subsystem having access to a
plurality of types of information content; using a graphical user
interface operably associated with said subsystem, and accessible
via a wide area network connection with an operator of said mobile
platform, to enable said operator to select at least one specific
type of said information content to be made available to said
mobile platform upon request by said mobile platform to said
terrestrial based subsystem.
26. The method of claim 25, further comprising using said graphical
user interface to enable said operator to select a time of day that
said specific type of said information content is to be made
available to said mobile platform.
27. The method of claim 25, further comprising using said graphical
user interface to provide cost information to said operator
pertaining to a cost of delivering a selected type of said
information content at a given time of day.
28. The method of claim 25, further comprising user said graphical
user interface to enable said operator to define a priority level
for delivering said selected type of said information content.
29. The method of claim 25, further comprising using said
terrestrial based subsystem to monitor storage capacity of a server
on said mobile platform.
30. The method of claim 25, further comprising using said
terrestrial based subsystem to modify stored data content on said
server as needed to ensure adequate storage space for content
delivered to said mobile platform.
31. The method of claim 25, further comprising providing access to
said graphical user interface to a user on said mobile platform,
and enabling said user to select a specific type of said
information content.
32. The method of claim 25, further comprising using said graphical
interface to enable said terrestrial based subsystem to designate
that a specified type of said information content is to be
automatically delivered to said mobile platform when said mobile
platform enters said predefined geographic coverage region.
33. The method of claim 32, further comprising using said
terrestrial based subsystem to automatically periodically supply a
specific type of content specified by said operator as soon as said
mobile platform enters said predefined geographic coverage region.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] Methods and apparatus for delivering information content
from a ground based content provider to mobile platforms operating
within a predefined coverage region, and more particularly to a
content delivery coordinator system and method which allows a
ground based operator of the mobile platforms to select specific
types of content to be made available to the mobile platforms under
various selected conditions and criteria defined by the
operator.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The demand for information content, such as access to email
accounts, information available over the Internet or other wide
area networks, by individuals traveling on mobile platforms is
expected to rise dramatically in the following years. Presently,
various forms of mobile platforms, and particularly commercial
aircraft, are being outfitted with equipment enabling the aircraft
to communicate, via a transponded satellite communications link,
with a ground based information content provider. This system is
known as the "CONNEXION BY BOEING.sup.SM" system available from the
assignee of the present application. The CONNEXION BY BOEING.sup.SM
system allows a wide variety of information content to be supplied
to mobile platforms, particularly commercial aircraft, traveling
within a predefined coverage region being served by one or more
satellite based transponders. A general description of this system
is available in U.S. application Ser. No. 10/008,401, which is
hereby incorporated by reference into the present application.
[0003] With the ability to supply a tremendous volume of
information content to mobile platforms operating within a given
coverage region, comes the issue of managing the supply of
information content to achieve the most efficient delivery of the
information content, and further in a manner which makes the most
efficient use of the available transponder bandwidth. Since
multiple mobile platforms operating within a given coverage region
may only rarely be requesting the exact same information content
(e.g., specific weather service or news information), the
opportunity exists for the limited available transponder bandwidth
to be used inefficiently. This is because when information content
is transmitted by a satellite, it is available to all users (i.e.,
mobile platforms) within a given coverage region, regardless if all
users within the coverage region are accessing or requesting the
specific information content. For example, one user on aircraft A
operating within a coverage region may request the online version
of the WALL STREET JOURNAL.RTM., whereafter this information is
delivered via the satellite communications link to aircraft A. The
user on aircraft A may only view this content for twenty minutes,
and then user A on aircraft B may request the same content. This
would necessitate using additional transponder bandwidth to deliver
the same content to aircraft B. As one can see, transponder
resources can end up being used quite inefficiently if the
availability of information content is not managed and its delivery
is not coordinated in an efficient way.
[0004] The need to coordinate and aggregate various types of
information content is not nearly as significant with a static wide
area network connection, such as a static Internet connection,
because the Internet content recipients are geographically static
and the Internet connection is continuously available. Furthermore,
content available via some wide area networks such as the Internet,
is presently available at a relatively low cost.
