U.S. patent application number 16/658044 was filed with the patent office on 2021-04-22 for scheduling virtual preambles for data source reporting.
This patent application is currently assigned to Skylo Technologies, Inc.. The applicant listed for this patent is Skylo Technologies, Inc.. Invention is credited to Meghna Agrawal, Andrew Nuttall.
Application Number | 20210120566 16/658044 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 1000005505211 |
Filed Date | 2021-04-22 |
![](/patent/app/20210120566/US20210120566A1-20210422-D00000.png)
![](/patent/app/20210120566/US20210120566A1-20210422-D00001.png)
![](/patent/app/20210120566/US20210120566A1-20210422-D00002.png)
![](/patent/app/20210120566/US20210120566A1-20210422-D00003.png)
![](/patent/app/20210120566/US20210120566A1-20210422-D00004.png)
![](/patent/app/20210120566/US20210120566A1-20210422-D00005.png)
![](/patent/app/20210120566/US20210120566A1-20210422-D00006.png)
![](/patent/app/20210120566/US20210120566A1-20210422-D00007.png)
![](/patent/app/20210120566/US20210120566A1-20210422-D00008.png)
United States Patent
Application |
20210120566 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Agrawal; Meghna ; et
al. |
April 22, 2021 |
Scheduling Virtual Preambles for Data Source Reporting
Abstract
Apparatuses, methods, and systems for data source reporting are
disclosed. A method includes receiving, by a base station, one or
more preambles from a set of one or more data sources during a
scheduled time slot, receiving, by the base station, one or more
virtual preambles from a network server during the scheduled time
slot, wherein the one or more virtual preambles are associated with
another set of one or more data sources, generating, by the base
station, responses to the preambles and the virtual preambles,
wherein the responses included scheduled time and frequency
allocations for uplink communication from the set of one or more
data sources and the other set of one or more data sources, and
transmitting, by the base station, the responses to the set of one
or more data sources and the other set of one or more data
sources.
Inventors: |
Agrawal; Meghna; (Cupertino,
CA) ; Nuttall; Andrew; (Mountain View, CA) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Skylo Technologies, Inc. |
San Mateo |
CA |
US |
|
|
Assignee: |
Skylo Technologies, Inc.
San Mateo
CA
|
Family ID: |
1000005505211 |
Appl. No.: |
16/658044 |
Filed: |
October 19, 2019 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04W 56/001 20130101;
H04W 72/044 20130101; H04W 72/12 20130101 |
International
Class: |
H04W 72/12 20060101
H04W072/12; H04W 72/04 20060101 H04W072/04; H04W 56/00 20060101
H04W056/00 |
Claims
1. A method, comprising: receiving, by a base station, one or more
preambles from a set of one or more data sources during a scheduled
time slot; receiving, by the base station, one or more virtual
preambles from a network server during the scheduled time slot,
wherein the one or more virtual preambles are associated with
another set of one or more data sources; generating, by the base
station, responses to the preambles and the virtual preambles,
wherein the responses included scheduled time and frequency
allocations for uplink communication from the set of one or more
data sources and the other set of one or more data sources; and
transmitting, by the base station, the responses to the set of one
or more data sources and the other set of one or more data
sources.
2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving, by the
base station, uplink wireless communication from the set of one or
more data sources and the other set of one or more data sources
according to the scheduled time and frequency allocations.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein slots for the preambles and
virtual preambles are pre-allocated by the network server of the
base station to different data sources based on data transmission
requirements of the different data sources, wherein hubs of the
data sources share timing synchronization performance with the base
station and base station shares the timing synchronization
performance with the network server, and wherein the network server
further allocates the slots for the preambles and virtual preambles
based on the timing synchronization performance.
4. The method of claim 3, further comprising the network server
defining a trigger function of the virtual preambles.
5. The method of claim 4, wherein slots for the preambles and the
virtual preambles are pre-allocated based on a level of
deterministic coordination of the trigger function of the virtual
preambles.
6. The method of claim 5, wherein the one or more data source
communicate with the base station through one or more hubs, and
wherein at least one of the hubs include a plurality of triggers,
and preambles and virtual preambles are assigned to the at least
one hub based on the plurality of triggers.
