US5802445A — Methods and apparatus for providing user RF expos…

Claim 1

Independent Claim 107 words

A method for operating a communications system, comprising the steps of: establishing a wireless connection with a user terminal through a forward link and a return link; determining at a receiver that is located external to the user terminal, during the connection, if an averaged transmitted power density associated with an antenna of the user terminal will equal or exceed, relative to a user of the terminal, at least one of a predetermined threshold level, within a specified unit of time, and an absolute threshold level; and terminating the connection prior to a time that the averaged transmitted power density level equals or exceeds the threshold level.

Claim 2

Independent Claim 107 words

A method for operating a communications system, comprising the steps of: establishing a wireless connection with a user terminal through a forward link and a return link; determining at a receiver that is located external to the user terminal, during the connection, if an averaged transmitted power density associated with an antenna of the user terminal will equal or exceed, relative to a user of the terminal, at least one of a predetermined threshold level, within a specified unit of time, and an absolute threshold level; and terminating the connection prior to a time that the averaged transmitted power density level equals or exceeds the threshold level.

Claim 3

Dependent Claim 43 words

A method as set forth in claim 1 and further including the step of: in response to the user terminal attempting to establish a second connection within an interval of time after executing the step of terminating, refusing to establish the second connection.

Claim 4

Dependent Claim 83 words

A method as set forth in claim 1 and further including the steps of: in response to the user terminal attempting to establish a second connection within an interval of time after executing the step of terminating, comparing a telephone number sent with a connection request with telephone numbers belonging to a predetermined set of telephone numbers, and if the telephone number matches one of the telephone numbers of the set, connecting the user terminal for placing the call to the telephone number.

Claim 5

Dependent Claim 75 words

A method as set forth in claim 1 wherein the step of determining includes the steps of: sampling a signal received from the user terminal over the return link; transmitting a power control signal to the user terminal over the forward link to establish the transmitter power of the user terminal at a predetermined level; and converting an expected transmitter power of the user terminal to a power density value relative to the user's body.

Claim 6

Dependent Claim 49 words

A method as set forth in claim 1 and further comprising the steps of: during the connection, determining at the user terminal a transmitted power density associated with the antenna of the user terminal; and transmitting the determined transmitted power density from the user terminal over the return link.

Claim 7

Dependent Claim 54 words

A method as set forth in claim 1 wherein the step of terminating includes the initial steps of: transmitting a message to the user terminal on the forward link; and in response to receiving the transmitted message, presenting an indication to the user of the user terminal that the connection will soon be terminated.

Claim 8

Dependent Claim 24 words

A method as set forth in claim 1 wherein the step of establishing a wireless connection establishes the connection through at least one satellite.

Claim 9

Independent Claim 146 words

A method for operating a communications system, comprising the steps of: establishing a wireless connection with a user terminal through a forward link and a return link; determining, during the connection, if an averaged transmitted power density associated with an antenna of the user terminal will equal or exceed, relative to a user of the terminal, at least one of a predetermined threshold level, within a specified unit of time, and an absolute threshold level; and terminating the connection prior to a time that the averaged transmitted Power density level equals or exceeds the threshold level; wherein the step of establishing includes the steps of: identifying, from information received from the user terminal over the return link, a type of user terminal; and executing the step of determining only if the user terminal type is identified to be one of a predetermined one or more types.

Claim 10

Independent Claim 146 words

A method for operating a communications system, comprising the steps of: establishing a wireless connection with a user terminal through a forward link and a return link; determining, during the connection, if an averaged transmitted power density associated with an antenna of the user terminal will equal or exceed, relative to a user of the terminal, at least one of a predetermined threshold level, within a specified unit of time, and an absolute threshold level; and terminating the connection prior to a time that the averaged transmitted Power density level equals or exceeds the threshold level; wherein the step of establishing includes the steps of: identifying, from information received from the user terminal over the return link, a type of user terminal; and executing the step of determining only if the user terminal type is identified to be one of a predetermined one or more types.