[0005] Thus, what is needed is some form of management over the
information content made available to the various mobile platforms
operating within a given coverage region in a manner that allows
transponder bandwidth to be used much more efficiently and
effectively.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006] The present system is directed to a content delivery
coordinator system and method which manages delivery of various
types of information content to a plurality of mobile platforms
operating within a given coverage region, where each of the mobile
platforms are in communication with the present system via a
transponded satellite communications link. The present system more
specifically involves a content management coordinator system and
method making use of a graphical user interface (GUI) to provide a
wide variety of options to an operator associated with the mobile
platforms such that the operator can select and tailor the delivery
of various types of information content to the mobile platforms.
The operator is in communication with the graphical user interface
by any suitable means, such as via a wide area network, for example
the Internet connection. Through the GUI, the operator can
effectively program the delivery of various types of information
content to each of its associated mobile platforms. In one
particular form, the operator may comprise an airline and the
mobile platforms may comprise aircraft operating within a given
coverage region being served by the transponded satellite. Once the
operator has defined various criteria for the delivery of
information content, the content management coordinator makes use
of a suitable delivery mechanism for transmitting the information
content to the transponded satellite, which in turn transponds the
information to one or more mobile platforms.
[0007] In one preferred form the graphical user interface provides
a wide variety of selections to enable the operator to define
criteria that enable information content to be supplied in a much
more effective and efficient fashion to the mobile platforms. Such
criteria may include one or more of the following:
[0008] specific types of information content to be made available
to the mobile platforms;
[0009] one or more specific time frames during which the
information content is to be made available;
[0010] designating whether the delivery of specific types of
information content is to be made automatically to one or more
mobile platforms upon the one or more mobile platforms entering the
given coverage region;
[0011] whether only a best effort is to be made to deliver one or
more specific types of information content to the mobile platforms
upon request;
[0012] whether priority is to be given to delivering certain types
of information content to the mobile platforms; and
[0013] whether certain types of information content are to be
delivered automatically at predetermined intervals to the mobile
platforms.
[0014] The content management coordinator system, in one preferred
embodiment, further manages the file storage on one or more of the
mobile platforms and deletes files as needed from a server on board
the one or more mobile platforms. This ensures that adequate
storage space is available on each mobile platform for the specific
information content being requested by a mobile platform.
[0015] In another preferred form the content management coordinator
system provides cost information to the operator that enables the
operator to select certain types of information content that may be
made available to the mobile platforms, upon their request, based
on various costs associated with the supply of the information.
This allows the operator to further tailor the types of information
content that may be made available to each mobile platform
accessing the system in a manner that allows the operator to manage
the overall cost incurred in supplying the information.
[0016] In still another preferred embodiment, the graphical user
interface allows the operator to designate different types of
information content that may be made available to its associated
mobile platforms operating in different satellite coverage regions,
as well as other criteria to further tailor the delivery of
information content to mobile platforms operating in different
coverage regions. In this embodiment the graphical user interface
also provides information informing the operator which mobile
platforms are operating in which geographic coverage regions, and
further allows the operator to place restrictions on the delivery
of specific types of content in accordance with a given geographic
coverage region. Thus, information content may be made available to
some mobile platforms operating in a first geographic coverage
region, while that same information content may be restricted from
mobile platforms operating in a different geographic coverage
region.
[0017] In still another preferred form, passengers on the mobile
platform can access the graphical user interface of the system
either from their homes, via a wide area network, or even from the
mobile platform after boarding. The passengers can use the
graphical user interface to select specific types of information
content to be made available to them after boarding, as well as to
select seat assignments, meal options and other helpful items.
