Method and apparatus for discontinuous transmission in bent-pipe relay in satellite communication systems

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10805000-B2
Application number	US-201615193037-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 25, 2016
Priority date	Jul 23, 2015
Publication date	Oct 13, 2020
Grant date	Oct 13, 2020

Abstract

Power consumption by a communication satellite may be reduced by operating in a transmission time interval (TTI) gating mode, in which an on period is provided for the satellite to transmit a reference signal (RS), control signals, and a portion of data within an on period through a forward link to a user terminal (UT), followed by an off period in which forward link transmission ceases. During the off period of the TTI, the satellite may turn off its forward link power amplifier and cease transmission of data to the UT. A gateway may send a signal enabling the TTI gating mode, as well as information specifying the TTI gating configuration, such as the length of the on or off period of the TTI, to the satellite.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method of operating a gateway configured to control power of transmission of a satellite, the method comprising:
enabling a gating mode for a transmission time interval (TTI) for the satellite;
sending gating configuration information that indicates a length of at least one of an on period or an off period of the TTI, or a combination thereof, to the satellite;
transmitting data to the satellite in a portion of a data region in the on period of the TTI,
wherein the transmitting is based on an offset associated with a propagation delay of radio frequency (RF) signals to the satellite; and
powering off a gateway power amplifier in a discontinuous transmission (DTX) mode,
wherein the DTX mode for the gateway is synchronous or asynchronous with respect to the gating mode for the TTI of the satellite.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising transmitting a reference signal (RS) and at least one control signal during the on period of the TTI.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the at least one control signal comprises a physical control format indicator channel (PCFICH).

4. The method of claim 2 , wherein the at least one control signal comprises a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH).

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the data region comprises a plurality of physical downlink shared channels (PDSCHs).

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the DTX mode for the gateway is synchronous with respect to the gating mode for the TTI of the satellite.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the DTX mode for the gateway is asynchronous with respect to the gating mode for the TTI of the satellite.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the gating mode for the TTI is not communicated to a user terminal.

9. An apparatus arranged as part of a gateway and configured to control power of transmission of a satellite, the apparatus comprising:
at least one processor; and
at least one memory coupled to the at least one processor, the at least one processor and the at least one memory being configured to:
enable a gating mode for a transmission time interval (TTI) for the satellite;
send gating configuration information that indicates a length of at least one of an on period or an off period of the TTI, or a combination thereof, to the satellite;
transmit data to the satellite in a portion of a data region in the on period of the TTI,
wherein the transmission of the data in the on period of the TTI is based on an offset associated with a propagation delay of radio frequency (RF) signals to the satellite; and
power off a gateway power amplifier in a discontinuous transmission (DTX) mode,
wherein the DTX mode for the gateway is synchronous or asynchronous with respect to the gating mode for the TTI of the satellite.

10. The apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the at least one processor and the at least one memory are further configured to transmit a reference signal (RS) and at least one control signal during the on period of the TTI.

11. The apparatus of claim 10 , wherein the at least one control signal comprises a physical control format indicator channel (PCFICH).

12. The apparatus of claim 10 , wherein the at least one control signal comprises a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH).

13. The apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the data region comprises a plurality of physical downlink shared channels (PDSCHs).

14. The apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the DTX mode for the gateway is synchronous with respect to the gating mode for the TTI of the satellite.

15. The apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the DTX mode for the gateway is asynchronous with respect to the gating mode for the TTI of the satellite.

16. The apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the gating mode for the TTI is not communicated to a user terminal.

17. An apparatus arranged as part of a gateway and for controlling power of transmission of a satellite, the apparatus comprising:
means for enabling a gating mode for a transmission time interval (TTI) for the satellite;
means for sending gating configuration information that indicates a length of at least one of an on period or an off period of the TTI, or a combination thereof, to the satellite;
means for transmitting data to the satellite in a portion of a data region in the on period of the TTI,
wherein the means for transmitting is configured to transmit the data in the on period of the TTI based on an offset associated with a propagation delay of radio frequency (RF) signals to the satellite; and
means for powering off a gateway power amplifier in a discontinuous transmission (DTX) mode,
wherein the DTX mode for the gateway is synchronous or asynchronous with respect to the gating mode for the TTI of the satellite.

18. The apparatus of claim 17 , further comprising means for transmitting a reference signal (RS) and at least one control signal during the on period of the TTI.

19. The apparatus of claim 18 , wherein the at least one control signal comprises a physical control format indicator channel (PCFICH).

20. The apparatus of claim 18 , wherein the at least one control signal comprises a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH).

21. The apparatus of claim 17 , wherein the data region comprises a plurality of physical downlink shared channels (PDSCHs).

22. The apparatus of claim 17 , wherein the DTX mode for the gateway is synchronous with respect to the gating mode for the TTI of the satellite.

23. The apparatus of claim 17 , wherein the DTX mode for the gateway is asynchronous with respect to the gating mode for the TTI of the satellite.

24. The apparatus of claim 17 , wherein the gating mode for the TTI is not communicated to a user terminal.

25. A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising instructions for causing a computer or processor of a gateway to perform a method to control power of transmission of a satellite, the instructions comprising instructions to:
enable a gating mode for a transmission time interval (TTI) for the satellite;
send gating configuration information that indicates a length of at least one of an on period or an off period of the TTI, or a combination thereof, to the satellite;
transmit data to the satellite in a portion of a data region in the on period of the TTI,
wherein the transmission of the data in the on period of the TTI is based on an offset associated with a propagation delay of radio frequency (RF) signals to the satellite; and
power off a gateway power amplifier in a discontinuous transmission (DTX) mode,
wherein the DTX mode for the gateway is synchronous or asynchronous with respect to the gating mode for the TTI of the satellite.

26. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 25 , wherein the instructions further comprise at least one instruction to transmit a reference signal (RS) and at least one control signal during the on period of the TTI.

27. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 26 , wherein the at least one control signal comprises a physical control format indicator channel (PCFICH).

28. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 26 , wherein the at least one control signal comprises a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH).

29. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 25 , wherein the data region comprises a plurality of physical downlink shared channels (PDSCHs).

30. The

Assignees

• Qualcomm Inc

Inventors

• Black Peter John
• Wu Qiang

Classifications

• H04W72/23

  in the downlink direction of a wireless link, i.e. towards a terminal · CPC title

• H04B7/18513 Primary

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

• H04W52/02

  Power saving arrangements · CPC title

• Y02D30/70

  in wireless communication networks · CPC title

• H04W76/28

  Discontinuous transmission [DTX]; Discontinuous reception [DRX] · CPC title