Variable bandwidth variable center-frequency multibeam satellite-switched router
First Claim
1. A variable bandwidth variable center frequency multi-beam satellite communications system which includes multiple transponder channels for interconnecting plural incoming and outgoing communications paths, said system comprising:
- A. receiving means for receiving at least one incoming transponder channel of constant bandwidth,B. band-splitting means connected with said receiving means for dividing the bandwidth of said at least one transponder channel into a first portion and a second portion,C. multistage channelizing means connected with said band-splitting means for receiving said second portion of said at least one transponder channel, said channelizing means for being operative for further dividing said second channel into multiple levels of subchannels of variable bandwidth,D. switching means for connecting one-out-of-many input signals with overlapping bands to at least one output port of said transponder at successive time intervals, and for simultaneously connecting plural input signals with non-overlapping band to at least one output port of said transponder, andE. control means connected to said switching means for controlling the switching of SSTDMA input signals and of SSFDMA input signals.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Reconfigurable switching router connects to an existing connectivity network on board a multibeam communications satellite for increasing the flexibility thereof by providing variable bandwidth capability so that the satellite handles a multitude of individual users having different requirements of bandwidth and transmission rates. The bandwidth of at least one transponder channel is split into two portions. A first portion provides a VBVCF continuous passband while a second portion is further channelized in a reconfigurable fashion to achieve VBVCF subchannelization. The reconfigurable switching router utilizes a class of multi-level channelization formats implemented by a plurality of filter banks connected in parallel. A switching network performs VBVCF subchannel selection and routing via time and/or frequency multiplexing thereby to accommodate both VBVCF SSTDMA and SSFDMA traffic.
98 Citations
13 Claims
-
1. A variable bandwidth variable center frequency multi-beam satellite communications system which includes multiple transponder channels for interconnecting plural incoming and outgoing communications paths, said system comprising:
-
A. receiving means for receiving at least one incoming transponder channel of constant bandwidth, B. band-splitting means connected with said receiving means for dividing the bandwidth of said at least one transponder channel into a first portion and a second portion, C. multistage channelizing means connected with said band-splitting means for receiving said second portion of said at least one transponder channel, said channelizing means for being operative for further dividing said second channel into multiple levels of subchannels of variable bandwidth, D. switching means for connecting one-out-of-many input signals with overlapping bands to at least one output port of said transponder at successive time intervals, and for simultaneously connecting plural input signals with non-overlapping band to at least one output port of said transponder, and E. control means connected to said switching means for controlling the switching of SSTDMA input signals and of SSFDMA input signals. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
-
-
11. A method for providing variable bandwidth variable center-frequency multi-beam communication in a satellite system which includes multiple transponder channels for interconnecting plural incoming and outgoing communications signals, said method comprising the steps of:
-
A. dividing the bandwidth of at least one of said transponder channels into a first portion having a first center frequency and a second portion having a second center frequency, B. channelizing said second portion of the transponder channels into a plurality of groups of subchannels of successive levels of selectable bandwidth, C. connecting, in accordance with traffic demands, one-out-of-many input signals with overlapping bands to at least one output port of said transponder at successive time intervals, and simultaneously connecting plural input signals with non-overlapping bands to at least one output port of said transponder, and D. controlling said connecting step by effecting SSTDMA and SSFDMA switching of said respective input and output signals of said at least one transponder channel in accordance with traffic demands. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13)
-
Specification