Wideband cable system

• US 20040163129A1
• Filed: 02/04/2003
• Published: 08/19/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 02/04/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Inventors: Chapman, John T., Prokopik, John P., Santarpio, Richard J., Dean, Alvar A.
• Granted Patent: US 7,782,898 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/126
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/79 using downlink of the CATV systems, e.g. audio broadcast via CATV network
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/97 using uplink of the CATV systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2801 Broadband local area networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2381 Adapting the multiplex stream to a specific network, e.g. an Internet Protocol [IP] network transmission of MPEG streams over ATM H04L12/5601
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/239 Interfacing the upstream path of the transmission network, e.g. prioritizing client content requests hybrid fiber coaxial [HFC] networks for upstream channel allocation for video distribution H04L12/2801; flow control in data networks H04L47/10; real-time communication protocols in data switching networks H04L65/00; scheduling or organising the servicing of application requests H04L67/60
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/437 Interfacing the upstream path of the transmission network, e.g. for transmitting client requests to a VOD server flow control in data networks H04L47/10; streaming protocols, e.g. RTP or RTCP, H04L65/65; scheduling or organising the servicing of application requests in data packet switching networks H04L67/60
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4381 Recovering the multiplex stream from a specific network, e.g. recovering MPEG packets from ATM cells transmission of MPEG streams over ATM H04L12/5601
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6131 involving transmission via a mobile phone network wireless downlink channel access H04W74/006
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6181 involving transmission via a mobile phone network arrangements for providing broadcast or conference services to substation in data switching networks in combination with wireless systems H04L12/189; wireless uplink channel access H04W74/004
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/64322 IP
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17309 Transmission or handling of upstream communications

Abstract

A wideband cable modem system increases available bandwidth of a single channel by encoding a data stream into wideband packets. The wideband packets are associated with a logical wideband channel that extends over multiple physical downstream cable channels.

Claims

1. A wideband cable modem, comprising:

a receiver configured to receive and decode one or more logical wideband channels that extend over multiple downstream channels.

2. A wideband cable modem according to claim 1 wherein the wideband channels contain wideband packets having Vertical Alignment Indexes (VAIs), the receiver using the VAIs to temporally realign the wideband packets received over the different downstream channels.

3. The wideband cable modem according to claim 1 wherein the receiver includes multiple tuners having demodulators each demodulating a different one of the multiple downstream channels.

4. The wideband cable modem according to claim 3 wherein the demodulators are Quadrature Amplitude Demodulators.

5. The wideband cable modem according to claim 1 including a decoder that identifies and decodes the wideband channels into data streams.

6. The wideband cable modem according to claim 5 wherein the decoder identifies associated wideband channels according to packet identifiers in wideband packet headers.

7. The wideband cable modem according to claim 1 wherein the receiver dynamically uses different combinations of the downstream channels for decoding the wideband channel according to a received wideband channel descriptor.

8. The wideband cable modem according to claim 1 wherein the same downstream channels for decoding both wideband and narrowband channels.

9. The wideband cable modem according to claim 1 wherein the wideband channels are established using a Data Over Cable Service Interface Specifications (DOCSIS) protocol.

10. The wideband cable modem according to claim 1 wherein one of the wideband channels comprise wideband packets having a MPEG header, a wideband header and a Data Over Cable Service Interface Specification (DOCSIS) payload that contains Media Access Control (MAC) frames.

11. The wideband cable modem according to claim 1 wherein the wideband channels are formed with wideband packets that are received over different ones of the downstream channels.

12. The wideband cable modem according to claim 11 including Media Access Control (MAC) frames contained in wideband packet payloads, the MAC frames extending over multiple wideband packets received on different downstream channels.

13. A wideband cable modem termination system, comprising:

a transmitter configured to decompose a data stream into wideband packets that form wideband channels extending over multiple Radio Frequency (RF) channels.

14. A wideband cable modem termination system according to claim 13 including multiple modulators configured to modulate the wideband packets on the multiple RF channels.

15. A wideband cable modem termination system according to claim 13 wherein the transmitter generates a wideband channel descriptor that identifies which RF channels are used for transmitting the wideband channel.

