Case 2:11-cv-00030-TJW Document 45 Filed 04/05/11 Page 1 of 7
`
`UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
`EASTERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS
`MARSHALL DIVISION
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`C-CATION TECHNOLOGIES, LLC,
`
`
`Plaintiff,
`
`
` Case No. 11-cv-30 (TJW)
`
`
` DEMAND FOR JURY TRIAL
`
`v.
`
`
`COMCAST CORPORATION, CHARTER
`COMMUNICATIONS, INC., CEQUEL
`COMMUNICATIONS, LLC dba
`SUDDENLINK COMMUNICATIONS,
`CABLE ONE, INC., ALMEGA CABLE
`INC., LONGVIEW CABLE TELEVISION
`COMPANY, INC., AND KILGORE
`VIDEO, INC.
`
`
`
`
`Defendants.
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`FIRST AMENDED COMPLAINT
`
`Plaintiff C-Cation Technologies, LLC (“plaintiff”), through its attorneys, for its first
`
`amended complaint against defendants Comcast Corporation, Comcast Cable Communications,
`
`LLC, Comcast of Houston, LLC, Charter Communications, Inc., Cequel Communications, LLC
`
`doing business as (“dba”) Suddenlink Communications, Cable One, Inc., Almega Cable Inc.,
`
`Longview Cable Television Company, Inc., and Kilgore Video, Inc. (collectively “defendants”),
`
`alleges as follows:
`
`THE PARTIES
`
`1.
`
`Plaintiff is a limited liability company organized and existing under the laws of
`
`the State of Texas with a principal place of business at 150 Purchase Street, Suite 9, Rye, New
`
`York.
`
`
`
`2.
`
`Upon information and belief, Defendant Comcast Corporation is a corporation
`
`
`
`
` 1
`
`

`

`Case 2:11-cv-00030-TJW Document 45 Filed 04/05/11 Page 2 of 7
`
`
`
`organized and existing under the laws of the State of Pennsylvania with a principal place of
`
`business at One Comcast Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Defendant Comcast Cable
`
`Communications, LLC is a limited liability company organized and existing under the laws of
`
`the State of Delaware with a principal place of business in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and
`
`Defendant Comcast of Houston, LLC is a limited liability company organized and existing under
`
`the laws of the State of Delaware with a principal place of business in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
`
`(collectively “Comcast”) .
`
`3.
`
`Upon
`
`information and belief, Defendant Charter Communications, Inc.
`
`(“Charter”) is a corporation organized and existing under the laws of the State of Delaware with
`
`a principal place of business at 12405 Powerscourt Drive, Suite 100, St. Louis, Missouri.
`
`4.
`
`Upon information and belief, Defendant Cequel Communications, LLC, dba
`
`Suddenlink Communications (“Suddenlink”) is a limited liability company organized and
`
`existing under the laws of the State of Delaware, with a principal place of business located at
`
`12444 Powerscourt Drive, Suite 450, St. Louis, Missouri.
`
`5.
`
`Upon information and belief, Defendant Cable One, Inc. (“Cable One”) is a
`
`corporation organized and existing under the laws of the State of Delaware, with a principal
`
`place of business at 1314 North 3rd Street, Phoenix, Arizona.
`
`6.
`
`Upon information and belief, Defendant Almega Cable Inc. (“Almega”) is a
`
`corporation organized and existing under the laws of the State of Delaware, with a principal
`
`place of business at 4001 West Airport Freeway, Suite 530, Bedford, Texas.
`
`7.
`
`Upon information and belief, Defendant Longview Cable Television Company,
`
`Inc. (“Longview”) is a corporation organized and existing under the laws of the State of Texas,
`
`with a principal place of business at 711 North High Street, Longview, Texas.
`
`- 2 -
`
`
`
`
` 2
`
`

