Segmented communication over wireless network

Abstract

The invention relates to segmented communication over a wireless network. A communication system may include a user equipment (UE) that transmits data to a recipient via a network. The UE may receive user input and may generate the data based on the input. When the terrestrial network is unavailable for the UE, the UE may transmit a segment of the data over the constellation as the UE continues to receive input and while connectivity to the satellite constellation exceeds a threshold. If a portion of the input includes an edit to a previous segment, the UE may include an edit flag in the corresponding segment. Once the input has been completed, the UE may sign the segments and may transmit a signature over the constellation. The network may store the segments as received from the constellation, may replace an edited segment with a newer segment containing an edit flag, and may compile all segments and transmit the segments to the recipient upon receipt of the signature.

Description

[0001] This application claims priority to U.S. patent application No. 18 / 455,880 filed on August 25, 2023, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. Technical Field

[0002] The present disclosure relates generally to wireless communications, including wireless communications by user equipment devices. Background Art

[0003] The communication system is used to transmit data between terminals such as user equipment (UE) devices. When performing wireless communication, the UE device transmits data to the wireless network in a wireless manner. The wireless network forwards the data to the intended recipient device.

[0004] In fact, some wireless networks exhibit limited speed and / or bandwidth when communicating with UE devices. If care is not taken, the UE device will need to wait an excessive amount of time to successfully transmit data to the receiving device via such wireless network, which may be detrimental to the user experience. Summary of the invention

[0005] A communication system may include a user equipment (UE) device that transmits wireless data to a recipient device via a core network. The communication system may include a first wireless network and a second wireless network that exhibits a greater maximum speed than the first wireless network. For example, the first wireless network may be a terrestrial network such as a cellular telephone network or a wireless local area network. For example, the second wireless network may be a space-based network including a gateway and a satellite constellation.

[0006] The UE device may include an input device for receiving user input. The UE device may generate wireless data based on the user input. When the first wireless network is available to the UE device, the UE device may transmit the wireless data as non-segmented data via the first wireless network after the input device has completed receiving the user input. When the second wireless network is not available, the UE device may transmit the wireless data as segmented data via the second wireless network.

[0007] For example, when a level of wireless connectivity (e.g., a measurement of wireless performance metric data) between the UE device and the second wireless network exceeds a threshold level, the UE device may encrypt and transmit segments of the wireless data while the user continues to provide user input. If a portion of the user input includes an edit to a previously transmitted segment, the segment corresponding to the portion of the user input may include an edit mark identifying that the segment is an edit to a previously transmitted segment. These transmissions may occur in the background while the user continues to provide user input (e.g., the user is unaware that the transmission has begun). Once the user has indicated that they have finished providing user input (e.g., when the user input includes a termination identifier (such as a send button press on a touch screen of the UE device)), the UE device may sign all segments and may transmit the UE device signature along with the last segment of the wireless data to the second wireless network.

[0008] When segments of wireless data are received from the UE device, the second wireless network may forward these segments to the core network. When segments of wireless data are received from the second wireless network, the core network may store these segments. If the core network receives a segment containing an edit mark, the core network may replace the stored segment identified by the edit mark with the segment containing the edit mark. Once the core network receives a UE device signature indicating that the user input is complete and the UE device has no further wireless data segments to transmit, the core network can reconstruct the wireless data by combining (e.g., compiling or encapsulating) all stored segments. The core network can then forward the reconstructed wireless data to the recipient device. Once the recipient device has successfully received the reconstructed wireless data, the core network can transmit a delivery confirmation to the UE device via the second wireless network. In this way, the UE device can continue to be able to transmit wireless data to the recipient device under different operating conditions, while also minimizing the amount of time the user must wait for successful transmission and delivery confirmation via the relatively slow second wireless network.

[0009] One aspect of the present disclosure provides a method of operating a user equipment (UE) device to transmit data to a recipient device. The method may include measuring wireless performance metric data from a radio frequency signal transmitted between the UE device and a wireless network using a radio component. The method may include receiving an input associated with the data using an input device. The method may include transmitting a subset of the data to the wireless network using the radio component when the wireless performance metric data exceeds a threshold. The method may include transmitting a remaining portion of the data to the wireless network using the radio component after the input device has completed receiving the input.

[0010] One aspect of the present disclosure provides a method of operating a user equipment (UE) device to transmit data to a receiving device. The method may include using one or more antennas to transmit a radio frequency signal using a first wireless network having a first maximum speed. The method may include using an input device to receive a first input associated with the data. The method may include using the one or more antennas to transmit a first segment of the data to a second wireless network having a second maximum speed less than the first maximum speed at a first time while the first wireless network is unavailable to the UE device, the first segment of the data being associated with the first input using the one or more antennas. The method may include, after receiving the first input, using the input device to receive a second input associated with the data. The method may include using the one or more antennas to transmit a second segment of the data to the second wireless network at a second time after the first time while the first wireless network is unavailable to the UE device, the second segment of the data being associated with the second input.

[0011] One aspect of the present disclosure provides an electronic device. The electronic device may include a touch screen display configured to receive input associated with wireless data for transmission by the electronic device. The electronic device may include a radio component configured to transmit a radio frequency signal using a cellular network when the cellular network is available to the electronic device. The electronic device may include one or more antennas configured to transmit to a communication satellite when the cellular network is not available to the electronic device. The electronic device may include a series of segments of the wireless data before the input includes a send instruction. The electronic device may include a remaining portion of the wireless data after the input includes the send instruction. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0012] Figure 1 is a diagram of an illustrative communication system having multiple wireless networks of varying speeds for forwarding data from a user equipment device to a recipient device, according to some embodiments.

[0013] Figure 2 is a diagram of an illustrative communication system having a terrestrial wireless network and a space-based wireless network for forwarding data from a user equipment device to a recipient device, according to some embodiments.

[0014] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of an illustrative user equipment device according to some embodiments.

[0015] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of an illustrative communication satellite in a space-based wireless network according to some embodiments.

[0016] Figure 5is a flow chart of illustrative operations involved in transmitting data from a user equipment device to a recipient device according to some embodiments.

[0017] Figure 6 is a timing diagram illustrating how an exemplary user equipment device may transmit non-segmented data according to some embodiments.

[0018] Figure 7 is a timing diagram illustrating how an exemplary user equipment device may transmit segmented data according to some embodiments.

[0019] Figure 8 is a diagram of an illustrative graphical user interface that may be generated by a user equipment device to receive text-based user input transmitted by the user equipment device as segmented data, according to some embodiments.

[0020] Fig. 9 is a diagram illustrating how an exemplary user equipment device may transmit segmented data to a recipient device via a core network and wireless networks of different speeds according to some embodiments.

[0021] Fig.10 is a flow diagram of illustrative operations that may be performed by a user equipment device to transmit segmented data, according to some embodiments.

[0022] Fig.11 is a flow diagram of illustrative operations that may be performed by a core network to compile and transmit segmented data from a user equipment device to a recipient device, according to some embodiments. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0023] Figure 1 is a diagram of an exemplary communication system 8. Communication system 8 (sometimes referred to herein as communication network 8, network 8, or system 8) may include a user equipment (UE) device 10 and a recipient, such as recipient device 2. Communication system 8 may include a plurality of different wireless networks 6, such as at least a first wireless network 6A and a second wireless network 6B.

[0024] In general, the wireless network 6A may include any desired number of network nodes, terminals, and / or end hosts that are communicatively coupled together using a communication path including a wired link and / or a wireless link. A wired link may include a cable (e.g., an Ethernet cable, an optical fiber, or other optical cable that uses light to transmit a signal, a telephone cable, etc.). The nodes of the wireless network 6A may be organized into one or more relay networks, mesh networks, local area networks (LANs), wireless local area networks (WLANs), ring networks (e.g., optical rings), cloud networks, virtual / logical networks, the Internet, combinations of these, and / or using any other desired network topology. Network nodes, terminals, and / or end hosts may include network switches, network routers, optical add / drop multiplexers, other multiplexers, repeaters, modems, servers, network cards, wireless access points, wireless base stations, and / or any other desired network components. The network nodes in the wireless network 6A may include physical components, such as electronic devices, servers, computers, user equipment, etc., and / or may include virtual components that are logically defined in software and distributed across two or more underlying physical devices (above them) (e.g., in a cloud network configuration).

[0025] Similarly, the wireless network 6B may include any desired number of network nodes, terminals, and / or end hosts that are communicatively coupled together using communication paths including wired links and / or wireless links. The nodes of the wireless network 6B may be organized into one or more relay networks, mesh networks, local area networks (LANs), wireless local area networks (WLANs), ring networks (e.g., optical rings), cloud networks, virtual / logical networks, the Internet, combinations of these, and / or using any other desired network topology. The network nodes, terminals, and / or end hosts may include network switches, network routers, optical add / drop multiplexers, other multiplexers, repeaters, modems, servers, network cards, wireless access points, wireless base stations, and / or any other desired network components. The network nodes in the wireless network 6B may include physical components, such as electronic devices, servers, computers, user equipment, etc., and / or may include virtual components that are logically defined in software and distributed across two or more underlying physical devices (above them) (e.g., in a cloud network configuration).

[0026] UE device 10 may communicate RF signals 4 with one or more nodes of wireless networks 6A and 6B. For example, UE device 10 may communicate RF signals 4A with one or more nodes of wireless network 6A, and may communicate RF signals 4B with one or more nodes of wireless network 6B. UE device 10 may communicate RF signals 4 with only one of wireless networks 6A and 6B at a given time, or may communicate RF signals 4 with both wireless networks 6A and 6B simultaneously if desired.

[0027] The UE device 10 and the wireless network 6A may transmit the radio frequency signal 4A at a first maximum (peak) speed (e.g., at a first maximum (peak) data rate DR1, a first maximum (peak) bandwidth BW1, and / or a first maximum (peak) quality / connectivity level). The UE device 10 and the wireless network 6B may transmit the radio frequency signal 4B at a second maximum speed that is less than (slower than) the first maximum speed (e.g., at a second data rate DR2 that is less than the data rate DR1, a second bandwidth BW2 that is less than the bandwidth BW1, and / or a second quality / connectivity level that is less than the first quality / connectivity level). As an example, the slower maximum speed of the wireless network 6B may be due to technical limitations of the network nodes of the wireless network 6B, failure or suboptimal performance of one or more components of one or more of the nodes of the wireless network 6B, and / or the radio frequency propagation conditions (e.g., channel conditions) between the UE device 10 and the nodes of the wireless network 6B are worse than the radio frequency propagation conditions (e.g., channel conditions) between the UE device 10 and the nodes of the wireless network 6A.

[0028] When UE device 10 has wireless data to transmit to recipient device 2, UE device 10 may transmit the wireless data in radio frequency signals 4A and / or 4B (e.g., in an uplink (UL) direction from UE device 10 to wireless network 6A and / or wireless network 6B). Wireless network 6A and / or wireless network 6B may receive radio frequency signals 4A and / or 4B and may forward the wireless data from the radio frequency signals to recipient device 2 (e.g., via one or more other network nodes or network portions of communication system 8, for clarity, Figure 1 These network nodes or network portions are not shown in the figure). Wireless network 6A and wireless network 6B may be owned, controlled and / or operated by different wireless (network) service providers, operators and / or administrators. Alternatively, wireless network 6A and wireless network 6B may be owned, controlled, managed and / or operated by the same wireless service provider, operator and / or administrator.

[0029] Generally speaking, wireless network 6A may forward wireless data to recipient device 2 faster than wireless network 6B (e.g., wireless network 6A may have a larger communication forwarding capacity than wireless network 6B). Therefore, whenever wireless network 6A is available to UE device 10, UE device 10 may use radio frequency signal 4A and wireless network 6A to transmit wireless data to recipient 2. However, when wireless network 6A is not available to UE device 10, a variety of situations may occur.

[0030] Such situations may occur under the following conditions, for example: one or more components of one or more nodes of wireless network 6A fail or exhibit unsatisfactory performance levels; UE device 10 does not have a service agreement (or has an expired service agreement) with the service provider, operator and / or administrator of wireless network 6A; one or more of the nodes of wireless network 6A suffer a power outage, power outage, emergency or disaster; the RF propagation condition (e.g., channel condition) between UE device 10 and the nodes of wireless network 6A is below a threshold level (e.g., because UE device 10 is in or has moved outside the wireless coverage area of ​​the wireless network 6A nodes); UE device 10 does not have sufficient power or other resources to successfully communicate with wireless network 6A; the user of UE device 10 instructs or controls UE device 10 not to communicate with wireless network 6A; one or more components of UE device 10 that support communication with wireless network 6A fail or exhibit unsatisfactory performance levels; wireless network 6A lacks sufficient communication resources to support wireless data forwarding for UE device 10 (e.g., when the total traffic load at wireless network 6A exceeds a threshold level or otherwise prevents wireless network 6A from being able to transmit wireless data for UE device 10), etc.

[0031] In these cases, UE device 10 may alternatively use radio frequency signal 4B and wireless network 6B to transmit wireless data to recipient 2 (e.g., wireless network 6B may be used as a backup or failover network for wireless network 6A for transmission of wireless data). Although wireless network 6B may exhibit slower peak speeds or lower peak levels of wireless performance than wireless network 6A, wireless network 6B may generally exhibit a larger coverage area, which allows UE device 10 to continue to be able to transmit radio frequency signal 4B with wireless network 6B even when UE device 10 is outside the coverage area of ​​wireless network 6A or otherwise unable to communicate with the wireless network. Therefore, wireless network 6B may sometimes be referred to herein as a slow (wireless) network 6B, a low-capacity (wireless) network 6B, a low data rate (wireless) network 6B, a low-speed (wireless) network 6B, a low-bandwidth (wireless) network 6B, a failover (wireless) network 6B, a secondary (wireless) network 6B, or a backup (wireless) network 6B, while wireless network 6A may sometimes be referred to herein as a fast (wireless) network 6A, a high-capacity (wireless) network 6A, a high data rate (wireless) network 6A, a high-speed (wireless) network 6A, a high-bandwidth (wireless) network 6B, or a primary (wireless) network 6A.

[0032] RF signal 4A and RF signal 4B may be transmitted using different radio access technologies (RATs), or may be transmitted using the same RAT if desired. RF signal 4A and RF signal 4B may be transmitted using different wireless communication protocols, or may be transmitted using the same wireless communication protocol if desired. Generally speaking, fast network 6A and slow network 6B may be any desired wireless network that transmits wireless data using any desired RAT and / or any desired communication protocol. A specific implementation in which fast network 6A is a land-based wireless network and slow network 6B is a space-based wireless network is described herein as an example.

[0033] Figure 2 is a diagram of a communication network 8 in such a specific implementation, wherein the fast network 6A is a land-based wireless network (e.g., wherein the UE device 10 transmits a radio frequency signal 4A ( Figure 1 ) is a communication network in which the network nodes are located on the earth), and the slow network 6B is a space-based wireless network (for example, in which the UE device 10 transmits a radio frequency signal 4B ( Figure 1 ) of a communications network whose network nodes are located in space or orbit around the Earth).

[0034] like Figure 2 As shown, slow network 6B may include a ground-based (terrestrial) gateway system that includes one or more gateways 14 on the earth. Slow network 6B may also include a constellation 32 of communication satellites 12 (sometimes referred to herein as satellites 12). Constellation 32 may also sometimes be referred to herein as satellite constellation 32. Gateway 14 may also sometimes be referred to as ground station 14. Gateway 14 and satellite 12 may form a network node (device) of slow network 6B. Gateway 14 may be stationary on the earth, while UE devices (such as UE device 10) may move across the earth over time.

