Medium access control protocol for data communications
US6879579B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Sep 18, 1998 |
| Grant date | Apr 12, 2005 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Sep 18, 2018 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH04W28/16
- WIPO fieldDigital communication
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A method for controlling communication between a hub and a plurality of distributed stations over a medium is disclosed. The method comprising the steps of a method for controlling communications access between a hub (8) and a plurality of distributed stations (M1-M7) over a medium, the method comprising the steps of (a) allocating a plurality of channels for data communications between the station (M1-M7) and the hub (8), the number of channels being at least equal to the number of stations, (M1-M7) and each station owning at cast one channel, each channel being varyingly in one of an empty-, a reserved, or an owner-state, and whereby (i) the empty-state provides a channel to which any station (M1-M7) can have access; (ii) the reserved-state provides a channel to which a station (M1-M7) having made a reservation with the hub (8), but not owning the channel, can have access; and (iii) the owner-state provides a channel to which only the owning station (M1-M7) has access; and (b) allocating the respective state and/or the number of channels over time an the basis of each station's data requirements.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.