Patent ID: 6567385
Filing Date: 2003-05-20
Classification: H04B

Abstract:
A Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) communication system comprising:one or more terminal stations each comprising buffering means and communicating with a respective user station, each terminal station transmitting information in bursts of varying lengths, said burst located within transmitted frames; a central node comprising node buffering means that receives the bursts from the one or more terminal stations using a first frequency and that transmits information to the one or more terminal stations using a second, different frequency; and scheduling means provided in the central node for controlling the transmission of the bursts from the one or more terminal stations, the scheduling means comprising: means for maintaining information about an actual transmission demand from each terminal station and about a connection or disconnection status of the one or more terminal stations, and control means for controlling the location of the bursts within each transmitted frame such that the node buffering means of the central node and the buffering means in the terminal stations do not exceed a buffer size required for steady state transmission so that the transmission delay in the system is minimized.