Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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POWER SPECTRAL DENSITY LIMITS FOR REGIONS OF A COVERAGE AREA IN
A SATELLITE COMMUNICATION SYSTEM
FIELD
[0001] A system and method for providing transmission power spectral density
(PSD)
limits to terminals based on their location.
BACKGROUND
[0002] Known satellite communication systems provide for terminals to operate
under or
at a fixed PSD limit for a geographical region by manually selecting between
one of two PSD
possibilities at terminal installation.
SUMMARY
100031 This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a
simplified
form that is further described below in the Detailed Description. This Summary
is not intended
to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter,
nor is it intended to be
used to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter.
[0004] A system of one or more computers can be configured to perform
particular
operations or actions by virtue of having software, firmware, hardware, or a
combination of them
installed on the system that in operation causes or cause the system to
perform the actions. One
or more computer programs can be configured to perform particular operations
or actions by
virtue of including instructions that, when executed by data processing
apparatus, cause the
apparatus to perform the actions. One general aspect includes a non-transient
computer-readable
storage medium having instructions embodied thereon for a method for providing
a power
spectral density (PSD) limit. The method includes assigning a PSD limit and a
boundary to
regions of a coverage area of a satellite; determining a terminal region from
the regions based on
a location of a terminal; setting a terminal PSD limit to the PSD limit
associated with the
terminal region; and transmitting a burst from the terminal, where a PSD of
the burst is less than
or equal to the terminal PSD limit. Other embodiments of this aspect include
corresponding
computer systems, apparatus, and computer programs recorded on one or more
computer storage
devices, each configured to perform the actions of the methods.
[0005] Implementations may include one or more of the following features. The
method
where the boundary is defined with polygons. The method where the boundary
coincides with a
country boundary. The method where multiple regions of the regions are
disposed within a
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country boundary. The method where one of the regions includes a no-transmit
region due to the
assigned PSD limit of the no-transmit region. The method where a first region
of the regions is
enclosed by a second region of the regions, and the setting sets the terminal
PSD limit of the
terminal as the PSD limit associated with the first region. The method where
the terminal is one
or more of an aeronautical, maritime, land mobile, or other mobile terminal.
The method where
the determining includes performing a point-in-polygon test on the location.
The method where
the determining includes estimating the location based on metrics of a RF
transmission from the
terminal. The method where the determining includes receiving the location
from the terminal.
The method where the determining is performed by a gateway. The method where
the
determining is based on a characteristic of the terminal selected from one or
more of a heading, a
speed, a beam definition plan version, an antenna directivity, a radome, a
skew angle, and a
terminal identification. The method may include calculating a particular PSD
for the terminal
from the terminal PSD limit, where the calculating is based on feedback from
an antenna, the
feedback includes one or more of an antenna directivity, a radome and a skew
angle, and where
the setting sets the terminal PSD limit to the particular PSD. The method may
include selecting a
beam of the satellite for the terminal to use based on the terminal region.
The method where a
beam of the satellite spans multiple regions of the regions, and an
availability of the beam for the
terminal to use is based on the terminal region. Implementations of the
described techniques
may include hardware, a method or process, or computer software on a computer-
accessible
medium.
[0006] Additional features will be set forth in the description that follows,
and in part
will be apparent from the description, or may be learned by practice of what
is described.
DRAWINGS
[0007] In order to describe the manner in which the above-recited and other
advantages
and features may be obtained, a more particular description is provided below
and will be
rendered by reference to specific embodiments thereof which are illustrated in
the appended
drawings. Understanding that these drawings depict only typical embodiments
and are not,
therefore, to be limiting of its scope, implementations will be described and
explained with
additional specificity and detail with the accompanying drawings.
[0008] FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary satellite system including multiple
spot beams
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covering a service area according to various embodiments.
[0009] FIG. 2 illustrates a response mode between a terminal and a Centralized
Beam
Selector (CBS) according to various embodiments.
100101 FIG. 3 illustrates a broadcast or multicast mode of response back to
the terminals
using CBS, according to various embodiments.
[0011] FIG. 4 illustrates an individual terminal response mode with both a CBS
and an
External Beam Selector (EBS), according to various embodiments.
[0012] FIG. 5 illustrates a broadcast or multicast mode of response back to a
group of
terminals from a CBS and EBS, according to various embodiments.
[0013] FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary satellite system including multiple
spot beams
covering a service area according to various embodiments.
