EP0174540A2
Expired / Lapsed
EP
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Satetellite-based position determination and message transfer system with monitoring of link quality
Assignee: Geostar Corp
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Filing: 1985-08-23
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2005-08-23
Abstract
Abstract A radio position determination and message transfer system is implemented using a number of satellites in geostationary orbit for relaying interrogation and reply signals between a ground station and a user-carried transceiver. Message information can be exchanged between a given user transceiver and the ground station, as well as between different user transceivers. The user transceiver is provided with means for monitoring the quality of the radio communication link between the transceiver and one or more of the satellites, based on errors detected in the received interrogation signals. The transmission of a reply signal by the transceiver is enabled only when the link quality is found to be acceptable. The reply signal may contain message information or may constitute a request for a position fix. In the latter case, the transceiver may be configured to await favourable link quality to more than one satellite before the reply signal is transmitted.
Inventors
- 👤 Gerard Kitchen O'neill
- 👤 Leslie O. Snively
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-24 23:12
CPC Classifications
G; G01; G01S; G01S19/00; G01S19/38; G01S13/00; G01S13/87; G01S13/878; H; H04; H04B; H04B17/00; H04B17/40; H04B7/00; H04B7/14; H04B7/15; H04B7/185; H04B7/1853; H04B7/18545; H04B7/18547; H04B7/1855; H04B7/18567; H04B7/1851; H04B7/18513
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 43
Claim 1
Independent Claim
94 words
A radio communication system comprising: a central station for transmitting interrogation signals over a radio communication link; a remote transceiver for receiving interrogation signals from the central station over said radio communication link, and for transmitting reply signals to the central station in response to the interrogation signals; and control means in said remote transceiver for measuring the quality of the radio communication link between the central station and the remote transceiver, and for allowing the transmission of a reply signal by the transceiver only when said communication link has a predetermined minimum quality.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
94 words
A radio communication system comprising: a central station for transmitting interrogation signals over a radio communication link; a remote transceiver for receiving interrogation signals from the central station over said radio communication link, and for transmitting reply signals to the central station in response to the interrogation signals; and control means in said remote transceiver for measuring the quality of the radio communication link between the central station and the remote transceiver, and for allowing the transmission of a reply signal by the transceiver only when said communication link has a predetermined minimum quality.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
43 words
A radio communication system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said control means is effective to detect errors in the received interrogation signals, and to derive from the absence or presence of said errors a measurement of the quality of the communication link.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
67 words
A radio communication system as claimed in claim 2, where: said control means maintains a running count of errors detected in a number of recently received interrogation signals; and said control means is effective to compare said count with a predetermined threshold value in order to determine whether the communication link has the predetermined minimum quality required for the transmission of a reply signal by the transceiver.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
30 words
A radio communication system as claimed in claim 3, wherein said transceiver further includes display means connected to said control means for displaying the measured quality of the communication link.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
42 words
A radio communication system as claimed in claim 2, wherein: said interrogation signals comprise binary digital signals incorporating error detection codes; and said control means includes decoding means responsive to said error detection codes for measuring the quality of the communication link.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
27 words
A radio communication system as claimed in claim 5, wherein: .. said error detection codes comprise parity check bits; and said decoding means comprises a parity decoder.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
19 words
A radio communication system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said radio communication link includes at least one satellite.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
114 words
A radio communication system comprising: a central station for transmitting a sequence of interrogation signals containing error detection codes; a remote transceiver for receiving said interrogation signals over a radio communication link between the central station and the remote transceiver, and for transmitting reply signals containing message information to the central station in response to said interrogation signals; and control means in the remote transceiver for utilizing said error detection codes to provide an indication of the quality of the communication link between the central station and the remote transceiver, and for suppressing the transmission of a reply signal by the remote transceiver until a predetermined minimum quality of the communication link is indicated.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
114 words
A radio communication system comprising: a central station for transmitting a sequence of interrogation signals containing error detection codes; a remote transceiver for receiving said interrogation signals over a radio communication link between the central station and the remote transceiver, and for transmitting reply signals containing message information to the central station in response to said interrogation signals; and control means in the remote transceiver for utilizing said error detection codes to provide an indication of the quality of the communication link between the central station and the remote transceiver, and for suppressing the transmission of a reply signal by the remote transceiver until a predetermined minimum quality of the communication link is indicated.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
