Source: https://patents.google.com/patent/USRE43137E1/en
Timestamp: 2019-04-26 00:07:10+00:00

Document:
2015-10-02 Assigned to MOBILE SATELLITE VENTURES, LP reassignment MOBILE SATELLITE VENTURES, LP ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST (SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS). Assignors: KARABINIS, PETER D.
A satellite radiotelephone system includes a space-based component, a plurality of ancillary terrestrial components, and a plurality of radiotelephones. The space-based component is configured to provide wireless radiotelephone communications using satellite radiotelephone frequencies. The plurality of ancillary terrestrial components include a plurality of ancillary terrestrial component antennas configured to provide wireless radiotelephone communications using at least one of the satellite radiotelephone frequencies in a radiation pattern that increases radiation below the horizon compared to above the horizon. The plurality of radiotelephones are configured to communicate with the space-based component and with the plurality of ancillary terrestrial components. Each radiotelephone also includes a GPS signal processor and a GPS mode filter that is configured to suppress energy at (1575.42−Δ) MHz, where 0<Δ≦16.42 MHz. Related radiotelephones and methods are also discussed.
This application is a reissue of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/353,548 filed Jan. 29, 2003, issued as U.S. Pat. No. 6,785,543, which claims the benefit of priority from provisional Application No. 60/393,191, filed Jul. 2, 2002, entitled Filters For Combined Satellite Radiotelephone/GPS Terminals. In addition, this application claims the benefit of priority as a continuation-in-part application from regular U.S. application Ser. No. 10/074,097, filed Feb. 12, 2002, which is now U.S. Pat. No. 6,684,057 entitled Systems and Methods for Terretrial Reuse of Cellular Satellite Frequency Spectrum, which claims the benefit of priority from provisional Application No. 60/322,240, filed Sep. 14, 2001, entitled Systems and Methods for Terrestrial Re-Use of Mobile Satellite Spectrum. Each of these applications The above referenced application is assigned to the assignee of the present application, and the disclosures of each of these applications are the disclosure of the above referenced application is hereby incorporated herein by reference in their its entirety as if set forth fully herein. The disclosures of U.S. application Ser. No. 10/074,097 filed Feb. 12, 2002, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,684,057, and U.S. application Ser. No. 60/322,240, filed Sep. 14, 2011 are also incorporated herein by reference in their entirety as if set forth fully herein.
The present application is one of multiple reissue applications seeking to reissue U.S. Pat. No. 6,785,543. The other related reissue application is U.S. application Ser. No. 12/705,135, filed Feb. 12, 2010.
One example of terrestrial reuse of satellite frequencies is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,937,332 to the present inventor Karabinis entitled Satellite Telecommunications Repeaters and Retransmission Methods, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety as if set forth fully herein. As described therein, satellite telecommunications repeaters are provided which receive, amplify, and locally retransmit the downlink signal received from a satellite thereby increasing the effective downlink margin in the vicinity of the satellite telecommunications repeaters and allowing an increase in the penetration of uplink and downlink signals into buildings, foliage, transportation vehicles, and other objects which can reduce link margin. Both, portable and non-portable repeaters are provided. See the abstract of U.S. Pat. No. 5,937,332.
According to embodiments of the present invention, a satellite radiotelephone system can include a space-based component, a plurality of ancillary terrestrial components, and a plurality of radiotelephones. The space-based component can be configured to provide wireless radiotelephone communications using satellite radiotelephone frequencies. The plurality of ancillary terrestrial components can include a plurality of ancillary terrestrial component antennas configured to provide wireless radiotelephone communications using at least one of the satellite radiotelephone frequencies in a radiation pattern that increases radiation below the horizon compared to above the horizon. The plurality of radiotelephones can be configured to communicate with the space-based component and with the plurality of ancillary terrestrial components, and the radiotelephones can also include a GPS signal receiver/processor and a GPS mode filter configured to selectively suppress energy at and/or below (1575.42−Δ) MHz, where 0<Δ≦16.42 MHz.
The GPS mode filter can be configured to suppress at least 10 dB of energy for at least one value of Δ. More particularly, the GPS mode filter can be configured to selectively suppress at least 10 dB of energy at and/or below (1575.42−Δ) MHz. The GPS mode filter can be further configured to suppress energy at frequencies less than (1575.42−Δ) MHz, and Δ can be greater than at least 1 MHz. Accordingly, the GPS mode filter can be a high pass filter.
In addition, the radiotelephones can be further configured to suppress processing of GPS signals during intervals of time when actively communicating with the space-based component and/or one of the ancillary terrestrial components. The wireless radiotelephone communications can be processed without being subjected to the GPS mode filter.
According to additional embodiments of the present invention, a radiotelephone can include a radio front end, a signal processor, and a GPS mode filter. The radio front end can be configured to provide wireless radiotelephone communications with a space-based component using satellite radiotelephone frequencies, to provide wireless radiotelephone communications with a plurality of ancillary terrestrial components using at least one of the satellite radiotelephone frequencies, and to receive global positioning satellite (GPS) signals from a plurality of global positioning satellites. The signal processor can be configured to determine a measure of location of the radiotelephone using GPS signals received at the radio front end when providing GPS mode operations and to process communications that are received at and/or transmitted from the radio front end when providing wireless radiotelephone communications. The GPS mode filter can be coupled between the radio front end and the signal processor and configured to filter GPS signals from the radio front end before being provided to the signal processor. More particularly, the GPS mode filter can be configured to suppress energy at and/or below (1575.42−Δ) MHz, where 0<Δ≦16.42 MHz, and Δ can be greater than at least 1 MHz.
According to particular embodiments, wireless radiotelephone communications are not subjected to the GPS mode filter. The GPS mode filter can be configured to suppress at least 10 dB of energy at and/or below (1575.42−Δ) MHz, and the GPS mode filter can be more particularly configured to suppress at least 10 dB of energy at (1575.42−Δ) MHz and at frequencies less than (1575.42−Δ) MHz. Accordingly, the GPS mode filter can be a high pass filter. Processing of GPS signals at the signal processor can be suppressed when actively providing radiotelephone communications with the space-based component and/or one of the ancillary terrestrial components.