[0035] Each gateway 14 may include one or more antennas (e.g., electronically and / or mechanically adjustable antennas), modems, transceivers, amplifiers, beamforming circuits, control circuits (e.g., one or more processors, memory circuits, etc.), and other components for transmitting communication data. The components of each gateway 14 may, for example, be arranged at corresponding geographic locations (e.g., within the same computer, server, data center, building, etc.).

[0036] On the other hand, fast network 6A may include land-based wireless devices 22. Land-based wireless devices 22 (sometimes referred to herein as land-based wireless devices 22 or simply wireless devices 22) may form network nodes (devices) of fast network 6A. Wireless devices 22 may include one or more wireless base stations (e.g., for implementing fast network 6A as a cellular telephone network) and / or one or more wireless access points (e.g., for implementing fast network 6A as a wireless local area network). Each wireless device 22 in fast network 6A may be located at a different corresponding geographic location on the earth (e.g., across different zones, regions, rooms, buildings, streets, blocks, campuses, cities, states, counties, etc.). Although fast network 6A may include any desired number of wireless devices 22, for clarity, wireless devices 22 are described in detail below. Figure 1 A single wireless device 22 is shown.

[0037] Each wireless device 22 in the fast network 6A can transmit radio frequency signals (e.g., Figure 1 Similarly, each satellite 12 in the slow network 6B may transmit a radio frequency signal (e.g., Figure 1 If desired, each satellite 12 may transmit radio frequency signals in multiple different cells (spot beams) simultaneously and / or may change the spatial location of its active cells (spot beams) over time to further expand the satellite's overall coverage area (e.g., using a time division duplexing scheme).

[0038] Satellites 12 in constellation 32 of slow network 6B may use radio frequency signals (e.g., Figure 1 The UE device 10 and one or more gateways 14 are wirelessly connected using radio frequency signals 4B. The satellites 12 are located in space (e.g., in orbit above the earth). Although the slow network 6B may include any desired number of gateways 14 and any desired number of satellites 12, for clarity, Figure 1 Only a single gateway 14 and three satellites 12 are shown in FIG. Each gateway 14 in slow network 6B may be located at a different respective geographic location on Earth (eg, across different regions, states, provinces, countries, continents, etc.).

[0039] The communication system 8 may also include a land network, such as a network portion 18, which may be communicatively coupled to each gateway 6B in the slow network 6B and each wireless device 22 in the fast network 6A. The network portion 18 may include a recipient device 2 (e.g., the recipient device 2 may be a node, a terminal, or an end host of the network portion 18). The gateway 14 may communicate wireless data between the network portion 18 and the UE device 10 via the constellation 32. The wireless device 22 may communicate wireless data between the network portion 18 and the UE device 10. One or more network nodes in the network portion 18 may communicate wireless data between the slow network 6B, the fast network 6A, and the recipient 2.

[0040] The network portion 18 may include any desired number of network nodes, terminals, and / or end hosts that are communicatively coupled together using a communication path that includes a wired link and / or a wireless link. The wired link may include a cable (e.g., an Ethernet cable, an optical fiber, or other optical cable that uses light to transmit signals, a telephone cable, etc.). The network portion 18 may include one or more relay networks, mesh networks, local area networks (LANs), wireless local area networks (WLANs), ring networks (e.g., optical rings), cloud networks, virtual / logical networks, the Internet, combinations of these, and / or any other desired network nodes coupled together using any desired network topology (e.g., on Earth). The network nodes, terminals, and / or end hosts may include network switches, network routers, optical add / drop multiplexers, other multiplexers, repeaters, modems, servers, network cards, wireless access points, wireless base stations, UE devices such as UE devices 10, and / or any other desired network components. The network nodes in the network portion 18 may include physical components, such as electronic devices, servers, computers, user equipment, etc., and / or may include virtual components that are logically defined in software and distributed across two or more underlying physical devices (above them) (e.g., in a cloud network configuration).

[0041] The network portion 18 may include one or more satellite network operation centers, such as a network operation center (NOC) 16. The NOC 16 may control the operation of the gateway 14 that communicates with the constellation 32. The NOC 16 may also control the operation of the satellites in the constellation 32. For example, the NOC 16 may transmit control commands via the gateway 14 that control positioning operations (e.g., orbit adjustments), sensing operations (e.g., thermal information collected using one or more thermal sensors), and / or any other desired operations performed by the satellite 12 in space. The NOC 16, the gateway 14, and the constellation 32 may be operated or managed by, for example, a corresponding satellite constellation operator. In this specific implementation where the slow network 6B includes a space-based network, the satellite constellation operator may, for example, be a service provider, operator, and / or administrator of the slow network 6B. The fast network 6A may have a service provider, operator, and / or administrator that is different from the satellite constellation operator.

[0042] The communication system 8 may also include a satellite communication (satellite communication) network service provider (e.g., a satellite communication network operator or carrier) for controlling wireless communications between the UE device 10 and the recipient device 2 (or other communication terminals on Earth) via the constellation 32. For example, the satellite communication network service provider may be a different entity from the satellite constellation operator that controls / operates the NOC 16, the gateway 14, and the constellation 32, and may be a different entity from the service provider, operator, and / or administrator of the fast network 6A. This is illustrative and non-limiting, and if desired, a single entity may control, operate, manage, and / or administer two or more of the slow network 6B, the fast network 6A, and the wireless communications between the UE device 10 and the recipient device 2 via the constellation 32.

[0043] One or more gateways 14 may control the operation of the constellation 32 via corresponding radio frequency communication links. The constellation 32 may include any desired number of satellites 12 (e.g., two satellites, four satellites, ten satellites, dozens of satellites, hundreds of satellites, thousands of satellites, etc.), wherein the three Figure 1 If desired, two or more of the satellites in constellation 32 may communicate radio frequency signals between each other using a satellite-to-satellite (eg, relay) link.

[0044] The satellites 12 in the constellation 32 may include a set of one or more non-geostationary orbit (NGSO) satellites (e.g., communication satellites in non-geostationary orbit). If desired, the satellites 12 in the constellation 32 may also include a set of one or more geostationary orbit (GSO) satellites 12G (e.g., satellites in geostationary / geosynchronous orbits, sometimes referred to as geosynchronous satellites or GEO satellites). The NGSO satellites in the constellation 32 move relative to the surface of the Earth over time (e.g., at a velocity V relative to the surface of the Earth). The GSO satellites in the constellation 32 (e.g., GSO satellites 12G) do not move relative to the surface of the Earth (e.g., at a given satellite altitude, the GSO satellites 12G may orbit the Earth at a velocity that matches the Earth's rotation).

[0045] The GSO satellites 12G in the constellation 12 may orbit the Earth at an orbital altitude of greater than about 30,000 km. The NGSO satellites 12 in the constellation 32 may include low earth orbit (LEO) satellites (e.g., satellites in low earth orbit, inclined low earth orbit, low earth circular orbit, etc.) at an orbital altitude of less than about 8,000 km, medium earth orbit (MEO) satellites (e.g., satellites in medium earth orbit) at an orbital altitude between about 8,000 km and 30,000 km, sun-synchronous satellites (e.g., satellites in sun-synchronous orbits), satellites in tundra orbits, satellites in lightning orbits, satellites in polar orbits, and / or satellites in any other desired non-geosynchronous orbits around the Earth. If desired, the satellites 12 may include multiple groups of satellites, each group of satellites in a different type of orbit and / or each group of satellites at a different orbital altitude. In general, the constellation 32 may include satellites in any desired combination of orbits or orbital types.

[0046] Satellites 12 in constellation 32 (e.g., NGSO satellites and / or GSO satellites 12G) may communicate with one or more UE devices on Earth (such as UE device 10) using one or more RF communication links (e.g., satellite-to-user equipment links). Satellites 12 may also communicate with gateways 14 on Earth using RF communication links (e.g., satellite-to-gateway links). RF signals (e.g., Figure 1 RF signals 4B) may be transmitted between UE device 10 and satellite 12 and between satellite 12 and gateway 14 to support satellite-to-user equipment links, satellite-to-gateway links, and relay links between satellites. RF signals may be transmitted in IEEE frequency bands, such as IEEE C-band (4 GHz to 8 GHz), S-band (2 GHz to 4 GHz), L-band (1 GHz to 2 GHz), X-band (8 GHz to 12 GHz), W-band (75 GHz to 110 GHz), V-band (40 GHz to 75 GHz), K-band (18 GHz to 27 GHz), K-band (19 GHz to 28 GHz), and K-band (20 GHz to 30 GHz).a Frequency band (26.5GHz to 40GHz), K u The satellite-to-user equipment link and the satellite-to-gateway link may use different frequency bands if desired.

[0047] Communication may be performed between the gateway 14 and the UE device 10 in a forward (FWD) link direction and / or a reverse (REV or RWD) link direction. In the forward link direction (sometimes simply referred to as the forward link), wireless data is transmitted from the gateway 14 to the UE device 10 via the constellation 32. For example, the gateway 14 may transmit the forward link data to one of the satellites 12 in the constellation 32 (e.g., using radio frequency signals 28). The satellite 12 may transmit (e.g., relay) the forward link data received from the gateway 14 to the UE device 10 (e.g., using radio frequency signals 26). The radio frequency signals 28 are transmitted from the gateway 14 to the satellite 12 in the uplink direction, and are therefore sometimes referred to herein as uplink (UL) signals 28, forward link UL signals 28, or forward link signals 28. The radio frequency signals 26 are transmitted from the satellite 12 to the UE device 10 in the downlink direction, and are therefore sometimes referred to herein as downlink (DL) signals 26, forward link DL signals 26, or forward link signals 26.

[0048] In the reverse link direction (sometimes simply referred to as reverse link), wireless data is transmitted by the UE device 10 to the gateway 14 via the constellation 32. For example, one of the UE devices 10 may transmit reverse link data to one of the satellites 12 in the constellation 32 using radio frequency signals 24, and the satellite 12 may transmit (e.g., relay) reverse link data received from the UE device 10 to the corresponding gateway 14 using radio frequency signals 30. The radio frequency signals 24 are transmitted from the UE device 10 to the satellite 12 in the uplink direction, and thus may sometimes be referred to herein as uplink (UL) signals 24, reverse link UL signals 24, or reverse link signals 24. The radio frequency signals 30 are transmitted from the satellite 12 to the gateway 14 in the downlink direction, and thus may sometimes be referred to herein as downlink (DL) signals 30, reverse link DL signals 30, or reverse link signals 30. The gateway 14 may forward the wireless data between the UE device 10 and the network portion 18. The network portion 18 may forward the wireless data to any desired network node or terminal (such as the recipient device 2). For example, one or more satellites 12 may relay wireless data and / or radio frequency signals between UE devices 10 and one or more gateways 14 in a bent pipe configuration (e.g., Figure 1The satellite 12 may also actively generate and transmit other information in the DL signal 30 (e.g., information in addition to the wireless data relayed from the gateway 14), if desired. Such information may include reference signals and synchronization signals (e.g., system synchronization and information blocks), paging signals, physical random access channel (PRACH) messages or responses, physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) messages, etc.

[0049] If necessary, when the fast network 6A is available to the UE device 10, the UE device 10 can also transmit radio frequency signals with the wireless device 22 in the fast network 6A through the terrestrial wireless communication link 36. The UE device 10 and the wireless device 22 can transmit the radio frequency signal 4A ( Figure 1 ) to support the wireless communication link 36. When the UE device is within the range (e.g., coverage area) of the wireless device 22 in the fast network 6A and when the fast network 6A provides the UE device 10 with access to the network portion 18 (e.g., communication resources), the UE device 10 may sometimes be referred to herein as being "online" or "on the grid." This may also sometimes be referred to herein as the fast network 6A being "available" to the UE device 10. When the UE device 10 is online, the UE device 10 may communicate with other network nodes or terminals (e.g., the recipient device 2) in the network portion 18 via the land network wireless communication link 36.

[0050] In contrast, when UE device 10 is out of range of any wireless device 22 in fast network 6A or when fast network 6A otherwise does not provide UE device 10 with access to network portion 18 (e.g., when wireless device 22 is disabled due to a power outage, natural disaster, traffic surge or emergency, when wireless device 22 denies UE device 10 access to network portion 18, when wireless device 22 is overloaded with traffic, etc.), UE device 10 may sometimes be referred to herein as being "offline" or "off the network." This may also sometimes be referred to herein as fast network 6A being "unavailable" to UE device 10.

[0051] If desired, the UE device 10 may include separate antennas for handling communications via the satellite-to-user equipment link and the terrestrial network wireless communication link 36, or the UE device 10 may include a single antenna for handling both the satellite-to-user equipment link and the terrestrial network wireless communication link. The terrestrial network wireless communication link 36 may be, for example, a cellular telephone link (e.g., a link maintained using a cellular telephone communication protocol, such as a 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) protocol, a 3G protocol, a 3GPP fifth generation (5G) New Radio (NR) protocol, etc.), a wireless local area network link (e.g., a cellular telephone communication protocol, such as a 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) protocol, a 3G protocol, a 3GPP fifth generation (5G) New Radio (NR) protocol, etc.), or a wireless local area network link (e.g., a cellular telephone communication protocol, such as a 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) protocol, a 3G protocol, a 3GPP fifth generation (5G) New Radio (NR) protocol, etc.). and / or Bluetooth link), etc.

[0052] In general, the size of the coverage area of ​​each wireless device 22 and each satellite 12 is a function of at least the transmission power level, RF path loss, line-of-sight obstructions, distance, and frequency. For example, each satellite 12 may exhibit an overall coverage area that is larger than each wireless device 22. On the other hand, because the satellites 12 are located in space, the resources (e.g., processing and power resources) of the slow network 6B are extremely limited, and new or additional satellites 12 are often launched to expand the service capacity and / or speed of relayed communications for UE devices 10. As a result, the constellation 32 can only support relatively low maximum speeds (e.g., Figure 1 Thus, constellation 32 may form an ideal backup or failover wireless network for UE device 10 to use to communicate with recipient device 2 when fast network 6A is unavailable to UE device 10.

[0053] The wireless data transmitted in the DL signal 26 may sometimes be referred to herein as DL data, forward link DL data, or forward link data. The UL signal 28 may also transmit forward link data (e.g., forward link data routed by the satellite 12 in the DL signal 26 to the UE device 10). The wireless data transmitted in the UL signal 24 may sometimes be referred to herein as UL data, reverse link UL data, or reverse link data. The reverse link data may be generated by the UE device 10. The DL signal 30 may also transmit reverse link data. The forward link data may be generated by any desired network node or terminal of the network portion 18. The forward link data and the reverse link data may include text data, such as an email message, a text message, web browser data, an emergency or SOS message, a location message identifying the location of the UE device 10, or other text-based data, audio data such as voice data (e.g., for a two-way satellite voice call) or other audio data (e.g., streaming satellite radio data), video data (e.g., for a two-way satellite video call or streaming video data transmitted by a gateway 14 at the UE device 10), cloud network synchronization data, one or more files, data generated or used by a software application running on the UE device 10, data for use in a distributed processing network, and / or any other desired data. The UE device 10 may receive only forward link data, may transmit only reverse link data, or may transmit both reverse link data and forward link data. Each satellite 12 may communicate with the UE device 10 when it is located within its respective coverage area (e.g., when the UE device 10 is located within a cell on the earth that overlaps a signal beam that the satellite may generate).

