Virtual gateway system and method

A virtual gateway system for providing bi-directional communication between a customer premises network and a second device network, each network sharing at a customer premises a communication channel, the communication channel having a first spectral band and a second spectral band associated with the computer premises network and second device network respectively, the system comprising:

• a plurality of customer premises client devices each including:
• a first modem associated with the customer premises network, having:
• a receive portion having an input coupled to the communication channel, the receive portion for converting information in the spectral band associated with the customer premises network to baseband;
• and
• a transmit portion having an output coupled to the communication channel, the transmit portion for converting baseband information to the spectral band associated with the customer premises network;
• and
• a second modem associated with the second device network, each having:
• a receive portion having an input coupled to the communication channel for converting information in the spectral band associated with the second device network to baseband;
• and
• a transmit portion having an output coupled to the communication channel for converting baseband information to the spectral band associated with the second device network;
• and
• a baseband communication channel coupled to the first modem and to the second modem for communicating baseband signals between the first modem and the second modem.

A virtual gateway system for providing bi-directional communication between a customer premises network and a second device network, each network sharing at a customer premises a communication channel, the communication channel having a first spectral band and a second spectral band associated with the customer premises network and the second device network respectively, the system comprising:

• a plurality of customer premises client devices each including:
• a first modem associated with the customer premises network, having:
• a receive portion having an input coupled to the communication channel, said receive portion for converting information in the spectral band associated with the customer premises network to baseband;
• and
• a transmit portion having an output coupled to the communication channel, said transmit portion for converting baseband information to the spectral band associated with the customer premises network;
• and
• a customer premises gateway server having a second modem having:
• a receive portion having an input coupled to the communication channel, the receive portion for converting information in the spectral band associated with the second device network to baseband;
• and
• a transmit portion having an input coupled to the communication channel, said transmit portion for converting baseband information to the spectral band associated with the second device network.

A method of providing communication between a customer premises network and a second device network, in which the customer premises network and the second device network share at a customer premises a communication channel, the method comprising:

• communicating among devices in the customer premises network using communication signals in a first spectral band on the communication channel;
• communicating among the devices in the second device network using communication signals in a second spectral band distinct from the first spectral band on the communication channel;
• and
• converting information in the first spectral band to a baseband representation;
• converting baseband information to the second spectral band so as to transfer information from the customer premises network to the second device network.

A method for interconnecting a plurality of distinct device networks, including a customer premises network located at a customer premises, comprising:

• generating first network signals associated with the customer premises network having a first network protocol, said first network signals being in a first spectral band;
• generating second network signals associated with a second device network having a second network protocol, said second network signals being in a second spectral band;
• coupling the first network signals and the second network signals to a shared communication channel;
• detecting network signals coupled to the shared communication channel in the first spectral band that are addressed to a device associated with the second device network;
• and
• converting detected signals to a network signal compatible with the second network protocol and in the second spectral band.