67 words
A radio communication system as claimed in claim 8, wherein: said control means maintains a running count of errors detected in a number of recently received interrogation signals; and said control means is effective to compare said count with a predetermined threshold value in order to determine whether the communication link has the predetermined minimum quality required for the transmission of a reply signal by the tranaceiver.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
37 words
A radio communication system as claimed in claim 8, wherein said remote transceiver further includes display means connected to said control means for displaying an indication of the measured quality of the communication link to a user.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
35 words
A radio communication system as claimed in claim 8, wherein: said interrogation signals comprise binary digital signals in which said error detection codes comprise parity check bits; and said control means includes a parity decoder.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
43 words
A radio communication system as claimed in claim 8, wherein said communication link includes at least one satellite for relaying interrogation aignals from the central station to the remote transceiver, and for relaying reply signals from the remote transceiver to the central station.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
100 words
A radio communication system comprising: a central station for transmitting interrogation signals over a radio communication link; a remote transceiver for receiving interrogation signals from the central station by means of said radio communication link, and for transmitting reply signals to the central station in response to the interrogation signals; monitoring means in said remote transceiver for monitoring the quality of the radio communication link between the central station and the remote transceiver as a function of the received interrogation signals; and display means connected to said monitoring means for displaying an indication of the quality of the communication link.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
100 words
A radio communication system comprising: a central station for transmitting interrogation signals over a radio communication link; a remote transceiver for receiving interrogation signals from the central station by means of said radio communication link, and for transmitting reply signals to the central station in response to the interrogation signals; monitoring means in said remote transceiver for monitoring the quality of the radio communication link between the central station and the remote transceiver as a function of the received interrogation signals; and display means connected to said monitoring means for displaying an indication of the quality of the communication link.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
44 words
A radio communication system as claimed in claim 13, wherein said monitoring means is effective to detect errors in the received interrogation signals, and to derive from the presence or absence of said errors an indication of the quality of the radio communication link.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
74 words
A remote transceiver for receiving and responding to error-coded interrogation signals transmitted by a central station over a communication link, comprising: receiving means for receiving interrogation signals; monitoring means for monitoring the quality of communication link as a function of errors detected in the received interrogation signals; transmitting means connected to said monitoring means for transmitting reply signals in response to the interrogation signal only when said communication link has a predetermined minimum quality.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
74 words
A remote transceiver for receiving and responding to error-coded interrogation signals transmitted by a central station over a communication link, comprising: receiving means for receiving interrogation signals; monitoring means for monitoring the quality of communication link as a function of errors detected in the received interrogation signals; transmitting means connected to said monitoring means for transmitting reply signals in response to the interrogation signal only when said communication link has a predetermined minimum quality.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
83 words
A remote transceiver for receiving and responding to error-coded interrogation signals transmitted by a central station over a communication link, comprising: receive and transmit means for receiving interrogation signals and for transmitting reply signals in response to said interrogation signals; monitoring means for monitoring the quality of the communication link as a function of errors detected in the received interrogation signals; and display means connected to said monitoring means for displaying to a user an indication of the quality of the communication link.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
83 words
A remote transceiver for receiving and responding to error-coded interrogation signals transmitted by a central station over a communication link, comprising: receive and transmit means for receiving interrogation signals and for transmitting reply signals in response to said interrogation signals; monitoring means for monitoring the quality of the communication link as a function of errors detected in the received interrogation signals; and display means connected to said monitoring means for displaying to a user an indication of the quality of the communication link.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
155 words
A radio communication system for sending messages to a ground station from a remote transceiver by means of a satellite, comprising: a remote transceiver for receiving interrogation signals containing error detection codes and for transmitting reply signals carrying message information in response to said interrogation signals; a ground station for transmitting interrogation signals containing error detection codes and for receiving reply signals from the remote transceiver; at least one relay satellite for relaying interrogation - signals from the ground station to the remote transceiver, and for relaying reply signals from the remote transceiver to the ground station; and control means in the remote transceiver for utilizing the error detection codes in the received interrogation signals to provide an indication of the quality of the radio communication link to the remote transceiver, and for suppressing the transmission of a reply signal by the remote transceiver until a predetermined minimum quality of the communication link is indicated.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