[0054] The satellite communication network service provider of the communication system 8 may operate, control and / or manage a satellite communication control network, such as a core network (CN) 20 in the network portion 18. The CN 20 may also be sometimes referred to herein as a satellite communication network region 20, a CN region 20, a satellite communication controller 20, a satellite communication network 20, or a satellite communication service provider equipment 20. The CN 20 may be implemented on one or more network nodes and / or terminals (e.g., one or more servers or other end hosts) of the network portion 18. In some specific implementations, the CN 20 may be formed by a cloud computing network distributed across multiple underlying physical network nodes and / or terminals distributed across one or more geographic regions. Therefore, the CN 20 may also be sometimes referred to herein as a CN cloud region or a satellite communication network cloud region.

[0055] The CN 20 may control and coordinate wireless communications between terminals of the network portion 18 and UE devices (such as the UE device 10) via the satellite constellation 32 and / or the fast network 6A. When the gateway 14 receives reverse link data from the UE device 10 via the satellite constellation 32, the gateway may route the reverse link data to the CN 20. The CN 20 may perform any desired processing operations on the reverse link data. For example, the CN 20 may identify the destination of the reverse link data and may forward the reverse link data to the identified destination (e.g., to the receiving device 2, which may be separate from the CN 20 or may form part of the CN 20 if desired). The CN 20 may also receive forward link data for transmission to the UE device 10 from one or more terminals (end hosts) of the network portion 18. The CN 20 may process the forward link data to schedule the forward link data for transmission to the UE device 10 via the satellite constellation 32. The CN 20 may schedule the forward link data for transmission to multiple UE devices by generating a forward link traffic grant for each of the UE devices that will receive the forward link data. CN 20 may provide forward link data and forward link traffic grants to gateway 14. Gateway 14 may transmit forward link data to UE devices via satellite constellation 32 in accordance with the forward link traffic grants (e.g., in accordance with a forward link communication schedule that implements the forward link traffic grants). CN 20 may include, be coupled to, and / or be associated with one or more content delivery networks (CDNs) that provide content for delivery to UE devices (such as UE device 10, if desired).

[0056] UE device 10 may be: a computing device such as a laptop computer, a desktop computer, a computer monitor containing an embedded computer, a tablet computer, a cellular phone, a media player, or other handheld or portable electronic device; a smaller device such as a wristwatch device, a pendant device, a headset or earpiece device, a device embedded in glasses; or other equipment worn on the user's head; or other wearable or micro devices, a television, a computer display that does not contain an embedded computer, a gaming device, a navigation device, an embedded system (such as a system in which an electronic device with a display is installed in an information kiosk or a car), a voice-controlled speaker connected to wireless Internet, a home entertainment device, a remote control device, a game controller, a peripheral user input device, a wireless base station or access point, equipment that implements the functions of two or more of these devices; or other electronic equipment. Receiving device 2 may be another UE device or may be any other desired terminal or end host (e.g., a server, a cloud computing area, etc.) of the network portion 18.

[0057] like Figure 3 As shown, UE device 10 (sometimes referred to herein as user equipment 10 or device 10) may include components located on or within an electronic device housing (such as housing 42). Housing 42 (sometimes referred to as a shell) may be formed of plastic, glass, ceramic, fiber composite material, metal (e.g., stainless steel, aluminum, metal alloy, etc.), other suitable materials, or combinations of these materials. In some cases, part or all of housing 42 may be formed of a dielectric or other low conductivity material (e.g., glass, ceramic, plastic, sapphire, etc.). In other cases, housing 42 or at least some of the structures that make up housing 42 may be formed of metal elements.

[0058] The UE device 10 may include a control circuit 44. The control circuit 44 may include a storage device, such as a storage circuit 46. The storage circuit 46 may include a hard drive storage device, a non-volatile memory (e.g., a flash memory or other electrically programmable read-only memory configured to form a solid-state drive), a volatile memory (e.g., a static random access memory or a dynamic random access memory), etc. The storage circuit 46 may include a storage device integrated within the UE device 10 and / or a removable storage medium.

[0059] The control circuit 44 may include processing circuits, such as processing circuit 48. The processing circuit 48 may be used to control the operation of the UE device 10. The processing circuit 48 may include one or more processors, such as a microprocessor, a microcontroller, a digital signal processor, a host processor, a baseband processor integrated circuit, an application-specific integrated circuit, a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), etc. The control circuit 44 may be configured to perform operations in the device 10 using hardware (e.g., dedicated hardware or circuits), firmware, and / or software. Software code for performing operations on the UE device 10 may be stored on the storage circuit 46 (e.g., the storage circuit 46 may include a non-transitory (tangible) computer-readable storage medium storing software code). The software code may sometimes be referred to as program instructions, software, data, instructions, or code. The software code stored on the storage circuit 46 may be executed by the processing circuit 48.

[0060] The control circuit 44 may be used to run software on the UE device 10, such as a satellite navigation application, an Internet browsing application, a Voice over Internet Protocol (VOIP) phone call application, an email application, a media playback application, operating system functions, etc. To support interaction with external equipment, the control circuit 44 may be used to implement communication protocols. The communication protocols that may be implemented using the control circuit 44 include: Internet Protocol, Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) Protocol (e.g., IEEE 802.11 Protocol—sometimes referred to as ), protocols for other short-range wireless communication links such as Protocol or other wireless personal area network (WPAN) protocol, IEEE 802.11ad protocol (e.g., ultra-wideband protocol), cellular telephone protocol (e.g., 3G protocol, 4G (LTE) protocol, 5G protocol, etc.), antenna diversity protocol, satellite navigation system protocol (e.g., global positioning system (GPS) protocol, global navigation satellite system (GLONASS) protocol, etc.), antenna-based space ranging protocol (e.g., radio detection and ranging (RADAR) protocol or other desired distance detection protocol for signals transmitted at millimeter and centimeter wave frequencies), satellite communication protocol, or any other desired communication protocol. Each communication protocol may be associated with a corresponding radio access technology (RAT), which specifies the physical connection method used to implement the protocol.

[0061] The UE device 10 may store satellite information associated with one or more of the satellites 12 in the satellite constellation 32 on the storage circuit 46. The satellite information (sometimes referred to herein as ephemeris data) may include a satellite almanac identifying orbital parameters / positions (e.g., orbit information, elevation information, altitude information, inclination information, eccentricity information, orbital period information, track information, right ascension information, declination information, ground track information, etc.) and / or velocities (e.g., relative to the surface of the Earth) of the satellite 12. For example, the information may include a two-line element (TLE). The TLE may identify (include) information about the orbital motion of one or more of the satellites 12 in the satellite constellation 32 (e.g., satellite epochs, first and / or second derivatives of motion, drag terms, etc.). For example, the TLE may be in the format of a text file having two rows or columns including a set of elements forming the TLE. The control circuit 44 may use the ephemeris data to calculate, predict, or identify the position of the satellite 12 at a given point in time.

[0062] The UE device 10 may also include a wireless circuit that supports wireless communication. The wireless circuit may include one or more antennas 54 and one or more radio components 52. Each radio component 52 may include a circuit that operates on a signal at a baseband frequency (e.g., a baseband processor circuit), a signal generator circuit, a modulation / demodulation circuit (e.g., one or more modems), a radio frequency transceiver circuit (e.g., a radio frequency transmitter circuit, a radio frequency receiver circuit, a mixer circuit for down-converting a radio frequency signal to a baseband frequency or an intermediate frequency between a radio frequency and a baseband frequency and / or for up-converting a signal at a baseband frequency or an intermediate frequency to a radio frequency, etc.), an amplifier circuit (e.g., one or more power amplifiers and / or one or more low noise amplifiers (LNAs)), an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) circuit, a digital-to-analog converter (DAC) circuit, a control path, a power path, a signal path (e.g., a radio frequency transmission line, an intermediate frequency transmission line, a baseband signal line, etc.), a switch circuit, a filter circuit, and / or any other circuit for transmitting and / or receiving a radio frequency signal using an antenna 54. The components of each radio 52 may be mounted on a corresponding substrate or integrated into a corresponding integrated circuit, chip, package, or system on chip (SOC). If desired, the components of multiple radios 52 may share a single substrate, integrated circuit, chip, package, or SOC.

[0063] Any desired antenna structure may be used to form the antenna 54. For example, the antenna 54 may include an antenna having a resonant element formed by a loop antenna structure, a patch antenna structure, an inverted F antenna structure, a slot antenna structure, a planar inverted F antenna structure, a helical antenna structure, a monopole antenna, a dipole antenna, a mixture of these designs, and the like. If desired, one or more antennas 54 may include an antenna resonant element formed by a conductive portion of the housing 42 (e.g., a peripheral conductive housing structure extending around the periphery of the display on the UE device 10). Filter circuits, switching circuits, impedance matching circuits, and / or other antenna tuning components may be adjusted to adjust the frequency response and wireless performance of the antenna 54 over time. If desired, multiple antennas 54 may be implemented as phased array antennas (e.g., where each antenna forms a radiator or antenna element of a phased array antenna (sometimes also referred to as a phased antenna array)). In these cases, the phased array antenna can transmit radio frequency signals within a signal beam. The phase and / or amplitude of each radiator in a phased array antenna can be adjusted so that the radio frequency signals of each radiator interfere constructively and destructively to steer or direct the signal beam in a particular pointing direction (e.g., the direction of peak signal gain). The signal beam can be adjusted or steered over time.

[0064] The transceiver circuitry in the radio component 52 may use one or more antennas 54 to transmit radio frequency signals (e.g., the antennas 54 may transmit radio frequency signals for the transceiver circuitry). As used herein, the term "transmitting radio frequency signals" means the transmission and / or reception of radio frequency signals (e.g., for performing unidirectional and / or bidirectional wireless communications with external wireless communication equipment). The antenna 54 may transmit radio frequency signals by radiating the radio frequency signals into free space (or radiating into free space through an intervening device structure such as a dielectric cover layer). In addition or alternatively, the antenna 54 may receive radio frequency signals from free space (e.g., through an intervening device structure such as a dielectric cover layer). The transmission and reception of radio frequency signals by the antenna 54 each involves the current excitation or resonance of the antenna on the antenna resonating element in the antenna by the radio frequency signal within the operating frequency band of the antenna.

[0065] Each radio component 52 can be coupled to one or more antennas 54 via one or more RF transmission lines. The RF transmission lines may include coaxial cables, microstrip transmission lines, stripline transmission lines, edge-coupled microstrip transmission lines, edge-coupled stripline transmission lines, transmission lines formed by a combination of these types of transmission lines, and the like. If desired, the RF transmission lines can be integrated into rigid and / or flexible printed circuit boards. If desired, one or more of the RF lines can be shared between the radio components 52. A RF front end (RFFE) module can be inserted on one or more of the RF transmission lines. The RF front end module may include a substrate, integrated circuit, chip, or package separate from the radio component 52, and may include filter circuits, switching circuits, amplifier circuits, impedance matching circuits, RF coupler circuits, and / or any other desired RF circuits for operating RF signals transmitted through the RF transmission lines.

[0066] Radio 52 may use antenna 54 to transmit and / or receive radio frequency signals within different frequency bands (sometimes referred to herein as communication bands or simply “frequency bands”) on radio frequency. The frequency bands handled by radio 52 may include satellite communication bands (e.g., C-band, S-band, L-band, X-band, W-band, V-band, K-band, K-band, etc.). a Frequency band, K u frequency bands, etc.); wireless local area network (WLAN) frequency bands (e.g., (IEEE 802.11) or other WLAN communication bands) such as the 2.4 GHz WLAN band (e.g., 2400 MHz to 2480 MHz), the 5 GHz WLAN band (e.g., 5180 MHz to 5825 MHz), 6E band (e.g., 5925 MHz to 7125 MHz) and / or other frequency bands (e.g., 1875 MHz to 5160 MHz); wireless personal area network (WPAN) bands such as 2.4 GHz frequency band or other WPAN communication band, cellular telephone frequency band (for example, frequency band of about 600 MHz to about 5 GHz, 3G frequency band, 4G LTE frequency band, 5G new radio frequency range 1 (FR1) frequency band below 10 GHz, 5G new radio frequency range 2 (FR2) frequency band between 20 GHz and 60 GHz, 6G frequency band, etc.), other centimeter or millimeter wave frequency band between 10 GHz and 300 GHz; near field communication (NFC) frequency band (for example, 13.56 MHz); satellite navigation frequency band (for example, GPS frequency band of 1565 MHz to 1610 MHz, global satellite navigation system (GLONASS) frequency band, Beidou satellite navigation system (BDS) frequency band, etc.); ultra-wideband (UWB) frequency band operating under IEEE 802.15.4 protocol and / or other ultra-wideband communication protocols; communication frequency band under 3GPP wireless communication standard family; communication frequency band under IEEE 802.XX standard family; and / or any other desired frequency band of interest.

[0067] Although for the sake of clarity, Figure 3 In the example of FIG, control circuitry 44 is shown separately from radio 52, but radio 52 may include processing circuitry forming part of processing circuitry 48 and / or storage circuitry forming part of storage circuitry 46 of control circuitry 44 (e.g., portions of control circuitry 44 may be implemented on radio 52). For example, control circuitry 44 may include baseband circuitry or other control components forming part of radio 52. The baseband circuitry may, for example, access a communication protocol stack on control circuitry 44 (e.g., storage circuitry 46) to: perform user plane functions at a PHY layer, a MAC layer, an RLC layer, a PDCP layer, a SDAP layer, and / or a PDU layer; and / or perform control plane functions at a PHY layer, a MAC layer, an RLC layer, a PDCP layer, an RRC layer, and / or a non-access layer.

[0068] The UE device 10 may include input-output devices 50. The input-output devices 50 may be used to allow data to be supplied to the UE device 10 and to allow data to be provided from the UE device 10 to an external device. The input-output devices 50 may include user interface devices, data port devices, and other input-output components. For example, the input-output devices 50 may include touch sensors, displays such as the display 51 (e.g., a touch-sensitive display and / or a force-sensitive display, sometimes referred to as a touch screen), light-emitting components such as displays without touch sensor capabilities, buttons (mechanical, capacitive, optical, etc.), scroll wheels, touch pads, keypads, keyboards, microphones, cameras, buttons, speakers, status indicators, audio jacks and other audio port components, digital data port devices, motion sensors (accelerometers, gyroscopes, and / or compasses that detect motion), capacitive sensors, proximity sensors, magnetic sensors, force sensors (e.g., force sensors coupled to the display to detect pressure applied to the display), temperature sensors, etc. In some configurations, keyboards, headsets, displays, pointing devices such as trackpads, mice, and joysticks, and other input-output devices may be coupled to device 10 using wired or wireless connections (e.g., some of input-output devices 50 may be peripheral devices coupled to a main processing unit or other portion of device 10 via a wired or wireless link). UE device 10 may be owned and / or operated by an end user.

[0069] Figure 4 is a diagram of exemplary satellites 12 in constellation 32. Figure 4 As shown, satellite 12 may include satellite support components 56. Support components 56 may include batteries, solar panels, sensors (e.g., accelerometers, gyroscopes, temperature sensors, light sensors, etc.), guidance systems, propulsion systems, and / or any desired components associated with supporting satellite 12 in orbit above the Earth.