16. A wideband cable modem termination system according to claim 15 wherein the wideband channel descriptor identifies a sequence for decoding the RF channels used for transmitting the wideband packets.

17. A wideband cable modem termination system according to claim 15 wherein the transmitter dynamically changes the RF channels used for transmitting the wideband channel by transmitting another wideband channel descriptor that identifies different RF channels.

18. A wideband cable modem termination system according to claim 15 wherein the transmitter sends the wideband channel descriptor message to cable modems using a Data Over Cable Service Interface Specification (DOCSIS) communication protocol.

19. A wideband cable modem termination system according to claim 13 wherein the transmitter uses packet identifiers to associate the wideband packets with the wideband channels.

20. A wideband cable modem termination system according to claim 19 wherein the transmitter locates the packet identifiers in a Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG) packet header.

21. A wideband cable modem termination system according to claim 13 wherein the transmitter includes a pointer field in the wideband packets to identify Media Access Control (MAC) frames in the wideband packets.

22. A wideband cable modem termination system according to claim 13 wherein the transmitter includes Vertical Alignment Indexes (VAIs) in the wideband packets to identify temporal positions of the wideband packets in the multiple RF channels.

23. A wideband cable modem termination system according to claim 13 wherein the transmitter includes continuity counters in the wideband packets that identify what sequence the wideband packets for the same wideband channel are transmitted on the same RF channels.

24. A wideband cable modem termination system according to claim 13 wherein the transmitter establishes wideband channels and narrowband channels over the multiple RF channels at the same time.

25. A wideband cable modem termination system according to claim 14 wherein the transmitter dynamically reconfigures the wideband channels and the narrowband channels over different combinations of the multiple RF channels during a same transmission session.

26. A method for transferring data over a cable network, comprising:

encoding a data stream into wideband packets;

associating the wideband packets with a wideband channel that uses multiple RF channels; and

transmitting the wideband packets over the multiple RF channels of the wideband channel.

27. A method according to claim 26 including changing bandwidth of the wideband channel by dynamically varying a number of the RF channels used for transmitting the wideband packets.

28. A method according to claim 26 including:

identifying a new data stream for transmitting over a new wideband channel;

dynamically changing the number of RF channels used for transmitting the wideband channel to accommodate the new wideband channel.

29. A method according to claim 26 including transmitting one or more narrow band channels with the wideband channel on the RF channels.

30. A method according to claim 26 including assigning packet identification values to the wideband packets associating the wideband packets with different wideband channels.

31. A method according to claim 26 including assigning continuity values to the wideband packets that identify an order that the wideband packets are transmitted over the different cable channels.

32. A method according to claim 26 including sending a wideband channel descriptor message indicating which RF channel frequencies are used in the wideband channels.

33. A method according to claim 26 including using a field in a Motion Pictures Experts Group (MPEG) packet header to identify the wideband packets.

34. A method according to claim 26 including:

transmitting a wideband channel descriptor that identifies a set of RF channels used in the wideband channel.

35. A method according to claim 34 including dynamically changing which RF channels are used in the wideband channel by transmitting a new wideband channel descriptor that identifies a different set of RF channels.

36. A method according to claim 34 including sending a channel sequence in the wideband channel descriptor identifying a sequence for decoding RF channels for the wideband channel.

37. A method according to claim 37 including sending a wideband channel descriptor that changes the channel sequence.

38. A method for transferring data over a cable network, comprising:

encoding a data stream into wideband packets;

associating the wideband packets with a wideband channel that includes multiple RF channels;

transmitting the wideband packets over the multiple RF channels of the wideband channel; and

dynamically varying the RF channels used for transmitting the wideband channel.

39. A method according to claim 38 including:

detecting a fault condition in one or more of the RF channels used for the wideband channel; and

dynamically dropping the RF channels with the detected fault condition from the wideband channel.

40. A method according to claim 38 including:

encoding different data streams into wideband packets;

assigning the wideband packets for the different data streams to different wideband channels;

assigning different combinations of the RF channels to the wideband channels;

transmitting the wideband packets over the RF channels for the assigned wideband channels.

41. A method according to claim 38 including transmitting different wideband and narrowband channels over the same RF channels at the same time.

42. A method according to claim 41 including dynamically varying which RF channels are used for the wideband channels and the narrowband channels.