[0014] Throughout the drawings and the detailed description, unless otherwise
described,
the same drawing reference numerals will be understood to refer to the same
elements, features,
and structures. The relative size and depiction of these elements may be
exaggerated for clarity,
illustration, and convenience.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0015] The present teachings may be a system, a method, and/or a computer
program
product at any possible technical detail level of integration. The computer
program product may
include a computer readable storage medium (or media) having computer readable
program
instructions thereon for causing a processor to carry out aspects of the
present invention.
[0016] The computer readable storage medium can be a tangible device that can
retain
and store instructions for use by an instruction execution device. The
computer readable storage
medium may be, for example, but is not limited to, an electronic storage
device, a magnetic
storage device, an optical storage device, an electromagnetic storage device,
a semiconductor
storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. A non-exhaustive
list of more
specific examples of the computer readable storage medium includes the
following: a portable
computer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RA1VI), a read-only
memory (ROM),
an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), a static
random
access memory (SRAM), a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), a
digital
versatile disk (DVD), a memory stick, a floppy disk, a mechanically encoded
device such as
punch-cards or raised structures in a groove having instructions recorded
thereon, and any
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suitable combination of the foregoing. A computer readable storage medium, as
used herein, is
not to be construed as being transitory signals per se, such as radio waves or
other freely
propagating electromagnetic waves, electromagnetic waves propagating through a
waveguide or
other transmission media (e.g., light pulses passing through a fiber-optic
cable), or electrical
signals transmitted through a wire.
[0017] Computer readable program instructions described herein can be
downloaded to
respective computing/processing devices from a computer readable storage
medium or to an
external computer or external storage device via a network, for example, the
Internet, a local area
network, a wide area network and/or a wireless network. The network may
comprise copper
transmission cables, optical transmission fibers, wireless transmission,
routers, firewalls,
switches, gateway computers and/or edge servers. A network adapter card or
network interface
in each computing/processing device receives computer readable program
instructions from the
network and forwards the computer readable program instructions for storage in
a computer
readable storage medium within the respective computing/processing device.
100181 Computer readable program instructions for carrying out operations of
the present
invention may be assembler instructions, instruction-set-architecture (ISA)
instructions, machine
instructions, machine dependent instructions, microcode, firmware
instructions, state-setting
data, or either source code or object code written in any combination of one
or more
programming languages, including an object oriented programming language such
as
SMALLTALK, C++ or the like, and conventional procedural programming languages,
such as
the "C" programming language or similar programming languages. The computer
readable
program instructions may execute entirely on the user's computer, partly on
the user's computer,
as a stand-alone software package, partly on the user's computer and partly on
a remote computer
or entirely on the remote computer or server. In the latter scenario, the
remote computer may be
connected to the user's computer through any type of network, including a
local area network
(LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or the connection may be made to an
external computer
(for example, through the Internet using an Internet Service Provider). In
some embodiments,
electronic circuitry including, for example, programmable logic circuitry,
field-programmable
gate arrays (FPGA), or programmable logic arrays (PLA) may execute the
computer readable
program instructions by utilizing state information of the computer readable
program instructions
to personalize the electronic circuitry, in order to perform aspects of the
present invention.
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[0019] Aspects of the present invention are described herein with reference to
flowchart
illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems), and
computer program
products according to embodiments of the invention. It will be understood that
each block of the
flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in
the flowchart
illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer readable
program
instructions.
[0020] These computer readable program instructions may be provided to a
processor of
a general-purpose computer, special purpose computer, or other programmable
data processing
apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via
the processor of the
computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, create means for
implementing the
functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or
blocks. These computer
readable program instructions may also be stored in a computer readable
storage medium that
can direct a computer, a programmable data processing apparatus, and/or other
devices to
function in a particular manner, such that the computer readable storage
medium having
instructions stored therein comprises an article of manufacture including
instructions which
implement aspects of the function/act specified in the flowchart and/or block
diagram block or
blocks.
[0021] The computer readable program instructions may also be loaded onto a
computer,
other programmable data processing apparatus, or other device to cause a
series of operational
steps to be performed on the computer, other programmable apparatus or other
device to produce
a computer implemented process, such that the instructions which execute on
the computer, other
programmable apparatus, or other device implement the functions/acts specified
in the flowchart
and/or block diagram block or blocks.
