System and method for transmitting ACARS messages over a TCP/IP data communication link

• US 20060080451A1
• Filed: 08/31/2004
• Published: 04/13/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 08/31/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
• Original Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
• Inventors: Eckert, Richard J.
• Granted Patent: US 7,512,714 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/230
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/544 Buffers; Shared memory; Pipes
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/546 Message passing systems or structures, e.g. queues
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/18506 Communications with or from aircraft, i.e. aeronautical mobile service
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/06 Notations for structuring of protocol data, e.g. abstract syntax notation one [ASN.1]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/08 Protocols for interworking; Protocol conversion

Abstract

An ACARS messaging system according to the invention is deployed when a TCP/IP subnetwork is available to the aircraft. ACARS messages are encoded into ASN.1 notation and translated to become compliant with the TCP/IP suite of protocols. A wireless subnetwork provides the initial access point to establish the TCP/IP datalink for the ACARS message traffic. The system allows transmission of ACARS messages using low cost and high bandwidth TCP/IP networks in lieu of the private networks that carry conventional ACARS messages.

Claims

1. An ACARS messaging method comprising:

obtaining an ACARS message containing message content;

encoding said ACARS message into an ASN.1 compliant message containing said message content;

translating said ASN.1 compliant message into an ACARS-IP message containing said message content, said ACARS-IP message being compliant with the TCP/IP suite of protocols; and

transmitting said ACARS-IP message between an aircraft and a message processing server via a TCP/IP datalink.

2. A method according to claim 1, wherein said ACARS-IP message is a downlink message.

3. A method according to claim 1, further comprising:

prioritizing in-flight ACARS downlink messages; and

queuing, in response to said prioritizing step, one or more of said in-flight ACARS downlink messages for transmission as one or more ACARS-IP downlink messages.

4. A method according to claim 1, wherein said ACARS-IP message is an uplink message.

5. A method according to claim 1, wherein said transmitting step transmits said ACARS-IP message via at least one wireless TCP/IP datalink.

6. A method according to claim 1, wherein said transmitting step transmits said ACARS-IP message via the Internet.

7. A method according to claim 1, wherein transmitting said ACARS-IP message occurs after touchdown of said aircraft.

8. A method according to claim 1, further comprising establishing said TCP/IP datalink.

9. An ACARS messaging system comprising:

means for obtaining an ACARS message containing message content;

means for encoding said ACARS message into an ASN.1 compliant message containing said message content;

means for translating said ASN.1 compliant message into an ACARS-IP message containing said message content, said ACARS-IP message being compliant with the TCP/IP suite of protocols; and

means for transmitting said ACARS-IP message between an aircraft and a message processing server via a TCP/IP datalink.

10. A system according to claim 9, wherein said TCP/IP datalink comprises at least one wireless TCP/IP datalink.

11. A method according to claim 9, further comprising:

means for prioritizing in-flight ACARS downlink messages to obtain prioritized messages; and

means for queuing said prioritized messages for transmission as one or more ACARS-IP downlink messages.

12. A downlink ACARS messaging method comprising:

establishing a TCP/IP datalink between an aircraft and a message processing server;

encoding a handshake message containing an aircraft registration number for said aircraft into an ASN.1 compliant handshake message containing said aircraft registration number;

translating said ASN.1 compliant handshake message into an ACARS-IP handshake message containing said aircraft registration number, said ACARS-IP handshake message being compliant with the TCP/IP suite of protocols; and

transmitting said ACARS-IP handshake message to said message processing server via said TCP/IP datalink.

13. A method according to claim 12, wherein said ACARS-IP handshake message is generated in response to an ACARS message containing message content, said message content comprising said aircraft registration number.

14. A method according to claim 12, further comprising:

generating an ACARS-IP downlink message containing a message payload, said ACARS-IP downlink message being compliant with the TCP/IP suite of protocols; and

transmitting said ACARS-IP downlink message to said message processing server via said TCP/IP datalink.

15. A method according to claim 14, wherein said ACARS-IP downlink message is generated in response to an ACARS message containing message content, said message content comprising said message payload.

16. A method according to claim 14, wherein said message payload comprises one or more of the following:

a flight identifier;

a message sequence number;

a transmission time indicator;

an alphanumeric text message; and

a standard message identifier label.

