WO2017175696A1 - Leo satellite system - Google Patents

Abstract

A low earth orbit (LEO) satellite system in which a constellation is configured from a large number of satellites circling along a low-altitude orbit so as to construct a global monitoring infrastructure for many terminal devices, each of the large number of satellites including: a communication unit for communicating with a large number of terminal devices present on the earth side and other satellites present on the orbit side; and a management unit for managing the reaction condition and reactive motion of each of the satellites with respect to terminal device states jointly with other satellites via the communication unit, as well as executing communication via the communication unit with a terminal device group present in a management area of which the host satellite is currently in charge, collecting a position-information-including status of the terminal device group present in the management area, executing a reactive motion correlated to a reaction condition when each individual terminal device state meets the reaction condition, and managing the large number of terminal devices. The large number of satellites globally monitor, in cooperation, a specific terminal device and/or a plurality of terminal device groups present on the earth side while alternatingly taking charge of each management area.

Description

LEO satellite system

The present invention relates to an LEO (Low Earth Earth Orbit) satellite system constructed by an orbiting satellite group orbiting a low altitude orbit (LEO: Low Earth Earth Orbit).

Recently, various terminal devices on the ground, sea and in flight are remotely monitored and controlled using satellite communications.

An example of remote monitoring and control using satellites is an air traffic control system. In the air traffic control system, a satellite-based augmentation system (SBAS) is used to monitor and control air traffic. The air traffic control system is the regional service for the North American continent, Asia Pacific, and Europe, even with the most extensive navigation service.

Another example of remote monitoring and control is an ocean observation system. In some ocean observation systems, fixed buoys equipped with observation sensors and satellite communication equipment are installed in the ocean, and the sensor values of the fixed buoys are collected at the earth station via a satellite line.

Another example of remote monitoring control is the Iridium (registered trademark) satellite telephone system. The Iridium satellite telephone system detects a call from an Iridium telephone on the earth and calls the destination Iridium telephone. The Iridium satellite telephone system is an LEO satellite system, and a satellite constellation is formed by many satellites that are put into the LEO orbit.

Technologies related to remote monitoring and control using satellites are disclosed in Patent Documents 1 to 3, for example.

Patent Document 1 discloses an ocean monitoring system. In this ocean observation system, many floating buoys equipped with GPS receivers, observation sensors, and satellite communication equipment are installed in the ocean, and the position and sensor value of each floating buoy are transmitted to the earth station via a satellite line. Collecting.

Patent Document 2 and Patent Document 3 disclose techniques related to satellite constellation.

Patent Document 2 discloses a satellite communication system including an LEO satellite group, a plurality of user terminals, and an earth station. In this patent document 1, a satellite telephone system is mainly disclosed. A method in which the earth station specifies the position of each user terminal (satellite telephone) on the earth, a paging congestion prevention method (oscillation regulation method) of the user terminal, and the like. Is disclosed.

Patent Document 3 also discloses a satellite communication system including an LEO satellite group, a plurality of user terminals, and an earth station. In Patent Document 3, the earth station determines a main path and an alternative path (backup path) for connecting each user terminal and notifies each satellite, and each satellite has a failure or congestion in inter-satellite communication (cross link). A satellite constellation that combines autonomous rerouting when it occurs is disclosed.

JP 07-055911 A Special table 2003-526959 gazette Special table 2013-541912

The inventors wanted to realize constant remote monitoring and control of the position and state of many IoT devices (Internet of Things) on the earth. If this can be realized, it will be possible to better manage a large number of terminal devices, including unmanned airplanes, drones, self-driving cars, smartphones, and vending machines.

These remote management functions can be used for various services in addition to common services such as checking the position coordinates of terminal devices. For example, transportation services by mobile objects such as autonomous vehicles and robot ships, ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance) services by mobile objects such as drones, unmanned aircraft, and exploration rover, and remote by fixed unmanned sensors such as meteorometers and wave height meters These include sensing services and remote supply services for beverages and food using vending machines.

In order to ensure service quality, each terminal device used for service must operate normally. For example, if the operating status of the terminal device is a transportation or ISR service, whether it is operating along the scheduled flight (movement) route, whether it is operating on time, or whether an abnormal failure has occurred, etc. , Service vendors want to know. Also, if the terminal device is operating normally, the service vendor would like to know the measured value for the remote sensing service, the inventory of beverages and food, the storage status, the presence of change, etc. for the vending service. However, in the existing satellite communication service, continuous remote monitoring and remote control for a large number of service providing terminal devices cannot be realized at low cost in view of cost.

On the other hand, in the techniques disclosed in the above-mentioned Patent Documents 1 to 3, a specific small number or a specific large number of terminal devices (buoy, telephone) are managed. The remote service of these terminal devices is realized by each of the earth station, the satellite, and the terminal device operating according to the system mode.

For example, in Patent Document 1, an earth station and a floating buoy (terminal device) connect a satellite line via a satellite and collect position information and sensor values. In this system, it is necessary to artificially control the number of connections to the satellite by setting the timing of communication with the satellite in advance on the terminal device side so as to adjust so as not to cause congestion. However, the terminal device does not take into account that communication is distributed to multiple communication satellites or earth stations, and when increasing the number of floating buoys or observation areas, the number of communication satellites or base stations (satellite communication lines) It is necessary to increase it, and it is very costly to expand the service to a full-scale scale. Furthermore, it specializes in observation with observation sensors in the ocean, and in other application fields, it is necessary to develop terminal devices and base stations in accordance with the respective fields. This is partly due to the fact that a secure and general-purpose infrastructure that collects information globally is not yet available. Another reason may be that system developers in each application field do not have the know-how to build a general-purpose general-purpose communication infrastructure. In many application fields, a transmission protocol and a data processing system have been established by specializing in the data format used according to the field. This hinders the application of the existing communication infrastructure in each field to global and general purpose applications.

On the other hand, in satellite communication systems such as iridium telephones, a satellite constellation capable of satellite-satellite communication and satellite-terminal communication is constructed and many terminal devices (satellite telephones) are managed. It is necessary to set a limit on the number of connections. On the other hand, in Patent Document 2, the earth station specifies a congestion prevention area, and each terminal device (satellite telephone) in the area executes call restriction (secretly concealed to the user) to prevent actual congestion. It is in charge. In Patent Document 3, the earth station determines communication paths to be established in various satellite groups, and each satellite is in charge of congestion prevention. However, the number of telephones that are always connected cannot be increased beyond a certain level. In these satellite systems, it is necessary to drastically change the satellite constellation.

The inventors examined a satellite constellation that can always remotely manage a larger number of terminal devices at a lower cost than the current situation where each satellite is in the earth using a satellite communication system. The number of terminal devices placed under the control of this satellite system can be managed more than that of the satellite systems described in Patent Documents 1 to 3. In addition, a satellite constellation with an increased degree of freedom in the types of terminal devices placed under management is constructed. In other words, the provision of a solution that can be deployed globally with the aim of “ensuring economics” and “ensuring diversity” is set as an issue.
In addition, the provision of a mechanism that can ensure "safety" as required is set as an issue.

The present invention has been made on the basis of the above-mentioned background. Specifically, it is an object of the present invention to provide an LEO satellite system that constructs a global watching infrastructure for many terminal devices.

The LEO satellite system according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a constellation composed of a large number of satellites orbiting in a low altitude orbit, and each of the large number of satellites is present on a large number of terminal devices and orbit side on the earth side. The communication unit that communicates with other satellites, and the reaction conditions and reaction operations for each terminal device state are shared and managed with the other satellites via the communication unit, and the communication unit Executes communication with the terminal device group currently in the management area, and collects the status including the location information of the terminal device group existing in the management area, and the individual terminal device state is the reaction condition And a management unit that manages the multiple terminal devices by executing a reaction operation corresponding to the reaction condition when the two conditions are met, and the multiple satellites cooperate with each other to change the management area. Present on the side A specific terminal device and / or a plurality of terminal device groups are watched globally.

An LEO satellite according to an embodiment of the present invention is configured to communicate with a large number of terminal devices 存在 existing on the earth side and other satellites existing on the orbit side in a state of being arranged in a low-orbit orbit. The communication unit and the reaction condition and reaction operation for each terminal device state are managed in common with the other satellites via the communication unit, and in the management area that is currently in charge via the communication unit. To collect status information including the location information of the terminal device group existing in the management area, and when each terminal device state matches the reaction condition, It includes a management unit configured to execute a reaction operation corresponding to the reaction condition and manage the plurality of terminal devices.

A method for managing terminal device groups by LEO satellites according to an embodiment of the present invention is a method for managing terminal device groups by an LEO satellite system in which a constellation is formed by a large number of satellites orbiting in a low altitude orbit. Each of the satellites includes a plurality of terminal devices 地球 existing on the earth side and a communication unit communicating with other satellites existing on the orbit side, and a management unit responsible for cooperative operation with the other satellites. , Managing reaction conditions and reaction operations for each terminal device state in common with the other satellites via the communication unit, and each of the multiple satellites is currently in charge via the communication unit Executes communication with the terminal device group in the management area, collects the status including the positional information of the terminal device group in the management area, and the individual terminal device state matches the reaction condition In this case, the terminal device is managed by executing a reaction operation corresponding to the reaction condition.

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an LEO satellite system that constructs a global watching infrastructure for many terminal devices.

It is explanatory drawing used for description of the LEO satellite system 1 of one Embodiment of this invention. 1 is a functional block diagram showing an artificial satellite that constructs an LEO satellite system 1. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an operation example related to a state change detection unit 11B of the area management satellite 10. It is explanatory drawing used for description of the taking over method of the management area | region of the LEO satellite system. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram used for explaining a method for taking over a plurality of management areas of the LEO satellite system 1; It is another explanatory drawing used for description of the taking over method of the some management area | region of the LEO satellite system. It is another explanatory drawing used for description of the taking over method of the some management area | region of the LEO satellite system. It is explanatory drawing which represented visually the operation | movement etc. which take over the status of the terminal device between the satellites concerning the LEO satellite system.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[First Embodiment]
FIG. 1 to FIG. 3 are explanatory diagrams used for explaining an LEO satellite system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 shows each satellite constituting the satellite constellation of the LEO satellite system 1 according to the present invention and its locus (orbit). In order to show the difference between the trajectory altitude of the low orbit and the orbital altitude of the geostationary or medium trajectory, only one orbit of the middle orbit is shown. Since each satellite is small with respect to the earth, only some of the satellites are shown as deformed in FIG. Each satellite orbits the earth in its own LEO orbit. A plurality of satellites are arranged in each orbit to form a satellite constellation.

In the LEO satellite system 1, each satellite constituting the satellite constellation autonomously cooperates with surrounding satellites to manage the terminal device group of the entire earth. Note that the entire management area of the LEO satellite system 1 may be operated by limiting a specific country or area.

As described above, the LEO satellite system 1 constitutes a constellation with a large number of satellites orbiting in a low altitude orbit. Each satellite constituting the LEO satellite system 1 is a satellite capable of satellite-satellite communication and satellite-terminal communication. Each satellite can communicate with an earth station (a ground station, a ship station, an aircraft station, etc.) as necessary. Each satellite is preferably configured to be able to receive / communicate with a system such as SBAS, QZSS (Quasi-Zenith Satellite System), or GPS.

The LEO satellite system 1 divides the ground surface into a number of regions (grids), and each region satellite is responsible for many terminal devices existing in each region. The satellite in charge of this region is replaced with another satellite from time to time as the relative position of the LEO satellite relative to the earth changes. The LEO satellite system 1 arranges the area charge satellites for each area without omission and realizes continuous management. By this constellation, the LEO satellite system 1 constructs a wide area remote monitoring and control network base, generally a global satellite cloud system.