7. The method of claim 1, wherein the preambles and the virtual
preambles provide notice to the base station that a hub associated
with at least one data source needs to transmit over the uplink
wireless link.
8. The method of claim 1, further comprising the network server
temporally coordinating the virtual preambles with the scheduled
time slots, and the network server temporally coordinating the
preambles with the scheduled time slots.
9. The method of claim 8, further comprising the network server
additionally temporally coordinating the virtual preambles with a
propagation air-time between the base station and a hub associated
with at least one data source.
10. The method of claim 1, wherein the responses include a preamble
ID or a virtual preamble ID.
11. The method of claim 10, wherein the responses further include a
time duration in which a scrambling code is valid.
12. The method of claim 1, wherein the preambles and the virtual
preambles each include identifying information, and further
comprising identifying, by the base station, a resource allocation
size (number of time and frequency slots) based on the identifying
information.
13. A data reporting system, comprising: one or more data sources;
a network server; a base station operative to: receive one or more
preambles from a set of one or more data sources during a scheduled
time slot; receive one or more virtual preambles from a network
server during the scheduled time slot, wherein the one or more
virtual preambles are associated with another set of one or more
data sources; generate responses to the preambles and the virtual
preambles, wherein the responses included scheduled time and
frequency allocations for uplink communication from the set of one
or more data sources and the other set of one or more data sources;
transmits the responses to the one or more hubs and the one or more
other hubs; and receive uplink wireless communication from the one
or more other hubs according to the scheduled time and frequency
allocations.
14. The system of claim 13, wherein slots for the preambles and
virtual preambles are pre-allocated by the network server of the
base station to different data sources based on data transmission
requirements of the different data sources.
15. The system of claim 14, wherein the network server operates to
define a trigger function of the virtual preambles.
16. The system of claim 15, wherein slots for the preambles and the
virtual preambles are pre-allocated based on a level of
deterministic coordination of the trigger function of the virtual
preambles.
17. The system of claim 16, wherein the one or more data source
communicate with the base station through one or more hubs, and
wherein at least one of the hub include a plurality of triggers,
and preambles and virtual preambles are assigned to the at least
one hub based on the plurality of triggers.
18. The system of claim 13, wherein the network server further
operates to temporally coordinate the virtual preambles with the
scheduled time slots.
19. The system of claim 18, wherein the network server further
operates to additionally temporally coordinate the virtual
preambles with a propagation air-time between the base station and
a hub associated with at least one data source.
20. The system of claim 13, wherein the responses include a
preamble ID or a virtual preamble ID.
Description
FIELD OF THE DESCRIBED EMBODIMENTS
[0001] The described embodiments relate generally to wireless
communications. More particularly, the described embodiments relate
to systems, methods and apparatuses for scheduling virtual
preambles for data reporting of one or more data sources.
BACKGROUND
[0002] Current data networks are designed primarily for human users
and the network and traffic characteristics that human users
generate. The growth and proliferation of low-cost embedded
wireless sensors and devices pose a new challenge of high volumes
of low bandwidth devices vying for access to limited network
resources. One of the primary challenges with these new traffic
characteristics is the efficiency at which the shared network
resources can be used. For common low bandwidth applications such a
GPS tracking, the efficiency (useful/useless data ratio) can often
be below 10%. This inefficiency is the result of large volumes of
devices communicating in an uncoordinated environment. Addressing
this problem is fundamental to the future commercial viability of
large-scale sensor network deployments.
[0003] It is desirable to have methods, apparatuses, and systems
for scheduling virtual preambles for data reporting of one or more
data sources.
SUMMARY
[0004] An embodiment includes a method of data source reporting.
The method includes receiving, by a base station, one or more
preambles from a set of one or more data sources during a scheduled
time slot, receiving, by the base station, one or more virtual
preambles from a network server during the scheduled time slot,
wherein the one or more virtual preambles are associated with
another set of one or more data sources, generating, by the base
station, responses to the preambles and the virtual preambles,
wherein the responses included scheduled time and frequency
allocations for uplink communication from the set of one or more
data sources and the other set of one or more data sources, and
transmitting, by the base station, the responses to the set of one
or more data sources and the other set of one or more data
sources.
