Patent ID: 8676191

Claim:
A method for communication of data in an aircraft for exchanging data between at least one application of the aircraft and at least one application on the ground, the aircraft including a mechanism capable of establishing at least one connection path between the aircraft and at least one entity on the ground according to a plurality of communication channels, said plurality of communication channels including one communication channel of an open type and one communication channel of a different type, the method comprising: controlling said communication channels before processing a data element for transmission between said applications, the controlling including detecting an event relating to availability of a communication channel of said plurality of communication channels, identifying a modification of a communication parameter, said communication parameter relating to said availability of said communication channel of said plurality of communication channels, determining a communication configuration that identifies said communication channel of the plurality of communication channels according to the event and said communication parameter to permit the aircraft to receive or transmit the data element to the at least one entity on the ground by said communication channel, transmitting said communication configuration to at least one equipment of a communication network of the aircraft, thereby enabling said equipment to modify its configuration accordingly, transmitting information relating to said availability of the communication channel to a database, checking said database, and upon processing of said information relating to said availability of the communication channel, adapting the mechanism capable of establishing at least one connection path to establish at least one connection path between the aircraft and the at least one entity on the ground according to the communication configuration; and the method further including controlling the transfer of said data element between said applications independently from said controlling of said communication channels; and after processing the data element, transmitting at least one datum in the data, the transmitting includes determining a priority level of the at least one datum, checking the database to determine if the selected communication channel of the at least one connection path is compatible with the determined priority level, and when the type of the determined communication channel is incompatible with the priority level, delaying transmission of the at least one datum until a compatible communication channel becomes available, and canceling transmission of the at least one datum when a duration of a delay exceeds a duration of a lifetime of the at least one datum, the duration of the lifetime of the at least one datum being determined based on the priority level of the at least one datum.