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:
Sep. 01, 2009
Filed:
Jun. 10, 2003
Carl Walker, Wilton, NH (US);
David Fox, Bolton, MA (US);
Achot Matevossian, Chelmsford, MA (US);
Michael Healy, Berlin, MA (US);
Carl Walker, Wilton, NH (US);
David Fox, Bolton, MA (US);
Achot Matevossian, Chelmsford, MA (US);
Michael Healy, Berlin, MA (US);
Other;
Abstract
Methods and devices are provided for allowing upstream and downstream cable modem termination systems to be located in different physical locations. According to some embodiments of the invention, a downstream CMTS is located at a head end of a cable network and an upstream CMTS is located in each of a plurality of hubs in a cable network. Such a configuration provides more flexibility than prior art systems, especially when much of the traffic passing through the downstream CMTS is broadcast traffic, such as IP video, that will be passed to multiple hubs. Such configurations are more economical because they do not require every hub to have its own downstream CMTS. In preferred embodiments, the upstream and downstream functions are synchronized using a Global Positioning System ('GPS') reference source.