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:
Nov. 17, 2009
Filed:
Jul. 20, 2001
John William Richardson, Hamilton, NJ (US);
Thomas Anthony Stahl, Indianapolis, IN (US);
John William Richardson, Hamilton, NJ (US);
Thomas Anthony Stahl, Indianapolis, IN (US);
Thomson Licensing, Boulogne Billancourt, FR;
Abstract
An apparatus and a method for managing service traffic in a communications network capable of providing voice, data, and A/V services to a plurality of customers. In particular, the present invention is a digital subscriber line system (DSL), preferably based on ADSL, having a plurality of customer premise equipment (CPEs) coupled to voice, data and A/V services via network system equipment comprising a DSLAM, an ATM switch and a DSL terminator for connecting the system to the internet. The invention provides a network control system that includes a plurality of databases including a provisioning database and a real time database indicative of the actual bandwidth being utilized. A service control processor coupled to the plurality of databases and the network system equipment periodically polls the databases to determine the amount of bandwidth being used, and if the usage exceeds a predetermined level, throttles the internet data entering the system through the DSL terminator and/or the user data entering the system through the CPEs. Preferrably, throttling is performed using a leaky-bucket algorithm. By dynamically managing the traffic flow in the network, the present invention reduces the potential for dropped calls and similar service restrictions.