Communication system

• US 5,008,883 A
• Filed: 04/14/1989
• Issued: 04/16/1991
• Est. Priority Date: 04/28/1988
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Lucent Technologies, Inc. (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: US Philips Corporation (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Inventors: Von Harten, Georg, Eizenhofer, Alfons
• Primary Examiner(s): NOT, DEFINED
• Assistant Examiner(s): Marcelo, Melvin
• Application Number:
  US07/339,275
• Time in Patent Office: 732 Days
• Field of Search: 370/85.6, 370/95.1, 370/95.3, 370/29, 370/32, 370/79
• US Class Current: 370/348
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/10 for controlling access to devices or network resources
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/06 Authentication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/08 Access security
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 74/0875 with assigned priorities based access
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 40/20 Information technology specific aspects, e.g. CAD, simulation, modelling, system security

Abstract

In a communication system having at least a central arrangement and a plurality of mutually independent subscriber stations, a subscriber station, after transmitting a request for access, expects an authorization for access to be granted by the central arrangement. For this purpose it is proposed that the subscriber station repects its request for access once it has established that a further subscriber station, which transmitted its request for access at a later instant, recesses and authorization for access.

Claims

1. A communication system having at least one central arrangement and a plurality of mutually independent subscriber stations, in which a subscriber station, after transmission of a request for access, awaits an authorization for access to be granted by the central arrangement, characterized in that the subscriber station repeats its request for access, once it has established that another subscriber station, which transmitted its request for access at a later instant, has received an authorization for access,

wherein the subscriber station, when transmitting a request for access, stores an identification code which indicates the time rank of its request for access in the order of the requests for access, from further subscriber stations, occurring on a control channel.

2. A communication system as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that, when authorizations of different priorities are used, the subscriber station repeats the request for access, once it has established that another subscriber station of identical or lower priority, which transmitted its request for access at a later instant, has received an authorization for access.

3. A communication system as claimed in one of the claims 1, characterized in that there is a presettable time interval between the reception of the request for access and the granting of the authorization for access.

4. A communication system as claimed in one of the claims 1 to 3, characterized in that a control channel is organized in numbered time slots and in that the subscriber station stores a time slot number as an identification code in a register (32), which time slot number corresponds with the number of the time slot in which the subscriber station has transmitted its request for access.

5. A communication system as claimed in claim 4, characterized in that, for identifying the position of the request for access, the authorization for access contains an authorization number, which authorization number always corresponds with the number of the time slot in which the subscriber station has transmitted its request for access.

6. A communication network as claimed in claims 5, characterized in that a first comparator (33) in the subscriber station compares the authorization numbers contained in the received authorizations for access to the stored time slot number.

7. A communication system as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the authorization for access contains a number derived from a number of time slots situated between the reception of a request for access and the transmission of this authorization for access.

8. A communication system as claimed in claim 7, characterized in that the subscriber station contains a counter (34) counting the time slots that have passed since the transmission of a request for access, and in that a first comparator (33) arranged in the subscriber station compares the counting position of the counter to a number contained in an authorization for access.

9. A communication system as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the central arrangement transmits an authorization for access relating to an unavailable subscriber in period of time when there are few received requests for access.

10. A communication system as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the subscriber station comprises a timing circuit, which is started when the request for access is transmitted, and in that another request for access is transmitted after a time interval, predetermined by means of the timing circuit, has elapsed, without any authorization for access having been received by the subscriber station.

11. A communication system as claimed in claim 6, further comprising

(a) a second register (35) for storing an access priority,

(b) a second comparator (36) for comparing the access priority with a priority, contained in the received access access authorization, and

(c) switching elements (37,38) for logically combining results of comparisons by the first comparator (33) and the second comparator (36).

12. A communication system as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the communication system is a radio telephone network.

13. A communication system having at least one central arrangement and a plurality of mutually independent subscriber stations, in which a subscriber station, after transmission of a request for access, awaits an authorization for access to be granted by the central arrangement, characterized in that the subscriber station repeats its request for access, once it has established that another subscriber station, which transmitted its request for access at a later instant, has received an authorization for access,

wherein when authorizations of different priorities are used, the subscriber station repeats the request for access, once it has established that another subscriber station of identical or lower priority, which transmitted its request for access at a later instant has received an authorization for access.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein there is a presettable time interval between the reception of the request for access and the granting of the authorization for access.

15. A communication system having at least one central arrangement and a plurality of mutually independent subscriber stations, in which a subscriber station, after transmission of a request for access, awaits an authorization for access to be granted by the central arrangement, characterized in that the subscriber station repeats its request for access, once it has established that another subscriber station, which transmitted its request for access at a later instant, has received an authorization for access,

wherein the subscriber station comprises a timing circuit, which is started when the request for access is transmitted, and in that another request for access is transmitted after a time interval, predetermined by means of the timing circuit, has elapsed, without any authorization for access having been received by the subscriber station.