Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 7
Claim 1
Independent Claim
168 words
A method for providing a contention-based reservation mechanism within a mini-slotted dynamic Entry Polling (EP) slot in a multiple-access communication system having a central controller with local and global system state information, comprising: A) contending, by a plurality of multi-class users, each having a service class, for minislots assigned to the service class to reserve an allocation of bandwidth for a service class request, providing contention outcomes; B) processing the contention outcomes and assigning a service class to each of the minislots for a next mini-slotted dynamic EP slot, by a central controller, to each of the minislots, and updating the local and global system state information; C) providing feedback and minislot assignments to the users, by the central controller; D) determining, by the users, using the feedback from the central controller, whether the reservation was accepted and if the user is eligible to contend/recontend, wherein eligibility of each service class is updated immediately following an entry poll; and E) repeating steps A-D for each successive entry poll.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
168 words
A method for providing a contention-based reservation mechanism within a mini-slotted dynamic Entry Polling (EP) slot in a multiple-access communication system having a central controller with local and global system state information, comprising: A) contending, by a plurality of multi-class users, each having a service class, for minislots assigned to the service class to reserve an allocation of bandwidth for a service class request, providing contention outcomes; B) processing the contention outcomes and assigning a service class to each of the minislots for a next mini-slotted dynamic EP slot, by a central controller, to each of the minislots, and updating the local and global system state information; C) providing feedback and minislot assignments to the users, by the central controller; D) determining, by the users, using the feedback from the central controller, whether the reservation was accepted and if the user is eligible to contend/recontend, wherein eligibility of each service class is updated immediately following an entry poll; and E) repeating steps A-D for each successive entry poll.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
78 words
The method of claim 1 wherein step D includes: D1) where the reservation was accepted, waiting for bandwidth to be allocated by the central controller and upon allocation, transmitting the service class request and updating local state information; and D2) where users must contend again, determining eligibility and, where eligible, contending on a next broadcast entry poll that supports the user's service class, and where ineligible, waiting for entry poll feedback to determine when the user may contend.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
18 words
The method of claim 1 wherein each service class defines a priority for a quality of service constraint.
Claim 5
Independent Claim
259 words
A device/router for providing a contention-based reservation mechanism within a mini-slotted dynamic Entry Polling (EP) slot in a multiple-access communication system having a central controller with the local and global system state information, having a microprocessor that includes a computer program embodying the contention-based reservation mechanism and the computer program, stored in memory, for: upon contending, by a plurality of multi-class users, each having a service class, for minislots assigned to the service class to provide a reservation of an allocation of bandwidth for a service class request, providing contention outcomes, wherein the computer program comprises: A) means for processing the contention outcomes and assigning a service class to each of the minislots for a next mini-slotted dynamic EP slot to each of the minislots, and updating local and global system state information; B) means for providing feedback and minislot assignments to the multi-class users wherein the multi-class users determine whether the reservation was accepted and if a multi-class user is eligible to contend/recontend, wherein eligibility of each service class is updated immediately following an entry poll, wherein B1) where the reservation is accepted, means for waiting, by the multi-class users, for bandwidth to be allocated by the central controller and upon allocation, transmitting the service class request and updating local state information; and B2) where users must contend again, means for determining eligibility and, where eligible, contending on a next broadcast entry poll that supports the multi-class user's service class, and where ineligible, waiting for entry poll feedback to determine a time when the multi-class user may contend.
Claim 6
Independent Claim
259 words
A device/router for providing a contention-based reservation mechanism within a mini-slotted dynamic Entry Polling (EP) slot in a multiple-access communication system having a central controller with the local and global system state information, having a microprocessor that includes a computer program embodying the contention-based reservation mechanism and the computer program, stored in memory, for: upon contending, by a plurality of multi-class users, each having a service class, for minislots assigned to the service class to provide a reservation of an allocation of bandwidth for a service class request, providing contention outcomes, wherein the computer program comprises: A) means for processing the contention outcomes and assigning a service class to each of the minislots for a next mini-slotted dynamic EP slot to each of the minislots, and updating local and global system state information; B) means for providing feedback and minislot assignments to the multi-class users wherein the multi-class users determine whether the reservation was accepted and if a multi-class user is eligible to contend/recontend, wherein eligibility of each service class is updated immediately following an entry poll, wherein B1) where the reservation is accepted, means for waiting, by the multi-class users, for bandwidth to be allocated by the central controller and upon allocation, transmitting the service class request and updating local state information; and B2) where users must contend again, means for determining eligibility and, where eligible, contending on a next broadcast entry poll that supports the multi-class user's service class, and where ineligible, waiting for entry poll feedback to determine a time when the multi-class user may contend.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
18 words
The device/router of claim 4 wherein each service class defines a priority for a quality of service constraint.