[0022] The flowchart and block diagrams in the Figures illustrate the
architecture,
functionality, and operation of possible implementations of systems, methods,
and computer
program products according to various embodiments of the present invention. In
this regard,
each block in the flowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment,
or portion of
instructions, which comprises one or more executable instructions for
implementing the specified
logical function(s). In some alternative implementations, the functions noted
in the block may
occur out of the order noted in the figures. For example, two blocks shown in
succession may, in
fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks may sometimes be
executed in the
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reverse order, depending upon the functionality involved. It will also be
noted that each block of
the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, and combinations of blocks
in the block
diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, can be implemented by special purpose
hardware-based
systems that perform the specified functions or acts or carry out combinations
of special purpose
hardware and computer instructions.
[0023] Reference in the specification to "one embodiment" or "an embodiment"
of the
present invention, as well as other variations thereof, means that a feature,
structure,
characteristic, and so forth described in connection with the embodiment is
included in at least
one embodiment of the present invention Thus, the appearances of the phrase
"in one
embodiment" or "in an embodiment", as well any other variations, appearing in
various places
throughout the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same
embodiment.
[0024] The present disclosure is directed to a system to provide terminals
with the
allowable location specific PSD level which includes a satellite to provide
radio frequency
signals to terminals at varied power spectral density levels, a terminal to
receive the radio
frequency signals and to transmit periodic data updates, a gateway to receive
and transmit the
radio frequency signals and the periodic data updates between the satellite
and the terminal, a
network management system to determine the allowable PSD level based on the
data update, and
the data update includes terminal location information.
[0025] The presently disclosed system further includes a centralized beam
selector (CBS)
which can receive periodic data updates from terminals, determine the
allowable PSD level and
beam selection, and provide the allowable PSD level and beam selection to the
terminal. Some
embodiments of the present system can have terminals, and in those cases, the
CBS can
multiplex the responses prior to sending the responses back to the terminals.
[0026] Other embodiments of the present system can also include an external
beam
selector (EBS) to receive periodic data from the CBS, determine the allowable
PSD level and
beam selection, and then provide the allowable PSD level and beam selection to
the CBS. Again,
in systems with terminals, the EBS can multiplex the responses prior to
sending the response
back to the terminals.
[0027] In the disclosed system, the data update from a terminal can include
heading,
speed, beam definition plan version, antenna directivity, radome, skew angle,
and terminal
identification. These terminals can be aeronautical, maritime, land mobile, or
other mobile
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terminals.
[0028] The present system includes a gateway connected to the satellite, the
internet, a
network access point, and the network management system.
[0029] The current disclosure also includes a non-transient computer-readable
storage
medium having instructions embodied thereon, the instructions being executable
by one or more
processors to perform a method for providing the allowable PSD limits to
terminal in regions of
a coverage area, the method including dividing a coverage area into regions,
each region having
a boundary; assigning a PSD limit to each region; receiving a location of a
transmitting entity;
determining a transmitting entity region from the regions based on the
location; and transmitting
with a respective PSD limit of the transmitting entity region
[0030] In this method, the boundary is defined with polygons, and the
transmitting entity
can be an aeronautical, maritime, land mobile, or other mobile terminal.
[0031] According to some embodiments, the disclosed method can further include
calculating a particular PSD for the transmitting entity from the respective
PSD limit, with the
calculating accounting for various factors including antenna directivity,
radome and skew angle
based on a feedback from an antenna.
[0032] While the majority of regions will permit transmission, the disclosed
method
accounts for regions including a no-transmit region due to its assigned PSD
limit.
100331 In some embodiments of the disclosed method the determining step can be
performed by a gateway and the respective PSD limit is communicated from the
gateway to the
transmitting entity, and in other embodiments, the determining step can be
performed by the
transmitting entity.
100341 The present disclosure is directed to a satellite communication system
and method
where terminals and gateways transmit radio frequency signals towards the
satellites for relaying
back by the satellites to their intended destination. Depending on the
location of the transmitting
entity, a limit on PSD for a transmitting entity may be dictated by a
governing entity for that
location. For example, in the US the governing entity is Federal Communication
Commission
(FCC), while the European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications
Administrations
(CEPT) is the governing entity in the European Union and so on.
100351 The present teachings disclose using a location specific PSD limit map
by
location. A coverage area may include PSD boundary regions for a specific PSD
limit. The
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boundary may be defined, for example, with polygons. Once the transmitting
entity (gateway or
terminal) knows its location, it can figure out which PSD polygon it lies in
and use the
corresponding PSD limit for that location.
