Rockwell Collins, Inc.

Other

Rockwell Science Center, Inc.

James P Mitchell

Scott J Zogg

Kevin J Delaney

Charles W Wendt

Stan Hicks

Kevin Michael Kronfeld

Geoffrey A Shapiro

Rolf Stefani

Sitaram Ramaswamy

Arlen E Breiholz

Mark A Bortz

Jennifer A Davis

Robert L Lentz

Fraser R Chisholm

Diane D McClatchy

Joseph R Winston

Fatma Ayhan Sakarya

James C Conkwright

A Wayne Wyatt

Henry J Lakoma

Philip Harris

Kristen M Reichenauer

A system collects air samples at altitude and shares data among aircraft in a network. The system includes an antenna with an antenna housing; the housing defines air inlets and outlets. While in flight, air samples are collected through the inlets, processed via sensors, and allowed to flow through to the outlet. Air quality data, including, but not limited to, contrail humidity, gas content, and particle density and size, may be transmitted to other aircraft in a network via the antenna. Air quality measurements are geolocated and correlated from different platforms at different altitudes. A data model or machine learning artificial intelligence may utilize the geolocated air quality data to make certain predictions.

Aerospace antenna and network system for simultaneously delivering internet to aircraft and reporting air quality index parameters

Systems and methods for transmission and display of synchronized physical and visual data for three-dimensional display are disclosed. Physical and visual data may be encoded and interlaced to enable synchronized transmission of the data in efficient manners. A single data transport stream may be utilized to transmit both physical and visual data over a communication channel, allowing physical and visual data to be efficiently co-joined on a same surface at a receiving end to provide a realistic, true three-dimensional representation.

Systems and methods for transmission of synchronized physical and visible images for three dimensional display

Three-dimensional (3D) displays and methods for controlling the displays are disclosed. A display may include an n-layered 3D column, wherein each i-th layer of the n-layered 3D column includes a group of at least one illuminable element uniquely positioned within the n-layered 3D column. The display may also include a 2D macro-pixel configured to control a depth of illumination within the n-layered 3D column. The macro-pixel may include n-number of control groups, and each i-th control group of the n-number of control groups may include at least one individual pixel uniquely positioned to selectively provide at least one directional beam toward the group of at least one illuminable element positioned in the i-th layer of the n-layered 3D column, thereby allowing the macro-pixel to control the depth of illumination within the n-layered 3D column by selectively engaging at least one of the n-number of control groups of the macro-pixel.

Three dimensional displays

Methods for controlling directional antennas (and systems for performing same) may include one or more operations including, but not limited to: determining a location of an aircraft using a Kalman filter; selecting at least one communication tower for air-to-ground communication; computing a vector between the location of the aircraft and at least one selected communication tower; and configuring a directional antenna of an aircraft to correspond to the vector.

Air-to-ground antenna pointing using kalman optimization of beam control systems

A distributed system for flight and route management (FARM) of one or more aircraft of the system may include onboard processing devices for combining sensor data local to an aircraft with cloud-based data received through the system from other aircraft or from ground-based processing devices, thereby generating situation models of each aircraft relative to its flight path and in the context of current and predictive conditions (weather, traffic, terrain, threats, etc.). The FARM system may evaluate situation models against prioritized constraint sets of business rules or policies associated with each aircraft's flight plan to determine, crosscheck, and implement possible modifications to the flight plan. Localized aircraft data and flight plan modifications may be propagated through the system via a variety of communications networks to provide synchronized, holistic airspace data portraits to aircraft and ground control alike.

System and method for holistic flight and route management

An aircraft satellite communications system is provided. The aircraft satellite communications system may include a receiver/transmitter system configured for transmitting and receiving data from a low earth orbit satellite. The low earth orbit satellite is in communication with a host. The low earth orbit satellite is configured for receiving a request from the receiver/transmitter system and communicating the request to the host. The aircraft satellite communications system also includes a receiver configured for receiving data from a geostationary orbit satellite. The geostationary orbit satellite is also in communication with the host and is configured to receive a response to the request from the host and to transmit the response to the receiver.

Hybrid satellite radio system

The present invention is directed to a system and related method providing high speed wireless data connectivity between a vehicle and a temporary stationary location for the vehicle. The system comprises at least three steerable antennas configured for transmission and reception of a broadband RF signal. A first antenna is mounted to the temporary stationary location to send and receive data from one data source available to the system. A second steerable antenna mounted near the temporary location and third steerable antenna mounted to the vehicle provides a communication link between the temporary location and the vehicle. The systems disclosed herein may enable a RF node capable of accepting fiber, cable and satellite modem inputs and communicating wireless gigabit data to a transceiver on the vehicle.

