System and method for requesting and granting access to a network channel
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A system for requesting access to a network comprising:
- A. a plurality of network nodes forming a network;
B. wherein said plurality of network nodes further comprises an access server;
C. wherein said network further comprises one or more active channels having a plurality of time slots; and
D. wherein said network nodes request access from said access server for said one or more active channels.
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Abstract
A network access system designed to provide efficient access to nodes using a communication channel based on the needs of the system. This invention provides a specific design for token based access scheme which allows access based on priority, time, and data requirements. Also included is a unique collision detection and token granting mechanism. These designs provide for nodes to efficiently request and gain access to network bandwidth and are adaptive to allow for different data types such as voice, video, control, and data over networks such as power line or wireless.
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Citations
57 Claims
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1. A system for requesting access to a network comprising:
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A. a plurality of network nodes forming a network;
B. wherein said plurality of network nodes further comprises an access server;
C. wherein said network further comprises one or more active channels having a plurality of time slots; and
D. wherein said network nodes request access from said access server for said one or more active channels. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A system for granting access to a network comprising:
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A. a plurality of network nodes forming a network;
B. wherein said plurality of network nodes further comprises an access server;
C. wherein said network further comprises one or more active channels having a plurality of time slots; and
D. wherein access to said one or more active channels is granted by said access server. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
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27. A system for access server relinquishing on a network comprising:
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A. a plurality of network nodes forming a network;
B. wherein said plurality of network nodes further comprises an access server;
C. wherein said network further comprises one or more active channels having a plurality of time slots; and
D. wherein said access server relinquishes access mastership based on lack of access requests on said one or more channels. - View Dependent Claims (28, 29)
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30. A system for access server arbitration on a network comprising:
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A. a plurality of network nodes forming a network;
B. wherein said plurality of network nodes further comprises an access server;
C. wherein said network further comprises one or more active channels having a plurality of time slots; and
D. wherein at least one of said network nodes becomes said access server based on an idle period and a lack of response to access requests. - View Dependent Claims (31)
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32. A method for requesting access to a network comprising:
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A. building an access request packet to request access to an active channel on a network node; and
B. sending said access request packet on any active channel to an access server on a time division multiplexed network which has a plurality of time slots wherein one or more of said time slots are grouped together to form said active channel. - View Dependent Claims (33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40)
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41. A method for granting access to a network comprising:
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A. receiving an access request packet on a time division multiplexed network which has a plurality of time slots wherein one or more of said time slots are grouped together to form an active channel, wherein said access request packet is received by an access server on said active channel from a network node; and
B. sending an access grant packet on said active channel to said network node which grants access to said active channel. - View Dependent Claims (42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49)
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50. A method for access server relinquishing on a network comprising:
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A. monitoring an active channel on a time division multiplexed network which has a plurality of time slots wherein one or more of said time slots are grouped together to form said active channel and wherein an access server monitors for one or more access request packets from one or more network nodes; and
B. relinquishing access mastership based the number of access request packets seen during one or more contention periods. - View Dependent Claims (51, 52, 53)
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54. A method for access server arbitration on a network comprising:
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A. sending one or more access request packets from a network node on an active channel on a time division multiplexed network which has a plurality of time slots wherein one or more of said time slots are grouped together to form said active channel; and
B. becoming an access server based seeing an idle period and on the number of access response packets received in response to said one or more access request packets. - View Dependent Claims (55, 56, 57)
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Specification