SMS communication to and from messaging devices in an aircraft

• US 9,037,169 B2
• Filed: 04/12/2011
• Issued: 05/19/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 04/12/2010
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Aerotrack Pte Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Flight Focus Pte Ltd.
• Inventors: Cabos, Ralf
• Primary Examiner(s): Sams, Matthew
• Application Number:
  US13/640,705
• Publication Number:
  US 20130029701A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,498 Days
• US Class Current: 455/466
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/18502 Airborne stations
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/18506 Communications with or from aircraft, i.e. aeronautical mobile service
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/066 Format adaptation, e.g. format conversion or compression
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/58 Message adaptation for wireless communication
• 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: H04W 4/14 Short messaging services, e.g. short message services [SMS] or unstructured supplementary service data [USSD]
• 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

Abstract

The application discloses a message transmission device for transmitting an SMS message of a mobile device from an aircraft to a ground system. The device comprising an onboard antenna which is connected to a base transceiver station for receiving the SMS message from the mobile device, means for forwarding the message to a mobile switching centre onboard the aircraft and means for emulating status messages. Furthermore, the message transmission device comprises means for transferring the status messages to the mobile device, a splitter for splitting the message into data packets and means for transmitting the data packets to the ground system.

Claims

1. Method for transmitting an SMS message from an airplane, the method comprising the steps of:

emulating an interface of a cell phone net with a base transceiver station on board of an airplane,

receiving an SMS message from a passenger'"'"'s mobile terminal unit,

processing the SMS message, the processing comprising

using the passenger'"'"'s mobile terminal unit number to look up a passenger identifier in a dynamic lookup table, and

replacing the header of the SMS message with a data header, the data header comprising a passenger identifier,

sending the processed SMS message to a satellite of a satellite network,

receiving the processed SMS message from the provider of the satellite network,

using the passenger identifier to look up the passenger'"'"'s mobile terminal unit number,

forming an SMS header which comprises the passenger'"'"'s mobile terminal unit number,

forming an SMS message from the SMS header and the processed SMS message, and

sending the SMS message to an addressee.

3. Method for transmitting an SMS message from an airplane according to claim 1, the method furthermore comprising

collecting processed SMS messages of passengers, and

after a predetermined time,

sending the SMS messages in data bursts of a short burst data service.

4. Method for transmitting an SMS message from an airplane according to claim 1, the processing furthermore comprising

identifying an SMS message as message template,

replacing the SMS message by a template code,

if data fields are present, and

inserting the values of the data fields.

5. Method for transmitting an SMS message from an airplane according to claim 1, further comprising before the airplane starts a new flight, synchronizing the dynamic lookup table at the airplane with a dynamic lookup table at the ground.

6. Method for transmitting an SMS message from an airplane according to claim 5, the synchronization of the lookup tables further comprising

receiving passenger related data from an airline office,

generating the dynamic lookup table at the ground using the passenger related data.

7. Method for transmitting an SMS message from an airplane according to claim 1, wherein

the dynamic lookup tables comprise an entry with a passenger ID and the passenger'"'"'s mobile terminal unit number.

8. Method for transmitting an SMS message from an airplane according to claim 1, wherein

the dynamic lookup tables comprise an entry with a passenger ID and a link to further passenger related data.

2. Method for transmitting an SMS message to an airplane, the method comprising the steps of:

emulating an interface of a cell phone net with a base station controller,

receiving an SMS message which is addressed to a passenger'"'"'s mobile terminal unit,

processing the SMS message, the processing comprising

using the passenger'"'"'s mobile terminal unit number to look up a passenger identifier in a dynamic lookup table, and

replacing the header of the SMS message with a data header, the data header comprising a passenger identifier,

sending the processed SMS message to a provider of a satellite network,

receiving the processed SMS message from a satellite of the satellite network,

using the passenger identifier to look up the passenger'"'"'s mobile terminal unit number,

forming an SMS header which comprises the passenger'"'"'s mobile terminal unit number,

forming an SMS message from the SMS header and the processed SMS message, and

sending the SMS message to the passenger'"'"'s mobile terminal unit.