Patent ID: 8565758

Claim:
A network for facilitating wireless communication onboard an aircraft, the network comprising: an avionics network comprising a wired system onboard the aircraft for providing network connectivity for one or more network applications; and an integrated wireless network comprising: a wireless distribution system comprising a wired interface configured to support wireline communications with the avionics network, a plurality of wireless radios configured to support wireless communications in accordance with a plurality of different protocols, a combiner configured to combine wireless signals received by the plurality of wireless radios, and an antenna extending through a cabin compartment of the aircraft, wherein the combiner provides the combined wireless signals to the antenna for transmission throughout the cabin compartment, and wherein the combiner deconstructs wireless signals received by the antenna and provides the deconstructed wireless signals to a respective wireless radio; and one or more wireless data concentrators in communication with the antenna, wherein at least one wireless data concentrator comprises a plurality of wireless radios configured to support wireless communications in accordance with a plurality of different protocols, wherein the wireless distribution system is configured to support communications between the avionics network and one or more of the wireless radios, wherein each of the integrated wireless network, the wireless distribution system and the one or more wireless data concentrators are organized into a plurality of abstraction layers comprising an applications layer, an application services layer, a network services layer and a network platform layer with one or more of the abstraction layers of the integrated wireless network, the wireless distribution system and the one or more wireless data concentrators including different components.