METHOD AND SYSTEM TO REDUCE IMPACT OF NON-ATC DATALINK MESSAGES ON ATC DATALINK MESSAGES ON A SHARED AIR-GROUND COMMUNICATION LINK

• US 20110118904A1
• Filed: 11/13/2009
• Published: 05/19/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 11/13/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
• Original Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
• Inventors: True, Willard R., McGuffin, Thomas F.
• Granted Patent: US 8,280,563 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/3
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0013 with a ground station

Abstract

A system to send air traffic control (ATC) data-link messages from an aircraft is provided. The system includes ATC applications in a first portion of an application layer, non-ATC applications in a second portion of the application layer; and a communication manager in the aircraft having two addresses for the aircraft. The communication manager includes a first copy of software in a first data link layer and a second copy of the software in a second data link layer. ATC data-link messages are sent from the aircraft independent of non-ATC data-link messages sent from the aircraft.

Claims

1. A system to send air traffic control (ATC) data-link messages from an aircraft, the system comprising:

ATC applications in a first portion of an application layer;

non-ATC applications in a second portion of the application layer; and

a communication manager in the aircraft having two addresses for the aircraft, the communication manager comprising;

a first copy of software in a first data link layer, and

a second copy of the software in a second data link layer, wherein ATC data-link messages are sent from the aircraft independent of non-ATC data-link messages sent from the aircraft.

2. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

a first set of intermediate layers between the first data link layer and the first portion of the application layer, wherein the ATC applications are communicatively coupled to the first data link layer via the first set of intermediate layer; and

a second set of intermediate layers between the second data link layer and the second portion of the application layer, wherein the non-ATC applications are communicatively coupled to the second data link layer via the second set of intermediate layers.

3. The system of claim 2, further comprising:

a radio on the aircraft having duplicated copies of software in a first radio data link layer and a second radio data link layer, wherein ATC applications are communicatively coupled to the first radio data link layer and the non-ATC applications are communicatively coupled to the second radio data link layer.

4. The system of claim 2, wherein ATC data-link messages are sent to a ground station via a first logical channel reserved for air traffic control data-link messages using a first address of the aircraft, and wherein non-ATC data-link messages are sent to the ground station via a second logical channel reserved for AOC data-link messages using a second address of the aircraft.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the first logical channel implements an aeronautical telecommunications network (ATN) communication protocol, and wherein the second logical channel implements an aircraft communications addressing and reporting system (ACARS) over aviation very high frequency link control (AVLC) protocol.

6. The system of claim 4, wherein the first logical channel and second logical channel are on the same frequency.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the ATC applications in the first portion of the application layer and the non-ATC applications in the second portion of the application layer are in the communication manager.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the non-ATC data-link messages are aeronautical operational control (AOC) data-link messages.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the communication manager is a communication management unit.

10. A method to send air traffic control (ATC) data-link messages from an aircraft independent of aeronautical operational control (AOC) data-link messages sent from the same aircraft, the method comprising:

providing two addresses for the aircraft to a ground station communicatively coupled to the aircraft; and

implementing two logical channels to communicatively couple the aircraft to the ground station, wherein a first logical channel is reserved for air traffic control data-link messages and a second logical channel is reserved for aeronautical operational control (AOC) data-link messages.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

providing a first copy of software in a first data link layer of a communication manager; and

providing a second copy of software in a second data link layer of the communication manager.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

providing air traffic control (ATC) applications in a first portion of an application layer of the communication manager; and

providing non-ATC applications in a second portion of the application layer of the communication manager, wherein ATC data-link messages are sent from the aircraft independent of non-ATC data-link messages sent from the aircraft.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

providing a first set of intermediate layers between the first data link layer and the first portion of the application layer;

communicatively coupling the ATC applications to the first data link layer via the first set of intermediate layer;

providing a second set of intermediate layers between the second data link layer and the second portion of the application layer; and

communicatively coupling the non-ATC applications to the second data link layer via the second set of intermediate layers.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

providing software in a first radio data link layer of a radio communicatively coupled to the communication manager; and

providing the software in a second radio data link layer of the radio.

15. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

implementing an aeronautical telecommunications network (ATN) communication protocol on the first logical channel; and

implementing an aircraft communications addressing and reporting system (ACARS) over aviation very high frequency link control (AVLC) protocol on the second logical channel.

16. A method to send air traffic control (ATC) data-link messages from an aircraft independent of aeronautical operational control (AOC) data-link messages sent from the same aircraft, the method comprising:

implementing a first logical channel reserved for air traffic control data-link messages to communicatively couple the aircraft to the ground station; and

implementing a second logical channel reserved for non-ATC data-link messages to communicatively couple the aircraft to the aircraft.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising providing a first address for the aircraft and a second address for the aircraft to a ground station communicatively coupled to the aircraft, the first address for the first logical channel and the second address for the second logical channel.

18. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

providing copies of software in a data link layer of a communication manager in the aircraft to form two data link layers.

19. The method of claim 18, further comprising:

providing copies of software in a data link layer of a radio in the aircraft to form two radio data link layers.

20. The method of claim 18, further comprising:

providing air traffic control applications in a first portion of an application layer of the communication manager; and

providing non-ATC applications in a second portion of the application layer of the communication manager, wherein ATC data-link messages are sent from the aircraft independent of non-ATC data-link messages sent from the aircraft.