Device and Method for Air-To-Ground Communication of Aircraft

• US 20170155442A1
• Filed: 05/21/2015
• Published: 06/01/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 05/28/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Lufthansa Systems GmbH & Co. KG (Swiss International Air Lines Limited Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Lufthansa Systems GmbH & Co. KG (Swiss International Air Lines Limited Incorporated)
• Inventors: Hommel, Peter, Liebe, Jrg
• Granted Patent: US 9,991,945 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/18506 Communications with or from aircraft, i.e. aeronautical mobile service
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 16/28 using beam steering
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/003 locating network equipment
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/0453 Resources in frequency domain, e.g. a carrier in FDMA
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/046 the resource being in the space domain, e.g. beams

Abstract

A device for air-to-ground communication between an aircraft and a ground station, said aircraft and said ground station each having antennas for directional radio data transmission. The data transmission is performed in a frequency band from 60 GHz to 90 GHz and the antenna of the ground station transmits and receives data exclusively in a range of angles α of at least 5 degrees in the upward direction relative to the horizontal plane.

Claims

1-23. -23. (canceled)

24. A device for air-to-ground communication between an aircraft and a ground station, said aircraft and said ground station each comprising antennas for directional radio data transmission,

wherein

said data transmission is performed in a frequency band from 60 GHz to 90 GHz and that the antenna of the ground station transmits and receives data exclusively in a range of angles α

of at least 5 degrees in the upward direction relative to the horizontal plane.

25. The device according to claim 24, wherein the directional characteristic of the antennas of the ground station and of the aircraft is variable by electronic beam forming.

26. The device according to claim 24, wherein a main lobe of the ground antenna (18) can be arbitrarily pivoted about a vertical axis and is pivotable about a horizontal axis not below said angle α

of 5 degrees.

27. The device according to claim 24, wherein a main lobe of the antenna of the aircraft is arbitrarily pivotable about a vertical axis.

28. The device according to claim 24, wherein a main lobe of the antenna of the aircraft is pivotable exclusively in a range of angles β

from −

5 degrees to −

90 degrees relative to a horizontal plane.

29. The device according to claim 24, wherein the data transmission is performed exclusively in the E-band.

30. The device according to claim 24, wherein the antennas of the ground station and of the aircraft are each designed to radiate radio waves in a pencil beam.

31. The device according to claim 24, wherein the ground station and the aircraft are designed for direct data transmission between the antennas of the ground station and of the aircraft.

32. The device according to claim 24, wherein the antennas of the aircraft and the ground station are divided into n segments each covering

33. The device according to claim 24, further comprising a data storage memory in the aircraft, the data storage memory comprising the geographical locations of a plurality of ground stations.

34. The device according to claim 24, further comprising a central monitor and control system adapted to generate a 3-dimensional map of a plurality of ground stations and of at least one aircraft communicating with said central monitor and control system via radio.

35. A method for data transmission between a ground station and an aircraft, said ground station and said aircraft being each provided with a radio antenna for directional radio data transmission between each other,

wherein the ground station does not radiate the data below an angle α

of at least 5 degrees relative to a horizontal plane and

wherein the data transmission between the antennas of the ground station and of the aircraft is performed exclusively in a frequency band from 60 GHz to 90 GHz.

36. The method according to claim 35, wherein the ground station and the aircraft are each designed for data transmission in the E-band.

37. The method according to claim 35, wherein a transmission and reception direction of the antenna of the ground station and/or of the aircraft is pivotable at random about a vertical axis.

38. The method according to claim 35, wherein a transmission/reception direction of the antenna of the ground station can be pivoted about a horizontal axis not below said angle α

of 5 degrees.

39. The method according to claim 35, wherein a transmission and reception direction of the antenna of the aircraft can be pivoted exclusively in a range of angles β

from −

5 degrees to −

90 degrees relative to a horizontal plane.

40. The method according to claim 35, wherein the data transmission between the antenna of the aircraft and the antenna of the ground station is performed directly.

41. The method according to claim 35, wherein, after leaving the transmission and reception range of the ground station, the aircraft automatically seeks and establishes contact to a further ground station in whose transmission and reception range the aircraft is located.

42. The method according to claim 35, wherein the antennas of the aircraft and the ground station comprise phased array antenna segments each covering

43. The method according to claim 35, wherein the aircraft comprises a data storage memory in which the geographical locations of a plurality of ground stations are stored, wherein a central monitor and control system within the aircraft generates a map comprising the locations of said ground stations and of the aircraft.

44. The method according to claim 35, wherein a central monitor and control system calculates a 3-dimensional airspace map showing the positions of a plurality of ground stations and at least one aircraft,

wherein the map is used to control air traffic of the aircraft shown in the map.

45. The method according to claim 35, wherein the data transmission between the antennas of the ground station and of the aircraft remotely controls the aircraft from the ground station.

46. The method according to claim 35, wherein a main lobe of the aircraft antenna and/or of the ground antenna is steered into the direction of a respective aircraft antenna or ground antenna by employing positional and trajectory data of the aircraft and the ground station stored and frequently updated in a central monitor and control system.