阅读说明：本技术 飞行器的专用数据网络的通信接口的自动构造的方法和系统 (Method and system for the automatic configuration of a communication interface of a private data network of an aircraft ) 是由 维克多·马里奥·莱亚尔·埃雷拉 约阿希姆·卡尔·乌尔夫·霍切沃斯 杰森·钟·乔·凌 于 2020-10-28 设计创作，主要内容包括：一种自动构造未知数据网络的通信接口的方法,该方法包括将电子飞行包(EFB)连接到未知数据网络；尝试打开通信端口；响应于尝试打开通信端口,从未知数据网络接收数据；由控制器模块确定所选择的通信接口是否可以解释接收到的数据；以及根据所选择的通信接口来操作EFB的通信接口。(A method of automatically constructing a communication interface for an unknown data network, the method comprising connecting an Electronic Flight Bag (EFB) to the unknown data network; attempting to open a communication port; receiving data from the unknown data network in response to attempting to open the communication port; determining, by the controller module, whether the selected communication interface can interpret the received data; and operating the communication interface of the EFB according to the selected communication interface.)

1. A method of automatically constructing a communication interface for an unknown data network, the method comprising:

connecting an Electronic Flight Bag (EFB) to the unknown data network;

attempting to open a communication port of the unknown data network based on a known communication database construct of a known set of data networks, thereby defining a selected communication interface;

receiving data from the unknown data network in response to attempting to open a communication port;

determining, by a controller module, whether the selected communication interface can interpret the received data; and

operating the communication interface of the EFB in accordance with the selected communication interface upon successful interpretation of the received data.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising preloading the EFB with the known communication database constructs of the set of data networks.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the unknown data network defines a dedicated avionics data protocol.

4. The method as recited in claim 3, further comprising operating the communications interface of the EFB according to at least one ARINC-compatible avionics protocol.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein the selected communication interface can further comprise at least one application level protocol.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising operating the communication interface of the EFB according to at least one ARINC compatible application level protocol.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the unknown data network defines a legacy network standard.

8. A communications device for communicating with an unknown avionics private data network, comprising:

a communication interface;

a communication database stored in memory and defining a set of known communication interface constructs for communicating with a predetermined set of data networks; and

a controller module configured to:

selecting a known communication interface structure when the communication interface is connected with an unknown avionic private data network;

attempting to open a communication port of the unknown data network based on the selected known communication interface configuration;

receiving data from the unknown data network;

determining whether the selected known communication interface configuration is capable of interpreting the received data; and

upon successful interpretation of the received data, operating the communication interface in accordance with the selected known communication interface configuration.

9. The communication device of claim 8, further comprising a user input, and wherein the controller module is further configured to attempt to open a communication port of the unknown data network further based on prioritizing a subset of the known communication interface constructs associated with the user selected input.

10. The communications device of claim 9, wherein the user input comprises a selectable list of aircraft models.

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates generally to interfacing a device for communication between the device and an unknown avionics private data network.

Background

For contemporary aircraft, avionics "platforms" include various components such as sensors, data concentrators, data communications networks, radio frequency sensors and communications devices, computing components, operational or functional components, and graphical displays. These components may share information with other components over a data communications network.

Data transmission between components or through a data communications network may utilize a dedicated data network, such as an Aeronautical Radio Inc (ARINC) compatible data network, and may define standards or specifications for network operation, including data transmission. Different aircraft or avionics platforms may further utilize different private data networks, or a combination of different private data networks. The network components used to construct the data network may utilize dedicated data network protocols, including hardware for repeaters, switches, communication connections, etc., to ensure the performance of the network architecture for dedicated data, or at the performance of network communications as defined by various data network specifications.

