Configurable cabin antenna system and placement process

• US 7,496,361 B1
• Filed: 07/19/2004
• Issued: 02/24/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 07/19/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Rockwell Collins, Inc. (Raytheon Technologies Corporation d/b/a RTX)
• Original Assignee: Rockwell Collins, Inc. (Raytheon Technologies Corporation d/b/a RTX)
• Inventors: Sakarya, Fatma Ayhan, Mitchell, James P.
• Primary Examiner(s): Kincaid; Lester
• Assistant Examiner(s): Lai; Daniel
• Application Number:
  US10/894,334
• Time in Patent Office: 1,681 Days
• Field of Search: 725 73- 77, 455/431, 455/452.2, 455/446, 455/423, 342/359, 342/360
• US Class Current: 455/423
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 16/28 using beam steering

Abstract

A method of delivering programming to passenger seats with a wireless in-flight entertainment system in an aircraft cabin uses a configurable cabin antenna system. Control data and programming is delivered with a head end server and received with one or more access points connected to the head end server. One or more antenna systems, connected to the access points, are disposed at optimum selected locations in the aircraft cabin to provide the programming to the passengers. One or more personal electronic devices (PEDs) located receive the programming from the one or more configurable antennas. Beams of the one or more antenna systems are adjusted to deliver programming to the one or more PEDs at a required bit error rate.

Claims

1. A method of delivering programming to passengers in a plurality of seats at an optimum RF power level with a wireless in-flight entertainment (IFE) distribution system comprising the steps of:

providing control data and the programming in the wireless in-flight entertainment distribution system with a head end server;

receiving the control data and programming with one or more wireless access points connected to the head end server;

providing the programming at the optimum RF power level to the plurality of seats with one or more antenna systems disposed at optimum selected locations in the aircraft cabin and connected to the one or more access points;

receiving the programming from the one or more antenna systems with one or more personal electronic devices (PEDs) located in the plurality of seats;

adjusting beams of said one or more antenna systems to deliver programming to the one or more PEDs at the optimum RF power level;

controlling a beam of the one or more antenna systems with an algorithm performed by a computing device in the wireless IFE distribution system;

measuring RF power level and fade data at the plurality of seats with a robotic system that volumetrically scans the seats and measures RF power level and fade data and stores the data in an RF fade database;

analyzing the stored data to determine if the optimum RF power level is available to sustain a required data rate at each seat in a cell having a number of seats;

installing the one or more antenna systems in the optimum selected locations;

adjusting the antenna beams in accordance with RF power level and fade data;

delivering from the head end server test data while scanning an antenna beam;

measuring BER of the test data with a PED;

cataloging BER data according to seats and antenna beam position;

computing alternative beam pointing when all seats in a cell are tested;

reprogramming the antenna systems;

reevaluating performance;

continuously monitoring, via a diagnostic interface, and repeating the preceding steps until maximum performance is found for all seats in the cell served by each antenna; and

commanding the one or more antenna systems to make fine beam position adjustments based on a summary computation that considers minimum performance requirements to all seat cells.

2. A method of delivering programming to a plurality of seats at an optimum RF power level with a wireless in-flight entertainment (IFE) distribution system having one or more antenna systems wherein an optimum RF power level is determined, comprising the steps of:

measuring RF power level and fade data at the plurality of seats with a robotic system that volumetrically scans the seats and measures RF power level and fade data;

analyzing the RF power level and fade data to determine if the optimum RF power level is available to sustain a required data rate at each seat in a cell having a number of seats;

moving antenna system spacing closer together to compress the cell if individual seats within the cell fall below the optimum RF power level to sustain the required data rate;

adjusting antenna system parameters to sustain the required data rate if individual seats within the cell fall below the optimum RF power level;

installing the one or more antenna systems in the optimum selected locations;

adjusting antenna beams in accordance with the RF power level and fade data;

delivering from a head end server test data while scanning an antenna beam;

measuring BER of the test data with a wireless personal electronic device (PED);

cataloging BER data according to seats and antenna beam position;

computing alternative beam pointing when all seats in a cell are tested;

reprogramming the antenna systems;

reevaluating BER performance;

continuously monitoring, via a diagnostic interface, and repeating the preceding steps until maximum performance is found for an entire seat area to be served by each antenna system; and

commanding the one or more antenna systems with the one or more access points to make fine beam position adjustments based on a summary computation that considers minimum performance requirements to all seat cells.