US 12,250,064 B2 · Method and apparatus for handling communications between spacecraft operating in an orbital environment and terrestrial telecommunications devices that use terrestrial base station communications

Abstract

A multiple-access transceiver handles communications with mobile stations in environments that exceed mobile station design assumptions without necessarily requiring modifications to the mobile stations. One such environment is in Earth orbit. The multiple-access transceiver is adapted to close communications with mobile stations while exceeding mobile station design assumptions, such as greater distance, greater relative motion and/or other conditions commonly found where functionality of a terrestrial transceiver is to be performed by an orbital transceiver. The orbital transceiver might include a data parser that parses a frame data structure, a signal timing module that adjusts timing based on orbit to terrestrial propagation delays, frequency shifters and a programmable radio capable of communicating from the Earth orbit that uses a multiple-access protocol such that the communication is compatible with, or appears to the terrestrial mobile station to be, communication between a terrestrial cellular base station and the terrestrial mobile station.

Claims20

Dependent claims

A multiple-access transceiver adapted for operation in Earth orbit and configured for communication with terrestrial mobile stations, comprising:

a data parser that parses data received by the multiple-access transceiver according to a frame structure, wherein the frame structure defines which timeslots are allocated to which terrestrial mobile stations;
a signal timing module that adjusts timing of transmitted signals based on orbit to terrestrial propagation delays;
and
a programmable radio capable of communicating from the Earth orbit to a terrestrial mobile station that uses a protocol usable both for communication between the programmable radio and the terrestrial mobile station and for communication between a terrestrial cellular base station and the terrestrial mobile station.

1 more element

A multiple-access transceiver adapted for operation in Earth orbit and configured for communication with terrestrial mobile stations, comprising:

a data parser that parses data received by the multiple-access transceiver according to a frame structure, wherein the frame structure defines which timeslots are allocated to which terrestrial mobile stations;
a range calculator that determines, for each terrestrial mobile station, a distance from the multiple-access transceiver to the terrestrial mobile station;
a signal timing module that determines timing of transmitted signals relative to the frame structure, wherein the frame structure comprises a plurality of slots each having a zero or nonzero timeslot synchronization offset that provides for variable transmission delays that are due to the distance from the multiple-access transceiver to the terrestrial mobile station;
and
an input signal allocator that allocates a listening timeslot in the frame structure to listen for communications from the terrestrial mobile station where the listening timeslot is timed based on the distance from the multiple-access transceiver to the terrestrial mobile station and the listening timeslot is one of a plurality of timeslots that are variably delayed in the frame structure to account for the multiple-access transceiver handling communications from a plurality of terrestrial mobile stations having a plurality of distances from the multiple-access transceiver.

2 more elements

A multiple-access transceiver adapted for operation in Earth orbit and configured for communication with terrestrial mobile stations, comprising:

a data parser that parses data received by the multiple-access transceiver according to a frame structure, wherein the frame structure defines which timeslots are allocated to which terrestrial mobile stations;
a range calculator that determines, for each terrestrial mobile station, a distance from the multiple-access transceiver to the terrestrial mobile station;
a channel assignment module that assigns a plurality of terrestrial mobile stations to a plurality of channel blocks, wherein a channel block has a terrestrial frequency and an orbital frequency offset;
a signal timing module that determines timing of transmitted signals relative to the frame structure;
and
a signal modulator that modulates signals to a terrestrial mobile station at the terrestrial frequency with the orbital frequency offset, wherein the orbital frequency offset at least approximately corresponds with an expected Doppler shift in signals transmitted to the terrestrial mobile station due to relative movement of the multiple-access transceiver and the terrestrial mobile station so that the terrestrial mobile station receives the signal at the terrestrial frequency.

3 more elements

A multiple-access transceiver adapted for operation in Earth orbit and configured for communication with terrestrial mobile stations, comprising:

a data parser that parses data received by the multiple-access transceiver according to a frame structure, wherein the frame structure defines which timeslots are allocated to which terrestrial mobile stations;
a range calculator that determines, for each terrestrial mobile station, a distance from the multiple-access transceiver to the terrestrial mobile station;
a channel assignment module that assigns a plurality of terrestrial mobile stations to a plurality of channel blocks, wherein a channel block has a terrestrial frequency and an orbital frequency offset;
a signal timing module that determines timing of transmitted signals relative to the frame structure;
and
a signal modulator that modulates signals to a terrestrial mobile station at the terrestrial frequency with the orbital frequency offset, wherein the orbital frequency offset at least approximately corresponds with an expected Doppler shift in signals transmitted to the terrestrial mobile station due to relative movement of the multiple-access transceiver and the terrestrial mobile station so that the terrestrial mobile station receives the signal at the terrestrial frequency,
wherein the plurality of channel blocks are allocated based on relative positions of a satellite carrying the multiple-access transceiver and the terrestrial mobile station.

4 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Method and apparatus for handling communications between spacecraft operating in an orbital environment and terrestrial telecommunications devices that use terrestrial base station communications

Life of this patent

Method and apparatus for handling communications between spacecraft operating in an orbital environment and terrestrial telecommunications devices that use terrestrial base station communications

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims20