METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR FORMING TDM SIGNAL BURSTS FOR A TIME DIVISION MULTIPLE ACCESS SATELLITE COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEM

摘要

1,210,405. Multiplex pulse signalling. COMMUNICATIONS SATELLITE CORP. 13 Nov., 1967 [16 Nov., 1966], No. 51498/67. Heading H4L. In a communication system comprising a plurality of earth stations co-operating with an orbiting satellite relay station, the signals from the channels at the ground stations are arranged to be combined in time division multiplex to form satellite time frames without the use of the usual storage devices at the ground stations. Each ground station includes a sampling switch 18 in which the total number of sampling positions N is equal to the number of channel time slots in a satellite frame. As shown, the ground station is allotted Y positions corresponding to the incoming channels of which only y may be in use, the remaining N-Y time positions being shared by the other ground stations by appropriate connection of their corresponding sampling switches. By this means the signals from each station are transmitted as bursts after coding at 24. The time at which sampling is initiated is synchronized with a master station reference signal. The allotment of channels may be changed as required.