In addition, each satellite of the LEO satellite system 1 can be launched with a rocket by configuring it with a small satellite rather than a medium-sized satellite, thereby establishing a cost advantage of the system. The LEO satellite system 1 described below is assumed to cover the entire earth. The number of satellites is estimated to be 1300 or more even if the orbital altitude is 500 [km] and one satellite covers an area of 100 [km] x 100 [km] on the ground surface.

Each terminal is configured to be able to communicate with systems such as SBAS, QZSS, and GPS, so that the satellite can detect deviations from the planned route from the position information of the terminal device that changes from time to time and the planned route information. It becomes possible.

Note that the communicable range of each satellite of the LEO satellite system 1 for the surface (for the terminal) is determined by the orbit, antenna shape, beam shape, radio wave output intensity, and the like. Depending on the size of the area covering the ground surface, the communicable range of each satellite for the ground surface can cover a plurality of areas.

FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram showing an example of the configuration of individual artificial satellites that construct the LEO satellite system 1. For the sake of explanation, a reference numeral of an area management satellite 10 to be described later is given. In addition, description of power supply systems such as solar cell panels, antennas, and the like is omitted.

The area management satellite 10 can be configured by using a management unit 11 and a communication unit 12 that execute operations described below. The management unit 11 may be realized using a main processor and memory of an on-board computer, or may be realized using a sub processor separately from the main processor. The management unit 11 may be formed in an FPGA (Field-Programmable-Gate-Array).

The management unit 11 identifies the management area that it currently handles and manages the status of the terminal group in the management area. In this status management, satellite-terminal communication with a terminal device group in the management area is executed as necessary. It is desirable that the status to be managed includes, in addition to the terminal device ID (identifier), position information associated with time information, a sensor value, an internal state, presence / absence of an alert, and the like. When starting the status management, the management unit 11 may perform the presence check of the terminal device in the management area.
The terminal device is configured to autonomously or actively notify the satellite of the LEO satellite system 1 (the area management satellite 10 at that timing) of the status managed by the device itself.

The communication unit 12 operates as a satellite communication unit 12A and a surface communication unit 12B. The satellite communication unit 12A functions so as to be able to communicate with other satellites existing on the orbit side (space side) when LEO is introduced. The ground surface communication unit 12B functions so as to be able to communicate with a terminal device group existing on the earth side when it is introduced into the LEO. Note that the satellite-satellite communication method, the satellite-terminal communication method, the frequency band used, and the like are not particularly limited, and may be used while switching the permitted method or band for each country or region.

The management unit 11 of the present embodiment includes a condition operation storage unit 11A that holds reaction conditions and reaction operations for each terminal device state, and a state change detection that detects a state change of each terminal device in the management area based on the reaction conditions. 11B and a previous state storage unit 11C that stores the previous state of each terminal device. It should be noted that the condition operation storage unit 11A, the state change detection unit 11B, and the previous state storage unit 11C are provided as separate components from the management unit 11 without being incorporated in the management unit 11 (remote manager) as illustrated. Also good.

The reaction conditions and reaction operations managed by the condition operation storage unit 11A are managed separately for each terminal device, each terminal device group, each provided service, and each arbitrary category such as each service vendor. Whether or not each terminal device or group of terminal devices matches the reaction condition is determined by the state change detection unit 11B for each section.

In accordance with the detection result of the state change detection unit 11B, the management unit 11 executes a reaction operation associated with the reaction condition when the state of any terminal device / group of terminal devices matches the reaction condition being managed. . Although the reaction operation is not particularly limited, for example, a predetermined communication command (control command) is transmitted to each terminal device or predetermined message information is notified to a specific earth station.

The LEO satellite system 1 receives a setting from the administrator (satellite infrastructure provider) of the LEO satellite system 1 for this reaction condition and reaction operation. At the same time, the LEO satellite system 1 accepts the reaction conditions and the reaction operation from a user who uses each terminal device or a group of terminal devices and a service vendor who provides an arbitrary service using the terminal device. This reaction condition and reaction operation may be shared and managed with other satellites that have constructed a satellite network via the communication unit 12. Thus, in the LEO satellite system 1, it is possible to diffuse the accepted reaction conditions and reaction operations globally to the management units 11 of all the satellites.

In other words, each satellite of the LEO satellite system 1 is connected to the terminal device managed by each satellite received from each service vendor or user in addition to the setting of the administrator of the LEO satellite system 1 via the communication unit 12. Sharing the reaction conditions and reaction operation settings for the terminal device status from moment to moment to prepare for remote monitoring and remote control. Note that even though not all satellites hold all reaction conditions and reaction operations, each satellite has a terminal device that belongs to the management target range that it may be responsible for. What is necessary is just to deliver the reaction condition and reaction action setting regarding the service to be provided.

3 (a) and 3 (b) are flowcharts showing an operation example related to the state change detection unit 11B of the area management satellite 10. FIG. FIG. 3A shows an operation example in the case of detecting a state change based on the status information of the terminal device, and FIG. 3B shows a state change detection based on the position status information of the terminal device. An example of operation in the case of performing is shown. In the state change detection unit 11B, the contents of the state change detection process in the figure are set by referring to the reaction conditions and reaction operations stored in the condition operation storage unit 11A. As a result, the area management satellite 10 executes the state change detection process set by the service vendor, the user, or the like for the terminal device group existing in the management area. By executing the state change detection process for each management area as set by each area management satellite 10, it is possible to provide multiple monitoring services that are similar and diverse on a global basis.

[FIG. 3 (a) Processing contents]
First, each satellite (management unit 11, state change detection unit 11B) reads reaction conditions such as for each terminal device, for each type, for each coordinate, etc., set and registered by the user or service vendor from the condition operation storage unit 11A (S101). Each satellite operates so as to appropriately apply the updated reaction conditions during the operation of the satellite.

Each satellite (management unit 11, state change detection unit 11B) executes state change detection processing in accordance with the read reaction conditions, and reads the previous state (previous acquisition status) of the arbitrary terminal device from the previous state storage unit C. Further, the current state (status acquired this time) is acquired from the target terminal device (S102, S103).

Next, each satellite (management unit 11, state change detection unit 11B) detects a change in state from the previous state and the current state, and changes to the reaction state acquired in S101, the reaction condition The reaction operation (predetermined control command) corresponding to the contents (for example, when a specific state satisfying the reaction condition is reached in individual management or group management) is read from the condition operation storage unit 11A (S104).

Finally, each satellite (management unit 11, state change detection unit 11B) executes the read reaction operation (S105). By this execution action, the satellite sends a predetermined control command to each terminal device that is the object of individual management or group management. In addition, each satellite may be operated to perform message notification to each service vendor or each user.

[FIG. 3 (b) Processing contents]
First, each satellite (management unit 11, state change detection unit 11B) reads the reaction condition from the condition operation storage unit 11A (S201).

Each satellite (management unit 11, state change detection unit 11B) executes state change detection processing according to the read reaction conditions. When the read reaction condition is based on the planned navigation route and the moving position of the arbitrary terminal device, each satellite (the management unit 11 and the state change detection unit 11B) acquires the planned navigation route coordinates of the arbitrary terminal device to be watched over. (S202). The planned navigation route coordinates may be acquired in advance from the arbitrary terminal device itself, or may be acquired from the administrator (user or service vendor). Each satellite (management unit 11, state change detection unit 11B) reads the previous navigation route information of the arbitrary terminal device from the previous state storage unit 11C, and further acquires the current position status from the corresponding arbitrary terminal device ( S203, S204). The navigation route information includes the previous position status and a state such as departure from the navigation route. Further, it is desirable that the contents of the navigation route appropriately include information such as moving speed and acceleration used for detecting the state change.

Next, each satellite (management unit 11, state change detection unit 11B) detects a change in state from the previous navigation route information and the current position status, and changes to the reaction state acquired in S101 above. Then, the reaction operation (emergency stop, alarm notification command, route recalculation command, etc.) corresponding to the content of the reaction condition (for example, when the position status deviates from the navigation route) is read from the condition operation storage unit 11A (S205).

Finally, each satellite (management unit 11, state change detection unit 11B) executes the read reaction operation (S206). By this execution action, the satellite sends a route recalculation command to each terminal device that is the object of individual management or group management. At the same time, each satellite performs a message notification regarding the transmission of the route recalculation command to each service vendor and each user, and a control command to be transmitted to the corresponding terminal device in a stepwise pause command or emergency stop command. It may be upgraded and operated.

The LEO satellite system 1 adjusts the contents of the state change detection process (reaction conditions and reaction operations) according to service requirements such as individual terminal devices, terminal device groups, service subscriber terminals, and service vendors. You can accept it freely.

Examples of reaction conditions include change to an abnormal status, abnormality notification, entry to a specific area, departure from a planned route, avoidance of danger, detection of a service flag, and the like. Examples of the reaction operation include generation of an abnormality notification (Anomaly_Notification) event, navigation recalculation, repositioning execution, direction change, emergency stop, sensor operation, alarm sounding, and the like. The reaction operation may be freely set according to the service requirements. In addition, the reaction operation may be set by changing a plurality of operations or further conditional branching.

The state change detection (reaction condition match) can be performed by directly determining from the operation state (status change) of the terminal device, the pre-input travel / navigation / flight / cruising route information of the terminal device, Examples include a method of comparing position information and a method of detecting entry to a predesignated range or altitude.

As in the above-described operation example, the management unit 11 manages the reaction condition and the reaction operation for each state of the terminal device / group of terminal devices prepared in advance and manages the reaction operation in common with other satellites. Watch over the terminal devices. It is desirable that anomaly notification (Anomaly_Notification) events generated according to reaction conditions are immediately shared and managed with other satellites. In addition, it is desirable that the abnormality notification is shared with other satellites or the terrestrial sector with priority and abnormality level. In addition, each satellite shares anomaly notification with higher priority and anomaly with other satellites and the terrestrial sector when the frequency of occurrence of anomaly notifications in the management area increases abnormally or the occurrence locations are concentrated. It is desirable to provide a mechanism to do this. Further, the abnormality notification may be immediately notified to a specific ground sector via SBAS or QZSS as necessary. In this case, each satellite autonomously refers to the priority and abnormality level assigned to the abnormality notification, and distributes the destination and the like. In this process, each satellite operates while autonomously deciding whether to use QZSS or the like, or to which terrestrial sector to expand the abnormality notification. By providing this mechanism in the LEO satellite system 1, it is possible to extract events such as accidents, earthquakes, and tsunamis by referring to specific types of abnormality notifications gathered in a specific ground sector.

For example, each satellite acquires an individual operation plan (operation route, allowable sensor value, etc.) set by the user or service vendor for the object to be monitored (remote monitoring control object) before the area charge, and the terminal during the area charge Compare with various statuses collected from the device. As a result, when a terminal device deviating from the operation plan is detected, the satellite shares the abnormality notification event generated through the communication unit 12 with other satellites and earth stations.

This sharing makes it possible for the user and the service vendor together with the administrator of the LEO satellite system 1 to recognize that the terminal device has shown an abnormal value or the like. Although the method for the user or service vendor to know the abnormality is not particularly limited, for example, the user can read out the abnormality notification collected and stored in the earth station (for example, the cloud space or data center of the service vendor) via the existing network line. .

When the LEO satellite system 1 (regional satellite) matches the set reaction condition, the LEO satellite system 1 communicates a communication command associated with the reaction condition to the earth side, that is, to the corresponding terminal device.
This communication command may be registered in the LEO satellite system 1 so that a unique notification command created by the user or service vendor can be transmitted, in addition to being set by the administrator of the LEO satellite system 1 in advance. .

Also, a safety command (Safety_Command) can be set for this notification command.

