Method and apparatus to respond to a blockage environment in a communication system
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A method of responding to a blockage environment in proximity to a terminal antenna, which terminal is capable of communicating with nodes of a communication system, the method comprising the steps of:
- creating a terminal blockage profile at the terminal antenna;
gathering, by the terminal, blockage data at the terminal antenna including gathering Fresnel zone signal data from one or more line-of-sight communication link signals;
mapping the blockage data to a blockage profile database;
monitoring the Fresnel zone signal data from the one or more line-of-sight communication link signals over a sliding time window;
recording the Fresnel zone signal data; and
controlling communications between the terminal and at least one node based on the terminal blockage profile.
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Abstract
A method and apparatus for responding to a blockage environment (50) in a communication system includes creating (158, 163) a terminal blockage profile and/or a satellite blockage profile with respect to terminal antenna (19) and responding (200) to the terminal blockage profile and/or the satellite blockage profile to prevent fading and/or blocking of communication pathways (15, 18) between one or more satellites (12) and the terminal (16).
66 Citations
31 Claims
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1. A method of responding to a blockage environment in proximity to a terminal antenna, which terminal is capable of communicating with nodes of a communication system, the method comprising the steps of:
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creating a terminal blockage profile at the terminal antenna; gathering, by the terminal, blockage data at the terminal antenna including gathering Fresnel zone signal data from one or more line-of-sight communication link signals; mapping the blockage data to a blockage profile database; monitoring the Fresnel zone signal data from the one or more line-of-sight communication link signals over a sliding time window; recording the Fresnel zone signal data; and controlling communications between the terminal and at least one node based on the terminal blockage profile. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A method of responding to a blockage environment in proximity to a terminal antenna, which terminal is capable of communicating with nodes of a communication system, the method comprising the steps of:
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creating a terminal blockage profile at the terminal antenna using a measurement device which is capable of measuring data which describes the blockage environment; storing the terminal blockage profile in a storage device; sending data describing the terminal blockage profile to a control facility, where the control facility receives information describing one or more blockage profiles from one or more terminal antennas; the control facility using the information to generate an obstruction map for a geographic area; and the control facility controlling communications between terminals within the geographic area and at least one node based on the obstruction map; and the terminal responding to the terminal blockage profile by controlling communications between the terminal and at least one node based on the terminal blockage profile, wherein the controlling step is performed by a processor of the terminal.
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18. A system for responding to a blockage environment in a communication system, the system comprising:
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a Fresnel zone measurement device capable of measuring data which describes the blockage environment; a storage device coupled to the Fresnel zone measurement device, the storage device being capable of storing a terminal blockage profile of an environment of a terminal antenna; and a processor capable of responding to the terminal blockage profile, coupled to the storage device. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20)
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21. A system for responding to a blockage environment in a communication system, the system comprising:
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a means for storing a terminal blockage profile of an environment of a terminal antenna the means for storing the terminal blockage profile including a map of the environment of the terminal antenna; means for collecting Fresnel zone measurements coupled to the means for storing, wherein the map of the environment of the terminal antenna includes a Fresnel zone map of a Fresnel zone signal threshold of the environment of the terminal antenna; and means for responding to the terminal blockage profile, coupled to the means for storing. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31)
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Specification