Chime-In Protocol For Channel Access
AssigneeData Flow Systems, Inc.
InventorsEdward Gerhardt, William Bernett, William Highsmith
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A network of stations uses bandwidth assigned to primary users on a secondary user basis. The stations having a status of needing to send information indicate a need for transmission access by transmitting, simultaneously with transmissions indicating a need for transmission access from other stations of the network, an indication of status to a master station. Each station indicating need for transmission access transmits that indication of status on a respectively different frequency. The master station then grants access to the transmission bandwidth to the requesting stations.
Claims18
A method for allocating access to transmission bandwidth, comprising:
- causing each station of a network, having a status of needing to send information, to indicate that status on a different respective frequency of a group of frequencies used by stations of said network.
Apparatus for allocating access to transmission bandwidth comprising:
- a. a transmitter for sending a unique signal to all stations of a network;
- and
- b. a receiver for receiving substantially simultaneously from each station of said network having information to send on said transmission channel a response signal.
Apparatus for obtaining access to a transmission channel comprising:
- a. a receiver for receiving a unique signal from a master station;
- b. a table storing a list of frequencies;
- c. a selection mechanism for selecting a frequency from a list of frequencies using a unique network identification;
- and
- d. a transmitter for transmitting a response signal to said master station on the frequency selected by said selection mechanism, if said apparatus has information to send.
A system for allocating access to transmission bandwidth, comprising:
- a. a master stations for sending a unique signal;
- b. a plurality of remote stations, each of which responds to said unique signal substantially simultaneously on a respective frequency only if that remote stations has information to transmit.
A computer program product comprising:
- a. a computer readable medium;
- and
- b. instructions stored on said computer readable medium for causing a station of a network, having a status of needing to send information, to indicate that status on a different respective frequency of a group of frequencies used by stations of said network substantially simultaneously with indications of status from other stations.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.