Method and apparatus for monitoring and controlling a local area network

• US 6,307,862 B1
• Filed: 03/23/1998
• Issued: 10/23/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 03/23/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: AT&T Corporation (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Corporation (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Silverman, David Phillip
• Primary Examiner(s): Hsu, Alpus H.
• Assistant Examiner(s): NGUYEN, BRIAN D
• Application Number:
  US09/046,047
• Time in Patent Office: 1,310 Days
• Field of Search: 370/442, 370/443, 370/445, 370/344, 370/347, 370/338, 370/336, 370/241, 370/245, 370/537, 370/538, 370/539, 370/540, 370/541, 370/458, 370/559, 370/462, 370/465, 370/345, 370/487, 370/498, 455/3.1, 455/5.1
• US Class Current: 370/442
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2801 Broadband local area networks

Abstract

A method and an apparatus for establishing a local area network (LAN) using a channel stripper, a LAN controller and a cable television cable that couples peripheral devices to the LAN controller. The channel stripper removes signals from one or more selected channels from a cable television signal path. The channels form a signal path between the LAN controller and peripheral devices connected to the LAN. The remaining channels provide a digital cable television signal. Both the LAN channels and the digital cable television channels are combined onto a common coaxial cable. The cable stripper may be a multiplexer/demultiplexer or a notch filter. Alternately, the channel stripper can assign frequency channels outside the frequency bandwidth of to the LAN and maintain the cable television signals as received. The LAN controller can create additional communications channels by using Time Division Multiple Access protocols to assign time slots to each of the peripheral devices that are coupled to the LAN.

Claims

1. A method for establishing a local area network (LAN) using at least one cable television (CATV) channel, comprising:

generating LAN signals in at least one LAN channel that conforms to a selected CATV channel;

transmitting the LAN signals from a LAN controller through the selected CATV channel over a CATV cable, wherein non-LAN signals are transmitted to a television on non-selected CATV channels through the CATV cable;

receiving the LAN signals at at least one of a plurality of devices, wherein the LAN signals control or monitor the at least one of a plurality of devices;

receiving a CATV signal at a channel stripper;

removing signals of the selected CATV channel from the CATV signal;

multiplexing LAN signals with the non-LAN signals of the non-selected CATV channels to form a new CATV signal; and

transmitting the new CATV signal in the CATV cable to one of the plurality of devices.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the selected channel comprises two channels of the CATV signal.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the CATV signal uses Frequency Division Multiple Access protocols.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one selected channel is further processed to provide Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) channels, each of the TDMA channels being assigned to correspond to one of the plurality of devices coupled to the new CATV signal.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising coupling the LAN controller to a telephone network, the telephone network providing a communication path between the LAN controller and at least one telephone coupled to the telephone network.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the at least one telephone is one of a wired telephone, a wireless telephone and a cellular telephone.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein the LAN controller communicates with a pager using the telephone network by sending a page to the pager.

8. The method of claim 4, wherein the plurality of devices includes at least one of a television, a computer, a garage door opener and a home appliance.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) protocol is used for the CATV signal and the removing step comprises notch filtering the CATV signal to remove at least one frequency channel from the CATV signal.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the removing step comprises assigning at least one frequency channel out-of-band with respect to the CATV signal, the out-of-band channel forming the LAN channel.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the LAN channel transmits signals to the at least one of a plurality of devices using a Carrier-Sense Multiple Access with Collision Detection protocol.

12. A local area network (LAN), comprising:

a cable television (CATV) cable;

at least one device;

a LAN controller coupled to the device through the CATV cable; and

a channel stripper, wherein the channel stripper receives a CATV signal, removes the selected CATV channel from the CATV signal, multiplexes the LAN channel with the non-selected CATV channels to form a new CATV signal, and transmits the new CATV signal in the CATV cable to the device and the television,

wherein;

the LAN controller and the device communicate through the CATV cable by generating LAN signals in at least one LAN channel that conforms to a selected CATV channel,

the LAN controller and the device transmit and receive LAN signals through the selected CATV channel through the CATV cable,

non-LAN signals are transmitted to a television over non-selected CATV channels through the CATV cable, and

the LAN signals control or monitor the device.

13. The LAN of claim 12, wherein the channel stripper notch filters the CATV signal to remove signals of the selected channel from the CATV signal.

14. The LAN of claim 12, wherein the LAN controller provides Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) protocol for the LAN channel, each TDMA channel provided by the LAN controller being assigned to one of a plurality of devices coupled to the new CATV signal.