Upstream channel bonding in a cable communications system
First Claim
1. A cable modem termination system (CMTS) for communicating with a plurality of cable modems residing on a network, including a first cable modem that supports upstream channel bonding and a second cable modem that does not support upstream channel bonding, the CMTS comprising:
- an upstream physical interface comprising one or more upstream demodulators;
a downstream physical interface comprising one or more downstream modulators;
a media access control (MAC) that receives upstream transmissions from the upstream physical interface and provides downstream transmissions to the downstream physical interface;
wherein the MAC generates a first map message that defines a bandwidth grant across a plurality of upstream channels in a bonded channel group and a second map message that defines a bandwidth grant for a single upstream channel, andwherein the downstream physical interface transmits both the first and second map messages to both the first and second cable modems.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method for increasing upstream bandwidth per cable modem user in a cable communications system that includes a cable modem termination system (CMTS) and a plurality of cable modems is provided. The method permits a cable modem to transmit data to the CMTS on multiple upstream channels simultaneously using a technique called “channel bonding.” Channel bonding allows smaller bandwidth upstream channels to be bonded together to create a larger bandwidth pipe.
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Citations
50 Claims
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1. A cable modem termination system (CMTS) for communicating with a plurality of cable modems residing on a network, including a first cable modem that supports upstream channel bonding and a second cable modem that does not support upstream channel bonding, the CMTS comprising:
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an upstream physical interface comprising one or more upstream demodulators; a downstream physical interface comprising one or more downstream modulators; a media access control (MAC) that receives upstream transmissions from the upstream physical interface and provides downstream transmissions to the downstream physical interface; wherein the MAC generates a first map message that defines a bandwidth grant across a plurality of upstream channels in a bonded channel group and a second map message that defines a bandwidth grant for a single upstream channel, and wherein the downstream physical interface transmits both the first and second map messages to both the first and second cable modems. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A method in a cable modem terminal system (CMTS) of communicating with a plurality of cable modems, the plurality of cable modems including a first cable modem that supports upstream channel bonding and a second cable modem that does not support upstream channel bonding, the CMTS including a Media Access Control (MAC) and a physical interface, the method comprising:
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generating a first map message that defines a bandwidth grant across a plurality of upstream channels in a bonded channel group; generating a second map message that defines a bandwidth grant for a single upstream channel; transmitting the first map message to both the first and second cable modems, wherein the second cable modem disregards the first map message; and transmitting the second map message to both the first and second cable modems. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A high-throughput cable network, comprising:
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a first cable modem that supports upstream channel bonding; a second cable modem that does not support upstream channel bonding; and a cable modem termination system (CMTS) that transmits a bonded map message to both the first and second cable modems, the bonded map message defining a bandwidth grant across a plurality of upstream channels in a bonded channel group, wherein the bonded map message is disregarded by the second cable modem. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
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31. A system for communicating with a plurality of devices residing on a wireless network, including a first device that supports upstream channel bonding and a second device that does not support upstream channel bonding, the system comprising:
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an upstream physical interface comprising one or more upstream demodulators; a downstream physical interface comprising one or more downstream modulators; a media access control (MAC) that receives upstream transmissions from the upstream physical interface and provides downstream transmissions to the downstream physical interface; wherein the MAC generates a first message over the wireless network that defines a bandwidth grant across a plurality of upstream channels in a bonded channel group and a second message that defines a bandwidth grant for a single upstream channel, and wherein the downstream physical interface transmits both the first and second messages to both the first and second devices in the wireless network. - View Dependent Claims (32, 33, 34, 35)
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36. A method in a communication system of communicating with a plurality of devices in a wireless network, the plurality of devices including a first device that supports upstream channel bonding and a second device that does not support upstream channel bonding, the system including a Media Access Control (MAC) and a physical interface, the method comprising:
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generating a first message that defines a bandwidth grant across a plurality of upstream channels in a bonded channel group; generating a second message that defines a bandwidth grant for a single upstream channel; transmitting the first message over the wireless network to both the first and second devices; and transmitting the second message over the wireless network to both the first and second devices; wherein the second device disregards the first message. - View Dependent Claims (37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44)
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45. A method in a communication device of communicating with a headend device in a wireless network, the method comprising:
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requesting bandwidth from the headend device over the wireless network; receiving a first message over the wireless network from the headend device that defines a bandwidth grant across a plurality of upstream channels in a bonded channel group and a second message over the wireless network from the headend device that defines a bandwidth grant associated with a single upstream channel; disregarding the first message if the communication device does not support upstream channel bonding; and transmitting a stream of data packets to the headend device over the wireless network on the plurality of upstream channels if the communication device supports upstream channel bonding. - View Dependent Claims (46, 47)
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48. A method in a cable modem of communicating with a Cable Modem Termination System (CMTS) in a network, the method comprising:
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requesting bandwidth from the CMTS; receiving a first multichannel grant from the CMTS that defines a bandwidth grant across a plurality of upstream channels in a bonded channel group and a second multichannel grant from the CMTS that defines a bandwidth grant associated with a single upstream channel; disregarding the first meage multichannel grant if the cable modem does not support upstream channel bonding; and transmitting a stream of data packets to the CMTS over the network on the plurality of upstream channels if the cable modem supports upstream channel bonding. - View Dependent Claims (49, 50)
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Specification