By using this safety command, the corresponding terminal device and its surroundings perform danger avoidance and problem solving operations. For the safety command, if it is a drone, it is sufficient to set one or a combination of communication commands for causing the corresponding drone to execute navigation recalculation / stop / direction change. Note that it is desirable that the user or service vendor can set the LEO satellite system 1 to transmit a notification command such as a safety command at an arbitrary timing instead of the notification command set in advance. With this mechanism, the user or the like can cause the terminal device to take a desired action at an arbitrary timing when an abnormality occurs. The LEO satellite system 1 has a mechanism for notifying each satellite (regional satellite) immediately when necessary by giving priority (in order to improve immediacy), via SBAS or QZSS as necessary. May be.
It is also desirable to provide a mechanism for increasing the propagation speed in the LEO satellite system 1 because the priority of the notification command is high. Moreover, it is good also as providing the structure which processes a safety command in the highest priority in each satellite (management part 11).

Here, the case where infrastructure is provided to a plurality of service vendors will be described with reference to the example of the operation flow shown in FIG.

First, a case where infrastructure is provided to a service vendor that manages a drone as a terminal device will be described.

The LEO satellite system 1 accepts the setting of a prohibited flight area and the input of a flight route in advance from a service vendor. At the same time, the LEO satellite system 1 accepts setting of operations to be executed by each drone when the flight route is deviated from the service vendor. At this time, it is desirable for the administrator of the LEO satellite system 1 to set in advance settings such as a public flight prohibited area. As described above, as the preparation process, the reaction conditions and the reaction operation settings are accepted while appropriately providing classifications such as for each drone / for each region / for each service.

After that, as an operation process, a “terminal device remote monitoring and remote control platform” is provided as a LEO satellite system 1 to the service vendor.

This enables service vendors to use the infrastructure (LEO satellite system 1) that realizes “drone remote monitoring and remote control” provided to drone users.

The LEO satellite system 1 can provide the same platform in a superimposed manner to various users and service vendors, and can reduce the cost per terminal device at a low cost.

Next, the case where infrastructure is provided to a service vendor that manages an autonomous driving vehicle as a terminal device will be described.

The LEO satellite system 1 receives a travel route input from a service vendor or user in advance. In addition, the LEO satellite system 1 accepts an operation to be executed by the automatic driving vehicle and a report destination setting when the travel route is deviated from the service vendor or the user. In addition, the setting of a cloud space for managing (registering) the sequential status of the autonomous driving vehicle is accepted. Thus, as a preparation process, the reaction conditions and reaction operation settings are received together with various restrictions.

After that, as an operation process, each satellite is notified from the autonomous driving vehicle whether the position coordinates of the autonomous driving vehicle are not deviated from the predetermined traveling route or whether they are out of the allowable traveling area. Is determined based on the position information included in the. The permissible travel area is assumed to be an area where safety can be maintained from the distance between the front and rear traveling vehicles.

In addition, the reaction operation may include a notification command in addition to the corresponding autonomous driving vehicle and / or a surrounding vehicle. For example, a communication command that notifies at least one of navigation recalculation / stop / direction change / warning is assumed.

In this way, various service vendors can use the “terminal device remote monitoring and remote control platform” of the LEO satellite system 1 for different service applications.

In other words, the LEO satellite system 1 can provide platforms to various users and service vendors in a superimposed manner, and the cost per terminal device can be kept low.

That is, with this configuration, it is possible to provide the LEO satellite system 1 that constructs a global monitoring infrastructure for many terminal devices having economic efficiency and diversity.

Although omitted in the above description, the LEO satellite system 1 provides a security / privacy platform to users, service vendors, terminal devices, and the like.

As a security / privacy platform, each satellite implements randomization of the communication frequency between terminals and satellites, message encryption, and authentication functions. It is desirable that the security / privacy platform has at least the following three functions.

Concealment function: The frequency used when the supervisory control edge manager communicates with the supervisory control agent is randomized (encrypted) based on the positioning time. The concealment function makes it difficult for service operation information to be leaked to third parties.

End-to-End routing function (dynamic reconfiguration function): The monitoring control message implements end-to-end routing including the satellite network based on the sender / user information attached to the message itself. This dynamic reconfiguration function makes it difficult for monitoring control messages and the like to flow out to third parties.

Authentication function: Requests authentication for sending and receiving monitoring control messages. It is necessary to authenticate the sending and receiving of monitoring control messages, such as watching users, service vendors, and third-party auditing organizations. Only those permitted by the end-to-end routing function and the authentication function can access the monitoring control message.

As described above, the LEO satellite system 1 can provide a monitoring infrastructure that provides economic efficiency, diversity, and safety to various users and service vendors.

If you want to compare the economic efficiency, for example, it is very expensive to monitor the status of infrastructure development such as existing wireless communication systems and guidance / navigation systems. On the other hand, an equivalent mechanism can be provided at low cost by using a global satellite cloud system.

In addition, the existing system constructs a system for each target terminal type for each region when the number of target terminal types and service types to be monitored increases. On the other hand, using a global satellite cloud system makes it possible to cope with the same mechanism at a low cost.

In addition, third party organizations (countries and local governments) can audit interference with other services and social life by ensuring advanced access control of messages to and from the satellite communication network using authentication functions. become. In addition, high information confidentiality can be ensured between users.

[Other Embodiments]
Next, modified examples of some embodiments will be described. In addition, items described in each modification can be combined as appropriate. In the following description, descriptions of matters already described such as management of terminal devices are omitted.

[Modification 1]
Each of a large number of satellites constituting the LEO satellite system 1 includes a management unit 11 and a communication unit 12 as in the first embodiment. Similar to the inter-satellite communication, the communication unit 12 is configured to be capable of bidirectional communication with a large number of terminal devices on the earth (area in charge). The communication unit 12 of the present embodiment uses a DTN protocol (Delay, Disruption, Disconnection Tolerant Protocol) as a communication protocol.

常 時 By using this DTN protocol, it is possible to reinforce the continuous connectivity over communication protocols such as TCP (Transmission Control Protocol). More specifically, information that does not require loss, such as a safety command (Safety_Command) and anomaly notification (Anomaly_Nofitication), which will be described later, can be stored in the LEO satellite system 1 without loss even in a high-delay, intermittent communication environment. I can take it in. Also, by building a D-tolerant network between satellites and terminal devices using the DTN protocol, various status information (position information, sensor values, etc.) sent from the terminal device group in the management area is collected. It is possible to increase the overall communication line utilization rate and communication efficiency.

Moreover, it is desirable to construct the communication unit 12 of each satellite by software-defined radio (SDR) although not limited thereto. By constructing a communication unit using software defined radio, for example, it is possible to newly communicate with existing facilities of service vendors (eg, railroad radio equipment and disaster prevention radio). / Deletion / version change etc. becomes possible.

Furthermore, the communication unit 12 divides the satellite communication unit 12A and the surface communication unit 12B and configures them on a common hardware by software radio so that at least the surface communication unit can simultaneously communicate with the terminal device group by the multi-communication method. It is desirable to configure.

This makes it possible to ensure further diversity of communication (terminal type) and further expandability. The communication unit 12 preferably employs SDN (Software Defined Network) / NFV (Network Functions Virtualization) in consideration of end-to-end communication and maintenance scalability.

¡Establishing each satellite in this way can improve economic efficiency and diversity.

[Modification 2]
Although the LEO satellite system 1 (satellite constellation) may accept reaction conditions and reaction operation settings by any method, it is appropriate to provide a ground sector that is responsible for collecting and deploying information. This ground sector will be referred to as the supervisory control center manager station hereinafter.

This supervisory control center manager station receives and manages reaction conditions and reaction operation settings for each terminal device status from a service vendor or the like via a general communication network (such as an optical fiber network or a mobile communication network). . In addition, the supervisory control center manager station sets the setting for each satellite every moment. In addition to direct communication to individual satellites by telemetry or telecommand, this satellite can be set by a communication method in which the terminal device communicates with the satellite, or a satellite network built between satellites can be established. It is good also as setting via. By setting via this satellite network, setting can be made possible even when, for example, the relationship between the supervisory control center manager station and the setting target satellite is not within the line of sight. In addition, by using a satellite that is in line-of-sight as a transponder without waiting for the setting target satellite to go around, it is possible to improve the immediacy of setting. In addition, the reaction condition and the reaction operation may be set by managing the reaction condition and the reaction operation using a satellite flying in a medium or high orbit such as a geostationary satellite or QZSS.

In addition, this supervisory control center manager station has a mechanism for receiving and managing the expected value for each time of the operation plan of the terminal device or the position of the terminal device from the user or service vendor via the communication network. In addition, it is possible to realize a remote service with a good balance of economy. In addition, the supervisory control center manager station can also aggregate and deploy notifications of abnormalities of terminal devices and control messages.

Each satellite accepts an operation plan for each terminal device or setting of an expected value for each time of the position of the terminal device by direct / indirect communication. Each satellite compares this setting with the status (specifically position information) of many terminal devices sent from the management area on the earth side by moment, and the position coordinates of each terminal device are in the abnormal range. Determine if it is not. When the position coordinates of a certain terminal device are in an abnormal range, the satellite executes a reaction operation set in advance for the terminal device, the service vendor, and the user. For example, the satellite may generate an abnormality notification and broadcast it to other satellites and / or earth stations, and transmit a safety command to the corresponding terminal device state. At this time, it is desirable for each satellite to increase the priority of the abnormality notification or control message over other messages. In addition, when the satellite delivers the status of the terminal device group for each management area, it is desirable to give the generation time together with the generated abnormality notification of the terminal device to the terminal device group. For important information such as an abnormality notification message and a safety command message, it is desirable that the relay satellite also provides a time history.

It is desirable that the history of important information such as an abnormality notification message and a safety command message is aggregated in a monitoring control center manager station or a specific data center, for example, by associating the terminal device ID with the determination result and time. . If managed in this way, the service vendor or user can access the information as appropriate to take appropriate measures such as checking the status of the terminal device to be managed, repairing it, collecting it, and maintaining it. For example, a safety command message can be delivered from a specific area to a management target terminal on the back side of the earth via the LEO satellite system 1.

In this way, the LEO satellite system 1 provides the processing resources of each satellite in charge to compare and judge the position coordinates and the actual position coordinates from time to time determined from the operation plan along with the reaction conditions and reaction actions described above. This makes it possible to provide safety and high reliability services at a low cost globally.

The watching mechanism by the LEO satellite system 1 can be realized globally by a large number of LEO satellites. In other words, it is possible to simultaneously provide a monitoring infrastructure for a certain area as well as a monitoring infrastructure for the backside of the earth.

At the same time, it is also possible to remotely monitor / control a large number of various terminal devices such as all aircraft, all operating drones, all route buses, and service subscriber smartphones in a specific area with the same mechanism. Technically, it is possible to constantly watch all the terminal devices regardless of where they exist in the whole globe as long as they are within the satellite line-of-sight. Even if the terminal device moves back and forth within the satellite line-of-sight, it is possible to provide a monitoring service that boasts extremely high always-on connectivity by combining DTN communication.

As described above, each area satellite in the LEO satellite system 1 performs communication with the terminal apparatus group in the management area that it currently handles via the communication unit, and the terminal apparatus that exists in the management area. Status including group position information is collected, and when each terminal device state matches the reaction condition, a reaction operation corresponding to the reaction condition is executed to manage a large number of terminal devices.

As a result, each satellite can coordinately monitor a specific terminal device and / or a plurality of terminal device groups existing on the earth side (remote monitoring and control) while changing over each management area. Become.

[Modification 3]
The LEO satellite system 1 (satellite constellation) has a huge amount of information when all terminal statuses are exchanged between satellites when many terminal devices are remotely monitored and managed. For this reason, it is necessary to take measures against bandwidth compression and congestion when a larger number of terminal devices are targeted for service than the allowable capacity of the inter-satellite network. In such a case, it is necessary to moderately limit the amount of communication between satellites.

As a countermeasure, an embodiment of a satellite constellation in which a function for generating an abnormality notification message is provided in the satellite and only the abnormality notification message and the safety command are shared between the satellites via the inter-satellite network is also useful. Since this satellite constellation can reduce the amount of inter-satellite communication bandwidth, the number of satellites and the scale of the satellite are reduced, which is economical. In other words, a satellite constellation in which transmission of an abnormality notification message and a safety command is set as a main service can dramatically increase the number of services provided compared to a satellite constellation that transmits all the various statuses of the same scale.

