INTERNETWORKING AIR-TO-AIR NETWORK AND WIRELESS NETWORK

• US 20090318137A1
• Filed: 06/20/2008
• Published: 12/24/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 06/20/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
• Original Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
• Inventors: Toth, Louis, Kauffman, Donald C., Foster, Eric N.
• Granted Patent: US 8,190,147 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/428
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/18506 Communications with or from aircraft, i.e. aeronautical mobile service
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/42 Centralised routing
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 40/20 based on geographic position or location
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 40/22 using selective relaying for reaching a BTS [Base Transceiver Station] or an access point

Abstract

Methods and systems of operating a communication system are provided. One method comprises establishing at least one communication link between a mobile-to-mobile communication network of mobile nodes and at least one route computing system via gateway node. The gateway node is one of the mobile nodes that is in communication with a wireless network. Moreover, the route computing system is in communication with a terrestrial network that is also in communication with the wireless network. The at least one established communication link is then used to communicate messages.

Claims

1. A method of operating a communication system, the method comprising:

establishing at least one communication link between a mobile-to-mobile communication network of mobile nodes and at least one route computing system via gateway node, wherein the gateway node is one of the mobile nodes that is in communication with a wireless network, further wherein the route computing system is in communication with a terrestrial network that is also in communication with the wireless network; and

using the at least one established communication link to communicate messages between communication peers, wherein a communication peer is at least one of a mobile node in the mobile-to-mobile communication network of mobile nodes and a terrestrial end system.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

sending topology information regarding the mobile-to-mobile communication network to the route computing system via an established communication link.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

updating mobile-to-mobile communication network topology at the routing computing system upon the receipt of topology information from the mobile-to-mobile communication network.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising:

routing messages to a select mobile node in the mobile-to-mobile communication network via the gateway with the routing computing system based on the then current topology information of the mobile-to-mobile communication network and on position information of the mobile-to-mobile communication network.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

translating network addresses of downlink messages from mobile nodes in the mobile-to-mobile communication network to network addresses that can be sent over the wireless network; and

translating network addresses of uplink messages received over the wireless network to network addresses that can be sent over the mobile-to-mobile communication network.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

registering the gateway with the route computing system.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein registering the gateway further comprises:

sending a register message signal to the route computing system when the gateway is within the radio range of the wireless network and advertising to the other nodes in the mobile-to-mobile network that the registering node will provide gateway functions.

8. The method of claim 6, further comprising:

upon at least one of prior to leaving and upon leaving the radio range of the wireless network, sending an unregister signal to the route computing system to unregister the gateway and advertising to the other nodes in the mobile-to-mobile network that the designated gateway will cease to provide gateway functions.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

advertising to any mobile node in the mobile-to-mobile node communication networks of the status of their associated gateway.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

providing a protocol specific address for the gateway and a communication peer based on a supplied node identifier.

11. An aircraft communication system, the system comprising:

a communication transceiver configured to communicate messages between aircraft;

a wireless network transceiver configured to communicate with wireless networks; and

a communication management function configured to switch the aircraft communication system into a gateway mode when the wireless network transceiver is in communication with a wireless network, wherein the gateway mode allows the aircraft communication system to pass messages between aircraft in an associated ad-hoc air-to-air communication network via the communication transceiver and a route computing system via the wireless network transceiver.

12. The system of claim 11, further comprising:

a surveillance transceiver; and

surveillance equipment in communication with the surveillance transceiver, the surveillance equipment and the surveillance transceiver used at least in part by the communication management function to determine the topology of the associated ad-hoc air-to-air communication network.

13. The system of claim 11, wherein the communication management function is further configured to transmit the then current topology of the associated ad-hoc air-to-air communication network with the wireless network transceiver using a protocol specific message addressed to a ground station controller.

14. The system of claim 11, wherein the communication management function is further configured to encapsulate downlink messages with protocol specific addresses and extracting messages from uplink messages having protocol specific addresses.

15. The system of claim 11, wherein the communication management function is configured to implement optimal route algorithms to direct messages to select aircraft in the associated ad-hoc air-to-air network.

16. A communication system comprising:

a ground station controller in communication with at least one wireless network; and

at least one ad-hoc air-to-air communication network, each ad-hoc communication network made up of a plurality of aircraft in communication with each other, at least one of the plurality of aircraft within the radio range of the wireless network being designated as a gateway to the ad-hoc air-to-air communication network, each gateway including,

a communication transceiver configured to communicate messages between aircraft,

a wireless network transceiver configured to communicate with the wireless network, and

a communication management function configured to switch the aircraft communication system into a gateway mode when the wireless network transceiver is in communication with the wireless network, wherein the gateway mode allows the aircraft communication system to pass messages between aircraft in an associated ad-hoc air-to-air communication network via the communication transceiver and the ground station controller via the wireless network transceiver.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein the communication management function of the gateway is further configured to determine the topology of the aircraft in the ad-hoc air-to-air communication network and transmit it to the ground station controller.

18. The system of claim 17, further comprising:

a memory coupled to the ground station controller configured to store received topology information regarding the ad-hoc air-to-air communication networks, the ground station controller further configured to determine routes for messages based on the stored topology.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the ground station controller is further configured to update the stored topology associated with the ad-hoc air-to-air communication network when a more current topology of the ad-hoc air-to-air communication network is received.

20. The system of claim 16, wherein the communication management function is further configured to encapsulate downlink messages into protocol specific messages for transmission by the wireless network transmitter and extract uplink messages from protocol specific messages received by the wireless network transmitter.