The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Feb. 19, 2002
Filed:
Apr. 23, 1997
Bharat Tarachand Doshi, Holmdel, NJ (US);
Subrahmanyam Dravida, Freehold, NJ (US);
George John Kustka, Marlboro, NJ (US);
Peter D. Magill, Freehold, NJ (US);
Curtis A. Siller, Andover, MA (US);
Kotikalapudi Sriram, Marlboro, NJ (US);
Lucent Technologies Inc., Murray Hill, NJ (US);
Abstract
The specification relates to a method and apparatus supporting multiple access, bi-directional data and multimedia transfer described over a hybrid fiber/coax (HFC) network, though applicable to transmissions over other media as well. The protocol associated with the present invention supports downstream broadcast transmission from headend to cable modem, and also provides for allocation of bandwidth for cable modems to transmit back to the headend. The protocol supports different access modes such as STM, ATM, and VL; within each subframe of a subframe/frame/masterframe structure. The protocol is utilized over a system which provides for forward error correction (FEC) and scrambling/descrambling, while eliminating the deleterious effects on the error correcting capability of the FEC due to the bit error spreading associated with a scrambling/descrambling function. The protocol adapts to changing demands for a mix of circuit and packet mode applications and allocates upstream and downstream bandwidth in response to the a variety of bursty and isochronous traffic sources.