[0070] Satellite 12 may include control circuitry 58. Control circuitry 58 may be used to control the operation of satellite 12. Control circuitry 58 may include processing circuitry such as Figure 3 The processing circuit 48 may include storage circuits such as Figure 3 The control circuit 58 may also control the support components 56 to adjust the trajectory or position of the satellite 12 in space.

[0071] Satellite 12 may include antenna 62 and one or more radio components 60. Radio component 60 may use antenna 62 to transmit DL signal 26 and DL signal 30 and receive Figure 1The radio components 60 may include transceivers, modems, integrated circuit chips, application specific integrated circuits, filters, switches, upconverter circuits, downconverter circuits, analog-to-digital converter circuits, digital-to-analog converter circuits, amplifier circuits (e.g., multi-port amplifiers), beam steering circuits, etc.

[0072] The communication functions of the satellite 12 and the corresponding gateway 14 can be characterized by a radio unit (RU) function, a distributed unit (DU) function, and a control unit (CU) function. The RU function includes low-level functions associated with radio frequency transmission and reception (e.g., PHY functions). The DU function (sometimes referred to as DU) involves all functions linked to data communication / transmission between the UE device and the satellite 12, such as radio link control (RLC) functions, packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) functions, service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) functions (e.g., functions that effectively form a pipeline for data transmission), physical layer (PHY) functions, and medium access control (MAC) functions. The CU function (sometimes referred to as CU) is responsible for the control configuration of the communication, such as radio resource control (RRC) functions, PDCP-C functions, CU-CP functions, etc. For example, the DU and CU may be defined by an open RAN standard for a cellular radio access network.

[0073] The satellite 12 may also generate and transmit some information to the UE device 10, rather than simply relaying data transmitted by the gateway 14 or the UE device 10. Such information may include reference signals and synchronization signals (e.g., system synchronization and information blocks), paging signals, PRACH messages or responses, PDSCH messages, etc. The radio 60 may implement DU functions for transmitting this information, while the gateway 14 may retain CU functions for information transmitted by the satellite 12. The radio 60 may include hardware that implements DU functions (e.g., signal generators, transmitters, modulators, mixers, amplifiers, etc.).

[0074] Antenna 62 may include any desired antenna structure (e.g., a patch antenna structure, a dipole antenna structure, a monopole antenna structure, a waveguide antenna structure, a Yagi antenna structure, an inverted F-type antenna structure, a cavity-backed antenna structure, a combination of these structures, etc.). In a suitable arrangement, antenna 62 may include one or more phased array antennas. Each phased array antenna may include a beamforming circuit having a phase and amplitude controller coupled to each antenna element in the phased array antenna. The phase and amplitude controller may provide a desired phase and amplitude to the RF signal transmitted on the corresponding antenna element. The phase and amplitude of each antenna element may be adjusted so that the RF signal transmitted by each of the antenna elements interferes constructively and destructively to generate a RF signal beam (e.g., a spot beam) along a desired pointing direction (e.g., an angular direction toward the earth, in which the RF signal beam presents a peak gain). RF lenses may also be used to help guide the RF signal beam along the desired pointing direction. Each RF signal beam also presents a corresponding beam width. This allows each radio frequency signal beam to cover a corresponding area on the earth (e.g., an area on the earth that overlaps with the radio frequency signal beam, such that the radio frequency signal beam exhibits a power greater than a minimum threshold within the area / cell). If desired, the satellite 12 can transmit radio frequency signals on multiple simultaneously active signal beams. If desired, the satellite 12 can offload some or all of its beamforming operations to the gateway 14. Signal beams may sometimes be referred to herein simply as beams.

[0075] If desired, the radio component 60 and the antenna 62 can support communications using multiple polarizations. For example, the radio component 60 and the antenna 62 can transmit and receive radio frequency signals having a first polarization (e.g., left-hand circular polarization (LHCP)), and can transmit and receive radio frequency signals having a second polarization (e.g., right-hand circular polarization (RHCP)). The antenna 62 can generate a set of different signal beams (e.g., each beam overlaps a corresponding cell on the earth) at different beam pointing angles. The set of signal beams may include a first subset of signal beams transmitting LHCP signals (e.g., LHCP signal beams) and a second subset of signal beams transmitting RHCP signals (e.g., RHCP signal beams). The LHCP and RHCP signal beams can be generated, for example, using corresponding multi-port power amplifiers (MPAs) on the satellite 12. This is merely illustrative, and in general, the satellite 12 can generate any desired number of signal beams having any desired polarization.

[0076] Figure 5 8 is a flow chart of operations that may be performed by the communication system 8 to transmit wireless data from the UE device 10 to the recipient device 2. At operation 70, the UE device 10 may begin receiving user input provided to the UE device 10 by a user or another person (e.g., using Figure 3If necessary, the UE device 10 may be used in processing Figure 5 Operations 70-86 are performed while continuing to receive user input.

[0077] The user input may include touch screen input, keystrokes, mouse input, voice input, video input, image input, camera input, peripheral device input, game controller input, accessory device input, gesture input, sensor data generated by one or more sensors on the UE device 10 in response to one or more actions of a person such as the user of the UE device 10, and / or any other desired input generated by the user of the UE device 10 when interacting with the UE device 10. The user input may generate or otherwise be associated with a wireless data set intended to be transmitted by the UE device 10 to the recipient device 2. The wireless data set may sometimes be referred to herein simply as data or data to be transmitted.

[0078] The wireless data set may include a series or sequence of bits, bytes, data packets, or other data units of different sizes. In a specific implementation in which the UE device 10 communicates via the constellation 32, the UE device 10 may organize the wireless data set into a series (set) of one or more datagrams. The structure and timing of the datagrams may be given by a communication protocol associated with the wireless communication via the constellation 32. The wireless data set may include application data generated by one or more software applications executed by the UE device 10. These applications may generate wireless data at least in part in response to, using, based on, or as a function of user input.

[0079] As examples, the wireless data may include: text or email messages generated and / or edited by a text or email application based on user input (e.g., the user input may be text input typed by the user into a keyboard or touch screen keyboard of the UE device 10); voice recordings, messages, or other audio data generated and / or edited by an audio or call application based on user input (e.g., the user input may be audio input received by a microphone on the UE device 10); video recordings, messages, or other video or image data generated and / or edited by a video capture, video call, or camera application based on user input (e.g., the user input may be an image or video captured by a camera or image sensor on the UE device 10); application data indicating the condition or status of the UE device 10 and / or the user of the UE device 10 (e.g., as generated in response to user input or selection identifying the condition or status of the user or the UE device 10, such as a status identifier identifying that the user is safe or that the user needs help); and video or multimedia data edited, created, or processed by an image, video, or multimedia application. The wireless data may include an edited image, video, or other multimedia data generated by a file creation, editing, or processing application based on user input (e.g., the user input may be the modification, filtering, or editing of an image, audio, or other multimedia stored on the UE device 10); a file (e.g., a text file, a slide file, a spreadsheet file, a database file, a PDF file, a document, etc.) generated and / or edited by a file creation, editing, or processing application based on user input (e.g., the user input may be the creation, modification, or editing of a file); a slide or presentation generated and / or edited based on user input (e.g., the user input may be the creation of one or more visual elements, animations, transitions, text, graphics, etc. in a slide or presentation file); a financial transaction command or request generated by a financial transaction application based on user input (e.g., the user input may be a command to transfer a specific amount of money or value to a recipient, or a request to receive a specific amount of money or value from a sender); and / or any other wireless data generated at least in part by or in response to user input. These examples are illustrative and non-limiting.

[0080] The UE device 10 may then transmit or begin transmitting wireless data to the CN 20 for forwarding to the recipient device 2 (e.g., a software application that generates wireless data based on user input may provide the wireless data to the baseband circuitry, which provides the wireless data to the radio component 52 for forwarding to the recipient device 2). Figure 3The wireless network used to relay or forward wireless data from UE device 10 to CN 20 may depend on the availability of fast network 6A. Since fast network 6A exhibits a higher peak speed, bandwidth, data rate and / or capacity than slow network 6B, UE device 10 may transmit wireless data via fast network 6A whenever possible in order to minimize the time required for the UE device to transmit wireless data and for the recipient device 2 to successfully receive the wireless data.

[0081] If, when, or while fast network 6A is available to UE device 10, processing may proceed to operation 92 via path 72. When UE device 10 is in fast network 6A ( Figure 2 ), the fast network 6A may be available to the UE device 10 when the UE device 10 is within the coverage area (cell) of an active wireless device 22 in the fast network 6A, the UE device 10 is registered with the fast network 6A, the fast network 6A provides access to the UE device 10, the service level available at the fast network 6A exceeds a minimum threshold service level (e.g., based on the current or expected future traffic load of the fast network 6A), and / or the wireless performance of communications between the UE device 10 and at least one of the wireless devices 22 in the fast network 6A exceeds a threshold level (e.g., when the RF propagation condition between the UE device 10 and the wireless device 22 exceeds a threshold level, when wireless performance metric data collected by the UE device 10 and / or the wireless device 22 from the RF signal 4A transmitted between the UE device 10 and the wireless device 22 exceeds a threshold level, etc.).

[0082] As used herein, the term "wireless performance metric data" refers to measurements or values ​​of one or more wireless performance metrics (e.g., key performance indicators (KPIs)) generated by a radio frequency circuit (e.g., a receiver circuit, a transmitter circuit, a coupler circuit, an impedance measurement circuit, a radio frequency sensor circuit, etc.) and / or a processing circuit (e.g., a baseband circuit, an application processor, etc.) in response to, using, or based on transmitted and / or received radio frequency signals and / or wireless data conveyed by the radio frequency signals. The wireless performance metric data may characterize the radio frequency propagation conditions or channel conditions of the radio frequency signals and / or the wireless performance of the wireless circuits on the UE device 10, the wireless device 22, and / or the satellite 12 when transmitting radio frequency signals and / or wireless data. As an example, the wireless performance metric data may include a received power level, a transmitted power level, a received signal strength indicator (RSSI) value, a reference signal received power (RSRP) value, a received signal code power (RSCP) information, an error rate value (e.g., a bit error rate value, a frame error rate value, a block error rate value, etc.), a quality factor (Q) value, an adjacent channel leakage ratio (ACLR) value or other spectrum measurement value, an error vector magnitude (EVM) value, a receiver sensitivity value, a noise floor value or other signal-to-noise level, a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) value, a signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) value, Ec / IO data, Ec / No data, a combination of these and / or other values, and / or measurements of any other desired wireless performance metric, standard, or indicator.

[0083] At operation 94 (e.g., in response to the fast network 6A being available to the UE device 10), the UE device 10 may transmit the complete wireless data set associated with the user input (e.g., generated by the software application based on the user input) to the wireless device 22 in the fast network 6A (e.g., using Figure 1 RF signal 4A). The UE device 10 may defer transmission of the wireless data set while the UE device continues to receive user input, and may then transmit the complete wireless data set after the user input has included or identified a termination indicator that instructs the UE device to continue transmitting the data to the recipient device 2. The user may include or identify a termination indicator by pressing a graphical button (e.g., a graphical “send,” “transmit,” “done,” “complete,” or similar button) presented by a graphical user interface (GUI) displayed by the UE device 10, by providing a voice control input that instructs the UE device to continue transmitting data, by providing a gesture control input that instructs the UE device to continue transmitting data, or by providing any other user input that instructs the software application to continue transmitting data or otherwise indicates to the software application that the user has completed providing user input. Additionally or alternatively, the software application may include a termination indicator in the data or may autonomously transmit or begin transmitting data periodically or in response to any desired triggering event (e.g., without additional user input instructing the device to transmit data).

[0084] For example, the complete wireless data set transmitted by the UE device 10 may be non-segmented data that is continuously transmitted by the UE device 10 until all data is confirmed by the fast network 6A. As an example, the complete wireless data set may include an entire text message, email, audio (voice) stream, video stream, image file, video file, presentation, slide, file, or other data generated by a software application based on user input (e.g., including any and all edits to the file as provided by the user input).

[0085] The fast network 6A may forward, route, relay and / or transmit the complete wireless data set to the CN 20 ( Figure 2 ). At operation 96, CN 20 may process the header and routing information in the wireless data to identify recipient device 2, and may forward, route, relay, or otherwise communicate the wireless data to recipient device 2 (e.g., via one or more wireless and / or wired links, via intermediate network segments or portions, via the Internet, etc.). Once the wireless data has been successfully delivered to recipient device 2 (received by the recipient device), CN 20 may transmit a delivery confirmation or confirmation message to UE device 10 via fast network 6A to notify UE device 10 and / or a user of UE device 10 that the wireless data has been successfully delivered to recipient device 2 (received by the recipient device).

[0086] On the other hand, if, when, or when the fast network 6A is not available to the UE device 10, processing may proceed from operation 70 to operation 76 via path 74. When, when, or when the UE device 10 is in the fast network 6A ( Figure 2 ), the fast network 6A may be unavailable to the UE device 10 when the UE device 10 is outside the coverage area (cell) of any active wireless device 22 of the fast network 6A, the UE device 10 is not registered with or connected to the fast network, the fast network 6A denies or is unable to provide access to the UE device 10, the service level available at the fast network 6A is less than a minimum threshold service level (e.g., based on the current or expected future traffic load of the fast network 6A), and / or the wireless performance of the communication between the UE device 10 and the wireless device 22 of the fast network 6A is less than a threshold level (e.g., when the RF propagation condition between the UE device 10 and the wireless device 22 is less than a threshold level, when the wireless performance metric data collected by the UE device 10 and / or the wireless device 22 from the RF signal 4A transmitted between the UE device 10 and the wireless device 22 is less than a threshold level, etc.).

[0087] At operation 76 (e.g., in response to fast network 6A being unavailable to UE device 10), UE device 10 may begin evaluating, analyzing, or detecting the availability of slow network 6B for transmitting wireless data associated with the user input to recipient device 2. If desired, operation 76 may be performed simultaneously with operation 70. For example, UE device 10 may detect radio frequency signals 4B transmitted between UE device 10 and one or more nodes of slow network 6B (e.g., between UE device 10 and Figure 2 The wireless performance metric data is collected by the UE device 10 using DL signals 26 and / or UL signals 24 transmitted between one or more satellites 12. If, when, or when the UE device 10 is able to connect to one or more of the nodes of the slow network 6B and / or if, when, or when the wireless performance metric data exceeds a threshold, the UE device 10 may determine, identify, or detect that the slow network 6B is available. If, when, or when the UE device 10 is unable to connect to a node of the slow network 6B and / or if, when, or when the wireless performance metric data is less than a threshold, the UE device 10 may determine, identify, or detect that the slow network 6B is unavailable.

[0088] If, when, or when the slow network 6B is not available to the UE device 10 (e.g., when the wireless performance metric data is less than a threshold), processing may proceed to operation 80 via path 78. Generally, there may be at least one node in the slow network 6B (e.g., at least one satellite 12 in the constellation 32) whose coverage area always or nearly always overlaps with the location of the UE device 10. However, given the long path length between the UE device 10 and the nodes of the slow network 6B (e.g., satellite 12) and the limited transmission power levels and receiver sensitivity of the UE device 10 and the nodes of the slow network 6B, the availability of the slow network 6B to the UE device 10 may depend on the orientation of the UE device 10 relative to the nodes of the slow network 6B. For example, the UE device 10 may have one or more antennas that exhibit a radiation pattern or response that is more sensitive in some directions than in other directions (e.g., given the geometry and location of the antennas on the UE device).