`

`Case 2:11-cv-00030-TJW Document 45 Filed 04/05/11 Page 3 of 7
`
`
`
`8.
`
`Upon information and belief, Defendant Kilgore Video, Inc. (“Kilgore”) is a
`
`corporation organized and existing under the laws of the State of Texas, with a principal place of
`
`business at 711 North High Street, Longview, Texas.
`
`JURISDICTION AND VENUE
`
`9.
`
`This action arises under the patent laws of the United States, Title 35 of the
`
`United States Code (for example, 35 U.S.C. §§ 271, 281, 283, 284, and 285).
`
`10.
`
`Subject matter jurisdiction is proper in this Court pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331
`
`and 1338(a).
`
`11.
`
`This Court has personal jurisdiction over Comcast, Charter, Suddenlink, Cable
`
`One, Almega, Longview, and Kilgore (collectively “defendants”). Defendants have conducted
`
`and/or do conduct business within the State of Texas. Defendants have and/or do now, directly
`
`or through intermediaries (including distributors, retailers, and others) ship, distribute, offer for
`
`sale, sell, advertise, operate and use their respective cable system products and services in the
`
`United States, the State of Texas, and the Eastern District of Texas. These infringing cable
`
`system products and services have been and/or continue to be used and purchased by consumers
`
`in the Eastern District of Texas. As a result, defendants have committed or induced the tort of
`
`patent infringement within the State of Texas, and particularly, within the Eastern District of
`
`Texas.
`
`12.
`
`On information and belief, venue in this Judicial District is proper under 28
`
`U.S.C. §§ 1391 and 1400(b) because defendants have regularly conducted business in this
`
`judicial district, and the acts complained of herein occurred in this judicial district.
`
`COUNT ONE – INFRINGEMENT OF U.S. PATENT 5,563,883
`
`13.
`
`Plaintiff incorporates by reference Paragraphs 1 through 12 in their entirety as if
`
`- 3 -
`
`
`
`
` 3
`
`

`

`Case 2:11-cv-00030-TJW Document 45 Filed 04/05/11 Page 4 of 7
`
`
`
`fully set forth herein.
`
`14.
`
`On October 8, 1996, United States Letters Patent No. 5,563,883 (“the ’883
`
`patent,” attached as Exhibit A), entitled “Dynamic Channel Management and Signalling Method
`
`and Apparatus,” were duly and legally issued. Plaintiff is the owner of all rights, title, and
`
`interest in and to the ’883 patent.
`
`15.
`
`16.
`
`The ’883 patent is valid and enforceable.
`
`Upon information and belief, defendants have been and are now infringing,
`
`directly and indirectly by way of inducement and/or contributory infringement, literally and/or
`
`under the doctrine of equivalents, the ’883 patent by offering for sale, selling, operating,
`
`advertising and marketing cable systems and cable modem products, including systems and
`
`products compliant with the Data Over Cable System Interface Specification (“DOCSIS”)
`
`standard, that fall within the scope of at least one claim of the ’883 patent. More particularly, but
`
`without being limited thereto, defendants operate, advertise, market, and sell cable systems and
`
`cable modem products that perform, or are capable of performing, channel assignment, channel
`
`reassignment, and/or bandwidth allocation functions of the DOCSIS 1.1, 2.0 and 3.0 standards.
`
`Any cable systems, or cable modem products used in such cable systems, that are capable of
`
`performing these functions necessarily infringe one or more claims of the ’883 patent.
`
`17.
`
`Upon information and belief, defendants have been and are now instructing and/or
`
`directing their subscribers to purchase, use, and/or connect cable systems or cable modem
`
`products that infringe one or more claims of the ’883 patent. Upon information and belief,
`
`defendants also have been and are now providing, selling or leasing cable systems or cable
`
`modem products to their subscribers that infringe one or more claims of the ’883 patent. As a
`
`result, defendants have induced and/or contributed to their subscribers’ infringement of the ’883
`
`- 4 -
`
`
`
`
` 4
`
`

