Global mobile video communications system

Telecommunications – Wireless distribution system

Reexamination Certificate

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Details

C343S711000, C348S722000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06175717

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to an apparatus and method for transmitting information from one location to another and in particular to a global satellite communications vehicle capable of receiving and forwarding information including video and other sensor information from a remote location in real time even while the vehicle is moving.
2. Description of Related Art
A news team frequently has to transmit a video clip of a news story at some remote location site back to a home television station. Typically, the news team accomplishes this by either using their own earth station with a satellite dish and uplink electronics or renting such an earth station from a third party. Often, however, the television station cannot afford such an earth station or none is available from a third party and consequently the news team must rely on nearby government ministry-owned satellite earth station.
FIG. 1A
shows a truck
10
with a satellite dish
16
which together serve as a point-of-origin independent work station
14
. In order to be point-of-origin independent, work station must use the C or Ku-band and consequently the diameter of the dish
16
must be at least 10 to 15 meters. Truck
10
contains all uplink electronics required to transmit microwave signals in the C or Ku band. A video signal is modulated onto a microwave signal and then amplifies and transmits the microwave signal to a satellite
20
typically owned by some government agency. That government agency is not necessarily associated with the country in which the earth station is located. The microwave signal is then downlinked to another large microwave dish
24
at television station
28
where it can be broadcast live to a surrounding area or taped for broadcast at a later time. Alternatively, local television station
28
can retransmit the video clip from dish
24
to another television station
29
having its own dish
30
with a diameter of about 8-12 feet. A local television station can then rebroadcast the video clip to its local viewers using dish
30
.
This process has a variety of drawbacks. For example, earth station
14
is very large, heavy and has expensive uplink electronics. Also, earth station
14
can weigh several tons and consequently shipping such a system itself can become very expensive. Truck
10
with uplink electronics and large dish
16
can require 6 to 8 men to assemble and operate. In addition, earth station
14
can cost several hundred thousand dollars to own, or tens of thousands of dollars to rent on a per day basis. Also, in order to operate earth station
14
, the news team must obtain a license from the country in which the earth station
14
is located. First, since earth station
14
must be shipped to the local country, it also has to pass through that country's local customs office.
Even after all of the above drawbacks are overcome, the news team cannot send the video clip from earth station
14
to television station
28
until several more steps have been performed. First, earth station
14
must contact the appropriate government agency which operates satellite
20
and prebook a specific time period during which the video clip will be transmitted from earth station
14
to television station
28
. In addition, earth station
14
and television station
28
both must know and use the protocol required by the particular agency or government which controls satellite
20
. Moreover, since the time of transmission via satellite
20
must be prebooked, the uplink will fail if the news team does not have the taped news clip ready. Also, despite its size and complexity, earth station
14
does not typically contain equipment capable of editing the video clip before it is transmitted to television station
28
via satellite
20
.
The above scenario can be described as a “best case” scenario since it was assumed that the television station has its own satellite dish
24
and can rent or own an earth station
14
. This situation becomes even more complicated and nearly impossible if, for example, television station
28
has to rely on transmitting the video clip out of the country even using that country's government satellite earth station as shown FIG.
1
B. In particular, FIG.
1
B shows a government satellite earth station
40
with a large C or Ku dish
44
which uplinks C or Ku microwaves to satellite
20
which in turn downlinks these microwave signals to television station
28
. In this scenario, transmission from earth station
40
must be prebooked with the local government in addition to prebooking a transmission time slot with the government or agency which operates satellite
20
. (These two governments are likely not the same.) Moreover, since the local government operates earth station
40
, it can censor all such news clips and allow only those news clips or sections of news clips to be transmitted with which the government agrees. Furthermore, many countries will not have such a satellite earth station. Consequently, those television stations which do not have access to an earth station similar to earth station
14
in
FIG. 1A
must hand carry or mail the video clip to television station
28
or to another country which does have an earth station
14
. Hence, by the time the video clip arrives at television station
28
, the news it contains is old.
In addition to the above difficulties associated with uplinking a microwave signal to satellite
20
, downlinking from satellite
20
to earth station
28
may involve one or more hops as shown in FIG.
1
C. In particular,
FIG. 1C
shows microwave signals uplinked form either earth station
14
or governmental earth station
40
to satellite
20
which in turn must be downlinked (due to the location of satellite
20
) to a first earth station
50
located, for example, in Europe. First earth station
50
must in turn uplink to a second satellite
20
′ which in turn downlinks to earth station
28
. During this process, the protocol of each link must be complied with. This creates an even greater burden on the news team.
Teleconferencing technology like news gathering and broadcasting technology involves transmitting video signals from one location to another. However, teleconferencing differs from news gathering in that news gathering typically involves transmitting high quality video images from a first location and receiving that information at a second location, whereas teleconferencing involves both transmitting and receiving video images at each of the first and second locations albeit not necessarily video images of broadcast quality.
FIG. 2
shows a first building
200
and a second building
240
interconnected via a high speed digital data network
250
such as (ACUNET) or integrated services digital network (ISDN). These networks are capable of transmitting digital information at rates of 64 kilobits/second (kbps) or in some cases 128 kbps. Network
250
must include a signal routing center
260
(typically owned and operated by a telephone company) and data lines
264
and
268
interconnecting teleconferencing equipment
274
in building
200
to teleconferencing equipment
278
in building
240
. Signal routing system
260
can include a variety of satellite, fiber optic and standard hardwired links.
Teleconferencing equipment
274
and
278
must be capable of transmitting and receiving audio/video signals in real time. In order to do this, data lines
264
and
268
must be capable of transmitting more than the standard telephone line audio bandwidth of 9.6 kbps. Consequently, standard telephone lines cannot be used to interconnect teleconferencing equipment
274
to teleconferencing equipment
278
.
ACUNET or ISDN interconnecting can transmit at high enough bit rates to enable interconnection of teleconferencing equipment. However, high speed digital (HSD) lines or ISDN lines have been installed in only a few cities throughout the United States and only in the main business districts of those cities. Moreover, only selected buildi

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