System and method for distributing information via a communication network
First Claim
1. A method of distributing information by a point of distribution to subscribers via a communication network, comprising:
- dividing a television broadcast spectrum into a plurality of subscriber channels, each subscriber channel having a deterministic bandwidth;
allocating unshared bandwidth to each of a plurality of subscriber destinations;
assigning each of the subscriber destinations to a subscriber channel;
forwarding source information to each subscriber destination based on assigned subscriber channels;
modulating source information for each subscriber channel;
up converting modulated source information into a corresponding one of the subscriber channels;
combining modulated information from each subscriber channel into a combined signal; and
distributing the combined signal to the plurality of subscriber destinations via the communication network.
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0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A communication system for distributing information via a network to one or more subscribers includes a multi-port switch, one or more radio frequency (RF) modems coupled to respective ports of the switch, a combiner and a transmitter. The switch forwards source information to the RF modems based on address information. Each RF modem modulates and up converts information from the switch to an RF signal within a respective subscriber channel of the television broadcast spectrum. Each channel is assigned to one or more subscribers, and each subscriber is allocated unshared bandwidth. Each channel may be further divided into unshared bandwidth increments, so that multiple subscribers may share a single channel. The combiner combines modulated information from each RF modem into a combined signal and the transmitter transmits the combined signal to the subscribers via the network. An HFC network including a distribution point and one or more optical nodes is contemplated, each optical node serving a particular geographic area via a corresponding coaxial cable. Each subscriber destination includes a gateway device or the like that is tuned to a corresponding channel to retrieve source information from that channel, and to deliver the information to one or more local subscriber devices. The gateway further includes converters, a modulator and an up converter to receive and transmit subscriber information upstream to the distribution point. The gateways and an address resolution server enforce point to point communications. A bandwidth manager allocates bandwidth and monitors bandwidth usage.
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Citations
78 Claims
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1. A method of distributing information by a point of distribution to subscribers via a communication network, comprising:
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dividing a television broadcast spectrum into a plurality of subscriber channels, each subscriber channel having a deterministic bandwidth;
allocating unshared bandwidth to each of a plurality of subscriber destinations;
assigning each of the subscriber destinations to a subscriber channel;
forwarding source information to each subscriber destination based on assigned subscriber channels;
modulating source information for each subscriber channel;
up converting modulated source information into a corresponding one of the subscriber channels;
combining modulated information from each subscriber channel into a combined signal; and
distributing the combined signal to the plurality of subscriber destinations via the communication network. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. A method of communicating information between a point of distribution and a plurality of subscriber destinations via a hybrid fiber coax (HFC) delivery plant, comprising:
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dividing a television broadcast spectrum into a plurality of subscriber channels, each subscriber channel having a deterministic bandwidth;
assigning each subscriber destination to a subscriber channel;
allocating unshared bandwidth to each subscriber destination;
forwarding, by the point of distribution, source information to each subscriber destination based on assigned subscriber channels;
modulating, by the point of distribution, source information for each of the subscriber channels;
up converting modulated source information into a corresponding one of the subscriber channels;
combining, by the point of distribution, modulated information from each subscriber channel into a combined signal;
is converting, by the point of distribution, the combined signal into an optical signal;
transmitting, by the point of distribution, the optical signal to an optical transceiver node via an optical plant;
converting, by the optical transceiver node, the optical signal into a combined electrical signal; and
transmitting, by the optical transceiver node, the combined electrical signal via a coaxial cable to each of the plurality of subscriber destinations. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33)
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34. A communication system for distributing information via a network to a plurality of subscriber destinations, comprising:
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a switch that forwards source information for each subscriber destination to a corresponding one of a plurality of ports of the switch based on address information;
a plurality of radio frequency (RF) modems, each RF modem coupled to one of the plurality of ports of the switch, and each RF modem operable to modulate and up convert information received from a respective switch port to an RF signal within a respective one of a plurality of subscriber channels of a television broadcast spectrum;
each of the plurality of subscriber channels being assigned to one or more of the subscriber destinations, each subscriber destination being assigned an unshared bandwidth allocation;
a combiner, coupled to the RF modems, that combines modulated information from each RF modem into a combined signal; and
a transmitter, coupled to the combiner, that transmits the combined signal to the plurality of subscriber destinations via the network. - View Dependent Claims (35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58)
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59. A communication system for distributing information via an optical network, comprising:
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an optical plant;
a point of distribution, comprising;
a multi-port switch that forwards source information for each of a plurality of subscriber destinations to a corresponding port;
a plurality of optical transceivers, each optical transceiver coupled to one of the plurality of ports of the switch to convert information received from a respective port to a respective one of a plurality of optical source signals, and each optical transceiver assigned to one or more subscriber destinations to allocated unshared bandwidth to assigned subscriber destinations; and
a wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) combiner that combines an optical source signal from each of the plurality of optical transceivers into a combined optical signal and that transmits the combined signal onto the optical plant;
a plurality of fiber optic cables, each routed to a corresponding one of a plurality of subscriber destinations; and
a WDM selector, coupled to the optical plant, that receives and separates the combined optical signal from the WDM combiner into its individual optical signal components, and that forwards each separate optical signal over a corresponding one of the plurality of fiber optic cables to the subscriber destinations. - View Dependent Claims (60, 61, 62)
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63. A communication system for enabling communication between a point of distribution and a plurality of subscriber destinations via a hybrid fiber coax (HFC) network, comprising:
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an optical plant;
a point of distribution, comprising;
a multi-port switch that forwards source information for each subscriber destination to a corresponding port of the switch based on address information;
a plurality of radio frequency (RF) modems, each RF modem coupled to a port of the switch, and each RF modem operable to modulate and convert information received from a respective switch port to an RF signal within a respective one of a plurality of subscriber channels of a television broadcast spectrum;
each of the plurality of subscriber channels having a deterministic bandwidth and assigned to one or more of the subscriber destinations, each subscriber destination being assigned an unshared bandwidth allocation;
a combiner that combines modulated information from each RF modem into a combined signal; and
a transmitter, coupled to the combiner and the optical plant, that converts the combined signal to an optical signal and that transmits the optical signal via the optical plant;
a coaxial cable distributed to a plurality of subscriber destinations; and
an optical transceiver node, coupled to the optical plant and the coaxial cable, that converts the optical signal to an electrical signal and that transmits the electrical signal to subscriber destinations via the coaxial cable. - View Dependent Claims (64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78)
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Specification