Wireless, ground link-based aircraft data communication system with roaming feature

• US 7,426,388 B1
• Filed: 11/03/2006
• Issued: 09/16/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 11/14/1995
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Harris Corporation (L3Harris Technologies, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Harris Corporation (L3Harris Technologies, Inc.)
• Inventors: Wright, Thomas H., Ziarno, James J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Crosland, Donnie L
• Application Number:
  US11/556,231
• Time in Patent Office: 683 Days
• Field of Search: 455/66.1, 455/431, 455/98, 340/945, 340/961, 701/14, 370/316
• US Class Current: 455/431
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0055 with safety arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0013 with a ground station
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0021 located in the aircraft
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0026 located on the ground
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/065 Navigation or guidance aids, e.g. for taxiing or rolling
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/18506 Communications with or from aircraft, i.e. aeronautical mobile service

Abstract

A flight information communication system has a plurality of RF direct sequence spread spectrum ground data links that link respective aircraft-resident subsystems, in each of which a copy of its flight performance data is stored, with airport-located subsystems. The airport-located subsystems are coupled by way communication paths, such as land line telephone links, to a remote flight operations control center. At the flight operations control center, flight performance data downlinked from plural aircraft parked at different airports is analyzed. In addition, the flight control center may be employed to direct the uploading of in-flight data files, such as audio, video and navigation files from the airport-located subsystems to the aircraft.

Claims

1. A system for providing a retrievable record of the flight performance of an aircraft comprising:

a ground data link unit that continuously obtains flight performance data representative of aircraft flight performance during an entire flight of the aircraft from at least take-off to landing, said ground data link unit comprising;

a) an archival data store operative to continuously accumulate and continuously store flight performance data during an entire flight of the aircraft from at least take-off to landing, and

b) a transceiver coupled to said archival data store, and comprising a transmitter that is operative after the aircraft completes its flight and lands at an airport to download the flight performance data that has been accumulated and stored by said archival data store during an entire flight of the aircraft from at least take-off to landing over a wireless RF communication signal;

a ground based cellular infrastructure comprising a receiver that receives the wireless RF communication signal from the aircraft and demodulates the signal to obtain the flight performance data; and

a ground subsystem coupled to said cellular infrastructure that receives said flight performance data.

2. The system according to claim 1, wherein the generated aircraft data is automatically transmitted after the aircraft has landed.

3. The system according to claim 1, wherein the wireless RF communications signal operates in an unlicensed frequency band.

4. The system according to claim 1, wherein the ground subsystem comprises a base station segment store, and wherein said base station segment storing video, audio and flight information capable of being uploaded to said aircraft.

5. A method of providing data from an aircraft comprising:

continuously monitoring the flight performance of the aircraft during an entire flight of the aircraft from at least take-off to landing;

generating aircraft data representative of the continuously monitored aircraft flight performance during an entire flight of the aircraft from at least take-off to landing;

accumulating and continuously storing the generated aircraft data within a ground data link unit positioned within the aircraft during the entire flight of the aircraft from at least take-off to landing to create an archival store of such aircraft data;

after the aircraft completes its flight and lands at an airport, transmitting the accumulated, stored generated aircraft data from the ground data link unit over a wireless RF communications signal to a ground based cellular infrastructure; and

demodulating the received wireless RF communications signal to obtain the accumulated, aircraft data representative of the flight performance of the aircraft during an entire flight of the aircraft from take-off to landing.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein the step of transmitting the generated aircraft data comprises automatically transmitting the generated aircraft data after the aircraft has landed.

7. The method according to claim 5, and further comprising the step of uploading data to the ground data link unit over a RF communications signal transmitted from said cellular infrastructure after the aircraft has landed.

8. The system according to claim 7, wherein said step of uploading data to the ground data link unit comprises uploading video, audio and flight information that has been stored within a ground based base station segment store.

9. The system according to claim 7, wherein said step of uploading data to the ground data link unit comprises uploading at least one of next flight information data, data associated with the flight plan of the aircraft, and next flight navigation information.

10. The method according to claim 5, and further comprising the step of storing the demodulated accumulated aircraft data within a ground based base station segment coupled to said ground based cellular infrastructure.

11. The method according to claim 10, and further comprising the step of transmitting the accumulated generated aircraft data from the ground based base station segment to a flight operations center for further processing.

12. A system for providing a retrievable record of the flight performance of an aircraft comprising:

a ground data link unit that continuously obtains flight performance data representative of aircraft flight performance during at least two entire flights of the aircraft from at least take-off to landing, said ground data link unit comprising;

a) an archival data store operative to continuously accumulate and continuously store flight performance data during at least two entire flights of the aircraft from at least take-off to landing, and

b) a wireless RF transceiver coupled to said archival data store, and comprising a transmitter that is operative after the aircraft completes at least two entire flights and lands at an airport to automatically download the flight performance data that has been accumulated and stored by said archival data store during the at least two entire flights of the aircraft from at least take-off to landing over a wireless RF communication signal; and

a ground based cellular infrastructure that receives the wireless RF communication signal from the aircraft; and

a ground subsystem coupled to said cellular infrastructure that receives said flight performance data and demodulates the signal to obtain the flight performance data for the aircraft for the at least two entire flights of the aircraft from at least take-off to landing.

13. The system according to claim 12, wherein the accumulated generated aircraft data is automatically transmitted after the aircraft has landed after the second flight.

14. The system according to claim 12, and further comprising a ground based base station segment for storing the demodulated accumulated flight performance data for the aircraft for the at least two entire flights of the aircraft from at least take-off to landing.

15. The system according to claim 12, and further comprising further comprising a flight operations center operatively connected to the ground based base station segment for further processing of said demodulated accumulated flight performance data for the aircraft for the at least two entire flights of the aircraft from at least take-off to landing.