DATA RETRIEVAL SYSTEM IN AN AIRCRAFT WITH DATA STORED DURING A FLIGHT AND WIRELESSLY TRANSMITTED TO A GROUND SYSTEM AFTER LANDING USING A TRANSMISSION ELEMENT IN AN EXTERNAL PANEL OF AN AVIONIC BAY

• US 20160114902A1
• Filed: 05/21/2014
• Published: 04/28/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 05/23/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: BAE Systems Plc
• Original Assignee: BAE Systems Plc
• Inventors: PESCOD, CHRISTOPHER RALPH, HYDE, LYDIA ANN, NAWAZ, SHAHBAZ, WADDINGTON, SHAUN WILLIAM
• Granted Patent: US 9,884,689 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 2045/0065 Black boxes, devices automatically broadcasting distress signals
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 45/00 Aircraft indicators or protectors not otherwise provided for camouflage F41H3/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/04 Circuits
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/3822 specially adapted for use in vehicles H04B1/3827 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/18506 Communications with or from aircraft, i.e. aeronautical mobile service

Abstract

An aircraft-side aircraft data retrieval system and method, comprising: a data storage device (14) located in an aircraft (2) adapted to, during a flight, store data acquired during the flight; a transmission element (50), for example a dielectric filled hole or a coaxial transmission line assembly, in an external panel (9) of the aircraft (2); and wireless apparatus (18) adapted to wirelessly transmit, after the aircraft (2) has landed, the stored data to a ground-side data retrieval system (6) via the transmission element (50).

Claims

1. An aircraft-side aircraft data retrieval system, comprising:

a data storage device located in an aircraft adapted to, during a flight, store data acquired during the flight;

a transmission element in an external panel of the aircraft; and

wireless apparatus adapted to wirelessly transmit, after the aircraft has landed, the stored data to a ground-side data retrieval system via the transmission element.

2. An aircraft-side aircraft data retrieval system according to claim 1, wherein at least an antenna of the wireless apparatus is in a bay of the aircraft and the bay comprises the external panel of the aircraft.

3. An aircraft-side aircraft data retrieval system according to claim 2, wherein the bay is an avionics bay of the aircraft.

4. An aircraft-side aircraft data retrieval system according to claim 2, wherein the bay is an electromagnetically sealed bay of the aircraft and the seal comprises the external panel of the aircraft.

5. An aircraft-side aircraft data retrieval system according to claim 1, wherein the transmission element is a dielectric filled hole.

6. An aircraft-side aircraft data retrieval system according to claim 5, wherein the dielectric filling of the dielectric filled hole is a material with a dielectric constant in the range 2.1 to 2.36.

7. An aircraft-side aircraft data retrieval system according to claim 6, wherein the dielectric filled hole is in a bolt that is in the external panel.

8. An aircraft-side aircraft data retrieval system according to claim 1, wherein the transmission element comprises a coaxial transmission line assembly.

9. An aircraft-side aircraft data retrieval system according to claim 8, wherein the coaxial transmission line assembly comprises a bolt made of a conducting material.

10. An aircraft-side aircraft data retrieval system according to claim 1, wherein the wireless apparatus is adapted to wirelessly transmit, after the aircraft has landed, the stored data to a ground-side data retrieval system at a frequency in a range selected from the following ranges:

(i) 50-330 GHz, (ii) 22-24 GHz.

11. An aircraft-side aircraft data retrieval system according to claim 1 wherein the system is for use on a military aircraft and the data storage device is located in a first location on a military aircraft.

12. A ground-side aircraft data retrieval system configured to operate in conjunction with an aircraft-side data retrieval system, the aircraft-side data retrieval system including:

a data storage device located in an aircraft adapted to, during a flight, store data acquired during the flight;

a transmission element in an external panel of the aircraft and wireless apparatus adapted to wirelessly transmit, after the aircraft has landed, the stored data to a ground-side data retrieval system via the transmission element, the ground-side aircraft data retrieval system comprising;

wireless apparatus adapted to wirelessly receive data acquired and stored by the aircraft-side data retrieval system during flight and transmitted via the transmission element after landing by the aircraft.

13. A ground-side aircraft data retrieval system according to claim 12, located in a hand-held terminal.

14. A ground-side aircraft data retrieval system according to claim 12, further comprising an antenna probe head arrangement adapted to capture the wireless transmission from the transmission element.

15. An aircraft-side aircraft data retrieval method, comprising:

during a flight by an aircraft, storing data acquired during the flight in a storage device located in the aircraft; and

after the aircraft has landed, wirelessly transmitting the stored data to a ground-side data retrieval system via a transmission element in an external panel of the aircraft.

16. An aircraft data retrieval method, comprising:

performing an aircraft-side aircraft data retrieval method according to claim 15; and

wirelessly receiving stored data transmitted during the performance of the aircraft-side aircraft data retrieval method according to claim 15.

17. An aircraft-side aircraft data retrieval method according to claim 15, wherein wirelessly transmitting the stored data to a ground-side data retrieval system is carried out at a frequency in a range selected from the following ranges:

(i) 50-330 GHz, (ii) 22-24 GHz.

18. An aircraft-side aircraft data retrieval method according to claim 16, wherein wirelessly receiving the stored data is carried out at a frequency in a range selected from the following ranges:

(i) 50-330 GHz, (ii) 22-24 GHz.