Patent application number | Description | Published |
20080214107 | Upstream Broad Beam Diversity - A satellite communication system is provided according to one embodiment of the invention. The satellite communication system includes a gateway with first and second antennas. The first antenna receives a signal from a first satellite that includes at least a first signal from a first user. The second antenna receives a second signal from a second satellite, that includes at least a second primary signal from a second user and a version of the first signal. The gateway may include circuitry to isolate the first signal from the second signal. The gateway may also include a combiner configured to combine the first signal from the first satellite and the first signal isolated from the second signal. Various other embodiments are disclosed that isolate a secondary signal received from a satellite and combine the secondary signal with the same signal received from other antennas at the gateway. | 09-04-2008 |
20080247351 | Scalable Satellite Deployment - A scalable subscriber terminal for bi-directional communication with a gateway through one or more satellites is provided according to another embodiment of the invention. The scalable subscriber terminal may comprise a plurality of antennas and be configured to operate in at least a first communication mode prior to switching to a second communication mode. The first communication mode may comprise communicating with the gateway through a first satellite. The second communication mode may include communicating with the gateway through the first satellite and a second transceiver. The scalable subscriber terminal may download MIMO operational firmware from the gateway through the first satellite prior to switching to the second communication mode. The first communication mode may be a SISO or SIMO mode. The second communication mode may be a MISO or MIMO mode. The second transceiver may be a second satellite or a terrestrial repeater. | 10-09-2008 |
20080261522 | Multi-Antenna Satellite System With Wireless Interface To Vehicle - A wireless satellite communication device is provided according to one embodiment of the invention. The wireless satellite communication device may include one or more satellite antennas, one or more local antennas and circuitry. A satellite antenna may be configured to communicate with one or more satellites. The local antenna may be configured to communicate with one or more wireless user devices within the vicinity of the wireless satellite communication device. The local antennas may include a local antenna. The circuitry may be coupled with the satellite antenna and the local antenna and may be configured to receive data from the satellite antenna and transmit the data with the local antenna. The wireless satellite communication device may also include a solar panel configured to provide electrical power to at least the satellite antenna, the local antenna, and the circuitry. | 10-23-2008 |
20090022085 | DOWNSTREAM WAVEFORM MODIFICATION - Systems, devices, processors, and methods are described for the transmission and reception of broadband signals between a gateway and subscriber terminals via satellite. In one set of embodiments, a wireless signal is generated and transmitted including a series of frames including a physical layer header and payload. A sub-channel identifier may be included in the physical layer header to identify the sub-channel for the payload, and allow for various novel filtering techniques at the subscriber terminal. The frames may be generated to be of substantially equal duration. Novel subscriber terminal configurations are described to leverage this formatting. | 01-22-2009 |
20090022086 | BROADBAND DEMODULATOR FOR MODIFIED DOWNSTREAM WAVEFORM - Systems, devices, processors, and methods are described for the transmission and reception of broadband signals between a gateway and subscriber terminals via satellite. In one set of embodiments, a wireless signal is generated and transmitted including a series of frames including a physical layer header and payload. A sub-channel identifier may be included in the physical layer header to identify the sub-channel for the payload, and allow for various novel filtering techniques at the subscriber terminal. The frames may be generated to be of substantially equal duration. Novel subscriber terminal configurations are described to leverage this formatting. | 01-22-2009 |
20090022087 | AGGREGATE RATE MODEM - Systems, devices, processors, and methods are described for the transmission and reception of broadband signals between a gateway and subscriber terminals via satellite. In one set of embodiments, a wireless signal is generated and transmitted including a series of frames including a physical layer header and payload. A sub-channel identifier may be included in the physical layer header to identify the sub-channel for the payload, and allow for various novel filtering techniques at the subscriber terminal. The frames may be generated to be of substantially equal duration. Novel subscriber terminal configurations are described to leverage this formatting. | 01-22-2009 |
