US 5,317,571 AGranted

Method for determining the transmission time between remote and central terminal stations in a point-to-multipoint bidirectional transmission network

AssigneeAlcatel Cit

InventorsFrancois Marcel, Dany Sallaerts, Serge Allaire, Pierre Dore

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Abstract

A method for determining the transmission time between remote terminal stations and a central terminal station in a point-to-multipoint bidirectional transmission network. The central station measures the time interval between a reference time for sending of information signals by the central station and reception by the central station of a location signal sent by a remote station after a time-delay starting from a reference time for reception of information signals by the remote station so that the location signal is received by the central station in a predetermined location window not assigned to reception of information signals by the central station. For a given remote station the time-delay is variable from an initial value such that the location signal is not necessarily received in the window and the location signal sending by the remote station is then repeated until the location signal is received by the central station in the window.

Claims11

Dependent claims

A method for determining the transmission time between remote terminal stations and a central terminal station in a point-to-multipoint bidirectional transmission network, said method comprising the steps of:

measuring by the central station of a time interval between a first reference time for sending of information signals by said central station and reception by said central station of a location signal sent by a remote station after a time-delay starting from a second reference time for reception of said information signals by said remote station so that said location signal is received by said central station in a predetermined location window which has a width and which is not assigned to reception by said central station of information signals;
for a given remote station, varying said time delay from an initial value such that the location signal is not necessarily received in said window;
and then, when the location signal is not received in said window, repeating said location signal sent by the remote station until said location signal is received by said central station in said window.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.