Hybrid communications for devices on vehicles
First Claim
1. A method of providing communications to and from devices being transported by vehicles, comprising:
- obtaining, at a hybrid communications distributor disposed in a terrestrial location, first content that is to be delivered to a device, the device being a mobile computing device that is temporarily being transported by a vehicle;
responsive to obtaining the first content, causing, by the hybrid communications distributor, a forward transmission to be sent to the vehicle using a forward link included in a first communication link supported by a first frequency band, the forward transmission including (i) the first content, and (ii) an indication of the device;
selecting, by the hybrid communications distributor based on feedback information received from the vehicle via a reverse link, one of the first communication link or a second communication link for delivery of a subsequent forward transmission to the vehicle, the second communication link being a bi-directional communication link supported by a second frequency band, the subsequent forward transmission including second content to be delivered to the device or to another device being transported by the vehicle; and
causing, by the hybrid communications distributor, the subsequent forward transmission to be sent to the vehicle using the selected communication link.
9 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Techniques for providing hybrid communications to devices on vehicles include using a forward link to deliver data, that is intended to be received by an on-board device, onto a vehicle, and using a reverse link in a different frequency band to send reverse data from the vehicle. A subsequent forward link is selected, based on the reverse data, from a plurality of forward links, each of which is supported by a different frequency band. Forward data may be multiplexed and/or multicast, and in some cases, multiple forward links may be used for distributed forward data delivery. These techniques allow for efficient data delivery to the vehicle, and in particular while the vehicle is in transit and link conditions are dynamic.
90 Citations
20 Claims
-
1. A method of providing communications to and from devices being transported by vehicles, comprising:
-
obtaining, at a hybrid communications distributor disposed in a terrestrial location, first content that is to be delivered to a device, the device being a mobile computing device that is temporarily being transported by a vehicle; responsive to obtaining the first content, causing, by the hybrid communications distributor, a forward transmission to be sent to the vehicle using a forward link included in a first communication link supported by a first frequency band, the forward transmission including (i) the first content, and (ii) an indication of the device; selecting, by the hybrid communications distributor based on feedback information received from the vehicle via a reverse link, one of the first communication link or a second communication link for delivery of a subsequent forward transmission to the vehicle, the second communication link being a bi-directional communication link supported by a second frequency band, the subsequent forward transmission including second content to be delivered to the device or to another device being transported by the vehicle; and causing, by the hybrid communications distributor, the subsequent forward transmission to be sent to the vehicle using the selected communication link. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
-
-
9. A hybrid communication system for communicating with devices that are being transported by vehicles, comprising:
-
a hybrid communications distributor that is communicatively connected to a vehicle via a plurality of forward links, wherein each forward link of the plurality of forward links uses a different respective wireless communication protocol, the hybrid communications distributor including; one or more processors; and one or more non-transitory, tangible computer-readable storage media storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the hybrid communications distributor to; obtain first content that is to be delivered to a device being transported by a vehicle; responsive to obtaining the first content, cause a forward transmission to be sent to the vehicle using a particular forward link of the plurality of forward links, the particular forward link included in a first communication link, and the forward transmission including (i) the first content, and (ii) an indication of the device; select, based on feedback information received from the vehicle via a reverse link, one of the plurality of forward links for delivery of a subsequent forward transmission to the vehicle, the subsequent forward transmission including second content to be delivered to the device or to another device being transported by the vehicle; and cause the subsequent forward transmission to be sent to the vehicle using the selected forward link. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
-
-
16. A method of providing communications to and from devices being transported by vehicles, comprising:
-
receiving, at a hybrid communications collector fixedly connected to a vehicle that is in-flight, a forward transmission including first content that is to be delivered to a device, the device being a mobile computing device that is temporarily being transported by the in-flight vehicle, and the forward transmission received at the in-flight vehicle via a first forward link included in a first wireless communication link supported by a first frequency band, the first forward link included in a plurality of forward links configured to wirelessly deliver data to the in-flight vehicle; causing, by the hybrid communications collector, the first content to be sent to the device using a wireless network contained within the in-flight vehicle; causing, by the hybrid communications collector, feedback information to be transmitted from the in-flight vehicle using a reverse link included in a second wireless communication link supported by a second frequency band; receiving, at the hybrid communications collector, a subsequent forward transmission including second content that is to be delivered to the device or to another device being transported by the in-flight vehicle, the subsequent forward transmission received at the in-flight vehicle via a selected forward link included in the plurality of forward links, and the selected forward link selected from the plurality of forward links by another controller based on the feedback information; and causing the second content to be sent to the device or to the another device using the wireless network contained within the in-flight vehicle. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20)
-
Specification