Data distribution method and data distribution apparatus

• US 6,212,166 B1
• Filed: 07/25/1997
• Issued: 04/03/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 01/29/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Ddnetwork Limited, Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha (Mitsubishi Electric Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Ddnetwork Limited, Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha (Mitsubishi Electric Corporation)
• Inventors: Nakahara, Shojiro, Tanaka, Kouichi, Akiyama, Koji
• Primary Examiner(s): Olms, Douglas W.
• Assistant Examiner(s): VANDERPUYE, KENNETH N
• Application Number:
  US08/898,859
• Time in Patent Office: 1,348 Days
• Field of Search: 455/12.1, 455/13.1, 370/312, 370/315, 370/319, 370/330, 370/346, 370/342, 370/432, 370/236, 370/349, 370/395, 370/428, 371/32, 371/33, 371/34, 371/35, 371/30, 714/748, 714/749, 714/750, 710/29
• US Class Current: 370/236
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/1858 Arrangements for data transmission on the physical system, i.e. for data bit transmission between network components
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/1635 Cumulative acknowledgement, i.e. the acknowledgement message applying to all previous messages
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/1685 the supervisory signal being transmitted in response to a specific request, e.g. to a polling signal
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/1848 Time-out mechanisms
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2001/0093 Point-to-multipoint

Abstract

A data distribution method and apparatus have a satellite communication line (5) for transmitting data to a receiver and a ground line (10) for transmitting a data distribution request and a transmission confirmation pattern to a transmitter, a transmission confirmation designation device (11) in the transmitter for designating the transmission confirmation pattern, and a transmission confirmation processing device (12) for performing the transmission confirmation process according to a transmission confirmation method indicated by the transmitter.

Claims

1. A data distribution method for performing data distribution between a transmitter and a receiver, comprising:

detecting in the transmitter a data transmission confirmation pattern designation in a command option;

selecting the content of a data transmission confirmation pattern by the transmitter, based on the detected data transmission confirmation pattern designation in the command option, the content of the data transmission confirmation pattern indicating at least one of an amount of data to be transmitted and a transmission time;

inserting the content of the data transmission confirmation pattern into data to be transmitted, and transmitting the resulting data; and

outputting a data transmission confirmation from the receiver to the transmitter according to the the content of the data transmission confirmation pattern received by the receiver.

2. The data distribution method according to claim 1, wherein,

the data transmission confirmation pattern is designated by one of the transmitter and the receiver.

3. The data distribution method according to claim 1, wherein,

an available line to be used for the data distribution is selected by the transmitter;

and

the data distribution is performed from the transmitter to the receiver through the selected available line.

20. The data distribution method according to claim 1, wherein

the transmitter receives a plurality of data distribution requests and selects whether to respond to each data distribution request individually or to respond to a plurality of data distribution requests by successively transmitting a plurality of requested data packets.

4. A data distribution apparatus for transmitting data between a transmitter and a receiver, comprising:

a transmission line device for receiving a distribution request of data in the transmitter,

a memory device in the transmitter for storing the data,

a control device in the transmitter for reading the data stored in the memory device and for controlling a data distribution operation to transmit the data to the receiver,

a satellite transmission device for transmitting data controlled by the data distribution operation executed by the control device through radio waves,

a satellite relay device for relaying the radio waves,

a satellite receive device for receiving the radio waves,

a control device in the receiver for receiving the radio waves received by the satellite receive device,

a line device in the receiver, operatively connected to the line device in the transmitter, for transmitting a request and data to the transmitter,

a data transmission confirmation designation device in the receiver for designating a data transmission confirmation pattern as the request; and

a data transmission confirmation processing device in the receiver for receiving the content of the data transmission confirmation type and for performing a data transmission confirmation operation to the transmitter.

5. The data distribution apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising:

a data transmission confirmation designation device in the receiver for designating the data transmission confirmation pattern.

6. The data distribution apparatus according to claim 4, wherein,

the data transmission confirmation processing device in the receiver transmits to the control device in the transmitter, a data transmission confirmation for a group of distribution data items which have been received during a predetermined constant time period counted from a time when the control device in the receiver receives the group of distribution data items transmitted from the transmitter, according to the distribution request by the transmitter or the receiver.

7. The data distribution apparatus according to claim 4, wherein,

the data transmission confirmation processing device in the receiver transmits to the control device in the transmitter, a data transmission confirmation of the received data items as a random time in a predetermined time period counted after a time when the control device in the receiver receives the data items transmitted from the transmitter, according to the distribution request by the transmitter or the receiver.