That is, the satellites constituting the LEO satellite system 1 determine whether the management unit generates an abnormality notification message based on the huge amount of information (terminal status) collected every moment as in the above-described embodiment, while determining whether the abnormality notification message is generated. If it is generated, it is shared with other satellites. In response to the abnormality notification message, the user or the like can also send the safety command to the corresponding terminal via the satellite network. Each satellite can execute a reaction operation registered in association with generation of an abnormality notification message as a reaction condition.

With this configuration, it is possible to construct a relatively simple satellite constellation with only message exchange, and it is possible to place more terminal devices under remote monitoring from a global perspective. In other words, the economy can be further improved. Further, the operation form during the period for constructing the satellite constellation may be the present configuration, and after the number of satellites increases, the service may be expanded in accordance with the allowable communication capacity.

Also, it is desirable to standardize the above-mentioned various messages in the same manner as the existing Internet protocol and SIP protocol (Session Initiation Protocol). If standardized, it is possible to secure the degree of freedom of terminal device development and the variety of services. In addition, by adopting SDN / NFV, the diversity of watching services can be guaranteed.

In the above description, it is described that only the abnormality notification message and the safety instruction are allowed to pass through the inter-satellite network, but depending on the capability of the inter-satellite communication network, the service that allows only the abnormality notification message and the safety instruction to pass, Services that allow all the various messages to pass may be arranged side by side.

In addition, dynamic QoS control / route setting is performed at best effort according to the state of the inter-satellite communication network for various watching users with different service operation times and QoS (Quality of Service) requirements for monitoring control. It may be.

[Management area takeover method]
Here, a description will be given of a method of taking over several management areas executed between the respective satellites constructing the satellite constellation of the LEO satellite system. The management area takeover method of FIG. 4 is a system in which one satellite takes charge of one management area. 5 is a method in which a single satellite is responsible for a plurality of management areas.

[Transfer between satellites in a single management area]
FIG. 4 (a) shows three satellites that form part of the satellite constellation of the LEO satellite system. FIG. 4B shows an enlarged ground surface.
4 (a) and 4 (b), a group of regions on the earth that are a part of the earth divided into a number of regions are visibly described. This area division is an example, and generally, areas are allocated so as to fill the entire earth using polygons or circles of triangles or more. In this figure, for the sake of clarity of explanation, many satellites constituting the satellite constellation and many areas on the ground surface are omitted.
Each satellite (the area management satellite 10, the succeeding satellite 20, the preceding satellite 30, and other omitted satellite groups) constituting the LEO satellite system 1 can perform satellite-satellite communication within the communicable range. Each satellite can perform satellite-terminal communication with a terminal device group existing on the earth side within the communicable range. Each satellite can communicate with facilities (not shown) such as a supervisory control center manager station and a data center existing on the earth as necessary. It is also desirable to be able to communicate with existing satellite systems.

In the example shown in FIG. 4, an area in which the satellite group autonomously transfers within the LEO satellite system 1 to be explained is called a management area (area A), and a terminal apparatus group existing in the area A is a terminal apparatus group. In the following description, the area A is called and the other area surrounding the area A is called the surrounding area. The satellite that has passed through the management area (area A) is responsible for the next area (area B). Similarly to the area A, the area B and other areas are managed in the LEO satellite system 1 while autonomously changing the management authority of the satellite group.

The terminal device group shown in FIG. 4B includes general-purpose products such as IoT devices, and may include drones such as vehicles (automobiles, aircrafts, ships), autonomous vehicles, multicopters, and flying objects. . In FIG. 4B and a similar diagram to be described later, the number of terminal devices is described as being deformed. These terminal device groups include devices that are fixedly installed, devices that are moved, devices that move autonomously, and devices that move incidentally. Note that the present LEO satellite system 1 is compatible with many communication systems, and there is no need to specifically limit the type of each terminal device. In general, many of these terminal devices support high-precision positioning at the present time or in the near future. A terminal device that supports high-accuracy positioning can notify the LEO satellite system 1 of position time information. Further, many of these terminal devices can receive a notification command via the LEO satellite system 1 and execute this command.

Each satellite of the LEO satellite system 1 identifies the management area that it manages according to the management authority, and manages the status of the terminal device group in the management area. At the timings shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, the area management satellite 10 activates the management authority for the area A. For this reason, the area management satellite 10 manages the status together with the identifier (ID: identifier) of the terminal device group A in the management area A that it manages. The confirmation of the new terminal device in the management area A and the acquisition of the status may be performed by a location check using satellite-terminal communication or a status acquisition request, such as the status acquisition of an existing IoT device. Further, when a connection request to the satellite network from the terminal device side (for example, file or message transmission to a specific destination) is received, the area management satellite 10 at that time may acquire the state. In addition, as described later, the status of the terminal device group A is acquired from surrounding satellites. Examples of the status include position information of each terminal device, states such as a power supply state and various internal settings of each terminal device. The position information of the terminal device may be the position information measured by the terminal device, the position information of the terminal device specified on the LEO satellite system 1 side, or both, and is not particularly limited. Each satellite may automatically collect other data (for example, sensing values and image data) from each terminal device together with the status, or may forward a message or packet from the terminal device to the destination.

The area management satellite 10 in FIGS. 4A and 4B has the area A within the communicable range at the current timing. Then, as time passes, the area management satellite 10 becomes unable to keep the area A within the communicable range or the communication efficiency deteriorates. For this reason, each satellite according to the present embodiment has the terminal device group A existing in the management area when the management area (area A) falls outside the management area with respect to the satellite (the subsequent satellite 20) within the communicable area. Status (managed status) is transferred by satellite-to-satellite communication. The status shared between the satellites may include an abnormality notification group generated during management by each satellite. In addition, a mechanism may be provided in which the reaction conditions, reaction operations, expected values, and the like of the terminal device that generated the abnormality notification during management are notified to the subsequent satellites along with the status. According to this mechanism, the succeeding satellite holds the reaction conditions and the like of the terminal device (group) in which the abnormality notification is generated more reliably. Depending on the amount of communication, a satellite (region management satellite 10) that is out of the management area passes to the following satellite (following satellite 20) via an earth station (not shown) or a satellite (not shown) flying around. The status etc. may be handed over. At this time, it is desirable that the satellite (region management satellite 10) out of the management area transmits the identifier of the terminal device group A existing in the management region together with the status of the terminal device group A. Further, if necessary, the satellite (region management satellite 10) out of the management area associates the time of stay of each terminal device, the error frequency, etc., and notifies the subsequent satellite (following satellite 20) as the status of the terminal device. It is good as well.

The satellite (subsequent satellite 20) taking over the management area (area A) receives and holds the status of the terminal device group A communicated from the preceding satellite (area management satellite 10), and manages the management area (area A). This area (area A) management authority is activated when entering the range to start. For example, the management authority activation timing may be individually implemented between individual satellites in accordance with the negotiation of the takeover source and the takeover destination, and predetermined time intervals, switching space coordinates, and the like are determined in advance in the LEO satellite system. The LEO satellite system may be operated so that the area management is changed according to the rules.

The satellite (successor satellite 20) that has taken over the management authority collects and manages the status of the terminal device group A existing in the management area. At this time, the status of the terminal device group A existing in this area is received in advance from the satellite that has previously managed this area (the area management satellite 10 that has left). The status of the terminal device group A can be managed without collecting from the beginning. If each identifier of the terminal device group A located in the management area is received from a satellite outside the management area (area management satellite 10), the presence check (location check, survival check) of the terminal can be omitted. For this reason, when each satellite changes the management area, it is possible to realize a significant reduction in communication between the satellite and the terminal as compared with the method of collecting the terminal device group in the area and collecting the status from the beginning. For example, if the area management satellite 10 is a system that regularly monitors the status of all terminal devices, the satellite-terminal communication only needs to handle the status difference. On the other hand, in the above-described system, the satellite-terminal communication needs to handle all statuses. Due to this difference, the terminal device group management method according to the present embodiment can dramatically increase the number of terminal devices that each satellite can handle / the available communication bandwidth, compared to the above-described method using satellites of the same scale. It becomes possible. Also, in the terminal device group management method, each satellite can acquire reaction conditions and reaction actions for the state of the terminal device in each area before sharing each area by sharing setting information and the like by the communication unit. Yes. For this reason, the terminal device group management method according to the present embodiment enables the monitoring and remote operation of a large number of terminal devices without generating a large amount of communication related to the instantaneous setting immediately after activating the authority in charge of the area. The environment can be provided to service vendors seamlessly.

Further, the management unit 11 uses the satellite communication unit 12A to indicate the statuses (bundles) of the terminal device group A existing in the management area when it leaves the management area and enters the management area that is assigned to the secondary area. 4 and the succeeding satellites 20 and 30). At this time, another satellite that flies around the succeeding satellite 20 while the succeeding satellite 20 manages the management area may be used as a backup satellite of the succeeding satellite 20. Moreover, the management part 11 is good also as extending to the management area | region which a self-satellite will handle in the future (within a predetermined period ahead) about the status of the terminal device group received from another satellite.

The operation according to the configuration of the management unit 11 will be described in chronological order as follows.

Before reaching management area A:
The management unit 11 identifies the next management area (area A) that the own satellite will handle, and the own satellite manages the area A from the satellite (preceding satellite 30) having the management authority of the previous management area (area A). Before entering, the satellite communication unit 12A receives and holds the status of the terminal device group A in the area A communicated from the satellite having the management authority (the preceding satellite 30).

Start area management of management area A:
The management unit 11 activates the management authority after entering the management area (area A), and uses the status of the terminal apparatus group A that has previously received and held the status management (management area A management) of the terminal apparatus group A. And start.

During the area management, the management unit 11 updates the status of each terminal apparatus, collects the status of the terminal apparatus that newly exists in the area A, discards the status of the terminal apparatus that does not exist in the area A, And the like may be performed via the ground communication unit 12B. Further, during area management, the management unit 11 shares setting information (reaction conditions and reaction operation) for each terminal device state with other satellites via the communication unit 12. Other satellites need not be limited to the following satellites 20 and the preceding satellites 30, and may share setting information with satellites in the communication range as appropriate. Further, during the area management, when each terminal device state matches the reaction condition, the management unit 11 executes a reaction operation corresponding to the reaction condition to manage a large number of terminal devices.

Before leaving management area A:
The management unit 11 identifies the next peripheral area (area B) that the own satellite will handle, and the own satellite manages area B from the satellite having the management authority in front of the peripheral area (area B) (preceding satellite 30). Before entering the range, the satellite communication unit 12A receives and holds the status of the terminal device group B in the peripheral area (area B) communicated from the satellite having the management authority (preceding satellite 30). Along with the operation corresponding to the next region (region B), the following operation is performed for the following satellite 20.
Before leaving the management area, the management unit 11 communicates at least the minimum status of the terminal device group A to the satellite (subsequent satellite 20) that is responsible for this management area (area A).

After leaving management area A:
The management unit 11 withdraws the management authority of the management area A and ends the status management of the terminal device group. At this time, the management unit 11 activates management authority for the next management area B, and starts area management of the management area B (status management of the terminal device group B).

As described above, the management unit 11 mounted on each satellite autonomously and cooperatively executes the above operation, so that each satellite autonomously transfers the management area in which each satellite is responsible for the terminal device group and the management authority of the area. A mechanism (satellite constellation) is established.

For example, in the case of an LEO satellite system in which a plurality of satellites independently determine a management area and monitor an IoT device group, status acquisition requests are repeatedly transmitted from the plurality of satellites to each IoT device in the same area. A request for status acquisition to the IoT device is required each time the management satellite is switched.
As a result, symptoms such as tight communication band in the area, congestion, and battery loss of IoT devices occur.