[0089] Thus, in response to UE device 10 detecting or determining that slow network 6B is unavailable, UE device (e.g., Figure 3 The UE device 10 may generate an alert to the user of the UE device 10, instructing the user to physically move or rotate (e.g., tilt) the UE device 10 to attempt to better align the response of the antenna on the UE device to the angular location of the node of the slow network 6B (at operation 80). The UE device 10 may continue to collect wireless performance metric data while the user moves or rotates the UE device 10 to determine whether moving or rotating the UE device has caused the slow network 6B to become available to the UE device (e.g., the process may loop back to operation 76 via path 82).

[0090] The warning may include a visual warning (e.g., an indicator light or one or more graphical elements presented on a graphical user interface of a display on the UE device 10), an audio warning (e.g., a verbal instruction to the user), and / or a tactile warning (e.g., a vibration or other tactile indicator). Consider a case where a slow network 6B includes Figure 2 Constellations 32 and among them are Figure 3 An example of a graphical user interface on a display 51 of the UE device 10 presenting a warning. In this example, the display 51 may display a graphical indicator that instructs the user to hold the UE device 10 upward and / or pointed toward the sky and / or away from overhead obstructions (e.g., move outside), which helps to better align the response of one or more antennas 54 on the UE device with the locations of satellites 12 in the constellation 32 while minimizing line-of-sight obstructions. If desired, the UE device 10 may identify the predicted locations of satellites 12 that will be visible from the UE device 10 at a particular time (e.g., based on satellite ephemeris data stored on the UE device 10) and may provide a graphical indicator (e.g., an arrow or other guidance instruction) instructing the user to point a portion of the UE device 10 toward the predicted location of one or more of the satellites. This may continue until the UE device has determined that the slow network 6B is available, until the UE device has connected, registered, or reconnected to the slow network 6B, and / or until a signal is received from the RF signal 4B ( Figure 1 ) has exceeded the threshold. Alternatively, the display may continue to display the graphical indicator until the UE device has completed transmitting the complete wireless data set to the slow network 6B (e.g., after processing Figure 5 ), thereby maximizing the likelihood of successful reception of wireless data over slow networks.

[0091] If, when, or when the slow network 6B is available to the UE device 10 (e.g., when the collected wireless performance metric data exceeds a threshold), processing may proceed from operation 76 to operation 86 via path 84. At operation 86 (e.g., in response to the wireless performance metric data exceeding a threshold), the UE device 10 may use the radio frequency signal 4B ( Figure 1) transmits the complete wireless data set for the recipient device 2 as segmented data associated with the user input to the slow network 6B (e.g., where the complete wireless data set is divided into discrete data segments). In other words, instead of transmitting the complete wireless data set as when the fast network 6A is available (e.g., when processing operation 94), the UE device 10 may alternatively transmit the wireless data as a collection of two or more discrete data segments (blocks) (each discrete data segment is transmitted at a different corresponding time). For example, when the user provides user input (e.g., when the UE device 10 is receiving user input), and before the user input includes or identifies a termination indicator, the UE device 10 may transmit the data segment corresponding to the user input in real time or periodically. The slow network 6B may forward, route, relay, transmit, or otherwise communicate the data segment to the CN 20 ( Figure 2 ). When receiving data segments from the slow network 6B, the CN 20 may store the data segments for further processing.

[0092] In other words, the UE device 10 may begin transmitting a wireless data segment generated by the software application based on the user input before the user completes input of the user input (e.g., before the user input includes or identifies a termination indicator). This can be used to minimize the amount of time the user must wait for the UE device to transmit all wireless data and receive confirmation from the CN 20 that all wireless data has been successfully received at the recipient device 2. In a specific implementation where the display 51 continues to display a graphical warning instructing the user of the UE device 10 to keep the UE device in a specific position or orientation until the wireless data has been transmitted and delivered (e.g., upward or toward the sky in an embodiment where the slow network 6B includes a constellation 32), minimizing the amount of time the user waits for wireless data transmission and confirmation can significantly improve user comfort and minimize the risk that the user will need to set aside or move the UE device to a more comfortable but non-optimal position / orientation.

[0093] UE device 10 may continue to evaluate the availability of slow network 6B (e.g., may continue to collect or measure wireless performance metric data) while processing operation 86. If or when slow network 6B becomes unavailable (e.g., if or when the collected wireless performance metric data drops below a threshold level), processing may loop back to operation 80 via path 88. Alternatively, UE device 10 may continue to provide warnings to the user until all segmented wireless data has been transmitted. Once the user input includes or identifies a termination indicator and all data segments have been transmitted (e.g., if the slow network has been available to transmit all data segments until the user input includes or identifies a termination indicator), processing may proceed to operation 92 via path 90.

[0094] At operation 92 (e.g., in response to a data segment including a termination indicator or other information indicating that the UE device 10 has completed transmission of the data segment (such as a UE device signature), the CN 20 may verify the validity of each of the stored data segments. The CN 20 may compile or encapsulate the data segments to reconstruct or recover a complete wireless data set, sometimes referred to herein as reconstructed, recovered, compiled, or encapsulated wireless data (e.g., a complete wireless data set that was originally transmitted as non-segmented data when the fast network 6A is available). The CN 20 may then process the header and routing information from the data segment to identify the recipient device 2, and may forward, route, relay, or otherwise transmit the compiled (e.g., recovered, reconstructed, or encapsulated) wireless data to the recipient device 2 (e.g., via one or more wireless and / or wired links, via intermediate network segments or portions, via the Internet, etc.).

[0095] Figure 5 The examples are illustrative and non-limiting. Alternatively, the UE device 10 may transmit the entire wireless data set as non-segmented data to the slow network 6B while processing operation 86 (e.g., when communication via the slow network 6B generates wireless performance metric data that exceeds an additional threshold value that is even higher than the threshold value associated with the path 84). If desired, operations 94 and 96 may be omitted. Two or more of the operations 70-92 may be performed simultaneously. If desired, the UE device 10 may continue to monitor the availability of the fast network 6A while processing operations 76-92 (e.g., may continue to collect wireless performance metric data from the radio frequency signal 4A). If or when the fast network 6A becomes available to the UE device 10 while processing any of the operations 76-92 (e.g., if or when the wireless performance metric data collected from the radio frequency signal 4A exceeds the corresponding threshold value), if desired, the process may jump to operation 94 to transmit some or all of the wireless data using the fast network 6A instead of the slow network 6B.

[0096] In this manner, the UE device 10 may segment the complete wireless data set associated with the user input so that as each data segment becomes available (e.g., as the software application generates each data segment based on or in response to the user input as the UE device 10 receives the user input), the data segment is proactively transmitted to the slow network 6B when, concurrently with, or in response to the slow network 6B is available to the UE device 10 or otherwise exhibits a level of connectivity, wireless performance level, or wireless performance metric data that exceeds a first threshold, and when, concurrently with, or in response to the fast network 6A is unavailable or otherwise exhibits a level of connectivity, wireless performance level, or wireless performance metric data that is less than a second threshold. This may be used to optimize the wireless communications of the UE device 10 when transmitting wireless data to the recipient device 2 (e.g., to minimize the time a user must wait for successful transmission and delivery of a complete wireless data set) in a wide range of different operating environments and / or conditions in which the fast network 6A and / or the slow network 6B may or may not be available at any given time.

[0097] Figure 6 is a diagram showing how the UE device 10 may transmit non-segmented data (e.g., in processing Figure 5 94 or in a specific implementation in which the UE device 10 transmits non-segmented data via the slow network 6B) when processing operation 86. Figure 6 As shown, at time T0, the UE device 10 may begin to receive user input (e.g., in processing Figure 5 The user may continue to provide user input until time T1.

[0098] As user input is received (during period 100), a software application running on UE device 10 may generate a wireless data set associated with the user input in real time between times T0 and T1 (e.g., as non-segmented data). For example, the software application may generate a message as the user enters or types text into UE device 10. If the user edits an earlier user input, the software application may edit the message based on the additional user input identifying the edit.

[0099] At time T1, the user input may include a termination indicator identifying to the UE device 10 that the user has finished providing the user input. At this point, the software application may transmit the complete wireless data set (e.g., non-segmented data) to the radio section 52 for transmission via the antenna 54 ( Figure 3). Between time T1 and T2 (during time period 102), the UE device 10 may encrypt (e.g., sign) the complete wireless data set and may attempt to transmit the complete wireless data set to the recipient device 2. The UE device 10 may wait for a predetermined period of time after transmitting the complete wireless data set to receive a delivery confirmation (confirmation) from the CN 20, which indicates that the non-segmented data has been successfully delivered to the recipient device 2. If the UE device 10 does not receive the delivery confirmation, the UE device 10 may retransmit the complete wireless data set. This process may continue until the UE device 10 receives the delivery confirmation from the CN 20 (e.g., at time T2). Once the UE device has received the delivery confirmation, if necessary, the UE device may generate an output (e.g., a graphical indicator, an audio sound, etc.) to notify the user of the UE device 10 that the complete wireless data set has been successfully delivered to the recipient device 2.

[0100] In practice, the complete wireless data set (e.g., non-segmented data) may be relatively large. In a specific implementation where the UE device 10 attempts to transmit the complete wireless data set (non-segmented data) to the slow network 6B between time T1 and T2, the slow speed of the slow network 6B and the relatively large size of the non-segmented data may cause the UE device 10 to perform several retransmissions of the complete wireless data set until a delivery confirmation is received. This may cause the user of the UE device 10 to have to wait an excessive amount of time to receive a delivery confirmation, which disrupts the user experience of the UE device 10. In addition, in a specific implementation where the slow network 6B includes a constellation 32 and the user must keep the UE device 10 in a specific orientation and / or position to optimally align the response of the antenna on the UE device 10 with the satellite 12 of the constellation 32 (e.g., based on the alert at operation 80), excessive delays before receiving a delivery confirmation may cause fatigue or discomfort to the user.

[0101] To alleviate these problems, when transmitting wireless data to the slow network 6B (e.g., when processing Figure 5 86), the UE device 10 may begin transmitting a data segment (e.g., a subset of the complete wireless data set) when the UE device receives the user input and before receiving the termination indicator in the user input. In this way, once the user has completed providing the user input and the user input includes the termination indicator, the user need only wait for the successful transmission of the subset of the complete wireless data set (e.g., one or more final data segments corresponding to the most recently provided user input) before receiving a delivery confirmation. This shorter delay can help create a more seamless and easier user experience for the UE device 10, and can increase user comfort in specific implementations where, for example, the slow network 6B includes the constellation 32.

[0102] Figure 7 is a diagram showing how UE device 10 may transmit non-segmented data to slow network 6B (e.g., in processing Figure 5 The timing diagram of the operation 86 is shown in FIG. Figure 7 As shown, at time T0, the UE device 10 may begin to receive user input (e.g., in processing Figure 5 The user may continue to provide user input until time T1.

[0103] A software application running on the UE device 10 (e.g., Figure 3 The application processor (AP) in the processing circuit 48 of the UE device 10 may begin generating data segments associated with the user input between times T0 and T1, and may continue to generate data segments while the user input is received (during time period 104). All data segments may collectively include the same data as the complete data set (e.g., non-segmented data) that was originally generated by the UE device 10 at Figure 6 generated during the period 100 and by the UE device 10 at Figure 6 The data segments are transmitted during the time period 102 of the data set. For example, the complete data set may correspond to a set of N data segments. However, each data segment represents only a portion, subset, fragment or block of the complete data set.

[0104] Each data segment may include a predetermined number of one or more bits, bytes, or any other wireless data units (e.g., less than the total amount of data in the complete data set). The size of each data segment (e.g., the predetermined amount of data in each data segment) may depend on the speed and / or capacity of the slow network 6B. If necessary, the slow network 6B may transmit a control signal to the UE device 10, which instructs the UE device 10 to adjust the size of the data segment over time (e.g., based on the current or expected future traffic load on the slow network 6B). Each data segment may include one or more data packets or may include a subset of data packets. Each data segment may include a single datagram, more than one datagram, or less than one datagram. In a specific implementation where the slow network 6B includes a constellation 32, a datagram may represent the smallest wireless data unit that the UE device 10 can transmit at a given time or in a given communication cycle (e.g., as determined by a communication protocol associated with the radio frequency signal transmitted by the constellation 32). In a specific implementation where each data segment includes less than one datagram, there may be unused or wasted space within the transmitted datagram.

[0105] Once the UE device 10 has received a predetermined amount of user input corresponding to the size of one data segment, the software application may generate a data segment associated with or including the predetermined amount of user input, may encrypt the data segment, and may transmit the encrypted data segment to the radio component 52 for transmission via the antenna 54 ( Figure 3) for transmission. The software application may continue to generate data segments, encrypt the data segments, and transmit the encrypted data segments to the radio component 52 for transmission when additional user input is received (e.g., each data segment is generated after, when, or in response to receiving a predetermined amount of user input). At time TA, the UE device 10 (e.g., the radio component 52) ​​may begin transmitting the data segments to the slow network 6B. Before the user input includes a termination indicator, the UE device 10 may transmit each data segment during a corresponding time period 106 when additional user input is received and the corresponding data segment is generated.

[0106] As each data segment is received from UE device 10, slow network 6B may forward the data segment to CN 20. Slow network 6B may transmit one or more confirmations (e.g., ACK messages or packets) to UE device 10 for each data segment successfully received from UE device 10. If UE device 10 does not receive a confirmation for a given data segment within a predetermined amount of time, UE device 10 may retransmit the data segment until a confirmation is received. CN 20 may store each data segment as it is received from slow network 6B.

[0107] Before time TA and after time T0, the UE device 10 may also begin transmitting a header and routing overhead for each of the data segments to the slow network 6B (e.g., separately from the transmission of the data segments). The UE device 10 may, for example, transmit the header and routing information before the transmission of each corresponding data segment (each time period 106) or before the transmission of a collection of multiple data segments. The header and routing information may include an identifier identifying the recipient device 2 as the destination of the data segment, an identifier identifying the UE device 10 as the source of the data segment, sequence information identifying the time sequence of each data segment (e.g., identifying the location of each data segment in the complete wireless data set), a cryptographic key (e.g., a public key of the UE device 10), verification authentication, and / or any other desired routing overhead.

[0108] Once the user input includes a termination indicator (e.g., user input indicating that the user has finished providing user input and / or instructing the UE device 10 to transmit wireless data), at time T1, the software application may generate a final data segment (e.g., the Nth data segment of the N data segments that constitute the complete wireless data set) based on the most recently received user input, may encrypt the final data segment, may sign the wireless data set (e.g., the combination of all N data segments) to generate a UE device signature, and may transmit the final data segment and the UE device signature to the slow network 6B for relaying to the CN 20. The final data segment may, for example, represent the remaining portion of the complete wireless data set to be transmitted by the UE device. Therefore, the final data segment may sometimes be referred to herein as the remaining portion of the wireless data set.

[0109] Once the CN 20 has received the final data segment and the UE device signature, the CN 20 may compile all of the data segments stored at the CN 20 and may transmit the compiled data (e.g., a complete wireless data set consisting of each of the N data segments) to the recipient device 2. Once the compiled data has been successfully delivered to the recipient device 2, the CN 20 may transmit a delivery confirmation to the UE device 10. The UE device 10 may receive the delivery confirmation at time TB and, if necessary, may generate an output to notify the user that the wireless data has been successfully delivered. Since the UE device 10 begins transmitting the data segment before the user completes their user input to the UE device 10 (e.g., during period 106 before time T1), the UE device 10 only needs to wait (e.g., wait period 108) from time T1 to time TB until the delivery confirmation is received. Since only the last data segment is transmitted after time T1 (rather than as described above), the UE device 10 may transmit a delivery confirmation to the recipient device 2. Figure 7 ), so period 108 is significantly shorter than Figure 6 time period 102, which is used to optimize user experience and comfort.

