Aircraft data communications services for users

• US 20050220055A1
• Filed: 06/03/2005
• Published: 10/06/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 05/14/1999
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AT&T Mobility II LLC (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Mobility II LLC (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Nelson, Eric A., O'Meara, Michael B.
• Granted Patent: US 8,250,221 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/331
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/18506 Communications with or from aircraft, i.e. aeronautical mobile service
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/18508 with satellite system used as relay, i.e. aeronautical mobile satellite service
• 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 method and system provide efficient, flexible, and convenient data communication services for users over public wireless systems. The system includes a data communication server, having a plurality of interface units, for facilitating data communication between a moving object and one or more ground terminals via a radio communication path. The data communication server establishes the radio communication path over one of a plurality of wireless data networks including packet data networks and satellite data networks and preferably includes a pre-determined software architecture.

Claims

1. A method of providing wireless data communication service between a moving object having a communication server and a first ground station, the method comprising:

establishing a radio communication path between the moving object and a first ground station;

establishing a connection between the first ground station and a second ground station;

transmitting data from the moving object to the first ground station via the radio communication path, and transmitting data from the first ground station to the second ground station via the connection between the first ground station and the second ground station;

wherein the communication server includes software architecture including a plurality of software functional layers.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the connection between the first ground station and a second ground station is formed at least in part by the PSTN.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising establishing an end-to-end link layer connection between the communication server and a terminal node.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein data packets are modulated onto a radio frequency and sent to the first ground station via the radio communication path.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the data packets are sent from the first ground station to the second ground station via a frame relay network.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein a point-to-point protocol frame is tunneled from the communication server to the second ground station via a Layer Two Tunneling Protocol.

7. A method comprising:

from an aircraft communications server, transmitting data packets according to a point-to-point protocol to a ground-based network; and

receiving data packets at the aircraft communications server via a satellite uplink.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the ground-based network includes a NATS (North American Terrestrial System) network.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein the ground-based network includes the Internet.

10. The method of claim 7, wherein the aircraft communications server includes an object-oriented software architecture.

11. A communications system comprising:

a communications server located on an aircraft, the communications server including an interface to establish a point-to-point protocol communication path at least in part via a radio link to at least one ground station; and

a software architecture including a plurality of software functional layers to support data communication via the communication path.

12. The communications system of claim 11, wherein the software functional layers include an application programming interface layer.

13. The communications system of claim 11, wherein the software functional layers include a system services layer.

14. The communications system of claim 11, wherein the software functional layers include a system resources layer.

15. The communications system of claim 11, wherein the software architecture includes object-oriented software.

16. The communications system of claim 11, wherein the software architecture uses a client-server model.

17. The communications system of claim 11, wherein the software architecture includes a GUI.

18. The communications system of claim 11, wherein the software architecture includes SQL functionality.

19. The communications system of claim 12, wherein the system services layer includes JAVA functionality.

20. The communications system of claim 12, wherein the system services layer includes TCP/IP services.