On the other hand, the LEO satellite system 1 can prevent these problems. As a result, the present LEO satellite system 1 can suppress data loss and wasted bandwidth in an area where many terminal devices exist. As a result, this LEO satellite system can increase the number of terminal devices that can be managed simultaneously without causing data loss in the region.

As described above, it is possible to provide a good LEO satellite system in which the satellite group autonomously transfers the management area in which each satellite is responsible for the terminal device and the management of the terminal device.

Note that when the LEO satellite system is described from the terminal device side, it is as follows. Each terminal device transmits a terminal identifier and various statuses on demand or voluntarily to a management satellite having its own management authority that changes from moment to moment. The various statuses transmitted are transferred from the management satellite at that time to the succeeding satellites and managed in the LEO satellite system. For this reason, it is reduced or unnecessary for the terminal device to notify the LEO satellite system of the same information every time the management satellite is switched. This works beneficially for battery problems and communication volume reduction, for example, for individual IoT devices.

Next, a description will be given of a method for taking over several management areas executed between the satellites constituting the satellite constellation.

[Transfer between satellites in multiple management areas]
5 (a) and 5 (b) are drawings similar to FIGS. 4 (a) and 4 (b). This one satellite is different from the previous system in that it has the authority to manage a plurality of areas simultaneously. 5 (a) and 5 (b), the area management satellite 10 sets management authority for the areas A, B, and C, and manages three management areas corresponding to the set management authority for each area. An example is shown.

Each satellite of the LEO satellite system 1 identifies one or a plurality of management areas managed by the LEO satellite system 1 according to the management authority, and manages the status of the terminal device group in the management area for each area. Also, the status of the terminal device group located in each area is transferred between the preceding satellite and the succeeding satellite by satellite-satellite communication.

By having this mechanism, the LEO satellite system 1 manages, for example, one region in a region where there are many terminal devices per unit area, and 1 in a region where there are few terminal devices per unit area. One satellite can manage multiple areas. In addition, it is possible to divide the area according to the service level (service availability and communication speed) assigned to each area.

FIG. 6 shows another area division example in which a plurality of areas are handled by one satellite.
FIG. 6A shows an example in which the area management satellite 10 sets management authority for the areas B, C, and D, and manages three management areas corresponding to the set management authority for each area. . For example, in areas including the ocean, there are few terminal devices, and a large number of areas can be handled by a single satellite. In urban areas and the like, there are more terminal devices than in other areas, and one satellite (a plurality of satellites as necessary) may be in charge.
FIG. 6B shows an example in which the area management satellite 10 sets management authority for the areas B and D, and manages two management areas corresponding to the set management authority for each area. As described above, the area division may be physically spaced.

実 装 By implementing the area segmentation method that can allocate multiple areas to one satellite, each satellite can reduce the number and amount of information such as the status of the terminal device transferred between the satellites. Further, by using this method, it is possible to optimize the processing load between the satellites among the satellites. Furthermore, for example, when a specific satellite fails, it becomes possible to supplement area management with surrounding satellites.

Thus, it is possible to provide a good LEO satellite system in which the satellite group autonomously transfers the management of the terminal device and the management of the terminal device by each satellite. In addition, the management of the global terminal device group by the LEO satellite system can be better maintained.

[Transmission of management authority of management area between satellites]
FIGS. 7A and 7B show a satellite in another orbit that was omitted in the above description. Note that description of terminal device group management, status sharing, and the like is omitted.

In this method, the preceding satellite specifies the succeeding satellite. FIG. 7A shows an example in which one satellite manages one management area, and FIG. 7B shows an example in which one satellite has management authority for one or a plurality of areas at the same time.

In this method, each satellite (region management satellite 10) transmits the satellite that takes over the management authority of each region to the corresponding satellite (following satellite 20) using the management authority takeover notification. When the selected satellite (following satellite 20) enters the management area based on the notified management authority takeover notification, the management authority for the corresponding area is activated. As long as the management authority for each area can be identified, the management authority takeover notification may be performed by notifying a plurality of areas in one message, or may be notified by a separate message for each area.

Each satellite included in the satellite constellation holds the orbit information of other satellites included in the satellite constellation, together with the system time, management area position information, and own orbit information. In addition, each satellite may hold a life / death flag and a resource amount for each satellite. Various types of information may be managed on table information covering the entire satellite constellation, or may be managed on a table with limited regions and orbits. Each satellite refers to the orbit information of the other satellites held and selects a satellite more suitable for managing the management area as the next area management satellite.

Although the method for selecting the takeover destination satellite is not particularly limited, for example, from among a group of satellites that can be subsequent satellites, the center of the passing area (management area), the center of gravity of the terminal device distribution, and the center of gravity of the traffic distribution are all the same. A method is used in which the closest satellite is selected as the satellite (successor satellite 20) to which management authority is transferred.

Further, the area management satellite 10 may advertise a signal for requesting the takeover destination of the management area widely to surrounding satellites and notify the first responding satellite of the management authority takeover notification. In addition, the area management satellite 10 advertises a signal for requesting the takeover destination of the management area widely to surrounding satellites, identifies the orbits of the plurality of responding satellites, and subsequently manages the management area for which it has the management authority. May be selected and notification of management authority takeover may be sent.

7, in the example of FIG. 7A, the area management satellite 10 identifies the orbits of surrounding satellite groups and subsequently manages the management area for which it has management authority. As a result, a satellite orbiting in another orbit (successor satellite 20 in the figure) is selected, and a notification of handover of management authority is notified to the corresponding satellite. In this example, it is determined that a satellite orbiting in another orbit (successor satellite 20 in the figure) is more suitable for management of the management area A than a satellite orbiting in the same orbit (successor satellite in the figure). This is the case. The selected succeeding satellite 20 takes over the status of the terminal device group A from the area management satellite 10 in advance based on the notified management authority takeover notification and enters the management area A, so that the management authority of the corresponding area is given. When activated, the terminal device group A is managed.

In the example of FIG. 7B, the area management satellite 10 identifies the orbits of the surrounding satellites, and subsequently manages the management areas (area A, area B, area C) for which it has management authority. The satellite is selected for each area, and the management authority handover notification is notified to the two satellites (successor satellites 20-1 and 20-2 in the figure). Each of the selected succeeding satellites 20-1 and 20-2 takes over the status of the terminal device group in the area in charge from the area management satellite 10 in advance based on the notification of takeover of the notified management authority and enters the management area in charge. The management authority for the corresponding area is activated.

Thus, in the LEO satellite system, it is also possible to provide a management area in which each satellite autonomously handles the terminal device and a mechanism for transferring the management authority of the area.

The process for determining the management authority may be performed by adopting a satellite constellation having a management satellite (not shown) that manages the management authority of the area, instead of selecting each satellite having the management authority at present. Good. As this management satellite, for example, an existing geostationary satellite or quasi-zenith satellite can be used. This management satellite identifies the orbit of each satellite that orbits each area to be managed, selects a group of satellites that manage each management area according to the timeline, and notifies the selected satellite to take over management authority. Can be notified. When this satellite constellation is adopted, it is not necessary for the area management satellite to select the succeeding satellite (takeover processing). As a result, a satellite assembled with an inexpensive configuration can be included in the satellite constellation.

Also, both management authority management by the management satellite and autonomous management authority delivery may be used simultaneously. In this case, the satellite (subsequent satellite 20) that finally performs dredging area management takes over the status of the terminal device group in the assigned area from the area management satellite 10 in advance based on the notified notification of management authority takeover, and is responsible for management. When entering an area, the management authority for the area may be activated. In some cases, a satellite (management satellite) that transmits a management authority takeover notification is different from a satellite (region management satellite 10) that transmits the status of the terminal device group in the assigned area.

The satellite management can be exemplified by a method of assigning one satellite to one orbital plane, a method of managing by three geostationary satellites so as to cover all the satellites in the orbit, and the like.

Next, operations related to the management unit 11 (the state operation storage unit 11A, the state change detection unit 11B, and the previous state storage unit 11C) will be described from another viewpoint with reference to FIG.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram visibly showing the operation and the like of taking over the status of the terminal device group between the satellites. In FIG. 8, some items related to the reaction conditions of the terminal device are described. In FIG. 8, T1 to T3 are assumed to be autonomous flight type drones, T4 to T7 in FIG. 8 are assumed to be slope monitoring devices (IoT devices), and T8 to T10 are assumed to be weather observation devices (IoT devices).

Each satellite manages and manages the reaction conditions and reaction behavior for each terminal device status via the communication unit. As a result, each satellite stores a flight prohibition area, a prohibited action, a positional relationship, a weather condition, etc. of each area stored as reaction conditions. Then, when an object (terminal device (group)) that matches the reaction condition of each terminal device occurs in each management area, the state change is detected and the reaction operation is executed.

In area A1, a service vendor provides a drone management service. The satellite A of the LEO satellite system 1 uses the operation state (status) and position information (status) of the terminal device acquired by the terminal-satellite communication for detecting the abnormal state of the drone.

Each satellite sequentially manages a large number of drones (with other types of management terminal devices) in the management area A1. At this time, each drone under management is monitored by the state change detection unit 11B by individual management or group management.

The drone abnormality detection by the state change detection unit 11B can be directly determined from the operation state of the drone (status: power reserve capacity, altitude, speed, autonomous abnormality diagnosis result, etc.), or the pre-input flight prohibited area and drone Compare flight / cruise route information with current location information to determine if it is operating normally, and implement based on reaction conditions.

The state change detection unit 11B of the satellite refers to the previous state storage unit 11C as appropriate, and when an abnormality occurs (when normal is switched to abnormality or warning under the reaction conditions), generation and notification of an abnormality notification (surrounding satellites) And communication to the corresponding drone, such as speed adjustment, altitude adjustment, turning (re-navigation), emergency stop, etc. as a safety command with reference to the reaction action of the state action storage unit 11A Notification via satellite-to-terminal communication. This reaction action is an action that, after correcting the abnormality by taking several steps of corrective actions by multiple communication commands such as speed adjustment and turn instruction, if the abnormality does not improve, it will eventually stop urgently. There may be.

In the area A2, a service vendor provides a slope management apparatus group management service.
In this area, the LEO satellite system 1 manages the slope monitoring device group for snowy mountains and dangerous slopes. If the position movement (collapse) of the slope monitoring device group or the positional relationship is broken (precursor) is detected in the reaction condition, the satellite B of the LEO satellite system 1 is described in the reaction operation together with the generation and notification of the abnormality notification. As is done, control is performed to send a communication command that outputs a warning to a smartphone, disaster prevention radio (alarm device), and various terminal devices in the vicinity.

In area A3, a service vendor provides a regional management service using a weather observation device. In this region, for example, a meteorological observation device group for atmospheric observation (PM2.5 or the like) and an air purifier (IoT device) are managed by the LEO satellite system. If the air pollutant concentration of the meteorological observation device group detects an abnormal value recorded in the reaction condition, the satellite C of the LEO satellite system 1 generates and reports the abnormality notification as described in the reaction operation. Based on the air pollutant concentration within a specific range, control is performed so that a communication command for operating the air purifier group is sent as a safety command.

In this way, each satellite interprets the satellite communication from the terminal device group currently in its management area and manages it according to the reaction condition and reaction operation, for example, a flight route with predetermined position coordinates. When a drone or the like out of the range is detected, a communication command for the corresponding model that causes the drone to change direction or execute a predetermined operation is transmitted from the satellite to the earth side. Thus, for example, it is possible to cope with abnormal behavior and state displacement of the terminal device even in an environment not connected to the ground side communication network.

That is, each satellite holds in advance a reaction condition for the status of the terminal device group and a communication command or the like that causes the corresponding terminal device to execute a predetermined operation when the reaction condition is met, so that a large number of terminal devices can be connected from the LEO satellite system. Can be managed by the same mechanism.

