Apparatus for exchanging data between a central station and a plurality of wireless remote stations on a time divided commnication channel

• US 5,677,909 A
• Filed: 05/11/1994
• Issued: 10/14/1997
• Est. Priority Date: 05/11/1994
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Innsmouth LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Original Assignee: Spectrix Corp.
• Inventors: Heide, Carolyn
• Primary Examiner(s): Olms, Douglas W.
• Assistant Examiner(s): TON, DANG T
• Application Number:
  US08/241,037
• Time in Patent Office: 1,252 Days
• Field of Search: 370/95.1, 370/95.2, 370/95.3, 370/85.2, 370/85.3, 370/85.7, 370/85.8, 370/85.13, 370/94.1, 370/60, 370/60.1, 370/94.2, 370/310, 370/321, 370/324, 370/329 , 370/337, 370/338, 370/346, 370/347, 370/350, 370/400, 370/420, 370/421, 370/413, 370/414, 370/427, 370/445, 370/447, 370/449, 370/454, 370/458, 370/459, 370/461, 370/503, 340/825.08, 375/356, 445/33.1, 445/4.1, 445/5.1, 445/51.1, 445/54.2
• US Class Current: 370/347
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 10/1125 using a single common optical path
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 74/02 Hybrid access

Abstract

An apparatus is provided for exchanging data between a central station and a plurality of wireless remote stations on a time division multiple access communication channel. The apparatus includes device for receiving access requests from remote stations of the plurality of remote stations during a first time interval under a contention based protocol and a non-contention based protocol and device for polling for data transfers during a second time period remote stations of the plurality of remote stations providing access requests under non-contention based protocols during the first time period.

Claims

1. An apparatus for exchanging data between a central station and a plurality of wireless remote stations on a time divided multiple access communication channel comprising:

means for receiving access requests from remote stations of the plurality of remote stations during a first time interval under a contention based protocol and a non-contention based protocol; and

means for authorizing a data transfer during a second time period by a remote station providing an access request under a non-contention based protocol of the plurality of remote stations providing access requests under the contention and non-contention based protocols during the first time period.

2. The apparatus as in claim 1 wherein the means for receiving access requests from remote stations of the plurality of remote stations during the first time interval under said contention based protocol and said non-contention based protocol further comprises a plurality of time division multiple access slots within the first time interval.

3. The apparatus as in claim 2 wherein the means for receiving access requests from remote stations of the plurality of remote stations during the first time interval under said contention based protocol and said non-contention based protocol further comprising means, located within a slot of the plurality of slots, for identifying contention slots and non-contention slots to the plurality of remote stations.

4. The apparatus as in claim 3 further comprising means for receiving an access request from a remote station of the plurality of remote stations within an identified contention slot and allocating a non-contention slot to the requesting remote station.

5. An apparatus for reducing a duty-cycle of activation of a remote station exchanging data with a central station on a wireless time divided multiple access communication channel comprising:

means for receiving an access request from the remote station during a first time interval under one of a contention based protocol and a non-contention based protocol;

means for exchanging data during a second time period with the remote station providing the access request under the non-contention based protocol during the first time period for data transfers; and

means for providing a temporal length of the first and second time periods to the remote station by the central station.