[0110] Consider an example where the complete wireless data set is a text or email message generated by a text or email messaging application on the UE device 10 based on text input provided by the user to the UE device 10. In this example, each data segment may include a collection of one or more letters, words, sentences, or paragraphs of the text or email message. As another example, the complete wireless data set may be an image file that includes image edits generated based on one or more commands provided by the user to an image processing or editing application running on the UE device 10. In this example, each data segment may represent a portion of the image before being edited, and then, once the user input includes a termination indicator, the final data segment may only include information identifying the edits to the image generated based on the user input. As another example, the complete wireless data set may be a slide that includes additions or edits generated based on one or more commands provided by the user to a slide editing application running on the UE device 10. In this example, each data segment may represent a portion of the slide before being edited, and then, once the user input includes a termination indicator, the final data segment may only include information identifying the additions or edits to the slide generated based on the user input. These examples are illustrative and non-limiting. In general, the complete wireless data set may include any desired data generated based on user input.

[0111] To help illustrate how UE device 10 segments wireless data for transmission over slow network 6B, consider a case where a complete wireless data set is generated by a text messaging application on UE device 10 based on user input to display 51 ( Figure 3 ) is an example of a text message generated based on the text input in . Figure 8 The UE device 10 executes Figure 5 The operation 86 can be displayed on the display 51 ( Figure 3 ) is an example of a graphical user interface displayed on the .

[0112] like Figure 8 As shown, a graphical user interface (GUI) such as GUI 110 may be displayed on display 51 (e.g., by software such as a text messaging application running on UE device 10). Figure 8 In the example of , GUI 110 displays a message between UE device 10 and another device (e.g., recipient device 2) within text field 112, graphical keyboard 114 that receives user input as keystrokes to type text message 126, text input area 116 that displays text message 126 when the user enters text (user input) using keyboard 114, and send button 118. If desired, keyboard 114 can be omitted from GUI 110, and the user can enter text using a physical keyboard or any other desired user input device or accessory.

[0113] The text message 126 may be a complete wireless data set for transmission to the UE device 10 (e.g., Figure 6 However, when the text message 126 is transmitted as segmented data (e.g., during the period 102 of Figure 7 During the time periods 106 and 108 of the text message 126, the text data in the text message 126 may be divided into a set of N data segments 124. Each data segment 124 may include a predetermined number of one or more letters, words, lines, or sentences (e.g., a string of a predetermined length). Figure 8 In the example of , the text message 126 includes N=4 data segments 124 (eg, a first data segment 124 - 1 , a second data segment 124 - 2 , a third data segment 124 - 3 , etc.).

[0114] In this example, a user may begin typing a text message 126 using keyboard 114 (e.g., Figure 7 At or after time T0 and at Figure 5 Once the user has entered a predetermined amount of data corresponding to each data segment 124, the application may generate a first data segment 124-1 (e.g., the string "I AM ON MY WAY") that includes the predetermined amount of data, and may encrypt and transmit data segment 124-1 to the slow network 6B (e.g., at Figure 7 during the first period 106 of the process).

[0115] As the user continues to enter text into keyboard 114, the application may then generate a second data segment 124-2 that includes a predetermined amount of data (e.g., the string "HOME NOW. SEE YOU"), and may encrypt data segment 124-2 and transmit the data segment to slow network 6B (e.g., at Figure 7 The user may continue to enter text into keyboard 114 (e.g., the string "SOON."). At this point, the user may determine that text message 126 is complete and may press send button 118, which identifies to the software application that the user has completed providing user input and / or instructs the application to transmit text message 126.

[0116] In this example, the pressing of the send button 118 acts as or generates a termination indicator in the user input received by the UE device 10. In general, any desired user input may act as or be used to generate a termination indicator in the user input received by the UE device 10. The application may then encrypt the data segment 124-3 and transmit the data segment along with the UE device signature to the slow network 6B as a final data segment (e.g., in Figure 7 Once CN 20 receives the UE device signature (indicating that data segment 124-3 represents the final data segment of text message 126), CN 20 may compile or encapsulate data segments 124-1, 124-2, and 124-3 to reconstruct text message 126 and may transmit text message 126 to recipient device 2 (e.g., during processing Figure 5 Since each data segment 124 is encrypted by the UE device 10 before transmission, the slow network 6B and CN 20 may not be able to identify or discover the content of the data segment 124, thereby protecting user privacy.

[0117] In some cases, before the user input includes a termination indicator (e.g., before the user presses the send button 118), the user input provided to the application may include edits to previously entered data in the text message 126. For example, after entering the string for data segment 124-3, the user may decide to edit or update the string for previously entered data segment 124-1 displayed in the text input area 116 (e.g., to correct a typographical error, add a word, delete a word, etc.) before sending the text message 126 to the recipient device 2. After the user has provided user input to edit the string for data segment 124-1, the application may then generate an additional data segment 124-4 that includes the edited string.

[0118] If desired, the application may add an edit tag to data segment 124-4, thereby marking data segment 124-4 as an edited data segment. The edit tag may identify that data segment 124-4 is an edited or updated version of a previously transmitted data segment, and, if desired, may identify which previously transmitted data segment has been edited (e.g., the edit tag may identify that data segment 124-4 is an edited version of data segment 124-1).

[0119] UE device 10 may encrypt data segment 124-4 and transmit the data segment to slow network 6B (e.g., before the user presses send button 118 or after the user has pressed send button 118 if data segment 124-4 represents the final data segment of text message 126). CN 20 may use the edit mark of data segment 124-4 to identify an earlier received data segment to replace with data segment 124-4 (e.g., data segment 124-1), and may then discard the earlier received (outdated) data segment (e.g., data segment 124-1) before compiling the data segment and transmitting the compiled data segment (e.g., text message 126) to recipient device 2. If desired, the transmission of each data segment 124 may occur in the background (e.g., without presenting any indication on the GUI to notify the user that UE device 10 has begun preemptively transmitting portions of text message 126).

[0120] Once the user presses the send button 118, the application may move the text message 126 to the text field 112. Once the UE device 10 has received a delivery confirmation from the CN 20 (e.g., Figure 7 At time T2), GUI 110 may display a graphical indicator or message (eg, a “Message Delivered” message) (not shown) to notify the user that text message 126 has been successfully received at recipient device 2.

[0121] If desired, GUI 110 may also display a first graphical connectivity indicator 120 associated with a slow network 6B (e.g., a satellite network) and a second graphical connectivity indicator 122 associated with a fast network 6A (e.g., a cellular network). For example, indicator 120 may identify signal strength, connectivity level, and / or wireless performance metric data associated with wireless communications using slow network 6B. For example, indicator 122 may identify signal strength, connectivity level, and / or wireless performance metric data associated with wireless communications using fast network 6A. Figure 8 As shown in the example of , the fast network 6A is unavailable (eg, “no signal”), while the slow network 6B is available. Figure 8 The examples are illustrative and non-limiting. In general, GUI 110 can display any desired information in any desired manner.

[0122] Fig. 9is a diagram showing how the UE device 10 can Figure 8 126 is transmitted to the recipient device 2. Fig. 9 An example is shown in which the entire wireless data set for transmission is a text message 126, but the UE device 10 may Fig. 9 Any desired wireless data may be transmitted in the manner shown.

[0123] like Fig. 9 As shown by arrow 128, when fast network 6A is available, UE device 10 can transmit text message 126 as a single, complete non-segmented (unsegmented) data set to CN 20 via fast network 6A (e.g., in Figure 6 During period 102 and in processing Figure 5 At operation 94 of FIG. 1 ), the CN 20 may forward the text message 126 to the recipient device 2 as a single, complete, non-segmented data set.

[0124] On the other hand, as shown by arrow 130, when fast network 6A is unavailable and slow network 6B is available (e.g., during processing Figure 5 86), the UE device 10 may transmit the data segment 124-1 to the CN 20 via the slow network 6B at the first time (e.g., at Figure 7 As indicated by arrow 140, as each data segment 124 is received at CN 20 and / or slow network 6B, CN 20 and / or slow network 6B may transmit a confirmation 138 for each data segment 124. Thus, CN 20 and / or slow network 6B may transmit confirmation 138-1 for data segment 1 124 to UE device 10 after a first time. At a second time after the first time, UE device 10 may transmit data segment 124-2 to CN 20 via slow network 6B (e.g., at Figure 7 The CN 20 and / or the slow network 6B may transmit a confirmation 138-2 for the data segment 124-2 to the UE device 10 after the second time.

[0125] At a third time after the second time, UE device 10 may transmit data segment 124-3 to CN 20 via slow network 6B (e.g., at Figure 7 CN 20 and / or slow network 6B may transmit confirmation 138-3 for data segment 124-3 to UE device 10 after the second time. At a fourth time after the third time, UE device 10 may transmit data segment 124-4 and the UE device signature to CN 20 via slow network 6B (e.g., at Figure 7124-4). CN 20 and / or slow network 6B may transmit confirmation 138-4 for data segment 124-4 to UE device 10 after the second time. CN 20 may store data segment 124 when receiving the data segment from slow network 6B. UE device 10 may transmit one or more of segments 124-1 to 124-4 before the user input includes a termination indication (e.g., while UE device 10 continues to receive user input from the user).

[0126] Once CN 20 has received segment 124-4 and the UE device signature, CN 20 may compile, reconstruct, or aggregate data segments 124-1 through 124-4 to generate or recover text message 126 (e.g., where text message 126 represents the compiled or assembled data segments). CN 20 may, for example, replace data segment 124-1 with data segment 124-4 (e.g., discard data segment 124-1 based on an edit flag in data segment 124-4), using the data segment 124-1 received by UE device 10 ( Fig. 9 124-3. When the text message 126 is successfully received by the recipient device 2, the CN 20 may transmit a delivery confirmation to the UE device 10 via the slow network 6B, as shown by arrow 140.

[0127] Fig.10 is a flow chart of illustrative operations that may be performed by UE device 10 to transmit segmented data to recipient device 2 via slow network 6B and CN 20. UE device 10 may, for example, perform Fig.10 operations, while processing Figure 5 Operation 86. This article describes that the UE device 1 ( Figure 3 ) may equivalently be referred to as operations performed by an application program executed by a processing circuit 48 (e.g., one or more processors on a UE device).

[0128] At operation 150, UE device 10 may begin transmitting the header and routing overhead of data segment 124 to CN 20 via slow network 6B (e.g., in Figure 7 If desired, UE device 10 may continue to transmit the header and routing overhead of data segment 124 concurrently with one or more of operations 152-172 (e.g., operation 150 may be performed concurrently with one or more of operations 152-172).

[0129] At operation 152, the UE device 10 may receive user input up to a predetermined size of data segment 124. The application processing the user input may generate a data segment 124 corresponding to the user input. The data segment 124 may sometimes be referred to herein as a data segment associated with or corresponding to the user input (e.g., the user input received during the current iteration of operations 152-166). For example, in Figure 8 In the example of , UE device 10 may receive a text string associated with data segment 124-1 as user input and may then generate data segment 124-1 (e.g., in Figure 8 The message sending and receiving example contains the data segment of the string "I AM ON MY WAY").

[0130] At operation 154, the application processing the user input may determine, identify, or detect whether the user input includes an edit to a previous data segment 124 transmitted by the UE device 10 during the current communication session (e.g., during a previous iteration of operations 152 to 166 that occurred after the last complete wireless data set was transmitted by the UE device 10). If the user input does not include an edit, processing may proceed to operation 162 via path 160. If the user input includes an edit, processing may proceed to operation 158 via path 156.

[0131] At operation 154 (e.g., in response to the user input including an edit to a previously transmitted data segment 124), the application processing the user input may add an edit tag to the data segment 124 associated with the user input. The edit tag may include a single bit, a collection of bits, a single byte, a collection of bytes, or any other desired amount of data in the data segment and / or in the header and routing overhead of the data segment. A single bit may be sufficient for the edit tag to identify whether the data segment is an edited data segment, while additional bits may be needed to identify which data segment the edited data segment is intended to update or replace. Processing may then proceed to operation 162.

[0132] At operation 162, the application processing the user input may determine, identify, or detect whether the user input includes or is otherwise associated with a termination indicator. In other words, the application may determine whether the user has instructed the UE device 10 to continue transmitting the complete wireless data set or otherwise indicated that the user has finished providing the user input. Figure 8 In a messaging implementation, as an example, the application may determine or identify whether the user has pressed the send button 118 on the GUI 110. If the user input includes or is associated with a termination indicator, processing may proceed to operation 172 via path 170. If the user input does not include or is not associated with a termination indicator, processing may proceed to operation 166 via path 164.

[0133] At operation 166 (e.g., in response to the user input not including or being associated with a termination indicator, thereby indicating to the application that the user has not completed providing the user input), the UE device 10 may encrypt the data segment 124 associated with the user input. The UE device 10 may transmit the encrypted data segment to the CN 20 via the slow network 6B. Then, when the UE device 10 receives additional user input, the process may loop back to operation 152 via path 168 (e.g., for transmitting the encrypted data segment to the CN 20). Figure 8 In the example of messaging, data segments 124-2, 124-3, and 124-4 are generated and transmitted. Although for clarity, in Fig.10 154-166, but the UE device 10 may continue to receive user input simultaneously with operations 154-166 until the user input includes a termination indicator or is associated with a termination indicator (for example, wherein operation 152 is performed once a certain amount of user input corresponding to the size of data segment 124 is received).

[0134] At operation 172 (e.g., in response to the user input including or being associated with a termination indicator, thereby indicating to the application that the user has finished providing the user input), the UE device 10 may encrypt the final data segment 124 associated with the user input (e.g., in Figure 7 The UE device 10 may sign the wireless data to generate a UE device signature (e.g., by signing the entire wireless data set including all data segments). The UE device 10 may transmit the encrypted final data segment and the UE device signature to the CN 20 via the slow network 6B. If necessary, the UE device 10 may retransmit the data segment at operations 166 and / or 172 until a corresponding confirmation 138 ( Fig. 9 After transmission of the last data segment 124, the UE device 10 may wait (e.g., until Figure 7 At time TB) the corresponding delivery confirmation is received from CN 20.

[0135] Fig.10The examples are illustrative and non-limiting. In other specific implementations, the UE device 10 may sign each data segment 124 transmitted to the CN 20 (generating a UE device sub-signature associated with the data segment). Then, the UE device 10 may transmit the UE device sub-signature and its corresponding data segment 124, instead of transmitting the UE device signature and the final data segment 124 for the entire wireless data set. In these specific implementations, the UE device 10 may include a termination marker (e.g., a single bit or other amount of data) in the final data segment 124 to notify the CN 20 that the final data segment is the last data segment of the wireless data set. The recipient device 2 may use the signature to verify that the received wireless data is actually transmitted by the UE device 10. For example, the UE device 10 may generate a UE device signature by applying a cryptographic function to the private key of the UE device 10, the public key of the recipient device 2, and the transmitted data segment 124. For example, the recipient device 2 may use its public key and signature to verify the received wireless data. If necessary, the trusted authentication server may distribute keys to each device.

