Induced cellular communications handover

• US 20040253951A1
• Filed: 07/09/2004
• Published: 12/16/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 04/02/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: The Boeing Co.
• Original Assignee: The Boeing Co.
• Inventors: Chang, Ming U., Swensen, Marvin D., Himes, John C.
• Granted Patent: US 7,558,569 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/431
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/18506 Communications with or from aircraft, i.e. aeronautical mobile service
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/02 Access restriction performed under specific conditions
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/005 Moving wireless networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/02 Hierarchically pre-organised networks, e.g. paging networks, cellular networks, WLAN [Wireless Local Area Network] or WLL [Wireless Local Loop]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/06 Airborne or Satellite Networks space-based or airborne stations H04B7/185

Abstract

A wireless communications system and method provides wireless communications service for user equipment on board an aircraft. The aircraft includes on-board system equipment for supporting the wireless communications service with on-board user equipment. One or more ground stations are used for communicating with the aircraft using a plurality of feeder links for exchanging the wireless communications service'"'"'s traffic and control information with the on-board system equipment, and for providing interfaces with a terrestrial telecommunications infrastructure. The on-board system equipment transitions connections by the on-board user equipment between the feeder links.

Claims

1. A system for providing an aircraft-based wireless communications service, comprising:

an aircraft including on-board system equipment for supporting the wireless communications service with on-board user equipment; and

one or more ground stations communicating with the aircraft using a plurality of feeder links for exchanging the wireless communications service'"'"'s traffic and control information with the on-board system equipment, and for providing interfaces with a terrestrial telecommunications infrastructure, wherein each of the feeder links is associated with a separate set of signals provided by the on-board system equipment to the on-board user equipment;

wherein to transition connections by the on-board user equipment between signals associated with a first feeder link and signals associated with a second feeder link as the aircraft transitions between a first ground station and second ground station, the on-board system equipment temporarily provides both first and second sets of signals associated with the first and second feeder links to the on-board user equipment, and after allowing time for the on-board user equipment to begin monitoring the second set of signals as well the first set of signals, the on-board system equipment powers down the first set of signals, thereby inducing the on-board user equipment to effect a transition from the first set of signals to the second set of signals, thus switching over all of the on-board user equipment from the signals associated with the first feeder link of the first ground station to the signals associated with the second feeder link of the second ground station.

2. A system for providing an aircraft-based wireless communications service, comprising:

an aircraft including on-board system equipment for supporting the wireless communications service with on-board user equipment; and

one or more ground stations communicating with the aircraft using a plurality of feeder links for exchanging the wireless communication service'"'"'s traffic and control information with the on-board system equipment, and for providing interfaces with a terrestrial telecommunications infrastructure;

wherein the on-board system equipment transitions connections by the on-board user equipment between the feeder links.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein each of the feeder links is associated with a separate set of signals provided by the on-board system equipment to the on-board user equipment.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein:

(1) the on-board system equipment provides a first set of signals associated with a first feeder link to the on-board user equipment to effect a connection by the on-board user equipment,

(2) the on-board system equipment provides a second set of signals associated with a second feeder link to the on-board user equipment, and

(3) after allowing time for the on-board user equipment to begin monitoring the second set of signals, the on-board system equipment powers down the first set of signals, thereby inducing the on-board user equipment to effect a transition of the connection from the first set of signals to the second set of signals, thus switching over all of the on-board user equipment from the signals associated with the first feeder link to the signals associated with the second feeder link.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the on-board system equipment transitions the connection by the on-board user equipment from the signals associated with the first feeder link to the signals associated with the second feeder link as the aircraft transitions between a first ground station and a second ground station.

6. The system of claim 4, wherein the on-board system equipment transitions the connection by the on-board user equipment from the signals associated with the first feeder link to the signals associated with the second feeder link as the aircraft transitions between a first sector and a second sector of one of the ground stations.

7. A method of providing wireless communications service in an aircraft, comprising:

supporting the wireless communications service with user equipment on-board an aircraft using system equipment on-board the aircraft;

communicating between the aircraft and one or more ground stations using a plurality of feeder links from the ground stations, wherein the ground stations exchange the wireless communication service'"'"'s traffic and control information with the system equipment on-board the aircraft and provide interfaces with a terrestrial telecommunications infrastructure; and

transitioning connections by the on-board user equipment between the signals associated with the feeder links using system equipment on-board the aircraft.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein each of the feeder links is associated with a separate set of signals provided by the on-board system equipment to the on-board user equipment.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

(1) providing a first set of signals associated with a first feeder link from the on-board system equipment to the on-board user equipment to effect a connection by the on-board user equipment,

(2) providing a second set of signals associated with a second feeder link from the on-board system equipment to the on-board user equipment, and

(3) after allowing time for the on-board user equipment to begin monitoring the second set of signals, the on-board system equipment powers down the first set of signals, thereby inducing the on-board user equipment to effect a transition of the connection from the first set of signals to the second set of signals, thus switching over all of the on-board user equipment from the signals associated with the first feeder link to the signals associated with the second feeder link.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising transitioning the connection by the on-board user equipment from the signals associated with the first feeder link to the signals associated with the second feeder link as the aircraft transitions between a first ground station and a second ground station.

11. The method of claim 9, further comprising transitioning the connection by the on-board user equipment from the first feeder link to the second feeder link as the aircraft transitions between a first sector and a second sector of one of the ground stations.