17. A method according to claim 14, wherein said ACARS-IP downlink message is generated in response to an ASN.1 encoded ACARS message containing message content, said message content comprising said message payload.

18. A method according to claim 12, further comprising obtaining an IP address for said message processing server prior to establishing said TCP/IP datalink.

19. A method according to claim 12, wherein establishing said TCP/IP datalink occurs after touchdown of said aircraft.

20. An uplink ACARS messaging method comprising:

establishing a TCP/IP datalink between an aircraft and a message processing server;

encoding a handshake message containing an identifier for said message processing server into an ASN.1 compliant handshake message containing said identifier;

translating said ASN.1 compliant handshake message into an ACARS-IP handshake message containing said identifier, said ACARS-IP handshake message being compliant with the TCP/IP suite of protocols; and

transmitting said ACARS-IP handshake message to said aircraft via said TCP/IP datalink.

21. A method according to claim 20, further comprising:

generating an ACARS-IP uplink message containing a message payload, said ACARS-IP uplink message being compliant with the TCP/IP suite of protocols; and

transmitting said ACARS-IP uplink message to said aircraft via said TCP/IP datalink.

22. A method according to claim 21, wherein said ACARS-IP uplink message is generated in response to an ACARS message containing message content, said message content comprising said message payload.

23. A method according to claim 21, wherein said message payload comprises one or more of the following:

a supplemental address;

a transmission time indicator;

a standard message identifier label;

an aircraft registration number for said aircraft; and

an alphanumeric text message.

24. A method according to claim 21, wherein said ACARS-IP uplink message is generated in response to an ASN.1 encoded ACARS message containing message content, said message content comprising said message payload.

25. A method according to claim 20, further comprising obtaining an IP address for said aircraft prior to establishing said TCP/IP datalink.

26. A method according to claim 20, wherein establishing said TCP/IP datalink occurs after touchdown of said aircraft.

27. An ACARS messaging method comprising:

establishing a TCP/IP datalink between an aircraft and a message processing server;

obtaining an ACARS message containing message content;

encoding said ACARS message into an ASN.1 compliant message containing said message content;

translating said ASN.1 compliant message into an ACARS-IP message containing said message content, said ACARS-IP message being compliant with the TCP/IP suite of protocols;

transmitting said ACARS-IP message via said TCP/IP datalink;

receiving said ACARS-IP message to obtain a received ACARS-IP message; and

extracting said message content from said received ACARS-IP message.

28. A method according to claim 27, further comprising constructing a received ACARS message in response to said received ACARS-IP message.

29. A method according to claim 28, wherein constructing a received ACARS message comprises performing ASN.1 decoding on said received ACARS-IP message.

30. A method according to claim 27, wherein said transmitting step transmits said ACARS-IP message via at least one wireless TCP/IP datalink.

31. A method according to claim 27, wherein said transmitting step transmits said ACARS-IP message via the Internet.

32. A method according to claim 27, wherein transmitting said ACARS-IP message occurs after touchdown of said aircraft.

33. An ACARS messaging system for an aircraft, said system comprising:

a ACARS router;

an onboard data communication element for said ACARS router, said data communication element being configured to establish a TCP/IP datalink between said aircraft and a message processing server;

said ACARS router being configured to encode an ACARS message into an ASN.1 compliant message containing message content and to translate said ASN.1 compliant message into an ACARS-IP message containing said message content, said ACARS-IP message being compliant with the TCP/IP suite of protocols; and

said data communication element being configured to transmit said ACARS-IP message between said aircraft and said message processing server via said TCP/IP datalink.

34. A system according to claim 33, wherein said data communication element is configured to transmit said ACARS-IP message via at least one wireless TCP/IP datalink.

35. A system according to claim 33, wherein said data communication element comprises a terminal area wireless LAN unit.

36. A system according to claim 33, wherein said ACARS router is further configured to:

prioritize in-flight ACARS downlink messages to obtain prioritized messages; and

queue said prioritized messages for transmission as one or more ACARS-IP downlink messages.

37. A system according to claim 33, wherein said data communication element transmits said ACARS-IP message via the Internet.