[0036] For mobile terminals or terminals that have a steerable or repointable
antenna
system possibly along with radome covering, the present teachings can be used
to calculate
effective maximum power which accounts for skew angle, radome loss in a
selected direction,
and specific antenna radiation pattern characteristics in terms of the
directional power curves of
main lobe and side lobes.
[0037] In the prior art, terminals are configured to use a specific single
value for PSD
that the terminal shall not exceed. The PSD value was based on a predetermined
limit on where
the terminal was supposed to operate.
[0038] The present teachings allow the terminal to select different PSD values
depending
on its actual location. Some advantages of various embodiments of the present
disclosure include
terminals that can be configured to have location specific PSD limits,
terminals that can
incorporate effects of antenna directivity, radome, and skew angle, etc. based
on feedback from
antenna, terminals that can be configured to have no-transmit zones, use of
polygon shaping
which allows for non-standard shaping of spot beams to cater to country or
region specific PSD
limits, determination of which polygon a terminal is located can be made by
the local terminal or
by a central entity, and the Centralized Beam Selector (CBS) allows for a
single point of
interface with an external entity to provide input in beam selection for the
terminals. The PSD
limits may be imposed, in some situations, by formal jurisdictions such as
political boundaries:
country, state, county, city, and so forth. In other situations, the PSD
limits may be influenced by
other factors such as local topography, vector angle from the transmitting
satellite, local
vegetation or forest density, local building density, and the like.
[0039] The present teachings may be used by any multi-beam, satellite based or
otherwise, communication system that has fixed terminals, and aeronautical,
maritime, land
mobile or other mobile terminals.
[0040] In the present disclosure, the following terms are provided with these
meanings:
[0041] Mobile Terminals: aeronautical, maritime, land mobile or any other
mobile
terminal.
100421 Gateway: Device that has a RF link to a satellite to transmit and
receive data from
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terminals and which has terrestrial or other connectivity to link the
terminals to the internet.
[0043] Network: Coverage area of beams of one or more satellites linked to one
or more
gateways that can provide service to terminals in the coverage area, that is
managed by a
Network Management System (NMS)
[0044] NAP : Network Access Point. Access point to the internet for the
network. There
can be one or more of these in the network.
[0045] CBS : Centralized Beam Selector.
[0046] EBS : External Beam Selector.
[0047] BDP : Beam Definition Plan. Service plan level configuration for a
group of
terminals that defines satellite beams that a group of terminals can get
service from, boundaries
of those beams, version, PSD region polygons etc.
[0048] An exemplary satellite system 100 including multiple spot beams
covering a
service area according to various embodiments is illustrated in FIG. 1, here
the network is
managed by Network Management System 110 or NMSi. This network has two
satellites: Si and
S2, 104 and 106, respectively. The present teachings can be applied to one or
multiple networks
with differing numbers of satellites, beams and differing types of beams
covering the service
area.
[0049] In the example network of FIG. 1, Si satellite 104 has three beams:
SiBi, S1B2¨
served by Gateway Gi, and SiB3 served by Gateway G2. The S2 satellite 106 has
one beam:
52B1, served by Gateway G3. The three gateways are connected to NAPi, 108 and
are also
connected to the internet 102, and NMS1, 110.
[0050] Terminals T9 and Tio are mobile aeronautical terminals and terminals Ti
to T8 are
fixed terminals. As a mobile terminal moves from one spot beam to another spot
beam, it may
have to associate with a different Gateway, which can be associated with the
same NAP 108 in
the network 100.
[0051] The system of FIG. 1 also shows an optional CBS 112. The terminals, Ti-
Tio, can
either run their own beam selection protocol locally or use the CBS to obtain
a beam selection
result. A fixed terminal may send a location update only during a
commissioning/provisioning
phase to the CBS 112 to find out which spot beam it should register in. This
communication can
be sent over a common access channel. Mobile terminals may send a location
update periodically
to the CBS 112 and the CBS 112 can provide a result of beam selection based on
the location of
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the mobile terminal, the boundaries and the spot beams the mobile terminal is
configured to use.
As a mobile terminal approaches a boundary of its network, it can request a
configuration for
operation in one or more adjacent visitor networks, and subsequently can
communicate with the
CBS of the visitor network while in the coverage area of the visitor network
100521 A terminal location may be determined by a location service included in
the
terminal or the gateway. In some embodiments, the terminals Ti to Tio the
location service may
use a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), such as, Global Positioning
System (GPS) to
determine a terminal's location and positioning. In some embodiments, the
location service may
be provisioned with a terminal location by a technician installing the
terminal, a user of the
terminal, a technician at a network operations center or the like. The
location may be fine (for
example, when provided by the GNSS) or an estimate,
100531 In the present teaching, PSD regions may be defined via polygon
definitions. The
polygon definitions in the FIG. 1 example follow country specific boundaries.
