Aircraft cabin personal telephone microcell

• US 8,504,020 B2
• Filed: 10/18/2007
• Issued: 08/06/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 10/05/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
• Original Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
• Inventors: Gilbert, David
• Primary Examiner(s): PHAM, TIMOTHY X
• Application Number:
  US11/874,558
• Publication Number:
  US 20080090567A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,119 Days
• Field of Search: 455/431, 455/11.1, 340/945
• US Class Current: 455/431
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/18506 Communications with or from aircraft, i.e. aeronautical mobile service
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/18508 with satellite system used as relay, i.e. aeronautical mobile satellite service
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0206 in access points, e.g. base stations access point devices per se H04W88/08
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/005 Moving wireless networks
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

An on-board base station, comprising an interface device on board an aircraft that interfaces with a separate wireless device of a user inside the aircraft and with a wireless bearer system, an RF detector that detects RF emissions of the separate wireless device, a controller coupled to the RF detector, that controls RF emissions of the separate wireless device, as a function of detected RF emissions, and an RF repeater communicatively coupled to the controller. The controller controls the RF repeater to receive and send signals between the antenna and the interface device to maintain the RF emissions below a predetermined level.

Claims

1. An on-board base station, comprising:

an interface device on board an aircraft that interfaces with a separate wireless device of a user inside the aircraft and with a wireless bearer system, the wireless bearer system communicatively coupling the separate wireless device to an external public network;

a radio frequency (RF) detector that detects RF emissions of the separate wireless device;

an air-to-ground gateway on board the aircraft that converts signals received from the wireless device to protocols of an air-to-ground system and that converts signals received from the air-to-ground system to protocols of the wireless device, wherein the air-to-ground gateway emulates a cellular switch center;

a controller coupled to the RF detector, that controls RF emissions of the separate wireless device, as a function of detected RF emissions; and

an RF repeater communicatively coupled to the controller, wherein the controller controls the RF repeater to receive and send signals between the antenna and the interface device to maintain the RF emissions below a predetermined level, wherein said interface device receives signals from and transmits signals to the wireless device, receives signals from and transmits signals to the air-to-ground system, and interfaces through the air-to-ground system to a cellular network to register the wireless device.

2. The on-board base station of claim 1, wherein the interface device includes a microcell communicatively coupled to the RF repeater.

3. The on-board base station of claim 1, wherein the predetermined level is a level above which RF emissions interfere with aircraft systems.

4. The on-board base station of claim 1, further comprising an antenna in a cabin of the aircraft that receives output signals from the separate wireless device and conveys the output signals to said interface device.

5. The on-board base station of claim 4, further comprising a media converter that conveys the signals between said antenna and said RF repeater.

6. The on-board base station of claim 4, further comprising a media converter that conveys the signals between said antenna and said interface device.

7. The on-board base station of claim 1, wherein the wireless device comprises a cellular device.

8. The on-board base station of claim 1, further comprising:

an external antenna that respectively transmits and receives direct cellular signals to and from the wireless device when the aircraft is on the ground.

9. The on-board base station of claim 1, wherein the air-to-ground system is a satellite communications (SATCOM) system and wherein the air-to-ground gateway is a SATCOM gateway.

10. An on-board base station, comprising:

means on board an aircraft for interfacing with a separate wireless device of a user inside the aircraft and with a wireless bearer system, the wireless bearer system communicatively coupling the separate wireless device to an external public network;

means for controlling radio frequency (RF) emissions of the separate wireless device to maintain the RF emissions below a predetermined level, the predetermined level being a level above which RF emissions will interfere with aircraft systems, wherein said means for interfacing receives signals from and transmits signals to the separate wireless device and receives signals from and transmits signals to the wireless bearer system, wherein said means for interfacing includes an air-to-ground gateway on board the aircraft that converts signals received from the separate wireless device to protocols of an air-to-ground system and that converts signals received from the air-to-ground system to protocols of the separate wireless device, wherein said means for interfacing receives signals from and transmits signals to the air-to-ground system, and interfaces through the air-to-ground system to a cellular network to register the separate wireless device, wherein the air-to-ground gateway emulates a cellular switch center;

means for repeating communicatively coupled to said means for controlling and to said means for interfacing; and

means for detecting unwanted RF emissions above the predetermined level and unsupported cellphone types, wherein said means for interfacing minimizes the RF emission from the separate wireless device.

11. The on-board base station of claim 10, wherein said means for controlling alerts crew members of the aircraft to the unwanted RF emissions and unsupported cellphone types detected by said means for detecting.

12. The on-board base station of claim 10, wherein the wireless bearer system is a satellite communications (SATCOM) system, and wherein said means for interfacing also interfaces through the SATCOM system to the cellular network and then with a public switched telephone network to register the separate wireless device as a roaming subscriber on the contacted cellular network.

13. An on-board base station implemented method of two-way communications using separate wireless devices on board an aircraft, said method comprising the steps of:

interfacing on board the aircraft with the separate wireless devise of users inside the aircraft and with a wireless bearer system, the wireless bearer system communicatively coupling the separate wireless device to an external public network;

converting signals received from the wireless device to protocols of the satellite communications (SATCOM) system in an air-to-ground gateway on board the aircraft;

converting signals received from the SATCOM system to protocols of the wireless device in the air-to-ground gateway on board the aircraft, wherein the air-to-ground gateway emulates a cellular switch center;

controlling a radio frequency (RF) repeater to receive and send signals between an antenna and a microcell;

detecting RF emissions from the separate wireless devices above a predetermined level; and

controlling RF emissions of the separate wireless devices as a function of the detected RF emissions to maintain the RF emissions below a predetermined level, wherein an interface device receives signals from and transmits signals to the separate wireless device, receives signals from and transmits signals to an air-to-ground system, and interfaces through the air-to-ground system to a cellular network to register the separate wireless device.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein the pre-determined level is a level above which RF emissions may interfere with aircraft systems.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein interfacing with a wireless bearer system comprises transmitting between an aircraft-based mobile satellite terminal and a satellite vehicle in space.

16. The method of claim 13, wherein interfacing with a wireless bearer system comprises transmitting between a ground mobile satellite terminal and a satellite vehicle in space.