20090081946 | Placement of Gateways Away from Service Beams - A method is presented for transmitting data in a satellite system having multiple spot beams comprising ( | 03-26-2009 |
20090161732 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MULTIPLE ACCESS OVER A COMMUNICATION CHANNEL - A communication technique based on direct sequence spread spectrum signaling employs, for all users sharing an access channel, a single spreading code that has a duration sufficiently longer than the symbol length that the likelihood of confusion between users is minimized if not eliminated. The length of the spreading code is sufficiently long that contention events can occur only when two bursts occur at the receiver within one chip time of one another. | 06-25-2009 |
20090213780 | Satellite Hub Based Adaptive Allocation Of Frequency Bands - A method and system for adaptive allocation of transmission bandwidth in a broadband satellite communication system having user terminals within a coverage area and outside a coverage area, such as an LDMS area. In a specific embodiment, the bandwidth is allocated at a central terminal (hub) to be used by both types of user terminals to communicate back to the hub terminal, wherein the spectrum and geographic coverage area of a primary user is excluded from use by user terminals located within the coverage area. | 08-27-2009 |
20090285151 | Intra-Domain Load Balancing - A satellite system for broadband communication utilizing load balancing of satellite modems between physical forward sub-channels. The bandwidth requirements of the various satellite modems allocated to a domain are analyzed. Satellite modems, which can be moved between various physical forward sub-channels, are moved among physical forward sub-channels of a plurality of domains to balance loading between domains and/or physical forward sub-channels within domains. Buffering and latency are monitored in the subscriber modem termination system (SMTS) to allow dividing physical forward channel delay either uniformly or according to tiers of quality of service. | 11-19-2009 |
20090285152 | Multiple MAC Domains - A satellite system for broadband communication with a plurality of remote locations is described. The system includes a satellite and a plurality of service spot beams from the satellite. A plurality of forward channels are transported on carriers in the service spot beams. A plurality of sub-channels pass on the plurality of forward channels. The system further includes a plurality of independently managed domains, wherein the plurality of sub-channels are divided among the plurality of domains. The system may further include a plurality of satellite modems addressed by a plurality of service identifiers. Each of the plurality of service identifiers may be exclusively addressable within one of the plurality of domains. | 11-19-2009 |
20090286472 | Multi-Rate Downstreaming in Multiple Sub-Channel Environment - An embodiment of a satellite system for broadband communication with a plurality of remote locations is disclosed. The satellite system includes a satellite, a number of service spot beams from the satellite and a number of forward channels. Each of the number of forward channels is transported on a carrier in one of the plurality of service spot beams. The number of forward sub-channels pass on one of the number of forward channels. The size of the forward sub-channels varies over time. | 11-19-2009 |
20090290530 | ADAPTIVE USE OF SATELLITE UPLINK BANDS - A method is presented for transmitting data in a satellite system having multiple spot beams comprising (1) sending a broadband signal in a forward direction from a gateway terminal to a communications satellite for relay to at least one subscriber terminal, (2) receiving the broadband signal at the communications satellite, wherein the communications satellite comprises a bent pipe repeater having a plurality of satellite-based transmission amplifiers, (3) using one of the plurality of satellite-based transmission amplifiers to amplify the broadband signal and no other broadband signal from the gateway terminal, to produce an amplified broadband signal, (4) sending the amplified broadband signal as one of a plurality of service spot beams to the at least one subscriber terminal, and (5) receiving and retrieving data from the amplified broadband signal at the at least one subscriber terminal. | 11-26-2009 |
20090290535 | MULTI-USER DETECTION IN SATELLITE RETURN LINK - Use of multi-user detection (MUD) with a frequency-multiplexed satellite return link (scheduling algorithms, etc) is described. The satellite return link may utilize multi-frequency time division multiple access (MF-TDMA). The satellite return link may include a plurality of return sub-channels, wherein one or more of the return sub-channels may operate in a contention mode during some time periods and a non-contention mode at different time periods. | 11-26-2009 |