Claim 11

Dependent Claim 118 words

A communications system, comprising: means for establishing a wireless connection with a user terminal through a forward link and a return link; means for determining, during the connection, if an averaged transmitted power density associated with an antenna of the user terminal will equal or exceed, relative to a user of the terminal, at least one of a predetermined threshold level, within a specified unit of time, or an absolute threshold level, said determining means being located external to the user terminal and comprising a receiver for receiving the return link from the user terminal; and means for terminating the connection prior to a time that the averaged transmitted power density level equals or exceeds the threshold level.

Claim 12

Dependent Claim 118 words

A communications system, comprising: means for establishing a wireless connection with a user terminal through a forward link and a return link; means for determining, during the connection, if an averaged transmitted power density associated with an antenna of the user terminal will equal or exceed, relative to a user of the terminal, at least one of a predetermined threshold level, within a specified unit of time, or an absolute threshold level, said determining means being located external to the user terminal and comprising a receiver for receiving the return link from the user terminal; and means for terminating the connection prior to a time that the averaged transmitted power density level equals or exceeds the threshold level.

Claim 13

Dependent Claim 42 words

A system as set forth in claim 9 wherein said establishing means is responsive to the user terminal attempting to establish a second connection, within an interval of time after a connection has been terminated, for refusing to establish the second connection.

Claim 14

Dependent Claim 83 words

A system as set forth in claim 9 wherein said establishing means is responsive to the user terminal attempting to establish a second connection, within an interval of time after a connection has been terminated, for comparing a telephone number sent with a connection request with telephone numbers belonging to a predetermined set of telephone numbers, and if the telephone number matches one of the telephone numbers of the set, for connecting the user terminal for placing the call to the telephone number.

Claim 15

Dependent Claim 84 words

A system as set forth in claim 9 wherein said determining means is comprised of: means for sampling a signal received from the user terminal over the return link; means for transmitting a power control signal to the user terminal over the forward link to establish the transmitter power of the user terminal at a predetermined level; and means for converting an expected transmitter power of the user terminal to a power density value, as a function of time, relative to the user's body.

Claim 16

Dependent Claim 48 words

A system as set forth in claim 9 wherein said user terminal includes means for determining, during a connection, a transmitted power density associated with the antenna of the user terminal; and means for transmitting the determined transmitted power density from the user terminal over the return link.

Claim 17

Dependent Claim 57 words

A system as set forth in claim 9 wherein said terminating means includes means for transmitting a message to the user terminal on the forward link; and wherein said user terminal includes means, responsive to receiving the transmitted message, for presenting an indication to the user of the user terminal that the connection will soon be terminated.

Claim 18

Dependent Claim 22 words

A system as set forth in claim 9 and further comprising at least one satellite through which the wireless connection is established.

Claim 19

Dependent Claim 149 words

A communications system, comprising: means for establishing a wireless connection with a user terminal through a forward link and a return link; means for determining, during the connection, if an averaged transmitted power density associated with an antenna of the user terminal will equal or exceed, relative to a user of the terminal, at least one of a predetermined threshold level, within a specified unit of time, or an absolute threshold level; and means for terminating the connection prior to a time that the averaged transmitted power density level equals or exceeds the threshold level; wherein said establishing means includes means for identifying, from information received from the user terminal over the return link, a type of user terminal; and wherein said determining means is responsive to a determined user terminal identification for operating only for user terminals identified to be one of a predetermined one or more types.

Claim 20

Dependent Claim 149 words

A communications system, comprising: means for establishing a wireless connection with a user terminal through a forward link and a return link; means for determining, during the connection, if an averaged transmitted power density associated with an antenna of the user terminal will equal or exceed, relative to a user of the terminal, at least one of a predetermined threshold level, within a specified unit of time, or an absolute threshold level; and means for terminating the connection prior to a time that the averaged transmitted power density level equals or exceeds the threshold level; wherein said establishing means includes means for identifying, from information received from the user terminal over the return link, a type of user terminal; and wherein said determining means is responsive to a determined user terminal identification for operating only for user terminals identified to be one of a predetermined one or more types.

