Method and apparatus for region based hand-offs in a satellite communication system
US6272345A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jul 31, 1998 |
| Grant date | Aug 7, 2001 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jul 31, 2018 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH04W84/06
- WIPO fieldDigital communication
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A method (300, FIG. 3) controls CU (140, FIGS. 1, 6) hand-off in a non-geostationary orbit (NSGO) satellite system (100, FIG. 1) without consuming large amounts of bandwidth or satellite processing power. Using method (300), a network control facility (NCF) (130, FIGS. 1, 5) divides the earth (102, FIG. 2) into suitable regions 200 (FIG. 2), or geographical areas of the earth sized so that all of the CUs (140, 142, 144, FIG. 1) within a region (200) can be handed-off as a group rather than handling each station individually. When it is determined through the method (300) that it is time to hand-off communications in a particular region, all CUs within that region are directed to effectuate a hand-off at substantially the same time.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.