[0136] Fig.11 is a flow chart of exemplary operations that may be performed by the CN 20 when forwarding wireless data transmitted by the UE device 10 through the slow network 6B to the recipient device 2. For example, the CN 20 may perform Fig.11 operations, while processing Figure 5 Operation 92.

[0137] At operation 180, CN 20 may begin receiving headers and routing overheads transmitted by UE device 10 over slow network 6B. If desired, CN 20 may continue to receive headers and routing overheads concurrently with one or more of operations 182-192 (e.g., operation 180 may be performed concurrently with one or more of operations 180-192). CN 20 may store the headers and routing overheads on a storage circuit for further processing.

[0138] At operation 182, the CN 20 may receive a first data segment 124 (eg, Figure 8 and Fig. 9 124-1 in the example of FIG. 124-2). CN 20 may store the data segment on a storage circuit for further processing. If necessary, CN 20 may transmit a confirmation 138 of receipt of the data segment to UE device 10 via slow network 6B.

[0139] At operation 184, one or more processors on one or more nodes of CN 20 may determine, identify, or detect whether the received data segment 124 includes an edit tag. If the received data segment includes an edit tag, processing may proceed to operation 190 via path 188. If the received data segment does not include an edit tag, processing may proceed to operation 192 via path 186.

[0140] At operation 192, one or more processors on the CN 20 may determine, identify, or detect whether the received data segment 124 includes a UE device signature (or a termination marker in an implementation where the UE device 10 transmits a UE device subsignature with each data segment). If the received data segment does not include a UE device signature (or termination marker), this may indicate to the CN 20 that the UE device 10 still has more data segments to transmit to the CN 20, and processing may loop back to operation 182 via path 194. The CN 20 may then receive subsequent data segments from the UE device 10 via the slow network 6B.

[0141] If or when the received data segment 124 includes an edit tag, processing may proceed from operation 184 to operation 190 via path 188. At operation 190 (e.g., in response to a recently received data segment including an edit tag), one or more processors on CN 20 may identify which stored data segment the recently received data segment has edited or is intended to replace. The one or more processors on CN 20 may then discard or delete the data segment and may replace the discarded data segment with the recently received data segment. Figure 8 In the example of message transmission and reception of , for example, one or more processors on CN 20 may identify that data segment 124-4 includes an edit to data segment 124-1, may replace data segment 124-1 with data segment 124-4, and may discard data segment 124-1. In this way, CN 20 can ensure that any obsolete data segments are not encapsulated in the reconstructed wireless data transmitted to the recipient device 2. Then, the process can proceed from operation 190 to operation 192.

[0142] If the most recently received data segment 124 includes a UE device signature (or termination marker), this may indicate to the CN 20 that the UE device 10 has completed transmitting data, and processing may proceed from operation 192 to operation 198 via path 196. At operation 198, one or more processors on the CN 20 may package, compile, or otherwise combine all of the stored data segments 124 (e.g., as processed for each iteration of operations 182-192) to generate a complete wireless data set (e.g., Figure 8 and Fig. 9126 in the example of ). For example, one or more processors on CN 20 may reassemble or reconstruct the wireless data set from the stored data segments 124 based at least in part on the header and routing information, which may include information identifying the expected order or sequence of each data segment 124. CN 20 may then transmit the reassembled, reconstructed, packaged, or compiled (complete) wireless data set to recipient device 2. When recipient device 2 has successfully received the wireless data set, CN 20 may transmit a delivery confirmation to UE device 10 via slow network 6B.

[0143] Because the UE device 10 encrypts each data segment 124 before transmission to the CN 20, the slow network 6B and the CN 20 may not be able to read or recover the content of the data segment, thereby preserving user privacy. In other words, the CN 20 may process the data segment 124 without verifying the UE device signature or decrypting the content of the data segment 124. Conversely, the recipient device 2 may verify the UE device signature to decrypt, read and / or recover the content of the data segment (e.g., the data segment 124 may be end-to-end encrypted). This is illustrative and not limiting. Alternatively, for some types of wireless data, such as financial transaction data managed by an entity associated with the CN 20 itself (e.g., a known entity trusted by the UE device 10 and the recipient device 2), the CN 20 may verify the UE device signature for security purposes (e.g., to verify the financial transaction before executing the financial transaction).

[0144] If desired, when a data segment is received at CN 20, CN 20 may alternatively forward data segment 124 to recipient device 2 (e.g., via slow network 6B or another network) instead of storing data segment 124. This may be used to extend the functionality or operation of CN 20 from a node (e.g., one or more servers) of CN 20 to recipient device 2. In these specific implementations, one or more of operations 184-198 may be performed at recipient device 2 instead of CN 20.

[0145] As used herein, the term "simultaneous" refers to overlapping at least partially in time. In other words, if at least some of the first event occurs simultaneously with at least some of the second event (e.g., if at least some of the first event occurs during at least some of the second event, occurs at the same time as at least some of the second event, or occurs when at least some of the second event occurs), the first event and the second event are referred to as "simultaneous" with each other in this article. If the first event and the second event are synchronized (e.g., if the entire duration of the first event overlaps with the entire duration of the second event in time), the first event and the second event can be simultaneous, but if the first event and the second event are asynchronous (e.g., if the first event starts before or after the second event starts, if the first event ends before or after the second event ends, or if the first event and the second event do not partially overlap in time), the first event and the second event can also be simultaneous. As used herein, the term "while" is synonymous with "concurrent".

[0146] As described above, one aspect of the present technology is to collect and use information such as user input or sensor information. The present disclosure contemplates that, in some instances, these collected data may include personal information data that uniquely identifies or can be used to contact or locate a specific person. Such personal information data may include demographic data, location-based data, phone numbers, email addresses, twitter IDs, home addresses, data or records related to the user's health or fitness level (e.g., vital sign measurements, medication information, exercise information), date of birth, eyeglass prescription, user name, password, biometric information, or any other identifying information or personal information.

[0147] The present disclosure recognizes that the use of such personal information in the present technology can be used to benefit users. For example, the personal information data can be used to deliver targeted content that users are more interested in. Therefore, the use of such personal information data enables users to have planned control over the content delivered. In addition, the present disclosure also anticipates other uses of personal information data that benefit users. For example, health and fitness data can be used to provide insights into the user's overall health status, or can be used as positive feedback to individuals who use technology to pursue health goals.

[0148] The disclosure anticipates that entities responsible for the collection, analysis, disclosure, transmission, storage or other purposes of such personal information data will comply with perfect privacy policies and / or privacy measures. Specifically, such entities should implement and adhere to the use of privacy policies and practices that are recognized as meeting or exceeding the industry or government requirements for maintaining the privacy and security of personal information data. Such policies should be convenient for users to access and should be updated with changes in the collection and / or use of data. Personal information from users should be collected for legal and reasonable entity purposes and should not be shared or sold outside these legal purposes. In addition, such collection / sharing should be carried out after receiving the informed consent of the user. Additionally, such entities should consider taking any necessary steps to protect and safeguard access to such personal information data and ensure that other entities with access to personal information data comply with their privacy policies and procedures. In addition, such entities can subject themselves to third-party assessments to prove that they comply with widely accepted privacy policies and practices. In addition, policies and practices should be adapted to specific types of personal information data collected and / or accessed, and adapted to applicable laws and standards including considerations of special jurisdictions. For example, in the United States, the collection or access of certain health data may be governed by federal and / or state laws such as the Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), while health data in other countries may be subject to other regulations and policies and should be handled accordingly. Therefore, different privacy measures should be advocated for different types of personal data in each country.

[0149] Regardless of the foregoing, the present disclosure also contemplates implementation schemes in which users selectively block the use or access of personal information data. That is, the present disclosure contemplates hardware elements and / or software elements to prevent or block access to such personal information data. For example, the technology of the present invention can be configured to allow users to choose to "opt in" or "opt out" to participate in the collection of personal information data at any time during or after registration for a service. For another example, a user can choose not to provide certain types of user data. For another example, a user can choose to limit the length of time that user-specific data is retained. In addition to providing "opt-in" and "opt-out" options, the present disclosure also contemplates providing notifications related to access or use of personal information. For example, a user can be notified that their personal information data will be accessed when downloading an application ("app"), and then the user is reminded again before the personal information data is accessed by the app.

[0150] Furthermore, it is the intent of the present disclosure that personal information data should be managed and processed in a manner that minimizes the risk of unintentional or unauthorized access or use. Once the data is no longer needed, the risk can be minimized by limiting the collection of data and deleting the data. In addition, and when applicable, including in certain health-related applications, data de-identification can be used to protect the privacy of users. Where appropriate, de-identification can be facilitated by removing specific identifiers (e.g., date of birth, etc.), controlling the amount or characteristics of stored data (e.g., collecting location data at a city level rather than an address level), controlling how the data is stored (e.g., aggregating data across users), and / or other methods.

[0151] Therefore, while the present disclosure broadly covers the use of personal information data to implement one or more of the various disclosed embodiments, the present disclosure also contemplates that various embodiments may be implemented without access to such personal information data. That is, various embodiments of the present technology will not fail to function properly due to the lack of all or part of such personal information data.

[0152] For one or more aspects, at least one of the components shown in one or more of the foregoing figures may be configured to perform one or more operations, techniques, processes, or methods as described herein. For example, the control circuitry described above in conjunction with one or more of the foregoing figures may be configured to operate according to one or more of the examples set forth herein. For another example, circuitry associated with the UE, satellite, gateway, core network, base station, network element, etc. described above in conjunction with one or more of the foregoing figures may be configured to operate according to one or more of the examples shown herein.

[0153] In embodiment 1, a method of operating a user equipment (UE) device to transmit data to a recipient device is provided. The method includes: using a radio component to measure wireless performance metric data from a radio frequency signal transmitted between the UE device and a wireless network; using an input device to receive input associated with the data; when the wireless performance metric data exceeds a threshold, using the radio component to transmit a subset of the data to the wireless network; and after the input device has completed receiving the input, using the radio component to transmit the remaining portion of the data to the wireless network.

[0154] In embodiment 2, a method according to embodiment 1 or some other embodiment described herein is provided, wherein the wireless network includes a gateway and a communication satellite, and the communication satellite is configured to forward the data to the gateway.

[0155] In embodiment 3, a method according to any of embodiments 1, 2, or some other embodiment described herein is provided, wherein the input device includes a touch screen, and the input includes input received by the touch screen.

[0156] In embodiment 4, a method according to any of embodiments 1 to 3 or some other embodiment described herein is provided, the method also includes: using the touch screen and displaying instructions to place the user equipment device in a specific orientation while transmitting the subset of the data.

[0157] In embodiment 5, a method according to any one of embodiments 1 to 4 or some other embodiment described herein is provided, wherein the data includes a message, the input received by the touch screen identifies a string in the message, and the subset of the data includes a subset of the string.

[0158] In Example 6, a method is provided according to any one of Examples 1 to 5 or some other embodiment described herein, wherein transmitting the remaining portion of the data to the wireless network after the input device has completed receiving the input includes transmitting the remaining portion of the data to the wireless network after the input includes an instruction to transmit the data.

[0159] In embodiment 7, a method according to any one of embodiments 1 to 6 or some other embodiment described herein is provided, wherein the instruction to transmit the data includes a send button press received at the touch screen.

[0160] In embodiment 8, a method according to any one of embodiments 1 to 7 or some other embodiment described herein is provided, wherein the input includes a first part and a second part received by the input device after the first part, and the method further includes: when the wireless performance metric data exceeds the threshold, using the radio component to transmit an additional subset of the data to the wireless network, wherein the remaining portion of the data corresponds to a third part of the input received by the input device after the second part of the input.

[0161] In Example 9, a method is provided according to any of Examples 1 to 8 or some other embodiment described herein, wherein the second portion of the input includes an edit to the first portion of the input, and the additional subset of the data includes a marking identifying that the additional subset of the data includes an edit to the first portion of the input.

[0162] In embodiment 10, a method according to any one of embodiments 1 to 9 or some other embodiment described herein is provided, the method also including: using one or more processors, generating a UE device signature by signing the subset of the data, the additional subset of the data, and the remaining portion of the data using a cryptographic key associated with the UE device; and transmitting the UE device signature together with the remaining portion of the data to the wireless network using the radio component.

[0163] In embodiment 11, a method according to any of embodiments 1 to 10 or some other embodiment described herein is provided, wherein the subset of the data includes at least some of the file and the remainder of the data includes edits to the file.

[0164] In embodiment 12, a method of operating a user equipment (UE) device to transmit data to a receiving device is provided. The method includes: using one or more antennas to transmit a radio frequency signal using a first wireless network having a first maximum speed; using an input device to receive a first input associated with the data; using the one or more antennas to transmit a first segment of the data to a second wireless network having a second maximum speed less than the first maximum speed at a first time while the first wireless network is unavailable to the UE device, the first segment of the data is associated with the first input; after receiving the first input, using the input device to receive a second input associated with the data; and using the one or more antennas to transmit a second segment of the data to the second wireless network at a second time after the first time while the first wireless network is unavailable to the UE device, the second segment of the data is associated with the second input.

[0165] In embodiment 13, there is provided a method according to embodiment 12 or some other embodiment described herein, wherein the first wireless network comprises a terrestrial wireless network and the second wireless network comprises a satellite constellation.

[0166] In embodiment 14, a method is provided according to any of embodiments 12 or 13 or some other embodiment described herein, the method also including: after receiving the second input, using the input device to receive a third input associated with the wireless data; and using the one or more antennas to transmit a third segment of the data to the satellite constellation at a third time after the second time, the third segment of the data being associated with the third input.

[0167] In Example 15, a method is provided according to any of Examples 12 to 14 or some other embodiment described herein, wherein the third input includes an edit to the first input, and wherein the third segment includes a mark identifying the edit.

[0168] In embodiment 16, a method according to any one of embodiments 12 to 15 or some other embodiment described herein is provided, wherein the second input includes a termination indicator, the third segment is the last segment of the data, and the method further includes: using one or more processors to generate a UE device signature based on the first segment, the second segment, and the third segment; and after the second time, using the one or more antennas to transmit the UE device signature to the satellite constellation.

[0169] In Example 17, a method according to any one of Examples 12 to 16 or some other embodiment described herein is provided, wherein the data includes a text message, the first segment includes a first string of the text message, the second segment includes a second string of the text message, and the third segment includes a third string of the text message.

[0170] In embodiment 18, an electronic device is provided, which includes a touch screen display, the touch screen display being configured to receive input associated with wireless data for transmission by the electronic device; a radio component, the radio component being configured to transmit radio frequency signals using a cellular network when the cellular network is available to the electronic device; and one or more antennas, the one or more antennas being configured to transmit to a communication satellite a series of segments of the wireless data before the input includes a send instruction, and a remaining portion of the wireless data after the input includes the send instruction when the cellular network is not available to the electronic device.

[0171] In embodiment 19, an electronic device according to embodiment 18 or some other embodiment described herein is provided, wherein the series of segments includes a first text string received by the touch screen display at a first time and a second text string received by the touch screen at a second time after the first time.

[0172] In embodiment 20, an electronic device according to any of embodiments 18 or 19 or some other embodiment described herein is provided, the electronic device also including: one or more processors, the one or more processors configured to generate a signature by signing the series of segments and the remaining portion of the wireless data, the one or more antennas configured to transmit the signature to the communication satellite after the input includes the send instruction.