Disclosure of Invention

In one aspect, the present disclosure is directed to a method of automatically constructing a communication interface of an unknown data network, the method comprising: connecting an Electronic Flight Bag (EFB) to an unknown data network; attempting to open a communication port of an unknown data network based on a known communication database construct of a known set of data networks, thereby defining a selected communication interface; receiving data from the unknown data network in response to attempting to open the communication port; determining, by the controller module, whether the selected communication interface can interpret the received data; upon successful interpretation of the received data, the communication interface of the EFB is operated in accordance with the selected communication interface.

In another aspect, the present disclosure is directed to a communications device for communicating with an unknown avionics private data network, the communications device comprising: a communication interface; a communication database stored in the memory and defining a set of known communication interface configurations for communicating with a predetermined set of data networks; a controller module. The controller module is configured to: when the communication interface is connected with an unknown avionic private data network, selecting a known communication interface structure; attempting to open a communication port of the unknown data network based on the selected known communication interface configuration; receiving data from an unknown data network; determining whether the selected known communication interface configuration is capable of interpreting the received data; upon successful interpretation of the received data, the communication interface is operated according to the selected known communication interface configuration.

These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present disclosure will become better understood with reference to the following description and appended claims. The accompanying drawings incorporated in and forming a part of the specification illustrate aspects of the present disclosure and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the disclosure.

Drawings

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is an overhead schematic view of an example aircraft and an avionics data network architecture of the aircraft, in accordance with various aspects described herein.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of the example avionics data network of FIG. 1, in accordance with various aspects described herein.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of an example avionics data networking defining communications between an Electronic Flight Bag (EFB) and an avionics system, in accordance with various aspects described herein.

FIG. 4 is a schematic system diagram of communications between the EFB of FIG. 3 and an avionics system in accordance with various aspects described herein.

Fig. 5 is a flow diagram illustrating a method of configuring communication between devices and avionics systems in a private data network in accordance with various aspects described herein.

Detailed Description

Aspects of the present disclosure described herein are provided with respect to a dedicated avionics data protocol, but it will be understood that the apparatus and methods described herein may be implemented in any environment using a data communications network interconnecting a set of data generating components or interconnecting an apparatus with a set of data consuming components or avionics systems, computers, and the like. Aspects of the present disclosure may include a data communications network configured to operate in accordance with defined network characteristics or specifications. For example, contemporary aircraft operate a set of components interconnected by a data network defined by network standards such as ARINC or sub-parts thereof, e.g., ARINC 429(a429) specification, ARINC 664(a664), ethernet, etc., all of which are incorporated herein. Further, while the foregoing examples may include network topology examples, application level protocol standards may be included in their entirety, including, but not limited to, ARINC 702A (a702A), ARINC 834(a834), and the like. Although aspects of the present disclosure are directed to ARINC-based specifications, aspects of the present disclosure may also be applicable to other private data networks and the like for data transmission between a set of interconnected data sources and data destinations.

Further, as used herein, the term "group" or "a group" of elements may be any number of elements, including only one. Also, as used herein, although a sensor may be described as "sensing" or "measuring" a respective value, sensing or measuring may include determining a value indicative of or related to the respective value, rather than directly sensing or measuring the value itself. The sensed or measured values may further be provided to additional components. For example, a value may be provided to a controller module or processor, and the controller module or processor may process the value to determine a representative value or electrical characteristic representative of the value.

All directional references (e.g., radial, axial, up, down, left, right, lateral, front, back, top, bottom, above, below, vertical, horizontal, clockwise, counterclockwise) are only used for identification purposes to aid the reader's understanding of the present disclosure, and do not create limitations, particularly as to the position, orientation, or use thereof. Unless otherwise specified, connection references (e.g., attached, coupled, connected, and engaged) are to be construed broadly and may include intermediate members between a collection of elements and relative movement between elements. As such, joinder references do not necessarily infer that two elements are directly connected and in fixed relation to each other. In a non-limiting example, the connection or disconnection can be selectively configured to provide, enable, disable, etc. electrical or communication connections between the respective elements. Additionally, as used herein, "electrically connected" or "electrically coupled" may include wired or wireless power or data (e.g., communicative or transmitted) connections between respective components.

