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

• US 9,515,721 B2
• Filed: 03/09/2016
• Issued: 12/06/2016
• 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:
  US15/065,405
• Publication Number:
  US 20160191143A1
• Time in Patent Office: 272 Days
• Field of Search: 370/310, 370/316, 370/331
• 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 first moving object that provides network connectivity, comprising:

a first uplink device of the first moving object to connect the first moving object to a publicly available computer network;

a first downlink device of the first moving object to be communicatively coupled to a remote device at a specific segment along a route of the first moving object, wherein the remote device is to provide data received via the first downlink device to a user;

a cache store communicatively coupled to the first uplink device and the first downlink device; and

a communications module to attempt to establish a handoff connection between the first moving object and a second moving object and, in response to establishing the handoff connection, migrate the routing of the data to and from the remote device to a second downlink device and a second uplink device on the second moving object from the first downlink device; and

if the handoff connection is not established, store frequently requested internet content in the cache store; and

wait for the handoff connection to be established to provide the frequently requested internet content to the remote device via the second downlink device.

2. The first moving object of claim 1, the first moving object comprising an aircraft.

3. The first moving object of claim 1, the first moving object comprising an airplane.

4. The first moving object of claim 1, the specific segment based at least in part on a transmit power for the first downlink device.

5. The first moving object of claim 1, the first downlink device to use Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) technology to route at least some of the data and at least some of the data is to be interleaved with other ADS-B communications.

6. The first moving object of claim 1, the first downlink device to use a portion of spectrum determined through dynamic spectrum access.

7. The first moving object of claim 1, the first uplink device and the first downlink device to use different portions of spectrum and the first uplink device to connect the first moving object to the computer network.

8. The first moving object of claim 1, the cache store to store data from the user after a connection with the first downlink device is lost, the stored data from the user to be sent to the second moving object through the second downlink device.

9. The first moving object of claim 1, the cache store comprising data received from the publicly available computer network.

10. One or more computer-readable storage devices for providing network connectivity via moving objects, comprising a plurality of instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to:

determine an available spectrum via dynamic spectrum access;

establish a downlink to a remote device via a first downlink device of a first moving object using the available spectrum;

establish an uplink to a publicly available network via a first uplink device of the first moving object using a different portion of spectrum;

send and receive data to and from a remote device, the data to be relayed to and from the network via the first uplink device; and

attempt to establish a handoff connection between the first moving object and a second moving object and, in response to establishing the handoff connection, migrate the routing of the data to and from the remote device to a second downlink device and a second uplink device on the second moving object from the first downlink device; and

if the handoff connection is not established, store frequently requested internet content in a cache store; and

wait for the handoff connection to be established to provide the frequently requested internet content to the remote device via the second downlink device.

11. The one or more computer-readable storage devices of claim 10, the first moving object comprising an aircraft.

12. The one or more computer-readable storage devices of claim 10, the first moving object comprising an airplane.

13. The one or more computer-readable storage devices of claim 10, further comprising a plurality of instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to steer a directional antenna of the first downlink device.

14. The one or more computer-readable storage devices of claim 10, further comprising a plurality of instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to interleave at least some of the data with ADS-B communications.