Air interface frame formatting

• US 20040246891A1
• Filed: 08/08/2003
• Published: 12/09/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 07/23/1999
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Hughes Electronics Corporation (Rtx Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Hughes Electronics Corporation (Rtx Corporation)
• Inventors: Corrigan, John, Muhammad, Tariq, Wendling, Dan, Lohman, Mike, Kay, Stanley E.
• Application Number:
  US10/637,222
• Publication Number:
  US 20040246891A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/215
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/5607 Radio
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/5665 Interaction of ATM with other protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2027/0065 Frequency error detectors H04L2027/0067 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 27/0008 arrangements for allowing a transmitter or receiver to use more than one type of modulation negotiating modulation type for two-way transmission paths H04L5/1453

Abstract

A multi-modulation mode air interface frame format, and related methods for carrying traffic on the multi-modulation mode air frame format, including an overhead portion including a first plurality of time slots and a plurality of overhead bursts located within respective ones of the first plurality of time slots. The frame format also includes a traffic portion including a second plurality of time slots following the first plurality of time slots and a plurality of traffic bursts, wherein respective ones of the plurality of traffic bursts are located within one or more of the second plurality of time slots. And each of the plurality of traffic bursts are modulated using a respective one of a plurality of modulation modes. Furthermore, a multi-transport mode air interface frame format, and related methods, that includes an overhead portion as above and a traffic portion including a second plurality of time slots following the first plurality of time slots following the first plurality of time slots, and a plurality of traffic bursts located within one or more of the second plurality of time slots and a plurality of transport mode signals contained within respective ones of the plurality of traffic bursts.

Claims

1-45. -45. (canceled).

46. A time division multiplexed traffic cell in a communications system, comprising:

a header section comprising a first plurality of bits; and

a data section comprising a second plurality of bits following the first plurality of bits, wherein the second plurality of bits comprises pulse code modulated samples from a digital signal.

47. The traffic cell of claim 46, wherein said first plurality of bits includes signaling bits from said digital signal.

48. The traffic cell of claim 47, wherein said signaling bits comprise channel associated signaling bits.

49. The traffic cell of claim 46, wherein said first plurality of bits includes an asynchronous transfer mode header.

50. The traffic cell of claim 49, wherein said asynchronous transfer mode header comprises a virtual path identifier.

51. The traffic cell of claim 50, wherein said virtual path identifier has a value indicating that said time division multiplexed traffic cell is not an asynchronous transfer mode cell.

52. The traffic cell of claim 46, wherein said second plurality of bits comprises said pulse code modulated samples from respective ones of a plurality of digital signals.

53. The traffic cell of claim 52, wherein said first plurality of bits comprises signaling bits from said respective ones of the plurality of digital signals.

54. A time division multiplexed traffic cell in a communications system, comprising:

a data section including a first plurality of bits, wherein the first plurality of bits comprises pulse code modulated samples from respective ones of a plurality of digital signals.

55. The traffic cell of claim 54, wherein said data section comprising said first plurality of bits forms sets of bytes, wherein respective ones of the sets of bytes comprise said pulse code modulated samples from said respective ones of said plurality of digital signals.

56. The traffic cell of claim 54, further comprising a header section including a second plurality of bits preceding the first plurality of bits, wherein the second plurality of bits comprises respective signaling bits from respective ones of said plurality of digital signals.

57. A time division multiplexed traffic cell in a communications system, comprising:

a signaling section including a first plurality of bits, wherein the first plurality of bits comprises signaling bits from a digital signal; and

a data section comprising a second plurality of bits following the first plurality of bits, wherein the second plurality of bits comprises pulse code modulated samples from the digital signal.

58. The traffic cell of claim 57, wherein said signaling bits comprise channel associated signaling bits.

59. The traffic cell of claim 57, wherein said second plurality of bits comprises said pulse code modulated samples from respective ones of a plurality of digital signals.

60. A time division multiplexed traffic cell formatted as an asynchronous transfer mode cell in a communications system, comprising:

a header section including 5 bytes; and

a data section including 48 bytes following the header section, wherein the 48 bytes contain pulse code modulated samples from a digital signal.

61. The traffic cell of claim 60, wherein said header section includes an asynchronous transfer mode header.

62. The traffic cell of claim 61, wherein said asynchronous transfer mode header comprises a virtual path identifier.

63. A method of packing time division multiplexed data into a time division multiplexed traffic cell, comprising:

formatting the time division multiplexed traffic cell;

multiplexing pulse code modulated data from a digital signal into the time division multiplexed traffic cell; and

multiplexing signaling data from the digital signal into the time division multiplexed traffic cell.

64. The method of claim 63, wherein said multiplexing said pulse code modulated data comprises multiplexing said pulse code modulated data from respective ones of a plurality of digital signals into said time division multiplexed traffic cell.

65. The method of claim 63, further comprising inserting an asynchronous specific header into said time division multiplexed traffic cell.

66. The method of claim 65, wherein said inserting comprises inserting an asynchronous transfer mode specific header into said time division multiplexed traffic cell.

67. The method of claim 66, wherein said inserting comprises inserting a virtual path identifier into said time division multiplexed traffic cell.

68. The method of claim 63, further comprising determining, prior to said formatting, a cell format for said time division multiplexed traffic cell using a mapping control structure.

69. The method of claim 68, further comprising extracting, prior to multiplexing said pulse code modulated data, said pulse code modulated data from a location within a memory buffer, wherein the location is determined in said mapping control structure.

70. The method of claim 68, further comprising extracting, prior to multiplexing said signaling data, said signaling data from a location within a memory buffer, wherein the location is determined in said mapping control structure.

