Method of maximizing use of bandwidth for communicating with mobile platforms
First Claim
1. A method of maximizing bandwidth use in communications between a base station and a plurality of mobile platforms, the method comprising:
- using a broadcast transmission scheme to transmit data periodically to the plurality of mobile platforms;
determining the number of mobile platforms that have received the broadcast data in a predetermined time period and if available broadcast bandwidth is not being underutilized, then using a unicast transmission scheme to transmit the data to each of the mobile platforms that have not received the data after a predetermined number of the mobile platforms have been determined to have received the data in the predetermined time period; and
if broadcast bandwidth is being underutilized, then using said broadcast transmission scheme rather than said unicast transmission scheme to subsequently transmit said data.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A system and method for switching between transmission modes provides more efficient use of available bandwidth. A content delivery system determines, based upon a predetermined limit, whether to broadcast content to a plurality of mobile platforms or unicast the data content via a point-to-point communication link. Acknowledgment signals from the mobile platforms are used to determine if the predetermined limit has been exceeded. A specific number or percentage defines the predetermined limit within a specified time period. The number of acknowledgment signals received is compared to the limit to determine if an exceedance condition has occurred.
86 Citations
18 Claims
-
1. A method of maximizing bandwidth use in communications between a base station and a plurality of mobile platforms, the method comprising:
-
using a broadcast transmission scheme to transmit data periodically to the plurality of mobile platforms; determining the number of mobile platforms that have received the broadcast data in a predetermined time period and if available broadcast bandwidth is not being underutilized, then using a unicast transmission scheme to transmit the data to each of the mobile platforms that have not received the data after a predetermined number of the mobile platforms have been determined to have received the data in the predetermined time period; and if broadcast bandwidth is being underutilized, then using said broadcast transmission scheme rather than said unicast transmission scheme to subsequently transmit said data. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
-
-
7. A method of transmitting data to a plurality of mobile platforms to maximize the use of available bandwidth using a communication system having a base station and at least one satellite for transmitting the data to plurality of mobile platforms, the method comprising the steps of:
-
broadcasting data to a plurality of mobile platforms; receiving confirmation from the mobile platforms that have received the data; determining the number of mobile platforms that have received the data in a predetermined time period based upon the confirmations; transmitting the data using a point-to-point connection to the mobile platforms not providing confirmation after a predetermined number of mobile platforms have been determined to have received the data in the predetermined time period; and
switching between broadcast and point-to-point transmission schemes based upon the availability of broadcast bandwidth. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
-
-
14. A system for maximizing bandwidth use when communicating with a plurality of mobile platforms, the system comprising:
-
communication means for communicating data to the plurality of mobile platforms; receiving means on-board each of the mobile platforms for receiving the communicated data; and a content delivery system for switching between a broadcast transmission mode and a unicast transmission mode based upon the number of mobile platforms that have received the data within a predetermined period of time, and based upon whether an available broadcast bandwidth is being underutilized. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18)
-
Specification