Telecommunications – Radiotelephone system – Zoned or cellular telephone system
Patent
1998-05-29
2000-04-25
Nguyen, Lee
Telecommunications
Radiotelephone system
Zoned or cellular telephone system
455424, 455463, 455500, 455 20, 370310, 359152, 359173, H04B 7185, H04B 1000, H04B 1024
Patent
active
060554258
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
The invention relates to an aeronautical cellular network and includes a cellular telephone system for use within an aircraft.
The invention is particularly applicable to the use of cellular telephone systems such as GSM or DCS cellular systems. It is well known that mobile telephones using such systems may not be used in aircraft due to the possibility of interference with aircraft equipment. Any transmitted radio frequency power level within an aircraft must be very low to avoid interference and any extended length of radio frequency cables is also liable to cause interference. The distribution of seat positions within an aircraft makes it impossible to have equal signal distribution from a plurality of user locations within the aircraft to a common Base Transceiver Station (BTS) which may form part of the communication path to the exterior of the aircraft.
An object of the present invention is to provide an improved telephone system for use within an aircraft which avoids unwanted interference.
The present invention provides a cellular telephone system for use within an aircraft which comprises a plurality of user terminals distributed within an aircraft for location each adjacent a seat or a group of seats, an optical interface system distributed throughout the aircraft and comprising a plurality of optical fibres, interconnecting an array of transducer units with a master unit, each transducer unit and said master unit providing a bidirectional communication path with conversion between optical and radio signals, each transducer unit being located near and connected to a user terminal or group of user terminals by respective cable connections, said master unit being connected to a Base Transceiver Station (BTS) within the aircraft, said base Transceiver Station being connected to an Aeronautical Earth Station (AES) for transmitting and receiving signals via satellite to a Ground Earth Station.
Preferably each transducer unit is connected to a plurality of user terminals through one or more power splitting devices to provide equal signal strength to each user terminal connected to the transducer unit.
Preferably the optical interface system provides a plurality of uplink and downlink communication paths between the user terminals and the master unit whereby a plurality of users may communicate simultaneously through the Base Transceiver Station.
The invention also provides a method of operating a cellular telephone system within an aircraft, which method comprises establishing a radio frequency connection through a cable connection from a user terminal in the aircraft to a transducer located close to the user terminal, effecting bidirectional conversion between radio frequency signals and optical signals in said transducer, providing an optical signal through an optical fibre network distributed throughout the aircraft and providing a connection between a master unit and a plurality of said transducers, effecting bidirectional conversion between radio frequency signals and optical signals in said master unit, and providing a screened radio frequency cable connection between said master unit and a Base Transceiver Station for use in input and output of telephone messages.
An embodiment of the invention will now be described by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a telephone communication system between users in an aircraft and an earth system,
FIG. 2 shows schematically a view of the telephone communication paths within the aircraft in accordance with the invention,
FIG. 3 shows a more detailed view of the system of FIG. 2, and
FIG. 4 shows further details of the system of FIG. 3.
The telephone system of this example enables subscribers to a cellular mobile telephone system to use telephones within an aircraft without causing interference with the aircraft systems. The system is particularly applicable to subscribers to a known GSM/DCS network in which the user has a SIM card which the user may locate in a receptor in a phone to use the
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Nguyen Lee
Nguyen Simon
Nokia Telecomunications Oy
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