Aircraft wireless communication system and method
First Claim
1. A system for providing wireless communication service to a passenger compartment of an aircraft, comprising in combination:
- an external antenna located on an exterior portion of the aircraft, the external antenna operable to receive an incoming external signal from and transmit an outgoing external signal to a terrestrial base station;
a cabin antenna located in the passenger compartment of the aircraft, wherein the cabin antenna is oriented such that a transmission pattern of the cabin antenna is substantially directed away from a cockpit area of the aircraft to minimize interference with a flight and control system of the aircraft, the flight and control system being substantially located in the cockpit area, and wherein the cabin antenna is additionally configured with a high front-to-back ratio to substantially minimize back lobe energy directed toward the cockpit area, thereby further reducing interference to the flight and control system of the aircraft; and
a signal pathway linking the external antenna to the cabin antenna, wherein at least a portion of the signal pathway includes at least one low-energy transmission medium.
6 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A system and method for providing wireless communication services to passengers of an aircraft. An incoming signal is received from a base station at an external antenna on the aircraft. The incoming signal is converted to a low-energy signal type to be conveyed across a low-energy transmission medium. The low-energy signal may be light energy and the low-energy transmission medium may be a fiber optic cable, for example. The signal is converted to a signal type that can be transmitted into the passenger compartment for reception by one or more wireless handsets. Outgoing signals transmitted by the one or more wireless handsets may also be received and converted to low-energy signals for transmission on a low-energy signal path, which may be the same as or different from the incoming signal path. The outgoing signals may then be transmitted through an external antenna on the aircraft to be received by a base station.
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Citations
24 Claims
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1. A system for providing wireless communication service to a passenger compartment of an aircraft, comprising in combination:
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an external antenna located on an exterior portion of the aircraft, the external antenna operable to receive an incoming external signal from and transmit an outgoing external signal to a terrestrial base station; a cabin antenna located in the passenger compartment of the aircraft, wherein the cabin antenna is oriented such that a transmission pattern of the cabin antenna is substantially directed away from a cockpit area of the aircraft to minimize interference with a flight and control system of the aircraft, the flight and control system being substantially located in the cockpit area, and wherein the cabin antenna is additionally configured with a high front-to-back ratio to substantially minimize back lobe energy directed toward the cockpit area, thereby further reducing interference to the flight and control system of the aircraft; and a signal pathway linking the external antenna to the cabin antenna, wherein at least a portion of the signal pathway includes at least one low-energy transmission medium. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A method for providing wireless communication service to a passenger compartment of an aircraft, comprising in combination:
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receiving at an external antenna at least one incoming external signal from a terrestrial base station, wherein the external antenna is located on the aircraft; converting the at least one incoming external signal into at least one incoming low-energy signal; conveying the at least one incoming low-energy signal across a low-energy transmission medium; converting the at least one incoming low-energy signal into at least one internal incoming signal; and transmitting from a cabin antenna the at least one internal incoming signal into the passenger compartment, wherein the cabin antenna is oriented such that a transmission pattern of the antenna system is substantially directed away from a cockpit area of the aircraft to minimize interference with a flight and control system of the aircraft, the flight and control system being substantially located in the cockpit area, and wherein the cabin antenna is additionally configured with a high front-to-back ratio to substantially minimize back lobe energy directed toward the cockpit area, thereby further reducing interference to the flight and control system of the aircraft. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A method for providing wireless communication service to a passenger compartment of an aircraft, comprising in combination:
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receiving at a cabin antenna at least one outgoing internal signal from a wireless handset located in the passenger compartment, wherein the cabin antenna is oriented such that a transmission pattern of the antenna system is substantially directed away from a cockpit area of the aircraft to minimize interference with a flight and control system of the aircraft, the flight and control system being substantially located in the cockpit area, and wherein the cabin antenna is additionally configured with a high front-to-back ratio to substantially minimize back lobe energy directed toward the cockpit area, thereby further reducing interference to the flight and control system of the aircraft; converting the at least one outgoing internal signal into at least one outgoing low-energy signal; conveying the at least one outgoing low-energy signal across a low-energy transmission medium; converting the at least one outgoing low-energy signal to at least one outgoing external signal; and transmitting the at least one outgoing external signal to a terrestrial base station. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. A system for providing wireless communication service to a passenger compartment of an aircraft, comprising in combination:
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an external antenna mounted on an exterior portion of the aircraft, wherein the external antenna is operable to receive an incoming external signal from and transmit an outgoing external signal to a terrestrial base station; a repeater including at least one amplifier, wherein the repeater is operable to repeat the incoming external signal and an outgoing external signal; a first converter operable to convert the incoming external signal to an incoming optical signal and to convert an outgoing optical signal to the outgoing external signal; at least one cabin antenna unit having a cabin antenna and a second converter, wherein the second converter is operable to convert the incoming optical signal into an incoming internal signal, wherein the cabin antenna is operable to transmit the incoming internal signal to a wireless handset located in the passenger compartment and to receive an outgoing internal signal from the wireless handset, and wherein the second converter is operable to convert the outgoing internal signal to the outgoing optical signal, and wherein the cabin antenna is oriented such that a transmission pattern of the cabin antenna is substantially directed away from a cockpit area of the aircraft to minimize interference with a flight and control system of the aircraft, the flight and control system being substantially located in the cockpit area, and wherein the cabin antenna is additionally configured with a high front-to-back ratio to substantially minimize back lobe energy directed toward the cockpit area, thereby further reducing interference to the flight and control system of the aircraft; and at least one fiber optic cable operable to convey the incoming optical signal from the first converter to the at least one cabin antenna unit and to convey the outgoing optical signal from the at least one cabin antenna unit to the first converter. - View Dependent Claims (24)
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Specification