Additionally, as used herein, a "controller" or "controller module" may include components configured or adapted to provide instructions, control, operations, or any form of communication to operable components to affect the operation thereof. The controller module may include any known processor, microcontroller or logic device, including but not limited to: a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a Full Authority Digital Engine Control (FADEC), a proportional controller (P), a proportional integral controller (PI), a proportional derivative controller (PD), a proportional integral derivative controller (PID controller), a hardware acceleration logic controller (e.g., for encoding, decoding, transcoding, etc.), or a combination thereof. Non-limiting examples of controller modules may be configured or adapted to run, operate or otherwise execute program code to affect an operation or functional result, including performing various methods, functions, processing tasks, calculations, comparisons, sensing or measurement values, etc., to enable or implement a technical operation or operation described herein. The operation or function result may be based on one or more inputs, stored data values, sensed or measured values, indications of true or false, and the like.

While "program code" has been described, non-limiting examples of sets of operable or executable instructions can include routines, programs, objects, components, data structures, algorithms, and the like that have the technical effect of performing particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. In another non-limiting example, the controller module may also include a data storage component accessible by the processor, including memory, whether transient volatile or non-transient, or non-volatile memory (NVM). Other non-limiting examples of memory may include Random Access Memory (RAM), Read Only Memory (ROM), flash memory or one or more different types of portable electronic memory, such as compact discs, DVDs, CD-ROMs, flash drives, Universal Serial Bus (USB) drives, etc., or any suitable combination of these types of memory. In one example, the program code may be stored in a memory in a machine-readable format accessible by a processor. In addition, as described herein, the memory may store various data, data types, sensed or measured data values, inputs, generated or processed data, and the like, which may be accessed by the processor in providing instructions, controls or operations for affecting a function or an operational result.

In another non-limiting example, the control module may include comparing the first value to the second value and operating or controlling operation of the other component based on satisfying the comparison. For example, when a sensed, measured, or provided value is compared to another value, including a stored or predetermined value, satisfaction of the comparison may result in an action, function, or operation that may be controlled by the controller module. As used herein, the term "meet" comparison is used to mean that a first value meets a second value, e.g., is equal to or less than the second value, or is within a range of values for the second value. It will be appreciated that such a determination can be readily altered to be satisfied by a positive/negative comparison or a true/false comparison. Example comparisons may include comparing a sensed or measured value to a threshold or threshold range.

The exemplary drawings are for illustrative purposes only and the dimensions, locations, order and relative sizes reflected in the accompanying drawings may vary.

As shown in FIG. 1, an aircraft 10 may include at least one propulsion engine, shown as a left engine system 12 and a right engine system 14. The aircraft 10 may further include one or more data sources, i.e., components that create, originate, or otherwise generate data, and data destinations, i.e., components that receive, consume, process, or otherwise act upon or affect results or operations based on the received data. As shown, the aircraft 10 may include one or more avionics systems 18, including but not limited to data storage or processing units, or functional systems, such as Flight Management Systems (FMS) or autopilot systems, and a fixed set of aircraft components, such as Line Replaceable Units (LRUs) 21, networked end nodes or modular components of the vehicle or aircraft.

Additional communication devices may be included in the aircraft 10 and may be connected with the aircraft 10 and may include, but are not limited to, Connecting Flight Management System (CFMS) or EFB operational aspects, functional operations, and the like. FIG. 1 illustrates a representative EFB 20 as one non-limiting example. The CFMS or EFB 20 may comprise a removable, mobile, or otherwise removable device adapted or configured to communicate with the aircraft 10, avionics system 18, LRU 21, etc. via a series of transmission paths 22, network repeaters or network switches 16 (collectively "network grids"). Instead, the avionics system 18 and the LRU 21 may comprise fixed data sources. As used herein, "fixed" means that the avionics system 18 or LRU 21 may comprise devices that are typically fixed or incorporated into the aircraft 10 and would require a significant amount of work or maintenance services to remove from the aircraft 10, while "non-fixed" devices such as the EFB 20 may comprise devices that are movable relative to the aircraft or data network, for example, devices that are carried by one flight crew from one location on the aircraft 10 or off the aircraft 10 to another. Non-limiting examples of the EFB 20 may include hand-held devices, such as tablet computers, palm top computers, pagers, laptop computers, smart devices, etc., that may be carried by the flight crew to the aircraft 10. Instead, the fixed avionics system 18 or LRU 21 may be, for example, a cockpit display, cockpit computer, or the like. In another example, the EFB 20 may be fixed.