Therefore, this LEO satellite system can manage many terminal devices at low cost from the viewpoint of the number of terminal devices. For this reason, for example, even a remote terminal device, a mountainous region, or a terminal device on the ocean can be connected to the network as long as the sky field of view is secured.

Although the above service example has been described using a drone, a slope monitoring device, and a weather observation device as a terminal device, a mechanism in which a large number of terminal device groups in which airplanes, cars, smartphones, sensor terminals, etc. are mixed are combined in a complex manner. You may manage with. Further, for example, a number of services provided by a plurality of service vendors may be superimposed and implemented. In this service, a LEO satellite system may be constructed so that a service provider, a government organization, a service user, and the like can appropriately set reaction conditions and reaction actions in the LEO satellite system for each service.

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide an LEO satellite system that constructs a global watching infrastructure for many terminal devices. By realizing this satellite constellation, the number of terminal devices that can be managed by the LEO satellite system can be dramatically increased. In other words, a large number of terminal devices can be managed globally at a low cost. In addition, it is possible to provide a platform that can realize various services globally. Further, by incorporating the above-described security / privacy platform into the LEO satellite system, it is possible to provide a terminal device group management method by the LEO satellite system having high safety.
In other words, it is possible to provide a platform that serves as a basis for a wide variety of global solutions that include “Ensuring economics”, “Ensuring diversity” and “Ensuring safety”.

In addition, what is necessary is just to implement | achieve the internal structure (control mechanism, management part) of each satellite using the combination of the hardware and software of a computer system. The computer system includes one or more processors and memory tailored to the desired form. Also, some / all of the computer system may be replaced with hardware or firmware (for example, one or more LSIs: Large-Scale Integration, FPGA: Field Programmable Gate Array, a combination of electronic elements).

Further, the program that realizes the management unit may be recorded in a recording medium non-temporarily and distributed. The program recorded on the recording medium is read into the memory via wired, wireless, or the recording medium itself, and operates a processor or the like.

In the present specification, the recording medium includes storage media, memory devices, storage devices, and the like having similar terms. Examples of this recording medium include an optical disk, a magnetic disk, a semiconductor memory device, a hard disk device, and a tape medium. The recording medium is desirably non-volatile. The recording medium may use a combination of a volatile module (for example, RAM: Random Access Memory) and a nonvolatile module (for example, ROM: Read Only Memory).

Note that the present invention has been described by exemplifying embodiments. However, the specific configuration of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and modifications within a range not departing from the gist of the present invention are included in the present invention. For example, combinations of the above-described embodiments and changes such as replacement of procedures are free as long as they satisfy the gist of the present invention and the functions described, and the above description does not limit the present invention.

In addition, a part or all of the above-described embodiment can be described as follows. Note that the following supplementary notes do not limit the present invention.

[Appendix]
Constellation is composed of many satellites orbiting low altitude orbit,
Each of the multiple satellites is
A communication unit that communicates with many terminal devices existing on the earth side and other satellites existing on the orbit side;
While managing the reaction conditions and reaction behavior for each terminal device state with the other satellites via the communication unit,
Executes communication with the terminal device group existing in the management area currently handled by itself through the communication unit, collects status including the location information of the terminal device group existing in the management area, and individually A management unit that manages the plurality of terminal devices by executing a reaction operation corresponding to the reaction conditions when the terminal device state of the device matches the reaction conditions;
The LEO satellite system characterized in that the large number of satellites cooperate with each other to watch over a specific terminal device and / or a plurality of terminal device groups existing on the earth side while changing over each management area.

[Appendix]
Each of the satellites uses a DTN protocol as a communication protocol with the terminal device and the earth station using the communication unit.

[Appendix]
The LEO satellite system accepts reaction conditions and reaction operation settings for the terminal device status of the terminal device managed by each satellite from the service vendor that provides the service.
Each of the satellites shares a reaction condition and a setting of a reaction operation for the terminal device status of each terminal device managed by each satellite received from each service vendor via the communication unit. LEO satellite system described in the appendix.

[Appendix]
Each of the satellites
Holding a communication command for causing a corresponding terminal device to execute a predetermined action when the reaction condition for the status of each terminal device group and the reaction condition are met,
When satellite communications from a group of terminal devices in the management area that they are currently in charge of are read and the status of each terminal device matches the reaction conditions, communication commands corresponding to the reaction conditions are sent to the earth side. The LEO satellite system according to the above supplementary note, wherein the LEO satellite system transmits.

[Appendix]
Each of the satellites generates an abnormality notification as a reaction condition with respect to each terminal device state, and shares the abnormality notification generated through the communication unit with the other satellites. .

[Appendix]
Each of the satellites is a control message that is a communication command including at least one of navigation recalculation / stop / return / return to a predetermined / required number of terminal devices as a reaction operation for an arbitrary reaction condition. Is transmitted from a satellite having the authority to manage the corresponding management area.

[Appendix]
The LEO satellite system has a supervisory control center manager station on the ground,
The supervisory control center manager station receives and manages the reaction conditions and reaction operation settings for each terminal device state held by each of the multiple satellites via a communication network, and manages each satellite constituting the constellation. The LEO satellite system according to the above supplementary note, wherein the set reaction condition and reaction operation are set through a satellite network.

[Appendix]
The LEO satellite system has a supervisory control center manager station on the ground,
Each of the satellites generates an abnormality notification as a reaction condition for each terminal device state, relays and notifies the abnormality notification generated via the communication unit, and transmits the notification to the supervisory control center manager station The LEO satellite system described in the above supplementary note.

[Appendix]
The LEO satellite system has a supervisory control center manager station on the ground,
The supervisory control center manager station receives and manages a service operation plan for calculating an expected value of position information, which is a state of each terminal device held by each of the multiple satellites, via a communication network from a user. In addition, the LEO satellite system according to the above supplementary note, wherein a set service operation plan or an expected value of position information calculated from the service operation plan is set to each satellite constituting the constellation via a satellite network. .

[Appendix]
Each of the multiple satellites obtains a status including the location information of the terminal device group existing in the management area currently managed by the self through the communication unit, and the obtained location information is calculated from the operation plan or the operation plan. If the position information is out of the expected value of the location information, an abnormality notification is generated as a reaction condition for the corresponding terminal device state and broadcast to the other satellites and / or earth stations, and toward the corresponding terminal device state. The LEO satellite system according to the above supplementary note, wherein a safety command is broadcast.

[Appendix]
The satellite transmits the communication unit,
A surface communication unit configured to be able to communicate with a group of terminal devices existing on the earth side when introduced into the LEO;
A satellite communication unit configured to be able to communicate with the other satellites present on the orbital side when LEO is introduced;
With SDR (Software Defined Radio)
The surface communication unit and the satellite communication unit support a plurality of communication methods,
The surface communication unit collects the status of the terminal device group existing in the management area by executing satellite communication with the terminal device group existing in the management area by a communication method supported by each of the terminal devices. ,
The LEO described in the above supplementary note, wherein the satellite communication unit takes over the management authority of the management area and the collected status of the terminal device group to the other satellites in a communication method supported by the other satellites of a plurality of types. Satellite system.

[Appendix]
Each of the satellites identifies its own management area according to the management authority, and the status of the terminal device group in each management area is managed by the satellite having the individual management authority, and when the management area leaves the management area, The status of the terminal device group existing in the management area is communicated to the satellite of the following, and the subsequent satellite receives the status of the terminal apparatus group communicated from the preceding satellite and enters the management area, The LEO satellite system according to the above supplementary note, wherein the subsequent satellite activates management authority and manages the status of the terminal device group in the management area.

[Appendix]
The first satellite included in the multiple satellites identifies a management area that the current satellite is currently in charge of, performs satellite communication with a terminal device group in the management area, and a terminal that exists in the management area Manages the status of the device group, and communicates the status of the terminal device group existing in the management region to the subsequent second satellite when leaving the management region,
The second satellite included in the multiple satellites identifies a management area that the next satellite is responsible for, and transmits a status of a terminal device group existing in the management area via satellite communication from the first satellite. Receive and manage, and when entering the management area, identify the management area that it currently handles, and perform satellite communication with terminal devices in the management area to exist in the management area The LEO satellite system as described in the above supplementary note, wherein the status of a terminal device group is managed.

[Appendix]
The LEO satellite system according to the above supplementary note, wherein the multiple satellites transmit together with the identifiers of the terminal device groups existing in the management area when transferring the status of the terminal device group for each management area.

[Appendix]
When delivering the status of the terminal device group for each management area, the multiple satellites at least transmit the generated terminal device abnormality notification and the generation time thereof to the terminal device group located in the management area. The LEO satellite system as described in the above supplementary note.

[Appendix]
The plurality of satellites transmit at least the control message transmitted to the terminal device group located in the management area and the transmission time thereof when delivering the status of the terminal device group for each management area. The LEO satellite system described in the above supplementary note.

[Appendix]
The LEO satellite system according to the above remark, wherein each of the plurality of satellites sets management authority for one or a plurality of areas and manages one or a plurality of management areas corresponding to the set management authority for each area. .

[Appendix]
Each of the multiple satellites identifies the orbits of the other satellites included in the satellite constellation, selects the subsequent satellite that will manage the management area for which it has the management authority, and manages the selected satellite. Notification of takeover of
The LEO satellite system according to the above supplementary note, wherein the selected corresponding satellite activates the management authority of the corresponding area when it enters the management area based on the notification of handover of the notified management authority.

[Appendix]
The LEO satellite system includes a management satellite that manages the management authority of one or more satellites,
The management satellite identifies the orbit of each satellite included in the satellite constellation, selects a satellite group that manages each management area according to the timeline, and notifies the selected satellite of the takeover notification of management authority,
The LEO satellite system according to the above supplementary note, wherein the selected satellite activates the management authority of the corresponding area when entering the management area based on the notification of the handover of the notified management authority.

[Appendix]
The management satellite is a geostationary satellite and / or a quasi-zenith satellite,
The management satellite identifies the orbit of each satellite included in the satellite constellation, selects a satellite group that manages each management area according to the timeline, and notifies the selected satellite of the takeover notification of management authority,
The LEO satellite system according to the above supplementary note, wherein the selected satellite activates the management authority of the corresponding area when entering the management area based on the notification of the handover of the notified management authority.

[Appendix]
The management satellite is a geostationary satellite and / or a quasi-zenith satellite,
The management satellite manages reaction conditions and reaction operation settings for each terminal device state held by each of the multiple satellites, and sets the reaction conditions and reaction operations set for each satellite constituting the constellation. The LEO satellite system according to the above supplementary note, which is set through a network.

[Appendix]
The LEO satellite system according to the above supplementary note, wherein the LEO satellite system manages IoT devices as the terminal device.

[Appendix]
The LEO satellite system manages the drone as the terminal device, and when the position coordinate of the drone deviates from the predetermined flight route or enters the no-fly region, navigation recalculation / stop / direction to the drone The LEO satellite system according to the above supplementary note, wherein a communication command notifying at least one of the conversions is transmitted from a satellite having the management authority of the corresponding management area.

[Appendix]
The LEO satellite system manages an autonomous driving vehicle as the terminal device, and recalculates navigation to the autonomous driving vehicle and / or surrounding vehicles when the position coordinates of the autonomous driving vehicle deviate from a predetermined travel route. The LEO satellite system as described in the above supplementary note, wherein a communication command for notifying at least one of / stop / direction change / warning is transmitted from a satellite having management authority in the corresponding management area.

[Appendix]
A communication unit configured to communicate with a large number of terminal devices existing on the earth side and other satellites existing on the orbit side in a state of being arranged in the low-altitude orbit.
While managing the reaction conditions and reaction behavior for each terminal device state with the other satellites via the communication unit,
Executes communication with the terminal device group existing in the management area currently handled by itself through the communication unit, collects status including the location information of the terminal device group existing in the management area, and individually And a management unit configured to manage the multiple terminal devices by executing a reaction operation corresponding to the reaction conditions when the terminal device state of the terminal device matches the reaction conditions. LEO satellite.

