Advance mobile communications gateway with satcom backhaul access and a modularized data security system and method for data and secure key distribution to aircraft

• US 9,509,394 B1
• Filed: 10/07/2015
• Issued: 11/29/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 10/07/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Rockwell Collins, Inc. (Raytheon Technologies Corporation d/b/a RTX)
• Original Assignee: Rockwell Collins, Inc. (Raytheon Technologies Corporation d/b/a RTX)
• Inventors: Bortz, Mark, Delaney, Kevin, McClatchy, Diane, Mitchell, James P., Lentz, Robert L., Zogg, Scott J., Chisholm, Fraser R., Stefani, Rolf R.
• Primary Examiner(s): REGO, DOMINIC E
• Application Number:
  US14/876,896
• Time in Patent Office: 419 Days
• Field of Search: 455/41.2, 455/552.1, 455/553.1, 455/557, 455/420
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/18506 Communications with or from aircraft, i.e. aeronautical mobile service
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/033 of the user plane, e.g. user's traffic
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/42 for mass transport vehicles, e.g. buses, trains or aircraft

Abstract

A system and method are provided for implementing a security construct for downloading, delivering and protecting large amounts of data for transfer to an aircraft upload capability in a short period of time, including between individual legs of a flight for a particular aircraft or fleet of aircraft. Large data packages include In Flight Entertainment and Electronic Flight Bag data. The data is downloaded at an available rate using wired communication paths communicating with various data sources via communication networks to a mobile communication device. The data is secured in the mobile communication device according to particular encryption schemes acceptable to data content providers. The mobile communication device securely holds the data for carriage to the aircraft where wired communication is established to upload the data in available abbreviated amounts of time in a manner that is not dependent on the availability of wireless communicating bandwidth.

Claims

1. A portable communicating system for bulk data delivery to a vehicle, comprising:

a first communicating device that establishes communication with at least one data source according to a selectable one of a plurality of available communication links to facilitate backhaul transfer of bulk data from the at least one data source to the portable communicating system;

a second communicating device that communicates directly with a vehicle when the portable communicating system is in close proximity to the vehicle to implement high data rate transmission of the bulk data to an onboard data server in the vehicle;

a data storage device that stores the bulk data;

a data security device that enables a secure data exchange protocol for (1) the transferring of the bulk data from the at least one data source to the portable communicating system, and (2) the storing of the bulk data in the data storage device;

a data exchange coordinating device that is configured to

receive an input that initiates a transferring of bulk data from the at least one data source to the portable communicating system;

automatically select a transfer communication link for the first communicating device from among the plurality of available communication links;

confirm with the data security device that the secure data exchange protocol is enabled for the selected transfer communication link;

receive the bulk data from the at least one data source via the selected transfer communication link;

store the received bulk data in the data storage device in a secure manner according to the secure data exchange protocol;

receive an indication of communication being established with the onboard data server in the vehicle via the second communicating device;

automatically initiate the high data rate transmission of the bulk data to the onboard data server in the vehicle via the second communicating device;

receive an indication regarding available data stored in the onboard data server in the vehicle to be downloaded to the portable communicating system;

automatically initiate high data rate reception of the available data from the onboard data server in the vehicle via the second communicating device; and

direct storage of the available data received from the onboard server in the data storage device.

2. The portable communicating system of claim 1, the received input that initiates the transferring the bulk data being based on one of (1) a schedule established by the at least one data source, (2) a request from the vehicle, and (3) a manual user input via a user interface associated with the portable communicating system.

3. The portable communicating system of claim 1, the data security device operating according to a public key infrastructure as the enabled secure data exchange protocol.

4. The portable communicating system of claim 1, comprising a first modular unit integrally housing at least the second communicating device, the data storage device and the data exchange coordinating device.

5. The portable communicating system of claim 4, further comprising a separate second modular unit integrally housing at least the first communicating device and the data security device, the second modular unit being located remotely from any vehicle.

6. The portable communicating system of claim 5, the first modular unit being locally communicatively connected to the second modular unit for the transfer of the bulk data and storage of the bulk data in the data storage device.

7. The portable communicating system of claim 6, the first modular unit being operatively decoupled from the second operating device for transport to a vicinity of the vehicle.

8. The portable communicating system of claim 1, the second communicating device communicating directly with the vehicle via a wired communication connection between the second communicating device and the vehicle.

9. The portable communicating system of claim 1, the plurality of available communication links including (1) at least one communication link operating according to an AeroMACS standard and (2) at least communication link configured to establish a satellite communication connection.

