Distributed network, spread-spectrum system
DCFirst Claim
1. A distributed network, spread-spectrum system, comprising:
- a plurality of remote stations;
a plurality of nodes for covering a geographic area, the plurality of nodes including a hub node, each node covering a micro-cell having a radius less than one mile, each node including, a spread-spectrum transceiver for communicating, using packets having spread-spectrum modulation, over radio waves, with the plurality of remote stations, each packet having a source address and a destination address;
a store-and-forward subsystem, coupled to the spread-spectrum transceiver, for storing and forwarding one or more packets to and from the remote station, and for storing and forwarding the one or more packets to and from another node in the plurality of nodes;
a flow-control subsystem, coupled to the store-and-forward subsystem, for controlling the store-and-forward subsystem, to store each packet arriving at the spread-spectrum transceiver, said flow-control subsystem communicating traffic information between each of the nodes in the plurality of nodes, with the traffic information including traffic density at each of the nodes, said flow-control subsystem, responsive to the traffic information and to a packet having the destination address to the hub node, for routing the packet through appropriate nodes to the hub node, said flow-control subsystem, responsive to the traffic at each node, each packet having a destination address to a first recipient node, for transmitting the packet from the hub node to an appropriate node, routing the packet to the first recipient node, said flow-control subsystem, responsive to the traffic congestion and to a plurality of packets having voice data, for routing the plurality of packets through a path in the plurality of nodes to ensure that the plurality of packets arrive sequentially; and
said hub node, responsive to an information packet arriving from a central office, for routing the information packet to a second recipient node.
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Abstract
A distributed network, spread-spectrum system comprising a plurality of remote stations and a plurality of nodes. One or more hub node(s) connect(s) to a central telephone office. A node'"'"'s spread-spectrum transceiver communicates, using packets having spread-spectrum modulation, over radio waves, with the plurality of remote stations. Each packet has a source address and a destination address, and may have other information such as a header, start of message, end of message, flow-control information, forward error correction, and message data. A store-and-forward subsystem stores and forwards one or more packets to and from the remote station. The store-and-forward subsystem stores and forwards the one or more packets to and from another node in the plurality of nodes. A flow-control subsystem controls the store-and-forward subsystem, to store each packet arriving at the spread-spectrum transceiver. The flow-control subsystem communicates traffic information between each of the nodes in the plurality of nodes. The flow-control subsystem routes the packet through appropriate nodes to the hub node from a remote station. Based on the traffic at each node, the flow-control subsystem transmits the packet from the hub node to an appropriate node, and routes the packet to a recipient remote station. The flow-control subsystem routes the plurality of packets through a path in the plurality of nodes to ensure that the plurality of packets arrive sequentially for voice or video packets.
61 Citations
37 Claims
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1. A distributed network, spread-spectrum system, comprising:
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a plurality of remote stations;
a plurality of nodes for covering a geographic area, the plurality of nodes including a hub node, each node covering a micro-cell having a radius less than one mile, each node including, a spread-spectrum transceiver for communicating, using packets having spread-spectrum modulation, over radio waves, with the plurality of remote stations, each packet having a source address and a destination address;
a store-and-forward subsystem, coupled to the spread-spectrum transceiver, for storing and forwarding one or more packets to and from the remote station, and for storing and forwarding the one or more packets to and from another node in the plurality of nodes;
a flow-control subsystem, coupled to the store-and-forward subsystem, for controlling the store-and-forward subsystem, to store each packet arriving at the spread-spectrum transceiver, said flow-control subsystem communicating traffic information between each of the nodes in the plurality of nodes, with the traffic information including traffic density at each of the nodes, said flow-control subsystem, responsive to the traffic information and to a packet having the destination address to the hub node, for routing the packet through appropriate nodes to the hub node, said flow-control subsystem, responsive to the traffic at each node, each packet having a destination address to a first recipient node, for transmitting the packet from the hub node to an appropriate node, routing the packet to the first recipient node, said flow-control subsystem, responsive to the traffic congestion and to a plurality of packets having voice data, for routing the plurality of packets through a path in the plurality of nodes to ensure that the plurality of packets arrive sequentially; and
said hub node, responsive to an information packet arriving from a central office, for routing the information packet to a second recipient node.