In an aircraft environment, avionics systems 18 or EFBs 20, transmission paths 22, etc. may be designed, constructed, or adapted to operate in accordance with specific operational, interoperability, or form factor standards, such as those defined by the ARINC family of standards. In the exemplary aspect shown, the avionics system 18 may be located near the nose, cockpit, or pilot of the aircraft 10, and the EFB 20 may be located near the nose, cockpit, or pilot of the aircraft 10, however, any relative arrangement may be included.

Avionics system 18 and EFB 20 may be configured to communicatively couple via a series of transmission paths 22, network repeaters or network switches 16. Although a network switch 16 is schematically illustrated, non-limiting aspects of the present disclosure may be applied to peer-to-peer networks. The transmission path 22 may include a physical connection between the respective components, such as a wired connection including ethernet, or may include a wireless transmission connection including, but not limited to, WiFi (e.g., 802.11 network), bluetooth, etc. Collectively, avionics system 18, EFB 20, transmission path 22 and switch 16 may form an avionics data network or an avionics private data network of an aircraft.

The aircraft 10 and its systems may be communicatively interconnected by an avionics private data network (e.g., an ARINC-compatible data network). In one non-limiting example, the avionics private data network may be an ARINC 429(a429) compliant data network. It should be appreciated that the aircraft 10 and its systems may be any avionics private data network compatible with any ARINC data network, including but not limited to the a664 data network, or any other known avionics private data network.

EFB 20 may include, for example, fully-contained systems, radios or other auxiliary equipment to manage or operate aircraft functions. At least one set of avionics systems 18 or EFBs 20 may, for example, generate data that may be modified, calculated, or otherwise processed prior to or in preparation for encapsulating the data into data frames to be transmitted over an avionics data network via transmission path 22 or switch 16. At least one other set of avionics systems 18 or EFBs 20 may, for example, consume data transmitted over an avionics data network. In some cases, a single avionics system 18 or EFB 20 may operate to generate and consume data. As used herein, "consuming" data is to be understood to include, but is not limited to, doing or executing a computer program, routine, calculation or process on at least a portion of the data, storing the data in memory, or otherwise using at least a portion of the data.

The aircraft 10 shown is merely one non-limiting example of an aircraft 10 that may be used in aspects of the present disclosure described herein. Unless otherwise indicated, the specifics of the aspects of the aircraft 10 illustrated, including the relative sizes, lengths, number of engines, types of engines, and locations of various components, are not relevant to aspects of the present disclosure.

Fig. 2 illustrates a non-limiting schematic diagram of a private data network 24 in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The private data network 24 may include various components and perform the functions of the avionics data network outlined herein. The private data network may include, but is not limited to, a set of redundant network switching units, such as a first set of switching units 26 defining a first path and a second set of switching units 27 defining a second path or redundant path. The first and second switching units 26, 27 collectively define a network mesh 28, the network mesh 28 being used to route the transmission of data frames between respective components, such as to and from the avionics system 18 and EFB 20 via transmission path 22. As previously mentioned, the transmission path 22 may be any communication path including, but not limited to, a wired or wireless communication connection. In one non-limiting example, the network mesh 28 is also shown with a set of transmission paths 22 between the network switching units 26, 27 to provide redundancy in the transmission paths 22. In one non-limiting example, the network mesh 28, the first group of switching units 26, the second group of switching units 27, or a combination thereof may be arranged, configured, or otherwise enabled to utilize the private data network 24 transmission mode. The aspect of the present disclosure shown in fig. 2 is only one representation of a private data network 24 and contemplates alternative configurations, organizations and numbers of components, including but not limited to avionics systems 18, including but not limited to EFBs 20, LRUs 21 or network switching units 26.