According to still additional embodiments of the present invention, satellite radiotelephone communications can be provided at a radiotelephone comprising a radio front end that is configured to provide wireless radiotelephone communications with a space-based component using satellite radiotelephone frequencies, that is configured to provide wireless radiotelephone communications with a plurality of ancillary terrestrial components using at least one of the satellite radiotelephone frequencies, and that is configured to receive global positioning satellite (GPS) signals from a plurality of Global positioning satellites. Energy can be suppressed at and/or below (1575.42−Δ) MHz for GPS signals received from the radio front end (where 0<Δ≦16.42 MHz) during GPS mode operations, and a measure of location of the radiotelephone can be determined using the GPS signals having suppressed energy at (1575.42−Δ) MHz during GPS mode operations. During wireless radiotelephone communications, communications that are received at and/or transmitted from the radio front end can be processed. More particularly, Δ can be greater than at least 1 MHz.
Processing communications that are received at and/or transmitted from the radio front end during wireless radiotelephone communications can include processing the communications without suppressing energy of the communications at and/or below (1575.42−Δ) MHz. In addition, suppressing energy at and/or below (1575.42−Δ) MHz can include suppressing at least 10 dB of energy at and/or below (1575.42−Δ) MHz. More particularly, suppressing energy at (1575.42−Δ) MHz can include suppressing at least 10 dB of energy at frequencies or (1575.42−Δ) MHz and lower. Moreover, processing of GPS signals can be suppressed when actively providing radiotelephone communications with the space-based component and/or one of the ancillary terrestrial components.
FIG. 13 is a schematic representation of an antenna of an ancillary terrestrial component according to some embodiments of the present invention.
FIG. 14 is a polar chart that illustrates radiation patterns of an antenna of an ancillary terrestrial component according to some embodiments of the present invention.
FIG. 15 graphically illustrates radiation of an antenna of an ancillary terrestrial component according to some embodiments of the present invention.
FIG. 16 is a block diagram of a radiotelephone including a GPS signal receiver according to some embodiments of the present invention.
FIG. 17 is a spectrum diagram that illustrates operation of a filter according to some embodiments of the present invention.
FIGS. 18-21 are block diagrams of radiotelephones including GPS signal receivers according to additional embodiments of the present invention.
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of cellular satellite radiotelephone systems and methods according to embodiments of the invention. As shown in FIG. 1, these cellular satellite radiotelephone systems and methods 100 include at least one Space-Based Component (SBC) 110, such as a satellite. The space-based component 110 is configured to transmit wireless communications to a plurality of radiotelephones 120a, 120b in a satellite footprint comprising one or more satellite radiotelephone cells 130-130″″ over one or more satellite radiotelephone forward link (downlink) frequencies fD. The space-based component 110 is configured to receive wireless communications from, for example, a first radiotelephone 120a in the satellite radiotelephone cell 130 over a satellite radiotelephone return link (uplink) frequency fU. An ancillary terrestrial network, comprising at least one ancillary terrestrial component 140, which may include an antenna 140a and an electronics system 140b (for example, at least one antenna 140a and at least one electronics system 140b), is configured to receive wireless communications from, for example, a second radiotelephone 120b in the radiotelephone cell 130 over the satellite radiotelephone uplink frequency, denoted f′U, which may be the same as fU. Thus, as illustrated in FIG. 1, radiotelephone 120a may be communicating with the space-based component 110 while radiotelephone 120b may be communicating with the ancillary terrestrial component 140. As shown in FIG. 1, the space-based component 110 also undesirably receives the wireless communications from the second radiotelephone 120b in the satellite radiotelephone cell 130 over the satellite radiotelephone frequency f′U as interference. More specifically, a potential interference path is shown at 150. In this potential interference path 150, the return link signal of the second radiotelephone 120b at carrier frequency f′U interferes with satellite communications. This interference would generally be strongest when f′U=fU, because, in that case, the same return link frequency would be used for space-based component and ancillary terrestrial component communications over the same satellite radiotelephone cell, and no spatial discrimination between satellite radiotelephone cells would appear to exist.
Still referring to FIG. 1, embodiments of satellite radiotelephone systems/methods 100 can include at least one gateway 160 that can include an antenna 160a and an electronics system 160b that can be connected to other networks 162 including terrestrial and/or other radiotelephone networks. The gateway 160 also communicates with the space-based component 110 over a satellite feeder link 112. The gateway 160 also communicates with the ancillary terrestrial component 140, generally over a terrestrial link 142.
Still referring to FIG. 1, an Interference Reducer (IR) 170a also may be provided at least partially in the ancillary terrestrial component electronics system 140b. Alternatively or additionally, an interference reducer 170b may be provided at least partially in the gateway electronics system 160b. In yet other alternatives, the interference reducer may be provided at least partially in other components of the cellular satellite system/method 100 instead of or in addition to the interference reducer 170a and/or 170b. The interference reducer is responsive to the space-based component 110 and to the ancillary terrestrial component 140, and is configured to reduce the interference from the wireless communications that are received by the space-based component 110 and is at least partially generated by the second radiotelephone 120b in the satellite radiotelephone cell 130 over the satellite radiotelephone frequency f′U. The interference reducer 170a and/or 170b uses the wireless communications f′U that are intended for the ancillary terrestrial component 140 from the second radiotelephone 120b in the satellite radiotelephone cell 130 using the satellite radiotelephone frequency f′U to communicate with the ancillary terrestrial component 140.
In embodiments of the invention, as shown in FIG. 1, the ancillary terrestrial component 140 generally is closer to the first and second radiotelephones 120a and 120b, respectively, than is the space-based component 110, such that the wireless communications from the second radiotelephone 120b are received by the ancillary terrestrial component 140 prior to being received by the space-based component 110. The interference reducer 170a and/or 170b is configured to generate an interference cancellation signal comprising, for example, at least one delayed replica of the wireless communications from the second radiotelephone 120b that are received by the ancillary terrestrial component 140, and to subtract the delayed replica of the wireless communications from the second radiotelephone 120b that are received by the ancillary terrestrial component 140 from the wireless communications that are received from the space-based component 110. The interference reduction signal may be transmitted from the ancillary terrestrial component 140 to the gateway 160 over link 142 and/or using other conventional techniques.
