US 9,872,055 B1Granted

Method and system for preventing congestion of communication signals in a gateway device

AssigneeThe DIRECTV Group, Inc.

InventorsRobin M. Mathews, Henry Derovanessian

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Abstract

A system includes a first communication system, a second communication system and a network processor in communication with the first communication system and the second communication system. The first communication system and the network processor communicate first network signals therebetween. The first network signals include first higher priority network signals and first lower priority network signals. The second communication system and the network processor communicate second network signals therebetween. The second network signals include second higher priority network signals and second lower priority network signals. The network processor communicates a first congestion notification request signal to the first communication system. The first communication system throttles or shapes the first lower priority network signals at the first communication system in response to the first congestion notification signal to form first modified network signals and communicates the first modified network signals to a first user device.

Claims6

Dependent claims

A method of controlling a gateway device comprising a network processor, a first communication system, a second communication system, said first communication system and said second communication system comprising a wireless system transmitting and receiving network signals to and from the gateway device, said method comprising:

communicating first network signals between the network processor and the first communication system, said first network signals comprising first higher priority network signals and first lower priority network signals;
communicating second network signals between the network processor and the second communication system, said second network signals comprising second higher priority network signals and second lower priority network signals;
generating, at the network processor, a first congestion notification signal and a second congestion notification signal dependent on each other to allow coordinated and not independent control of the first communication system and the second communication system;
communicating the first congestion notification signal from the network processor to the first communication system;
throttling and shaping first lower priority network signals at the first communication system in response to the first congestion notification signal to form first modified network signals;
communicating the first modified network signals to the network processor;
communicating the second congestion notification signal from the network processor to the second communication system;
throttling and shaping second lower priority network signals at the second communication system in response to the second congestion notification signal to form second modified network signals, whereby throttling and shaping second lower priority network signal is dependent on throttling or shaping the first lower priority network signals;
and
communicating the second modified network signals to the network processor.

7 more elements

A gateway device comprising:

a first communication system, said first communication system comprising a first wireless system;
a second communication system, said second communication system comprising a second wireless system;
a network processor in communication with the first communication system and the second communication system;
said first communication system and the network processor communicating first network signals therebetween, said first network signals comprising first higher priority network signals and first lower priority network signals;
said second communication system and the network processor communicating second network signals therebetween, said second network signals comprising second higher priority network signals and second lower priority network signals;
said network processor generating a first congestion notification signal and a second congestion notification signal dependent on each other to allow coordinated and not independent control of the first communication system and the second communication system, communicating the first congestion notification signal to the first communication system and communicating the second congestion notification signal to the second communication system;
said first communication system throttling and shaping the first lower priority network signals at the first communication system in response to the first congestion notification signal to form first modified network signals and communicates the first modified network signals to the network processor;
and
said second communication system throttling and shaping the second lower priority network signals at the second communication system in response to the second congestion notification signal to form second modified network signals and communicates the second modified network signals to the network processor, whereby the throttling and shaping second lower priority network signal is dependent on throttling and shaping the first lower priority network signals.

6 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 14/871,832Filed 30 Sep 2015
Granted: 16 Jan 2018
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification10 codes

H04N 21/239
Processing of content or additional data; Elementary server operations; Server middleware: interfacing the upstream path of the transmission…
H04L 12/28
Data switching networks: characterised by path configuration, e.g. LAN [Local Area Networks] or WAN [Wide Area Networks]
H04L 12/4625
LAN interconnection over a bridge based backbone: single bridge functionality, e.g. connection of two networks over a single bridge
H04N 21/2385
Interfacing the downstream path of the transmission network, e.g. adapting the transmission rate of a video stream to network bandwidth;…: channel…