FIG. 3 shows additional details of private data network 50, EFB 20, and avionics system 18. As used herein, private data network 50 may be similar to private data network 24 of fig. 2. As shown, the EFB 20 may illustratively include a controller module 52 having a processor 54 and a memory 56, and a set of communication library data 58, the set of communication library data 58 defining standards, rules, mechanisms or other information or data for or for communicatively interfacing with the network grid 28 or avionics system 18 (shown as an aircraft cockpit system 70). The EFB 20 may also include an interface, shown as a network interface 60, for communicating with the network grid 28. Non-limiting examples of network interface 60 may include hardware or software constructs adapted or configured to exchange, transmit, receive, or otherwise communicate with network mesh 28 or other network nodes via transmission path 22. In one non-limiting example, network interface 60 may be based on or defined by a standard or set of standards, such as the ARINC 759(a759) hardware standard, the ARINC 834(a834) communication protocol standard, or a combination thereof. In one non-limiting example, communications library data 58 may be stored in a memory, such as memory 56 of EFB 20, and may include sets of criteria, rules, mechanisms, or other information or data used or used to communicatively interface with network grid 28 or avionics system 18. For example, a first set of standards, rules, mechanisms or other information or data used or used to communicatively interface with network grid 28 or avionics system 18 may be based on the a429 standard, while a separate and distinct second set of standards, rules, mechanisms or other information or data may be based on the a664 standard. In this sense, the communication library data 58 may define, via the network interface 60, how the EFB is configured to or capable of communicating or interfacing according to different communications or different private networks. In a non-limiting example, the network interface 60 of the EFB 20 may operate dynamically according to at least a subset of the communications library data 58, i.e., according to a different set of standards.

The aircraft cockpit system 70 is further shown to include a separate Aircraft Interface Device (AID)62 for communicating with the network grid 28, a redundant set of Communication Management Units (CMUs), shown as a first CMU 72 and a second CMU 74, and a redundant set of Flight Management Systems (FMS), shown as a first FMS 76 and a second FMS 78. In one non-limiting example, AID 62 may include a means to allow bridging of communication domains, standards, data transfers, etc., while implementing domain protection for security purposes.

During flight preparation and operation, the pilot may bring the EFB 20 onto the aircraft 10 and may communicatively connect the EFB 20 with at least one avionics system 18 (e.g., FMSs 76, 78 of the aircraft cockpit system 70) via a dedicated data network 50 (e.g., including the network grid 28). However, different aircraft 10 operate different private data networks 50 according to current or conventional private data network communication standards. As such, interfacing with EFB 20 in a manner interoperable with different communication standards may be difficult in environments where reprogramming or re-certification of aircraft avionics systems 18 is undesirable due to the cost of certification and testing.

Aspects of the present disclosure may be included in which an EFB 20 operating in accordance with the present disclosure may automatically register and interface with a network grid 28 of an aircraft 10, another avionics system 18, or a private data network 50 without requiring dedicated construction or redesign, recoding, reprogramming or replacement of the private data network 50 or avionics system 18.

As shown, after EFB 20 is connected with network mesh 28 (e.g., via wired or wireless communication over transmission path 22), network interface 60 may begin to attempt to automatically determine or identify the private data network 50 standard being used by aircraft 10. The EFB 20 or the network interface 60 may include an automated networking component 84, the automated networking component 84 being configured or adapted to begin interfacing with the network grid 28 or the private data network 50. In one non-limiting example, automated networking component 84 may include security mechanisms to authorize communications between EFB 20 and private data network 50, perform hardware or software "handshakes," or the like, to implement or adapt the appropriate initial networking protocol. From there, the controller module (not shown) may operate the network interface 60, the auto networking component 84 or the EFB 20 to begin attempting to open known and predetermined communication ports of the avionics system 18 based on the known communication database 58 configuration.

