Providing network connectivity and access to content and communications via moving objects

• US 9,325,407 B2
• Filed: 09/15/2014
• Issued: 04/26/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 09/15/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Horvitz, Eric, Kapoor, Ashish, Liu, Jie, Chandra, Ranveer
• Primary Examiner(s): Pham, Brenda H
• Application Number:
  US14/486,235
• Publication Number:
  US 20160080069A1
• Time in Patent Office: 589 Days
• Field of Search: 370/331, 455/431, 455/432.1, 455/436, 455/439, 455/442
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/18504 Aircraft used as relay or high altitude atmospheric platform
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/18506 Communications with or from aircraft, i.e. aeronautical mobile service
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/08 Reselecting an access point
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/083 wherein at least one of the access points is a moving node
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/06 Selective distribution of broadcast services, e.g. multimedia broadcast multicast service [MBMS]; Services to user groups; One-way selective calling services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 40/248 Connectivity information update
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/20 Control channels or signalling for resource management
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/21 in the uplink direction of a wireless link, i.e. towards the network
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/23 in the downlink direction of a wireless link, i.e. towards a terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 80/04 Network layer protocols, e.g. mobile IP [Internet Protocol]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/045 using private Base Stations, e.g. femto Base Stations, home Node B

Abstract

Various techniques for providing network connectivity are described herein. In one example, a moving object includes an uplink device of the moving object to connect the moving object to a publicly available computer network. The moving object also includes a downlink device of the moving object to be communicatively coupled to a remote device at a specific segment along a route of the moving object. The remote device is to provide data received via the downlink device to a user. The moving object also further includes a cache store communicatively coupled to the uplink device and the downlink device. Implementations include the use of commercial airplanes for providing connectivity via intermittent access and refreshing of a cache store that makes content available to end users.

Claims

1. A method for providing network connectivity via moving objects, comprising:

routing data to and from a network via a first uplink device on a first moving object;

routing data to and from a remote device via a first downlink device on the first moving object;

establishing a handoff connection between the first moving object and a second moving object;

establishing a downlink between the remote device and a second downlink device of the second moving object; and

migrating the routing of data to and from the remote device to the second downlink device and a second uplink device on the second moving object from the first downlink device via the handoff connection,

wherein the first and second moving objects comprise aircraft.

2. The method of claim 1, the first and second moving objects comprising airplanes.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining a portion of spectrum to be used by the first and the second downlink device using dynamic spectrum access.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising caching at least some of the data on at least one of the first or the second moving objects.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising caching at least some of the data on the remote device, the remote device comprising a remote subscriber device.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising caching at least some of the data at the remote device, the remote device comprising a base station communicatively connected to a remote subscriber.

7. The method of claim 6, the cached data at the base station to be retrieved by a subsequent moving object.