Communication station, satellite communication system, ground station, channel control device, and satellite communication method

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10348395-B2
Application number	US-201515114736-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 5, 2015
Priority date	Feb 13, 2014
Publication date	Jul 9, 2019
Grant date	Jul 9, 2019

Abstract

A satellite communication system includes: a communication station generator communicator, a plurality of ground stations receiver transmitter receiver, and a channel control device having a satellite communication channel assignor configured to assign one satellite communication channel in response to channel assignment requests received from the plurality of ground stations via the ground network and determined to be identical communicator.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A communication system comprising:
an assignment request generator to generate a channel assignment request to request assignment of a satellite communication channel for communication with a counterpart communication station via a satellite, the channel assignment request including a unique identifier based on a combination of a random number and time;
a control communicator to transmit the channel assignment request to each of a plurality of ground stations through a time slot of a satellite control channel via the satellite, the time slot being determined based on time information obtained from a navigation signal from a navigation satellite, the plurality of ground stations being connected to a channel control device via a ground network, the channel control device assigning the satellite communication channel; and
a satellite channel communicator to communicate with the counterpart communication station through the satellite communication channel assigned and notified in response to the channel assignment request received by the channel control device via each of the plurality of ground stations,
wherein the channel control device determines whether multiple channel assignment requests received by the channel control device from different ground stations originate from the same channel assignment request based on a time of receipt of the multiple channel assignment requests in the ground stations and the unique identifier.

2. The communication system according to claim 1 , wherein when the channel control device determines that the multiple channel assignment requests are identical, one satellite communication channel is assigned for a set of the multiple received channel assignment requests determined to be identical.

3. The communication system according to claim 1 , wherein
the control communicator receives, from a downstream channel ground station through the satellite control channel, a channel designation notification for notifying the satellite communication channel assigned by the channel control device, the downstream channel ground station being connected to the channel control device via the ground network, and
the satellite channel communicator communicates with the counterpart communication station through the satellite communication channel notified by the channel designation notification received by the control communicator.

4. The communication system according to claim 3 , wherein
the control communicator receives, from a plurality of the downstream channel ground stations through the satellite control channel, the channel designation notifications including pieces of information about the counterpart communication station, and determines that the received channel designation notifications are identical when the channel designation notifications include identical pieces of information about the counterpart communication station, and
the satellite channel communicator communicates with the counterpart communication station through the satellite communication channel notified by the channel designation notifications determined to be identical.

5. A satellite communication system comprising:
a communication station including
an assignment request generator to generate a channel assignment request to request assignment of a satellite communication channel for communication with a counterpart communication station via a satellite, the channel assignment request including a unique identifier based on a combination of a random number and time,
a control communicator to transmit the channel assignment request through a time slot of a satellite control channel via the satellite, the time slot being determined based on time information obtained from a navigation signal of a navigation satellite, and
a satellite channel communicator to communicate through the satellite communication channel assigned and notified in response to the channel assignment request;
a plurality of ground stations each including
a satellite-related communicator to receive the channel assignment request from the communication station through the time slot of the satellite control channel, and
a ground-related communicator to transmit, via a ground network, the channel assignment request received by the satellite-related communicator; and

a channel control device including
a channel control communicator to communicate with the plurality of ground stations via the ground network, and
a satellite communication channel assignor to assign the satellite communication channel in response to the channel assignment requests received from the plurality of ground stations by the channel control communicator,
wherein the channel control device determines whether multiple channel assignment requests received by the channel control device from different ground stations originate from the same channel assignment request based on a time of receipt of the multiple channel assignment requests in the ground stations and the unique identifier.

6. The satellite communication system according to claim 5 , wherein
the satellite communication channel assignor of the channel control device determines that the channel assignment requests received from the plurality of ground stations are identical when the channel assignment requests are originated from the same communication station and include the unique identifier.

7. The satellite communication system according to claim 5 , wherein
the ground-related communicator of each of the ground stations adds ground station reception time to the channel assignment request and transmit the channel assignment request having the ground station reception time added thereto via the ground network, the ground station reception time being time at which the satellite-related communicator of the ground station receives the channel assignment request, and
the satellite communication channel assignor of the channel control device determines that the channel assignment requests received from the plurality of ground stations are identical when a difference between ground station reception times of the channel assignment requests falls within a predetermined range and the channel assignment requests are originated from the same communication station.

8. The satellite communication system according to claim 5 , wherein
the channel control device further includes
a channel designation notification generator to generate a channel designation notification for notifying, to each of the communication station and the counterpart communication station, the satellite communication channel assigned by the satellite communication channel assignor of the channel control device, and
a ground station selector to select a downstream channel ground station for each of the communication station and the counterpart communication station, the downstream channel ground station transmitting a control signal through the satellite control channel, the downstream channel ground station being connected thereto via the ground network,

the channel control communicator of the channel control device transmits the channel designation notification via the ground network to the downstream channel ground station selected by the ground station selector of the channel control device, and
in the communication station, the control communicator receives the channel designation notification from the downstream channel ground station through the satellite control channel, and the satellite channel communicator communicates with the counterpart communication station through the satellite communication channel notified by the channel designation notification received by the control communicator.

9. The satellite communication system

Assignees

• Mitsubishi Electric Corp

Inventors

• Hosotani Yasuo
• Hiragi Makiko
• Torii Masanori

Classifications

• H04W72/20

  Control channels or signalling for resource management · CPC title

• H04B7/18513 Primary

  Transmission in a satellite or space-based system · CPC title

• H04B7/18526

  Arrangements for data linking, networking or transporting, or for controlling an end to end session (data switching networks H04L12/00) · CPC title

• H04W72/0406

  Electricity · mapped topic