Method and system to reduce impact of non-ATC data-link messages on ATC data-link messages on a shared air-ground communication link

• US 8,280,563 B2
• Filed: 11/13/2009
• Issued: 10/02/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 11/13/2009
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
• Original Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
• Inventors: McGuffin, Thomas F., True, Willard R.
• Primary Examiner(s): Tran, Khoi
• Assistant Examiner(s): Kiswanto, Nicholas
• Application Number:
  US12/618,258
• Publication Number:
  US 20110118904A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,054 Days
• Field of Search: 701/1, 701/3, 701/8, 701/120, 701/301, 342/32, 342/36, 342/37, 370/401, 709/203, 709/230, 709/238
• US Class Current: 701/3
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0013 with a ground station

Abstract

A system to send air traffic control (ATC) data-link messages from an aircraft is provided. The system includes ATC applications in a first portion of an application layer, non-ATC applications in a second portion of the application layer; and a communication manager in the aircraft having two addresses for the aircraft. The communication manager includes a first copy of software in a first data link layer and a second copy of the software in a second data link layer. ATC data-link messages are sent from the aircraft independent of non-ATC data-link messages sent from the aircraft.

Claims

1. A system to send air traffic control (ATC) data-link messages from an aircraft, the system comprising:

a communication manager in the aircraft having two data link addresses for the aircraft, the communication manager comprising;

a first copy of software in a first data link layer portion assigned a first one of the two data link addresses and configured to communicate ATC data-link messages; and

a second copy of the software in a second data link layer portion assigned a second one of the two data link addresses and configured to communicate non-ATC data-link messages,

wherein the aircraft is configured to execute ATC applications in a first portion of an application layer onboard the aircraft, and wherein the aircraft is configured to execute non-ATC applications in a second portion of the application layer onboard the aircraft, and

wherein the ATC data-link messages are sent from the aircraft independent of the non-ATC data-link messages sent from the aircraft via a physical link between the communication manager and an aircraft radio.

2. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

a first set of intermediate layers between the first data link layer portion and the first portion of the application layer, wherein the ATC applications are communicatively coupled to the first data link layer portion via the first set of intermediate layer; and

a second set of intermediate layers between the second data link layer portion and the second portion of the application layer, wherein the non-ATC applications are communicatively coupled to the second data link layer portion via the second set of intermediate layers.

3. The system of claim 2, further comprising:

the aircraft radio on the aircraft having duplicated copies of radio-based software in a first radio data link layer portion and a second radio data link layer portion, wherein ATC applications are communicatively coupled to the first radio data link layer portion and the non-ATC applications are communicatively coupled to the second radio data link layer portion.

4. The system of claim 2, wherein ATC data-link messages are sent to a ground station via a first logical channel reserved for the air traffic control data-link messages using the first data link address of the aircraft, and wherein non-ATC data-link messages are sent to the ground station via a second logical channel reserved for aeronautical operational control (AOC) data-link messages using the second data link address of the aircraft.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the first logical channel implements an aeronautical telecommunications network (ATN) communication protocol, and wherein the second logical channel implements an aircraft communications addressing and reporting system (ACARS) over aviation very high frequency link control (AVLC) protocol.

6. The system of claim 4, wherein the first logical channel and second logical channel are on the same frequency.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the ATC applications in the first portion of the application layer and the non-ATC applications in the second portion of the application layer are in the communication manager.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the non-ATC data-link messages are aeronautical operational control (AOC) data-link messages.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the communication manager is a communication management unit.

10. A method to send air traffic control (ATC) data-link messages from an aircraft independent of aeronautical operational control (AOC) data-link messages sent from the same aircraft, the method comprising:

providing a first data link address and a second data link address for the aircraft to a ground station communicatively coupled to the aircraft;

sending the ATC data-link messages from the aircraft to the ground station via a physical link between a communication manager in the aircraft and an aircraft radio using a first logical channel that is associated with the first data link address and reserved for the ATC data-link messages; and

independently sending the aeronautical operational control (AOC) data-link messages from the aircraft to the ground station using a second logical channel that is associated with the second data link address and reserved for the aeronautical operational control (AOC) data-link messages.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

providing a first copy of software in a first data link layer portion of a communication manager; and

providing a second copy of software in a second data link layer portion of the communication manager.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

providing air traffic control (ATC) applications in a first portion of an application layer of the communication manager; and

providing non-ATC applications in a second portion of the application layer of the communication manager.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

providing a first set of intermediate layers between the first data link layer portion and the first portion of the application layer;

communicatively coupling the ATC applications to the first data link layer portion via the first set of intermediate layer;

providing a second set of intermediate layers between the second data link layer portion and the second portion of the application layer; and

communicatively coupling the non-ATC applications to the second data link layer portion via the second set of intermediate layers.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

providing software in a first radio data link layer portion of an aircraft radio communicatively coupled to the communication manager; and

providing the software in a second radio data link layer portion of the aircraft radio.

15. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

implementing an aeronautical telecommunications network (ATN) communication protocol on the first logical channel; and

implementing an aircraft communications addressing and reporting system (ACARS) over aviation very high frequency link control (AVLC) protocol on the second logical channel.

16. A method to send air traffic control (ATC) data-link messages from an aircraft independent of aeronautical operational control (AOC) data-link messages sent from the same aircraft, the method comprising:

sending the ATC data-link messages from the aircraft via a physical link between a communication manager in the aircraft and an aircraft radio by implementing a first logical channel, which is associated with a first data link address and reserved for air traffic control data-link messages, to communicatively couple the aircraft to the ground station; and

independently sending the aeronautical operational control (AOC) data-link messages from the aircraft via the physical link between the communication manager in the aircraft and the aircraft radio by implementing a second logical channel, which is associated with a second data link address and reserved for non-ATC data-link messages, to communicatively couple the aircraft to the ground station.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising providing the first data link address for the aircraft and the second data link address for the aircraft to the ground station communicatively coupled to the aircraft.

18. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

providing copies of software in a data link layer portion of a communication manager in the aircraft to form two data link layer portions.

19. The method of claim 18, further comprising:

providing copies of software in a data link layer portion of the aircraft radio in the aircraft to form two radio data link layer portions.

20. The method of claim 18, further comprising:

providing air traffic control applications in a first portion of an application layer of the communication manager; and

providing non-ATC applications in a second portion of the application layer of the communication manager, wherein ATC data-link messages are sent from the aircraft independent of AOC data-link messages sent from the aircraft.