Method, apparatus and computer program product for implementing and organizing an AD-HOC aviation data communication network

• US 7,085,562 B1
• Filed: 05/22/2001
• Issued: 08/01/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 05/22/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
• Original Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
• Inventors: True, Willard R., Holder, Michael D.
• Primary Examiner(s): To, Doris H.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Blount, Steven
• Application Number:
  US09/863,098
• Time in Patent Office: 1,897 Days
• Field of Search: 370/389, 370/254, 370/313, 370/316, 370/325, 455/11.1, 455/431
• US Class Current: 455/431
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/18506 Communications with or from aircraft, i.e. aeronautical mobile service
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/00 Routing or path finding of packets in data switching networks routing or path finding in wireless networks H04W40/00

Abstract

An airborne telecommunications network uses airborne aircraft to route message traffic between a source and destination.

Claims

1. A method for telecommunications comprising:

receiving a message request from a node at an antenna located aboard an aircraft;

determining if said message request is destined for said aircraft;

retransmitting said message request from said aircraft when said message request is destined for another aircraft, wherein said message request includes navigation information of the node;

predicting a future position of said aircraft;

predicting a future position of the node based on the received navigation information;

determining if communications can be maintained with said node over a predefined time interval, wherein the message request includes a unique identifier;

recording all the nodes the message request has visited; and

establishing a communication circuit when the message request is determined to reach the node that corresponds to the destination node, the destination node determines that the received message request is the first message request received that has the unique identifier.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

sending a communication circuit confirmation message from the destination node to the source node after establishment of the communication circuit;

wherein the sent confirmation message travels to the source node based on the recorded nodes associated with the received message request.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

sending a message associated the message request from the source node to the destination node based on the confirmation message, wherein the confirmation message includes the recorded nodes of the associated message request used to establish the communication.

4. A telecommunications system comprising:

a node;

one or more aircraft, each comprising;

an antenna for receiving a message request from the node; and

a processor in data communication with the antenna, the processor comprising;

a first component for determining if said message request is destined for the aircraft that received the message request;

a second component for retransmitting said message request when said message request is destined for another aircraft, wherein said message request includes navigation information of the transmitting node;

a third component for predicting a future position of said aircraft;

a fourth component for predicting a future position of the node based on the received navigation information;

a fifth component for determining if communications can be maintained with said node over a predefined time interval, wherein the message request includes a unique identifier;

a sixth component for recording all the nodes the message request has visited; and

a component for establishing a communication circuit when the message request is determined to reach the node that corresponds to the destination node, the destination node determines that the received message request is the first message request received that has the unique identifier.

5. The system of claim 4, further comprising:

a component for sending a communication circuit confirmation message from the destination node to the source node after establishment of the communication circuit,

wherein the sent confirmation message travels to the source node based on the recorded nodes associated with the received message request.

6. The system of claim 5, further comprising:

a component for sending a message associated the message request from the source node to the destination node based on the confirmation message,

wherein the confirmation message includes the recorded nodes of the associated message request used to establish the communication.