Highly integrated very small aperture terminal (VSAT) apparatus and method

• US 9,083,429 B2
• Filed: 01/10/2013
• Issued: 07/14/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 09/06/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: St Engineering Idirect
• Original Assignee: VT iDirect Inc. (Singapore Technologies Engineering Limited)
• Inventors: Tang, Hai Q., Schweitzer, Theodore A., Reklau, Matthew A., Gregory, Christopher D.
• Primary Examiner(s): JAIN, RAJ K
• Application Number:
  US13/738,584
• Publication Number:
  US 20130128805A1
• Time in Patent Office: 915 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/26 Power supply means, e.g. regulation thereof for memories G11C
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 3/005 using remotely controlled antenna positioning or scanning
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 3/548 the power on the line being DC arrangements for feeding power H04L12/10; extracting feeding power from signals H04L25/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 3/56 Circuits for coupling, blocking, or by-passing of signals
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/18517 Transmission equipment in earth stations
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/18519 Operations control, administration or maintenance
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/204 Multiple access
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 40/90 specially adapted for satellite broadcast receiving
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/2843 Mains power line

Abstract

A method, and a VSAT capable of being configured for such a method, of configuring a VSAT, the steps of which are setting, while an outdoor unit of the VSAT is at a configuration location, a maximum value of the adjustable gain of the up-converting device and transmitting, from an operating location that is separate from the configuration location, transmission signals to the satellite at the transmission frequency and with a gain value of at most the maximum value of the adjustable gain set at the configuration location.

Claims

1. A system for communicating with a satellite, comprising:

an indoor unit (IDU), including

a bi-directional data interface configured to transmit a first data signal along a first twisted pair of wires and receive a second data signal along a second twisted pair of wires,

a power sourcing device configured to output a DC power signal along both the first and second twisted pair of wires as well as a third and fourth twisted pair of wires, and

a connection interface configured to combine the first, second, third and fourth twisted pairs of wires into a transmission signal and output the transmission signal along an Ethernet cable; and

an outdoor unit (ODU) including electronic devices configured to receive the transmission signal via the Ethernet cable, extract the data signal from the transmission signal, amplify the transmission signal, and transmit the extracted data signal to the satellite, wherein the electronic devices are energized using the DC power signal.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the DC power signal across each of the twisted pair of wires has a voltage of at most 59 V, and the power transmission of all of the twisted pair of wires is at most 100 Watts.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the IDU is configured to condition the DC power signal along the Ethernet cable for hot connect and hot disconnect, wherein hot is defined as a live DC power signal.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the IDU includes circuitry for short circuit protection.