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2. A distributed network, spread-spectrum system, comprising:
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a plurality of remote stations;
a plurality of nodes for covering a geographic area, the plurality of nodes including a set of hub nodes, each node covering a micro-cell having a radius less than one mile, each node including, a spread-spectrum transceiver for communicating, using packets having spread-spectrum modulation, over radio waves, with the plurality of remote stations, each packet having a source address and a destination address;
a store-and-forward subsystem, coupled to the spread-spectrum transceiver, for storing and forwarding one or more packets to and from the remote station, and for storing and forwarding the one or more packets to and from another node in the plurality of nodes;
a flow-control subsystem, coupled to the store-and-forward subsystem, for controlling the store-and-forward subsystem, to store each packet arriving at the spread-spectrum transceiver, said flow-control subsystem communicating traffic information between each of the nodes in the plurality of nodes, with the traffic information including traffic density at each of the nodes, said flow-control subsystem, responsive to the traffic information and to a packet having the destination address to a particular hub node, for routing the packet through appropriate nodes to the particular hub node, said flow-control subsystem, responsive to the traffic at each node, each packet having a destination address to a first recipient node, for transmitting the packet from the particular hub node to an appropriate node, routing the packet to the first recipient node, said flow-control subsystem, responsive to the traffic congestion and to a plurality of packets having voice data, for routing the plurality of packets through a path in the plurality of nodes to ensure that the plurality of packets arrive sequentially; and
said particular hub node, responsive to an information packet arriving from a central office, for routing the information packet to a second recipient node.
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3. A distributed network, spread-spectrum method, for a plurality of remote stations and a plurality of nodes for covering a geographic area, the plurality of nodes including a hub node, each node covering a micro-cell having a radius less than one mile, comprising the steps of:
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communicating, using packets having spread-spectrum modulation, over radio waves, with the plurality of remote stations, each packet having a source address and a destination address;
storing and forwarding one or more packets to and from the remote station;
storing and forwarding the one or more packets to and from another node in the plurality of nodes;
controlling the steps of storing and forwarding, to store each packet arriving at the spread-spectrum transceiver;
communicating traffic information between each of the nodes in the plurality of nodes, with the traffic information including traffic density at each of the nodes;
routing, in response to the traffic information and to a packet having the destination address to the hub node, the packet through appropriate nodes to the hub node;
transmitting, in response to the traffic at each node, each packet having a destination address to a first recipient node;
transmitting the packet from the hub node to an appropriate node;
routing the packet to the first recipient node;
routing, in response to the traffic congestion and to a plurality of packets having voice data, the plurality of packets through a path in the plurality of nodes to ensure that the plurality of packets arrive sequentially; and
routing, in response to an information packet arriving from a central office, the information packet to a second recipient node.
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4. A distributed network, spread-spectrum system, comprising:
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a plurality of remote stations;
a plurality of nodes for covering a geographic area, each node in the plurality of nodes for communicating, with one or more remote stations of the plurality of remote stations, using packets having a destination address and modulated with spread-spectrum modulation, with each packet transmitted between a respective node and remote station using radio waves; and
flow-control means for communicating traffic information between a first multiplicity of neighboring nodes of a first node of the plurality of nodes, with the first node capable of communicating a respective packet to a node in the first multiplicity of neighboring nodes, with the traffic information including traffic density at each of the first multiplicity of neighboring nodes, said flow-control means, responsive to the traffic information and to the respective packet, from the first node, having a respective destination address of a respective destination node of the plurality of nodes, for selecting a second node of the first multiplicity of neighboring nodes, said flow-control means for routing, responsive to the traffic information, the respective packet through the second node to the respective destination node. - View Dependent Claims (5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A distributed network, spread-spectrum system, comprising:
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a plurality of remote stations;
a plurality of nodes for covering a geographic area, each node in the plurality of nodes for communicating, with one or more remote stations of the plurality of remote stations, using packets having a destination address and modulated with spread-spectrum modulation, with each packet transmitted between a respective node and remote station using radio waves; and
flow-control means for communicating first traffic information between a first multiplicity of neighboring nodes of a first node of the plurality of nodes, with the first node capable of communicating a respective packet to a node in the first multiplicity of neighboring nodes, with the first traffic information including traffic density at each of the first multiplicity of neighboring nodes, said flow-control means, responsive to the first traffic information and to the respective packet, from the first node, having a respective destination address of a respective destination node of the plurality of nodes, for selecting a second node of the first multiplicity of neighboring nodes, said flow-control means for responsive to the first traffic information, the respective packet through the second node to the respective destination node. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 28, 29)
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16. A distributed network, spread-spectrum method, having a plurality of remote stations and a plurality of nodes for covering a geographic area, comprising the steps of:
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communicating, between a node of the plurality of nodes and one or more remote stations of the plurality of remote stations, using packets having a destination address and modulated with spread-spectrum modulation, with each packet transmitted between a respective node and remote station using radio waves;
communicating traffic information between a first multiplicity of neighboring nodes of a first node of the plurality of nodes, with the first node capable of communicating a respective packet to a node in the first multiplicity of neighboring nodes, with the traffic information including traffic density at each of the first multiplicity of neighboring nodes;
selecting, responsive to the traffic information and to the respective packet, from the first node, having a respective destination address of a respective destination node of the plurality of nodes, a second node of the first multiplicity of neighboring nodes; and
routing, responsive to the traffic information, the respective packet through the second node to the respective destination node. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 30, 31)
communicating traffic information between a second multiplicity of neighboring nodes of the second node, with the second node capable of communication the respective packet to a node in the second multiplicity of neighboring nodes, with the traffic information including traffic density at each of the second multiplicity of neighboring nodes;
selecting, responsive to the traffic information and to the respective packet, from the second node, having the respective destination address of the respective destination node, a third node of the second multiplicity of neighboring nodes; and
routing, responsive to the traffic information, the respective packet through the third node to the respective destination node.
