Passenger vehicle polling system having a central unit for polling passenger seat terminal units

A passenger vehicle polling system, comprising:

• a head end apparatus comprising means for generating a polling command signal, means for centralizing polling answer signals generated in response to the polling command signals, means for reproducing video programs, means for reproducing audio programs, and means for multiplexing said polling command signal, said video programs and said audio programs to form a multiplexed signal to be transmitted;
• a plurality of terminal units each provided at a different one of a plurality of passenger seats, each said terminal unit comprising a means for receiving said multiplexed signal, a means for decoding said polling command signal, a means for generating at least one of said polling answer signals in response to said polling command signal, a means for generating an address signal identifying one of the passenger seats and for supplying the address signal to said polling answer signal generating means, a means for selecting desired ones of said video programs and said audio programs and for supplying a signal indicative of the selected ones of the video programs and audio programs to the polling answer signal generating means, a means for sensing the status of one of the passenger seats and for supplying a signal indicative of the status of said one of the passenger seats to said polling answer signal generating means, a display means for displaying the selected video programs, and an audio output terminal for receiving the selected audio programs;
• and
• a means for transmitting signals between said head end apparatus and said plurality of terminal units.

A passenger vehicle polling method, including the steps of:

• generating a polling command signal at a head end apparatus in a passenger vehicle;
• transmitting the polling command signal from the head end apparatus to each of a plurality of terminal units, each of said terminal units located at a different one of a plurality of passenger seats in the passenger vehicle;
• at said each terminal unit, decoding said polling command signal and generating in response to the decoded polling command signal a polling answer signal including an address signal identifying one of the passenger seats and a status signal indicative of the status of said one of the passenger seats;
• and
• transmitting each said polling answer signal to the head end apparatus.