System and method for monitoring transmitting portable electronic devices

The present invention is a system and method for monitoring transmitting portable electronic devices (T-PEDs). The system may comprise one or more of the following features: (a) a plurality of radio frequency (RF) sensors; (b) a processing unit; and (c) a T-PED detection notification system. The RF sensors may be distributed throughout a given space in a substantially uniform arrangement so as to provide a nodal environment whereby the RF transmissions of a given T-PED may be associated with one or more RF sensors thereby allowing the monitoring system to calculate the location of the T-PED. In a particular embodiment of the invention, the RF sensors are integrated within the distributed network of an in-flight entertainment system of an aircraft.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates generally to mobile communications and, more specifically, to monitoring and regulation of the use of wireless technology onboard aircraft.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The use of cellular telephones and other wireless devices onboard aircraft has, to this point, been banned by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC reference section 22.925, part 22, subpart H) and restricted by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Similarly other countries have followed this procedure. The FCC ban is in place primarily to avoid interference with terrestrial cellular systems while an aircraft flies over a cellular network. The FAA regulations restrict the use of cell phones on aircraft to ensure against interference with onboard communication and navigation equipment. However, it remains possible that these restrictions on airborne use of cell phones and other wireless devices may be withdrawn if certain procedures are developed and technological hurdles overcome.

Proposed solutions to the concerns regarding terestrial interference have resulted in systems which permit a transmitting portable electronic device (T-PED) operating below threshold transceiving settings to access wireless access point for WLAN devices and/or a a pico cell for controlling cellphone access on the aircraft. In small cellular communications networks, pico cells are the smallest of radio cells.

Guidelines governing allowable settings have been proposed by the Radio Technical Commission for Aeronautics (RTCA) in document number DO-294B entitled “Guidance on Allowing Transmitting Portable Electronic Devices” and incorporated herein by reference.

This document addresses near-term T-PED technologies such as existing devices enabled with cellular technologies, wireless local area networks (WLANS), and wireless personal area networks (WPANS) as well as emerging PED technologies, for example active RF Identification (RFID) tags, transmitting medical devices, and picocells for such devices enabled by cellular technologies for use onboard aircraft. The document defines a process by which aircraft operators and/or manufacturers may assess the risk of interference due to a specific T-PED technology within any aircraft type and model. It also provides a means for aviation authorities and others to determine acceptable and enforceable policies and processes for passenger and crew use of T-PEDs.

With the added convenience of in-flight wireless communication capabilities for passengers comes the need for monitoring the nature of those communications to ensure that any RF transmissions remain within given tolerance levels deemed to be safe with respect to potential interference with terrestrial or onboard systems. It is impractical for crew members to be reasonably certain that non-permitted uses (e.g. prohibited devices, permitted devices operating at unauthorized transceiving settings or at unauthorized times, etc.) are not occurring merely by visual observation. Additionally, the possibility exists that unintentional prohibited uses (e.g. unauthorized devices being inadvertently left on when stowed) may occur where crew members would be completely unaware of the violation.

As such, it would be desirable to provide a system and method for monitoring the operations of onboard T-PEDs to ensure compliance with usage guidelines.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, the present invention is directed to a system and method for monitoring and regulating the use of wireless technology onboard aircraft.

In an embodiment of the invention, a transmitting portable electronic device (T-PED) monitoring system may comprise one or more of the following features: (a) a plurality of radio frequency (RF) sensors; (b) one or more processing units; and (c) a T-PED detection notification system.

In a further embodiment of the invention, a passenger entertainment system may comprise: (a) a plurality of display terminals; (b) a plurality of RF sensors; (c) one or more processing units; and (d) a transmitting portable electronic device (T-PED) detection notification system.

In still a further embodiment of the invention, a method for monitoring the use of T-PEDs onboard an aircraft may comprise: (a) receiving RF signals from a T-PED via one or more RF sensors of a plurality of RF sensors; (b) comparing a transceiving parameter of the T-PED to an allowable transceiving parameter; (c) calculating an estimated location or range of locations of the T-PED; and (d) providing a notification of the location of the T-PED.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Reference will now be made, in detail, to presently preferred embodiments of the invention. Additional details of the invention are provided in the examples illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

