Scalable communication system, method and apparatus
First Claim
1. A scalable satellite communication system comprising:
- a shared hub modem chassis containingfirst line card slots, second line card slots andfirst line cards in the first line card slots,wherein said first line cards are operatively connected by said first line card slots to a first satellite IF/RF converter configured to communicate with a first satellite, said first line cards further configured to perform a first satellite communication function,said second line card slots operatively connected to a second satellite IF/RF converter configured to communicate with a second satellite, said second line card slots further configured to provide a second satellite communication function if the second line cards are operatively connected to the second line card slots and to not provide a second satellite communication function if the second line cards are not operatively connected to the second line card slots, andsaid second line card slots providing an expansion capability for said satellite communication system when the second satellite communication function is to be provided by adding the second line cards.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A communication system, method, computer program product, and apparatus include common equipment shared between multiple independently administered networks. The common equipment is reconfigurable and expandable and provides changed communication capacity and functions when additional elements are added or reconfigured. Configurable features include, for example, communication bandwidth, Quality of Service, and a number of communication satellites included in the communication system. The common equipment includes expandable elements including, for example, a single hub modem chassis that can expand to communicate with more than one communication satellite and a protocol processor that can share a protocol processing task with another protocol processors.
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Citations
37 Claims
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1. A scalable satellite communication system comprising:
a shared hub modem chassis containing first line card slots, second line card slots and first line cards in the first line card slots, wherein said first line cards are operatively connected by said first line card slots to a first satellite IF/RF converter configured to communicate with a first satellite, said first line cards further configured to perform a first satellite communication function, said second line card slots operatively connected to a second satellite IF/RF converter configured to communicate with a second satellite, said second line card slots further configured to provide a second satellite communication function if the second line cards are operatively connected to the second line card slots and to not provide a second satellite communication function if the second line cards are not operatively connected to the second line card slots, and said second line card slots providing an expansion capability for said satellite communication system when the second satellite communication function is to be provided by adding the second line cards. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A scalable satellite communication system comprising:
a shared hub modem chassis containing first line card slots, second line card slots and first line cards in the first line card slots, wherein said first line cards are operatively connected by said first line card slots to a first satellite IF/RF converter configured to communicate with a first satellite, said first line cards further configured to perform a first satellite communication function having a first communication capacity, said second line card slots operatively connected to the first satellite IF/RF converter configured to communicate with the first satellite, said second line card slots further configured to provide the first satellite communication function having a second communication capacity if the second line cards are operatively connected to the second line card slots and to provide the first satellite communication function having the first communication capacity if the second line cards are not operatively connected to the second line card slots, said second line card slots providing an expansion capability for said satellite communication system when the second communication capacity is to be provided by operatively connecting a number of second line cards. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A scalable satellite communication system comprising:
a shared hub modem chassis containing first line card slots, second line card slots and first line cards in the first line card slots, wherein said first line cards are operatively connected by said first line card slots to a first satellite IF/RF converter configured to communicate with a first satellite, said first line cards further configured to perform a first independently administered network function, said second line card slots operatively connected to the first satellite IF/RF converter configured to communicate with the first satellite, said second line card slots further configured to provide a second independently administered network function if the second line cards are operatively connected to the second line card slots and to not provide a second independently administered network function if the second line cards are not operatively connected to the second line card slots, said second line card slots providing an expansion capability for said satellite communication system when the second independently administered network function is to be provided by adding the second line cards. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A scalable satellite communication system comprising:
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a shared hub modem chassis containing first line card slots, second line card slots and first line cards in the first line card slots, wherein said first line cards are operatively connected by said first line card slots to a first satellite IF/RF converter configured to communicate with a first satellite, said first line cards further configured to perform a first satellite communication function having a first communication capacity, a first protocol processor operatively connected to the shared hub modem chassis and configured to communicate with a first user across a first user network, said first protocol processor configured to perform a protocol processing, said first protocol processor being configured to share the protocol processing with a second protocol processor if the second protocol processor is operatively connected to the shared hub modem chassis, and configured to exclusively perform the protocol processing if the second protocol processor is not operatively connected to the shared hub modem chassis, said first protocol processor providing an increased protocol processing capacity for said satellite communication system when the second protocol processor is added. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
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27. A method of scaling a satellite communication system comprising:
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performing a first satellite communication function using first line cards, said first line cards having a first communication capacity and are installed in first line card slots in a shared hub modem chassis containing first line card slots and second line card slots, wherein said first line cards are operatively connected by said first line card slots to a first satellite IF/RF converter configured to communicate with a first satellite, and said second line card slots being operatively connected to a second satellite IF/RF converter configured to communicate with a second satellite; providing a second satellite communication function from the second line card slots if the second line cards are operatively connected to the second line card slots and not providing a second satellite communication function if the second line cards are not operatively connected to the second line card slots, said second line card slots providing an expansion capability for said satellite communication system when the second satellite communication function is to be provided by adding the second line cards, and said second line card slots providing an expansion capability for said satellite communication system when an increased first communication capacity is to be provided by increasing a number of second line cards. - View Dependent Claims (28, 29, 30, 31)
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32. A computer program product storing computer program instructions which when executed by a computer cause the computer to perform the following steps:
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performing a first satellite communication function using first line cards, said first line cards having a first communication capacity and are installed in first line card slots in a shared hub modem chassis containing first line card slots and second line card slots, wherein said first line cards are operatively connected by said first line card slots to a first satellite IF/RF converter configured to communicate with a first satellite, and said second line card slots being operatively connected to a second satellite IF/RF converter configured to communicate with a second satellite; providing a second satellite communication function from the second line card slots if the second line cards are operatively connected to the second line card slots and not providing a second satellite communication function if the second line cards are not operatively connected to the second line card slots, said second line card slots providing an expansion capability for said satellite communication system when the second satellite communication function is to be provided by adding the second line cards, and said second line card slots providing an expansion capability for said satellite communication system when an increased first communication capacity is to be provided by increasing a number of second line cards. - View Dependent Claims (33, 34, 35, 36)
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37. A scalable satellite communication device comprising:
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first line card slots; second line card slots; and first line cards in the first line card slots, wherein said first line cards are operatively connected by said first line card slots to a first satellite IF/RF converter configured to communicate with a first satellite, said first line cards further configured to perform a first satellite communication function and to have a first communication capacity, said second line card slots operatively connected to a second satellite IF/RF converter configured to communicate with a second satellite, said second line card slots further configured to provide a second satellite communication function if the second line cards are operatively connected to the second line card slots and to not provide a second satellite communication function if the second line cards are not operatively connected to the second line card slots, said second line card slots providing an expansion capability for said satellite communication system when the second satellite communication function is to be provided by adding the second line cards, and said second line card slots providing an expansion capability for said satellite communication system when an increased first communication capacity is to be provided by increasing a number of second line cards.
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Specification