Multi-platform wireless communication system for a variety of different user types

• US 20050153655A1
• Filed: 02/02/2005
• Published: 07/14/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 03/18/1999
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: The DIRECTV Group, Inc. (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Hughes Electronics Corporation (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Chang, Donald C.D., Yung, Kar W., Hagen, Frank A.
• Granted Patent: US 8,223,733 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/13.100
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/18504 Aircraft used as relay or high altitude atmospheric platform
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/18506 Communications with or from aircraft, i.e. aeronautical mobile service
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/18532 Arrangements for managing transmission, i.e. for transporting data or a signalling message
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/18534 for enhancing link reliablility, e.g. satellites diversity
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/212 Time-division multiple access [TDMA]

Abstract

A mobile wireless communications system including a plurality of individual transponding nodes of various types, all in communication with a central processing hub. A local user signal is processed by the central processing hub and radiated through multiple paths to a plurality of the plurality of individual transponding platforms simultaneously. The signal is then re-radiated by each of the plurality of the plurality of individual transponding platforms to a mobile terminal that receives the re-radiated signal from the plurality of the plurality of individual transponding platforms coherently and in phase. The number of transponders and codes used to transmit each user signal can be readily adapted to user requirements.

Claims

1. (canceled)

2. A mobile wireless communication system comprising:

a plurality of individual transponding nodes;

a plurality of individual resource cells each associated with a particular one of said plurality of transponding nodes and one of a plurality of available CDMA codes;

a plurality of user terminals, each of which is assigned to operate in one or more of said plurality of individual resource cells;

wherein each of said plurality of individual resource cells is assigned to at most one of said plurality of user terminals at any one time; and

a central processing hub, which establishes links to one or more of said user terminals through one or more of said plurality of transponding nodes wherein the specific transponding node and codes used to complete each of said links is determined by the resource cells respectively assigned to the plurality of the user terminals;

wherein said central processing hub pre-processes transmission signals for forward link transmission such that the transmission signals are radiated with compensating time delays to an intended one of said plurality of user terminals that coherently receives said signals;

wherein said central processing hub post-processes received signals to introduce compensating time delays such that said received signals from a particular one of the plurality of user terminals may be coherently processed.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein each of said plurality of individual transponding nodes is independently selected from one of the following system types:

a space-based system, a high altitude platform system, a tower based cellular network, or a manned/unmanned aircraft.

4. The system of claim 2, wherein at least one said plurality of mobile terminals is assigned resource cells in platform-code space for said return link that are different from said resource cells in platform-code space assigned for said forward link.

5. The system of claim 3, wherein said high altitude platform system is comprised of a plurality of manned/unmanned airships.

6. The system of claim 3, wherein said high altitude platform system is comprised of a plurality of high altitude balloons.

7. The system of claim 3, wherein said plurality of individual transponder nodes are all of the same type.

8. The system of claim 3, wherein said plurality of individual transponder nodes are not all of the same type.

9. A method for establishing a plurality of communication links to a plurality of user terminals comprising:

providing a plurality of individual transponding nodes;

pre-processing a plurality of local user signals at a ground hub to compensate for differential propagation delays to any one of the plurality of user terminals;

assigning each of said plurality of user terminals one or more resource cells in platform-code space at the ground hub;

wherein said resource cells assigned to one of the user terminals for use on the forward link may or not be the same as those assigned for use on the return link;

wherein each resource cell assigned to a respective one of the plurality of user terminals enable transmission of transmit signals to the hub through a particular transponder node using a first resource cell and to coherently receive signals from more than one transponder node using a second resource cell; and

post-processing transmit signals at the ground hub to compensate for differential propagation delays such that all transmit signals from one of the plurality of user terminals may be coherently processed.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein at least one of said plurality of transponder nodes is selected from a high altitude platform system.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein said high altitude platform system includes a plurality of manned/unmanned airships.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein said high altitude platform system is comprised of a plurality of high altitude balloons.

13. The method of claim 9, wherein at least one of said plurality of transponder nodes is selected from a tower based cellular network.

14. The method of claim 10, wherein at least one of said plurality of transponder nodes is selected from a space based system.

15-22. -22. (canceled)