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18. The distributed network, spread-spectrum method, as set forth in claim 17, further comprising the steps:
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communicating traffic information between a third multiplicity of neighboring nodes of the third node, with the third node capable of communicating the respective packet to a node in the third multiplicity of neighboring nodes, with the traffic information including traffic density at each of the third multiplicity of neighboring nodes;
selecting, responsive to the traffic information and to the respective packet, from the third node, having the respective destination address of the respective destination node, a fourth node of the third multiplicity of neighboring nodes; and
routing, responsive to the traffic information, the respective packet through the fourth node to the respective destination node.
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19. The distributed network, spread-spectrum method, as set forth in claim 18, further comprising the steps:
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communicating traffic information between a fourth multiplicity of neighboring nodes of the fourth node, with the fourth node capable of communicating the respective packet to a node in the fourth multiplicity of neighboring nodes, with the traffic information including traffic density at each of the fourth multiplicity of neighboring nodes;
selecting, responsive to the traffic information and to the respective packet, from the fourth node, having the respective destination address of the respective destination node, a fifth node of the fourth multiplicity of neighboring nodes; and
routing, responsive to the traffic information, the respective packet through the fifth node to the respective destination node.
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20. The distributed network, spread-spectrum method, as set forth in claim 19, further comprising the steps:
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communicating traffic information between a fifth multiplicity of neighboring nodes of the fifth node, with the fifth node capable of communicating the respective packet to a node in the fifth multiplicity of neighboring nodes, with the traffic information including traffic density at each of the fifth multiplicity of neighboring nodes;
selecting, responsive to the traffic information and to the respective packet, from the fifth node, having the respective destination address of the respective destination node, a sixth node of the fifth multiplicity of neighboring nodes; and
routing, responsive to the traffic information, the respective packet through the sixth node to the respective destination node.
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21. The distributed network, spread-spectrum method, as set forth in claim 20, further comprising the steps:
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communicating traffic information between a sixth multiplicity of neighboring nodes of the sixth node, with the sixth node capable of communicating a respective packet to a node in the sixth multiplicity of neighboring nodes, with the traffic information including traffic density at each of the sixth multiplicity of neighboring nodes;
selecting, responsive to the traffic information and to the respective packet, from the sixth node, having the respective destination address of the respective destination node, for selecting a seventh node of the sixth multiplicity of neighboring nodes; and
routing, responsive to the traffic information, the respective packet through the seventh node to the respective destination node.
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30. The distributed-network, spread-spectrum method as set forth in claim 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26 or 27, with the routing step including the step of modulating the packet with spread-spectrum modulation.
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31. The distributed-network, spread-spectrum method as set forth in claim 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26 or 27, with the routing step including the step of transmitting, using radio waves, the packet with spread-spectrum modulation.
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22. A distributed network, spread-spectrum method, having a plurality of remote stations and a plurality of nodes for covering a geographic area, comprising the steps of:
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communicating, between a node of the plurality of nodes and one or more remote stations of the plurality of remote stations, using packets having a destination address and modulated with spread-spectrum modulation, with each packet transmitted between a respective node and remote station using radio waves;
communicating first traffic information between a first multiplicity of neighboring nodes of a first node of the plurality of nodes, with the first node capable of communicating a respective packet to a node in the first multiplicity of neighboring nodes, with the first traffic information including traffic density at each of the first multiplicity of neighboring nodes;
selecting, responsive to the first traffic information and to the respective packet, from the first node, having a respective destination address of a respective destination node of the plurality of nodes, a second node of the first multiplicity of neighboring nodes; and
routing, responsive to the first traffic information, the respective packet through the second node to the respective destination node. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25, 26, 27)
communicating second traffic information between a second multiplicity of neighboring nodes of the second node, with the second node capable of communicating a respective packet to a node in the second multiplicity of neighboring nodes, with the second traffic information including traffic density at each of the second multiplicity of neighboring nodes;
selecting, responsive to the second traffic information and to the respective packet, from the second node, having the respective destination address of the respective destination node, a third node of the second multiplicity of neighboring nodes; and
routing, responsive to the second traffic information, the respective packet through the third node to the respective destination node.
