COMMUNICATION NETWORK ACCELERATION SYSTEM AND METHOD

• US 20060293049A1
• Filed: 06/27/2006
• Published: 12/28/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 06/27/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Satcom Direct, Inc.
• Original Assignee: James W. Jensen
• Inventors: Jensen, James W.
• Granted Patent: US 7,660,579 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/431
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/18502 Airborne stations
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/06 Airborne or Satellite Networks space-based or airborne stations H04B7/185

Abstract

A system and method for mobile ground-to-air and air-to-ground communication network acceleration. The system and method can reduce the cost of airborne communication services by creating a faster connection and thus increasing data throughput. In one embodiment, the communication network acceleration system and method provide as much as a four-fold increase over standard high-speed data rates. This increase is made possible in part through the integration, implementation, and use of acceleration and compression technologies in the ground system that supports communications to and from an airborne terminal.

Claims

1. An accelerated ground-to-air and air-to-ground communication system comprising:

at least one mobile aircraft-based communication system adapted to transmit and receive accelerated data signals, the mobile aircraft-based communication system comprising a data communication accelerator device adapted to accelerate and decelerate data signals received by the mobile aircraft-based communication system;

a ground-based communication system adapted to transmit and receive accelerated data signals comprising;

a data communication router device adapted to route accelerated and non-accelerated data signals, and

a multi-user data communication accelerator device communicatively coupled to the data communication router device and to a data network and adapted to accelerate and decelerate data signals from the data network and the data communication router device; and

a satellite communication system communicatively coupled to the mobile air communication system and to the ground-based communication system and adapted to transmit accelerated data signals between the mobile air communication system and the ground-based communication system.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the mobile aircraft-based communication system further comprises a data communication device communicatively coupled to the data communication accelerator device and adapted to generate and receive non-accelerated data signals.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the data communication device is selected from the group consisting of a computer device, a laptop computer device, a cell phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a media device, and a mobile data device.

4. The system of claim 2, wherein the data communication device comprises a 28# communication connection.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein mobile aircraft-based communication system is further adapted to transmit and receive non-accelerated data signals, the ground-based communication system is further adapted to transmit and receive non-accelerated data signals, and the satellite communication system is further adapted to transmit non-accelerated data signals between the mobile air communication system and the ground-based communication system.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the mobile aircraft-based communication system further comprises a communications device communicatively coupled to the data communication acceleration device and adapted to transmit communications between the data communication acceleration device and the satellite communication system.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the data network comprises the Internet.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the satellite communication system comprises an INMARSAT satellite.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein data communication accelerator device is adapted to accelerate data signals by increasing an effective signal bandwidth.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the data communication accelerator device is adapted to increase an effective signal bandwidth through at least one acceleration technique selected from the group consisting of selective caching, vertical data analysis, adaptive packet compression, packet aggregation, packet flow control, and packet loss recovery.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein the data communication router device is communicatively coupled to the data network and adapted to route non-accelerated data signals to the data network by bypassing the multi-user data communication accelerator device.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the data communication router device is adapted to route accelerated and non-accelerated data signals according to an IP address.

13. The system of claim 1, wherein the communicative coupling between the multi-user data communication accelerator device and the data network comprises at least one selected from the group consisting of an ISDN channel, an MPDS channel, and a SwiftBroadband channel.

14. The system of claim 1, wherein the satellite communication system is further adapted to transmit accelerated data signals between the mobile air communication system and the ground-based communication system as a data packet selected from the group consisting of an ISDN packet, an MPDS packet, and a SwiftBroadband packet.

15. A method of accelerating ground-to-air and air-to-ground communications comprising the steps of:

generating a data stream at a mobile aircraft;

accelerating the data stream at the mobile aircraft;

transmitting the data stream from the mobile aircraft to a ground station through a satellite communication system;

decelerating the data stream at the ground station; and

routing the decelerated data stream to a destination.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising the steps of:

generating a data stream at the ground station;

determining a mobile aircraft destination of the data stream;

optionally accelerating the data stream based upon the destination;

transmitting the data stream to the mobile aircraft; and

if the data stream is accelerated, decelerating the data stream at the mobile aircraft and routing the decelerated data stream to a mobile aircraft-based destination.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the step of accelerating the data stream at the mobile aircraft and the step of optionally accelerating the data stream based upon the destination further comprises increasing an effective signal bandwidth through at least one acceleration technique selected from the group consisting of selective caching, vertical data analysis, adaptive packet compression, packet aggregation, packet flow control, and packet loss recovery.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein the step of generating a data stream at the ground station further comprises receiving a data request from the mobile aircraft for the data stream.

19. The method of claim 16, wherein the step of routing the decelerated data stream to a destination further comprises routing the decelerated data stream to an IP address.

20. The method of claim 15, further comprising the step of initiating a request for data by a data device at the mobile aircraft, wherein the step of generating a data stream at a mobile aircraft comprises generating a data stream comprising the data request.

21. The method of claim 20, further comprising the step of transmitting the request for data from the data device to a data communication accelerator device at the mobile aircraft, wherein the step of accelerating the data stream at the mobile aircraft is accomplished at least in part by the data communication accelerator device.

22. The method of claim 20, wherein the step of determining a mobile aircraft destination of the data stream further comprises determining an IP address of the data device.

23. A system for accelerating ground-to-air and air-to-ground communications comprising:

means for generating a data stream at a mobile aircraft;

means for accelerating and decelerating a data stream generated at or received by the mobile aircraft;

means for transmitting a data stream between the mobile aircraft and a ground station through a satellite communication system;

means for accelerating and decelerating a data stream received by or generated at the ground station;

means for determining a destination of the data stream, wherein the destination comprises one of a ground-based destination and a mobile aircraft destination; and

means for routing the decelerated data stream at the ground station to a destination.

24. The system of claim 23, wherein the means for generating a data stream at a mobile aircraft is selected from the group consisting of a computer device, a laptop computer device, a cell phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a media device, and a mobile data device.

25. The system of claim 23, wherein the means for accelerating and decelerating a data stream generated at or received by the mobile aircraft and the means for accelerating and decelerating a data stream received by or generated at the ground station further comprise means for increasing an effective signal bandwidth through at least one acceleration technique selected from the group consisting of selective caching, vertical data analysis, adaptive packet compression, packet aggregation, packet flow control, and packet loss recovery.

26. The system of claim 23, wherein the destination is an IP address.

27. The system of claim 23, wherein the means for transmitting a data stream between the mobile aircraft and a ground station through a satellite communication system further comprise at least one communication channel selected from the group consisting of an ISDN channel, an MPDS channel, and a SwiftBroadband channel.

29. The system of claim 23, wherein the means for accelerating and decelerating a data stream received by or generated at the ground station further comprise multi-user means for accelerating and deceleration data streams.

28. The system of claim 28, wherein the satellite communication system comprises an INMARSAT satellite.