Systems and methods for satellite communications with mobile terrestrial terminals
First Claim
1. A satellite communications system for transmitting to mobile terrestrial terminals, the system comprising:
- an initiating terrestrial terminal containing at least one antenna for sending an uplink signal to a satellite;
at least one satellite comprising at least one of the group consisting of (i) hardware and (ii) software components to manage changes in capacity and interference associated with the uplink signal, and to balance power and multiplexing into downlink signals, the satellites comprising;
at least one of the group consisting of (i) hardware and (ii) software components for on-board processing and network management; and
one or a plurality of steerable antennas; and
at least one target terrestrial terminal containing at least one antenna for receiving a downlink signal from a satellite.
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0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A system of satellite communications provides high throughput data transmission rates for mobile terrestrial terminals. The system may allow point to point communication between two terrestrial terminals. Further, the system may allow point to multipoint communication from an initiating terrestrial terminal to a plurality of target terrestrial terminals. Still further, the system may allow multipoint to multipoint communication from a plurality of initiating terrestrial terminals to a plurality of target terrestrial terminals. The satellites in the system may utilizes on-board functionality such as routing, network management and other data handling functionality. Further, the satellites in the system may communicate amongst each other and route signals through in-box and inter-box communication.
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Citations
83 Claims
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1. A satellite communications system for transmitting to mobile terrestrial terminals, the system comprising:
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an initiating terrestrial terminal containing at least one antenna for sending an uplink signal to a satellite; at least one satellite comprising at least one of the group consisting of (i) hardware and (ii) software components to manage changes in capacity and interference associated with the uplink signal, and to balance power and multiplexing into downlink signals, the satellites comprising; at least one of the group consisting of (i) hardware and (ii) software components for on-board processing and network management; and one or a plurality of steerable antennas; and at least one target terrestrial terminal containing at least one antenna for receiving a downlink signal from a satellite. - 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, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40)
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41. A method of initiating satellite communications service, comprising the steps of:
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entering an authorization code into an initiating terrestrial terminal; searching for the nearest satellite in the network; and authorizing communication to the nearest satellite in the network. - View Dependent Claims (42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47)
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48. A method of using a satellite communications service to transmit a communication between two terrestrial terminals, comprising the steps of:
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sending a communication via an uplink frequency from an initiating terrestrial terminal located in an earth segment to a satellite in a satellite communications network located in a space segment; assembling a request signal that requests service from the space segment via the satellite; analyzing alternate routes to reach a target terrestrial terminal; creating a request signal packet; searching for, acquiring, and lining up an antenna to transmit communication parameters to a chosen satellite; sending a request signal to the chosen satellite; receiving the request signal; initiating a connection between the initiating terrestrial terminal and the target terrestrial terminal; repackaging the request signal into a downlink signal; passing the downlink signal to an on-board software engine; sending the downlink signal to the target terrestrial terminal; checking the target terrestrial terminal for traffic; and allocating channels and channel parameters for communication between the initiating terrestrial terminal and the target terrestrial terminal. - View Dependent Claims (49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70)
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71. A method of monitoring an incident of an unauthorized satellite signal from an accessing terminal, comprising the steps of:
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logging the origin of the signal; sending a message to a network and a sub-network administrator; and sending an access denied message back on a command channel of the accessing terminal. - View Dependent Claims (72)
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73. A method of authenticating a signal on-board a satellite via an on-board software engine to generate an appropriate authentication code, comprising the steps of:
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combining a routing address and authentication code to make a confirmation of service signal packet; forming a second confirmation of service signal packet for a target terrestrial terminal; generating two denial of service signal packets if the target terrestrial terminal is busy; and sending all service signal packets to a transmitter. - View Dependent Claims (74)
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75. A method for enabling terminal to terminal communication, comprising the steps of:
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configuring a communication channel and sending a start of communication service signal packet to a chosen satellite; receiving the start of communication service signal packet, authenticating it, and routing it appropriately to other satellites or other target terrestrial terminals; having the target terrestrial terminals perform at least one of the steps of (i) entering a listening mode and (ii) submitting a return request signal; receiving, unpacking, authenticating, and interpreting a start of the service signal; sending a channel open handshaking signal back to the initiating terrestrial via the chosen satellite; receiving, authenticating, and routing the channel open handshaking signal; and beginning transmission from the initiating terrestrial terminal after receiving, unpacking, authenticating, and interpreting the channel open handshaking signal. - View Dependent Claims (76, 77)
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78. A method for ending transmission between terminals, comprising the steps of:
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sending a termination signal from a transmitting terrestrial terminal to a satellite; receiving the termination signal and terminating the connection from the satellite; transmitting the termination from the satellite to the target terrestrial terminal; and closing a configured channel via the target terrestrial terminal. - View Dependent Claims (79, 80)
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81. A method of multiple point-to-point communications, comprising the steps of:
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identifying a need for two-way communications from an on-board software engine; directing a confirmation of service signal, which includes instructions to allocate both receive and transmit channels, at target terrestrial terminals; and starting a broadcast from a terrestrial terminal. - View Dependent Claims (82, 83)
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Specification