MAC protocol employing multiple data rates
US6463096B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jun 12, 1998 |
| Grant date | Oct 8, 2002 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jun 12, 2018 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH04W74/00
- WIPO fieldDigital communication
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
Method and apparatus for combining high data rate traffic and low data rate traffic on a common transmission medium while maximizing efficient use of available spectrum. Since spectrum is an economically valuable resource and transport of data generates revenue, the present invention directly leads to more profitable network operation. The disclosed systems are applicable to both wired and wireless transmission media. In one embodiment, a bandwidth reservation scheme provides that data rate may be varied so that when a particular data communication device is allocated a frame, it is also assigned a data rate for use in that frame. Because bandwidth usage varies with data rate, the division of available spectrum into channels for use by individual data communication devices may also vary among frames.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.