155 words
A radio communication system for sending messages to a ground station from a remote transceiver by means of a satellite, comprising: a remote transceiver for receiving interrogation signals containing error detection codes and for transmitting reply signals carrying message information in response to said interrogation signals; a ground station for transmitting interrogation signals containing error detection codes and for receiving reply signals from the remote transceiver; at least one relay satellite for relaying interrogation - signals from the ground station to the remote transceiver, and for relaying reply signals from the remote transceiver to the ground station; and control means in the remote transceiver for utilizing the error detection codes in the received interrogation signals to provide an indication of the quality of the radio communication link to the remote transceiver, and for suppressing the transmission of a reply signal by the remote transceiver until a predetermined minimum quality of the communication link is indicated.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
67 words
A radio communication system as claimed in claim 17, wherein: said control means maintains a running count of errors detected in a number of recently received interrogation signals; and said control means is effective to compare said count with a predetermined threshold value in order to determine whether the communication link has the predetermined minimum quality required for the transmission of a reply signal by the transceiver.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
37 words
A radio communication system as claimed in claim 17, wherein said remote transceiver further includes display means connected to said control means for displaying an indication of the measured quality of the communication link to a user.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
35 words
A radio communication system as claimed in claim 17, wherein: said interrogation signals comprise binary digital signals in which said error detection codes comprise parity check bits; and said control means includes a parity decoder.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
148 words
A radio communication system for sending messages to a ground station from a remote transceiver by means of a satellite, comprising: - a remote transceiver for receiving interrogation signals containing error detection codes and for transmitting reply signals carrying message information in response to said interrogation signals; a ground station for transmitting interrogation signals containing error detection codes and for receiving reply signals from the remote transceiver; at least one relay satellite for relaying interrogation signals from the ground station to the remote transceiver, and for relaying reply signals from the remote transceiver to the ground station; and monitoring means in the remote transceiver for monitoring the quality of the radio communication link to the remote transceiver as a function of errors detected in the received interrogation signals; and . display means connected to said monitoring means for displaying an indication of the quality of the communication link.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
148 words
A radio communication system for sending messages to a ground station from a remote transceiver by means of a satellite, comprising: - a remote transceiver for receiving interrogation signals containing error detection codes and for transmitting reply signals carrying message information in response to said interrogation signals; a ground station for transmitting interrogation signals containing error detection codes and for receiving reply signals from the remote transceiver; at least one relay satellite for relaying interrogation signals from the ground station to the remote transceiver, and for relaying reply signals from the remote transceiver to the ground station; and monitoring means in the remote transceiver for monitoring the quality of the radio communication link to the remote transceiver as a function of errors detected in the received interrogation signals; and . display means connected to said monitoring means for displaying an indication of the quality of the communication link.
Claim 29
Independent Claim
131 words
A method for sending messages to a central station from a remote transceiver over a radio communication link, comprising the steps of: transmitting a sequence of interrogation signals containing error detection codes from the central station; receiving said interrogation signals at the remote transceiver; utilizing the error detection codes in the received interrogation signals to provide the remote transceiver with an indication of the quality of the radio communication link between the central station and the remote transceiver; transmitting reply signals containing message information from the remote transceiver to the central station when a predetermined minimum quality of the radio communication link is indicated; and suppressing the transmission of reply signals from the remote transceiver when the indicated quality of the radio communication link is less than a predetermined minimum value.
Claim 30
Independent Claim
131 words
A method for sending messages to a central station from a remote transceiver over a radio communication link, comprising the steps of: transmitting a sequence of interrogation signals containing error detection codes from the central station; receiving said interrogation signals at the remote transceiver; utilizing the error detection codes in the received interrogation signals to provide the remote transceiver with an indication of the quality of the radio communication link between the central station and the remote transceiver; transmitting reply signals containing message information from the remote transceiver to the central station when a predetermined minimum quality of the radio communication link is indicated; and suppressing the transmission of reply signals from the remote transceiver when the indicated quality of the radio communication link is less than a predetermined minimum value.