Claim 21

Dependent Claim 143 words

A satellite communication system, comprising: a constellation of earth orbiting satellites; at least one terrestrially located user terminal; at least one terrestrially located gateway, said gateway including means for conveying a bidirectional, power controlled wireless communication connection between a terrestrial communications system and said at least one user terminal through at least one of said satellites; wherein, said at least one gateway includes means for determining, during the connection and from user terminal power control information, if an averaged transmitted power density associated with an antenna of the user terminal will equal or exceed, relative to a user of the terminal, at least one of a predetermined threshold level, within a specified unit of time, or an absolute threshold level, and means for terminating the connection prior to a time that the averaged transmitted power density level equals or exceeds the threshold level.

Claim 22

Dependent Claim 143 words

A satellite communication system, comprising: a constellation of earth orbiting satellites; at least one terrestrially located user terminal; at least one terrestrially located gateway, said gateway including means for conveying a bidirectional, power controlled wireless communication connection between a terrestrial communications system and said at least one user terminal through at least one of said satellites; wherein, said at least one gateway includes means for determining, during the connection and from user terminal power control information, if an averaged transmitted power density associated with an antenna of the user terminal will equal or exceed, relative to a user of the terminal, at least one of a predetermined threshold level, within a specified unit of time, or an absolute threshold level, and means for terminating the connection prior to a time that the averaged transmitted power density level equals or exceeds the threshold level.

Claim 23

Dependent Claim 41 words

A system as set forth in claim 17 wherein said gateway is responsive to the user terminal attempting to establish a second connection, within an interval of time after a connection has been terminated, for refusing to establish the second connection.

Claim 24

Dependent Claim 82 words

A system as set forth in claim 17 wherein said gateway is responsive to the user terminal attempting to establish a second connection, within an interval of time after a connection has been terminated, for comparing a telephone number sent with a connection request with telephone numbers belonging to a predetermined set of telephone numbers, and if the telephone number matches one of the telephone numbers of the set, for connecting the user terminal for placing the call to the telephone number.

Claim 25

Dependent Claim 79 words

A system as set forth in claim 17 wherein said determining means is comprised of: means for sampling a signal received from the user terminal over a return link; means for transmitting a power control signal to the user terminal over a forward link to establish the transmitter power of the user terminal at a predetermined level; and means for converting an expected transmitter power of the user terminal to a power density value relative to the user's body.

Claim 26

Dependent Claim 48 words

A system as set forth in claim 17 wherein said user terminal includes means for determining, during a connection, a transmitted power density associated with the antenna of the user terminal; and means for transmitting the determined transmitted power density from the user terminal over a return link.

Claim 27

Dependent Claim 57 words

A system as set forth in claim 17 wherein said terminating means includes means for transmitting a message to the user terminal on the forward link; and wherein said user terminal includes means, responsive to receiving the transmitted message, for presenting an indication to the user of the user terminal that the connection will soon be terminated.

Claim 28

Dependent Claim 27 words

A system as set forth in claim 17 wherein said bidirectional, power controlled wireless communication connection is a spread spectrum, code division multiple access wireless communication connection.

Claim 29

Dependent Claim 25 words

A system as set forth in claim 17 wherein said bidirectional, power controlled wireless communication connection is a time division, multiple access wireless communication connection.

Claim 30

Dependent Claim 199 words

A satellite communications system, comprising: a constellation of earth orbiting satellites; at least one terrestrially located user terminal; at least one terrestrially located gateway, said gateway including means for conveying a bidirectional, power controlled wireless communication connection between a terrestrial communications system and said at least one user terminal through at least one of said satellites; wherein, said at least one gateway includes means for determining, during the connection and from user terminal power control information, if an averaged transmitted power density associated with an antenna of the user terminal will equal or exceed, relative to a user of the terminal, at least one of a predetermined threshold level, within a specified unit of time, or an absolute threshold level, and means for terminating the connection prior to a time that the averaged transmitted power density level equals or exceeds the threshold level; wherein said gateway includes means for identifying, from information received from the user terminal over a return link, an identification of a type of user terminal; and wherein said determining means is responsive to a determined user terminal identification for operating only for user terminals identified to be one of a predetermined one or more types.

