Multidimensional cellular mobile telecommunication system

• US 5,884,166 A
• Filed: 08/02/1996
• Issued: 03/16/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 03/06/1992
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Gogo LLC (GOGO Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Aircell LLC (GOGO Incorporated)
• Inventors: Jones, Stephen S., Hoppe, Geoffrey A., McKenna, Daniel B., George, Robert L., Ray, J. C.
• Primary Examiner(s): TO, DORIS HA
• Application Number:
  US08/692,837
• Time in Patent Office: 956 Days
• Field of Search: 455/431, 455/426, 455/422, 455/434, 455/436, 455/443, 455/444, 455/446-448, 455/517, 455/524, 455/561-562, 455/25, 455/7, 343/874-875, 343/879, 343/890-891, 343/893, 343/912, 343/833
• US Class Current: 455/431
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/18506 Communications with or from aircraft, i.e. aeronautical mobile service
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/042 Public Land Mobile systems, e.g. cellular systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/06 Airborne or Satellite Networks space-based or airborne stations H04B7/185

Abstract

The multidimensional cellular mobile telecommunication system extends the usage of existing cellular mobile telecommunication radio frequencies allocated for ground-based communications to non-terrestrial mobile subscriber stations by adding an overlay of non-terrestrial cells of predetermined geometry and locus in space to the existing ground-based cellular cell site network. The polarization of the signals produced by the non-terrestrial antenna elements is a polarization that is different than and preferably substantially orthogonal to the polarization of the cellular radio signals produced by the ground-based antennas, such as a horizontal polarization, to thereby minimize the possibility of interference with the vertically polarized ground-based radio signals. Furthermore, the control signals exchanged between the non-terrestrial mobile subscriber stations and the non-terrestrial cell site controller are architected to avoid the possibility of interference with ground-based cell site transmitter-receiver pairs. In particular, the control channels used for the non-terrestrial mobile subscriber stations are selected such that the control signals transmitted in these channels are unrecognizable to the ground-based mobile subscriber stations and cell site transmitter-receiver pairs, so that even if broadcasts from a non-terrestrial mobile subscriber station reach a ground-based mobile subscriber station or cell site receiver, they cannot be interpreted and are rejected out of hand.

Claims

1. A cellular mobile telecommunication system for providing radio communication with both ground-based and non-terrestrial mobile telecommunication stations using radio frequencies allocated for ground-based mobile telecommunication stations, comprising:

at least one radio transmitter for generating a plurality of telecommunication cells, each having three-dimensional extent, arranged in at least three dimensions, with communication signals generated by said at least one transmitter being at wavelengths allocated for ground-based mobile telecommunication stations, with a first subset of said plurality of telecommunication cells being ground-based cells located juxtaposed to the earth surface for serving ground-based mobile telecommunication stations, with a second subset of said plurality of telecommunication cells being non-terrestrial cells, serving non-terrestrial mobile telecommunication stations; and

at least one radio receiver for receiving communication signals generated by mobile telecommunication stations extant in said plurality of telecommunication cells.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein said at least one transmitter generates signals for transmission into said non-terrestrial cells, which generated signals are polarized substantially orthogonal to signals generated by said at least one transmitter for transmission into said ground-based cells.

3. The system of claim 2 wherein said signals generated by said at least one transmitter for transmission into said ground-based cells are vertically polarized and said signals generated by said at least one transmitter for transmission into said non-terrestrial cells are horizontally polarized.

4. The system of claim 1 wherein said non-terrestrial cells are substantially parabolic in shape.

5. The system of claim 1 wherein said non-terrestrial cells are substantially cylindrical in shape.

6. The system of claim 1 wherein said non-terrestrial cells are substantially toroidal in shape, inclusive of a cylindrical sector located in the center of the torrus.

7. The system of claim 1 wherein said non-terrestrial cells are each juxtaposed to and overlying a plurality of said ground-based cells.

8. The system of claim 1 wherein said at least one radio transmitter comprises:

at least one antenna tower;

non-terrestrial antenna means, mounted on said at least one antenna tower, having an antenna characteristic pattern which points skyward, and

ground-based antenna means, mounted on said at least one antenna tower and substantially collocated with said non-terrestrial antenna means, having an antenna characteristic pattern which points downward from its point of mounting on said at least one antenna tower; and

wherein said non-terrestrial antenna means is operable to reject signals reflected from the surface of the earth as well as signals originating from below a horizon of said non-terrestrial antenna means.

9. The system of claim 8 wherein said non-terrestrial antenna means comprises a nonscanning directional antenna for forming a shaped pattern beam to receive signals generated by mobile subscriber stations extant in a one of said non-terrestrial cells served by said non-terrestrial antenna means and to reject signals reflected from the surface of the earth as well as signals originating from below a horizon of said non-terrestrial antenna means.

