Mobile interactive satellite services

• US 9,276,664 B2
• Filed: 04/30/2007
• Issued: 03/01/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 04/30/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: DBSD Corporation (Echostar Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Dish Network Corporation (Echostar Corporation)
• Inventors: Zufall, David Robert, Mulford, Gerard Daniel, Raab, Stefan Bernard, Sorond, Mariam Aghdasi, Le Maitre, Marcus John
• Primary Examiner(s): Pan, Yuwen
• Assistant Examiner(s): Tran, Paul P
• Application Number:
  US11/797,048
• Publication Number:
  US 20080268838A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,228 Days
• Field of Search: 370/208, 370/316, 370/321, 370/323, 370/329, 370/389, 370/390, 370/430, 370/466, 370/468, 370/474, 370/501, 370/542, 370/260, 342/352, 342/354, 342/356, 342/357.15, 342/357.17, 342/357.42, 455/3.01, 455/3.02, 455/12.1, 455/13.1, 455/13.2, 455/13.4, 455/414.1, 455/427, 455/428, 455/429, 455/430, 455/443, 455/447, 455/522, 455/550.1, 701/1, 725/63, 725/64, 725/71, 725/72, 725/105, 725/39, 398/115, 398/121, 398/125, 398/126
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/0408 using two or more beams, i.e. beam diversity
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/155 Ground-based stations H04B7/204 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/18526 Arrangements for data linking, networking or transporting, or for controlling an end to end session data switching networks H04L12/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/18536 Shadowing compensation therefor, e.g. by using an additional terrestrial relay
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/18567 Arrangements for providing additional services to the basic mobile satellite telephony service
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/18591 Arrangements for interconnecting multiple systems data switching networks H04L12/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/19 Earth-synchronous stations
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/195 Non-synchronous stations
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/22 Arrangements for broadcast of identical information via plural broadcast systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/18 for broadcast or conference , e.g. multicast
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/4025 where none of the additional parallel sessions is real time or time sensitive, e.g. downloading a file in a parallel FTP session, initiating an email or combinational services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 16/28 using beam steering
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/15 Setup of multiple wireless link connections
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/12 WLAN [Wireless Local Area Networks]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/06 adapted for operation in multiple networks or having at least two operational modes, e.g. multi-mode terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/08 Access point devices

Abstract

A system for providing mobile interactive satellite services includes a satellite operable to communicate with mobile units, a terrestrial base transceiver station operable to communicate with mobile units, and a ground station in communication with the satellite and the terrestrial base transceiver station to provide mobile interactive satellite services. The mobile interactive satellite services include a multicast component and an interactive component such that the ground station provides both the multicast component and the interactive component using the satellite, with the terrestrial base transceiver station used to provide an ancillary terrestrial component. A device for communicating with a mobile interactive satellite service system includes an antenna, a transceiver coupled to the antenna and operable to communicate with a mobile interactive satellite service system, a user input device, an output device, a processor unit, and a network interface. The processor unit is coupled to the user input device, the output device, and the transceiver such that the processor is operable to output received information from the transceiver using the output device, to receive interactive information from the user input device, and to transmit data based on the received interactive information using the transceiver. The network interface is coupled to the processor such that the processor is operable to side load information.

Claims

1. A system, comprising:

a satellite operable to communicate with a first mobile unit using a first multicast regional beam and a first interactive spot beam, the satellite operable to communicate with a second mobile unit using the first multicast regional beam and a second interactive spot beam;

a terrestrial base transceiver station operable to communicate with the first mobile unit and the second mobile unit via a second multicast regional beam; and

a ground station configured to be in communication with the satellite and the terrestrial base transceiver station to provide a mobile interactive satellite service including a multicast component and an interactive component,

the terrestrial base transceiver station configured to send data for the multicast component to the first mobile unit via the second multicast regional beam, the satellite configured to send data for the multicast component to the first mobile unit and the second mobile unit via the first multicast regional beam, the first mobile unit configured to combine a signal associated with the first multicast regional beam with a signal associated with the second multicast regional beam, the satellite configured to send data for the interactive component to the first mobile unit via the first interactive spot beam, the satellite configured to send data for the interactive component to the second mobile unit via the second interactive spot beam.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the satellite includes one or more from the group consisting of:

a satellite in a geostationary orbit;

a satellite in a low earth orbit;

a satellite in a medium earth orbit; and

a satellite in a circular orbit.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the satellite is a primary satellite, the system further comprising a secondary satellite in communication with the ground station.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the secondary satellite communicates information related to the multicast component between the terrestrial base transceiver station arid the ground station.

5. The system of claim 3, wherein the secondary satellite communicates information related to the interactive component between the terrestrial base transceiver station and the ground station.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the satellite includes a smart-antenna unit.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the smart-antenna unit is operable to perform satellite-based beamforming.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the mobile interactive satellite service includes at least one of:

broadcast audio;

broadcast video;

broadcast data;

interactive audio;

interactive video;

interactive data; and

telephony.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the first interactive spot beam is configured to transmit the interactive component to a first geographic area, the second interactive spot beam configured to transmit the interactive component to a second geographic area smaller than the first geographic area.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the terrestrial base transceiver station is configured to send data for the interactive component to the first mobile unit via a third interactive spot beam.