10. The portable communicating system of claim 1, the at least one data source being a content provider for one of in-flight entertainment bulk data or electronic flight bag bulk data.

11. A method for providing bulk data delivery to a vehicle, comprising:

receiving, with a processor in a portable communicating device, an input to initiate a transfer of bulk data from at least one data source to a portable communicating device;

automatically selecting, with the processor in the portable communicating device, a transfer communication link for a first communicating device from among a plurality of communication links available for selection in the first communicating device;

enabling, with a data security device, a secure data exchange protocol for the transfer of the bulk data from the at least one data source to the portable communicating device over the selected transfer communication link;

receiving and securely storing the transfer of the bulk data from the at least one data source in the portable communicating device;

monitoring, with the processor in the portable communicating device, a progress of the receiving and storing of the transfer of the bulk data in the portable communicating device;

indicating to a user a completion of the receiving and storing of the transfer of the bulk data in the portable communicating device;

communicating directly with a vehicle, using a second communicating device in the portable communicating device, when the portable communicating device is positioned in close proximity to the vehicle to implement high data rate transmission of the bulk data to an onboard data server in the vehicle;

\

receiving, with the processor in the portable communicating device, an indication of communication being established with the onboard data server in the vehicle via the second communicating device;

automatically initiating the high data rate transmission of the bulk data to the onboard data server in the vehicle via the second communicating device;

receiving, with the processor in the portable communicating device, an indication regarding available data stored in the onboard data server in the vehicle to be downloaded to the portable communicating device;

automatically initiating, with the processor in the portable communicating device, high data rate reception of the available data from the onboard data server in the vehicle via the second communicating device; and

directing, with the processor in the portable communicating device, storage of the available data received from the onboard server in the data storage device.

12. The method of claim 11, the input to initiate the transfer of the bulk data being based on one of (1) a schedule established by the at least one data source, (2) a request from the vehicle, and (3) a manual user input via a user interface associated with the portable communicating device.

13. The method of claim 11, the enabled secure data exchange protocol being according to a public key infrastructure.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein:

the portable communicating device integrally houses at least the second communicating device, a data storage device for storing the bulk data and the processor, and

a separate support device in a form of a docking station integrally houses at least the first communicating device and the data security device, the separate support device being located remotely from any vehicle;

the method further comprising;

locally communicatively connecting the portable communicating device to the separate support device for the transfer of the bulk data and storage of the bulk data in the data storage device;

operatively decoupling the portable communicating device from the separate support device for transport of the portable communicating device to a vicinity of the vehicle for the communicating directly with the vehicle.

15. The method of claim 11, the second communicating device communicating directly with the vehicle via a wired communication connection between the second communicating device and the vehicle.

16. The method of claim 11, the plurality of available communication links including (1) at least one communication link operating according to an AeroMACS standard, and (2) at least one communication link configured to establish a satellite communication connection.

17. The method of claim 11, the at least one data source being a content provider for one of in-flight entertainment bulk data or electronic flight bag bulk data.

18. A non-transitory data storage medium storing instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to execute the steps of a method for providing bulk data delivery to a vehicle, comprising:

receiving an input to initiate a transfer of bulk data from at least one data source to a portable communicating device;

automatically selecting a transfer communication link for a first communicating device from among a plurality of communication links available for selection in the first communicating device;

enabling a secure data exchange protocol for the transfer of the bulk data from the at least one data source to the portable communicating device over the selected transfer communication link;

receiving and securely storing the transfer of the bulk data from the at least one data source in the portable communicating device;

monitoring a progress of the receiving and storing of the transfer of the bulk data in the portable communicating device;

indicating to a user a completion of the receiving and storing of the transfer of the bulk data in the portable communicating device;

communicating directly with a vehicle, using a second communicating device in the portable communicating device, when the portable communicating device is in close proximity to the vehicle to implement high data rate transmission of the bulk data to an onboard data server in the vehicle;

receiving an indication of communication being established with the onboard data server in the vehicle via the second communicating device;

automatically initiating the high data rate transmission of the bulk data to the onboard data server in the vehicle via the second communicating device;

receiving an indication regarding available data stored in the onboard data server in the vehicle to be downloaded to the portable communicating device;

automatically initiating high data rate reception of the available data from the onboard data server in the vehicle via the second communicating device; and

directing storage of the available data received from the onboard server in the data storage device.