[0005] Another embodiment includes a data reporting system. The
system includes one or more data sources, a network server, and a
base station. The base station operates to receive one or more
preambles from a set of one or more data sources during a scheduled
time slot, receive one or more virtual preambles from a network
server during the scheduled time slot, wherein the one or more
virtual preambles are associated with another set of one or more
data sources, generate responses to the preambles and the virtual
preambles, wherein the responses included scheduled time and
frequency allocations for uplink communication from the set of one
or more data sources and the other set of one or more data sources,
transmits the responses to the one or more hubs and the one or more
other hubs, and receive uplink wireless communication from the one
or more other hubs according to the scheduled time and frequency
allocations.
[0006] Other aspects and advantages of the described embodiments
will become apparent from the following detailed description, taken
in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, illustrating by way
of example the principles of the described embodiments.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0007] FIG. 1 shows a plurality of hubs that communicate data of
data sources through a satellite link to a base station, according
to an embodiment.
[0008] FIG. 2 shows a time-line of interactions between a data
source, a hub, a base station and a network server, according to an
embodiment.
[0009] FIG. 3 is a flow chart that includes steps of a method of
allocating determining whether to allocate virtual preambles for
data reporting, according to an embodiment.
[0010] FIG. 4 shows a time-line of interactions between a hub that
includes a data source, a base station and a network server,
according to an embodiment.
[0011] FIG. 5 some processes in which a hub connects to a
satellite, according to an embodiment.
[0012] FIG. 6 is a flow chart that includes steps of a method of
data reporting, according to an embodiment.
[0013] FIG. 7 shows data profiles, according to an embodiment.
[0014] FIG. 8 shows a plurality of hubs that communicate data of
data sources through a shared resource to a base station, according
to an embodiment.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0015] The embodiments described include methods, apparatuses, and
systems for reporting data of data sources. For at least some
embodiments, a base station receives one or more preambles from a
set data sources during a scheduled time slot and receives one or
more virtual preambles from a network server during the scheduled
time slot, wherein the one or more virtual preambles are associated
with another set data sources. In response to receiving the
preambles and the virtual preambles, the base station generates
responses which are transmitted to the data sources, wherein the
responses included scheduled time and frequency allocations for
uplink communication from the data sources. Once generated, the
responses are transmitted by the base station to the data sources.
For an embodiment, the base station generates an acknowledgement to
a virtual preamble which is sent to the network server.
[0016] FIG. 1 shows a plurality of hubs 110 190 that communicate
data of data sources through a satellite link to a base station
140, according to an embodiment. For an embodiment, a network
provider server 170 operates to generate scheduling of the wireless
communication between the base station 140 and the plurality of
hubs 110, 190 through wireless links 115, 116. For an embodiment,
the network provider server 170 may access a database 160 of, for
example, a network management element 150, aid in generating the
schedule communication, and provide the scheduled communication to
the base station 140. For an embodiment, the scheduled
communication includes allocating frequency and time slots for both
uplink and downlink wireless communication. For an embodiment, the
base station 140 includes a modem 145 and the hubs 110, 190 include
modems 130, 132, for enabling the wireless communication between
the base station 140 and the hubs 110, 190.
[0017] For an embodiment, the hubs 115, 116 generate a preamble
when the hubs 115, 116 have data for uplink transmission to the
base station 140. The preamble is transmitted through the wireless
communication links 115, 116 to the base station 150. The
transmission of multiple preambles is according to the schedule
that specifies at least time and/or frequency slots. The base
station 150 then generates a response that includes frequency and
time slot for transmission of uplink data, and unique preamble
Id(s) (identification) for each of the preambles and each of the
virtual preambles. For an embodiment, the base station 150
generates a response that includes frequency and time slot for
transmission of uplink data, unique preamble Id(s) (identification)
for each of the preambles and each of the virtual preambles, and
scrambling codes. The hubs 110, 116 then transmit the data to the
base station.
