SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR WIRELESSLY TRANSFERRING CONTENT TO AND FROM AN AIRCRAFT

• US 20110028178A1
• Filed: 12/24/2008
• Published: 02/03/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 09/15/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Thales Avionics Incorporated (Thales SA)
• Original Assignee: Thales Avionics Incorporated (Thales SA)
• Inventors: Foreman, Bradley, Reed, Dan, Brady, Kenneth A. JR.
• Granted Patent: US 8,116,797 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/517
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/18506 Communications with or from aircraft, i.e. aeronautical mobile service
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/16 Central resource management; Negotiation of resources or communication parameters, e.g. negotiating bandwidth or QoS [Quality of Service]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/42 for mass transport vehicles, e.g. buses, trains or aircraft

Abstract

A system and method for wirelessly transferring content to and from a vehicle, in particular, an aircraft. The content includes, for example, data, voice, video and multimedia, that can be wirelessly exchanged over a wireless communication link between an aircraft and a ground station while the aircraft is at or near a parking gate, or between aircraft. In an example, the system employs long distance metropolitan area technology, such as IEEE Standard 802.16 wireless technology, to increase transfer range. The parameter of the wireless communication link can be adjusted based on, for example, the location of the link. The content can further be provided between the vehicle and ground station based on priorities, such as the available link speed, importance of the information, and/or anticipated connection time between the vehicle and ground station. A media creation center can be networked to a plurality of base stations.

Claims

1. A system for delivering content between a plurality of vehicles, a plurality of base stations, and a media creation center, the system comprising:

a first communication device disposed at each of the vehicles;

a second communication device disposed at each of the base stations; and

a third communication device, disposed at the media creation center;

the third communication device having a network interface to the second communication devices of the plurality of base stations to deliver created media content over a network to the base stations;

the first and second communication devices employing wireless metropolitan area network technology to establish a link to communicate the content between each other, and further employing a link parameter adjustment mechanism to adjust at least one parameter of the link based on a location of the link.

2. A system as claimed in claim 1, wherein:

the vehicle is an aircraft.

3. A system as claimed in claim 1, wherein:

the entity is a base station at an airport.

4. A system as claimed in claim 1, wherein:

the first and second communication devices are operable to exchange identification information pertaining to the vehicle.

5. A system as claimed in claim 4, wherein:

the content is based on the identity of the vehicle.

6. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein:

a first communication device of a first vehicle forms a mesh network with a first communication device of a second vehicle and communicates the created media content thereto.

14. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein:

forming a mesh network between a first communication device of a first vehicle and a first communication device of a second vehicle and communicating the created media content between the first and second vehicle.

7. A method for delivering content between a plurality of vehicles, a plurality of base stations, and a media creation center, the method comprising:

providing a first communication device at each of the vehicles;

providing a second communication device at each of the base stations;

providing a third communication device at the media creation center;

creating media content at the media creation center;

transmitting the media content over a network to each of the plurality of second communication devices at the plurality of base stations;

establishing a link between the first and second communication devices utilizing wireless metropolitan area network technology to communicate the media content between each other; and

adjusting at least one parameter of the link based on a location of the link.

8. A method as claimed in claim 7, wherein:

the vehicle is an aircraft.

9. A method as claimed in claim 7, wherein:

the entity is a base station at an airport.

10. A method as claimed in claim 7, further comprising:

operating the first and second communication devices to exchange identification information pertaining to the vehicle.

11. A method as claimed in claim 10, wherein:

the content is based on the identity of the vehicle.

12. A method as claimed in claim 7, comprising:

providing content from an operations center over a network to the entity.

13. A method as claimed in claim 7, further comprising:

providing a plurality of said second communication devices, each disposed at a respective locations proximate to a respective entity within the device'"'"'s respective wireless transmission range.