Embodiments of the invention according to FIG. 1 may arise from a realization that the return link signal from the second radiotelephone 120b at f′U generally will be received and processed by the ancillary terrestrial component 140 much earlier relative to the time when it will arrive at the satellite gateway 160 from the space-based component 110 via the interference path 150. Accordingly, the interference signal at the satellite gateway 160b can be at least partially canceled. Thus, as shown in FIG. 1, an interference cancellation signal, such as the demodulated ancillary terrestrial component signal, can be sent to the satellite gateway 160b by the interference reducer 170a in the ancillary terrestrial component 140, for example using link 142. In the interference reducer 170b at the gateway 160b, a weighted (in amplitude and/or phase) replica of the signal may be formed using, for example, adaptive transversal filter techniques that are well known to those having skill in the art. Then, a transversal filter output signal is subtracted from the aggregate received satellite signal at frequency f′U that contains desired as well as interference signals. Thus, the interference cancellation need not degrade the signal-to-noise ratio of the desired signal at the gateway 160, because a regenerated (noise-free) terrestrial signal, for example as regenerated by the ancillary terrestrial component 140, can be used to perform interference suppression.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram of embodiments of adaptive interference cancellers that may be located in the ancillary terrestrial component 140, in the gateway 160, and/or in another component of the cellular radiotelephone system 100. As shown in FIG. 2, one or more control algorithms 204, known to those having skill in the art, may be used to adaptively adjust the coefficients of a plurality of transversal filters 202a-202n. Adaptive algorithms, such as Least Mean Square Error (LMSE), Kalman, Fast Kalman, Zero Forcing and/or various combinations thereof or other techniques may be used. It will be understood by those having skill in the art that the architecture of FIG. 2 may be used with an LMSE algorithm. However, it also will be understood by those having skill in the art that conventional architectural modifications may be made to facilitate other control algorithms.
FIG. 4 illustrates satellite systems and methods 400 according to some embodiments of the invention, including an ATC 140 communicating with a radiotelephone 120b using a carrier frequency f″U in TDD mode. FIG. 5 illustrates an embodiment of a TDD frame structure. Assuming full-rate GSM (eight time slots per frame), up to four full-duplex voice circuits can be supported by one TDD carrier. As shown in FIG. 5, the ATC 140 transmits to the radiotelephone 120b over, for example, time slot number 0. The radiotelephone 120b receives and replies back to the ATC 140 over, for example, time slot number 4. Time slots number 1 and 5 may be used to establish communications with another radiotelephone, and so on.
FIG. 6 depicts an ATC architecture according to embodiments of the invention, which can lend itself to automatic configuration between the two modes of standard GSM and TDD GSM on command, for example, from a Network Operations Center (NOC) via a Base Station Controller (BSC). It will be understood that in these embodiments, an antenna 620 can correspond to the antenna 140a of FIGS. 1 and 4, and the remainder of FIG. 6 can correspond to the electronics system 140b of FIGS. 1 and 4. If a reconfiguration command for a particular carrier, or set of carriers, occurs while the carrier(s) are active and are supporting traffic, then, via the in-band signaling Fast Associated Control CHannel (FACCH), all affected radiotelephones may be notified to also reconfigure themselves and/or switch over to new resources. If carrier(s) are reconfigured from TDD mode to standard mode, automatic reassignment of the carrier(s) to the appropriate standard-mode ATCs, based, for example, on capacity demand and/or reuse pattern can be initiated by the NOC. If, on the other hand, carrier(s) are reconfigured from standard mode to TDD mode, automatic reassignment to the appropriate TDD-mode ATCs can take place on command from the NOC.
is a monotonically decreasing function of the independent variable ρ. Consequently, in some embodiments, as the maximum ATC power increases, the carrier frequency that the ATC uses to establish and/or maintain the communications link decreases. FIG. 8 illustrates an embodiment of a piecewise continuous monotonically decreasing (stair-case) function. Other monotonic functions may be used, including linear and/or nonlinear, constant and/or variable decreases. FACCH or Slow Associated Control CHannel (SACCH) messaging may be used in embodiments of the invention to facilitate the mapping adaptively and in substantially real time.
As was described above, some embodiments of the present invention may employ a Space-Based Network (SBN) and an Ancillary Terrestrial Network (ATN) that both communicate with a plurality of radiotelephones using satellite radiotelephone frequencies. The SBN may include one or more Space-Based Components (SBC) and one or more satellite gateways. The ATN may include a plurality of Ancillary Terrestrial Components (ATC). In some embodiments, the SBN and the ATN may operate at L-band (1525-1559 MHz forward service link, and 1626.5-1660.5 MHz return service link). Moreover, in some embodiments, the radiotelephones may be similar to conventional handheld cellular/PCS-type terminals that are capable of voice and/or packet data services. In some embodiments, terrestrial reuse of at least some of the mobile satellite frequency spectrum can allow the SBN to serve low density areas that may be impractical and/or uneconomical to serve via conventional terrestrial networks, while allowing the ATN to serve pockets of densely populated areas that may only be effectively served terrestrially. The radiotelephones can be attractive, feature-rich and/or low cost, similar to conventional cellular/PCS-type terminals that are offered by terrestrial-only operators. Moreover, by operating the SBN and ATN modes over the same frequency band, component count in the radiotelephones, for example in the front end radio frequency (RF) section, may be reduced. In particular, in some embodiments, the same frequency synthesizer, RF filters, low noise amplifiers, power amplifiers and antenna elements may be used for terrestrial and satellite communications.
In some embodiments, the radiotelephones also can include a GPS signal receiver and/or GPS signal processor. Moreover, as was shown in FIG. 3, since the radiotelephone forward and return links and the GPS band occupy nearby portions of the satellite frequency spectrum, the GPS signal receiver that may be built into the radiotelephone also may share common components with the radiotelephone.
Embodiments of the present invention that will now be described can reduce or eliminate performance degradation that may take place in a radiotelephone that is combined with a GPS signal receiver. In particular, referring to FIG. 13, an antenna 140a of an ancillary terrestrial component is illustrated. In some embodiments of the invention, radiation by the antenna 140a may be directed downward to below the horizon, to provide more useful radiation to radiotelephones 1320. Radiotelephones 1320 may be similar to the radiotelephones 120 that were described above, except that a GPS signal receiver and/or GPS signal processor also may be included, as will be described below.
Thus, referring to FIG. 13, the asymmetrical radiation pattern of the antenna 140a generates enhanced radiation below the horizon 1330, and suppressed or reduced radiation above the horizon 1330. This pattern of enhanced radiation below the horizon and suppressed radiation above the horizon may be obtained by antenna down-tilt, and/or antenna beam forming, and/or other techniques that can provide asymmetrical radiation patterns relative to the horizon, as shown in the polar chart of FIG. 14, and in the gain versus elevation graph of FIG. 15. In FIG. 14, the horizon is indicated by the line 1330, and the antenna radiation pattern boresight is directed along the line extending from the origin to 0 degrees. Below the horizon is indicated in the general direction of −90° to the left of line 1330, and above the horizon is indicated in the general direction of +90° to the right of line 1330.
As shown in FIG. 14, antenna pattern side lobes may be suppressed or reduced above the horizon and enhanced below the horizon. Stated differently, the radiation pattern of the antenna 140a is directed downward to enhance the amount of radiation that is received by a radiotelephone 1320 and/or to reduce the amount of airborne radiation which may potentially interfere with airborne communications systems.