`

`Case 2:11-cv-00030-TJW Document 45 Filed 04/05/11 Page 5 of 7
`
`
`
`patent.
`
`18.
`
`Plaintiff has no adequate remedy at law against defendants’ acts of infringement
`
`and, unless defendants are enjoined from their infringement of the ’883 patent, plaintiff will
`
`suffer irreparable harm.
`
`19.
`
`On information and belief, Comcast has had knowledge of the ’883 patent since at
`
`least June 30, 2003, and, to the extent it has not ceased its infringing activities, Comcast’s
`
`infringement has been and continues to be willful and deliberate.
`
`20.
`
`As a result of defendants’ acts of infringement, plaintiff has suffered and will
`
`continue to suffer damages in an amount to be proven at trial.
`
`PRAYER FOR RELIEF
`
`
`
`WHEREFORE, plaintiff prays for the following relief:
`
`
`
`A.
`
`A judgment in favor of plaintiff that defendants have infringed, directly
`
`and indirectly by way of inducement and/or contributory infringement, literally and/or under the
`
`doctrine of equivalents, at least one claim of the ’883 patent;
`
`
`
`B.
`
`A permanent injunction, enjoining defendants and their officers, directors,
`
`agents, servants, employees, affiliates, divisions, branches, subsidiaries, parents, and all others
`
`acting in concert or privity with any of them for infringing, inducing the infringement of, or
`
`contributing to the infringement of the ’883 patent;
`
`
`
`C.
`
`An award to plaintiff of the damages to which it is entitled under at least
`
`35 U.S.C. § 284 for defendants’ past infringement and any continuing or future infringement,
`
`including both compensatory damages and treble damages for Comcast’s willful infringement;
`
`
`
`D.
`
`A judgment and order requiring defendants to pay the costs of this action
`
`(including all disbursements), as well as attorneys’ fees as provided by 35 U.S.C. § 285;
`
`- 5 -
`
`
`
`
` 5
`
`

`

`Case 2:11-cv-00030-TJW Document 45 Filed 04/05/11 Page 6 of 7
`
`
`
`
`
`E.
`
`An award to plaintiff of pre-judgment and post-judgment interest on its
`
`damages; and
`
`
`
`F.
`
`Such other further relief in law or equity to which plaintiff may be justly
`
`entitled.
`
`DEMAND FOR JURY TRIAL
`
`
`
`Pursuant to Rule 38 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, plaintiff hereby demands a
`
`trial by jury as to all issues so triable.
`
`
`Dated: April 6, 2011
`
`
`Of Counsel:
`
`Lewis V. Popovski
`Jeffrey S. Ginsberg
`KENYON & KENYON LLP
`One Broadway
`New York, NY 10004-1007
`Tel.: (212) 425-7200
`Fax: (212) 425-5288
`lpopovski@kenyon.com
`jginsberg@kenyon.com
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`Respectfully submitted:
`
`____________________________________
`Samuel F. Baxter
`Texas State Bar No. 01938000
`sbaxter@mckoolsmith.com
`104 East Houston, Suite 300
`Marshall, Texas 75670
`Telephone: (903) 923-9000
`Facsimile: (903) 923-9099
`
`
`
`
`Attorneys for C-Cation Technologies, LLC
`
`
`- 6 -
`
`
`
`
` 6
`
`

`

`Case 2:11-cv-00030-TJW Document 45 Filed 04/05/11 Page 7 of 7
`
`
`
`CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
`
`
`
`The undersigned certifies that the foregoing document was filed electronically in
`
`compliance with Local Rule CV-5(a). As such, this document was served on all counsel who
`
`have consented to electronic service on this day, April 5, 2011. Local Rule CV-53(a)(3)(A).
`
`
`
`
`
` /s/ Sam Baxter
`Sam Baxter
`
`
`
`
`
`- 7 -
`
`
`
`
` 7
`
`