Claim 31

Dependent Claim 199 words

A satellite communications system, comprising: a constellation of earth orbiting satellites; at least one terrestrially located user terminal; at least one terrestrially located gateway, said gateway including means for conveying a bidirectional, power controlled wireless communication connection between a terrestrial communications system and said at least one user terminal through at least one of said satellites; wherein, said at least one gateway includes means for determining, during the connection and from user terminal power control information, if an averaged transmitted power density associated with an antenna of the user terminal will equal or exceed, relative to a user of the terminal, at least one of a predetermined threshold level, within a specified unit of time, or an absolute threshold level, and means for terminating the connection prior to a time that the averaged transmitted power density level equals or exceeds the threshold level; wherein said gateway includes means for identifying, from information received from the user terminal over a return link, an identification of a type of user terminal; and wherein said determining means is responsive to a determined user terminal identification for operating only for user terminals identified to be one of a predetermined one or more types.

Claim 32

Dependent Claim 134 words

A satellite communication system, comprising: at least one earth orbiting satellite; at least one terrestrially located user terminal; and at least one terrestrially located gateway, said gateway including means for conveying a bidirectional wireless communication connection between a terrestrial communications system and said at least one user terminal through said at least one satellite; wherein, at least one of said at least one gateway and said at least one satellite is comprised of means for receiving a transmission from the user terminal and for determining, at least during a connection and from the received transmission, an RF exposure of a user associated with the terminal, said at least one gateway and said at least one satellite further comprising means for controlling the wireless connection in accordance with the determined RF exposure of the user.

Claim 33

Dependent Claim 134 words

A satellite communication system, comprising: at least one earth orbiting satellite; at least one terrestrially located user terminal; and at least one terrestrially located gateway, said gateway including means for conveying a bidirectional wireless communication connection between a terrestrial communications system and said at least one user terminal through said at least one satellite; wherein, at least one of said at least one gateway and said at least one satellite is comprised of means for receiving a transmission from the user terminal and for determining, at least during a connection and from the received transmission, an RF exposure of a user associated with the terminal, said at least one gateway and said at least one satellite further comprising means for controlling the wireless connection in accordance with the determined RF exposure of the user.

Claim 34

Dependent Claim 169 words

A satellite communication system, comprising: a plurality of earth orbiting satellites; at least one terrestrially located user terminal; and at least one terrestrially located gateway, said gateway comprising means for conveying a bidirectional wireless communication connection between a terrestrial communications system and said at least one user terminal through at least one of said plurality of satellites, said gateway further comprising means for receiving call requests for the user terminal and for connecting the user terminal to the terrestrial communications system so as to make and receive calls, said gateway further comprising a control means for determining, over one or more calls within an interval of time, an RF exposure of a user associated with the user terminal, said at least one gateway further comprising means for controlling the transmitter power of said user terminal in accordance with the determined RF exposure of the user so as to cause the transmitter power of said user terminal to be reduced if a threshold RF exposure level is equaled or exceeded.

Claim 35

Dependent Claim 169 words

A satellite communication system, comprising: a plurality of earth orbiting satellites; at least one terrestrially located user terminal; and at least one terrestrially located gateway, said gateway comprising means for conveying a bidirectional wireless communication connection between a terrestrial communications system and said at least one user terminal through at least one of said plurality of satellites, said gateway further comprising means for receiving call requests for the user terminal and for connecting the user terminal to the terrestrial communications system so as to make and receive calls, said gateway further comprising a control means for determining, over one or more calls within an interval of time, an RF exposure of a user associated with the user terminal, said at least one gateway further comprising means for controlling the transmitter power of said user terminal in accordance with the determined RF exposure of the user so as to cause the transmitter power of said user terminal to be reduced if a threshold RF exposure level is equaled or exceeded.

Claim 36

Dependent Claim 38 words

A satellite communications system as set forth in claim 27, wherein said control means is responsive to a reduction in the user terminal transmitter power for increasing a satellite diversity level that is assigned to the user terminal.

Annuity Stage	Window Opens	Payment Deadline	Surcharge Period Until	Estimated Fee	Status
3.5 Years (Year 4)	2001-08-31	2002-03-02	2002-09-01	$2000.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
7.5 Years (Year 8)	2005-08-31	2006-03-02	2006-09-01	$3760.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
11.5 Years (Year 12)	2009-08-31	2010-03-02	2010-09-01	$7700.00	Window Closed / Lapsed

Methods and apparatus for providing user RF exposure monitoring and control in a satellite communications system

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