Flight plan optimization for maintaining internet connectivity

• US 9,858,824 B1
• Filed: 07/14/2015
• Issued: 01/02/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 07/14/2015
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• 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: Zogg, Scott J., Acheson, Steven D., Kronfeld, Kevin M., Hoke, Jaclyn A., Delaney, Kevin J., Weiler, David J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Khatib, Rami
• Assistant Examiner(s): BOOMER, JEFFREY C
• Application Number:
  US14/799,368
• Time in Patent Office: 903 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/20 Instruments for performing navigational calculations G01C21/24, G01C21/26 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 23/00 Combined instruments indicating more than one navigational value, e.g. for aircraft; Combined measuring devices for measuring two or more variables of movement, e.g. distance, speed or acceleration
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0013 with a ground station
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0021 located in the aircraft
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0034 Assembly of a flight plan
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0039 Modification of a flight plan
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0091 for monitoring atmospheric conditions radar or analogous systems specially adapted for meteorological use G01S13/95; meteorology G01W
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/18506 Communications with or from aircraft, i.e. aeronautical mobile service
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/06 Airborne or Satellite Networks space-based or airborne stations H04B7/185

Abstract

A system for determining a flight plan based on internet connectivity includes at least one processor coupled with a non-transitory processor-readable medium storing processor-executable code for causing the at least one processor to receive internet connectivity data for a plurality of airspace regions, where the internet connectivity data is indicative of an internet connectivity characteristic; and determine a flight plan for an aircraft through at least one region of the plurality of airspace regions based on the internet connectivity characteristic.

Claims

1. A system for determining a flight plan, comprising:

at least one processor coupled with a non-transitory processor-readable medium storing processor-executable code for causing the at least one processor to;

receive internet connectivity data for a plurality of waypoints, each waypoint associated with an airspace region, the waypoints defining potential flight paths for an aircraft;

determine, for each waypoint, an internet connectivity characteristic based on the internet connectivity data, the internet connectivity characteristic indicating a quality of a potential internet connection for the aircraft at the waypoint;

receive supplemental internet connectivity data from a ground station, wherein the supplemental internet connectivity data received from the ground station is based on at least one of a modified flight plan of another aircraft and a bandwidth currently being used by another aircraft;

generate a flight plan for the aircraft, based on the supplemental internet connectivity data, the flight plan comprising a flight path comprising particular waypoints selected from the plurality of waypoints, the selection of a particular waypoint based on the quality of the potential internet connection for the aircraft at the particular waypoint;

provide a display of the generated flight plan to a user via a display screen; and

transmit, using an antenna of an onboard communications system, the flight plan to the ground station.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the internet connectivity characteristic is based on at least one of whether an internet connection is available, a maximum data transfer rate available, and an average minimum data transfer rate available.

3. The system of claim 1, further comprising a communication system coupled with the at least one processor, the communication system configured to receive the internet connectivity data from an external communications system, wherein the internet connectivity data is indicative of a plurality of internet connectivity characteristics associated with a plurality of internet connections available to the aircraft in each airspace region.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the generated flight plan is a first generated flight plan between an origin and a destination, and wherein the non-transitory processor-readable medium further stores processor-executable code for causing the at least one processor to:

generate a second flight plan between the origin and the destination;

compare the first flight plan and the second flight plan based on the quality of the potential internet connection for the aircraft for each flight plan; and

display a representation of the first flight plan and the second flight plan and the comparison of the first flight plan and the second flight plan to the user via the display screen, and receive a user input indicative of a selected flight plan.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the non-transitory processor-readable medium further stores processor-executable code for causing the at least one processor to generate the flight plan based on weather data, and wherein the weather data is indicative of a weather event occurring within at least one airspace region.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the non-transitory processor-readable medium further stores processor-executable code for causing the at least one processor to generate the flight plan further based on a user input, the user input indicative of at least one of a desired minimum data transfer rate, a period of time when the aircraft is airborne, and a desired internet upload or download rate.