FIG. 16 is a block diagram of a radiotelephone 1320 that includes a GPS signal receiver and/or GPS signal processor according to some embodiments of the present invention. In these embodiments, a common antenna 1410 may be provided for satellite and terrestrial transmission and reception and for GPS signal reception. It will be understood, however, that the antenna 1410 also may include elements that are used only for satellite, terrestrial or GPS. As also shown in FIG. 16, a single satellite/terrestrial/GPS front end 1420 may be provided for radio frequency processing of the satellite, terrestrial and GPS signals. It also will be understood that, although a single front end may be provided to reduce component count, there may be some components that are provided exclusively for terrestrial, satellite and/or GPS use. As also shown in FIG. 16, a single satellite/terrestrial/GPS signal processor 1430 also may be provided. It will be understood, however, that some separate signal processing portions also may be provided to allow for unique requirements for satellite, terrestrial and/or GPS processing.
Still referring to FIG. 16, a GPS mode filter 1440 may be provided. This filter 1440 may be a high pass, bandpass, notch and/or other filter that can attenuate selected frequencies. According to some embodiments of the present invention, the GPS mode filter 1440 is a high pass filter that is operative to selectively suppress energy at and/or below (1575.42−Δ) MHz, where 0<Δ≦16.42 MHz. This high pass filter may thereby prevent, reduce or minimize the effect of the radiation of the antenna 140a when radiotelephone 1320 is receiving GPS signals. Stated in other words, the GPS mode filter may be operative to selectively suppress energy at frequencies at and/or below (1575.42−Δ) MHz, where 0<Δ≦16.42 MHz, and to selectively pass energy at frequencies greater than (1575.42−Δ) MHz.
In particular, referring to FIG. 17, a spectrum diagram that illustrates satellite L-band frequency allocations is shown. As shown, the cellular satellite forward link may be provided at frequencies between 1525 MHz and 1559 MHz. The GPS/GLONASS band may be between 1559 MHz and 1605 MHz. In particular, the GPS L1 frequency that carries the navigation message and the code signals for civilian GPS may be centered at 1575.42 MHz, and civilian GPS signals may be provided at 1575.42 MHz±1 MHz. As shown in FIG. 17, the GPS mode filter 1440 such as a high pass filter may have a high pass filter slope that allows the L1 frequency to pass substantially unattenuated, but that attenuates frequencies that are lower than the L1 frequency. It will be understood that the slope, cut off point and/or bandwidth of the filter 1440 may be designed based on the particular environment in which the radiotelephone 1320 is being operated, the RF characteristics of the front end, the RF characteristics of the antenna 1410 and/or other factors. In some embodiments, the energy is suppressed by at least 10 dB by filter 1440 for at least one value of Δ. The design of filters is well known to those having skill in the art and need not be described further herein.
Additional radiotelephones according to other embodiments of the present invention are illustrated in FIGS. 18 and 19. As shown in FIG. 18, a radiotelephone 1320′ according to additional embodiments of the present invention can include a single satellite/terrestrial/GPS antenna 1803, a single satellite/terrestrial/GPS front end 1805, a GPS mode filter 1807, a single satellite/terrestrial/GPS signal processor 1809, and a user interface 1811. While a single antenna, a single front end, and a single signal processor are shown as providing both GPS and satellite/terrestrial communications functionalities, each of these elements may include portions thereof dedicated to GPS functionality and/or satellite/terrestrial communications functionality.
The radio front end 1805 can be configured to provide wireless radiotelephone communications with a space-based component using satellite radiotelephone frequencies and to provide wireless radiotelephone communications with an ancillary terrestrial component using at least one of the satellite radiotelephone frequencies. The radio front end can be further configured to receive global positioning satellite (GPS) signals from a plurality of global positioning satellites. The signal processor 1809 can be configured to determine a measure of location of the radiotelephone using GPS signals received at the radio front end when providing GPS mode operations and to process communications that are received at and/or transmitted by the radio front end when providing wireless radiotelephone communications.
When the radiotelephone is operating to provide GPS mode operations, GPS signals are received through the antenna 1803, the single satellite/terrestrial/GPS front end 1805, and the GPS mode filter 1807, and/or provided to the satellite/terrestrial/GPS signal processor 1809. The single satellite/terrestrial/GPS signal processor 1809 processes the GPS signals and may provide a global positioning output measure at the user interface 1811. The user interface 1811, for example, can include a liquid crystal display that can provide a visual indication of position such as a map and/or an alphanumeric indication of location such as a longitude and latitude. The user interface 1811 can also include a speaker and microphone for radiotelephone communications, and/or a user input such as a keypad or a touch sensitive screen.
As discussed above with respect to the GPS mode filter 1440 of FIG. 16, the GPS mode filter 1807 may be a high pass, bandpass, notch and/or other filter that can attenuate selected frequencies. As discussed above with respect to FIGS. 3 and 17, cellular satellite forward service links (down link frequency band) may be provided at frequencies between 1525 MHz and 1559 MHz, cellular satellite return service links (uplink frequency band) can be provided at frequencies between 1626.5 MHz and 1660.5 MHz, and the GPS/GLONASS band can be provided between 1559 MHz and 1605 MHz. More particularly, the GPS L1 frequency that carries the navigation message and code signals for civilian GPS use is substantially located at 1575.42+/−1 MHz. Accordingly, the GPS mode filter 1807 can be a high pass filter having a high pass filter slope that allows the L1 frequency to pass relatively unattenuated, but that selectively attenuates frequencies that are lower than the L1 frequency. It will be understood that the slope, cut off point and/or bandwidth of the filter 1807 may be designed based on a particular environment in which the radiotelephone 1320′ is being operated, the RF characteristics of the front end, the RF characteristics of the antenna 1803, and/or other factors.
Accordingly, the GPS mode filter 1807 can be configured to selectively suppress energy at and/or below (1575.42−Δ) MHz, where 0<Δ<16.42 MHz. Moreover, the GPS mode filter can be configured to selectively suppress at least 10 dB of energy at and/or below (1575.42−Δ) MHz. The GPS mode filter can be further configured to selectively suppress at least 10 dB of energy at frequencies of (1575.42−Δ) MHz and lower.