PSD regions need
not follow country specific boundaries. There are 4 different PSD regions
defined in this
example. RI region corresponds to a region around Washington DC. R2 region
corresponds to
rest of the USA. R3 region corresponds to Canada. R4 region corresponds to
Mexico. These
regions are for illustration of this specific example and can be defined as
needed.
100541 A coordinate system can be utilized to define the polygons. Some
possible options
for the coordinate system are latitude/longitude pairs, earth-centered earth-
fixed (ECEF)
coordinate system, satellite centered angular coordinate system, and the like
Conversion of
points from one coordinate system to another can be done to suit specific
implementation needs.
100551 Polygons can be defined as series of points defining edges of the
polygon, where
each point can be defined as (latitude, longitude) numbers, as (x,y,z) numbers
in ECEF (Earth
Centric Earth Fixed) coordinate system, as (az,e1) numbers in Satellite
centric angular system, or
any other such coordinate system of choice. In some embodiments, a definition
of the PSD
region polygons can explicitly include a last node that is the same as the
first node to define a
closed region. In some embodiments, there may be an implicit assumption that
each polygon is a
closed polygon and there is a line connecting the first and last points of the
polygon to define a
closed region. The points can be either specified in order or can include an
identifier specifying
the order.
100561 In FIG. 1, terminals Ti and T2 are in beam SIB' and Ti is in PSD region
R3 and T2
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is PSD region R2. Similarly, terminals T3 and T4 are in beam S1132, and T3 is
in PSD region R2
and T4 is PSD region R4. In addition, there is a mobile terminal Tio in beam
S1B2, and is in PSD
region R4 and is about to enter PSD region R2. Also, terminals T5 and T6 are
in beam SiB3, and
are both in PSD region R2. Lastly, terminals T7 and Tg are in beam S2B1 with
T7 in PSD region
R2 and Tg in PSD region R3. In addition, there is a mobile terminal T9 in beam
S2B1 and in PSD
region R2, is about to enter PSD region Ri and then re-enter R2.
[0057] To determine which PSD region a terminal is in, a point-in-polygon test
algorithm, including, for example, ray casting or winding number algorithms,
can be used by the
entity to determine the PSD region for that terminal. The algorithm can be run
by the terminal,
by the CBS 112 or by the EBS 114 as per the network configuration.
[0058] In FIG. 1, an optional External Beam Selector (EBS) 114 is also shown.
The CBS
112 can provide an interface to the EBS 114 to provide input into the
determination of which
beam a terminal should use, or the ESB 114 can even provide the beam and PSD
region for the
terminal, and the CBS 112 can provide that information to the terminal. The
input from a
terminal can include, but not be limited to, location, heading, beam
definition plan version,
speed, etc. A Beam Definition Plan (BDP) version can encapsulate information
about which
beams a terminal is permitted to get service from, beam boundary definitions,
PSD region
polygons, etc. for the terminals and satellites in a network coverage area.
PSD regions can be
located entirely within a beam or can require multiple beams to be fully
encompassed as shown
in FIG. 1.
[0059] According to various embodiments of the present disclosure there are
several
modes of operations possible. FIG. 2 shows an individual terminal response
mode using a CBS
112 which allows for a quick response from the CBS 112 back to the terminal
200. Here, a data
update 202 including information on location, heading, speed, beam
configuration version, etc. is
transmitted to the CBS 112, and a beam selection result 204 including the
proper beam to use
and the PSD region with PSD level is transmitted back to the terminal 200.
When a large number
of individual terminals are sending messages simultaneously to the CBS, and
the CBS is sending
back the beam selection results simultaneously significant messaging bandwidth
may be
required.
