TIME MULTIPLEXED REQUESTS FOR CONTROLLING ACCESS TO A SHARED COMMUNICATION MEDIUM

• US 20080186997A1
• Filed: 06/29/2007
• Published: 08/07/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 02/06/2007
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: ViaSat Incorporated
• Original Assignee: ViaSat Incorporated
• Inventors: Becker, Donald W.
• Application Number:
  US11/771,798
• Publication Number:
  US 20080186997A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/458
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/18582 Arrangements for data linking, i.e. for data framing, for error recovery, for multiple access
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/1273 of downlink data flows
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/21 in the uplink direction of a wireless link, i.e. towards the network
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/06 Airborne or Satellite Networks space-based or airborne stations H04B7/185

Abstract

Methods and apparatuses are presented for conducting communications over a shared communication medium involving a plurality of nodes, involving (a) sending a request from a first node, the shared communication medium organized to include a request signal space and a scheduled transmission signal space, the request signal space including a plurality of request time slots each having a different location within the request signal space, the scheduled transmission signal space including a plurality of scheduled transmission segments each having a different location within the scheduled transmission signal space, the request sent in a request time slot that is one of the plurality of request time slots, (b) obtaining an assignment associating the request with a scheduled transmission segment, the assignment taking into account location of the request within the request signal space, and (c) from the first node, sending a data transmission in the scheduled transmission segment associated with the request.

Claims

1. A method for conducting communications over a shared communication medium involving a plurality of nodes, the method comprising:

(a) sending a request from a first node in the plurality of nodes, the shared communication medium organized to include a request signal space and a scheduled transmission signal space, the request signal space including a plurality of request time slots each having a different location within the request signal space, the scheduled transmission signal space including a plurality of scheduled transmission segments each having a different location within the scheduled transmission signal space, the request sent in a request time slot that is one of the plurality of request time slots;

(b) obtaining an assignment associating the request with a scheduled transmission segment selected from the plurality of scheduled transmission segments, the assignment taking into account location of the request within the request signal space; and

(c) from the first node, sending a data transmission in the scheduled transmission segment associated with the request in accordance with the assignment.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the request signal space and the scheduled transmission signal space are defined over different time slots and a common frequency range.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the request signal space comprises a first collection of time slots in a frame of time slots, and the scheduled transmission signal space comprises a second collection of time slots in the frame of time slots.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the request signal space and the scheduled transmission signal space are defined over a common time duration and different frequency ranges.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein the request signal space occupies at least one first frequency channel and the scheduled transmission signal space occupies at least one second frequency channel.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein the at least one first frequency channel and the at least one second frequency channel utilize different subcarriers based on orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) of the shared communication medium.

7. The method of claim 5 wherein the at least one first frequency channel and the at least one second frequency channel utilize different carriers based on frequency division multiplexing (FDM) of the shared communication medium.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the request signal space and the scheduled transmission signal space are defined over a common time duration and a common frequency range, using different code words.

9. A method for conducting communications over a shared communication medium involving a plurality of nodes including a first node and a second node, the method comprising:

(a) at the second node, receiving a request from the first node, the shared communication medium organized to include a request signal space and a scheduled transmission signal space, the request signal space including a plurality of request time slots each having a different location within the request signal space, the scheduled transmission signal space including a plurality of scheduled transmission segments each having a different location within the scheduled transmission signal space, the request sent in a request time slot that is one of the plurality of request time slots;

(b) at the second node, making an assignment associating the request with a scheduled transmission segment selected from the plurality of scheduled transmission segments, the assignment taking into account location of the request within the request signal space, and sending a corresponding assignment message; and

(c) at the second node, receiving a data transmission from the first node in the scheduled transmission segment associated with the request.

10. An apparatus for conducting communications over a shared communication medium involving a plurality of nodes, comprising:

(a) a first node capable of sending a request over the shared communication medium, the shared communication medium organized to include a request signal space and a scheduled transmission signal space, the request signal space including a plurality of request time slots each having a different location within the request signal space, the scheduled transmission signal space including a plurality of scheduled transmission segments each having a different location within the scheduled transmission signal space, the first node capable of sending the request in a request time slot that is one of the plurality of request time slots;

(b) wherein the first node is capable of obtaining an assignment associating the request with a scheduled transmission segment selected from the plurality of scheduled transmission segments, the assignment taking into account location of the request within the request signal space; and

(c) wherein the first node is capable of sending a data transmission in the scheduled transmission segment associated with the request in accordance with the assignment.

11. The apparatus of claim 10 wherein the request signal space and the scheduled transmission signal space are defined over different time slots and a common frequency range.

12. The apparatus of claim 11 wherein the request signal space comprises a first collection of time slots in a frame of time slots, and the scheduled transmission signal space comprises a second collection of time slots in the frame of time slots.

13. The apparatus of claim 10 wherein the request signal space and the scheduled transmission signal space are defined over a common time duration and different frequency ranges.

14. The apparatus of claim 13 wherein the request signal space occupies at least one first frequency channel and the scheduled transmission signal space occupies at least one second frequency channel.

15. The apparatus of claim 14 wherein the at least one first frequency channel and the at least one second frequency channel utilize different subcarriers based on orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) of the shared communication medium.

16. The apparatus of claim 14 wherein the at least one first frequency channel and the at least one second frequency channel utilize different carriers based on frequency division multiplexing (FDM) of the shared communication medium.

17. The apparatus of claim 10 wherein the request signal space and the scheduled transmission signal space are defined over a common time duration and a common frequency range, using different code words.

18. An apparatus for conducting communications over a shared communication medium involving a plurality of nodes, comprising:

(a) a second node capable of receiving a request from a first node, the shared communication medium organized to include a request signal space and a scheduled transmission signal space, the request signal space including a plurality of request time slots each having a different location within the request signal space, the scheduled transmission signal space including a plurality of scheduled transmission segments each having a different location within the scheduled transmission signal space, the second node capable of receiving the request in a request time slot that is one of the plurality of request time slots;

(b) wherein the second node is capable of making an assignment associating the request with a scheduled transmission segment selected from the plurality of scheduled transmission segments, the assignment taking into account location of the request within the request signal space, and sending a corresponding assignment message; and

(c) wherein the second node is capable of receiving a data transmission from the first node in the scheduled transmission segment associated with the request.