[0018] The preambles are used to notify the base station of the
need of an edge device (data device) to transmit data of the shared
wireless communication links 115, 116. For at least some
embodiments, the preambles are temporally coordinated (scheduled)
to eliminate collisions (wireless interference) during preamble
windows (scheduled time slots).
[0019] It is to be understood that an optimal network design may
not utilize scheduling of preamble. However, for operation within
existing standards, the preambles and virtual preambles of the
described embodiments are schedule to allow operation within an
existing frame work. In the existing system, preambles can be
transmitted in any of the random access slots using any of the
available preambles. However, through scheduling of the preambles,
it is transmitted during specific random access slots controlled by
the trigger function. In addition to that the trigger function can
also define a preamble group from which the preamble can be chosen
for transmission.
[0020] For at least some embodiments, the preambles include
identifying information which correspond to a resource size
allocation of the scheduling of transmissions through the shared
wireless communication links 115, 116. For at least some of the
described embodiments, preambles are communicated to the base
station 150 over orthogonal frequencies over the air, whereas the
virtual preambles are communicated to the base station 150 from the
network server through an electronic network. For at least some
embodiments, the virtual preambles include the same information as
the over-the-air preambles.
[0021] For at least some embodiments, the virtual preamble are
provided to the base station 150 temporally coordinated with the
coordinated (scheduled) transmission of the preambles. That is, the
virtual preambles are communicated to the base station from the
network server during the same preamble window as the preambles are
wirelessly communicated from the hubs 110, 190 to the base station.
Essentially, the base station is "spoofed" into treating the
preambles and the virtual preamble the same way. The virtual
preambles need to be provided to the base station 150 using the
same timing as the preambles. An external application operating on,
for example, the network server 170 operates to ensure the timing
of the virtual preambles is correct. For an embodiment, the network
server provides the virtual preambles to the base station prior to
the scheduled slot along with the timing information which allows
the base station to interpret the virtual preamble at the time of
scheduled slot. That is, the virtual preamble is provided to the
base station before the schedule time slot, but the base station is
provided with additional timing information that allows the base
station to interpret the virtual preamble at the time of scheduled
slot.
[0022] It is to be understood that the preambles are transmitted
"over the air" and accordingly, occupy valuable available frequency
spectrum. Accordingly, the number of preambles that can be
allocated may be limited to the number of subcarrier frequency
resources available. However, virtual preamble are communicated to
the base station electrically and do not use any frequency spectrum
because they are not transmitted "over the air".
[0023] For at least some embodiments, other than reception of a
virtual preamble rather than a preamble, the interactions between
the base station and the hub are the same for both preamble and
virtual preambles. For at least some embodiments, the base station
responds back to the network server upon the reception of a virtual
preamble--in acknowledgement of reception of the virtual
preamble.
[0024] For at least some embodiments, the implementation and use of
the virtual preamble reduces the data traffic through the shared
wireless communication links 115, 116 because the virtual preambles
are not communicated to the base station 150 through the shared
wireless communication links 115, 116. This is particularly
beneficial when a large number of data devices are reporting data
through the shared wireless communication links 115, 116 to the
base station 150. The utilization of virtual preamble reduces the
number of preambles transmitted, and accordingly, reduces network
overhead. The use of virtual preamble reduces the number of
preambles transmitted, and accordingly, allows more frequency
spectrum to be utilized communicating data.
[0025] For an embodiment, the network server 170 generates a data
profile (or hub profile) (121, 122, 123, 124, 125) for each of the
hubs 110, 190. For example, the server 170 generates the data
profile that the base station 140 provides to the hub 190. For an
embodiment, the data profile includes a periodicity, an offset
(timing offset), and a carrier frequency based on the scheduled
communication. For an embodiment, the hub utilizes the periodicity,
the offset, and the carrier frequency of its data profile for
determining when and at what carrier frequency to transmit uplink
wireless communication to the base station 140. For at least some
embodiments, the data profile includes virtual preamble ID. For at
least some embodiments, the data profile includes preamble IDs. For
at least some embodiments, the preamble IDs includes preamble ID
groups, wherein an ID group includes multiple usable IDs for the
hub.