According to some embodiments of the present invention, the GPS mode filter 1807 can be operative to selectively pass energy having a frequency of 1575.42+/−1 MHz and to selectively attenuate energy having a frequency of less than or equal to (1575.42−Δ) MHz, where 0<Δ<16.42 MHz. More particularly, the energy can be suppressed by at least 10 dB for frequencies less than or equal to (1575.42−Δ) MHz, and Δ can be greater than at least 1 MHz. Accordingly, GPS signals can be received while eliminating, minimizing, and/or reducing the impact to the front end and other sections of the combined satellite/terrestrial/GPS radiotelephone due to enhanced radiation in the cellular satellite forward link frequency band that may be provided by the ancillary terrestrial network.
Processing of GPS signals can be suppressed at the front end 1805 and/or at the signal processor 1809 when actively providing satellite/terrestrial communications. The bidirectional coupling between the common satellite/terrestrial/GPS front end 1805 and the satellite/terrestrial/GPS signal processor 1809 facilitates two way communications such as a radiotelephone conversation and/or sending and receiving e-mails or other data, so that wireless radiotelephone communications are not subjected to the GPS mode filter.
The common satellite/terrestrial/GPS front end 1805 can be coupled to a communications input or satellite/terrestrial/GPS signal processor 1809 to provide communications system signal monitoring during GPS operations, such as control signals. Accordingly, an incoming call page can be received at the front end 1805 and processed at signal processor 1809 during GPS operations. In the alternative, a switch may be provided to select either GPS signals or communications system signals for coupling to and processing at the satellite/terrestrial/GPS signal processor. Moreover, the GPS mode filter can be implemented as an analog and/or digital filter.
As shown in the example of FIG. 19, a radiotelephone 1320″ according to yet additional embodiments of the present invention can include a front end 1925 with a common satellite/terrestrial front end portion 1927 and a GPS front end portion 1929 respectively coupled to a satellite/terrestrial antenna 1921 and a GPS antenna 1923. The radiotelephone 1320″ can also include a signal processor 1933 having a GPS signal processor portion 1937 and a satellite/terrestrial processor portion 1935, and the signal processor 1933 can be coupled with a user interface 1939. A GPS mode filter 1931 can be inserted preferably between the GPS antenna 1923 and a GPS Low Noise Amplifier (LNA) of the GPS front end 1929. The satellite/terrestrial front end portion 1927 can be directly coupled with the satellite/terrestrial signal processor portion 1935.
The GPS front end portion 1929 can be configured to receive global positioning satellite (GPS) signals from a plurality of global positioning satellites. The common terrestrial/satellite front end portion 1927 can be configured to provide wireless radiotelephone communications with a space-based component using satellite radiotelephone frequencies and to provide wireless radiotelephone communications with an ancillary terrestrial component using at least one of the satellite radiotelephone frequencies. The GPS signal processor portion 1937 can be configured to determine a measure of location of the radiotelephone using GPS signals received at the GPS front end portion 1929 when providing GPS mode operations. The common terrestrial/satellite signal processor portion 1935 can be configured to process communications that are received at and/or transmitted from the common terrestrial/satellite front end portion 1927 when providing wireless radiotelephone communications.
The GPS signal processor 1937 may communicate bidirectionally with the terrestrial/satellite signal processor 1935 to receive and/or relay information from/to the terrestrial/satellite signal processor 1935, and/or the ATN, and/or the SBN. Such information may indicate points in time where measure(s) of position of radiotelephone 1320″ may be determined by GPS signal processor 1937, or value(s) of position measures of radiotelephone 1320″ that have been determined by GPS signal processor 1937 and/or being relayed to the SBN and/or the ATN.
The radiotelephone 1320″ of FIG. 19 is similar to the radiotelephone 1320′ of FIG. 18 with the exception that FIG. 19 shows separate GPS and terrestrial/satellite portions of the front end 1925 and the signal processor 1933, and separate GPS and satellite/terrestrial antennas 1923 and 1921. By operating the SBN and ATN modes over the same frequency band, component count in the radiotelephones, for example in the common terrestrial/satellite front end portion 1927, may be reduced. In particular, in some embodiments, the same frequency synthesizer, RF filters, low noise amplifiers, power amplifiers and antenna elements may be used for terrestrial and satellite communications.
When the radiotelephone 1320″ is operating to provide GPS mode operations, GPS signals can be received through the antenna 1923 and the GPS front end portion 1929 and provided to the GPS signal processor portion 1937 through a coupling with the GPS mode filter 1931. The GPS signal processor portion 1937 can process the GPS signals and may provide a global positioning output at the user interface 1939 in response to a user command and/or information received from the SBN and/or ATN. The user interface 1939, for example, can include a liquid crystal display that can provide a visual indication of position such as a map and/or an alphanumeric indication of location such as a longitude and latitude. The user interface can also include a speaker and microphone for radiotelephone communications, and/or a user input such as a keypad or a touch sensitive screen.
As discussed above with respect to the GPS mode filter 1440 of FIG. 16 and the GPS mode filter 1807 of FIG. 18, the GPS mode filter 1931 may be a high pass, bandpass, notch and/or other filter that can attenuate selected frequencies. As discussed above with respect to FIGS. 3 and 17, cellular satellite and ATC forward links may be provided at frequencies between 1525 MHz and 1559 MHz, and the GPS/GLONASS band is provided between 1559 MHz and 1605 MHz. More particularly, the GPS L1 frequency that carries the navigation message and code signals for civilian GPS use is located at 1575.42+/−1 MHz. Accordingly, the GPS mode filter 1931 can be a high pass filter having a high pass filter slope that allows the L1 frequency to pass relatively unattenuated, but that attenuates frequencies that are lower than the L1 frequency. It will be understood that the slope, cut off frequency and/or bandwidth of the filter 1931 may be designed based on a particular environment in which the radiotelephone 1320″ is being operated, the RF characteristics of the front end, the RF characteristics of the antenna 1923, and/or other factors such as radiation patterns of ATC antennas.
Accordingly, the GPS mode filter 1931 can be configured to selectively suppress energy at frequencies at and/or below (1575.42−Δ) MHz, where 0<Δ<16.42 MHz. Moreover, the GPS mode filter can be configured to selectively suppress at least 10 dB of energy at frequencies at and/or below (1575.42−Δ) MHz. The GPS mode filter can be further configured to selectively suppress at least 10 dB of energy at frequencies of (1575.42−Δ) MHz and lower.
According to some embodiments of the present invention, the GPS mode filter 1931 can be operative to substantially pass energy having a frequency of 1575.42+/−1 MHz and to selectively attenuate energy having a frequency of less than (1575.42−Δ) MHz, where 0<Δ<16.42 MHz. More particularly, the energy can be selectively suppressed by at least 10 dB for frequencies of (1575.42−Δ) MHz and lower, and Δ can be greater than at least 1 MHz. Accordingly, GPS signals can be received while eliminating, minimizing, or reducing the impact to the front end of the combined satellite/terrestrial/GPS radiotelephone due to enhanced radiation in the cellular satellite forward link frequency band that may be provided by the ancillary terrestrial network.