20090290536 | High Data Rate Multiplexing Satellite Stream to Low Data Rate Subscriber Terminals - A satellite modem for broadband communication. The satellite modem receives a satellite signal on a single carrier from a satellite. The satellite signal is divided by time division multiplexing into physical sub-channels encapsulating logical downstreams. The satellite modem includes a filter which removes a subset of the physical sub-channels intended for the subscriber terminal. The satellite modem includes a demodulator, a decoder, and a medium access channel. The MAC processes the logical downstreams. | 11-26-2009 |
20090291633 | FREQUENCY RE-USE FOR SERVICE AND GATEWAY BEAMS - A method is presented for communicating data in a multibeam satellite system utilizing frequency re-use. The method comprises establishing uplink service beams and downlink service beams between a satellite and a plurality of subscriber terminals. A plurality of the uplink service beams are transmitted to the satellite by re-using at least one common uplink frequency channel, and a plurality of the downlink service beams are transmitted from the satellite by re-using at least one common downlink frequency channel. The method further comprises establishing at least one uplink service beam and at least one downlink service beam between the satellite and a gateway terminal. The at least one uplink service beam is transmitted to the satellite by further re-using the at least one common uplink frequency channel, and the at least one downlink service beam is transmitted from the satellite by further re-using the at least one common downlink frequency channel. | 11-26-2009 |
20090295628 | Satellite System Optimization - A satellite system for broadband communication with a plurality of remote locations in a geography is described. The satellite system utilizes a plurality of service spot beams distributed over the geography in a fixed pattern and a plurality of return spot beams distributed over the geography, wherein the service spot beams and the return spot beams use overlapping frequencies. | 12-03-2009 |
20090298416 | Satellite Architecture - A method is presented for transmitting data in a satellite system having multiple spot beams comprising (1) sending a broadband signal in a forward direction from a gateway terminal to a communications satellite for relay to at least one subscriber terminal, (2) receiving the broadband signal at the communications satellite, wherein the communications satellite comprises a bent pipe repeater having a plurality of satellite-based transmission amplifiers, (3) using one of the plurality of satellite-based transmission amplifiers to amplify the broadband signal and no other broadband signal from the gateway terminal, to produce an amplified broadband signal, (4) sending the amplified broadband signal as one of a plurality of service spot beams to the at least one subscriber terminal, and (5) receiving and retrieving data from the amplified broadband signal at the at least one subscriber terminal. | 12-03-2009 |
20090298423 | Piggy-Back Satellite Payload - A method is presented for utilizing excess satellite bus power comprising (1) sending a broadband signal in at least one feeder beam in a forward direction from a gateway terminal to a bent pipe repeater satellite for relay to at least one subscriber terminal, wherein the satellite is operable to provide a total amount of bus power, wherein an existing payload consumes an occupied portion of the total bus power, wherein an additional payload consumes a remaining portion of the total bus power and comprises a plurality of satellite-based transmission amplifiers, (2) receiving the broadband signal and amplifying the broadband signal using one of the plurality of satellite-based transmission amplifiers, (3) sending the amplified broadband signal, as one of a plurality of service spot beams, to the at least one subscriber terminal, and (4) receiving and retrieving data from the amplified broadband signal at the at least one subscriber terminal. | 12-03-2009 |
20100228876 | SPACE SHIFTING OVER RETURN SATELLITE COMMUNICATION CHANNELS - A method for providing content from a first node to a second node using a satellite communications system includes receiving side information at a gateway in the satellite communications system. The side information may be transmitted from a subscriber terminal to the gateway via a first communication path that includes a satellite link. The method also includes determining at the gateway that the side information is associated with first content available at the first node, and determining at the gateway that second content is available from a source other than the first node. The method also includes generating output content using the second content and the side information. The output content may be substantially the same as the first content. The method also includes providing the output content to the second node via a second communication path that does not include the satellite link. | 09-09-2010 |