10. The system of claim 9 wherein said non-terrestrial antenna means exhibits high gain in said one non-terrestrial cell and low gain elsewhere.

11. The system of claim 9 wherein said non-terrestrial antenna means comprises a slotted waveguide antenna.

12. The system of claim 1 wherein said at least one transmitter generates signals which comprise a communication space, which communication space is divided into control channels and communication channels, with control channels for non-terrestrial cells selected to correspond to communication channels for ground-based cells.

13. The system of claim 12 wherein said at least one receiver comprises:

first receiver means operational to receive signals transmitted by ground-based subscriber stations extant in a ground-based cell served by said first receiver means; and

second receiver means operational to receive signals transmitted by non-terrestrial subscriber stations extant in a non-terrestrial cell served by said second receiver means.

14. The system of claim 13 wherein said first receiver means fails to decode control signals transmitted by non-terrestrial subscriber stations in control channels for non-terrestrial cells, which control channels are selected to correspond to communication channels for ground-based cells.

15. The system of claim 13 wherein said second receiver means fails to decode control signals transmitted by ground-based subscriber stations in control channels for ground-based cells, which control channels are selected to correspond to communication channels for non-terrestrial cells.

16. The system of claim 1 wherein said at least one transmitter generates signals which comprise a communication space, which communication space is divided into control channels and communication channels, a subset of said channels being dedicated for non-terrestrial cells, a first group of said subset being control channels and remaining channels in said subset being communication channels.

17. In a cellular mobile telecommunication system, a method for providing radio communication with both ground-based and non-terrestrial mobile telecommunication stations using radio frequencies allocated for ground-based mobile telecommunication stations, comprising the steps of:

generating, at at least one radio transmitter, a plurality of telecommunication cells, each having three-dimensional extent, arranged in at least three dimensions, with communication signals generated by said at least one transmitter being at wavelengths allocated for ground-based mobile telecommunication stations, with a first subset of said plurality of telecommunication cells being ground-based cells located juxtaposed to the earth surface for serving ground-based mobile telecommunication stations, with a second subset of said plurality of telecommunication cells being non-terrestrial cells, serving only non-terrestrial mobile telecommunication stations; and

receiving, at at least one radio receiver, communication signals generated by mobile telecommunication stations extant in said plurality of telecommunication cells.

18. The method of claim 17 further comprising:

generating, at said at least one transmitter, signals for transmission into said non-terrestrial cells, which generated signals are polarized substantially orthogonal to signals generated by said at least one transmitter for transmission into said ground-based cells.

19. The method of claim 18 further comprising:

generating, at said at least one transmitter, vertically polarized signals for transmission into said ground-based cells; and

generating, at said at least one transmitter, horizontally polarized signals for transmission into said non-terrestrial cells.

20. The method of claim 17 further comprising:

overlying said non-terrestrial cells on a plurality of said ground-based cells.

21. The method of claim 17 wherein said at least one radio transmitter comprises at least one antenna tower, and wherein said at least one transmitter generates signals which comprise a communication space, further comprising:

mounting a non-terrestrial antenna on said at least one antenna tower, which non-terrestrial antenna has an antenna characteristic pattern which Points skyward;

mounting a ground-based antenna on said at least one antenna tower, substantially collocated with said non-terrestrial antenna, which ground-based antenna has an antenna characteristic pattern which points downward from its point of mounting on said at least one antenna tower; and

dividing said communication space into control channels and communication channels, with control channels for non-terrestrial cells selected to correspond to communication channels for ground-based cells.

22. The method of claim 21 wherein said at least one receiver comprises first and second receivers, said method comprising:

operating said first receiver to receive signals transmitted by ground-based subscriber stations extant in a ground-based cell served by said first receiver; and

operating said second receiver to receive signals transmitted by non-terrestrial subscriber stations extant in a non-terrestrial cell served by said second receiver.

23. The method of claim 22 wherein said method further comprises:

operating said first receiver in a manner to fail to decode control signals transmitted by non-terrestrial subscriber stations in control channels for non-terrestrial cells, which control channels are selected to correspond to communication channels for ground-based cells.

24. The method of claim 22 wherein said method further comprises:

operating said second receiver in a manner to fail to decode control signals transmitted by ground-based subscriber stations in control channels for ground-based cells, which control channels are selected to correspond to communication channels for non-terrestrial cells.

25. The method of claim 17 further comprising:

operating said at least one transmitter to generate signals which comprise a communication space, which communication space is divided into control channels and communication channels, a subset of said channels being dedicated for non-terrestrial cells, a first group of said subset being control channels and remaining channels in said subset being communication channels.