[0018] The present system and method thus more effectively allows
various types of information content such as web pages, news
articles, video files, software or any other form of information
content available in electronic form, to be coordinated and
aggregated more efficiently before the content is transmitted to
mobile users in one or more distinct satellite coverage regions, or
even to mobile platforms traversing more than one satellite
coverage region. This enables information content to be more
efficiently packaged before the information content is provided to
the delivery mechanism and from there to the satellite transponder,
or transponders, operating within one or more coverage regions.
[0019] The features, functions, and advantages can be achieved
independently in various embodiments of the present system or may
be combined in yet other embodiments.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0020] The present system and method will become more fully
understood from the detailed description and the accompanying
drawings, wherein:
[0021] FIG. 1 is a simplified representation of a plurality of
mobile platforms operating within a plurality of geographic
satellite coverage regions, and wherein each of the satellites
include a transponder which is in communication with a content
management and coordinator system of the present system via a
delivery mechanism;
[0022] FIG. 2 is a block diagram of one preferred form of the
present system interfacing with a well known delivery mechanism,
with a mobile platform, and with a ground based operator of the
mobile platform; and
[0023] FIG. 3 is a flow chart illustrating the operations performed
by one preferred embodiment of the present system.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0024] The following description of the preferred embodiment(s) is
merely exemplary in nature and is in no way intended to limit the
invention, its application, or uses.
[0025] Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown a content management
coordinator system 10. The system 10 is in bidirectional
communication with a mobile platform operator 12, via a wide area
network connection 14. The mobile platform operator may be a
commercial airline or any other entity having control over one or
more mobile platforms that are interfacing with the system 10. The
wide area network connection 14 may be an Internet connection or
any other form of connection allowing bidirectional communications
between the mobile platform operator 12 and the system 10.
[0026] The system 10 is further interfaced via a wide area network
16 with a plurality of regional information content centers 18a,
18b and 18c. Regional content centers could alternatively be
sea-based or space-based centers. Network 16 may also comprise the
Internet. Each of the information content centers 18 are interfaced
with the network 16 via bidirectional network connections 20a, 20b
and 20c respectively. Each regional information content center 18
provides selected information content to an associated delivery
mechanism 21a, 21b and 21c, which in turn delivers the content via
a network connection 22a, 22b and 22c. Network connections 22a, 22b
and 22c supply the content to a corresponding terrestrial base
station 24a, 24b and 24c, respectively. Each base station 24a, 24b
and 24c is further in bidirectional communications with the system
10 via an associated network connection 26a, 26b and 26c,
respectively. Each base station is also in bidirectional
communication with a transponded satellite 28a, 28b and 28c,
respectively. Base stations 24 could also be space-based.
[0027] Each of the transponded satellites 28a, 28b and 28c are
associated with a given coverage region 30a, 30b and 30c. Within
each coverage region 30 is shown a single mobile platform 32a, 32b
and 32c, respectively, however, it will be appreciated that each
region may have more than one mobile platform operating therein or
alternatively may have no mobile platforms operating therein.
Furthermore, it will be appreciated that while the mobile platforms
32 are illustrated only for exemplary purposes as commercial
aircraft, that the present system 10 is applicable for use with any
type of mobile platform such as ships, trains, busses, trucks, or
other motor vehicles. Merely for convenience, the mobile platforms
32, for the purpose of discussion only, will be referred to as
"aircraft" 32.
[0028] Referring further to FIG. 1, in general operation, the
mobile platform operator 12 interfaces with the content management
coordinator system 10 to select various types of information
content that are to be made available to the aircraft 32 operating
within each of the coverage regions 30. The mobile platform
operator 12 also is able to place restrictions on the various types
of information content that can be supplied to each of the aircraft
32 operating within the various coverage regions 30a, 30b and 30c.
Each aircraft 32 further includes an onboard transmitting system
and file server (not shown) for storing information content
received from the base station 24 associated with its given
coverage region 30. One exemplary type of onboard system which may
be used by the aircraft 32 is described in U.S. application Ser.
No. 10/008,401, mentioned previously herein, and hereby
incorporated by reference into the present application. Each
aircraft 32 can request various types of information content from
its associated content center 18. The content will be delivered if
the content has been authorized by the system 10 and, if so, in
accordance with various criteria established by the mobile platform
operator 12.
[0029] Referring now to FIG. 2, a block diagram of one preferred
embodiment of the content management coordinator system 10 is
illustrated. The system 10 includes a graphical user interface
(GUI) 34 and a file space storage monitoring subsystem 36. The
system 10 is in communication via the wide area network connection
14 with the mobile platform operator 12. Again, while a single
mobile platform operator 12 has been illustrated, it will be
appreciated that in practice a plurality of mobile platform
operators 12 may be in communication with the system 10 via one or
more network connections.
[0030] The graphical user interface 34 provides the mobile platform
operator 12 with a number of selections or options for tailoring
the availability of information content to its associated aircraft
32 operating within the various coverage regions 30a, 30b and 30c.
In particular, the graphical user interface 34 provides the
following exemplary selections:
[0031] specific type of information content allowed;
[0032] restrictions on specific types of information content for
each coverage region 30;
[0033] specific time frame (or time frames) during which specific
types of information content are to be made accessible by each
aircraft 32;
[0034] assigning a priority level making the delivery of one or
more types of information content mandatory to each aircraft 32 as
soon as the aircraft enters one or more specified coverage
regions;
[0035] making a best effort to deliver one or more types of
information content, upon request by a given aircraft 32, to one or
more specified coverage regions 30;
[0036] giving no priority to requested information content being
requested by an aircraft in one or more specified coverage
regions;
[0037] giving certain types of information content priority over
other types of information content;
[0038] specifying whether one or more specific types of information
content are to be supplied at regular, predetermined time intervals
automatically to each aircraft 32 operating within a given coverage
region 30; and
[0039] providing the mobile platform operator 12 with the ability
to select different types of information content to be made
available to each aircraft 32 in a specified coverage region 30
based on the cost of providing the given information content to the
operator 12.
[0040] It will be appreciated that the above options made available
to the mobile platform operator 12 are merely meant for exemplary
purposes, and that other various forms of selections or criteria
may easily be implemented through the system 10 to further allow
the operator 12 to tailor the information content made available to
each aircraft 32. The criteria established by the operator 12
allows content such as web pages, news articles, advertisements,
streaming video files, software, email access, etc. to be
coordinated and aggregated by the system 10 to most efficiently use
the limited resources available from each satellite transponder 28
in each coverage region 30.
[0041] In additional specific implementations, the system 10 can be
used to coordinate and aggregate the delivery of specific
advertising materials to an operator's website so that the
advertisements can be uploaded to the aircraft 32 traveling within
one or more specific coverage regions at specific times of day,
such as at peak times where a maximum number of aircraft are
expected to be operating within the coverage region(s). This
feature could potentially enhance revenue generation for the
operator 12 operating the aircraft 32 by maximizing the possibility
that the advertising materials would be viewed by the greatest
number of passengers.
[0042] Another implementation would be to use the system 10 to
deliver flight information, rental car information, or any other
penitent information to travelers at specific times of day or for
specific time periods throughout the day. Still another
implementation would be to use the system 10 to schedule the
delivery based on highest demand times for entertainment materials,
streaming video of news, sporting events, televisions shows, or
other financial information with or without additional advertising
materials, that could be offered for a fee or for no fee to
passengers on the aircraft.
[0043] Through all of the above exemplary implementations, a key
aspect is that the information content or advertising content is
packaged, aggregated and delivered to passengers on the aircraft 32
in a logical and efficient manner that most efficiently uses the
limited transponder bandwidth available for serving a given
coverage region.