Referring toFIG. 1, an onboard wireless communications and data transfer network is presented. Proposed solutions to the concerns regarding terestrial interference created by wireless device use on aircraft have resulted in systems which permit devices operating below threshold power settings to access a pico cell located on the aircraft. Such systems are presented U.S. Pat. No. 7,113,780 to McKenna and commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 7,187,927 to Mitchell, each of which is incorporated herein by reference. In small cell phone networks, pico cells are the smallest of radio cells. Pico cells often extend to just a few hundred meters in diameter in ground applications. Pico cells are generally used to fill in areas of poor coverage or provide coverage in remote locations where there is not standard cellular service available. Onboard an aircraft, a T-PED101transceives signals which are routed through a pico cell102. The pico cell102then communicates from the aircraft using a transceiver103to a ground station104or satellite105and connects to a public switched telephone network (PSTN) or the internet. Such systems have been previously disclosed which incorporate popular wireless protocols, such as CDMA, GSM, 2.5G, 3G, WiFi 802.11x, Bluetooth and Ultrawideband among others, as well as satellite communications systems, such as Globalstar and Inmarsat.

As previously presented, such use of T-PEDs onboard aircraft during flight may be subject to certain regulations and restrictions regarding the type of devices permitted, the power settings of those devices, and the times during a flight in which they may be used. In order to address such concerns, the present invention provides a system and method for monitoring the use of wireless devices in flight.

Additionally, though various aircraft may lack cell phone pico cell capabilities, accidental passenger use of a cell phone (left uncontrolled) will still constitute violations of FCC, FAA and other world-wide regulatory rules and laws. As such, there is a need to monitor devices in such environments as well in order to maintain spectrum standards and aircraft system integrity/safety.

Referring toFIG. 2, a T-PED monitoring system200in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention is disclosed. The system200may comprise a plurality of radio frequency (RF) sensors201. The sensors may be digitally linked to a head end processing unit202(through the RF sensor and network processing unit within the RF sensors201) which receives the digital representation or summary of RF signals203emitted by plurality of T-PEDs204. In a particular embodiment of the invention, the plurality of RF sensors201may be distributed about an aircraft cabin in a uniform manner such that the RF signals203A of only a few T-PEDs204A located in a radius205around a given sensor201A may have the highest relative power levels among all cabin sensors or, optionally, may reach a threshold level for power levels for individual bands as prescribed in advance. Each band and RF power level may be receivable by RF sensor201A. Such a configuration creates a nodal environment whereby particular T-PEDs204A within the signal receiving radius205of a particular sensor201A may be associated with the cabin zone which includes that sensor201A.

In a particular embodiment, the RF sensors201may comprise cognitive radio functionality. Cognitive radio (CR) is a paradigm for wireless communication in which either a network or an individual wireless node monitors its RF environment and changes particular transmission or reception parameters in order to execute its tasks more efficiently.

A CR is often a software defined radio with a “cognitive engine” brain. Conceptually, the cognitive engine responds to its environment by configuring the radio for whatever combinations of waveform, protocol, operating frequency, and networking are required. A CR monitors its own performance continuously, by ascertaining the surrounding RF environment, channel conditions, link performance, etc., and adjusting the CRs transceiving parameters to deliver the needed quality of service subject to an appropriate combination of user requirements, operational limitations, and regulatory constraints. Common CR functionality includes techniques for detecting allocated but unused RF spectrum and efficiently sharing the unused spectrum.

Due to this ability to account for the its RF environment, cognitive radios are fast becoming the desired technology for scanning frequency bands for the purpose of “listening” before the use of those bands. Because of the diverse types of wireless T-PEDs204which may be brought onboard an aircraft, scanning for these devices requires the unique ability to identify different transceiving parameters (e.g. modulation, interleave, channel coding, power, gain, among others) on many different frequency bands.

The CR envisioned for incorporation in the present invention is similar to the traditional definition in that it scans or detects users in an allocated spectrum, and provides a “summary of use” and/or an alarm when there are detected users. This alarm may be transmitted over a wired or wireless network, to the flight attendant display and to the passenger displays nearest the highest RF power levels (one or more seats) where an actionable message for discontinuing use of transmitting PED is either displayed or audibly announced, as will be discussed below.

A CR of the present invention may auto-select from may disparate modulation types (e.g. 802.11x, Bluetooth, GSM, CDMA, FM, AM, etc.) and from many different frequency bands. Referring toFIG. 6, various embodiments of a CR scanning methodology are presented. A CR sensor600A may comprise a single channel whereby RF transmissions across a spectrum of frequencies may be monitored. For example GSM601, CDMA,602and WiFi603band RF transmissions may all be received by a transceiver604. Notionally, an mixer605may be used to tune the sensor600across the various frequencies in a tune-and-dwell progression.

