Managing upstream transmission in a network
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A method, comprising:
- transmitting, by a computing device, a schedule identifying;
a plurality of different times at which a modem is to transmit a pilot signal, and identifying for each time, a corresponding tone of a plurality of different tones on which the pilot signal is to be transmitted, andrepresentative tones that skip intervening tones in-between the representative tones on which the modem is to transmit the pilot signal;
receiving, by the computing device, the plurality of pilot signals from the modem on the plurality of different tones;
measuring, by the computing device, the modem'"'"'s effective modulation rate on each tone of the plurality of different tones based on the plurality of pilot signals;
storing, by the computing device, a modulation rate map identifying the modem'"'"'s measured effective modulation rates for each of the plurality of different tones; and
examining, by the computing device, a first pilot signal of the plurality of pilot signals to determine whether the first pilot signal comprises an embedded tone allocation request and examining the measured effective modulation rates of the plurality of different tones stored in the modulation rate map to allocate at least one tone of the plurality of different tones to the modem.
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Abstract
A bandwidth allocation and monitoring method may divide available bandwidth on a shared communication medium into a plurality of discrete tones that can be individually allocated to modems on an as-needed basis. The effective modulation rate that a particular modem can use for each discrete tone can be monitored over time using a schedule of pilot tones transmitted from the modems on different tones at different times. The schedule may define representative pilot tones, in which case effective modulation rates for neighboring tones may be inferred from a determined effective modulation rate of a pilot tone.
39 Citations
17 Claims
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1. A method, comprising:
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transmitting, by a computing device, a schedule identifying; a plurality of different times at which a modem is to transmit a pilot signal, and identifying for each time, a corresponding tone of a plurality of different tones on which the pilot signal is to be transmitted, and representative tones that skip intervening tones in-between the representative tones on which the modem is to transmit the pilot signal; receiving, by the computing device, the plurality of pilot signals from the modem on the plurality of different tones; measuring, by the computing device, the modem'"'"'s effective modulation rate on each tone of the plurality of different tones based on the plurality of pilot signals; storing, by the computing device, a modulation rate map identifying the modem'"'"'s measured effective modulation rates for each of the plurality of different tones; and examining, by the computing device, a first pilot signal of the plurality of pilot signals to determine whether the first pilot signal comprises an embedded tone allocation request and examining the measured effective modulation rates of the plurality of different tones stored in the modulation rate map to allocate at least one tone of the plurality of different tones to the modem. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 16)
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10. A method, comprising:
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transmitting, by a computing device, a ranging schedule identifying; a plurality of different times at which a modem is to transmit a ranging signal, and identifying for each time, a corresponding tone of a plurality of different tones on which the ranging signal is to be transmitted, and representative tones that skip intervening tones in-between the representative tones on which the modem is to transmit the ranging signal; receiving, by the computing device, the ranging signal transmitted from the modem on the plurality of different tones at the plurality of different times, wherein the ranging signal varies across a plurality of modulation symbol rates; measuring, by the computing device, amplitude and phase distortion characteristics for each modulation symbol rate of the plurality of modulation symbol rates; storing, by the computing device, a nonlinear distortion profile for the modem, the profile identifying nonlinear amplitude and phase distortions for the modem across the plurality of modulation symbol rates for each tone of the plurality of different tones; examining, by the computing device, the ranging signal to determine whether the ranging signal comprises an embedded tone allocation request to allocate at least one tone of the plurality of different tones to the modem; and examining the nonlinear distortion profile to identify nonlinear predistortion characteristics for the at least one tone to be allocated to the modem. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 17)
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14. A method, comprising:
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receiving, by a modem and from a computing device, a schedule identifying; a plurality of time slots at which the modem is to transmit a pilot signal, and for each time slot, the schedule indicates, to the modem, a tone of a plurality of predefined tones of a communication system on which the modem is to transmit the pilot signal, and representative tones on which the modem is to transmit the pilot signal, the representative tons skipping intervening tones in-between the representative tones; transmitting, by the modem and to the computing device, a plurality of pilot signals on the plurality of predefined tones according to the schedule, wherein each pilot signal of the plurality of pilot signals is transmitted using a predetermined modulation, and at least one pilot signal of the plurality of pilot signals comprises an embedded tone allocation request for allocating one or more tones of the plurality of predefined tones to the modem; receiving, by the modem and from the computing device, predistortion data to adjust modulation of upstream signals for subsequent transmissions on the predefined tones; and responsive to receiving the predistortion data, transmitting, by the modem and to the computing device, an upstream signal comprising nonlinear predistortion adjustments across different amplitudes based on the, predistortion data. - View Dependent Claims (15)
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Specification