Source: https://patents.google.com/patent/US20040017830
Timestamp: 2018-02-21 17:26:49
Document Index: 535585931

Matched Legal Cases: ['art 500', 'art 500', 'art 500', 'art 600', 'art 600', 'art 700', 'art 700', 'art 700', 'art 800', 'art 800']

US20040017830A1 US10420805 US42080503A US2004017830A1 US 20040017830 A1 US20040017830 A1 US 20040017830A1 US 10420805 US10420805 US 10420805 US 42080503 A US42080503 A US 42080503A US 2004017830 A1 US2004017830 A1 US 2004017830A1
US8098606B2 (en )
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Serial No. 60/374,551, entitled “Modified Upstream Channel Descriptor Messages for DOCSIS Based Broadband Communication Systems,” filed Apr. 23, 2002, and U.S. Provisional Application Serial No.60/441,312, entitled “Modified Upstream Channel Descriptor Messages for DOCSIS-based Broadband Communication Systems,” filed Jan. 22, 2003. The entirety of these applications are incorporated by reference herein.
[0008]FIG. 1 illustrates the basic elements of a two-way satellite communication system 100. System 100 includes a satellite gateway 102 with associated antenna and transceiver 104, a satellite 106, and a satellite modem 108 with associated antenna and transceiver 110. As will be appreciated by persons skilled in the relevant art(s), satellite 106 facilitates bidirectional communication between satellite gateway 102 and satellite modem 108. The communication path from satellite gateway 102 to satellite modem 108 is typically referred to as the downstream while the communication path from satellite modem 108 back to satellite gateway 102 is typically referred to as the upstream.
[0018]FIG. 1 illustrates the basic elements of a two-way satellite communication system.
[0019]FIG. 2 depicts a two-way satellite communications system in which embodiments of the present invention may operate.
[0020]FIG. 3 illustrates a format of an Upstream Channel Descriptor (UCD) message in accordance with the DOCSIS specification.
[0021]FIG. 4 illustrates a format of a TLV-encoded burst descriptor portion of a UCD message in accordance with the DOCSIS specification.
[0022]FIG. 5 depicts a flowchart of a method for generating UCD messages in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
[0023]FIG. 6 depicts a flowchart of a method for generating UCD messages in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
[0024]FIG. 7 depicts a flowchart of a method for processing UCD messages in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
[0025]FIG. 8 depicts a flowchart of a method for processing UCD messages in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
[0026]FIG. 9 depicts a processor-based computer system for implementing various features of the present invention.
[0029]FIG. 2 is a high-level depiction of a two-way satellite communications system 200 in which an embodiment of the present invention may operate. As shown in FIG. 2, two-way satellite communications system 200 includes a satellite modem termination system (SMTS) 204 and at least one satellite modem 206. Two-way satellite communications system 200 utilizes satellites (not shown) to facilitate the transparent bi-directional transfer of data 210, including but not limited to Internet Protocol (IP) traffic, between SMTS 204 and satellite modem 206. To this end, SMTS 204 and satellite modem 206 are each coupled to a transceiver, or transmitter/receiver pair, and antenna (also not shown) for satellite communication purposes. Communication directed from SMTS 204 to satellite modem 206 will be referred to herein as downstream communication, while communication directed from satellite modem 206 to SMTS 204 will be referred to herein as upstream communication.
In two-way satellite communications system 200, SMTS 204 and satellite modem 206 comprise DOCSIS-compatible equipment. In other words, SMTS 204 and satellite modem 206 are interoperable with other SMTS and satellite modem equipment that adhere to the protocols set forth in the DOCSIS Radio Frequency Interface (RFI) Specification published by Cable Labs. The DOCSIS RFI specification is publicly available on the Cable Labs web site (www.cablemodem.com) and is updated from time to time. The current relevant version of the DOCSIS RFI Specification is SP-RFIv1.1-108-020301, which is incorporated by reference in its entirety herein.
B. Modificaton of UCD Messages in Accordance with an Embodiment of the Present Invention
[0039]FIG. 3 illustrates a format 300 of a standard DOCSIS UCD message. In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the DOCSIS UCD message is transmitted by SMTS 204 to a plurality of satellite modems, including satellite modem 206, at a periodic interval to define the characteristics of an upstream channel in two-way satellite communications system 200. SMTS 204 transmits a separate UCD message for each active upstream channel.
As shown in FIG. 3, the DOCSIS UCD message includes a plurality of fields, including a MAC Management Message Header 302, an Upstream Channel Identifier (ID) 304, a Configuration Change Count 306, a Minislot Size 308, a Downstream Channel ID 310, TLV-encoded Information for the Overall Channel 312, TLV-encoded Burst Description 314, and TLV-encoded Information for the Subsequent Burst Descriptors 316. A description of each of these fields is provided in the DOCSIS RFI Specification (Ver. SP-RFIv1.1-108-020301) which is incorporated by reference in its entirety herein.
[0066]FIG. 5 depicts a flowchart 500 of a method for generating UCD messages in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The invention, however, is not limited to the description provided by the flowchart 500. Rather, it will be apparent to persons skilled in the relevant art(s) from the teachings provided herein that other functional flows are within the scope and spirit of the present invention. The flowchart 500 will be described with continued reference to two-way satellite communications system 200 of FIG. 2, although the invention is not limited to that embodiment.
[0071]FIG. 6 depicts a flowchart 600 of a method by which UCD message generator 212 within SMTS 204 generates UCD messages in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The invention, however, is not limited to the description provided by the flowchart 600. Rather, it will be apparent to persons skilled in the relevant art(s) from the teachings provided herein that other functional flows are within the scope and spirit of the present invention.
[0075]FIG. 7 depicts a flowchart 700 of a method for processing UCD messages in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The invention, however, is not limited to the description provided by the flowchart 700. Rather, it will be apparent to persons skilled in the relevant art(s) from the teachings provided herein that other functional flows are within the scope and spirit of the present invention. The flowchart 700 will be also described with continued reference to two-way satellite communications system 200 of FIG. 2, although the invention is not limited to that embodiment.
[0080]FIG. 8 depicts a flowchart 800 of a method by which UCD message processor 214 within satellite modem 206 processes UCD messages in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The invention, however, is not limited to the description provided by the flowchart 800. Rather, it will be apparent to persons skilled in the relevant art(s) from the teachings provided herein that other functional flows are within the scope and spirit of the present invention.
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