Airborne communications network routing

• US 8,606,266 B1
• Filed: 05/20/2011
• Issued: 12/10/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 05/20/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Rockwell Collins, Inc. (Rtx Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Rockwell Collins, Inc. (Rtx Corporation)
• Inventors: Mitchell, James P.
• Primary Examiner(s): Cai, Wayne
• Assistant Examiner(s): Huynh, Chuck
• Application Number:
  US13/112,441
• Time in Patent Office: 935 Days
• Field of Search: 455/427, 455/431, 455/428, 455/430, 709/227
• US Class Current: 455/427
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/18508 with satellite system used as relay, i.e. aeronautical mobile satellite service
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/308 Route determination based on user's profile, e.g. premium users
• 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: H04L 67/146 Markers for unambiguous identification of a particular session, e.g. session cookie or URL-encoding
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/321 Interlayer communication protocols or service data unit [SDU] definitions; Interfaces between layers
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/42 for mass transport vehicles, e.g. buses, trains or aircraft
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/18 Selecting a network or a communication service
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/005 Moving wireless networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/06 Airborne or Satellite Networks space-based or airborne stations H04B7/185
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/182 Network node acting on behalf of an other network entity, e.g. proxy

Abstract

A data transmission system for transmitting and receiving data comprising a first communication system configured to transmit and receive, data over a first network and a second communication system configured to transmit and receive data over a second network. The second network has a more contiguous physical coverage than the first network. The system further includes a proxy unit configured to select a routing of user data from a user device through either the first communication system or the second communication system. The proxy unit being configured to select the routing based on a user condition. The user condition may be based on a user preference, a detection of a type of user session (e.g., an SSL session), and/or a travel path of the user. A communication system is selected that provides the best network coverage, including continuity, based on the user condition.

Claims

1. A data transmission system for transmitting and receiving data comprising:

a first communication system housed within a communications avionics, the first communications system configured to communicate over a first network;

a second communication system housed within the communications avionics, the second communications system configured to communicate over a second network, the second network having a more contiguous physical, coverage than the first network;

a proxy unit collocated with the first communication system and the second communication system within the communications avionics, the proxy unit configured to selectively connect a user device to either the first communication system or the second communication system, the proxy unit configured to dynamically determine a desired communication system from one of;

the first communication system and the second communication system, the proxy unit being further configured to selectively connect the user device to the desired communication system based on a user condition, a detection of a session type, a planned travel, path of the user device, and an identification of a session uniform resource locater (URL).

2. The data transmission system of claim 1, wherein the user condition is based on a selection of one or more user preferences and the session type is a Secure Socket Layer (SSL) session.

3. The data transmission system of claim 2, further including an interactive display configured to allow a user to select at least one of the one or more user preferences.

4. The data transmission system of claim 3, wherein the interactive display is a touch screen.

5. The data transmission system of claim 3, wherein the interactive display is configured to display a map of the intended travel path of the user device and to display the physical coverage of at least the first communication system.

6. The data transmission system of claim 2, wherein the one or more user preferences include (1) use of a higher reliability network and (2) use of a higher speed network.

7. The data transmission system of claim 6, wherein the selection of the user preference (1) use of a higher reliability network causes the proxy unit to connect the user device to the second communication system,

wherein the selection of (2) use of a higher speed network causes the proxy unit to connect the user device to the first communication system, and

wherein the data transmission system selectively routes data via one of the first communication system and the second communication system and vice versa based on the one or more user preferences.

8. The data transmission system of claim 2, wherein the one or more user preferences indicate a cost of service corresponding to each of the first and second communication systems, and wherein the proxy unit connects the user device to the corresponding communication system based on a selected cost of service.

9. The data transmission system of claim 1, wherein the first communication system is a cellular data network and wherein the second communication system is a satellite communications network.

10. The data transmission system of claim 9, wherein the cellular data network is an LTE network.

11. The data transmission system of claim 1, wherein selectively connecting the user device to the desired communication system based on detection of a session type further comprises detection of:

a secure type data session causing the proxy unit to connect the user device to the second communication system, and

a non-secure type data sessions causing the proxy unit to connect the user device to the first communication system.

12. The data transmission system of claim 11, wherein the secure type data session is a Secure Socket Layer (SSL) session.

13. The data transmission system of claim 1, further comprising:

a database housed within the communications avionics, the database storing physical coverage information for the first communication system,

an input including a travel path of the user device;

wherein the proxy unit is configured to compare the travel path of the user device to the physical coverage information to determine if the user device will experience contiguous coverage or non-contiguous coverage while using the first communication system, and

wherein the proxy unit is configured to connect the user device to the second communication system if the proxy unit determines that the user device will experience non-contiguous coverage while using the first communication system.

14. The data transmission system of claim 13, wherein the data transmission system and the user device are onboard an aircraft.

15. A method for selecting and routing data from or

to a user device through a data transmission system comprising the steps of:

receiving a user condition from the user device;

detecting a session type;

receiving a planned travel path of the user device;

identifying a session uniform resource locater (URL);

determining, via a proxy unit housed within a communications avionics, a desired communication system from one of;

a first communication system and a second communication system, the determining based on;

the user condition, the session type, the planned travel path of the user device, and the URL, the first and second communication systems housed within the communications avionics;

selecting to route data through the desired communication system, the first communication system configured to communicate over a first network or to route data through a second communication system configured to communicate over a second network, the proxy unit configured to dynamically determine wherein the second network has a more contiguous physical coverage than the first network; and

routing data through the selected communication system.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the user condition is based on a selection of one more user preferences and the session type is a Secure Socket Layer (SSL) session.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the one or more user preferences include (1) use of a higher reliability network and (2) use of a higher speed network.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the selection of the user preference (1) use of a higher reliability network selects the second communication system,

wherein the selection of (2) use of a higher speed network selects the first communication system;

and

wherein the data transmission system selectively routes data via one of the first communication system and the second communication system and vice versa based on the one or more user preferences.

19. The method of claim 15, wherein selecting to route data via the selected network based on detection of a session type further comprises detection of:

a secure type data session causing selection of the second communication system, and

a non-secure type data sessions causing selection of the first communication system.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the secure type data session is a Secure Socket Layer (SSL) session.