| Network-access satellite communication system -> Monitor Keywords |
|
|
 
Network-access satellite communication systemNetwork-access satellite communication system description/claimsThe Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20080055151, Network-access satellite communication system. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001]This application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. .sctn. 119(e) of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/840,809 filed Aug. 29, 2006. TECHNICAL FIELD [0002]This invention relates generally to communication systems, and more particularly to a network-access satellite communication system. BACKGROUND [0003]Commercial satellites have historically been optimized for broadcast applications, where data are transmitted from a broadcast center on the earth up to a satellite in space, and the satellite retransmits these signals down to a population of receive-only earth stations or satellite terminals on the earth. Traditional broadcast satellites are characterized by two features. First, traditional broadcast satellites provide "one-way" communications, such that the recipient of the data (i.e. the end-user) is equipped with a receive-only terminal that has no ability to transmit a signal back up to the satellite. Second, traditional broadcast satellites are designed for wide geographic coverage using antennas or combinations of antennas on the satellite with beams that cover large regional, national, or continental areas. [0004]A typical business goal for traditional broadcast satellite operators is to provide as much data as possible (e.g., hundreds of television channels) to a large number of end-users or customers. For content of national or international interest (e.g., televised sports, movies and news), a satellite operator may choose to broadcast the same data to an entire country or even to an entire continent. A video broadcast satellite, with a single antenna beam covering the continental U.S. and providing hundreds of television channels to U.S. customers, is a good example of a traditional broadcast satellite. For regional content, some broadcast satellites have several antenna beams that effectively divide the earth terminal population into large regional groups such that certain combinations of the broadcast data content are transmitted to each group. In both cases, the broadcast satellite system provides one-way communications to customers over a large geographic area. [0005]Using a traditional broadcast satellite with antenna beams covering entire national or large regional areas to private communications with a single terminal somewhere in the coverage area is not an efficient approach for network-access satellite services. For example, if a customer with a two-way earth terminal located in New York wants to establish a private two-way connection to the Internet, transmitting energy from a satellite over the entire continental U.S. to send information to a single customer in New York would be an inefficient use of limited and costly satellite resources. [0006]In recent years, satellite operators have used satellites to provide network-access services (e.g., telephony, private networks, and Internet access) to a large population of end-users or customers. In modern network-access satellite communications systems, end-users are equipped with earth terminals that both receive signals from a satellite and also transmit signals back up to a satellite. Modern network-access satellite systems are architecturally different from traditional one-way broadcast satellite systems in that each earth terminal is, in effect, carrying on a two-way private conversation with the satellite network and generally has no interest in "hearing" signals being transmitted to and from any other earth terminals on the network. [0007]A satellite with a more highly focused antenna beam limited in area to an individual customer's immediate local area s a much more efficient way for transmitting data to this particular customer than a traditional broadcast satellite. Similarly, in the earth-to-space direction, if a receiver on a satellite is focused in on a much narrower geographical region that covers just the customer's immediate area, less power is required for that customer's earth terminal to transmit information to the highly focused receiver on the satellite. [0008]Modern network-access satellites are characterized by two features. First, modern network-access satellites provide "two-way" communications between satellites in space and terminals on the earth that have both transmit and receive capability. Second, modern network-access satellites are designed with antennas that cover the geographic area of interest on the earth with many smaller antenna beams, often tightly packed together to provide fall coverage across the area of interest without any gaps. For example, some modern network-access satellites transmit tightly packed clusters of small antenna beams that collectively cover a large geographic area, such as the continental U.S. For two-way network-access communications, by using a number of "spot-beams" over their coverage area, spot-beam satellites have significant advantages over satellites that have a single beam over the coverage area. For example, spot-beam satellites require less satellite transmitter power per customer. As another example, less transmitter power is required for earth terminals to transmit to spot-beam satellites, allowing for smaller and less expensive earth terminals. Additional advantages include the ability to reuse the same frequency bands and channels throughout the spot-beam pattern and associated coverage area, dramatically higher non-broadcast capacity per satellite to provide more compelling services to more customers, and dramatically lower satellite cost per customer. For example, the capacity of a spot-beam satellite to support a large population of end-users may be greatly enhanced by frequency reuse techniques, whereby the same frequency bands and channels are used over and over again in non-adjacent spot-beams. For example, a satellite operator may have a 500 MHz bandwidth allocation for space to earth transmissions assigned by the appropriate regulatory authority. In a single beam network architecture, this satellite operator is limited to 500 MHz of total transmission bandwidth. The transmission bandwidth may be increased by dividing this bandwidth into multiple channels, such as for example, four 125 MHz channels, and assigning one channel to each of numerous spot-beams. In this example, if the satellite utilizes 100 spot-beams, this satellite operator could utilize 12,500 MHz of total transmission bandwidth. This ability to apply frequency reuse techniques to greatly increase the capacity of a satellite network is a technical advantage of the spot-beam satellite architecture. Overview [0009]Particular embodiments of the present invention may reduce or eliminate problems and disadvantages associated with previous network-access satellite communications systems. [0010]According to one embodiment, a method for use in managing satellite communication signal strength includes: receiving a beacon signal from an earth-based beacon, the received beacon signal having an amplitude; monitoring the amplitude of the beacon signal; and, in response to monitoring the beacon signal, causing a transmitter to adjust the signal strength for a satellite communication. In particular embodiments, monitoring the received beacon signal includes comparing the amplitude of the received beacon signal