Claim 31
Independent Claim
148 words
A method for sending messages to a ground station from a remote transceiver over a radio communication link including a satellite, comprising the steps of: transmitting a sequence of interrogation signals containing error detection codes from the ground station; relaying said interrogation signals through the satellite to the remote transceiver; receiving said interrogation signals at the remote transceiver; utilizing the error detection codes in the received interrogation signals to provide the remote transceiver with an indication of the quality of the radio communication link between the satellite and the remote transceiver; transmitting reply signals containing message information from the remote transceiver to the ground station through the relay satellite when a predetermined minimum quality of the radio communication link is indicated; and suppressing the transmission of reply signals by the remote transceiver when the indicated quality of the radio communication link is less than a predetermined minimum value.
Claim 32
Independent Claim
148 words
A method for sending messages to a ground station from a remote transceiver over a radio communication link including a satellite, comprising the steps of: transmitting a sequence of interrogation signals containing error detection codes from the ground station; relaying said interrogation signals through the satellite to the remote transceiver; receiving said interrogation signals at the remote transceiver; utilizing the error detection codes in the received interrogation signals to provide the remote transceiver with an indication of the quality of the radio communication link between the satellite and the remote transceiver; transmitting reply signals containing message information from the remote transceiver to the ground station through the relay satellite when a predetermined minimum quality of the radio communication link is indicated; and suppressing the transmission of reply signals by the remote transceiver when the indicated quality of the radio communication link is less than a predetermined minimum value.
Claim 33
Independent Claim
160 words
A method for establishing radio communication between a ground station and a remote transceiver through at least two relay satellites, comprising the steps of: simultaneous transmitting from the ground station at least two mutually distinguishable interrogation signals containing error detection codes; relaying each of said interrogation signals to the remote transceiver through a different satellite; receiving said interrogation signals at the remote transceiver; utilizing the error detection codes in each received interrogation signal to provide the remote transceiver with an indication of the quality of the radio communication links between the remote transceiver and each of the satellites; transmitting reply signals from the remote transceiver to the ground station through the satellites when a predetermined minimum quality of the radio communication link is indicated for all satellites; and suppressing the transmission of reply signals by the remote transceiver when the indicated quality of the radio communication link is less than a predetermined value for one or more of the satellites.
Claim 34
Independent Claim
160 words
A method for establishing radio communication between a ground station and a remote transceiver through at least two relay satellites, comprising the steps of: simultaneous transmitting from the ground station at least two mutually distinguishable interrogation signals containing error detection codes; relaying each of said interrogation signals to the remote transceiver through a different satellite; receiving said interrogation signals at the remote transceiver; utilizing the error detection codes in each received interrogation signal to provide the remote transceiver with an indication of the quality of the radio communication links between the remote transceiver and each of the satellites; transmitting reply signals from the remote transceiver to the ground station through the satellites when a predetermined minimum quality of the radio communication link is indicated for all satellites; and suppressing the transmission of reply signals by the remote transceiver when the indicated quality of the radio communication link is less than a predetermined value for one or more of the satellites.
Claim 35
Dependent Claim
48 words
A method as claimed in claim 24, wherein the simultaneous interrogation signals transmitted by the ground station are distinguished by different pseudo-noise coding, and wherein the step of receiving the interrogation signals at the remote transceiver includes the step of distinguishing the interrogation signals according to pseudo-noise code.
Claim 36
Dependent Claim
47 words
A method as claimed in claim 24, comprising the further steps of: relaying the transceiver reply signals to the ground station through each of the satellites; and calculating the position of the remote transceiver based on the arrival times of the reply signals at the ground station.
Claim 37
Independent Claim
141 words
A method for sending messages to a ground station from a remote transceiver over a satellite radio communication link, comprising the steps of: transmitting first and second mutually distinguishable interrogation signals from the ground station; relaying the first interrogation signal to the remote transceiver through the first satellite; relaying the second interrogation signal to the remote transceiver through the second satellite; retransmitting the first and second interrogation signals from the ground station; relaying the first interrogation signal to the remote transceiver through the second satellite; relaying the second interrogation signal to the remote transceiver through the first satellite; receiving at least one of said first and second interrogation signals at the remote transceiver; transmitting reply signals containing message information from the remote transceiver to the ground station through at least one of the satellites in response to the received interrogation signal.
