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AppleGranted patentNetworks & wirelessInterest 6/10

Apple patents sending messages in pieces over satellite when cell service drops

Apple describes a system where a phone breaks a message into small chunks and sends them via satellite while you are still typing. If you change something you already sent, the phone marks that chunk as an edit, and the network waits until you finish to put the whole message together correctly.

Why it mattersThis could make satellite texting more reliable by ensuring your final message is complete and accurate even if your connection is weak or you make typos.

In the filing’s own words

A communications system may include user equipment (UE) that transmits data to a recipient via a network. The UE may receive user input and may generate the data based on the input. When a terrestrial network is unavailable to the UE, the UE may transmit segments of the data over a satellite constellation as the UE continues to receive input and while connectivity to the constellation exceeds a threshold. If a portion of the input includes an edit to a previous segment, the UE may include an edit flag in the corresponding segment. Once input has finished, the UE may sign the segments and may transmit a signature over the constellation. The network may store the segments as received from the constellation, may replace edited segments with more recent segments containing edit flags, and may compile and transmit all of the segments to the recipient upon receipt of the signature.

What exactly they claim (claim 1)

1. A method of operating a user equipment (UE) device to transmit data to a recipient device, the method comprising: measuring, using a radio, wireless performance metric data from radio-frequency signals conveyed between the UE device and a wireless network; receiving, using an input device, an input associated with the data, wherein the input comprises a first portion and a second portion received by the input device after the first portion; transmitting, using the radio, a first subset of the data to the wireless network while the wireless performance metric data exceeds a threshold value; transmitting, using the radio, a second subset of the data to the wireless network while the wireless performance metric data exceeds the threshold value; and transmitting, using the radio, a remainder of the data to the wireless network after the input device has finished receiving the input, wherein the remainder of the data corresponds to a third portion of the input received by the input device after the second portion of the input.

Facts

Company
Apple (Apple Inc.)
Official title
Segmented communication over wireless networks
Patent number
US12739671B2
Application number
18455880
Filed
Aug 25, 2023
Granted
Sep 15, 2026
Inventors
3
Claims
20

Classified under

H04W 24/08 Electricity & electronicsH04W 4/12 Electricity & electronicsH04W 84/06 Electricity & electronics
Read the full filing (official PDF) ↗ Open in the Patent Tracker

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Summaries are simplified from the filing’s own abstract and first claim. A patent filing is not a product announcement.
Patent data and drawings: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Nebula is not affiliated with or endorsed by the USPTO.