8. The data distribution apparatus according to claim 4, wherein,

the data transmission confirmation processing device in the receiver transmits to the control device in the transmitter, a data transmission confirmation after receiving a constant byte length of the received data items after a time when the control device in the receiver receives the data items transmitted from the transmitter, according to the distribution request by the transmitter or the receiver.

9. The data distribution apparatus according to claim 4, wherein,

the data transmission confirmation processing device in the receiver transmits to the control device in the transmitter, a data transmission confirmation after receiving a predetermined constant number of files as the data items after a time when the control device in the receiver receives the data items transmitted from the transmitter, according to the distribution request by the transmitter or the receiver.

10. The data distribution apparatus according to claim 4, wherein,

the data transmission confirmation processing device in the receiver receives a transmission time of the data transmission confirmation indicated by the control device in the transmitter, and

transmits the data transmission confirmation of the data at the indicated transmission time to the control device in the transmitter according to the distribution request by the transmitter or the receiver.

11. The data distribution apparatus according to claim 4, wherein,

the data transmission confirmation processing device in the receiver receives, through the control device in the receiver, information of a data transmission confirmation sending device to indicate a device for transmitting the data transmission confirmation that is designated by the data transmission confirmation designation device in the transmitter or in the receiver and then received by the data transmission confirmation designation device in the transmitter, and the data transmission confirmation processing device in the receiver transmits an information of the designated data transmission confirmation sending device.

12. The data distribution apparatus according to claim 4, wherein,

the control device in the transmitter is capable of designating a transmission stage to transmit the data transmission confirmation or is capable of transmitting information designating a transmission stage to transmit the data transmission confirmation to the control device in the receiver, and the control device in the receiver is capable of receiving information indicating the transmission stage, and is capable of transmitting a data transmission confirmation sending instruction based on the received information to the control device in the receiver or to another receive device connected through a Local Area Network in the receiver.

13. The data distribution apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising:

a router device in the transmitter for connecting the control device in the transmitter and the satellite transmission device and for transferring data transferred from the control device in the transmitter to the satellite transmission device,

a router device in the receiver for connecting the satellite receive device to the control device in the receiver and for transmitting received data to the control device in the receiver,

wherein the distribution request transferred from the control device in the receiver is transmitted to the line device in the transmitter through the line device in the receiver, and the control device in the transmitter receives the distribution request for reading the data stored in the memory device in the transmitter, and for transmitting the distribution data to the router devices in the transmitter and the receiver according to the distribution request.

14. The data distribution apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising:

an available line selection device in the transmitter for checking a volume or a size of data to be transmitted and for selecting one of the wire line and the satellite line automatically according to the volume or the size of the data.

15. The data distribution apparatus according to claim 14, wherein,

the available line selection device is capable of checking a state of a current line during transmitting of the data from the control device in the transmitter or the receiver, for switching the current line through which the data is executing to another available line, for transmitting information about the switched line to the control device in the receiver, and the control device in the receiver is capable of receiving information about a change of the switched line, and for switching a data receiving line according to the received information about the change of the switched line.

16. The data distribution apparatus according to claim 14, further comprising:

a router device in the transmitter for connecting the control device in the transmitter and the satellite transmission device and for transferring data transferred from the control device in the transmitter to the satellite transmission device; and

a router device in the receiver for connecting the satellite receive device to the control device in the receiver and for transmitting the received data to the control device in the receiver.

17. The data distribution apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising:

a transmission type designation device in the transmitter for receiving data and for selecting one of the following distribution methods,

a plurality of data items according to the distribution request and other distribution requests are grouped and the grouped data items are transmitted at a time to the receiver; and

the data is transmitted to the receiver after receiving each distribution request.

18. The data distribution apparatus according to claim 17, wherein,

the transmission type designation device in the transmitted is capable of receiving information about a packet transmission success/failure transmitted from the receiver, capable of storing a failure packet number about the packet in the transmission failure, capable of detecting a completion of the packet transmission and of re-transmitting packets in a transmission failure, and the control device in the receiver is capable of receiving a failure packet transmitted from the transmitter and capable of generating a file based on a received re-transmitted failure packet, and the transmission type designation device in the transmitter groups a plurality of failure packets and re-transmits them after completion of a normal packet transmission.

19. The data distribution apparatus according to claim 17, further comprising:

a router device in the transmitter for connecting the control device in the transmitter and the satellite transmission device and for transferring data transferred from the control device in the transmitter to the satellite transmission device; and

a router device in the receiver for connecting the satellite receive device to the control device in the receiver and for transmitting a received data to the control device in the receiver.