Communications in a distribution network
US5761197A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Nov 14, 1994 |
| Grant date | Jun 2, 1998 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Nov 14, 2014 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH04L2012/5675
- WIPO fieldTelecommunications
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A central station of a cable television distribution network transmits TDM frames comprising distribution information and overhead information downstream to customer terminals, and determines corresponding upstream TDMA frames by including an upstream frame identity in the overhead information of each downstream frame. Each terminal buffers asynchronous information for upstream transmission, and stores an upstream frame identity which it is assigned. On detecting this frame identity in the downstream overhead information, the terminal transmit a buffer queue size in an assigned time slot of the corresponding upstream frame. The central station uses the queue sizes from the terminals to allocate time slots in the upstream frames to terminals, by including their terminal addresses in the downstream overhead information, for transmission of the buffered asynchronous information. The central station can also assign time slots to the terminals for transmission of isochronous information.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.