Processing of GPS mode signals can be suppressed at the GPS front end portion 1929 and/or the GPS signal processor portion 1937 when actively providing satellite/terrestrial communications and more particularly when transmitting satellite/terrestrial communications from the radiotelephone 1320″. The bi-directional coupling between the satellite/terrestrial front end portion 1927 and the terrestrial/satellite signal processor 1935 may facilitate two way communications such as a radiotelephone conversation and/or sending and receiving e-mails or other data, so that wireless radiotelephone communications are not subjected to the GPS mode filter.
According to additional embodiments of the present invention, a radiotelephone can include a radio front end configured to provide wireless radiotelephone communications with a space-based component using satellite radiotelephone frequencies and to provide wireless radiotelephone communications with a plurality of ancillary terrestrial components using at least one of the satellite radiotelephone frequencies. The radio front end can also be configured to receive global positioning satellite (GPS) signals from a plurality of global positioning satellites. During GPS mode operations, received energy can be selectivley suppressed at frequencies at and/or below (1575.42−Δ) MHz, where 0<Δ≦16.42 MHz, and a measure of location of the radiotelephone can be determined using the GPS signals having suppressed energy at and/or below (1575.42−Δ) MHz. During wireless radiotelephone communications, communications received at and transmitted from the radio front end can be processed. During wireless radiotelephone communications, the wireless radiotelephone communications can be processed without significantly suppressing energy of the communications at and/or below (1575.42−Δ) MHz.
During GPS mode operations, selectively suppressing energy at and/or below (1575.42−Δ) MHz can include selectively suppressing at least 10 dB of energy at (1575.42−Δ) MHz and at frequencies less than (1575.42−Δ) MHz. During wireless radiotelephone communications, processing of GPS signals can be suppressed when actively providing radiotelephone communications with the space-based component and/or one of the ancillary terrestrial components.
The satellite radiotelephone frequencies can include a satellite downlink frequency band and a satellite uplink frequency hand and GPS signals can be transmitted from GPS satellites over a GPS frequency band between the satellite downlink and uplink frequency bands. More particularly, the satellite downlink frequency band can include frequencies between 1525 MHz and 1559 MHz, and the satellite uplink frequency band can include frequencies between 1626.5 MHz and 1660.5 MHz. The GPS frequency band can include frequencies between 1559 MHz and 1605 MHz. Moreover, when suppressing energy at and/or below (1575.42−Δ) MHz, Δ can be greater than at least 1 MHz. In addition, an incoming call page can be received during GPS mode operations, and the incoming call page can be processed during GPS operations.
FIG. 20 illustrates radiotelephones according to yet additional embodiments of the present invention. As shown, a radiotelephone 2011 can include a front end 2015, a signal processor 2017, a GPS antenna 2005, a terrestrial/satellite antenna 2007, and a user interface 2019. More particularly, the front end 2015 can include a GPS front end portion 2021 and a terrestrial/satellite front end portion 2023, and the signal processor 2017 can include a GPS signal processor portion 2025 and a terrestrial/satellite signal processor portion 2027.
According to embodiments illustrated in FIG. 20, a first low noise amplifier 2031 can be provided in the GPS front end portion 2021, and a second low noise amplifier 2033 can be provided in the terrestrial/satellite front end portion 2023. Accordingly, GPS signals can be received through GPS antenna 2005, the GPS filter 2022, and the GPS low noise amplifier 2031, and provided to the GPS signal processor portion 2025 of the signal processor 2017. The GPS signal processor portion 2025 can thus generate a measure of location of the radiotelephone 2011, and a measure of location can be provided to a user of the radiotelephone via user interface 2019. A coupling between the GPS signal processor portion 2025 and the terrestrial/satellite signal processor portion 2027 can also be provided so that a measure of location of the radiotelephone can be transmitted to an SBN and/or ATN and/or so that commands or other information from an SBN and/or ATN can be provided to the GPS signal processor portion 2025.
During GPS mode operations, the GPS filter 2022 of GPS front end portion 2021 can selectively suppress energy received at frequencies at and/or below (1575.42−Δ) MHz, where 0<Δ≦16.42 MHz, and a measure of location of the radiotelephone can be determined using the GPS signals having suppressed energy at and/or below (1575.42−Δ) MHz. During GPS mode operations, selectively suppressing energy at and/or below (1575.42−Δ) MHz can include selectively suppressing at least 10 dB of energy at (1575.42−Δ) MHz and at frequencies less than (1575.42−Δ) MHz. During wireless radiotelephone communications, processing of GPS signals can be suppressed when actively providing radiotelephone communications (including transmissions) with the space-based component and/or one of the ancillary terrestrial components. The use of separate low noise amplifiers, however, may allow the radiotelephone to receive signals from an SBN and/or ATN (such as control signals including call pages provided over control channels) during GPS mode operations.
During wireless radiotelephone communications, communications received at and/or transmitted from the terrestrial/satellite front end portion 2023 can be processed. During wireless radiotelephone communications, the wireless radiotelephone communications can be processed without significantly suppressing energy of the communications at and/or below (1575.42−Δ) MHz because the GPS filter 2022 is not in the receive path for terrestrial/satellite communications. As shown in FIG. 20, the terrestrial/satellite front end portion 2023 can include low noise amplifier 2033, a communications filter 2041, a transmitter 2043, and a duplexer 2045. The duplexor 2045 can provide coupling between the antenna 2007, the transmitter 2043, and the communications filter 2041. It will be understood that the communications filter 2041 may not be required in some embodiments wherein the duplexer itself provides adequate isolation between the communications transmitter and receiver. It will also be understood that in some embodiments where TDMA is the multiple access technique used for communications signal transmission and reception, the duplexer 2045 may be repliced by a transmit/receive switch.
Accordingly, received radiotelephone communications can be received through the antenna 2007, the duplexer 2045, the communications filter 2041, and the low noise amplifier 2033, and provided to the terrestrial/satellite signal processor portion 2027. Similarly, transmitted radiotelephone communications from the terrestrial/satellite signal processor portion 2027 can be provided to the terrestrial/satellite front end portion 2023, and transmitted through the transmitter 2043, the duplexer 2045, and the antenna 2007. As discussed above, the GPS front end portion 2021 and the GPS signal processor portion 2025 may provide GPS mode operations while signals are received through the terrestrial/satellite front end portion 2023 and the terrestrial/satellite signal processor portion 2027. It may be desirable, however, to suspend GPS mode operations while transmitting from the terrestrial/satellite front end portion 2015.