For example, EFB 20 may attempt to open a first known communication port (e.g., a first transmission control protocol or "TCP" port), such as an a664 port, known to be suitable for a first communication standard. If the attempt to open the a664 communication port defined by communication database 58 is successful, EFB 20, controller module, communication database 58, etc. may determine or otherwise assume that EFB 20 is attempting to connect to and communicate with a 664-based private data network 50. If the attempt to open the a664 communication port fails, EFB 20 may attempt to open another or second known communication port known to be suitable for the second communication standard (e.g., a second TCP port), such as an a429 port, to determine if EFB 20 is attempting to connect to and communicate with a 429-based private data network 50. EFB 20 may continue to attempt to open a predetermined communication port, including but not limited to a TCP or User Datagram Protocol (UDP) port, in an attempt to identify private data network 50, and then connect to and communicate with it. Thus, aspects of the present disclosure may be included in which a single EFB 20 or CFMS may be communicatively connected to a private data network 50 without the need for a private fabric or awareness of which private data network 50 or networks the aircraft is using, as long as the private data network 50 standards are contained in the communications database 58.

Fig. 4 illustrates one non-limiting example of an aspect of the present disclosure. In the example of fig. 4, avionics systems 18 in the form of aircraft cockpit systems 70 are preconfigured to communicate with private data network 50 through aircraft network interface 62 (e.g., without limitation, AID, web server, router, switch, or any function operating on a similar device) operating under the a429 and a834 network standards described herein. When the EFB 20 is connected to the private data network 50, the network interface 60 and the automated networking first connect to the private data network 50 and then attempt to open the communication port of the private data network 50 to determine which AID 62 or standard is utilized. EFB 20 illustrates a number of different data network interface standards 82 that may be available and defined within communication database 50. As used herein, the set of data network interface standards 82 may include application layer protocols, as described herein.

In one example, EFB 20 may first attempt to open one or more a664 communication ports of private data network 50. Opening these ports or verifying the communication on these ports will fail because the private data network 50 does not operate according to the a664 specification. EFB 20 may, for example, note that the a664 specification of the set of data network interface standards 82 is not applicable (as indicated by the dashed outline representing the "unselected" network standard 86). The process may then be repeated by other possible data network interface standards 82 until the properly selected data network interface standard 82 completes or successfully opens the communication port, as described herein. The "selected" data interface standard 88 is represented by a solid outline and matches the avionics system 18 aircraft network interface 80 standard (e.g., without limitation, AID, network server, router, switch, or any function operating on a similar device). As shown, EFB 20 may include similar processes that open a communication port and move through data network interface standard 82 in turn for compatible data transmission reception and compatible data transmission. For example, a702A data network interface standard 90 is shown as being selected for sending data transmissions separate and independent from determining that a429 and a834 data network interface standard 88 are selected for receiving data transmissions.

Once a suspect or selected data network interface standard 88 is identified, non-limiting aspects of the present disclosure may be included, wherein, for example, EFB 20 receives a set of data transmissions over private data network 50 and attempts to interpret, decode or otherwise facilitate the use of the data transmissions to confirm or ensure that the suspect or selected data network interface standard 88 is correct. For example, a failed attempt to interpret a data transmission received by EFB 20 may indicate that the selected data network interface standard 88 is incorrect and that EFB 20 will attempt to identify and connect to another or different network interface standard 82. Conversely, a successful interpretation of a data transmission received by EFB 20 may indicate or confirm that the selected data network interface standard 88 is correct. If the suspected or selected data interface criteria 88 are determined to be correct (or, alternatively, they are not determined to be incorrect), the EFB 20 may be operated in accordance with the selected data network interface criteria 88 to communicate with the private data network 50 in accordance with the selected data network interface criteria 88. In this sense, the EFB 20 may then continue to communicate with, for example, the first or second FMS 76, 78, or a combination thereof, to operate the aircraft 10. In another non-limiting example, the FMS 76, 78 may provide all of the data it contains to the last byte of what the flight plan will look like, but the flight plan is limited to being displayed to the pilot according to a fixed set of requirements of the display unit. The fact that FMSs 76, 78 may receive such data structures enables EFB 20, applications thereon, etc. to display the data in a novel manner that provides the pilot with more insight regarding flight status, takeoff or landing procedures. In addition, it can provide insight and warnings to the pilot to improve safety and better fuel efficiency. In addition, EFB 20 may edit, alter, or otherwise modify the routes, flight plans, or other parameters of FMSs 76, 78.

