Cable modem apparatus and method
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A cable modem termination system, comprising:
- a burst receiver that receives a signal transmitted via an upstream channel of a cable modem system and generates statistics relating to traffic on said upstream channel, said burst receiver including a demodulator that converts said received signal to binary data;
a media access control that includes a counter that accumulates said statistics; and
a signal path that couples said burst receiver to said media access control and carries said binary data and said statistics from said burst receiver to said media access control;
wherein said binary data and said statistics are encapsulated within a data block, said statistics are encapsulated within a header of said data block to distinguish said statistics from said binary data, and wherein said statistics are included within a status byte of said data block header of said data block.
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Abstract
A number of features for enhancing the performance of a cable transmission system in which data is transmitted between a cable modem termination system at a headend and a plurality of cable modems located different distances from the headend. The power transmission level, slot timing, and equalization of the cable modems are set by a ranging process. Data is transmitted by the modems in fragmented form. Various measures are taken to make transmission from the cable modems robust. The upstream data transmission is controlled to permit multiple access from the cable modems.
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Citations
17 Claims
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1. A cable modem termination system, comprising:
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a burst receiver that receives a signal transmitted via an upstream channel of a cable modem system and generates statistics relating to traffic on said upstream channel, said burst receiver including a demodulator that converts said received signal to binary data;
a media access control that includes a counter that accumulates said statistics; and
a signal path that couples said burst receiver to said media access control and carries said binary data and said statistics from said burst receiver to said media access control;
wherein said binary data and said statistics are encapsulated within a data block, said statistics are encapsulated within a header of said data block to distinguish said statistics from said binary data, and wherein said statistics are included within a status byte of said data block header of said data block. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 15)
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4. A cable modem termination system, comprising:
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a burst receiver that receives a signal transmitted via an upstream channel of a cable modem system and generates statistics relating to traffic on said upstream channel, said burst receiver including a demodulator that converts said received signal to binary data;
a media access control that includes a counter that accumulates said statistics; and
a signal path that couples said burst receiver to said media access control and carries said binary data and said statistics from said burst receiver to said media access control;
wherein said binary data and said statistics are transmitted from said burst receiver to said media access control as a series of bursts. - View Dependent Claims (5, 6)
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7. A cable modem termination system, comprising:
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a burst receiver that receives a signal transmitted via an upstream channel of a cable modem system and generates statistics relating to traffic on said upstream channel, said burst receiver including a demodulator that converts said received signal to binary data;
a media access control that includes a counter that accumulates said statistics; and
a signal path that couples said burst receiver to said media access control and carries said binary data and said statistics from said burst receiver to said media access control;
wherein said media access control utilizes said accumulated values from said counter to determine additional statistics. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10)
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11. A cable modem termination system, comprising:
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a burst receiver that receives a signal transmitted via an upstream channel of a cable modem system and generates statistics relating to traffic on said upstream channel, said burst receiver including a demodulator that converts said received signal to binary data;
a media access control that includes a counter that accumulates said statistics; and
a signal path that couples said burst receiver to said media access control and carries said binary data and said statistics from said burst receiver to said media access control;
wherein said accumulated values from said counter are utilized to estimate the quality of said upstream channel. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 16, 17)
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Specification