Congestion monitoring and power control for a communication system
US6842435B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Sep 15, 1999 |
| Grant date | Jan 11, 2005 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Sep 15, 2019 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH04L69/324
- WIPO fieldAudio-visual technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
The invention provides a system which monitors and controls upstream path congestion by utilizing a MAC layer protocol wherein an upstream communication cell is transmitted from a settop box to the headend. The upstream cell contains a message field and a retry count. The retry count is incremented upon failure of each attempt to communicate with the headend within the upstream path. A downstream cell from the headend to the settop terminals contains an acknowledgment field and an optional power control field. Upstream path congestion is monitored by the headend through averaging or other suitable monitoring all of the retry count field data which arrives from the network of settop terminals.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.