Method for selecting a ground station within an aeronautical telecommunications network

• US 6,931,248 B2
• Filed: 09/28/2001
• Issued: 08/16/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 10/03/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Thales SA
• Original Assignee: Thales SA
• Inventors: Borel, Matthieu
• Primary Examiner(s): Vo, Nguyen
• Assistant Examiner(s): Stein, Julie E
• Application Number:
  US10/129,098
• Publication Number:
  US 20020155833A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,418 Days
• Field of Search: 455/431, 455/98
• US Class Current: 455/431
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/18506 Communications with or from aircraft, i.e. aeronautical mobile service

Abstract

A method for an ATN aeronautical telecommunications network to select ground stations giving access to the ATN terrestrial network, by an aircraft in the course of its task. The method equips the on-board router with a database relating to the ATN network containing a file of ground stations graded as a function of the geographical position of the aircraft on its route prepared during the construction of the flight plan, and provides a link between the on-board router and the navigation equipment of the aircraft, allowing the on-board router to know the position of the aircraft on its route and to use this position to select, from the database, the ground stations having the aircraft in their areas of coverage, with an order of preference determined by the company operating the aircraft. This accelerates the choice of a ground station for access to the ATN terrestrial network, while leaving complete control of this choice to the operating company.

Claims

1. A method of selecting a ground station within an aeronautical telecommunications network including a terrestrial network that can be accessed by a set of ground stations, the method comprising:

during preparation of a flight plan for an aircraft, and after determining a route of the aircraft;

selecting, from among the ground stations, those ground stations within a range of the route of the aircraft defined by the flight plan, and disregarding ground stations outside of the range of the route of the aircraft defined by the flight plan;

establishing a database having, as elements, preference scores associated with identifiers denoting pairs each formed by the selected ground stations and by one or more air-ground communications modes compatible with a ground station in question;

establishing a classification as to the elements of the database based, for each element, on a position of the area of coverage of the ground station to which it relates, with respect to the route of the aircraft defined by the flight plan, the classification being manifested by an addressing of the elements of the database as a function of the position of the aircraft along the route defined by its flight plan; and

loading the database on board the aircraft for its subsequent use by an on- board decision unit having a function of selecting the ground station chosen for accessing the terrestrial network and the air-ground communications mode or modes used with the chosen ground station;

upon execution of the flight plan by a flight-management system equipping the aircraft and periodically giving the position of the aircraft on the route defined by the flight plan;

having the decision unit select, from the database loaded on-board the aircraft, one of the pairs or the ground-station air-ground and ground air communications mode pair having the best preference score from among these the identifiers of which features in the database at the address corresponding to the last position of the aircraft communicated by its flight-management system.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the preference score considers for the ground stations:

guidelines from the pilot;

guidelines from the company operating the aircraft;

costs;

security and reliability;

ownership of the ground stations; and

nationality of the ground stations.