Shared communications channel with enhanced reservation and collision resolution protocols allows any subset of stations to transmit data after collision occured in contention slot
First Claim
1. A method for collision resolution in a communication system having multiple transmission stations communicating on a shared communication channel in which transmission is subdivided into a plurality of transmission slots, comprising the steps of:
- a. organizing the stations in a structure wherein each station has a fixed address corresponding to a location in said structure;
b. indicating to said multiple stations a slot type for each transmission slot, such that each transmission slot is either a contention slot or a reservation slot wherein each reservation slot is reserved for use by a particular one of the stations and each contention slot may be used by any of the stations;
c. accepting transmissions of data packets on said communication channel from said stations during said contention slots, said data packets each optionally containing a reservation quantity for requesting a specific number of said contention slots as future reservation slots for use by a station that originated a data packet containing the reservation quantity;
d. detecting collisions in said transmissions of said data packets; and
e. upon detecting a collision in said contention slots;
f. in a subsequent contention slot associating with said contention slot an address indicating a subset of said locations in said structure, wherein membership in said subset indicates that a station corresponding to a location in said subset is entitled to transmit in said subsequent contention slot regardless of whether said station transmitted during said contention slot in which said collision occurred;
g. after having resolved collisions in said subset, repeating step f with addresses indicating other subsets of said structure.
4 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A system and method for collision resolution in a communication system having multiple transmission stations communicating on a shared slotted communication channel. The system and method includes a procedure for organizing the stations in a structure wherein each station has a fixed address corresponding to a static location in the structure. The procedure further indicates to the multiple transmission stations a slot type for each communication slot, the slot type selected from a group including contention slot type and reservation slot type, and accepts transmissions of contention slot data packets in contention slots on the communication channel from the stations, the contention slot data packets each optionally containing a reservation quantity for reservation slot data packets to be sent by an originating station upon successful transmission of a contention slot data packet originating at the originating station, the reservation slot data packets transmitted in reservation slots dedicated to the originating station. The procedure detects collisions in the transmissions of packets originating from the transmitting station with packets transmitted from other transmitting stations; and upon detecting a collision in a contention slots, recursively entitles a subset of the locations in the structure to transmit in the subsequent contention slot regardless of whether the station transmitted during the contention slot in which the collision occurred, wherein membership in the subset indicates that a station corresponding to a location in the subset is entitled.
Further systems and methods are disclosed.
-
Citations
12 Claims
-
1. A method for collision resolution in a communication system having multiple transmission stations communicating on a shared communication channel in which transmission is subdivided into a plurality of transmission slots, comprising the steps of:
-
a. organizing the stations in a structure wherein each station has a fixed address corresponding to a location in said structure; b. indicating to said multiple stations a slot type for each transmission slot, such that each transmission slot is either a contention slot or a reservation slot wherein each reservation slot is reserved for use by a particular one of the stations and each contention slot may be used by any of the stations; c. accepting transmissions of data packets on said communication channel from said stations during said contention slots, said data packets each optionally containing a reservation quantity for requesting a specific number of said contention slots as future reservation slots for use by a station that originated a data packet containing the reservation quantity; d. detecting collisions in said transmissions of said data packets; and e. upon detecting a collision in said contention slots; f. in a subsequent contention slot associating with said contention slot an address indicating a subset of said locations in said structure, wherein membership in said subset indicates that a station corresponding to a location in said subset is entitled to transmit in said subsequent contention slot regardless of whether said station transmitted during said contention slot in which said collision occurred; g. after having resolved collisions in said subset, repeating step f with addresses indicating other subsets of said structure. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
-
-
11. A data communications system having a signal conversion system (SCS) and a plurality subscriber stations, comprising:
-
a. said signal conversion system (SCS) operable to transmit a control signal on a first transmission channel time divided into a plurality of slots, wherein said SCS is further operable to; b. for each slot, transmit a slot type selected from a group including contention slot, reservation slot, and collision resolution slot; c. receive data packets on a second channel divided into a plurality of slots; d. detect collisions in any given slot on said second channel; e. upon detection of a collision, transmitting a collision resolution slot type and a subtree address in the next slot following said given slot, wherein said subtree address indicates a subset of said plurality of subscriber stations regardless of whether subscriber stations indicated in said subset transmitted during the given slot; f. upon detection of a successful receipt of a packet, transmitting an indication on said first channel that the next n slots on said second channels are reservation slots, wherein n is a reservation quantity received in said successfully received packet that indicates a number of future reservation slots dedicated to one of the subscriber stations; and g. said plurality of subscriber stations each operable to receive said control signal from said SCS and operable to transmit data packets to said SCS on a second channel, wherein said subscriber stations are each operable to; h. detect the slot type of a given slot and a subtree address; i. if at a given point in time said subscriber station has at least one packet to transmit, and if said slot is either a contention slot or if said slot is a collision resolution slot and said address indicates that said subscriber station is in said subset indicated by said address, then transmitting a first of said packets, wherein said first of said packets contain a reservation length n equal to the number of remaining packets; j. if a subscriber station receives an acknowledgment from said SCS indicating successful receipt of a packet transmitted by said subscriber station in a contention slot, and if n is greater than zero, transmitting said remaining packets in the next n slots. - View Dependent Claims (12)
-
Specification