20100229206 | SPACE SHIFTING OVER FORWARD SATELLITE COMMUNICATION CHANNELS - A method for providing content from a first node to a second node using a satellite communications system includes receiving side information at a subscriber terminal in the satellite communications system. The side information may be transmitted from a gateway to the subscriber terminal via a first communication path that includes a satellite link. The method also includes determining at the subscriber terminal that the side information is associated with first content available at the first node, and determining at the subscriber terminal that second content is available from a source other than the first node. The method also includes generating output content using the second content and the side information. The output content may be substantially the same as the first content. The method also includes providing the output content to the second node via a second communication path that does not include the satellite link. | 09-09-2010 |
20110141938 | ADAPTIVE DATA RATE CONTROL FOR NARROWCAST NETWORKS - A system to provide narrowcast communications uses adaptive data rate control to individual subscribers such that the effects of precipitation or other link conditions, which are not common to all subscribers, is mitigated. The invention takes advantage of the fact that the narrowcast data consist of packets which are individually addressed to specific subscribers, or groups of subscribers. The narrowcast data is communicated on a plurality of channels, each of potentially differing data rates. The subscribers are assigned a particular channel, based upon their link quality, to receive packets addressed to them. The lower data rate channel will be less affected by adverse link conditions and are hence assigned to subscribers most likely to incur adverse link conditions. | 06-16-2011 |
20110143656 | MULTI-BAND SATELLITE COMMUNICATION FADE MITIGATION - One or more satellites may generate multiple beams. The beams may facilitate communication over multiple communication frequency bands including a relatively high capacity frequency band and a relatively fade-resilient frequency band. The beams may overlap. User terminals and/or gateways in a beam intersection may select from among the multiple communication frequency bands to communication with the satellite(s). Responsive to detection of rain fade, some of the user terminals and/or gateways may be instructed to use the relatively fade-resilient frequency band. The multiple communication frequency bands may be assigned to the user terminals and/or gateways so as to maximize total system capacity. | 06-16-2011 |
20120225620 | ADAPTIVE DATA RATE CONTROL FOR NARROWCAST NETWORKS - A system to provide narrowcast communications uses adaptive data rate control to individual subscribers such that the effects of precipitation or other link conditions, which are not common to all subscribers, is mitigated. The invention takes advantage of the fact that the narrowcast data consist of packets which are individually addressed to specific subscribers, or groups of subscribers. The narrowcast data is communicated on a plurality of channels, each of potentially differing data rates. The subscribers are assigned a particular channel, based upon their link quality, to receive packets addressed to them. The lower data rate channel will be less affected by adverse link conditions and are hence assigned to subscribers most likely to incur adverse link conditions. | 09-06-2012 |
20120244798 | FREQUENCY RE-USE FOR SERVICE AND GATEWAY BEAMS - A method is presented for communicating data in a multibeam satellite system utilizing frequency re-use. The method comprises establishing uplink service beams and downlink service beams between a satellite and a plurality of subscriber terminals. A plurality of the uplink service beams are transmitted to the satellite by re-using at least one common uplink frequency channel. A plurality of the downlink service beams are transmitted from the satellite by re-using at least one common downlink frequency channel. The method further comprises establishing at least one uplink feeder beam and at least one downlink feeder beam between the satellite and a gateway terminal. The at least one uplink feeder beam is transmitted to the satellite by further re-using the at least one common uplink frequency channel. The at least one downlink feeder beam is transmitted from the satellite by further re-using the at least one common downlink frequency channel. | 09-27-2012 |
