Software-hardware partitioning of a scheduled medium-access protocol
US7525971B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Mar 16, 2005 |
| Grant date | Apr 28, 2009 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Oct 14, 2026 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH04L47/24
- WIPO fieldDigital communication
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A processing device, configured to implement at least a portion of a scheduled medium-access protocol (SMAP) in a communication system, comprises a processor, a memory coupled to the processor, and one or more additional hardware modules. The functionality of the portion of the SMAP implemented in the processing device is partitioned between software, stored in the memory and executable by the processor, and hardware comprising the one or more additional hardware modules. In an illustrative embodiment, the processing device comprises a head-end device of a passive optical network, and the functionality comprises at least a scheduler and a grant generator, with the scheduler being implemented in the software and the grant generator being implemented in the hardware.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.