ACARS messages over iridium

• US 7,904,082 B2
• Filed: 11/18/2009
• Issued: 03/08/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 08/20/2002
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Lockheed Martin Corporation (Martin Marietta Corporation), ARINC Incorporated (Rtx Corporation)
• Original Assignee: ARINC Incorporated (Rtx Corporation)
• Inventors: Siegrist, Ernest Joseph, Stefani, Rolf, Pemberton, William Brian, Graves, Debra J., Williard, Alan Martin
• Primary Examiner(s): DESIR, PIERRE LOUIS
• Application Number:
  US12/621,158
• Publication Number:
  US 20100062761A1
• Time in Patent Office: 475 Days
• Field of Search: 455/427, 455/431, 455/411, 709/227, 709/230, 709/249, 709/238, 342/457, 342/36
• US Class Current: 455/431
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 45/00 Aircraft indicators or protectors not otherwise provided for camouflage F41H3/00
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 45/0053 using visual equipment, e.g. cameras
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 45/0059 by communicating emergency situations to ground control or between crew members
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/1965 the vehicle being an aircraft
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/1966 Wireless systems, other than telephone systems, used to communicate with a camera
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19684 Portable terminal, e.g. mobile phone, used for viewing video remotely
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/007 Details of data content structure of message packets; data protocols
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/016 Personal emergency signalling and security systems emergency non-personal manually actuated alarm activators G08B25/12
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/18 Closed-circuit television [CCTV] systems, i.e. systems in which the video signal is not broadcast

Abstract

A system in a method are provided for sending and receiving messages between a point located on the ground and a point located on an aircraft via an Iridium Short Burst Data Service. The messages may conform to Airlines Electronic Engineering Committee (AEEC) Specification 618. The messages may be ground-to-air messages or air-to-ground messages. The messages may be ACARS messages and at least some of the messages may have a length exceeding a maximum payload of the Iridium Short Burst Data Service. ACARS messages, which exceed the maximum payload of the Iridium Short Burst Data Service may be segmented and each of the segments may be sent in respective Iridium Short Burst Data messages via the Iridium Short Burst Data Service. When the separate Iridium Short Burst Data messages are received, the segments may be combined to reconstruct the ACARS message for delivery to an intended destination.

Claims

1. A ground-based communication device that communicates with an aircraft-based communication device via an Iridium Short Burst Data Service, the ground-based communication device comprising:

a communication interface, that receives from and sends to a ground-based processing device, ACARS messages;

a header adder that adds an Iridium header to at least a portion of an ACARS message received from the ground-based processing device, the Iridium header including an application indicator for indicating one of a plurality of applications to which the at least a portion of the message pertains, a message identifier for associating a plurality of message portions of the ACARS message, and a segment offset indicating a placement of each of the plurality of message portions with respect to the ACARS message;

a message segmenter that segments messages based on the transceiver used by each aircraft, and

an L-band transceiver that sends an Iridium Short Burst Data message to an aircraft-based communication device, the Iridium Short Burst Data message including the at least a portion of the ACARS message and the added Iridium header.

2. The ground-based communication device of claim 1, wherein:

the L-band transceiver receives a second Iridium Short Burst Data message from the aircraft-based communication device, the second Iridium Short Burst Data message including at least a portion of a second ACARS message and an added second Iridium header, the added Iridium second header including a second application indicator for indicating one of a plurality of second applications to which the at least a portion of the second ACARS message pertains, a second message identifier for associating a plurality of message portions of the second ACARS message, and a second segment offset indicating a placement of each of the plurality of message portions of the second ACARS message with respect to the second ACARS message,

the ground-based communication device further comprises a header stripper to discard the second Iridium header from the received second Iridium Short Burst Data message, and

the communication interface is further for sending the second ACARS message without the second Iridium header, to the ground-based processing device.

3. The ground-based communication device of claim 2, further comprising:

a message combiner to combine a plurality of message portions of the received second ACARS message to form the received second ACARS message, the plurality of message portions of the received second ACARS message being included in received second Iridium Short Burst Data messages, each of the received plurality of message portions including a respective one of the second Iridium headers having a same second message identifier.

4. The ground-based communication device of claim 1,

wherein the message segmenter determines whether a size of the ACARS message exceeds a maximum payload size for an Iridium Short Burst Data Service and segments the message into a plurality of message portions when the size of the message is determined to exceed the maximum payload size for the Iridium Short Burst Data Service, each of the plurality of message portions being placed in respective payloads of Iridium Short Burst Data messages to be transmitted to the aircraft-based communication device.