Claim 38
Independent Claim
141 words
A method for sending messages to a ground station from a remote transceiver over a satellite radio communication link, comprising the steps of: transmitting first and second mutually distinguishable interrogation signals from the ground station; relaying the first interrogation signal to the remote transceiver through the first satellite; relaying the second interrogation signal to the remote transceiver through the second satellite; retransmitting the first and second interrogation signals from the ground station; relaying the first interrogation signal to the remote transceiver through the second satellite; relaying the second interrogation signal to the remote transceiver through the first satellite; receiving at least one of said first and second interrogation signals at the remote transceiver; transmitting reply signals containing message information from the remote transceiver to the ground station through at least one of the satellites in response to the received interrogation signal.
Claim 39
Dependent Claim
57 words
A method as claimed in claim 27, wherein the first and second interrogation signals transmitted by the ground station are distinguished by different pseudo-random coding, and wherein the step of receiving at least one of the first and second interrogation signals at the remote transceiver includes the step of decoding at least one of the pseudo-random codes.
Claim 40
Independent Claim
183 words
A method for sending messages to a remote transceiver from a central station over a r R dio communication link, comprising the steps of: transmitting a sequence of pseudo-noise coded interrogation signals containing error detection codes from the ground station, said sequence including a repeating series of interrogation signals employing different spread ratios in the pseudo-noise codes; receiving said interrogation signals at the remote transceiver; utilizing the error detection codes in the received interrogation signals to provide _the remote transceiver with an indication of the quality of the radio communication link between the central station and the transceiver for each of said pseudo-noise code spread ratios; selecting the lowest pseudo-noise code spread ratio for which the indicated quality of the radio communication link at the remote transceiver is above a predetermined threshold value; transmitting a reply signal from the remote transceiver to the central station, said reply signal containing an indication of the selected pseudo-noise code spread ratio; and transmitting message information to the remote transceiver from the central station using a pseudo-random code having the spread ratio selected by the remote transceiver.
Claim 41
Independent Claim
183 words
A method for sending messages to a remote transceiver from a central station over a r R dio communication link, comprising the steps of: transmitting a sequence of pseudo-noise coded interrogation signals containing error detection codes from the ground station, said sequence including a repeating series of interrogation signals employing different spread ratios in the pseudo-noise codes; receiving said interrogation signals at the remote transceiver; utilizing the error detection codes in the received interrogation signals to provide _the remote transceiver with an indication of the quality of the radio communication link between the central station and the transceiver for each of said pseudo-noise code spread ratios; selecting the lowest pseudo-noise code spread ratio for which the indicated quality of the radio communication link at the remote transceiver is above a predetermined threshold value; transmitting a reply signal from the remote transceiver to the central station, said reply signal containing an indication of the selected pseudo-noise code spread ratio; and transmitting message information to the remote transceiver from the central station using a pseudo-random code having the spread ratio selected by the remote transceiver.
Claim 42
Independent Claim
152 words
A method for sending messages from a sending transceiver to a destination transceiver through. a central station, comprising the steps of: transmitting message information from the sending transceiver to the central station; in response to the receipt of said message information at the central station, transmitting a first acknowledgement from the central station to the sending transceiver; transmitting the message information from the central station to the destination transceiver; in response to the receipt of the message information at the destination transceiver, transmitting a second acknowledgement from the destination transceiver to the central station; relaying the second acknowledgement from the central station to the sending transceiver; in response to a user input at the destination transceiver indicating that the message information has been read by the user, transmitting a third acknowledgement from the destination transceiver to the central station; and relaying the third acknowledgement from the central station to the sending transceiver.
Claim 43
Independent Claim
152 words
A method for sending messages from a sending transceiver to a destination transceiver through. a central station, comprising the steps of: transmitting message information from the sending transceiver to the central station; in response to the receipt of said message information at the central station, transmitting a first acknowledgement from the central station to the sending transceiver; transmitting the message information from the central station to the destination transceiver; in response to the receipt of the message information at the destination transceiver, transmitting a second acknowledgement from the destination transceiver to the central station; relaying the second acknowledgement from the central station to the sending transceiver; in response to a user input at the destination transceiver indicating that the message information has been read by the user, transmitting a third acknowledgement from the destination transceiver to the central station; and relaying the third acknowledgement from the central station to the sending transceiver.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
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