[0173] In embodiment 21, a method of operating one or more nodes of a network to transmit data from a user equipment (UE) device to a recipient device is provided. The method may include: storing at a storage circuit a first segment of the data received via a satellite constellation at a first time, the first segment being generated by the UE device based on a first input received by the UE device; storing at the storage circuit a second segment of the data received via the satellite constellation at a second time after the first time, the second segment being generated by the UE device based on a second input received by the UE device after the first input; generating reconstructed data by combining the first segment and the second segment using one or more processors; and transmitting the reconstructed data to the recipient device.

[0174] In embodiment 22, a method according to embodiment 21 or some other embodiment described herein is provided, the method further comprising: receiving a signature of the UE device via the satellite constellation after the second time, the reconstructed data being generated after receiving the signature.

[0175] In embodiment 23, a method according to any of embodiments 21 or 22 or some other embodiment described herein is provided, the method also including: storing at the storage circuit a third segment of the data received via the satellite constellation at a fourth time different from the first time and the second time; and after the fourth time, receiving a fourth segment of the data via the satellite constellation, the fourth segment including one or more bits identifying that the fourth segment includes an edit to the third segment.

[0176] In embodiment 24, a method according to any one of embodiments 21 to 23 or some other embodiment described herein is provided, the method also includes replacing the third segment stored at the storage circuit with the fourth segment using the one or more processors.

[0177] In Example 25, a method according to any one of Examples 21 to 24 or some other embodiment described herein is provided, the method also includes using the one or more processors to generate the reconstructed data by combining the third segment with the first segment and the second segment.

[0178] In Example 26, a method is provided according to any one of Examples 21 to 25 or some other embodiment described herein, wherein the data includes text, the first segment includes a first string of the text, and the second segment includes a second string of the text after the first string of the text.

[0179] In embodiment 27, a method according to any one of embodiments 21 to 26 or some other embodiment described herein is provided, wherein generating the reconstructed data includes generating the reconstructed data in response to the second segment including a termination indicator.

[0180] In embodiment 28, a method according to any one of embodiments 21 to 27 or some other embodiment described herein is provided, the method also including: transmitting a first confirmation of the first segment of the data to the UE device via the satellite constellation; and transmitting a second confirmation of the second segment of the data to the UE device via the satellite constellation.

[0181] In embodiment 29, a method of operating one or more network nodes to forward data from a user equipment (UE) device to a recipient device is provided, the data being associated with an input received at the UE device. The method includes: storing segments of the data received via a communication satellite at a storage circuit, each segment being transmitted by the UE device at a different corresponding time before the input is completed at the UE device; generating reconstructed data by combining the segments using one or more processors after the input is completed at the UE device; and transmitting the reconstructed data to the recipient device.

[0182] In embodiment 30, a method according to embodiment 29 or some other embodiment described herein is provided, the method also including: using one or more processors, replacing the segment of the data stored at the storage circuit with an edited version of the segment received via the communication satellite before the input is completed at the UE device.

[0183] In embodiment 31, a method is provided according to any of embodiments 29 or 30 or some other embodiment described herein, wherein the edited version of the segment includes an edit mark.

[0184] In embodiment 32, a method according to any one of embodiments 29 to 31 or some other embodiment described herein is provided, wherein the edit marker identifies the segment of the data to be replaced with the edited version of the segment.

[0185] In embodiment 33, a method according to any of embodiments 29 to 33 or some other embodiment described herein is provided, wherein the segment of the data to be replaced includes a text string.

[0186] In embodiment 34, a method according to any one of embodiments 29 to 33 or some other embodiment described herein is provided, wherein the last segment of the data before completing the user input includes a termination marker indicating that the input is completed at the UE device.

[0187] In embodiment 35, a method according to any one of embodiments 29 to 34 or some other embodiment described herein is provided, wherein the termination marker includes a signature of the UE device.

[0188] In embodiment 36, a method of operating one or more nodes of a network is provided. The method includes: receiving first data transmitted by a terrestrial wireless network, the first data being transmitted by a user equipment (UE) device when the terrestrial wireless network is available to the UE device; transmitting the first data to a recipient device; receiving second data transmitted by a satellite constellation, the second data being transmitted by the UE device in a series of segments when the terrestrial wireless network is not available to the UE device; generating reconstructed data by compiling the series of segments using one or more processors; and transmitting the reconstructed data to the recipient device.

[0189] In Embodiment 37, a method is provided according to Embodiment 36 or some other embodiment described herein, wherein the first data comprises a first text message, the second data comprises a second text message, and the segment comprises a corresponding string of the second text message.

[0190] In embodiment 38, a method according to any of embodiments 36 or 37 or some other embodiment described herein is provided, wherein the series of segments is transmitted by the UE device prior to input to the UE device including an instruction to send a message.

[0191] In embodiment 39, a method according to any one of embodiments 36 to 38 or some other embodiment described herein is provided, the method also comprising generating the reconstructed data in response to the second data including the signature of the UE device.

[0192] In embodiment 40, a method according to any one of embodiments 36 to 39 or some other embodiment described herein is provided, the method also including storing the series of segments at a storage circuit; and replacing a segment from the series of segments with an edited version of the segment at the storage circuit.

[0193] An apparatus (eg, an electronic user equipment device, a wireless base station, etc.) may be provided that includes means for performing one or more method elements described in or associated with any of the methods or processes described herein.

[0194] One or more non-transitory computer-readable media comprising instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of an electronic device, cause the electronic device to perform one or more elements of any method or process described herein.

[0195] An apparatus comprising logic components, modules, or circuits for performing one or more method elements described in or associated with any method or process described herein.

[0196] A device comprising: one or more processors and one or more non-transitory computer-readable storage media, the one or more non-transitory computer-readable storage media including instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform the methods, techniques, or processes described herein.

[0197] A signal, datagram, information element, packet, frame, segment, PDU, or message or datagram may be provided in a manner described in or in connection with any of the examples described herein.

[0198] A signal encoded with data, datagram, IE, packet, frame, segment, PDU or message may be provided in a manner described in or in connection with any of the examples described herein.

[0199] Electromagnetic signals carrying computer readable instructions may be provided, wherein execution of the computer readable instructions by one or more processors will cause the one or more processors to perform a method, technique, or process described in or related to any example described herein.

[0200] A computer program comprising instructions, wherein execution of the program by a processing element causes the processing element to perform a method, technique, or process described in or related to any example described herein.

[0201] Signaling in a wireless network as shown and described herein may be provided.

[0202]

[0013] Methods of communicating in a wireless network as shown and described herein may be provided.

[0203]

[0013] Systems for providing wireless communications as shown and described herein may be provided.

[0204]

[0013] Apparatus for providing wireless communications as shown and described herein may be provided.

[0205] Unless explicitly stated otherwise, any of the above examples may be combined with any other example (or combination of examples).The foregoing description of one or more specific implementations provides illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the scope of the various aspects to the precise forms disclosed.

[0206] According to an embodiment, a method of operating a user equipment (UE) device to transmit data to a receiving device is provided, the method comprising: using a radio component to measure wireless performance metric data from a radio frequency signal transmitted between the UE device and a wireless network; using an input device to receive input associated with the data; when the wireless performance metric data exceeds a threshold, using the radio component to transmit a subset of the data to the wireless network; and after the input device has completed receiving the input, using the radio component to transmit the remaining portion of the data to the wireless network.

[0207] According to another embodiment, the wireless network includes a gateway and a communication satellite, the communication satellite being configured to forward the data to the gateway.

[0208] According to another embodiment, the input device includes a touch screen, and the input includes input received by the touch screen.

[0209] According to another embodiment, the method includes using the touch screen and displaying instructions to place the user equipment device in a particular orientation while transmitting the subset of the data.

[0210] According to another embodiment, the data includes a message, the input received by the touch screen identifies a string of characters in the message, and the subset of the data includes a subset of the string of characters.

[0211] According to another embodiment, transmitting the remaining portion of the data to the wireless network after the input device has completed receiving the input includes transmitting the remaining portion of the data to the wireless network after the input includes an instruction to transmit the data.

[0212] According to another embodiment, the instruction to transmit the data includes a send button press received at the touch screen.

[0213] According to another embodiment, the input includes a first part and a second part received by the input device after the first part, and the method includes: when the wireless performance metric data exceeds the threshold, using the radio component to transmit an additional subset of the data to the wireless network, and the remaining part of the data corresponds to a third part of the input received by the input device after the second part of the input.

[0214] According to another embodiment, the second portion of the input includes an edit of the first portion of the input, and the additional subset of the data includes an indicia identifying that the additional subset of the data includes an edit of the first portion of the input.

[0215] According to another embodiment, the method includes: using one or more processors, generating a UE device signature by signing the subset of the data, the additional subset of the data, and the remaining portion of the data using a cryptographic key associated with the UE device; and transmitting the UE device signature together with the remaining portion of the data to the wireless network using the radio component.

[0216] According to another embodiment, the subset of the data includes at least some of the files and the remainder of the data includes edits to the files.

[0217] According to one embodiment, a method of operating a user equipment (UE) device to transmit data to a receiving device is provided, the method comprising: using one or more antennas to transmit a radio frequency signal using a first wireless network having a first maximum speed; using an input device to receive a first input associated with the data; using the one or more antennas to transmit a first segment of the data to a second wireless network having a second maximum speed less than the first maximum speed at a first time while the first wireless network is unavailable to the UE device, the first segment of the data being associated with the first input; after receiving the first input, using the input device to receive a second input associated with the data; and using the one or more antennas to transmit a second segment of the data to the second wireless network at a second time after the first time while the first wireless network is unavailable to the UE device, the second segment of the data being associated with the second input.

[0218] According to another embodiment, the first wireless network comprises a terrestrial wireless network and the second wireless network comprises a satellite constellation.

[0219] According to another embodiment, the method includes: after receiving the second input, using the input device to receive a third input associated with the wireless data; and at a third time after the second time, using the one or more antennas to transmit a third segment of the data to the satellite constellation, the third segment of the data being associated with the third input.

[0220] According to another embodiment, the third input includes an edit to the first input, and the third segment includes an indicia identifying the edit.

[0221] According to another embodiment, the second input includes a termination indicator, the third segment is the last segment of the data, and the method includes: using one or more processors to generate a UE device signature based on the first segment, the second segment and the third segment; and after the second time, using the one or more antennas to transmit the UE device signature to the satellite constellation.

[0222] According to another embodiment, the data includes a text message, the first segment includes a first string of the text message, the second segment includes a second string of the text message, and the third segment includes a third string of the text message.

[0223] According to one embodiment, an electronic device is provided, comprising: a touch screen display configured to receive input associated with wireless data for transmission by the electronic device; a radio component configured to transmit radio frequency signals using a cellular network when the cellular network is available to the electronic device; and one or more antennas configured to transmit a series of segments of the wireless data before the input includes a send instruction and a remaining portion of the wireless data after the input includes the send instruction to a communication satellite when the cellular network is not available to the electronic device.

[0224] According to another embodiment, the series of segments includes a first text string received by the touch screen display at a first time and a second text string received by the touch screen at a second time after the first time.

[0225] According to another embodiment, the electronic device includes one or more processors configured to generate a signature by signing the series of segments and the remaining portion of the wireless data, and the one or more antennas are configured to transmit the signature to the communication satellite after the input includes the send instruction.

[0226] The foregoing is merely illustrative and various modifications may be made to the embodiments described. The foregoing embodiments may be implemented independently or in any combination.

Claims

1. A method of operating a user equipment (UE) device to transmit data to a receiving device, the method comprising: measuring, using a radio component, wireless performance metric data from radio frequency signals transmitted between the UE device and a wireless network; receiving input associated with the data using an input device; transmitting, using the radio component, a subset of the data to the wireless network when the wireless performance metric data exceeds a threshold; as well as After the input device has finished receiving the input, a remainder of the data is transmitted to the wireless network using the radio component. 2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the wireless network comprises a gateway and a communication satellite, the communication satellite being configured to forward the data to the gateway. The method of claim 1 , wherein the input device comprises a touch screen and the input comprises input received by the touch screen.

4. The method according to claim 3, further comprising: Instructions are displayed using the touch screen to place the user equipment device in a particular orientation while transmitting the subset of the data. 5 . The method of claim 3 , wherein the data comprises a message, the input received by the touch screen identifies a string of characters in the message, and the subset of the data comprises a subset of the string of characters.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein transmitting the remaining portion of the data to the wireless network after the input device has completed receiving the input comprises: The remaining portion of the data is transmitted to the wireless network after the input includes an instruction to transmit the data.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the instruction to transmit the data comprises a send button press received at the touch screen.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the input comprises a first portion and a second portion received by the input device after the first portion, the method further comprising: When the wireless performance metric data exceeds the threshold, an additional subset of the data is transmitted to the wireless network using the radio component, wherein the remaining portion of the data corresponds to a third portion of the input received by the input device after the second portion of the input.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the second portion of the input includes an edit to the first portion of the input, and the additional subset of the data includes a marker identifying that the additional subset of the data includes an edit to the first portion of the input.

10. The method according to claim 8, further comprising: generating, with one or more processors, a UE device signature by signing the subset of the data, the additional subset of the data, and the remaining portion of the data using a cryptographic key associated with the UE device; as well as The UE device signature is transmitted to the wireless network along with the remaining portion of the data using the radio component.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the subset of the data comprises at least some of the files and the remainder of the data comprises edits to the files.

12. A method of operating a user equipment (UE) device to transmit data to a recipient device, the method comprising: Using one or more antennas, transmitting radio frequency signals using a first wireless network having a first maximum speed; receiving, using an input device, a first input associated with the data; transmitting, at a first time, using the one or more antennas to a second wireless network having a second maximum speed less than the first maximum speed, a first segment of the data associated with the first input while the first wireless network is unavailable to the UE device; After receiving the first input, receiving a second input associated with the data using the input device; as well as A second segment of the data is transmitted to the second wireless network using the one or more antennas at a second time after the first time while the first wireless network is unavailable to the UE device, the second segment of the data being associated with the second input.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the first wireless network comprises a terrestrial wireless network and the second wireless network comprises a satellite constellation.

14. The method according to claim 13, further comprising: After receiving the second input, receiving, using the input device, a third input associated with the wireless data; as well as A third segment of the data is transmitted to the satellite constellation using the one or more antennas at a third time after the second time, the third segment of the data being associated with the third input.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the third input comprises an edit to the first input, and wherein the third segment comprises a marker identifying the edit.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein the second input includes a termination indicator, the third segment is a last segment of the data, and the method further comprises: generating, using one or more processors, a UE device signature based on the first segment, the second segment, and the third segment; as well as The UE device signature is transmitted to the satellite constellation using the one or more antennas after the second time.

17. The method of claim 14, wherein the data comprises a text message, the first segment comprises a first string of the text message, the second segment comprises a second string of the text message, and the third segment comprises a third string of the text message.

18. An electronic device, comprising: a touch screen display configured to receive input associated with wireless data for transmission by the electronic device; a radio configured to transmit radio frequency signals utilizing a cellular network when the cellular network is available to the electronic device; and one or more antennas configured to transmit to a communications satellite when the cellular network is unavailable to the electronic device: A series of segments of the wireless data before the input includes a send instruction, and a remaining portion of the wireless data after the input includes the send instruction.

19. The electronic device of claim 18, wherein the series of segments includes a first text string received by the touch screen display at a first time and a second text string received by the touch screen at a second time after the first time.

20. The electronic device according to claim 18, further comprising: One or more processors configured to generate a signature by signing the series of segments and the remaining portion of the wireless data, and the one or more antennas configured to transmit the signature to the communication satellite after the input includes the transmit instruction.

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