to a target amplitude, such that in response to determining that the amplitude of the received beacon signal is greater than the target amplitude, causing the transmitter to adjust the signal strength for a satellite communication includes decreasing the signal strength for the satellite communication; and, in response to determining that the amplitude of the received beacon signal is less than the target amplitude, causing the transmitter to adjust the signal strength for a satellite communication includes increasing the signal strength for the satellite communication. [0011]According to another embodiment, a satellite communications system includes software embodied in computer readable medium and, when executed, operable to: monitor an amplitude of a received beacon signal; and, in response to monitoring the beacon signal, cause the signal strength for a satellite communication to be adjusted. In particular embodiments, monitoring the amplitude of the received beacon signal includes comparing the amplitude of the received beacon signal to one of a target amplitude and an amplitude of a previously received beacon signal. [0012]According to another embodiment, a method for use in managing satellite communication signal strength includes: receiving, at a gateway station, microwave communication signals from a substantially geostationary satellite; monitoring for a performance change in a particular one of the received microwave communication signals; and, in response to detecting a performance change in the monitored signal, transmitting instructions to the satellite to increase the transmission power for the microwave communication signals. In a particular embodiment, the performance change is a propagation loss. [0013]According to another embodiment, a method for use in managing satellite communication signal strength includes: transmitting microwave communication signals from a substantially geostationary satellite to a gateway station; receiving and monitoring, at the satellite, a signal from the gateway station for a performance change; and, in response to detecting a performance change in the monitored signal, increasing the transmission power for the microwave communication signals. [0014]According to another embodiment, a system for controlling satellite communication signal strength includes a transmitter, a first splitter, a filter, and a controller. The transmitter is configured to transmit microwave communications signals. The first splitter is configured to collect a duplicate copy of at least a portion of the microwave communications signals transmitted by the transmitter. The filter is coupled to the first splitter and is configured to isolate a particular portion of the signals collected by the first splitter. The controller is coupled to the filter and is configured to receive the isolated portion of the signal from the filter and adjust the signal strength for the microwave communications signals in response to the isolated portion of the signal strength received from the filter. In particular embodiments, the system may further include a second splitter and a test signal source coupled to the second splitter. In these embodiments, the test signal source may be configured to transmit a test signal to the second splitter and the second splitter may be configured to couple the test signal to an input signal for the transmitter. [0015]According to another embodiment, a method for use in managing satellite communication signal strength includes: using a transmitter on a satellite, transmitting microwave communications signals; determining a distortion associated with at least a portion of the transmitted microwave communications signals; and, in response to the determination, causing the signal strength of the microwave communications signals transmitted by the transmitter to be adjusted. [0016]According to another embodiment, a method for use in managing satellite communication signal strength includes: generating a test signal; coupling the generated test signal to a communications signal; amplifying the communications signal and the test signal at an initial gain level; filtering the amplified signals to isolate distortion associated with the test signal; and adjusting the gain level in response to the isolated distortion. [0017]According to another embodiment, a method for use in managing satellite communication signal strength, comprising: receiving microwave communication signals from a substantially geostationary satellite; monitoring at least two signals received from the geostationary satellite; and in response to detecting a change in the interference between the at least two signals, instructing the satellite to adjust the transmission power for the microwave communication signals. [0018]In certain embodiments, low energy beams may be used to transmit communication signals to a group of receivers in order to reduce interference and improve performance. However, low energy beams may be susceptible to signal attenuation due to, for example, rain fading. Certain embodiments may provide improved performance by monitoring a signal, such as may be generated by a beacon, and adjusting the beam energy to offset the signal attenuation. In certain embodiments, as an alternative or in addition to monitoring for signal attenuation, the interference between multiple signals may be monitored and the beam energy may be adjusted to maintain the interference level. In these embodiments, the interference level may serve as a proxy for other signal transmission characteristics, such as signal attenuation due to rain fading. By continuing to monitor the characteristics of one or more signals and adjusting transmission properties accordingly, the signal performance may be improved and/or the overall power required may be reduced. Certain embodiments may provide all, some, or none of the advantages discussed above. In addition, certain embodiments may provide one or more other advantages, one or more of which may be readily apparent to those skilled in the art from the figures, descriptions, and claims included herein. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0019]For a more complete understanding of the present invention and certain of its advantages, reference is now made to the following description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: Continue reading about Network-access satellite communication system... Full patent description for Network-access satellite communication system Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims Click on the above for other options relating to this Network-access satellite communication system patent application. ###  How KEYWORD MONITOR works... a FREE service from FreshPatents1. Sign up (takes 30 seconds). 2. Fill in the keywords to be monitored. 3. Each week you receive an email with patent applications related to your keywords. Start now! - Receive info on patent apps like Network-access satellite communication system or other areas of interest. ### Previous Patent Application: Ground-based collision alerting and avoidance system Next Patent Application: Network-access satellite communication system Industry Class: Communications: directive radio wave systems and devices (e.g., radar, radio navigation) ### FreshPatents.com Support Thank you for viewing the Network-access satellite communication system patent info. IP-related news and info Results in 0.10595 seconds Other interesting Feshpatents.com categories: Tyco , Unilever , Warner-lambert , 3m 174 |
 * Protect your Inventions * US Patent Office filing 
PATENT INFO |
|