[0044] The file storage monitoring subsystem 36 is also preferably
incorporated with the content management coordinator system 10. The
monitoring subsystem 36 enables the system 10 to monitor the
availability of the file storage space on the file server on each
aircraft 32, and to delete previously stored information on the
file server as needed so that sufficient storage space is available
for newly requested information content. This further ensures that
transponder bandwidth will only be used to provide information
content to a given aircraft 32 when sufficient storage space is
available, or made available, by the monitoring subsystem 36 for
storing the newly requested information content. The monitoring
subsystem 36 could further monitor the entry or departure of each
mobile platform 32 within each of the coverage regions 30 to allow
information content being transmitted to a given coverage region to
be terminated if the aircraft 32 within that specific coverage
region should leave the region. This feature also enables one or
more specific types of information content 12 to be automatically
transmitted to an aircraft 32 that enters a given coverage region
30, in accordance with previously selected criteria by the mobile
platform operator 12.
[0045] In FIG. 2, the system 10 optionally provides for the ability
of a user, for example a passenger of attendant 38, to access the
system 10 and select information content remotely from his/her home
or office, or possible even from the mobile platform 15. In this
embodiment the user/attendant accesses the GUI 34 and is provided
with various content options, as allowed by the operator 12. In
this manner the user/attendant can select various forms of
information content to be provided to him/her during his/her travel
on the mobile platform 15. Additional information such as seat
assignment information or meal request selections could also be
coordinated through the system 10. The user/attendant could also be
provided with rental car information or reservation options at this
time.
[0046] Referring now to FIG. 3, a simplified flow chart is shown
illustrating the steps of operation of the system 10. Initially,
the mobile platform operator 12 interfaces with the GUI 34 of the
system 10 to define criteria upon which one or more types of
information content are to be made available to its associated
aircraft 32 operating within each coverage region 30, as indicated
at operation 40. The content coordinator 10 provides instructions
to the delivery mechanism 21 associated with each regional content
center 30, as indicated at operation 42. These instructions define
the criteria upon which various types of information content are to
be provided to the aircraft 32 operating within a given coverage
region 30. In operation 44, the delivery mechanism 21 provides the
content to the aircraft 32 operating within the coverage regions 30
in accordance with the criteria defined by the mobile platform
operator 12. At step 46, the file space storage monitoring
subsystem 36 of the system 10 monitors the available storage space
on each aircraft 32 and deletes previously stored information as
needed to ensure that newly requested information content from the
aircraft 32 is able to be stored thereon. The system 10 then checks
the GUI 34 to determine if the operator has made any changes to the
criteria by which information content is to be delivered to the
aircraft 32, as indicated at operation 48. If no changes have been
made, then the delivery mechanism 21 continues to deliver the
information content in accordance with the criteria defined by the
mobile platform operator 12, as indicated at operation 44. If any
changes have been made by the mobile platform operator 12, then the
system 10 so instructs the delivery mechanism 10 so that
subsequently requested information content is only made available
to the aircraft 32 in accordance with the newly defined criteria
from the mobile platform operator 12.
[0047] The system 10 thus enables a wide variety of information
content to be coordinated, aggregated and delivered to various
mobile platforms operating within one or more predefined geographic
coverage regions in a manner which most effectively makes use of
the limited bandwidth of each transponded satellite operating
within each coverage region. The system 10 allows various types of
information content to be defined by the mobile platform operator
12, as well as to allow the mobile platform operator to set
restrictions on the delivery of various types of information
content to one or more specific coverage regions 30, and further to
coordinate the delivery and availability of various types of
information in accordance with costs, with time of day, with the
importance of a specific type of information being requested, and
with other factors. The system 10 further ensures that transponder
bandwidth will be used efficiently by monitoring the space
available for file storage on each mobile platform and deleting old
files as needed to ensure that newly requested information content
can be stored by the mobile platform and made available to users
thereon. In one preferred embodiment the system 10 further enables
users such as passengers of attendants working on the mobile
platform 32 to select various forms of information content for use
before boarding the mobile platform, or even while on the mobile
platform.
[0048] While various preferred embodiments have been described,
those skilled in the art will recognize modifications or variations
which might be made without departing from the inventive concept.
The examples illustrate the system and are not intended to limit
it. Therefore, the description and claims should be interpreted
liberally with only such limitation as is necessary in view of the
pertinent prior art.
* * * * *