US 7,366,463 B1Granted

Military UHF and commercial Geo-mobile system combination for radio signal relay

AssigneeThe DIRECTV Group, Inc.

InventorsStephen F. Archer, Richard H. Johnson

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Abstract

A radio signal relay device such as satellite is used to cover several relatively small geographical regions with relatively narrow beams as well as a relatively large geographical region with a single beam. This relatively wide beam permits legacy equipment to be used. A transmitting device in a beam transmits a signal to the relay device, which in turn retransmits the signal to a receiving device. The transmitting devices, relay device, and receiving devices synchronize communication by using a particular mode of communication which includes a band of carrier frequencies and a protocol. In addition to communicating like mode signals from a transmitter to a receiver, the relay device may be used in a dual mode communication system to translate signals from the one mode to another. A translator may direct a transmitter to modulate a signal on a different carrier frequency, convert one protocol into another protocol, or both.

Claims34

Dependent claims

A dual mode satellite communication system receiving satellite control commands from a gateway station, the gateway station used solely for sending commands to the dual mode satellite communication system and interfacing the dual mode satellite communication system with a public switched telephone network, comprising:

a first mobile ground-based communications device for transceiving a low-gain signal in a first mode, wherein the first mode includes a first protocol and a first band of carrier frequencies;
a second mobile ground-based communications device for transceiving a high-gain signal in a second mode, wherein the second mode includes a second protocol and a second band of carrier frequencies, and wherein the first mobile ground-based communications device is disposed within a first region defined by a low gain beam and the second mobile ground-based communications device is within a second region defined by a high gain beam intersecting the first region;
a satellite-based relay device, including:
a low-gain communications system having a low-gain receiver and a low-gain transmitter, and
a high-gain communications system having a high-gain receiver and a high-gain transmitter, the high-gain communications system configured for transceiving a plurality of angularly separated frequency sharing high-gain signals, and
at least one translator interoperatively coupled between the low-gain communications system and the high-gain communications system,
wherein the satellite-based relay device is configured for receiving the low-gain signal in the first mode, translating the low-gain signal to the high-gain signal in the second mode, and transmitting the high-gain signal in the second mode, wherein the satellite based relay device transceives information generated by and between the first mobile ground-based comminations device directly with information generated by and between the second mobile ground-based communications device without transceiving with a gateway station.

4 more elements

A satellite-based radio signal relay device receiving satellite control commands from a gateway station, the gateway station used solely for sending commands to the satellite-based radio signal relay device and interfacing the satellite-based radio signal relay device with a public switched telephone network, comprising:

a first receiver for receiving low-gain signals in a first mode, wherein the first mode includes a first protocol and a first band of carrier frequencies;
a first transmitter for transmitting the low-gain signals in the first mode;
a second receiver for receiving high-gain signals in a second mode, wherein the second mode includes a second protocol and a second band of carrier frequencies, wherein the first receiver receives signals generated in a first geographic region and the second receiver receives signals generated in a second region, the first region intersecting the second region;
and
a second transmitter for transmitting a plurality of angulary separated frequency sharing high-gain signals in the second mode, wherein the plurality of angulary separated frequency sharing high-gain signals are narrow beam signals, and wherein the satellite-based radio signal relay device translates signals between the first mode and the second mode directly between at least a plurality of mobile ground-based communications devices without communicating with a gateway station.

2 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.