[0026] For example, the data profile may specify a periodic data
transmission once very 5 minutes, with an offset, which may be
represented in the data profile as: 5.05/5.03. Alternatively,
periodicity can be defined in terms of a prach (physical random
access channel) window. For an embodiment, a prach window is a time
slot reserved for either a preamble or a virtual preamble. For an
embodiment, a number of prach windows may be timing between two
consecutive triggers. The offset can be defined as first prach
index in a NBIOT (narrow band, internet of thing) hyperframe
cycle.
[0027] For an embodiment, the base station 140 then receives uplink
wireless communication from each of the plurality of hubs 110, 190
according to the data profile of each of the hubs 110, 190 and
according to the scheduled communication. For an embodiment, the
hubs 110, 190 use the data profiles 122, 124 for determining when
to transmit, and the base station 140 uses the scheduled
communication to determine when to receive the uplink wireless
communication.
[0028] As shown, for an embodiment, the uplink wireless
communication is transmitted by plurality of hubs and received by
the base station through a satellite wireless link via a satellite
191. As described, for at least some embodiments, the hub includes
the data source.
[0029] FIG. 2 shows a time-line of interactions between a data
source, a hub, a base station and a network server, according to an
embodiment. As shown, a data source 210 reports data 250 to a hub
220. An embodiment includes hubs transmitting coordinated preambles
to the base station. However, at least some embodiments further
include a virtual preamble 255 being communicated by a network
server 240 to the base station 230. As shown, when the virtual
preamble 255 is communicated to the base station 230, an
over-the-air preamble is not wirelessly transmitted (as depicted by
253) through a wireless link to the base station 230.
[0030] Once the base station 230 has received an over-the-air
wirelessly transmitted preamble or has received a virtual preamble
255 from the network server 240, the base station transmits a
response 260 to the virtual preamble, and to any wirelessly
received preambles. The response(s) include frequency and time slot
for transmission of uplink data, and unique preamble Id(s)
(identification) for each of the preambles and each of the virtual
preambles. For an embodiment, the responses include frequency and
time slot for transmission of uplink data, unique preamble Id(s)
(identification) for each of the preambles and each of the virtual
preambles, and scrambling codes.
[0031] The response 260 is then communicated 270 to the data
source. The data source provides 280 data to the hub 220, which
then wirelessly transmits the data through uplink communication 290
per the response 260 received from the base station 230.
[0032] FIG. 3 is a flow chart that includes steps of a method of
allocating determining whether to allocate virtual preambles for
data reporting, according to an embodiment. An important element of
communication 255 of the virtual preambles from the network server
240 to the base station 230 is that the timing of the communication
of the virtual preambles needs to be according to the scheduled
communication of the preambles--so that the base station can
operate to respond the same to both the preambles and the virtual
preambles.
[0033] For at least some embodiments, the virtual preambles are
used if a timing advance measurement is not required from the base
station. For an embodiment, this is possible only when hub knows
the propagation delay between hub and base station within a
required accuracy.
[0034] For at least some embodiments, the data reporting is
functionally controlled. Exemplary function reporting of the data
of the data sources include periodic reporting, scheduled
reporting, a trigger function (that includes, for example a Boolean
function), and/or state change triggering. The first two (periodic
reporting, scheduled reporting) are predictable and coordinated,
whereas the second two (trigger function, state change triggering)
are less predictable and not coordinated. That is, the first two
can be temporally predicted, whereas the second two are condition
driven and are not as temporally predicable.
[0035] As previously stated, the virtual preambles need to be
provided to the base station within a coordinated time slot.
Accordingly, an embodiment includes generating virtual preambles
for data reporting by the data sources that are predictable and
coordinated. As shown in FIG. 3, for an embodiment, a first step
310 includes the network (for example, the network server) defining
trigger (for reporting of data) functions for the data sources.
Each data source can include multiple trigger functions. For each
data source, a second step 320 includes determining whether the
trigger function is coordinated (for example, periodic reporting,
scheduled reporting). If yes, then a third step 330 includes
determining if the timing between the hub and the base station, and
the timing between the network server and the base station are
accurate. If yes, then a fourth step 340 includes allocating a
virtual preamble for the data reporting per the coordinated trigger
function. That is, the reporting is temporally predicable, and
generation and communicating of the virtual preamble from the
network server to the base station can be performed within an
allocated time slot. For this embodiment, the virtual preamble can
arrive at the same time as preamble would at the base station. The
network server should coordinate with the base station to inject
the virtual preamble to the correct slot.