Programmable data network for mobile parking area system and related method

An antenna system for a vehicle. The antenna system includes at least one antenna, wherein each of the at least one antenna is configured to send signals to and receive signals from one or more non-geostationary satellites. Additionally, the antenna system includes at least one directional antenna, wherein each of the at least one directional antenna is configured to receive signals from one or more geostationary satellites. Furthermore, the at least one antenna and the at least one directional antenna are configured to be communicatively coupled to a computing device on-board the vehicle.

Global broadband antenna system

A system and method enable broadband communication between a remote or airborne station and a terrestrial network linking any other station around the earth. The airborne station connectivity may be routed either via a proximal LEO SAT belonging to a high density LEO SAT constellation as well as via a proximal ground based station directly connected with the terrestrial network. Latency values available to the airborne station are within tolerance for video conferencing by employing steerable antenna elements onboard the airborne station to establish connectivity with and actively track one or more proximal LEO SATs. The airborne station maintains connectivity with the ground based station where available via cellular geographical transmission patterns to deconflict specific bands of limited spectrum as well as protocols specific to the local wireless network. The high density LEO SAT constellation is networked and connected to the terrestrial network via several global down links.

Instant on video conferencing system and related method

A computer system identifies a subset of internet content of interest to a future set of passengers for a particular flight. The computer system compiles the subset of the internet content in advance of the flight and delivers the subset of internet content to a corresponding airport gate. A routing table of individual pages and links in those individual pages is constructed. A computer system with a large data storage element in an aircraft receives the subset of internet content and delivers it to passengers on demand, in flight.

Hybrid mobile internet system

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.

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

A system and method for communication relay via a repeater platform satellite vehicle to a near surface station in the Polar Region is disclosed. A preferred embodiment receives a plurality of positioning and content data from a plurality of constellations of Geosynchronous Equatorial Orbit (GEO) Satellite Vehicles (SAT). Additionally, the system receives a plurality of position, time and altitude data from constellations of available repeater platform (RP) SATs. The system receives a request for content from a near surface station located in an area lacking adequate line-of-sight to the GEO based signal. The system aligns antenna elements onboard the desired RP SATs to amplify and relay the GEO based signal toward the near surface station and vice versa. Additionally, the system commands directional antenna elements onboard the station to send and receive the relayed signal making the GEO based content available to the near surface station.

Polar satcom system and related method

An on-board aircraft computer is configured to receive flight relevant data from another aircraft through a satellite data link configured to route data between aircraft. The on-board aircraft computer then incorporates such flight relevant data into one or more on-board systems such as a flight management system. The on-board aircraft computer may include two receivers such that a second receiver establishes communication with a second satellite signal during transition between two discrete regions of satellite communication. Furthermore, a satellite routes flight relevant data from one aircraft to another without communication with a ground station.

Peer-to-peer mobile satcom

A directional antenna system for an aircraft is disclosed. The directional antenna system may include an enclosure, a linear antenna array disposed within the enclosure and a controller. The linear antenna array may include a plurality of antenna elements physically oriented in the same orientation. The plurality of antenna elements may be positioned along a longitudinal axis of the aircraft and spaced apart from each other by a predetermined distance center-to-center. The controller may be in communication with each of the plurality of antenna elements of the linear antenna array. The controller may be configured for independently controlling a RF phase angle of each of the plurality of antenna elements based on a position of the aircraft and at least one ground station available to the aircraft, allowing the linear antenna array to concentrate RF radiations in a particular wavelength toward a general direction.

Blade antenna array

A method and system is disclosed enabling deconfliction between a ground-based radio and an airborne radio while both radios are in wireless data communication with a ground-based cellular network via the same ground-based connection node or tower. An orthogonal plurality of time/frequency segments is divided into a ground group of segments and an air group of segments by dynamically placing a frequency barrier between the two groups. Through dynamic allocation between groups and between the plurality of time/frequency segments within each group, interference free communication may coexist while both radios are wirelessly connected to the same tower. Additionally, an uplink (from airborne radio to tower) frequency may be moved to a second, distant frequency band to deconflict with the uplink and downlink first frequency band allotted to the ground-based radio while the downlink from tower to airborne radio remains within the first frequency band.

Growing community of inventors

Cedar Rapids, IA, United States of America

James P Mitchell