While two antennas are illustrated in FIG. 20, more or fewer antennas may be used according to additional embodiments of the present invention. For example, a single antenna may be used for both GPS and radiotelephone operations with one or more duplexers being used to couple the single antenna to respective filters and antennas. Alternately, separate antennas may be provided for GPS reception, radiotelephone reception, and radiotelephone transmission.
FIG. 21 illustrates radiotelephones according to still additional embodiments of the present invention. As shown, a radiotelephone 3011 can include a front end 3015, a signal processor 3017, a GPS antenna 3005, a terrestrial/satellite communications signal antenna 3007, and a user interface 3019. According to embodiments illustrated in FIG. 21, the front end 3015 can include a GPS filter 3021, a radiotelephone communications filter 3041, a duplexer 3045, and a transmitter 3043. In addition, a switch 3051 can be used to selectively couple either the GPS filter 3021 or the communications filter 3041 to a single low noise amplifier 3032. Accordingly, the radiotelephone 3011 does not receive GPS signals and radiotelephone signals at the same time.
During GPS operations, the switch 3051 couples the GPS filter 3021 to the low noise amplifier 3032, and decouples the communications filter 3041 from the low noise amplifier 3032. Accordingly, GPS signals can be received through GPS antenna 3005, the GPS filter 3021, the switch 3051, and the low noise amplifier 3032, and provided to the signal processor 3017. The signal processor 3017 can thus generate a measure of location of the radiotelephone 3011, and a measure of location can be provided to a user of the radiotelephone via user interface 3019. In addition, a measure of location of the radiotelephone can be transmitted through transmitter 3043 to the SBN and/or ATN and/or commands or other information from the SBN and/or ATN can be provided to the signal processor 3017.
During GPS mode operations, the GPS filter 3021 of the front end 3015 can selectively suppress energy received at frequencies at and/or below (1575.42−Δ) MHz, where 0<Δ≦16.42 MHz, and a measure of location of the radiotelephone can be determined using the GPS signals having suppressed energy at and/or below (1575.42−Δ) MHz. During GPS mode operations, selectively suppressing energy at and/or below (1575.42−Δ) MHz can include selectively suppressing at least 10 dB of energy at (1575.42−Δ) MHz and at frequencies less than (1575.42−Δ) MHz. During wireless radiotelephone communications, processing of GPS signals can be suppressed because the switch 3051 will decouple the GPS filter 3021 from the low noise amplifier 3032.
During wireless radiotelephone communications, communications received at and/or transmitted from the radiotelephone 3011 can be processed. During wireless radiotelephone communications, the wireless radiotelephone communications can be processed without significantly suppressing energy of the communications at and/or below (1575.42−Δ) MHz because the GPS filter 3021 is not in the receive path for terrestrial/satellite communications. As shown in FIG. 21, radiotelephone communications can be received through the antenna 3007, duplexer 3045, communications filter 3041, switch 3051, and low noise amplifier 3032, and provided to the signal processor 3017. Radiotelephone communications from the signal processor 3017 can be transmitted through the transmitter 3043, the duplexer 3045, and the antenna 3007. The duplexor 3045 can provide coupling between the antenna 3007, the transmitter 3043, and the communications filter 3041.
Accordingly, received radiotelephone communications can be received through the antenna 3007, the duplexer 3045, the communications filter 3041, and the low noise amplifier 3032, and provided to the signal processor 3017. Similarly, transmitted radiotelephone communications from the signal processor 3017 can be transmitted through the transmitter 3043, the duplexer 3045, and the antenna 3007. It will be understood that the communications filter 3041 may not be required in some embodiments wherein the duplexer itself provides adequate isolation between the communications transmitter and receiver. It will also be understood that in some embodiments where TDMA is the multiple access technique used for communications signal transmission and reception, the duplexer 3045 may be replaced by a transmit/receive switch.
While two antennas are illustrated in FIG. 21, more or fewer antennas may be used according to additional embodiments of the present invention. For example, a single antenna may be used for both GPS and radiotelephone operations with one or more duplexers being used to couple the single antenna to respective filters and antennas. Alternately, separate antennas may be provided for GPS reception, radiotelephone reception, and radiotelephone transmission.
a plurality of radiotelephones that are configured to communicate with the space-based component and with the plurality of ancillary terrestrial components, the radiotelephones also including a GPS signal receiver and a GPS mode filter that is configured to suppress energy at and/or below (1575.42−Δ) MHz, where 0<Δ≦16.42 MHz.
2. The satellite radiotelephone system according to claim 1, wherein the GPS mode filter is configured to suppress at least 10 dB of energy at and/or below (1575.42−Δ) MHz.
3. The satellite radiotelephone system according to claim 2, wherein the GPS mode filter is configured to suppress at least 10 dB of energy at frequencies less than (1575.42−Δ) MHz.
4. The satellite radiotelephone system according to claim 1, wherein the GPS mode filter is configured to suppress at least 10 dB of energy at and below (1575.42−Δ) MHz.
5. The satellite radiotelephone system according to claim 1, wherein the radiotelephones are further configured to suppress processing of GPS signals when actively communicating with the space-based component and/or one of the ancillary terrestrial components.
7. The satellite radiotelephone system according to claim 1, wherein the satellite radiotelephone frequencies comprise a satellite downlink frequency band and a satellite uplink frequency band and wherein GPS signals are transmitted from GPS satellites over a GPS frequency band between the satellite downlink and uplink frequency bands.
10. The satellite radiotelephone system according to claim 1, wherein Δ is greater than at least 1 MHz.
13. The satellite radiotelephone system according to claim 1, wherein the radiotelephones are further configured to receive incoming call pages during GPS mode operations.
a GPS mode filter that is configured to filter GPS signals received at the radio front end before being provided to the signal processor, wherein the GPS mode filter is configured to suppress energy at and/or and below (1575.42−Δ) MHz, where 0<Δ≦16.42 MHz.
18. The radiotelephone according to claim 14, wherein the GPS mode filter is configured to suppress at least 10 dB of energy at (1575.42−Δ) MHz.
19. The radiotelephone according to claim 18, wherein the GPS mode filter is configured to suppress at least 10 dB of energy at frequencies less than (1575.42−Δ) MHz.
20. The radiotelephone according to claim 14 15, wherein processing of GPS signals at the signal processor is suppressed when actively providing radiotelephone communications with the space-based component and/or one of the ancillary terrestrial components.