In one non-limiting example, the priority of the different network interface criteria 82 attempts may be ranked based on limited user-selectable inputs, readable data of the aircraft, or a dedicated data network thereon. In another non-limiting example, aspects of the present disclosure may be applicable to automatically interface with a simulated avionics system environment, as opposed to an actual "real world" aircraft environment. In yet another non-limiting example, the communication library data 58 may be instantiated to identify the environment by itself, or may request the AID 62 (or any device in the aircraft 10 via the AID 62) to provide the current configuration.

FIG. 5 shows a flow chart illustrating a method 300 of automatically constructing an EFB 20 to communicate with an unknown private data network 50. Method 300 begins by connecting EFB 20 to private data network 50 at 310. Next, at 320, the EFB 20 attempts to open a communication port of the avionics system 18 or the private data network 50 based on the known communication port of the data network interface standard 82 constructed by the communications database 58. Once EFB 20 selects or suspects that the data network specification is correct, EFB 20 may receive a set or subset of data over the private data network at 330. At 340, EFB 20 may operate or attempt to interpret, decode, or otherwise facilitate the use of data transfers to confirm or ensure that the suspected or selected data network interface criteria 88 are correct. Finally, if the suspected or selected data network interface standard 88 is correct, at 350, EFB 20 may be configured to operate in accordance with the corresponding selected data network interface standard 88 to communicate with private data network 50.

The depicted order is for illustrative purposes only and is not meant to limit the method 300 in any way, as it is understood that portions of the method may occur in a different logical order, additional or intermediate portions may be included, or the described portions of the method may be divided into multiple portions, or the described portions of the method may be omitted without departing from the described method. For example, known communication ports or port ranges (e.g., multiple ports) may be polled at the same time (e.g., simultaneously) to increase response and setup time. In another example, upon successful decoding or validation of an initial set of network data, the data may contain other information for constructing a private data network. In yet another example, if other data is also successfully received, EFB 20 may utilize the other information for construction to request the other information for construction or to confirm that the rest of the setup process has been completed.

The present disclosure contemplates many other possible aspects and configurations in addition to those shown in the above-described figures.

Aspects disclosed herein provide a system adapted to automatically construct itself for communication by scanning a network environment and selecting a network construct that is capable of interaction. The technical effect is that the above-described aspects enable a device to communicate with an avionics network without knowing what communication standard the network uses and without modifying the aircraft avionics equipment on the network. One advantage that may be realized in the above aspect is that the above aspect enables the construction and customization of different interfaces from different aircraft configurations to be avoided. Pilots are typically not trained in these technical environments and cannot reconstruct the environment on site. By automating the process, development time for application programming for EFB can be reduced and a high user experience can be maintained through the automated process. Additionally, with aspects of the present disclosure, developers may avoid configuring or adapting the EFB on a per fuselage basis. By implementing multiple sets of communication library data, the solution is easier to debug and maintain on a per fuselage basis, and developers can more easily develop limited applications despite the many different aircraft in a fleet.

To the extent not already described, the different features and structures of the various aspects may be used in combination with each other as desired. Failure to show a feature in all respects is not meant to be construed as it cannot exist, but is done for brevity of description. Thus, the various features of the different aspects can be mixed and matched as desired to form new aspects, whether or not such aspects are explicitly described. Combinations or permutations of features described herein are covered by this disclosure.