20120250729 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MULTIPLE ACCESS OVER A COMMUNICATION CHANNEL - A communication technique based on direct sequence spread spectrum signaling employs, for all users sharing an access channel, a single spreading code that has a duration sufficiently longer than the symbol length that the likelihood of confusion between users is minimized if not eliminated. The length of the spreading code is sufficiently long that contention events can occur only when two bursts occur at the receiver within one chip time of one another. | 10-04-2012 |
20120276840 | Satellite Architecture - A method is presented for transmitting data in a satellite system having multiple spot beams comprising (1) sending a broadband signal in a forward direction from a gateway terminal to a communications satellite for relay to at least one subscriber terminal, (2) receiving the broadband signal at the communications satellite, wherein the communications satellite comprises a bent pipe repeater having a plurality of satellite-based transmission amplifiers, (3) using one of the plurality of satellite-based transmission amplifiers to amplify the broadband signal and no other broadband signal from the gateway terminal, to produce an amplified broadband signal, (4) sending the amplified broadband signal as one of a plurality of service spot beams to the at least one subscriber terminal, and (5) receiving and retrieving data from the amplified broadband signal at the at least one subscriber terminal. | 11-01-2012 |
20120294230 | METHOD FOR FORMATTING DATA OF A PHYSICAL LAYER FRAME - Systems, devices, processors, and methods are described for the transmission and reception of broadband signals between a gateway and subscriber terminals via satellite. In one set of embodiments, a wireless signal is generated and transmitted including a series of frames including a physical layer header and payload. A sub-channel identifier may be included in the physical layer header to identify the sub-channel for the payload, and allow for various novel filtering techniques at the subscriber terminal. The frames may be generated to be of substantially equal duration. Novel subscriber terminal configurations are described to leverage this formatting. | 11-22-2012 |
20130136010 | ADAPTIVE DATA RATE CONTROL FOR NARROWCAST NETWORKS - A system to provide narrowcast communications uses adaptive data rate control to individual subscribers such that the effects of precipitation or other link conditions, which are not common to all subscribers, is mitigated. The invention takes advantage of the fact that the narrowcast data consist of packets which are individually addressed to specific subscribers, or groups of subscribers. The narrowcast data is communicated on a plurality of channels, each of potentially differing data rates. The subscribers are assigned a particular channel, based upon their link quality, to receive packets addressed to them. The lower data rate channel will be less affected by adverse link conditions and are hence assigned to subscribers most likely to incur adverse link conditions. | 05-30-2013 |
20130336190 | OPPORTUNISTICALLY DELAYED DELIVERY IN A SATELLITE NETWORK - Systems and methods are described for using opportunistically delayed delivery of content to address sub-optimal bandwidth resource usage in network infrastructures that allow subscribers to share forward link resources. According to some embodiments, content is identified as delayable and assigned to a delaycast queue and/or service flow. For example, a server system of a satellite communications system identifies content that can be delayed to exploit future excess link capacity through multicasting and to exploit subscriber-side storage resources. Some implementations attempt to exploit any excess link resources at any time, while others exploit unused bandwidth only during certain times or when a certain threshold of resources is available. Various embodiments also provide content scoring and/or other prioritization techniques for optimizing exploitation of the delaycast queue. | 12-19-2013 |
20130336203 | SATELLITE ARCHITECTURE - A method is presented for transmitting data in a satellite system having multiple spot beams comprising (1) sending a broadband signal in a forward direction from a gateway terminal to a communications satellite for relay to at least one subscriber terminal, (2) receiving the broadband signal at the communications satellite, wherein the communications satellite comprises a bent pipe repeater having a plurality of satellite-based transmission amplifiers, (3) using one of the plurality of satellite-based transmission amplifiers to amplify the broadband signal and no other broadband signal from the gateway terminal, to produce an amplified broadband signal, (4) sending the amplified broadband signal as one of a plurality of service spot beams to the at least one subscriber terminal, and (5) receiving and retrieving data from the amplified broadband signal at the at least one subscriber terminal. | 12-19-2013 |