[0036] For an embodiment, the third step 330 that includes
determining if the timing between the hub and the base station, and
the timing between the network server and the base station are
accurate, include characterizing timing synchronization
performance. For an embodiment, the timing synchronization
performance includes determining a wireless uplink timing
synchronization accuracy between the hub and the base station. If
timing synchronization performance is better than a threshold then
virtual preamble can be allocated, and if it is worse than the
threshold, than preambles are allocated. In order to support
virtual preambles, uplink timing synchronization should be such
that a "timing advance command" message is not required from the
base station. For an embodiment, the base station estimates an
uplink timing error and sends it to hub as a timing advance. The
hub uses timing advance to correct its uplink transmission timing
for further uplink transmissions. In case of virtual preambles,
since there is no over the air virtual preamble, the timing error
is not estimated by base station. Thus, in order to support virtual
preambles, uplink timing synchronization accuracy should be better
than the defined threshold. The timing accuracy performance depends
upon the capability of the hub to track satellite position and/or
measure accurate round trip time of wireless communication between
hub and base station through the satellite. That is, for an
embodiment, the timing synchronization performance can be
determined by measuring the round trip time between the hub and the
base station.
[0037] If the trigger function of the data to be reported is not
coordinated, a fifth step 350 includes allocating a standard
non-virtual unscheduled preamble for reporting of the data. That
is, the non-coordinated data reporting is not predictable, and
therefore, must be reported by the hub to the base station
utilizing a standard non-virtual unscheduled preamble.
[0038] If the trigger function is coordinated, by the time is not
accurate, a sixth step 360 includes allocating a standard
non-virtual scheduled preamble for the reporting.
[0039] FIG. 4 shows a time-line of interactions between a hub that
includes a data source, a base station and a network server,
according to an embodiment. This time-line accounts for an
embodiment in which the hub 420 includes the data source.
Accordingly, the hub 420 can transmit preambles (not shown) or the
network server 440 can communicate virtual preamble 455 to the base
station 430 and the preamble 453 is not sent by the hub 420. Either
way, the base station transmits a response 460 to the hub upon
receiving a preamble or a virtual preamble. The hub 420 then
transmits uplink communication 490 to the base station 430
according to the information within the response 460.
[0040] FIG. 5 some processes in which a hub connects to a
satellite, according to an embodiment. In a first scenario, such
as, upon initially powering up the hub and provisioning the hub, a
first step 510 includes the hub connecting, for example, to the
satellite. Upon connecting, a second step includes downloading a
hub or data profile to the hub. In a second more frequently
occurring scenario, a third step 530 includes the hub connecting,
for example, to the satellite. A fourth step 540 includes sharing
the hub profile to, for example, data devices associated with the
hub. A fifth step 550 includes requesting synchronization
parameters which can be used for virtual preamble allocation and
usage as shown in step 330.
[0041] FIG. 6 is a flow chart that includes steps of a method of
data reporting, according to an embodiment. A first step 610
includes receiving, by a base station, one or more preambles from a
set of one or more data sources during a scheduled time slot. A
second step 520 includes receiving, by the base station, one or
more virtual preambles from a network server during the scheduled
time slot, wherein the one or more virtual preambles are associated
with another set of one or more data sources. A third step 630
includes generating, by the base station, responses to the
preambles and the virtual preambles, wherein the responses included
scheduled time and frequency allocations for uplink communication
from the set of one or more data sources and the other set of one
or more data sources. A fourth step 640 includes transmitting, by
the base station, the responses to the set of one or more data
sources and the other set of one or more data sources.
[0042] After the base station responds to the preambles and the
virtual preambles, the base station receives uplink wireless
communication from the set of one or more data sources and the
other set of one or more data sources according to the scheduled
time and frequency allocations.