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24. The distributed network, spread-spectrum method, as set forth in claim 23, further comprising the steps:
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communicating third traffic information between a third multiplicity of neighboring nodes of the third node, with the third node capable of communicating a respective packet to a node in the third multiplicity of neighboring nodes, with the third traffic information including traffic density at each of the third multiplicity of neighboring nodes;
selecting, responsive to the third traffic information and to the respective packet, from the third node, having the respective destination address of the respective destination node, a fourth node of the third multiplicity of neighboring nodes; and
routing, responsive to the third traffic information, the respective packet through the fourth node to the respective destination node.
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25. The distributed network, spread-spectrum method, as set forth in claim 24, further comprising the steps:
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communicating fourth traffic information between a fourth multiplicity of neighboring nodes of the fourth node, with the fourth node capable of communicating a respective packet to a node in the fourth multiplicity of neighboring nodes, with the fourth traffic information including traffic density at each of the fourth multiplicity of neighboring nodes;
selecting, responsive to the fourth traffic information and to the respective packet, from the fourth node, having the respective destination address of the respective destination node, a fifth node of the fourth multiplicity of neighboring nodes; and
routing, responsive to the fourth traffic information, the respective packet through the fifth node to the respective destination node.
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26. The distributed network, spread-spectrum method, as set forth in claim 25, further comprising the steps:
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communicating fifth traffic information between a fifth multiplicity of neighboring nodes of the fifth node, with the fifth node capable of communicating a respective packet to a node in the fifth multiplicity of neighboring nodes, with the fifth traffic information including traffic density at each of the fifth multiplicity of neighboring nodes;
lselecting, responsive to the fifth traffic information and to the respective packet, from the fifth node, having the respective destination address of the respective destination node, a sixth node of the fifth multiplicity of neighboring nodes; and
routing, responsive to the fifth traffic information, the respective packet through the sixth node to the respective destination node.
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27. The distributed network, spread-spectrum method, as set forth in claim 26, further comprising the steps:
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communicating sixth traffic information between a sixth multiplicity of neighboring nodes of the sixth node, with the sixth node capable of communicating a respective packet to a node in the sixth multiplicity of neighboring nodes, with the sixth traffic information including traffic density at each of the sixth multiplicity of neighboring nodes;
selecting, responsive to the sixth traffic information and to the respective packet, from the sixth node, having the respective destination address of the respective destination node, a seventh node of the sixth multiplicity of neighboring nodes; and
routing, responsive to the sixth traffic information, the respective packet through the seventh node to the respective destination node.
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32. A distributed network, spread-spectrum system, comprising:
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a plurality of remote stations;
a plurality of nodes for covering a geographic area, each node in the plurality of nodes for communicating, with one or more remote stations of the plurality of remote stations, using packets having a destination address and modulated with spread-spectrum modulation, with each packet transmitted between a respective node and remote station using radio waves; and
flow-control means for communicating traffic information between the plurality of nodes, with the traffic information including traffic density at each of the plurality of nodes, said flow-control means, responsive to the traffic information and to a respective packet, from a first node, having a respective destination address of a respective destination node of the plurality of nodes, for selecting a path of a multiplicity of nodes through the plurality of nodes to the destination node, said flow-control means for routing, responsive to the traffic information, the respective packet through the path of the multiplicity of nodes to the respective destination node. - View Dependent Claims (34, 35)
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33. A distributed network, spread-spectrum method, having a plurality of nodes, comprising the steps of:
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communicating, to a respective node of the plurality of nodes, with one or more remote stations of a plurality of remote stations, using packets having a destination address and modulated with spread-spectrum modulation, with each packet transmitted between the respective node and remote station using radio waves;
communicating traffic information between the plurality of nodes, with the traffic information including traffic density at each of the plurality of nodes;
selecting, responsive to the traffic information and to a respective packet, from the respective node, having a respective destination address of a respective destination node of the plurality of nodes, a path of a multiplicity of nodes through the plurality of nodes to the destination node; and
routing, responsive to the traffic information, the respective packet through the path of the multiplicity of nodes to the respective destination node. - View Dependent Claims (36, 37)
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Specification