Frame relay protocol-based multiplex switching scheme for satellite mesh network
First Claim
1. A first earth station for use in a system having earth stations interconnected via a satellite, the first earth station comprising:
- a satellite antenna, a transceiver coupled to the satellite antenna for sending signals to and receiving signals from the satellite antenna, a modem coupled to the transceiver for modulating and demodulating signals sent to or received from the transceiver, and a switch coupling a plurality of terminal devices to the modem, and inputting data from the plurality of terminal devices, packetizing the data into data packets having an address field, a data field, and control bytes for elementary error detection, and for discarding received data packets which are not directed to the first earth station and for routing data packets which are directed to the first earth station based upon the contents of down-link directed data packets.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A frame relay protocol-based earth station interface architecture provides full mesh connectivity for a relatively small number of network stations. The fundamental component of the architecture is a frame relay protocol-based switch, which employs a network interface ‘frame relay’ standard to define the multiplexing of multiple virtual ports across single physical communications port. Through address and control fields of its connectivity control software, the frame relay protocol-based switch can be dynamically configured to provide multilayer addressing and device selectivity, thereby enabling point-to-point connectivity of multiple terminal devices, such as a plurality of audio circuits, to be effected via a single port. Dial codes on the station side of an audio signal multiplexer link are translated into frame relay addresses (data link connection identifiers) that are added to each frame of data for routing through the network. With this additional layer of routing information, audio (voice) connectivity is now available between any two audio circuits (e.g. trunks) in the network.
282 Citations
10 Claims
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1. A first earth station for use in a system having earth stations interconnected via a satellite, the first earth station comprising:
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a satellite antenna, a transceiver coupled to the satellite antenna for sending signals to and receiving signals from the satellite antenna, a modem coupled to the transceiver for modulating and demodulating signals sent to or received from the transceiver, and a switch coupling a plurality of terminal devices to the modem, and inputting data from the plurality of terminal devices, packetizing the data into data packets having an address field, a data field, and control bytes for elementary error detection, and for discarding received data packets which are not directed to the first earth station and for routing data packets which are directed to the first earth station based upon the contents of down-link directed data packets. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4)
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5. A first earth station for use in a system having earth stations interconnected via a satellite, the first earth station comprising:
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a satellite antenna, a transceiver coupled to the satellite antenna for sending signals to and receiving signals from the satellite antenna, a switching module comprising;
a server module connecting a plurality of terminal devices, and a router module inputting data from the plurality of terminal devices, packetizing the data into data packets having an address field, a data field, and control bytes for elementary error detection, and routing packets. - View Dependent Claims (6)
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7. A first earth station for use in a system having earth stations interconnected via a satellite, the first earth station comprising:
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a transceiver coupled to a satellite antenna for sending signals to and receiving signals from the satellite antenna, a modem coupled to the transceiver for modulating and demodulating signals sent to or received from the transceiver, and a switch coupling a plurality of terminal devices to the modem, and inputting data from the plurality of terminal devices, packetizing the data into data packets having an address field, a data field, and control bytes for elementary error detection, and for discarding received data packets which are not directed to the first earth station and for routing data packets which are directed to the first earth station based upon the contents of down-link directed data packets. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10)
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Specification