20140164586 | OPPORTUNISTICALLY DELAYED OFFER AND REQUEST FULFILLMENT - Systems and methods are described for subscriber-driven resource shifting in an attempt to maximize delivery of requested content to subscribers while minimizing the impact of satisfying those requests to network infrastructure resources. For example, when a media plan subscriber requests access to media content under the media plan, a determination is made that the media can be delivered at an earlier timeframe for a particular cost or at a later timeframe for a lower cost. Accordingly, an offer is presented to the requesting subscriber either to receive the media in the earlier timeframe at a higher cost, or to receive the media at a later timeframe in exchange for a discount (e.g., watch now for $4.99 or in 24 hours for free). Embodiments further handle delayed delivery of the content, notification of the delayed delivery to the subscriber, accounting for the delayed delivery, and/or other related functions. | 06-12-2014 |
20140192707 | FREQUENCY RE-USE FOR SERVICE AND GATEWAY BEAMS - A method is presented for communicating data in a multibeam satellite system utilizing frequency re-use. The method comprises establishing uplink service beams and downlink service beams between a satellite and a plurality of subscriber terminals. A plurality of the uplink service beams are transmitted to the satellite by re-using at least one common uplink frequency channel. A plurality of the downlink service beams are transmitted from the satellite by re-using at least one common downlink frequency channel. The method further comprises establishing at least one uplink feeder beam and at least one downlink feeder beam between the satellite and a gateway terminal. The at least one uplink feeder beam is transmitted to the satellite by further re-using the at least one common uplink frequency channel. The at least one downlink feeder beam is transmitted from the satellite by further re-using the at least one common downlink frequency channel. | 07-10-2014 |
20140269484 | DELAYCAST QUEUE PRIORITIZATION - Systems and methods are described for optimizing resource utilization in a communications network while also optimizing subscriber engagement with media content over the communications network. Requested content objects can be identified as delayable objects that can be queued for opportunistically delayed communication to both requesting and non-requesting subscribers. Queued delayed content objects are scored with an eye toward optimizing both subscriber engagement and utilization of opportunistically available communications link resources. For example, a storage manager calculates a likelihood that each subscriber will engage with the content if it is opportunistically delivered, and a scheduler calculates a priority order in which to queue each requested delayable content object. Content objects can then be multicast to the subscribers in priority order and with associated information that can be used by the subscribers to determine whether to locally store the content objects as they are opportunistically received. | 09-18-2014 |
20140337875 | CLOSE FULFILLMENT OF CONTENT REQUESTS - Systems and methods are described for subscriber-driven resource shifting in an attempt to maximize delivery of desirable content to subscribers while minimizing the impact of that content delivery to network infrastructure resources. When a media plan subscriber requests access to media content, and the requested object is determined not to be “watch-nowable” (e.g., it would be undesirable to deliver the object in substantially real time to the subscriber given present communications resource availability) embodiments identify a number of content objects that are presently watch-nowable content objects with respect to the requesting subscriber. Of those watch-nowable content objects, various techniques are presented for determining a set of alternate content objects, including those most likely to provide the subscriber with a similar level of engagement. Embodiments present those alternate content objects to the requesting subscriber as alternatives to the requested content object in exchange for a discount. | 11-13-2014 |
20140362761 | OPPORTUNISTIC DELIVERY OF CACHEABLE CONTENT IN A COMMUNICATIONS NETWORK - Systems and methods are described for using opportunistically delayed delivery of content to address sub-optimal bandwidth resource usage in network infrastructures that allow subscribers to share forward link resources. According to some embodiments, content is identified as delayable and assigned to a delaycast queue and/or service flow. For example, a server system of a satellite communications system identifies content that can be delayed to exploit future excess link capacity through multicasting and to exploit subscriber-side storage resources. Some implementations attempt to exploit any excess link resources at any time, while others exploit unused bandwidth only during certain times or when a certain threshold of resources is available. Various embodiments also provide content scoring and/or other prioritization techniques for optimizing exploitation of the delaycast queue. | 12-11-2014 |