US 12,476,699 B2
Beam layout optimisation
Adam Alexander Liddell, London (GB); Pavan Bhave, London (GB); and Benjamin Moores, London (GB)
Assigned to Inmarsat Global Limited, London (GB)
Filed by Inmarsat Global Limited, London (GB)
Filed on Feb. 28, 2024, as Appl. No. 18/590,697.
Application 18/590,697 is a continuation of application No. 17/484,395, filed on Sep. 24, 2021, granted, now 11,923,961.
Application 17/484,395 is a continuation of application No. 16/621,488, granted, now 11,133,860, issued on Sep. 28, 2021, previously published as PCT/GB2018/051588, filed on Jun. 11, 2018.
Claims priority of application No. 1709322 (GB), filed on Jun. 12, 2017.
Prior Publication US 2024/0429997 A1, Dec. 26, 2024
Int. Cl. H04B 7/185 (2006.01); H04B 7/0408 (2017.01)
CPC H04B 7/18513 (2013.01) [H04B 7/0408 (2013.01)] 28 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A method of generating an optimized beam layout for a satellite in a satellite communications system, the method comprising:
a. receiving terminal and/or network data representing a distribution of communications terminals to be served by the satellite in the coverage area;
b. optimizing the positions of a set of beam centers with respect to the terminal and/or network data, to generate optimized beam center positions;
c. deriving an optimized beam layout from the optimized beam center positions;
d. merging one or more adjacent beams in the optimized beam layout to generate merged optimized beam layout data, wherein the merged adjacent beams correspond to areas of low traffic; and
e. outputting the merged beam layout data,
wherein the method includes identifying one or more high traffic or high priority terminals from the terminal and/or network data and determining an overlay beam directed to the one or more high traffic terminals, and
wherein the traffic from the one or more high traffic or high priority terminals is removed from consideration of the optimized beam layout.