Methods and apparatus for coordinating channel access to shared parallel data channels
DCFirst Claim
1. A communication node operating in a network whose nodes communicate over plural shared data channels, said communication node comprising:
- a primary receiver and a secondary receiver, at least one of said primary and secondary receivers being tunable to the plural shared data channels to receive information messages from other nodes, and at least one of said primary and secondary receivers being tunable to a reservation channel to monitor channel access reservation messages that are exchanged between nodes on the reservation channel;
wherein said communication node continuously monitors the reservation channel during periods when channel access reservation messages are expected by tuning one of the primary receiver and the secondary receiver to the reservation channel, and wherein said communication node maintains an availability status of each neighboring node and each of the plural shared data channels determined from the channel access reservation messages received on the reservation channel by said primary receiver or said secondary receiver; and
wherein channel access reservation messages are not expected during transmission of a broadcast message on one of the plural shared data channels, and neither said primary receiver nor said secondary receiver monitors the reservation channel when said primary receiver is engaged in transferring an information message on one of the shared data channels and said secondary receiver is simultaneously receiving the broadcast message on another of the shared data channels.
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Abstract
A network of nodes communicates using plural, shared parallel data channels and a separate reservation channel. Access to the data channels is coordinated among the nodes by communicating message requests and corresponding replies on the reservation channel. In addition to a primary transmitter/receiver (e.g., a modem), each node includes a secondary receiver that permits each node to continuously monitor the reservation channel. When not engaged in a message transfer on one of the data channels, the primary receiver monitors the reservation channel. If the primary becomes engaged in a message transfer, the secondary receiver is activated and monitors the reservation channel. Use of the secondary receiver avoids loss of channel access information resulting from use of a single receiver for both the reservation and data transfer mechanisms. By transmitting requests for channel access on the reservation channel and continuously monitoring the reservation channel, message collisions are dramatically reduced.
174 Citations
113 Claims
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1. A communication node operating in a network whose nodes communicate over plural shared data channels, said communication node comprising:
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a primary receiver and a secondary receiver, at least one of said primary and secondary receivers being tunable to the plural shared data channels to receive information messages from other nodes, and at least one of said primary and secondary receivers being tunable to a reservation channel to monitor channel access reservation messages that are exchanged between nodes on the reservation channel;
wherein said communication node continuously monitors the reservation channel during periods when channel access reservation messages are expected by tuning one of the primary receiver and the secondary receiver to the reservation channel, and wherein said communication node maintains an availability status of each neighboring node and each of the plural shared data channels determined from the channel access reservation messages received on the reservation channel by said primary receiver or said secondary receiver; and
wherein channel access reservation messages are not expected during transmission of a broadcast message on one of the plural shared data channels, and neither said primary receiver nor said secondary receiver monitors the reservation channel when said primary receiver is engaged in transferring an information message on one of the shared data channels and said secondary receiver is simultaneously receiving the broadcast message on another of the shared data channels. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4)
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5. A communication node operating in a network whose nodes communicate over plural shared data channels, said communication node comprising:
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a primary receiver and a secondary receiver, at least one of said primary and secondary receivers being tunable to the plural shared data channels to receive information messages from other nodes, and at least one of said primary and secondary receivers being tunable to a reservation channel to monitor channel access reservation messages that are exchanged between nodes on the reservation channel;
wherein, when said primary receiver is tuned to the reservation channel, said secondary receiver is deactivated, and when said primary receiver is tuned to one of the plural shared data channels, said secondary receiver is activated and tuned to the reservation channel, such that the reservation channel is continuously monitored by one of said primary receiver and said secondary receiver when channel access reservation messages are expected; and
wherein said communication node maintains an availability status of each neighboring node and each of the plural shared data channels determined from the channel access reservation messages received on the reservation channel by said primary receiver or said secondary receiver. - View Dependent Claims (6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. A communication node operating in a network whose nodes communicate over plural shared data channels, said communication node comprising:
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a primary modem which includes a primary transmitter and a primary receiver; and
a secondary receiver, at least one of said primary and secondary receivers being tunable to the plural shared data channels to receive information messages from other nodes, and at least one of said primary and secondary receivers being tunable to a reservation channel to monitor channel access reservation messages that are exchanged between nodes on the reservation channel, said primary transmitter being capable of transmitting channel access reservation messages on the reservation channel and information messages on the data channels;
wherein said communication node continuously monitors the reservation channel during periods when channel access reservation messages are expected by tuning one of the primary receiver and the secondary receiver to the reservation channel, and wherein said communication node maintains an availability status of each neighboring node and each of the plural shared data channels determined from the channel access reservation messages received on the reservation channel by said primary receiver or said secondary receiver. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39)
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40. A communication network, comprising:
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a group of nodes, each including a primary receiver and a secondary receiver;
a reservation channel for transmitting channel access reservation messages between nodes; and
a plurality of data channels for transmitting information messages between nodes, wherein each node continuously monitors the reservation channel during periods when channel access reservation messages are expected by tuning one of the primary receiver and the secondary receiver to the reservation channel, and wherein said nodes coordinate transmission of information messages on the data channels in accordance with an availability status of each neighboring node and each of the data channels, the availability status being determined at each node from the channel access reservation messages received on the reservation channel by the primary receiver or the secondary receiver;