7. A method of determining a flight plan, comprising:

receiving, by at least one processor executing processor-readable code stored in a non-transitory processor-readable medium, a data signal indicative of internet connectivity data for a plurality of waypoints, each waypoint associated with an airspace region, the waypoints defining potential flight paths for an aircraft;

determining, by the at least one processor, for each waypoint, an internet connectivity characteristic based on the internet connectivity data, the internet connectivity characteristic indicating a quality of a potential internet connection for the aircraft at the waypoint;

receiving supplemental internet connectivity data from a ground station, wherein the supplemental internet connectivity data received from the ground station is based on at least one of a modified flight plan of another aircraft and a bandwidth currently being used by another aircraft;

generating, by the at least one processor, a flight plan for the aircraft, based on the supplemental internet connectivity data, the flight plan comprising a flight path comprising particular waypoints selected from the plurality of waypoints, the selection of a particular waypoint based on the quality of the potential internet connection for the aircraft at the particular waypoint;

providing, by the at least one processor, a display of the generated flight plan to a user via a display screen; and

transmitting, using an antenna of an onboard communications system, the flight plan to the ground station.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the internet connectivity characteristic is based on at least one of whether an internet connection is available, a maximum data transfer rate available, and an average minimum data transfer rate available.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein the data signal includes a plurality of internet connectivity characteristics associated with a plurality of internet connections available to the aircraft in the airspace regions.

10. The method of claim 7, wherein the generated flight plan is a first generated flight plan between an origin and a destination, and further comprising generating, by the at least one processor, a second flight plan between the origin and the destination;

comparing the first flight plan and the second flight plan.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising displaying a representation of the first flight plan and the second flight plan and the comparison of the first flight plan and the second flight plan to the user, and receiving a user input indicative of a selected flight plan.

12. The method of claim 7, wherein generating the flight plan further includes generating the flight plan based on weather data, wherein the weather data is indicative of a weather event occurring within at least one airspace region.

13. The method of claim 7, wherein optimizing the flight plan further includes optimizing the flight plan based on a user input, wherein the user input is indicative of at least one of a desired minimum data transfer rate, a period of time when the aircraft is airborne, and a desired internet upload or download rate.

14. A system for determining a flight plan, comprising:

at least one processor coupled with a non-transitory processor-readable medium storing processor-executable code for causing the at least one processor to;

receive flight plan data indicative of a first flight plan for an aircraft;

receive internet connectivity data for a plurality of waypoints, each waypoint associated with an airspace region, the waypoints defining potential flight paths for the aircraft;

determine, for each waypoint, an internet connectivity characteristic based on the internet connectivity data, the internet connectivity characteristic indicating a quality of a potential internet connection for the aircraft at the waypoint;

generate a second flight plan and a third flight plan for the aircraft based on the quality of the potential internet connection for the aircraft at particular waypoints; and

provide display data indicative of the second flight plan, the third flight plan, and the internet connectivity characteristics of the first flight plan, the second flight plan, and the third flight plan to a display system;

wherein the first flight plan and the second flight plan are associated with a first origin and a first destination, wherein the third flight plan is associated with the first origin and a second destination, and wherein the non-transitory processor-readable medium further stores processor-executable code for causing the at least one processor to compare the first flight plan, the second flight plan, and the third flight plan based on the internet connectivity characteristic and the first destination and the second destination.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the internet connectivity characteristic is based on at least one of whether an internet connection is available, a maximum data transfer rate available, and an average minimum data transfer rate available.

16. The system of claim 14, further comprising a communication system configured to receive the internet connectivity data from an external communications system, wherein the internet connectivity data is indicative of a plurality of internet connectivity characteristics associated with a plurality of internet connections available to the aircraft in each airspace region.

17. The system of claim 14, wherein the non-transitory processor-readable medium further stores processor-executable code for causing the at least one processor to display a representation of the comparison of the first flight plan, the second flight plan, and the third flight plan to a user via the display system, and receive a user input indicative of a selected flight plan.

18. The system of claim 14, wherein the non-transitory processor-readable medium further stores processor-executable code for causing the at least one processor to generate the second flight plan and the third flight plan based on weather data, and wherein the weather data is indicative of a weather event occurring within at least one airspace region.