21. The radiotelephone according to claim 14 15, wherein the satellite radiotelephone frequencies comprise a satellite downlink frequency band and a satellite uplink frequency band and wherein GPS signals are transmitted from GPS satellites over a GPS frequency band between the satellite downlink and uplink frequency bands.
24. The radiotelephone according to claim 14, wherein Δ is greater than at least 1 MHz.
during wireless radiotelephone communications, processing communications that are received at and/or transmitted from the radio front end.
29. The method according to claim 27, wherein processing communications that are received at and transmitted from the radio front end during wireless radiotelephone communications comprises processing the communications without suppressing energy of the communications at and/or below (1575.42−Δ) MHz.
30. The method according to claim 27, wherein suppressing energy at and/or and below (1575.42−Δ) MHz comprises suppressing at least 10 dB of energy at and/or and below (1575.42−Δ) MHz.
31. The method according to claim 30, wherein suppressing energy at and/or and (1575.42−Δ) MHz comprises suppressing at least 10 dB of energy at frequencies less than (1575.42−Δ) MHz.
32. The method according to claim 31, wherein suppressing energy at and/or and below (1575.42−Δ) MHz comprises suppressing at least 10 dB of energy at (1575.42−Δ) MHz and at frequencies less than (1575.42−Δ) MHz.
33. The method according to claim 27 28, wherein processing of GPS signals is suppressed when actively providing radiotelephone communications with the space-based component and/or one of the ancillary terrestrial components.
37. The method according to claim 27, wherein Δ is greater than at least 1 MHz.
processing the incoming call page during GPS operations.
during GPS mode operations prior to determining the measure of location, providing low noise amplification of the GPS signals having suppressed energy at and/or below (1575.42−Δ) MHz.
40. The satellite radiotelephone system according to claim 1 wherein the GPS mode filter is configured to suppress energy at and below (1575.42−Δ) MHz, where 0<Δ≦16.42 MHz.
at least one radiotelephone that is configured to communicate with the space-based component and/or with the at least one ancillary terrestrial component, the at least one radiotelephone including a GPS signal processor and a GPS filter that is configured to selectively attenuate signal energy that is associated with Radio Frequencies (RF) at and/or below (1575.42−Δ) MHz, where 0<Δ≦16.42 MHz.
42. The satellite radiotelephone system according to claim 41, wherein the GPS filter is configured to suppress at least 10 dB of signal energy that is associated with Radio Frequencies at and/or below (1575.42−Δ) MHz.
44. The satellite radiotelephone system according to claim 41, wherein the at least one radiotelephone is further configured to suppress processing of GPS signals when communicating with the space-based component, and/or with the at least one ancillary terrestrial component.
46. The satellite radiotelephone system according to claim 41, wherein the satellite radiotelephone frequencies comprise a satellite downlink frequency band and a satellite uplink frequency band and wherein GPS signals are transmitted from GPS satellites over a GPS frequency band between the satellite downlink and uplink frequency bands.
49. The satellite radiotelephone system according to claim 41, wherein Δ is greater than 1 MHz.
52. The satellite radiotelephone system according to claim 41, wherein the at least one radiotelephone is further configured to receive wireless radiotelephone communications and/or a page during GPS mode operations.
a GPS filter that is configured to filter signals received at the radio front end before being provided to the signal processor, wherein the GPS filter is configured to selectively attenuate signal energy that is associated with Radio Frequencies (RF) at and below (1575.42−Δ) MHz, where 0<Δ≦16.42 MHz.
56. The radiotelephone according to claim 53, wherein the GPS filter is coupled between an antenna and a low noise amplifier used in reception of GPS signals.
57. The radiotelephone according to claim 53, wherein the GPS filter is configured to suppress at least 10 dB of signal energy that is associated with Radio Frequencies at and below (1575.42−Δ) MHz.
59. The radiotelephone according to claim 53, wherein processing of GPS signals at the signal processor is suppressed responsive to the radiotelephone transmitting wireless radiotelephone communications.
63. The radiotelephone according to claim 53, wherein Δ is greater than 1 MHz.
65. The radiotelephone according to claim 53, wherein the radio front end is further configured to receive communications and/or a page during GPS mode operations and wherein the signal processor is further configured to process the communications and/or the page during GPS mode operations.
68. The method according to claim 66, wherein processing communications that are received at and/or transmitted from the radio front end during wireless radiotelephone communications comprises processing the communications without subjecting the communications to selectively suppressing energy thereof relating to Radio Frequencies (RF) at and below (1575.42−Δ) MHz.
69. The method according to claim 66, wherein selectively suppressing signal energy relating to Radio Frequencies (RF) at and below (1575.42−Δ) MHz comprises suppressing at least 10 dB of signal energy relating to Radio Frequencies (RF) at and below (1575.42−Δ) MHz.
70. The method according to claim 66, wherein selectively suppressing signal energy relating to Radio Frequencies (RF) at and below (1575.42−Δ) MHz comprises high-pass filtering.
72. The method according to claim 67, wherein the satellite radiotelephone frequencies comprise a satellite downlink frequency band and a satellite uplink frequency band and wherein GPS signals are transmitted from GPS satellites over a GPS frequency band that is between the satellite downlink and uplink frequency bands.
75. The method according to claim 66, wherein Δ is greater than 1 MHz.
processing the communications and/or the page during GPS mode operations.
during GPS mode operations prior to determining the measure of location, providing low noise amplification to the GPS signals having suppressed energy relating to Radio Frequencies at and below (1575.42−Δ) MHz.
configuring at least one radiotelephone to communicate with the space-based component and/or with the at least one ancillary terrestrial component, the at least one radiotelephone including a GPS signal processor and a GPS filter that is configured to selectively attenuate signal energy that is associated with Radio Frequencies (RF) at and/or below (1575.42−Δ) MHz, where 0<Δ≦16.42 MHz.
79. The method according to claim 78, wherein the GPS filter is configured to suppress at least 10 dB of signal energy that is associated with Radio Frequencies at and/or below (1575.42−Δ) MHz.
81. The method according to claim 78, wherein the at least one radiotelephone is further configured to suppress processing of GPS signals when communicating with the space-based component and/or with the at least one ancillary terrestrial component.
83. The method according to claim 78, wherein the satellite radiotelephone frequencies comprise a satellite downlink frequency band and a satellite uplink frequency band and wherein GPS signals are transmitted from GPS satellites over a GPS frequency band that is between the satellite downlink and uplink frequency bands.
86. The method according to claim 78, wherein Δ is greater than 1 MHz.
89. The method according to claim 78, wherein the at least one radiotelephone is further configured to receive wireless radiotelephone communications and/or a page during GPS mode operations.
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