Method and apparatus for selectively retrieving information from a source computer using a terrestrial or satellite interface
First Claim
1. A system for retrieving data from a source computer coupled to a network, comprising:
- a low-speed path linking a requesting terminal with the network;
a high-speed path linking the requesting terminal with the network; and
selection means for selecting one of the low-speed path and the high-speed path for transmission of data from the source computer to the requesting terminal.
13 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A requesting terminal includes an interface that allows a user to select whether data downloaded from a network (such as the Internet) is transmitted to the requesting terminal via a high-speed link, such as a satellite link, or a lower speed link, such as a terrestrial link. Preferably, the terrestrial link (which may comprise a conventional dial-up Internet connection) is a two-way link, wherein the requesting terminal transmits data requests to the network via the terrestrial link. The data requests generated by the requesting terminal are modified to designate whether the requested data should be downloaded from the network via the terrestrial link or the satellite link. The terrestrial link may also be automatically selected for certain applications.
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Citations
33 Claims
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1. A system for retrieving data from a source computer coupled to a network, comprising:
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a low-speed path linking a requesting terminal with the network;
a high-speed path linking the requesting terminal with the network; and
selection means for selecting one of the low-speed path and the high-speed path for transmission of data from the source computer to the requesting terminal. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32)
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16. A system for retrieving data from a source computer coupled to a network, comprising:
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a requesting terminal for requesting data to be retrieved from the source computer, wherein the requesting terminal includes a terrestrial interface coupled to the network;
a satellite interface capable of receiving data transmitted via a satellite link, wherein the satellite link includes a gateway coupled to the network, and means for designating that the requested data be transmitted from the source computer to the requesting terminal through one of the terrestrial interface and the satellite interface.
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26. A method of retrieving data from a source computer coupled to a network, comprising the steps of:
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generating, at a requesting terminal, a request packet for transmission of data from the source computer;
designating, at the requesting terminal, a transmission path selected from one of a low-speed path and a high-speed path for transmission of the requested data from the source computer to the requesting terminal;
providing the designated data request to the source computer, wherein the source computer generates a data reply; and
receiving the data reply from the source computer via the designated transmission path.
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33. A system for retrieving data from a source computer coupled to a network, comprising:
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a two-way, low-speed terrestrial path linking a requesting terminal with the network;
a one-way, high-speed satellite path linking the requesting terminal with the network; and
selection means for selecting one of the terrestrial path and the satellite path for transmission of data from the source computer to the requesting terminal.
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Specification