Patents Represented by Law Firm Blakely, Sokiloff, Taylor & Zafman LLP
  • Patent number: 5854591
    Abstract: Implemented on a vehicle, a digital in-transit entertainment system that assists in providing passenger services to a plurality of end nodes of a vehicle. The system includes a multi-drop digital communication bus, preferably configured to support RS-485 standards. A plurality of zone bridge units ("ZBUs") and a system manager unit ("SMU") are coupled to the digital communication bus. At least one ZBU is responsible for signaling headend equipment to perform a requested passenger service. The SMU is also designed to signal another type of equipment if implemented in lieu of the first type. Both the ZBUs as well as the SMU are designed to contain PSS status information for every end node of the vehicle to maintain coherency.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 13, 1996
    Date of Patent: December 29, 1998
    Assignees: Sony Trans Com, Inc., Sony Corporation
    Inventor: Michael R. Atkinson