Time division multiplexing over broadband modulation method and apparatus
First Claim
1. A method of processing digital information by a point of distribution to provide dedicated bandwidth to a plurality of subscriber destinations via an HFC network, comprising:
- forwarding data packets into a plurality of data streams, each data stream corresponding to one of the plurality of subscriber destinations;
framing each data packet in each data stream;
segmenting encapsulated data packets into data segments;
encapsulating data segments of each of the plurality of data streams into data cells to form a corresponding one of a plurality of cell streams;
multiplexing the plurality of cell streams into a multiplexed cell stream; and
modulating the multiplexed cell stream into a modulated signal within a frequency channel.
2 Assignments
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Accused Products
Abstract
A packet switch router that processes downstream digital information to provide dedicated bandwidth to each subscriber destination in a hybrid fiber coax (HFC) network. The router includes a network module that terminates a network connection, a switch that forwards data from the network module, and a channel module. The channel module includes a switch interface, a cell processing engine, one or more modulators, and a radio frequency (RF) transmitter network. The switch interface forwards packetized data from the switch to the cell processing engine. The cell processing engine organizes the packetized data into multiple data streams, encapsulates data in each data stream into data cells, and multiplexes the data cells into a multiplexed cell stream. Each modulator is configured to modulate a multiplexed cell stream into an analog signal. The RF transmitter network up converts and combines a plurality of analog signals into a combined electrical signal for transmission.
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Citations
57 Claims
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1. A method of processing digital information by a point of distribution to provide dedicated bandwidth to a plurality of subscriber destinations via an HFC network, comprising:
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forwarding data packets into a plurality of data streams, each data stream corresponding to one of the plurality of subscriber destinations;
framing each data packet in each data stream;
segmenting encapsulated data packets into data segments;
encapsulating data segments of each of the plurality of data streams into data cells to form a corresponding one of a plurality of cell streams;
multiplexing the plurality of cell streams into a multiplexed cell stream; and
modulating the multiplexed cell stream into a modulated signal within a frequency channel. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41)
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23. A method of providing dedicated bandwidth to each of a plurality of subscriber destinations for delivering source information over an HFC network, comprising:
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forwarding digital information into a plurality of data streams, each data stream corresponding to one of the plurality of subscriber destinations;
encapsulating the digital information in each data stream into data cells;
multiplexing the data cells of each of the plurality of data streams into a multiplexed cell stream;
modulating the multiplexed cell stream into an analog signal in a frequency channel;
converting the analog signal to an optical signal; and
transmitting the optical signal to the plurality of subscriber destinations over an HFC network.
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42. A channel module that processes downstream digital information at a point of distribution to provide dedicated bandwidth for each of a plurality of subscriber destinations in an HFC network, comprising:
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an interface that receives packetized data;
a cell processing engine, coupled to the interface, comprising;
a switch that forwards the packetized data into a plurality of data streams;
an encapsulator that encapsulates the packetized data in each data stream into data cells; and
a channelizer that multiplexes the data cells of the plurality of data streams into a multiplexed stream of data cells;
a modulator, coupled to the cell processing engine, that modulates the multiplexed stream of data cells into an analog signal; and
a radio frequency (RF) transmitter network that up converts the analog signal into a frequency channel. - View Dependent Claims (43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56)
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57. A packet switch router channel module that processes downstream digital information at a point of distribution to provide dedicated bandwidth for each of a plurality of subscriber destinations in an HFC network, comprising:
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a network interface module that terminates a network connection;
a switch, that forwards packetized data from the network interface module; and
at least one channel module, coupled to the switch, comprising;
a switch interface that receives packetized data from the switch;
a cell processing engine, coupled to the switch interface, that forwards the packetized data into a plurality of data streams, that encapsulates the packetized data in each data stream into data cells, and that multiplexes the data cells of the plurality of data streams into at least one multiplexed stream of data cells;
a plurality of modulators, each coupled to the cell processing engine and each configured to modulate a corresponding multiplexed stream of data cells into an analog signal; and
a radio frequency (RF) transmitter network, coupled to plurality of modulators, that up converts and combines a plurality of analog signals into a combined electrical signal for transmission.
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Specification