OPEN WIRELESS ARCHITECTURE (OWA) UNIFIED AIRBORNE AND TERRESTRIAL COMMUNICATIONS ARCHITECTURE

• US 20120002639A1
• Filed: 09/13/2011
• Published: 01/05/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 02/12/2010
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: David Lu, Jianhong Hu, Michael Lu, Wei Lu
• Original Assignee: David Lu, Jianhong Hu, Michael Lu, Wei Lu
• Inventors: Lu, Wei, Lu, Michael, Hu, Jianhong, Lu, David
• Application Number:
  US13/230,844
• Publication Number:
  US 20120002639A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/331
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/18502 Airborne stations
• 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: 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: H04W 36/08 Reselecting an access point
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/083 wherein at least one of the access points is a moving node
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/14 Reselecting a network or an air interface
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/16 Performing reselection for specific purposes

Abstract

This invention relates to an Open Wireless Architecture (OWA) unified airborne and terrestrial communications architecture providing optimal high-speed connections with open radio transmission technologies (RTTs) between aircrafts and ground cells, and between different aircrafts in Ad-Hoc or Mesh network group, to construct the multi-dimensional unified information delivery platform across the airborne networks and the terrestrial networks wherein the same OWA mobile device or OWA mobile computer can be used seamlessly and continuously both in the aircrafts and on the ground.

Claims

1. An Open Wireless Architecture (OWA) Unified Airborne and Terrestrial Communications Architecture, said system comprising:

a) OWA.Air Transceiver in an Aircraft, connecting said Aircraft with Ground Cells or Ground Airports in both Up-Link (from Ground to Aircraft) and Down-Link (from Aircraft to Ground), or connecting said Aircraft with other Aircraft in an Ad-Hoc or Mesh network Group,

b) OWA.Ground Transceiver in said Ground Cell, connecting with said OWA.Air Transceiver in both said Up-Link and said Down-Link with predictable and on-scheduled Airborne Mobile Handover protocol, and connecting with backbone Ground Networks through said Ground Cell,

c) OWA.onBoard Wireless Router and Access Point in said Aircraft, constructing and managing safe and reliable In-Flight wireless mobile network in said aircraft cabins, and connecting with said Ground Networks through said OWA.Air Transceiver,

d) OWA Mobile Device connecting with said OWA.onBoard Wireless Router and Access Point of said In-Flight wireless mobile network as OWA.inFlight Mobile Device in In-Flight mode, or connecting with said Ground Networks as OWA.Terrestrial Mobile Device in Terrestrial mode, and

e) OWA Virtual Mobile Server (VMS) synchronizing and managing said OWA Mobile Devices in said Terrestrial mode and said In-Flight mode when mobile users travel across airborne networks and terrestrial ground networks, and supporting OWA Mobile Cloud architecture so that many processing tasks and modules can be moved from said OWA Mobile Devices to said OWA VMS to optimize wireless transmission performance and wireless system performance.

2. A system as recited in claim 1, wherein said OWA Mobile Device refers to mobile device or mobile notebook.

3. System as recited in claim 1, wherein said OWA.Ground Transceivers actively and adaptively send strong narrow beams to said OWA.Air Transceivers based on advanced adaptive antenna beam-forming technology to ensure broadband high-speed connections in said Up-Link channels.

4. A system as recited in claim 1, wherein said OWA.inFlight Mobile Device can push any information to said VMS, or retrieve any information from said VMS during said In-Flight mode so that said OWA Mobile Device is fully synchronized between said Terrestrial mode and said In-Flight mode.

5. Systems as recited in claim 1, wherein both said OWA.Air Transceivers and said OWA.Ground Transceivers support open radio transmission technologies (RTTs) in a spectrum-efficient, bandwidth-optimal and cost-effective way, wherein said RTTs include Code Division Multiplex Access (CDMA), Time Division Multiplex Access (TDMA), OFDMA (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplex Access), SDMA (Space Division Multiplex Access) and their combinations.

6. A system as recited in claim 1, wherein one said aircraft equipped with said OWA.Air Transceivers connects to other said aircrafts with said OWA.Air Transceivers in said Ad-Hoc or Mesh network topology to construct broadband high-speed transmission channels as Over-the-Air high-speed Information Delivery and Relay Platform for airborne communication networks to build next generation Internet technology fully converging terrestrial and airborne communication networks in an open and unified infrastructure.

7. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the search order of connection modes between said OWA.inFlight Mobile Device and said OWA.onBoard Wireless Router and Access Point can be re-configured or re-set by mobile users or said aircrafts wherein by default, said search order is by WLAN.Air (Modified wireless local area network for airborne in-flight connection), WPAN.Air (Modified wireless personal access network for airborne in-flight connection), WLAN (Standard wireless local area network with reduced and lowest possible transmitting power for airborne in-flight connection), WPAN (Standard wireless personal access network or personal area network with reduced and lowest possible transmitting power for airborne in-flight connection) and Wireline connection.

8. A method as recited in claim 7, wherein said WLAN.Air and said WPAN.Air are the completely safest modes for said In-Flight connection, and said WLAN and said WPAN modes must turn radio transmitting power to be the lowest possible in compliance with airborne regulations and must be fully monitored at all times by said OWA.onBoard Wireless Router and Access Point for said In-Flight connection.

9. Systems as recited in claim 1, wherein said OWA.Ground Transceivers also utilize advanced space-time antenna array technology to maximize the receiving performance and transmitting performance for airborne links.

10. Systems as recited in claim 1, wherein said OWA.Air Transceivers and said OWA.Ground Transceivers can always find the best possible said RTTs for both said Up-Link and said Down-Link connections well before said Airborne Mobile Handover occurs, because airborne navigation information and said ground cells'"'"' information are predictable and well planned in advance.

11. A system as recited in claim 1, wherein said OWA Mobile Device do not have to power-off when on board said aircrafts because an In-Flight Pilot Signal will automatically switch said OWA Mobile Device from said Terrestrial mode to said In-Flight mode completely.

12. A method as recited in claim 11, wherein the time to release or turn-off said In-Flight Pilot Signal may vary based on different airborne regulations and rulings in different regions, and for airborne safety consideration, said In-Flight Pilot Signal can be turned-off only after said aircrafts completely returning to Airport Gates.

13. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein said processing tasks and modules moved from said OWA Mobile Devices to said OWA VMS comprise signal processing and application processing for said OWA Mobile Devices.

14. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein said Ad-Hoc or Mesh network group can build a cost-effective airborne networks among group member aircrafts because there are lots of aircrafts flying in the same flight routes every day across the country and on the worldwide basis, and this method is very useful for airborne network connections especially when said aircrafts are flying over ocean area where there are no ground cells available for said ground connection, but there is always at least one group member aircraft close to an airport or said ground cell in said Ad-Hoc or Mesh network group, either before landing, after take-off or passing by.

15. A system as recited in claim 1, wherein said OWA.Air Transceiver in one aircraft supports multiple said RTTs and can adaptively connect to other said OWA.Air Transceiver in other aircraft with optimal said RTT connection in said Ad-Hoc or Mesh network group.

16. A system as recited in claim 1, wherein said OWA Mobile Device operates continuously and seamlessly in both said ground networks and said airborne networks with optimal transmission performance between aircrafts and ground.

17. A system as recited in claim 1, wherein said OWA Mobile Device allows allocating multiple air interfaces into an external card so that mobile users can simply change wireless standards by updating said air interface card without having to change said OWA mobile device.

18. A system as recited in claim 1, wherein said airborne networks can use Satellite channel to update said ground cells information, said ground airports information and airborne navigation routing information, and adjust said airborne mobile handover protocol as well as update said Ad-Hoc or Mesh network information for said group member aircrafts.

19. A system as recited in claim 1, wherein said OWA.Ground Transceivers can perform additional transmission processing by using antenna calibration technology and/or signal processing technology to combat and overcome Doppler effect (or Doppler shift) and/or transmission delay for said fast-moving aircrafts.

20. A system as recited in claim 1, wherein said OWA Mobile Device is fully synchronized to said VMS (called Mobile Cloud Server) on the ground, and said OWA Mobile Device can push applications and/or information to said VMS, wherein multiple said OWA Mobile Devices can share same said VMS.