Patent ID: 6876662
Filing Date: 2005-04-05
Classification: H04L,H04Q

Abstract:
1. A method for controlling the rates of concurrent digital transmissions using at least first and second queues having a plurality of locations, said method comprising the steps of: for each transmission of high priority, writing an index corresponding to a data cell of the high-priority transmission at one of the locations in the first queue; writing in the same way into the second queue indexes corresponding to transmissions of lower priority; successively surveying the locations of the first queue at a rate corresponding to a cell transmission rate; if the surveyed location in the first queue contains an index, transmitting the corresponding data cell, freeing the surveyed location, and rewriting the index at the location in the first queue that is distant from the surveyed location in the first queue by a value determined by the rate of the corresponding transmission; successively surveying the locations of the second queue; if the surveyed location in the second queue contains an index, transmitting the corresponding data cell when the surveyed location in the first queue does not contain an index, freeing the surveyed location in the second queue and rewriting the index at the location in the second queue that is distant from said surveyed location in the second queue by a value determined by the rate of the corresponding transmission; interrupting the surveying of the first queue when the number of indexes in the first queue reaches a predetermined limit; resuming the surveying of the first queue when a rate pointer is incremented; writing a ghost index into at least one of the locations in the first queue; and if the surveyed location in the first queue contains a ghost index, freeing the surveyed location and rewriting the ghost index at one of the locations in the first queue.