{
  "patent_number": "US 10707961",
  "country": "US",
  "title": "High-Flying Aircraft Relays Satellite Internet to Ground Users",
  "original_title": "Adaptive communication system",
  "summary": "This patent describes a communication system that uses satellites, high-altitude aircraft, and ground stations to send data, specifically using lasers for space links and cloud-penetrating radio waves for ground links.",
  "what_it_does": "The system connects ground users to satellites using a special relay aircraft. This aircraft flies above the clouds and has two main parts: a laser communications module and a Radio Frequency (RF) communications module. When data comes from a satellite via laser, the aircraft's laser module receives it, and its RF module converts that data into cloud-penetrating RF signals to send to ground terminals (Claim 1). Conversely, data from ground terminals arrives as RF, gets converted by the aircraft into laser signals, and is then sent up to the satellite (Claim 1). Ground terminals can even pick the fastest path, either directly to the satellite with lasers or through the aircraft and then the satellite (Claim 1). For example, if a ground terminal needs to send data to another ground terminal, it could send an RF signal to the aircraft, which converts it to laser for the satellite, and the satellite then relays it to the destination.",
  "what_it_does_not_cover": [
    "Communication systems where satellites use traditional RF communication for all links, as the claims emphasize laser communication for satellite links (Claim 1, 6).",
    "Relay systems where the aircraft operates below cloud level, as it's specified to fly \"at altitudes above clouds\" (Claim 1).",
    "Systems where the ground terminal cannot select between a direct laser path to the satellite and a relayed path through the aircraft (Claim 1).",
    "Systems where the relay aircraft does not convert between laser and RF signals, but simply repeats one type of signal (Claim 1).",
    "Systems where the satellite demodulates the received laser communication before relaying it (Claim 1)."
  ],
  "filed": "2017-09-20",
  "granted": "2020-07-07",
  "expires": "2037-09-20",
  "status": "active",
  "holder": "Space Systems Loral",
  "holder_url": "https://patentbrief.org/company/space-systems-loral",
  "inventors": [
    {
      "name": "Andrew E. Turner",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/andrew-e-turner"
    },
    {
      "name": "Douglas Burr",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/douglas-burr"
    }
  ],
  "times_cited": 12,
  "tags": [
    "telecommunications",
    "aerospace",
    "software",
    "consumer_electronics",
    "semiconductors"
  ],
  "abstract": "Described herein is a satellite communications system that includes: two or more satellites using laser communications, and a communications relay aircraft adapted for flying at altitudes above clouds. The communications relay aircraft includes: a laser communications module to communicate with the satellite using laser communication and a Radio Frequency (RF) communications module to communicate with RF equipment at or near ground level using cloud-penetrating RF communications. The RF communications module is configured to take data received as laser communication and generate a corresponding RF transmission containing the data. The laser communications module is configured to take data received as RF communication and to generate a corresponding laser transmission containing the data.",
  "url": "https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/10707961/adaptive-communication-system",
  "markdown_url": "https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/10707961/adaptive-communication-system/md",
  "google_patents_url": "https://patents.google.com/patent/US10707961",
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}