Patent ID: 7012929

Claim:
A system for assigning time slots in a packet communication system comprising a network-side apparatus and a plurality of terminal-side apparatuses connected to the network-side apparatus through a shared transmission medium, the network-side apparatus assigning time slots to the terminal-side apparatuses, each of the terminal-side apparatuses transferring one or more packets over the shared transmission medium by using the time slots assigned thereto, the terminal-side apparatus comprising: buffering means for use in storing the packets to be transferred; and notification means connected to said buffering means and the network-side apparatus, said notification means supplying, to the network-side apparatus, information indicative of the number of the packets stored in said buffering means as packets information; the network-side apparatus comprising: control means connected to each of the terminal-side apparatuses, said control means assigning, in response to the packets information supplied from each of the terminal-side apparatuses, time slots to the terminal-side apparatuses in accordance with a predetermined fairness criteria, the time slots being assigned as primarily assigned time slots, and when one or more leftover time slots are present in at least one terminal-side apparatuses after the assignment of the primarily assigned time slots, then said control means: designating the terminal-side apparatus(es) with such leftover time slot(s) as non-available terminal-side apparatus(es) for reassignment and the remaining terminal-side apparatus(es) as available terminal-side apparatus(es) for reassignment, and reassigning the leftover time slot(s) to the available terminal-side apparatus(es) for reassignment.