71. The method of claim 63, wherein said digital signal is a DS0 signal.

72. A system for packing time division multiplexed data into a time division multiplexed traffic cell, comprising:

means for formatting the time division multiplexed traffic cell;

means for multiplexing pulse code modulated data from a digital signal into the time division multiplexed traffic cell; and

means for multiplexing signaling data from the digital signal into the time division multiplexed traffic cell.

73. A method of packing time division multiplexed data into a time division multiplexed traffic cell, comprising:

formatting the time division multiplexed traffic cell; and

multiplexing pulse code modulated data from respective ones of a plurality of digital signals into the time division multiplexed traffic cell.

74. The method of claim 73, further comprising multiplexing signaling data from respective ones said plurality of digital signals.

75. The method of claim 74, wherein said multiplexing comprises multiplexing said pulse code modulated data from respective ones of a plurality of DS0s into said time division multiplexed traffic cell.

76. The method of claim 73, further comprising inserting an asynchronous specific header into said time division multiplexed traffic cell.

77. The method of claim 76, wherein said inserting comprises inserting an asynchronous transfer mode header into said time division multiplexed traffic cell.

78. The method of claim 76, wherein said inserting comprises inserting a virtual path identifier into said time division multiplexed traffic cell.

79. A method of packing time division multiplexed data into a time division multiplexed traffic cell, comprising:

formatting the time division multiplexed traffic cell;

multiplexing pulse code modulated data from a digital signal into the time division multiplexed traffic cell; and

inserting an asynchronous specific header into the time division multiplexed traffic cell.

80. The method of claim 79, wherein said inserting comprises inserting an asynchronous transfer mode specific header into said time division multiplexed traffic cell.

81. The method of claim 80, wherein said inserting comprises inserting a virtual path identifier into said time division multiplexed traffic cell.

82. The method of claim 79, wherein said multiplexing comprises multiplexing said pulse code modulated data from a DS0 into said time division multiplexed traffic cell.

83. A time division multiplexed buffering method used in a digital communications terminal, comprising:

receiving a digital signal containing pulse code modulated samples and signaling data from a communications line;

extracting the signaling data and the pulse code modulated samples from the digital signal;

buffering the signaling data and the pulse code modulated samples;

formatting a time division multiplexed traffic cell that includes a signaling section and a data section;

multiplexing the signaling data from the digital signal into the signaling section;

multiplexing the pulse code modulated samples from the digital signal into the data section; and

placing the time division multiplexed traffic cell into a respective time slot of a digital bus.

84. The method of claim 83, further comprising inserting, prior to said placing, an asynchronous specific header within a header section of said time division multiplexed traffic cell.

85. The method of claim 84, wherein said inserting comprises inserting an asynchronous transfer mode specific header within said header section.

86. The method of claim 85, wherein said inserting comprises inserting a virtual path identifier within said header section.

87. The method of claim 83, wherein said formatting comprises formatting a time division multiplexed traffic cell using a mapping control structure, wherein the mapping control structure indicates a cell format for respective time slots on said digital bus.

88. The method of claim 83, wherein said receiving comprises receiving a plurality of digital signals from the communications line, wherein each of the plurality of digital signals contains respective pulse code modulated samples and respective signaling data.

89. The method of claim 88, wherein said multiplexing said pulse code modulated samples comprises multiplexing said respective pulse code modulated samples from said plurality of digital signals into said data section.

90. The method of claim 88, wherein said multiplexing said signaling data comprises multiplexing said respective signaling data from said plurality of digital signals into said signaling section.

91. The method of claim 83, wherein said digital signal comprises a DS0.

92. A time division multiplexed buffering method used in a digital communications terminal, comprising:

receiving a plurality of digital signals from a communications line, wherein each of the plurality of digital signals contains respective pulse code modulated samples and respective signaling data;

extracting the respective signaling data and the respective pulse code modulated samples from each of the plurality of digital signals;

buffering the respective pulse code modulated samples;

formatting a time division multiplexed traffic cell that includes a data section;

multiplexing the respective pulse code modulated samples from each of the plurality of digital signals into the data section; and

placing the time division multiplexed traffic cell into a respective time slot of a digital bus.

93. The method of claim 92, further comprising:

buffering said respective signaling data; and

multiplexing said respective signaling data from each of said plurality of digital signals into a signaling section.

94. The method of claim 92, further comprising inserting, prior to said placing, an asynchronous specific header within a header section of said time division multiplexed traffic cell.

95. The method of claim 94, wherein said inserting comprises inserting an asynchronous transfer mode specific header within said header section.

96. The method of claim 95, wherein said inserting comprises inserting a virtual path identifier within said header section.

97. The method of claim 92, wherein said plurality of digital signals comprises a plurality of DS0s.

98. A multi-modulation mode air interface frame format, comprising:

an overhead portion including a plurality of overhead bursts; and

a traffic portion including one or more time division multiplexed traffic cells, each of the one or more time division multiplexed traffic cells including;

a header section comprising a first plurality of bits, and

a data section comprising a second plurality of bits following the first plurality of bits, the second plurality of bits comprising pulse code modulated samples from a digital signal.

99. A super frame air interface format, comprising:

a plurality of multi-modulation mode air interface frame formats, wherein each of the plurality of multi-modulation mode air interface frame formats comprises;

an overhead portion including a first plurality of time slots and a plurality of overhead bursts located within respective ones of the first plurality of time slots, and

a traffic portion including a second plurality of time slots following the first plurality of time slots and a plurality of traffic bursts located within one or more of the second plurality of time slots, at least one of the traffic bursts including a time division multiplexed traffic cell that includes;

a data section including a first plurality of bits that includes pulse code modulated samples from respective ones of a plurality of digital signals.