wherein channel access reservation messages are not expected during transmission of a broadcast message on one of the data channels, and neither said primary receiver nor said secondary receiver of each node monitors the reservation channel when said primary receiver is engaged in transferring an information message on one of the data channels and said secondary receiver is simultaneously receiving the broadcast message on another of the data channels. - View Dependent Claims (41, 42, 43)
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44. A communication network, comprising:
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a group of nodes, each including a primary receiver and a secondary receiver;
a reservation channel for transmitting channel access reservation messages between nodes; and
a plurality of data channels for transmitting information messages between nodes, wherein, when the primary receiver of a node is tuned to the reservation channel, the secondary receiver of the node is deactivated, and when the primary receiver of the node is tuned to one of the data channels, the secondary receiver of the node is activated and tuned to the reservation channel, such that the reservation channel is continuously monitored by one of the primary receiver and the secondary receiver during periods when channel access reservation messages are expected, and wherein said nodes coordinate transmission of information messages on the data channels in accordance with an availability status of each neighboring node and each of the data channels, the availability status being determined at each node from the channel access reservation messages received on the reservation channel by the primary receiver or the secondary receiver. - View Dependent Claims (45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60)
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61. A communication network, comprising:
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a group of nodes, each including a primary modem which includes a primary transmitter and a primary receiver, and a secondary receiver;
a reservation channel for transmitting channel access reservation messages between nodes; and
a plurality of data channels for transmitting information messages between nodes, wherein each node continuously monitors the reservation channel during periods when channel access reservation messages are expected by tuning one of the primary receiver and the secondary receiver to the reservation channel, said primary transmitter being capable of transmitting channel access reservation messages on the reservation channel and information messages on the data channels;
wherein said nodes coordinate transmission of information messages on the data channels in accordance with an availability status of each neighboring node and each of the data channels, the availability status being determined at each node from the channel access reservation messages received on the reservation channel by the primary receiver or the secondary receiver. - View Dependent Claims (62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78)
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79. A method of coordinating channel access to a plurality of data channels shared among a group of network nodes, the method comprising the steps of:
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(a) exchanging channel access reservation messages between nodes on a reservation channel to reserve channel access to data channels on which information messages are transferred between nodes;
(b) continuously monitoring the reservation channel at each node during periods when channel access reservation messages are expected by tuning one of a primary receiver of each node and a secondary receiver of each node to the reservation channel, wherein channel access reservation messages are not expected during transmission of a broadcast message on one of the data channels, and neither said primary receiver nor said secondary receiver of each node monitors the reservation channel when said primary receiver is engaged in transferring an information message on one of the data channels and said secondary receiver is simultaneously receiving the broadcast message on another of the data channels;
(c) maintaining at each node an availability status of each neighboring node and each of said data channels, the availability status being determined from the channel access reservation messages received on the reservation channel by the primary receiver or the secondary receiver; and
(d) coordinating transmission of information messages between nodes on the data channels in accordance with the availability status of the nodes and the data channels. - View Dependent Claims (80, 81, 82)
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83. A method of coordinating channel access to a plurality of data channels shared among a group of network nodes, the method comprising the steps of:
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(a) exchanging channel access reservation messages between nodes on a reservation channel to reserve channel access to data channels on which information messages are transferred between nodes;
(b) continuously monitoring the reservation channel at each node during periods when channel access reservation messages are expected by tuning one of a primary receiver of each node and a secondary receiver of each node to the reservation channel, wherein, when the primary receiver of a node is tuned to the reservation channel, the secondary receiver of the node is deactivated, and when the primary receiver of the node is tuned to one of the data channels, the secondary receiver of the node is activated and tuned to the reservation channel;
(c) maintaining at each node an availability status of each neighboring node and each of said data channels, the availability status being determined from the channel access reservation messages received on the reservation channel by the primary receiver or the secondary receiver; and
(d) coordinating transmission of information messages between nodes on the data channels in accordance with the availability status of the nodes and the data channels. - View Dependent Claims (84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97)
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98. A method of coordinating channel access to a plurality of data channels shared among a group of network nodes, the method comprising the steps of:
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(a) exchanging channel access reservation messages between nodes on a reservation channel to reserve channel access to data channels on which information messages are transferred between nodes;
(b) continuously monitoring the reservation channel at each node during periods when channel access reservation messages are expected by tuning one of a primary receiver of each node and a secondary receiver of each node to the reservation channel;
(c) using a primary transmitter of each node to transmit channel access reservation messages on the reservation channel and information messages on the data channels;
(d) maintaining at each node an availability status of each neighboring node and each of said data channels, the availability status being determined from the channel access reservation messages received on the reservation channel by the primary receiver or the secondary receiver; and
(e) coordinating transmission of information messages between nodes on the data channels in accordance with the availability status of the nodes and the data channels. - View Dependent Claims (99, 100, 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108, 109, 110, 111, 112, 113)
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Specification