Method and apparatus providing suppression of system access by use of confidence polygons, volumes and surfaces in a mobile satellite system
First Claim
1. A method for operating a mobile satellite communication system having at least one gateway (GW), at least one user terminal (UT), and a constellation of satellites, comprising steps of:
- for a site to be protected from UT transmissions, specifying an exclusion zone having a confidence limit (CL) associated therewith; and
selectively providing service to a UT depending on a determined location of the UT relative to the exclusion zone and on an estimated error (E) of the determined UT location.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Disclosed are methods and apparatus to control the actions of a user terminal (UT) located at a remote location, possibly far from a gateway (GW), which has an interface to the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) and/or to the Internet. A computer generated and stored database of an area (referred to as a Confidence Polygon), a volume (referred to as a Confidence Volume), and/or a plane (referred to as a Confidence Surface) is used to establish a geometric shape located on the earth, above the earth or in space, or combinations thereof. In addition, there is assigned to these areas, volumes and/or planes a static or a variable value referred to as a Confidence Limit (CL) that can be compared to a value of an error (E) in a position location of the UT. The error signal can either be generated by the UT or by the GW. A controller, preferably a part of the GW, acts upon the database of the geometric shapes, and the assigned or derived values of CL and E, to determine if the comparison of CL and E, combined with the current position of the UT, yields a certain result according to the operational mode of the GW controller. There can be many operational modes of the controller. Depending on the operational mode the result of the comparison of the CL assigned to the area, volume or plane is used to affect control of the UT or an external device attached to the UT. By example, the UT may be forbidden or allowed to access the system or to make or receive a call, or some operational characteristic(s) of the UT may be specified, such as transmitter power, frequency, and the like. The end result is an ability to provide protection for a site, such as a radio astronomy site, from UT emissions.
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Citations
26 Claims
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1. A method for operating a mobile satellite communication system having at least one gateway (GW), at least one user terminal (UT), and a constellation of satellites, comprising steps of:
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for a site to be protected from UT transmissions, specifying an exclusion zone having a confidence limit (CL) associated therewith; and
selectively providing service to a UT depending on a determined location of the UT relative to the exclusion zone and on an estimated error (E) of the determined UT location. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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26. A mobile satellite communication system comprising at least one gateway (GW), at least one user terminal (UT), and a constellation of satellites, said GW comprising a controller for controlling operations of said UT and further comprising an interface to at least one of the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) or to the Internet, said GW storing a database containing at least one of a Confidence Polygon, a Confidence Volume, or a Confidence Surface to establish a geometric shape located on the earth, above the earth or in space, or combinations thereof, said GW further storing a static or a variable Confidence Limit (CL) value that is compared to a value of an error (E) in a position location of the UT, said controller acting upon the database and assigned or derived values of CL and E, to determine if a comparison of CL and E, combined with a current position of the UT, yields a certain result according to the operational mode of the GW controller, wherein depending on the operational mode of the GW the result of the comparison affects control of the UT or an external device attached to the UT, whereby the UT is forbidden or allowed to access the mobile satellite system or to make or receive a call, or depending on the operational mode of the GW the result of the comparison affects some operational characteristic of the UT to provide an ability to protect a site from UT emissions.
Specification