[0043] For at least some embodiments, the slots (for example, time
slots of a schedule) for the preambles and virtual preambles are
pre-allocated by a network of the base station to different data
sources based on data transmission requirements of the different
data sources. For an embodiment, the hubs of the data sources share
timing synchronization performance with the base station and base
station shares the timing synchronization performance with the
network server, and wherein the network server further allocates
the slots for the preambles and virtual preambles based on the
timing synchronization performance.
[0044] As previously described, for an embodiment, the timing
synchronization performance includes a wireless uplink timing
synchronization accuracy between the hub and the base station. If
timing synchronization performance is better than a threshold then
virtual preamble can be allocated, and if it is worse than the
threshold, than preambles are allocated. In order to support
virtual preambles, uplink timing synchronization should be such
that a "timing advance command" message is not required from the
base station. For an embodiment, the base station estimates an
uplink timing error and sends it to hub as a timing advance. The
hub uses timing advance to correct its uplink transmission timing
for further uplink transmissions. In case of virtual preambles,
since there is no over the air virtual preamble, the timing error
is not estimated by base station. Thus, in order to support virtual
preambles, uplink timing synchronization accuracy should be better
than the defined threshold. The timing accuracy performance depends
upon the capability of the hub to track satellite position and/or
measure accurate round trip time of wireless communication between
hub and base station through the satellite. That is, for an
embodiment, the timing synchronization performance can be
determined by measuring the round trip time between the hub and the
base station.
[0045] For an embodiment, the network server defines a trigger
function of the virtual preambles. For an embodiment, slots for the
preambles and the virtual preambles are pre-allocated based on a
level of deterministic coordination of the trigger function of the
virtual preambles. For an embodiment, the one or more data source
communicate with the base station through one or more hubs, and
wherein at least one of the hubs include a plurality of triggers,
and preambles and virtual preambles are assigned to the at least
one hub based on the plurality of triggers.
[0046] For an embodiment, the preambles and the virtual preambles
provide notice to the base station that a hub associated with at
least one data source needs to transmit over the uplink wireless
link.
[0047] For an embodiment, the network server temporally coordinates
the virtual preambles with the scheduled time slots, and the
network server temporally coordinates the preambles with the
scheduled time slots. For an embodiment, the network server
additionally temporally coordinating the virtual preambles with a
propagation air-time between the base station and a hub associated
with at least one data source. For an embodiment, this includes the
network server conveying to the hub scheduled time slots for both
preambles and virtual preambles along with trigger functions.
[0048] For an embodiment, the responses include a preamble ID or a
virtual preamble ID. For an embodiment, the responses further
include a time duration in which a scrambling code is valid. For an
embodiment, the scrambling code includes an RNTI (Radio Network
Temporary Identifier). For an embodiment, the preambles and the
virtual preambles each include identifying information, and further
comprising identifying, by the base station, a resource allocation
size (number of time and frequency slots) based on the identifying
information
[0049] FIG. 7 shows data profiles, according to an embodiment. The
data profiles provide coordination of the communication of the data
of the data devices over the shared wireless satellite links. The
communication can include one or more of real time data reporting,
scheduled data reporting, and/or periodic data reporting. The data
profile for a given data device provides the hub associated with
the data device the ability to control a timing of communication of
the data for each of the one or more data sources from the hub to a
base station through the wireless satellite link. The controlled
timing provides for synchronization of the communication of the
data with respect to the communication of data of other data source
of both the same hub, and for one or more different hubs. For an
embodiment, the data profile additionally provides the hub with a
frequency allocation for the communication of the data of the data
source.
[0050] An exemplary generic data profile 710 of FIG. 7 includes
enablement of real time access or real time reporting of the data
of the data device, enablement of scheduled access or scheduled
reporting of the data of the data device, and enablement of
periodic access or periodic reporting of the data of the data
device. Further, for an embodiment, the data profile also includes
an estimated MCS (modulation and coding scheme). Further, for an
embodiment, the data profile also includes a data processing
function.