This written description uses examples to disclose various aspects of the disclosure, including the best mode, and also to enable any person skilled in the art to practice various aspects of the disclosure, including making and using any devices or systems and performing any incorporated methods. The patentable scope of the disclosure is defined by the claims, and may include other examples that occur to those skilled in the art. Such other examples are intended to be within the scope of the claims if they have structural elements that do not differ from the literal language of the claims, or if they include equivalent structural elements with insubstantial differences from the literal languages of the claims.

Further aspects of the invention are provided by the subject matter of the following clauses:

a method of automatically constructing a communication interface for an unknown data network, the method comprising: connecting an Electronic Flight Bag (EFB) to an unknown data network; attempting to open a communication port of an unknown data network based on a known communication database construct of a known set of data networks, thereby defining a selected communication interface; receiving data from the unknown data network in response to attempting to open the communication port; determining, by the controller module, whether the selected communication interface can interpret the received data; upon successful interpretation of the received data, the communication interface of the EFB is operated in accordance with the selected communication interface.

The method of any preceding clause, further comprising preloading the EFB with a known communication database construct of the set of data networks.

The method of any preceding item, wherein the unknown data network defines a dedicated avionics data protocol.

The method of any preceding item, further comprising operating the communications interface of the EFB according to at least one ARINC-compatible avionics protocol.

The method of any preceding item, wherein the selected communication interface may further comprise at least one application level protocol.

The method of any preceding clause, further comprising operating the communications interface of the EFB according to at least one ARINC-compatible application-level protocol.

The method of any preceding clause, wherein the unknown data network defines a legacy network standard.

The method of any preceding item, further comprising determining whether the selected communication interface is capable of interpreting the received data by acknowledging the received data.

The method of any preceding item, further comprising receiving, at the EFB, a user-selectable input defining a user-selected input, and wherein attempting to open the communication port of the unknown data network is further based on prioritizing at least one selected communication interface associated with the user-selected input.

The method of any preceding item, wherein the user-selectable inputs include a plurality of aircraft models.

The method of any preceding item, wherein attempting to open a communication port comprises polling at least one of a plurality of communication ports simultaneously or polling a set of port ranges at a time.

The method of any preceding item, wherein operating the communication interface of the EFB in accordance with the selected communication interface enables the EFB to communicate with at least one avionics system of the aircraft.

The method of any preceding item, wherein the at least one avionics system of the aircraft is a Flight Management System (FMS).

The method of any preceding item, further comprising attempting to open a communication port of the unknown data network based on another selected communication interface upon unsuccessful interpretation of the received data.

A communications device for communicating with an unknown avionics private data network, comprising: a communication interface; a communication database stored in the memory and defining a set of known communication interface configurations for communicating with a predetermined set of data networks; a controller module configured to: when the communication interface is connected with an unknown avionic private data network, selecting a known communication interface structure; attempting to open a communication port of the unknown data network based on the selected known communication interface configuration; receiving data from an unknown data network; determining whether the selected known communication interface configuration is capable of interpreting the received data; upon successful interpretation of the received data, the communication interface is operated according to the selected known communication interface configuration.

The communication device of any preceding item, further comprising a user input, and wherein the controller module is further configured to attempt to open a communication port of the unknown data network further based on prioritizing a subset of known communication interface constructs associated with the user selected input.

The communications device of any preceding item, wherein the user input comprises a selectable list of aircraft models.

The communication device of any preceding item, wherein, upon successful interpretation of the received data, the controller module is configured to operate the communication interface in accordance with the selected known communication interface configuration to communicate with at least one avionics system of the aircraft.

The communication device of any preceding item, wherein the at least one avionics system of the aircraft is a FMS.

The communication device of any preceding item, wherein the controller module is further configured to, upon unsuccessful interpretation of the received data, select another known communication interface configuration and attempt to open a communication port of the unknown data network based on the selected another known communication interface configuration.