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US 5,532,937 AGranted
Switching of multiple multimedia data streams
AssigneeInternational Business Machines Corporation
InventorsMichael J. Graziano, Jon F. Hauris, Daniel L. Stanley
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Abstract
A method of switching multimedia data streams in response to requests to allocate or deallocate a user on a network receiving those data streams is herein described. The data streams are transmitted in master cycles, portions of each master cycle being allocated to each user. The relationship between the user and the portion of the master cycle is kept track of by means of a matrix method.
Claims6
A method of switching multimedia data streams, said method comprised of:
- a) sending of data by a master source to a receiver, said data transmitted in the form of master cycles, each of said master cycles being divided into uniform time slots, each slot containing client data to be transmitted to a specific client associated with said slot;
- b) receiving of said data in a storage means contained in said receiver, said receiver distributing said client data in each of said slots to said associated client, said receiver having a switching matrix, said switching matrix comprised of an identifier for each slot and an identifier for each client, said matrix showing the correspondence between each of said slots and each of said clients, the slots related to the client data in the order of the client data stored in the storage means;
- c) sending a control message from the master source, said first control message containing information indicating that a first client is to be deallocated;
- d) placing "place-holder" data by the master source into those portions of the data stream allocated to said first client;
- e) creating a new switching matrix said matrix comprised of said identifiers for each slot and a collection of said client identifiers, each client identifier correlated to a different client and to the order of the client data stored in the storage means, said collection not containing an identifier for said first client;
- f) sending a response message by said receiver to said master source, said response message containing information indicating that said new switching matrix has been created;
- g) ceasing to transfer data at a master cycle boundary by said master source;
- h) sending to said receiver an interrupt message when said data has been emptied from the storage means;
- i) using said new switching matrix in the receiver to control said sending of data by said receiver following receiving of said interrupt message;
- j) sending by said receiver of a second control message indicating that said new switching matrix is being used;
- k) sending data by said master source to said associated client in an order corresponding to said new switching matrix;
- and
- l) receiving said new data by said receiver and distributing said new data on said network according to said new switching matrix.
10 more elements
A system for switching multi-media data streams comprising:
- a network including a server and at least one client station;
- the server including a master cycle source initiated by a start signal and a series of control blocks, each master cycle being divided into uniform or equal length time slots following the start signal and the control blocks;
- A storage means included in the server for storing client multi-media data in a queue on a FIFO basis, the order of such client data in the queue being related to the transmission length of the client station to the server;
- a reconfigurable switching means included in the server for determining and assigning which time slot in the master cycle will be used for the transmission of client data in the storage means to the respective client stations on the network, the switching means coupling each time slot in the master cycle to the client data in the storage means using a unique identifier for each time slot in the master cycle and a different unique identifier for each client data in the storage means;
- the switching means sequentially removing client data from the queue in the storage means on a FIFO basis for installation into the time slot of the master cycle coupled to the client data in the queue by using the unique identifier of the time slot in the master cycle and the coupled different unique identifier of the client data in the queue;
- and
- means for transmitting the time slotted client data on the network to the respective client stations.
4 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.