[0051] A specific example of a data profile 720 provides for
reporting of the location of a data device. This could be, for
example, the reporting of data of a data device associated with a
vehicle. For this embodiment, both the real time data reporting and
the periodic data reporting are enabled, but the scheduled
reporting is not enabled. Specifically, the periodic reporting is
specified to report once every 15 minutes, beginning and 12:00
(noon). Further, the reporting packet includes a message size of 16
bytes, wherein the preamble codes and the MCS are specified. The
data profile 720 includes a specific data processing function. The
exemplary function includes determining whether the data device
(and therefore, the vehicle associated with the data device) is
within a geographical fence. While the data device is within the
geographical fence, the data device follows the periodic reporting
schedule as specified by the data profile. If the data device is
detected to leave an area specified by the geographical fence, the
real time reporting flag is triggered, and the hub of the data
device performed real time communication with the base station that
includes, for example, the location of the data device as detected
outside of the geographical fence.
[0052] FIG. 8 shows a plurality of hubs 810, 890 that communicate
data of data sources 811, 812, 813, 814, 815 through a shared
resource to a base station, according to an embodiment. As shown,
the data sources 811, 812, 813, 814, 815 are connected to the hubs
810, 890. The hubs 810, 890 communicate through modems 830, 832 to
a modem 845 of the base station 840 through the wireless links. For
an embodiment, the wireless links are a shared resource 899 that
has a limited capacity. The described embodiments include data
profiles which are utilized to provide efficient use of the shared
resource 899. The base station may also communicate with outside
networks 870, 880.
[0053] As previously described, it is to be understood that the
data sources 811, 812, 813, 814, 815 can vary in type, and can each
require very different data reporting characteristics. The shared
resource 899 is a limited resource, and the use of this limited
resource should be judicious and efficient. In order to efficiently
utilize the shared resource 899, each of the data sources 811, 812,
813, 814, 815 are provided with data profiles 821, 822, 823, 824,
825 that coordinate the timing (and/or frequency) of reporting
(communication by the hubs 810, 890 to the base station 840 through
the shared resource 899) of the data provided by the data sources
811, 812, 813, 814, 815.
[0054] For an embodiment, a network management element 850
maintains a database 960 in which the data profiles 821, 822, 823,
824, 825 can be stored and maintained. Further, the network
management element 850 manages the data profiles 821, 822, 823,
824, 825, wherein the management includes ensuring that
synchronization is maintained during the data reporting by the hubs
810, 890 of the data of each of the data sources 811, 812, 813,
814, 815. That is, the data reported by each hub 810, 890 of the
data of the data sources 811, 812, 813, 814, 815 maintains
synchronization of the data reporting of each of the data sources
811, 812, 813, 814, 815 relative to each other. Again, the network
management element 850 ensures this synchronization through
management of the data profiles 821, 822, 823, 824, 825. The
synchronization between the data sources 811, 812, 813, 814, 815
distributes the timing of the reporting of the data of each of the
data sources 811, 812, 813, 814, 815 to prevent the reporting of
one device from interfering with the reporting of another device,
and provides for efficiency in the data reporting.
[0055] For at least some embodiments, the network management
element 850 resides in a central network location perhaps
collocated with multiple base stations and/or co-located with a
network operations center (as shown, for example, in FIG. 6). For
an embodiment, the network management element 850 directly
communicates with the base station 840 and initiates the transfer
of data profiles across the network via the base station 840 to the
hubs 810, 890.
[0056] For at least some embodiments, data profiles are distributed
when new hubs are brought onto the network, when hubs change
ownership, or when the hubs are re-provisioned. Other changes to
data profile contents outside of these situations are more likely
addressed by sync packets (for an embodiment, a sync packet is a
packet to update the value of a specific field inside of a data
profile, but not necessarily updating the structure of the data
profile) were only small changes to profile fields are
required.
[0057] As described, the data profiles 821, 822, 823, 824, 825
control timing of when the hubs 810, 890 communicate the data of
the data sources 811, 812, 813, 814, 815 through the shared
resource 899. Accordingly, the described embodiments coordinate
access to the shared resource 899 to insure optimal usage of the
network resource to avoid collisions between packets, the
transmission of redundant information, and to reshape undesired
traffic profiles.
[0058] Although specific embodiments have been described and
illustrated, the embodiments are not to be limited to the specific
forms or arrangements of parts so described and illustrated. The
described embodiments are to only be limited by the claims.
* * * * *