[Appendix]
The LEO satellite according to the above supplementary note, wherein the LEO satellite is configured to use a DTN protocol as a communication protocol with the terminal device and the earth station using the communication unit.

[Appendix]
The LEO satellite sets a reaction condition and a reaction operation setting for the terminal device status of each terminal device managed by each satellite received from each service vendor via the communication unit between the other satellites. The LEO satellite described in the above supplementary note, which is configured to be shared.

[Appendix]
The LEO satellite
Holding a communication command for causing a corresponding terminal device to execute a predetermined action when the reaction condition for the status of each terminal device group and the reaction condition are met,
When satellite communications from a group of terminal devices in the management area that they are currently in charge of are read and the status of each terminal device matches the reaction conditions, communication commands corresponding to the reaction conditions are sent to the earth side. The LEO satellite as described in the above supplementary note, which is transmitted.

[Appendix]
The LEO satellite is configured to generate an abnormality notification as a reaction condition for each terminal device state and share the abnormality notification generated via the communication unit with the other satellites. The LEO satellite described in the above supplementary note.

[Appendix]
The LEO satellite is a control message that is a communication command including at least one of navigation recalculation / stop / return / return to a predetermined / required number of terminal devices as a reaction operation for an arbitrary reaction condition. The LEO satellite according to the above supplementary note, wherein the LEO satellite is configured to transmit

[Appendix]
From the supervisory control center manager station that receives and manages the setting of reaction conditions and reaction operations for each terminal device state held by each of the multiple satellites, the set reaction conditions and reaction operations are set via the satellite network. The LEO satellite described in the above supplementary note, which is received.

[Appendix]
The LEO satellite generates an abnormality notification as a reaction condition for each terminal device state, and transmits the abnormality notification generated via the communication unit to the supervisory control center manager station via the satellite network. The LEO satellite described in the above supplementary note.

[Appendix]
The LEO satellite is set with the service operation plan that has been set or the expected value of the position information calculated from the service operation plan from the supervisory control center manager station via the satellite network. LEO satellite.

[Appendix]
The LEO satellite acquires the status including the location information of the terminal device group existing in the management area that the LEO satellite currently handles via the communication unit from moment to moment, and the obtained location information is calculated from the operation plan or the operation plan. When the position information deviates from the expected value, an abnormality notification is generated as a reaction condition for the corresponding terminal device state and broadcast to the other satellites and / or earth stations, and safety is achieved for the corresponding terminal device state. The LEO satellite as described in the above supplementary note, which broadcasts a command.

[Appendix]
The LEO satellite transmits the communication unit to
A surface communication unit configured to be able to communicate with a group of terminal devices existing on the earth side when introduced into the LEO;
A satellite communication unit configured to be able to communicate with the other satellites present on the orbital side when LEO is introduced;
With SDR (Software Defined Radio)
The surface communication unit and the satellite communication unit support a plurality of communication methods,
The surface communication unit collects the status of the terminal device group existing in the management area by executing satellite communication with the terminal device group existing in the management area by a communication method supported by each of the terminal devices. ,
The LEO described in the above supplementary note, wherein the satellite communication unit takes over the management authority of the management area and the collected status of the terminal device group to the other satellites in a communication method supported by the other satellites of a plurality of types. satellite.

[Appendix]
The LEO satellite identifies its own management area according to the management authority, and the status of the terminal device group in each management area is managed by the satellite having the individual management authority. Communicate the status of the terminal device group existing in the management area to the satellite of
In addition, the LEO satellite receives the status of the terminal device group communicated from the preceding satellite, and when entering the management area, activates the management authority to manage the status of the terminal device group in the management area. The LEO satellite described in the above supplementary note.

[Appendix]
The LEO satellite identifies the management area that the LEO satellite currently handles, performs satellite communication with the terminal apparatus group in the management area, manages the status of the terminal apparatus group in the management area, and The LEO satellite as described in the above supplementary note, wherein when the control area is out of the management area, the status of the terminal device group existing in the management area is communicated to a subsequent satellite.

[Appendix]
The LEO satellite according to the above supplementary note, wherein when the status of the terminal device group for each management area is transferred, the LEO satellite also transmits an identifier of the terminal apparatus group existing in the management area.

[Appendix]
When delivering the status of the terminal device group for each management area, the LEO satellite transmits at least the generated terminal device abnormality notification and the generation time to the terminal device group located in the management area. The LEO satellite described in the above supplementary note.

[Appendix]
The LEO satellite transmits at least a control message transmitted to a terminal device group located in the management area and its transmission time when delivering the status of the terminal device group for each management area. The LEO satellite described in the above supplementary notes.

[Appendix]
The LEO satellite according to the above supplementary note, wherein the LEO satellite sets management authority for one or more areas and manages one or more management areas corresponding to the set management authority for each area.

[Appendix]
The LEO satellite identifies the orbits of other satellites included in the satellite constellation, selects the subsequent satellite that will manage the management area for which it has the management authority, and takes over the management authority to the selected satellite. The LEO satellite as described in the above supplementary note, which notifies a notification.

[Appendix]
The LEO satellite according to the above supplementary note, wherein the LEO satellite manages an IoT device as the terminal device.

[Appendix]
A terminal device group management method by an LEO satellite system in which a constellation is composed of a large number of satellites orbiting in a low altitude orbit,
Each of the plurality of satellites includes a plurality of terminal devices existing on the earth side, a communication unit communicating with other satellites existing on the orbit side, and a management unit responsible for cooperative operation with the other satellites,
Each of the multiple satellites manages reaction conditions and reaction operations for each terminal device state in common with the other satellites via the communication unit, and
and,
Each of the multiple satellites performs communication with a terminal device group existing in a management area that the satellite currently has via the communication unit, and includes status information of the terminal device group existing in the management area And when a state of each terminal device matches the reaction condition, a reaction operation corresponding to the reaction condition is executed to manage the multiple terminal devices.

[Appendix]
Each of the satellites uses a DTN protocol as a communication protocol with the terminal device and the earth station using the communication unit.

[Appendix]
The LEO satellite system accepts reaction conditions and reaction operation settings for the terminal device status of the terminal device managed by each satellite from the service vendor that provides the service.
Each of the satellites shares a reaction condition and a setting of a reaction operation for the terminal device status of each terminal device managed by each satellite received from each service vendor via the communication unit. A management method of the terminal device group described in the appendix.

[Appendix]
Each of the satellites
Holding a communication command for causing a corresponding terminal device to execute a predetermined action when the reaction condition for the status of each terminal device group and the reaction condition are met,
When satellite communications from a group of terminal devices in the management area that they are currently in charge of are read and the status of each terminal device matches the reaction conditions, communication commands corresponding to the reaction conditions are sent to the earth side. The terminal device group management method according to the above supplementary note, characterized in that transmission is performed.

[Appendix]
Each of the satellites generates an abnormality notification as a reaction condition for each terminal device state, and shares the abnormality notification generated via the communication unit with the other satellites. Management method.

[Appendix]
Each of the satellites is a control message that is a communication command including at least one of navigation recalculation / stop / return / return to a predetermined / required number of terminal devices as a reaction operation for an arbitrary reaction condition. Is transmitted from a satellite having the authority to manage the corresponding management area.

[Appendix]
The LEO satellite system has a supervisory control center manager station on the ground,
The supervisory control center manager station receives and manages the reaction conditions and reaction operation settings for each terminal device state held by each of the multiple satellites via a communication network, and manages each satellite constituting the constellation. The terminal device group management method according to the above supplementary note, wherein the set reaction condition and reaction operation are set via a satellite network.

[Appendix]
The LEO satellite system has a supervisory control center manager station on the ground,
Each of the satellites generates an abnormality notification as a reaction condition for each terminal device state, relays and notifies the abnormality notification generated via the communication unit, and transmits the notification to the supervisory control center manager station The terminal device group management method described in the above supplementary note.

[Appendix]
The LEO satellite system has a supervisory control center manager station on the ground,
The supervisory control center manager station receives and manages a service operation plan for calculating an expected value of position information, which is a state of each terminal device held by each of the multiple satellites, via a communication network from a user. A terminal device group as set forth in the above supplementary note, wherein a set service operation plan or an expected value of position information calculated from the service operation plan is set for each satellite constituting the constellation via a satellite network. Management method.

[Appendix]
Each of the multiple satellites obtains a status including the location information of the terminal device group existing in the management area currently managed by the self through the communication unit, and the obtained location information is calculated from the operation plan or the operation plan. If the position information is out of the expected value of the location information, an abnormality notification is generated as a reaction condition for the corresponding terminal device state and broadcast to the other satellites and / or earth stations, and toward the corresponding terminal device state. The terminal device group management method described in the above supplementary note, wherein a safety command is broadcast.

[Appendix]
The satellite transmits the communication unit,
A surface communication unit configured to be able to communicate with a group of terminal devices existing on the earth side when introduced into the LEO;
A satellite communication unit configured to be able to communicate with the other satellites present on the orbital side when LEO is introduced;
With SDR (Software Defined Radio)
The surface communication unit and the satellite communication unit support a plurality of communication methods,
The surface communication unit collects the status of the terminal device group existing in the management area by executing satellite communication with the terminal device group existing in the management area by a communication method supported by each of the terminal devices. ,
The terminal according to the above supplementary note, wherein the satellite communication unit takes over the management authority of the management area and the collected status of the terminal device group to the other satellites by a communication method supported by the other satellites of a plurality of types. Device group management method.

[Appendix]
Each of the satellites identifies its own management area according to the management authority, and the status of the terminal device group in each management area is managed by the satellite having the individual management authority, and when the management area leaves the management area, The status of the terminal device group existing in the management area is communicated to the satellite of the following, and the subsequent satellite receives the status of the terminal apparatus group communicated from the preceding satellite and enters the management area, The terminal device group management method as described in the above supplementary note, wherein the subsequent satellite activates a management authority and manages the status of the terminal device group in the management area.

[Appendix]
The first satellite included in the multiple satellites identifies a management area that the current satellite is currently in charge of, performs satellite communication with a terminal device group in the management area, and a terminal that exists in the management area Manages the status of the device group, and communicates the status of the terminal device group existing in the management region to the subsequent second satellite when leaving the management region,
The second satellite included in the multiple satellites identifies a management area that the next satellite is responsible for, and transmits a status of a terminal device group existing in the management area via satellite communication from the first satellite. Receive and manage, and when entering the management area, identify the management area that it currently handles, and perform satellite communication with terminal devices in the management area to exist in the management area The terminal device group management method according to the above supplementary note, wherein the status of the terminal device group is managed.

[Appendix]
The plurality of satellites transmit together with identifiers of terminal device groups located in the management area when transferring the status of the terminal device group for each management area. Management method.

[Appendix]
When delivering the status of the terminal device group for each management area, the multiple satellites at least transmit the generated terminal device abnormality notification and the generation time thereof to the terminal device group located in the management area. A method for managing a terminal device group as set forth in the above supplementary note.

[Appendix]
The plurality of satellites transmit at least the control message transmitted to the terminal device group located in the management area and the transmission time thereof when delivering the status of the terminal device group for each management area. The terminal device group management method described in the above supplementary note.

[Appendix]
Each of the plurality of satellites sets management authority for one or more areas, and manages one or more management areas corresponding to the set management authority for each area. Management method.

[Appendix]
Each of the multiple satellites identifies the orbits of the other satellites included in the satellite constellation, selects the subsequent satellite that will manage the management area for which it has the management authority, and manages the selected satellite. Notification of takeover of
The selected corresponding satellite activates the management authority of the corresponding area when entering the management area based on the notified notification of the handover of the management authority. Method.

[Appendix]
The LEO satellite system includes a management satellite that manages the management authority of one or more satellites,
The management satellite identifies the orbit of each satellite included in the satellite constellation, selects a satellite group that manages each management area according to the timeline, and notifies the selected satellite of the takeover notification of management authority,
The selected satellite activates the management authority of the corresponding area when it enters the management area based on the notified management authority takeover notification. .