In a further embodiment, the CR sensor600B may comprise multiple parallel channels whereby several frequency bands601,602,603may be scanned simultaneously by multiple mixers605. Such a configuration will provide enhanced performance over the single channel sensor600A.

Upon reception of an RF signal203from a T-PED204, a CR-based sensor201may pass the measured RF environment parameters to a processing unit202via a data bus206. The processing unit may be common in the art and may include those manufactured by Intel™, Texas Instruments™ or other processor manufacturer. The processing unit202may compile the RF environment parameters into one or more transceiving signatures corresponding to one or more T-PEDs204. These transceiving signatures may be compared by the processor202to a database207containing transceiving signatures which are known to violate prescribed T-PED usage protocols. The data objects comprising the database207may also include information regarding various permitted and prohibited T-PED transceiving protocols for numerous geographic regions. The processing unit202may incorporate global positioning system (GPS) or inertial navigation system (INS) data to select from the various protocols depending on the current location of an aircraft. For example, certain governmental entities may establish differing compliance standards for T-PEDs on board aircrafts. An aircraft traveling internationally across several countries may be subject to numerous different T-PED standards during a single flight. Knowledge of the current position of the aircraft combined with T-PED regulation data for each of those countries allows the inventive system to ensure compliance by passengers at all times during a given flight.

Because of the distributed and localized nature of the RF sensors201, the processor may triangulate the source of the violating transceiving signature to within a relatively small number of passengers located near the signal receiving radius205of the subject RF sensor201A.

The T-PED monitoring system200may further comprise notification mechanisms208whereby the crew may be made aware of the occurrence of an in-flight T-PED usage violation. Such mechanisms may comprise audio notification208A and/or visual display notification208B. Audio notification208A may comprise either a crew-specific notice directing a crew member to the offending T-PED location or a cabin wide passenger advisory stating that a T-PED usage violation has been detected. Visual display notification208B may comprise a computer-generated image having a cabin seating overlay and a seat-specific indicator of the location of the T-PED usage violation as shown inFIG. 3.

Referring toFIG. 4, modern aircraft designs commonly incorporate in-flight entertainment (IFE) systems400. Such systems typically comprise components necessary to present video, voice and data content to airline crew and passengers while in flight. Such systems may include the Total Entertainment System (TES), Enhanced Total Entertainment System (eTES), and Digital Total Entertainment System (dTES) products developed by Rockwell Collins. These systems may comprise head end equipment401where programming and control functions originate, a distribution subsystem402, and multiple IFE terminals403located throughout the cabin. In some implementations, each seat location in an aircraft has a separate associated IFE terminal403A. The entertainment content may either be received from outside sources404or be accessed from custom IFE media405maintained in onboard servers406. Outside sources of content may include direct broadcast satellite (DBS) signals404A (such as DirecTV®), and public switched telephone network (PSTN) or internet signals404B received by one or more transceivers406. DBS systems406A may include the TAILWIND® products developed by Rockwell Collins. Current IFE systems may be wired systems402A that provide access to entertainment content to passengers from seat-back or overhead IFE terminals403A. The IFE terminals403A may include the SLIMLINE™ products developed by Rockwell Collins.

In a further embodiment the distribution system may be a wireless system. The head end equipment401may include a transceiver402B for transceiving user input and/or entertainment content between a plurality of wireless IFE terminals403B and the head end equipment401. Such a configuration eliminates the need for space-consuming wiring as well as drastically simplifying retrofit installations of IFE systems into aircraft which were not originally constructed with such capabilities.

In another particular embodiment, the head end equipment401transmits content to a plurality of T-PEDs403C operating as IFE terminals, as presented in commonly assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/151,108, incorporated herein by reference.

It can be seen that IFE systems provide an existing distributed network where a specific electronic device (e.g. an IFE terminal403) is associated with a specific passenger. Such a system may provide a suitable platform for incorporating a wireless device monitoring systems such as those previously presented.

Referring toFIG. 5, in a particular embodiment, a T-PED monitoring system500may be integrated into an IFE system505. An aircraft may have a pico cell501for transceiving wireless communications from various T-PEDs502. The pico cell may be CDMA, GSM, 2.5G, 3G, or an access point for WiFi 802.11x, Bluetooth, Ultrawideband, Globalstar and/or Inmarsat compatible, among others, and may have terestrial503and/or satellite504uplink/downlink capabilities. As such a T-PED monitoring system may be required.

