Wideband cable network
First Claim
Patent Images
1. An interactive wideband cable network comprising:
- a central service position which can supply a plurality of simultaneous fixed-time wideband services and at least one on-demand wideband service.at least one passive tapped optical fibre connected to the central service position;
at least two wideband switches connected directly to said at least one passive tapped optical fibre;
connected to each wideband switch a plurality of wideband service receiving units, each said connection being made through individual wideband connections all of which have a both-way transmission capability; and
connected between the central service position and each wideband switch at least one additional optical fibre associated only with that switch;
whereby each wideband service receiving unit can receive simultaneously a plurality of wideband services from the central service position, said plurality comprising at least one fixed-time wideband service received from the central position through the at least one tapped optical fibre and at least one on-demand wideband service requested to the central service position through the at least one additional optical fibre associated only with the wideband switch to which the requesting wideband service receiving unit is connected.
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Abstract
In an interactive wideband cable network in which several wideband services, such as television or video signals, can be provided simultaneously from a central service position to a remote wideband switch to which several customers are connected, the central service position is connected to the wideband switch by one or more passively tapped optical fibres through which fixed-time services are provided and the central service position is connected to the wideband switch through one or more dedicated optical fibres through which a customer can request and receive "on demand" wideband services.
313 Citations
36 Claims
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1. An interactive wideband cable network comprising:
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a central service position which can supply a plurality of simultaneous fixed-time wideband services and at least one on-demand wideband service. at least one passive tapped optical fibre connected to the central service position; at least two wideband switches connected directly to said at least one passive tapped optical fibre; connected to each wideband switch a plurality of wideband service receiving units, each said connection being made through individual wideband connections all of which have a both-way transmission capability; and connected between the central service position and each wideband switch at least one additional optical fibre associated only with that switch; whereby each wideband service receiving unit can receive simultaneously a plurality of wideband services from the central service position, said plurality comprising at least one fixed-time wideband service received from the central position through the at least one tapped optical fibre and at least one on-demand wideband service requested to the central service position through the at least one additional optical fibre associated only with the wideband switch to which the requesting wideband service receiving unit is connected. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
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29. A method of providing interactive wideband services comprises transmitting a plurality of simultaneous fixed-time wideband services from a central service position to a plurality of wideband switches through at least one passively tapped optical fibre;
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receiving a request signal from any wideband switch through at least one additional optical fibre associated only with one wideband switch; and in response to said request signal providing at least one on demand wideband signal through an optical fibre associated with the wideband switch which originated the request. - View Dependent Claims (30, 31)
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32. An interactive wideband cable network comprising:
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a central source of wideband signals including a plurality of simultaneously broadcast fixed-time wideband services and at least one on-demand wideband service. a plurality of end-user or customer output ports; and a wideband service distribution network having two superimposed sub-networks including a tree and star configured first sub-network connected to convey said broadcast services from said central source to each of said output ports, a tree configured portion of said first sub-network including a passive tapped optical fiber; and a totally star configured second sub-network connected to include an individualized two-way communication link for conveying said on-demand signals to a particular one of said output ports in response to request signals conveyed in the opposite direction therefrom towards said central source. - View Dependent Claims (33, 34)
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35. An interactive optical cable distribution network for communication services comprising:
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a central source of communication services; a tree-configured first sub-network of passive-tapped optical fibers for distributing broadcast fixed-time one-way communication services to plural customers from a central source; a star-configured second sub-network of optical fibers for selectively distributing on-demand communications services to selected ones of said customers from said central source and also for conveying service request signals from a given customer to said central source; and a plurality of wideband switch means, each being connected between both of said sub-networks and a predetermined group of plural customers, each said wideband switch means being connected to said first sub-network at a passive tapping point thereof and to said second sub-network via a dedicated optical fibre link connected between the switch means and said central source, each said switch means being capable of providing each customer associated therewith with said broadcast services and selectively with said on-demand services in response to customer request signals conveyed to the central source via said second sub-network. - View Dependent Claims (36)
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Specification