[Appendix]
The management satellite is a geostationary satellite and / or a quasi-zenith satellite,
The management satellite identifies the orbit of each satellite included in the satellite constellation, selects a satellite group that manages each management area according to the timeline, and notifies the selected satellite of the takeover notification of management authority,
The selected satellite activates the management authority of the corresponding area when it enters the management area based on the notified management authority takeover notification. .

[Appendix]
The management satellite is a geostationary satellite and / or a quasi-zenith satellite,
The management satellite manages reaction conditions and reaction operation settings for each terminal device state held by each of the multiple satellites, and sets the reaction conditions and reaction operations set for each satellite constituting the constellation. The terminal device group management method described in the above supplementary note, which is set via a satellite network.

[Appendix]
The LEO satellite system manages an IoT device as the terminal device, and manages the terminal device group according to the above supplementary note.

[Appendix]
The LEO satellite system manages the drone as the terminal device, and when the position coordinate of the drone deviates from the predetermined flight route or enters the no-fly region, navigation recalculation / stop / direction to the drone The terminal device group management method as described in the above supplementary note, wherein a communication command notifying at least one of the conversions is transmitted from a satellite having management authority for the corresponding management area.

[Appendix]
The LEO satellite system manages an autonomous driving vehicle as the terminal device, and recalculates navigation to the autonomous driving vehicle and / or surrounding vehicles when the position coordinates of the autonomous driving vehicle deviate from a predetermined travel route. The terminal device group management method as described in the above supplementary note, wherein a communication command notifying at least one of / stop / direction change / warning is transmitted from a satellite having the management authority of the corresponding management area.

This application claims priority based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2016-076297 filed on Apr. 6, 2016, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein.

1 LEO Satellite System 10 Satellite (Regional Management Satellite)
11 management unit 11A condition operation storage unit 11B state change detection unit 11C previous state storage unit 12 communication unit 12A satellite communication unit 12B surface communication unit 20 satellite (following satellite)
30 satellites (leading satellites)

Claims (26)

1. Constellation is composed of many satellites orbiting low altitude orbit,
   Each of the multiple satellites is
   A communication means for communicating with a number of terminal devices existing on the earth side and other satellites existing on the orbit side;
   While managing the reaction condition and reaction operation for each terminal device state in common with the other satellites via the communication means,
   Executes communication with the terminal device group existing in the management area currently undertaken by the self through the communication means, collects the status including the position information of the terminal device group existing in the management area, A management means for managing the plurality of terminal devices by executing a reaction operation corresponding to the reaction conditions when the terminal device state matches the reaction conditions;
   The LEO satellite system characterized in that the large number of satellites cooperate with each other to watch over a specific terminal device and / or a plurality of terminal device groups existing on the earth side while changing over each management area.
2. 2. The LEO satellite system according to claim 1, wherein each of the satellites uses a DTN protocol as a communication protocol with the terminal device and the earth station using the communication means.
3. The LEO satellite system accepts reaction conditions and reaction operation settings for the terminal device status of the terminal device managed by each satellite from the service vendor that provides the service.
   Each of the satellites shares a reaction condition and a reaction operation setting for the terminal device status of each terminal device managed by each satellite received from each service vendor via the communication unit. Item 3. The LEO satellite system according to Item 1 or 2.
4. Each of the satellites
   Holding a communication command for causing a corresponding terminal device to execute a predetermined action when the reaction condition for the status of each terminal device group and the reaction condition are met,
   When satellite communications from a group of terminal devices in the management area that they are currently in charge of are read and the status of each terminal device matches the reaction conditions, communication commands corresponding to the reaction conditions are sent to the earth side. The LEO satellite system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the LEO satellite system transmits the LEO satellite system.
5. 5. The satellite according to claim 1, wherein each of the satellites generates an abnormality notification as a reaction condition for each terminal device state, and shares the abnormality notification generated through the communication unit with the other satellite. The LEO satellite system according to claim 1.
6. Each of the satellites is a control message that is a communication command including at least one of navigation recalculation / stop / return / return to a predetermined / required number of terminal devices as a reaction operation for an arbitrary reaction condition. The LEO satellite system according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the LEO satellite system is transmitted from a satellite having the management authority of the corresponding management area.
7. The LEO satellite system has a supervisory control center manager station on the ground,
   The supervisory control center manager station receives and manages the reaction conditions and reaction operation settings for each terminal device state held by each of the multiple satellites via a communication network, and manages each satellite constituting the constellation. The LEO satellite system according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the set reaction condition and reaction operation are set via a satellite network.
8. The LEO satellite system has a supervisory control center manager station on the ground,
   Each of the satellites generates an abnormality notification as a reaction condition for each terminal device state, relays and notifies the abnormality notification generated via the communication unit, and transmits the notification to the supervisory control center manager station The LEO satellite system according to any one of claims 1 to 7.
9. The LEO satellite system has a supervisory control center manager station on the ground,
   The supervisory control center manager station receives and manages a service operation plan for calculating an expected value of position information, which is a state of each terminal device held by each of the multiple satellites, via a communication network from a user. And setting an expected value of the position information calculated from the set service operation plan or the service operation plan to each satellite constituting the constellation via the satellite network. The LEO satellite system according to claim 1.
10. Each of the multiple satellites obtains a status including the location information of the terminal device group existing in the management area currently managed by the self through the communication unit, and the obtained location information is calculated from the operation plan or the operation plan. If the position information is out of the expected value of the location information, an abnormality notification is generated as a reaction condition for the corresponding terminal device state and broadcast to the other satellites and / or earth stations, and toward the corresponding terminal device state. The LEO satellite system according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein a safety command is broadcast.
11. The satellite transmits the communication means,
    Surface communication means configured to be able to communicate with a group of terminal devices existing on the earth side when put into LEO;
    Satellite communication means configured to be able to communicate with the other satellites present on the orbital side when LEO is introduced;
    With SDR (Software Defined Radio)
    The surface communication means and the satellite communication means correspond to a plurality of communication methods,
    The surface communication means collects the status of the terminal device group existing in the management area by executing satellite communication with the terminal device group existing in the management area by a communication method supported by each of the terminal devices. ,
    11. The satellite communication means takes over the management authority of the management area and the collected status of the terminal device group to the other satellites in a communication method supported by the other satellites of a plurality of types. The LEO satellite system according to any one of the above.
12. Each of the satellites identifies its own management area according to the management authority, and the status of the terminal device group in each management area is managed by the satellite having the individual management authority, and when the management area leaves the management area, The status of the terminal device group existing in the management area is communicated to the satellite of the following, and the subsequent satellite receives the status of the terminal apparatus group communicated from the preceding satellite and enters the management area, The LEO satellite system according to any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein the subsequent satellite activates management authority to manage the status of the terminal device group in the management area.
13. The first satellite included in the multiple satellites identifies a management area that the current satellite is currently in charge of, performs satellite communication with a terminal device group in the management area, and a terminal that exists in the management area Manages the status of the device group, and communicates the status of the terminal device group existing in the management region to the subsequent second satellite when leaving the management region,
    The second satellite included in the multiple satellites identifies a management area that the next satellite is responsible for, and transmits a status of a terminal device group existing in the management area via satellite communication from the first satellite. Receive and manage, and when entering the management area, identify the management area that it currently handles, and perform satellite communication with terminal devices in the management area to exist in the management area The LEO satellite system according to any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein a status of a terminal device group to be managed is managed.
14. 14. The device according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of satellites transmit the identifiers of the terminal device groups existing in the management area together when transferring the status of the terminal device group for each management area. The LEO satellite system according to one item.
15. When delivering the status of the terminal device group for each management area, the multiple satellites at least transmit the generated terminal device abnormality notification and the generation time thereof to the terminal device group located in the management area. The LEO satellite system according to any one of claims 1 to 14, wherein
16. The plurality of satellites transmit at least the control message transmitted to the terminal device group located in the management area and the transmission time thereof when delivering the status of the terminal device group for each management area. The LEO satellite system according to any one of claims 1 to 15.
17. 17. The system according to claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of satellites sets management authority for one or more areas, and manages one or more management areas corresponding to the set management authority for each area. The LEO satellite system according to claim 1.
18. Each of the multiple satellites identifies the orbits of the other satellites included in the satellite constellation, selects the subsequent satellite that will manage the management area for which it has the management authority, and manages the selected satellite. Notification of takeover of
    The selected corresponding satellite activates the management authority of the corresponding area when entering the management area, based on the notified notification of the handover of the management authority. The LEO satellite system according to item.
19. The LEO satellite system includes a management satellite that manages the management authority of one or more satellites,
    The management satellite identifies the orbit of each satellite included in the satellite constellation, selects a satellite group that manages each management area according to the timeline, and notifies the selected satellite of the takeover notification of management authority,
    The selected satellite activates the management authority of the corresponding area when it enters the management area based on the notification of handover of the notified management authority. The LEO satellite system described in 1.
20. The management satellite is a geostationary satellite and / or a quasi-zenith satellite,
    The management satellite identifies the orbit of each satellite included in the satellite constellation, selects a satellite group that manages each management area according to the timeline, and notifies the selected satellite of the takeover notification of management authority,
    20. The LEO satellite system according to claim 19, wherein when the selected satellite enters the management area based on the notified management authority takeover notice, the management authority of the corresponding area is activated.
21. The management satellite is a geostationary satellite and / or a quasi-zenith satellite,
    The management satellite manages reaction conditions and reaction operation settings for each terminal device state held by each of the multiple satellites, and sets the reaction conditions and reaction operations set for each satellite constituting the constellation. 20. The LEO satellite system according to claim 19, wherein the LEO satellite system is set via a network.
22. The LEO satellite system according to any one of claims 1 to 21, wherein the LEO satellite system manages an IoT device as the terminal device.
23. The LEO satellite system manages the drone as the terminal device, and when the position coordinates of the drone deviate from the predetermined flight route or enters the no-fly region, navigation recalculation / stop / direction to the drone The LEO satellite system according to any one of claims 1 to 22, wherein a communication command notifying at least one of the conversions is transmitted from a satellite having management authority for the corresponding management area.
24. The LEO satellite system manages an autonomous driving vehicle as the terminal device, and recalculates navigation to the autonomous driving vehicle and / or surrounding vehicles when the position coordinates of the autonomous driving vehicle deviate from a predetermined travel route. The LEO satellite according to any one of claims 1 to 23, wherein a communication command for notifying at least one of / stop / direction change / warning is transmitted from a satellite having management authority of the corresponding management area. system.
25. A communication means configured to communicate with a number of terminal devices existing on the earth side and other satellites existing on the orbit side in a state of being arranged in a low-orbit orbit.
    While managing the reaction conditions and reaction behavior for each terminal device state with the other satellites via the communication unit,
    Executes communication with the terminal device group existing in the management area currently handled by itself through the communication unit, collects status including the location information of the terminal device group existing in the management area, and individually And a management unit configured to manage the plurality of terminal devices by executing a reaction operation corresponding to the reaction conditions when the terminal device state of the terminal device matches the reaction conditions. LEO satellite.
26. A terminal device group management method by an LEO satellite system in which a constellation is composed of a large number of satellites orbiting in a low altitude orbit,
    Each of the plurality of satellites includes a plurality of terminal devices existing on the earth side, a communication unit communicating with other satellites existing on the orbit side, and a management unit responsible for cooperative operation with the other satellites,
    Each of the multiple satellites manages reaction conditions and reaction operations for each terminal device state in common with the other satellites via the communication unit, and
    and,
    Each of the multiple satellites performs communication with a terminal device group existing in a management area that the satellite currently has via the communication unit, and includes status information of the terminal device group existing in the management area And when a state of each terminal device matches the reaction condition, a reaction operation corresponding to the reaction condition is executed to manage the multiple terminal devices.

Images