The IFE system505may comprise head end processing equipment506where programming and control functions originate, a distribution subsystem507, and multiple IFE terminals508located throughout the cabin. Each IFE terminal may comprise an RF sensor509. The RF sensor509may monitor RF energy levels across one or more defined RF spectrum bands so as to detect the presence of T-PEDs502operating in those bands. The RF sensor may transmit those measurements back to the head end processing equipment506via the IFE distribution subsystem507. In a specific embodiment, the RF sensor509may be a cognitive radio or cognitive radio on chip. In such an embodiment, the measurements of the RF environment may comprise modulation, interleave, channel coding, power and gain data, among others. The head end processing equipment506may receive these measurements and an internal processing unit510may compile one or more transceiving signatures based on those measurements. Those compiled signatures may be compared to known T-PED signatures maintained in a device signature database511. The data objects comprising the database511may also include information regarding various permitted and prohibited T-PED transceiving protocols for numerous geographic regions. The processing unit510may incorporate global positioning system (GPS) or inertial navigation system (INS) data to select from the various protocols depending on the current location of an aircraft. For example, certain governmental entities may establish differing compliance standards for T-PEDs on board aircrafts. An aircraft traveling internationally across several countries may be subject to numerous different T-PED standards during a single flight. Knowledge of the current position of the aircraft combined with T-PED regulation data for each of those countries allows the inventive system to ensure compliance by passengers at all times during a given flight.

In yet a further embodiment, RF signal processing can be carried out in processing units distributed within the plurality of IFE terminals508.

The detected presence of a signature which violates established T-PED usage protocols may be presented to the crew via visual512or audio513notification mechanisms. Additionally, because the T-PED monitoring system500is integrated into the IFE system505, notification of unauthorized T-PED use may be broadcast back to the individual IFE terminals508via the IFE distribution subsystem507to allow for self-policing of T-PED use by passengers themselves. Such notifications may be similar in nature to those depicted inFIG. 3.

In further embodiments, a T-PED monitoring system may be integrated into any other distributed electrical system within an aircraft cabin. Referring toFIG. 7, the T-PED monitoring system700may comprise head end equipment701where lighting702and RF monitoring703control functions originate, a distribution subsystem704, and a plurality of cabin lighting terminals705located throughout the cabin. Each cabin lighting terminal705may comprise an RF sensor706which may receive RF signals from one or more T-PEDs707. The monitoring system700may further comprise a visual708or audible709notification mechanism. Other distributed electrical systems may include crew-call systems, climate control systems or in-seat personal electronic device power systems.

Referring toFIG. 8, a method for monitoring T-PED devices is presented. A plurality of RF sensors is disposed about the region to be monitored at step801. The plurality of RF sensors may comprise cognitive radios capable of measuring RF environment parameters such as modulation, interleave, channel coding, relative and absolute power levels and gain, among others, across many different frequency bands. The plurality of RF sensors may be distributed in a substantially uniform manner so as to provide a nodal environment whereby the RF transmissions of a given T-PED may be associated with one or more RF sensors thereby allowing the monitoring system to calculate the location of a given T-PED.

RF signals generated by a T-PED may be received by the RF sensors of the monitoring system at step802. These RF signals may be those having frequencies in the ranges of common T-PED protocols such as CDMA, GSM, 2.5G, 3G, WiFi 802.11x, Bluetooth and Ultrawideband. Similarly, it should be appreciated by one skilled in the art that the present invention is fully extensible to all regions of the RF spectrum.

Upon receipt of RF signals from a T-PED, the monitoring system may compare the measured transceiving parameters of that signal to established transceiving parameter values known to conform to permitted T-PED uses at step803. The monitoring system may maintain a database of individual transceiving parameters or particular T-PED signatures which may result in either terestrial or onboard interference.

Should an unauthorized use be detected, the location of the offending T-PED may be calculated at step804. As previously presented, the RF sensors may be distributed throughout a given space in a substantially uniform arrangement so as to provide a nodal environment whereby the RF transmissions of a given T-PED may be associated with one or more RF sensors. Such a configuration allows the monitoring system to pinpoint the location of the T-PED simply by identifying which RF sensor or group of sensors are receiving the unauthorized signal.

Upon calculation of the location of the T-PED, a notification of that location may be presented to a system user. As previously presented, the invention may be particularly suited to incorporation into a passenger IFE system or other similarly distributed electrical system. Therefore, the notification of the location of the offending T-PED may be displayed on one or more IFE terminals including those crew information terminals as well as individual passenger IFE terminals. Alternately, the notification may take the form of an audible announcement from one or more IFE terminals or over a cabin public address speaker system.