100601 According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, FIG. 3
illustrates a
broadcast or multicast mode of sending responses back to terminals 200o to
200N using a CBS
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112. Here the CBS 112 can group a number of terminal responses together before
periodically
sending beam selection results 2040 to 204N to terminals 2000 to 200N. The
beam selection
results 2040 to 204N may be held and grouped by the CBS 112 for transmission
via a broadcast or
multicast message. For instance, the CBS could group the responses for
terminals 2000 to 200(N-x)
(with x being a positive integer) in a multicast beam selection response 206,
and then group the
responses for terminals 200(N-x)+1 to 200N into a subsequent multicast beam
selection response
208 those terminals. In the Figures, the broadcast or multicast messages are
indicated using
dashed lines. This approach can conserve messaging bandwidth. The respective
methods as
exemplified in FIGS. 2 and 3 can be utilized independently for different
groups of terminals in
the network.
100611 FIG. 4 illustrates an individual terminal response mode with an EBS
114.
According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, this mode allows
for a quick
response back to the terminal. The data update 202 from the terminal 200
including information
on location, heading, speed, beam configuration version, etc. is transmitted
to the CBS 112, then
forwarded 222 to the EBS 114, which then transmits back a beam selection
result 210 to the CBS
112, which transmits the beam selection result 212 back to the terminal 200.
One disadvantage of
this method is that when a large number of terminals are sending messages to
the CBS 112, it
can take significant messaging bandwidth to send messages between the CBS 112
and the EBS
114.
100621 FIG. 5 illustrates a broadcast/multicast mode of responding back to a
group of
terminals from an EBS 114 with an intermediate CBS 112 according to various
embodiments of
the present disclosure. In the illustrated mode, the CBS 112 can send a
message 214 periodically
to the EBS 114 by grouping a few data updates 202n to 202N together to
conserve messaging
bandwidth as compared to the previous method. The response from the EBS 114
can be sent by
the CBS 112 via targeted, or multicast responses back to terminals 2000 to
200N. Specifically, the
data updates 202o to 202N from terminals 2000 to 200N including information on
location,
heading, speed, beam configuration version, etc. are transmitted to the CBS
112, and forwarded
214 to the EBS 114. The EBS 114 then transmits a beam selection result 216
back to the CBS
112. The CBS 112 may group the beam selection results 2040 to 204N included in
the beam
selection result 216, and transmit multicast beam selection messages 206 and
208 back to the
terminals 2000 to 200N as described with respect to FIG. 3.
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100631 The methods illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5 can be implemented
independently for
different groups of terminals in the network.
100641 FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary satellite system 600 including multiple
spot beams
covering a service area. According to various embodiments of the present
disclosure, different
groups of terminals can use different BDPs. One such possible variation is
shown in FIG. 6
which has a different beam plan and different PSD region polygons as compared
to FIG. 1.
[0065] In the system set forth in FIG. 6, the R2 region from FIG. 1, has been
divided into
8 separate regions, R21 ..R28. Regions R3 and R4 correspond to Canada and
Mexico, respectively.
Each of these 10 regions is defined by a closed polygon. Additionally,
satellites Si 104 and S2
106 are each transmitting five different beams, S1B1.5 and S2B1.5,
respectively.
100661 In FIG. 6, terminal Ti is in beam S1R4 and Ti is in PSD region R26,
while T2 is in
beam SiB5 and PSD region R3. Terminals T3 is in an overlapped area between
beams SiB2 and
S2Bi and straddles PSD regions R27 and R23. T4 is in beam S2B5 and in PSD
region R24.
Terminals T5 is in beam S2131, and in PSD region R23. T6 is in beam S2B3 and
is in PSD region
R27. Terminal T7 is in an overlapped area between beams S1B5 and S2B2 and is
located in PSD
region R3. Lastly, terminal Tg is in beam S2B4 in PSD region R28.
[0067] Mobile terminal T9 is moving from R24 to Ri, back into R24 and then
into R28. In
addition, there is a mobile terminal Tio in PSD region R4 is about to enter
PSD region R27.
100681 To determine which PSD region a terminal is in, a point-in-polygon test
algorithm
including, for example, ray casting or winding number algorithms, can be used
by the entity to
determine the PSD region for that terminal. The algorithm can be run by the
terminal, by the
CBS 112 or by the EBS 114 as per the network configuration.
100691 Having described preferred embodiments of a system and method (which
are
intended to be illustrative and not limiting), it is noted that modifications
and variations can be
made by persons skilled in the art considering the above teachings. It is
therefore to be
understood that changes may be made in the embodiments disclosed which are
within the scope
of the invention as outlined by the appended claims. Having thus described
aspects of the
invention, with the details and particularity required by the patent laws,
what is claimed and
desired protected by Letters Patent is set forth in the appended claims.
13
CA 03209817 2023- 8- 25
