Method and apparatus for data communication utilizing the North American terrestrial system

• US 8,495,240 B2
• Filed: 03/20/2007
• Issued: 07/23/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 09/09/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: AT&T Mobility II LLC (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Mobility II LLC (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Nelson, Eric A., O'Meara, Michael B.
• Primary Examiner(s): WINDER, PATRICE L
• Application Number:
  US11/688,600
• Publication Number:
  US 20070220109A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,317 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 709/236
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/18506 Communications with or from aircraft, i.e. aeronautical mobile service
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/4633 Interconnection of networks using encapsulation techniques, e.g. tunneling
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/063 Content adaptation, e.g. replacement of unsuitable content
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/00 Network arrangements, protocols or services for addressing or naming
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/25 of the same type
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0236 Filtering by address, protocol, port number or service, e.g. IP-address or URL
• 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: H04M 7/006 Networks other than PSTN/ISDN providing telephone service, e.g. Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) , including next generation networks with a packet-switched transport layer H04L65/00 takes precedence; aspects not specific to the type of network H04M3/00; special services in those networks H04M3/42
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/02 Hierarchically pre-organised networks, e.g. paging networks, cellular networks, WLAN [Wireless Local Area Network] or WLL [Wireless Local Loop]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/06 Airborne or Satellite Networks space-based or airborne stations H04B7/185

Abstract

A method and apparatus for enhancing the current data communication capabilities of the North American Terrestrial System (NATS) Network is presented. In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, an airborne data server (ADS) is added to the airborne architecture of the current NATS Network and a ground data gateway (GDG) is added to the ground-based architecture of the current NATS Network. The ADS functions as a router/gateway connected to many local area networks (LANs) aboard the aircraft. The ADS provides for the automation of data services such as scheduling, routing and translation. The GDG is the central hub for the network and dispatcher of data to customer premises or to the aircraft.

Claims

1. A method for providing data communications services utilizing a North American Terrestrial System (NATS) network, the method comprising:

receiving, at a first server in an aircraft, data from a first device within the aircraft;

encapsulating the data into packets in accordance with a transmission control Protocol/Internet protocol (TCP/IP) protocol; and

sending said data packets to a modified NATS radio set for delivery from the aircraft directly to a ground server adapted to be connected to a plurality of ground stations, via an air-to-ground transmission of the NATS network.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the encapsulating includes encapsulating voice traffic into Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) packets and wherein the sending includes sending the VoIP packets from the aircraft directly to the ground server via the air-to-ground transmission of the NATS network.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the receiving includes receiving analog voice data via a telephone handset within the aircraft.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the receiving includes receiving aircraft condition monitoring system (ACMS) data received from one or more sources in the aircraft;

and

further comprising the acts of;

comparing the received ACMS data to at least one predetermined value; and

generating one or more reports summarizing a result of said comparing.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein the receiving includes receiving Aircraft Communication Addressing and Reporting System Management unit (ACARS MU) data from at least one of a relay, a switch on an aircraft, or an aircraft bus.

6. The method of claim 2, further comprising, returning static data, pre-loaded on the first server, to the first device in response to the receiving.

7. The method of claim 2, wherein the receiving includes receiving the data from at least one of a general purpose computer or a laptop computer.

8. A method for providing data communications services utilizing a network comprising a first server adapted to be connected to a modified North American Terrestrial System (NATS) radio set and a second server adapted to be connected to a plurality of ground stations, the method comprising:

receiving, at the first server residing within an aircraft, data from the modified NATS radio set, which is encapsulated into packets in accordance with a transmission control Protocol/Internet protocol (TCP/IP) protocol and received at the modified NATS radio set, within the aircraft, directly from the second server, residing on the ground, via a ground-to-air transmission in the NATS network;

removing said data from said encapsulated packets;

storing the data within a memory device adapted to be connected to the first server;

encapsulating the data in accordance with a second protocol; and

sending at least one of said received data packets, the data, or said data encapsulated in accordance with said second protocol to a first device on the aircraft.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the receiving includes receiving Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) traffic via the ground-to-air transmission.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the receiving VoIP traffic includes receiving VoIP traffic at the modified NATS radio set from at least one of a public switched telephone network (PSTN) or an Internet protocol (IP) network over the ground-to-air transmission;

and wherein the sending includes sending the at least one of the received data packets, the data, or the data encapsulated in accordance with said second protocol to a telephone handset on the aircraft.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein the sending includes sending the at least one of the received data packets, the data, or the data encapsulated in accordance with said second protocol to at least one of a general purpose computer or a laptop computer.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein the receiving includes receiving flight management system software update information;

and wherein the sending includes sending the flight management system software update information to onboard avionics equipment.

13. A method for facilitating data communication employing a North American Terrestrial System (NATS), the method comprising:

receiving, at a ground data gateway (GDG), data from a first device for transmission to an airborne data server (ADS);

encapsulating the data into one or more data packets in accordance with a transmission control Protocol/Internet protocol (TCP/IP) protocol;

determining a ground station serving the NATS, associated with the ADS, to which the data is to be routed; and

sending the one or more data packets to the determined ground station for direct transmission to a modified NATS radio set, within an aircraft associated with the ADS, over a ground-to-air NATS transmission.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the encapsulating includes encapsulating voice data into one or more Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) data packets.

15. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

transmitting a page message to the modified NATS radio set via the determined ground station and by employing a predetermined channel;

seizing a NATS channel employing the modified NATS radio set in response to the page message; and

establishing a radio link for transmitting the one or more data packets between the modified NATS radio set and the determined ground station by employing the seized NATS channel.

16. A system that provides data communications services utilizing a North American Terrestrial System (NATS), the system comprising:

an airborne data server (ADS) that receives data from a first device in an aircraft, the ADS encapsulates the data into one or more data packets in accordance with a transmission control protocol/Internet protocol (TCP/IP) protocol; and

a modified NATS radio set, within the aircraft, that receives the encapsulated data from the ADS and directly transmits the encapsulated data to a ground station, over an air-to-ground transmission link of the NATS, the ground station delivers the encapsulated data to a ground data gateway (GDG).

17. The system of claim 16, wherein the ADS receives analog voice data from the first device, converts the analog voice data to Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) packets and delivers the VoIP packets to the modified NATS radio set for transmission.

18. A computer system that provides data communications services utilizing to a North American Terrestrial System (NATS), the system comprising:

a ground data gateway (GDG) that receives, from a modified NATS radio set aboard an aircraft, data encapsulated into one or more packets in accordance with a Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) protocol, wherein the modified NATS radio set transmits the encapsulated data directly to a ground station, connected to the GDG, over a NATS air-to-ground transmission, the GDG extracts the data from the one or more packets and delivers at least one of the one or more packets, the data, or data encapsulated in accordance with a second protocol to a device connected to the GDG.

19. The computer-system of claim 18, wherein the data includes voice traffic encapsulated into one or more Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) packets.

20. The computer-system of claim 19, wherein the voice traffic is analog voice data recorded via a telephone handset in an aircraft.