`

`Case 2:11-cv-00030-TJW Document 45-1 Filed 04/05/11 Page 1 of 26
`case2:11-cv-oooso-TJW DHIlIlHlllltltllHtlllllllltlHtHlltlttttltltllllllltltHllHlltllltf26
`USOOSS63883A
`
`United States Patent
`
`[19]
`
`[11] Patent Number:
`
`5,563,883
`Date of Patent:
`[45] Oct. 8, 1996
`Cheng
`
`
`
`
`
`[54‘ DYNAMIC CHANNEL MANAGEMENT AND
`SIGNALLING METHOD AND APPARATUS
`
`[76
`
`[21
`
`[22
`
`Inventor: Alexander L. Cheng, ll Sprindale
`Ave., White Plains, NY. 10604
`
`App]. No.: 276,534
`
`Filed:
`
`Jul. 18, 1994
`
`Int. Cl.6 ....................................................... H04H 1/04
`[51
`[52 US. Cl.
`............................. 370/73; 348/12; 370/857;
`370/858; 455/42; 455/51
`..... 348/6, 9, 12, 13;
`Field of Search
`
`,1, 34.1; 379/71, 73,
`455/3.
`,
`.
`,
`.
`,
`76, 80, 85.3, 85.7, 85.8, 95.1, 95.2
`
`[58
`
`[56
`
`References Cited
`U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS
`
`4,573,206
`5,132,680
`5,224,097
`5,331,316
`5,355,375
`5,374,952
`5,434,611
`
`2/1986 Grauel et a1. .......... 455/34,]
`7/1992 Tezuka etal.
`. 370/858
`6/1993 Kaneshima
`370/85 8
`7/1994 Mestdagh ..
`370/857
`10/1994 Christensen
`370/858
`
`
`12/1994 Flohr .......... 348/12
`7/1995 Tamura ..................... 348/12
`
`
`
`
`Primary Examiner~Benedict V. Safourek
`
`[57]
`
`ABSTRACT
`
`services on a multiple access communication system, which
`comprises a central controller, a shared transmission media
`and a plurality of remote terminals dispersed throughout the
`network. The central controller comprises switch and con-
`trol apparatus and a pool of transmitters and receivers. The
`communication channels between the central controller and
`remote terminals are arranged for signalling data and trafiic
`bearer channels in the forward and reverse directions. The
`number of signalling data channels is adjusted to satisfy the
`traffic requirements and for redundancy purposes. The for-
`ward and reverse signalling data channels are coupled in
`difierent mappings to support terminal grouping. Multiple
`access of the remote terminals for the upstream traflie are
`mitigated by separating remote terminals in groups via the
`channel allocation and the terminal assignment process.
`Communication between the central controller and the
`remote terminals follows a multiple access scheme con—
`trolled by the central controller via polling procedure on
`each of the forward signalling data channels independently.
`In case of collision, the central controller engages the remote
`terminals in a selective polling process to resolve the con-
`tention. The overlapping polling method of the controlled
`access scheme increases the utilization of the signalling
`channel and reduces the time required to gain access to the
`shared transmission media. By dynamically adjusting the
`load on signalling data channels, the signalling process is
`greatly improved for efliciency and redundancy against
`anomalies with the added benefit of improved flexibility and
`extensibility. The system is especially useful in a twoaway
`CATV network.
`
`There is provided a dynamic and adaptable method and
`apparatus to support two-way multimedia communication
`
`20 Claims, 16 Drawing Sheets
`
`
`
`controller
`
`initialization
`
`FD-x
`
`terminal
`response
`
`
`
`on RD-x' terminal
`
`
`
`contention
`resolution
`
`
`
`selective
`poll
`
`request
`
`
`
`
` 8
`
`

`

`Case 2:11-cv-00030-TJW Document 45-1 Filed 04/05/11 Page 2 of 26
`Case 2:11-cv-00030-TJW Document 45-1
`Filed 04/05/1 1 Page 2 of 26
`
`US. Patent
`
`Oct. 8, 1996
`
`Sheet 1 of 16
`
`5,563,883
`
`remote
`
`'m
`P—'(
`
`66
`Gu-t
`
`8L
`
`4
`0)
`4.;
`
`
`
`centralcontroller
`
`
`
`
` 9
`
`

`

`10
`
`' Case 2:11-cv-00030-TJW Document 45-1
`Case 2:11-cv-00030-TJW Document 45-1 Filed 04/05/11 Page 3 of 26
`Filed 04/05/11 Page 3 of 26
`
`US. Patent
`
`Oct. 8, 1996
`
`Sheet 2 of 16
`
`5,563,883
`
`FD
`r
`
`RD
`u
`
`S t
`
`FD
`n
`
`RD
`0
`
`p
`
`g
`
`Figure
`
`3b
`
`Figure
`
`3c,
`
`FD
`RD
`h—k
`
`2 —-—l
`
`J ——-m
`Flgure
`
`3a
`
`on RD—x'
`
`response
`
`terminal
`
`
`
`
`10
`
`

`

`Case 2:11-cv-00030-TJW Document 45-1
`Case 2:11-cv-00030-TJW Document 45-1 Filed 04/05/11 Page 4 of 26
`Filed 04/05/11 Page 4 of 26
`
`US. Patent
`
`Oct. 8, 1996
`
`Sheet 3 of 16
`
`5,563,883
`
`
`terminal
`response
`
`
`
`
`count
`
`
`
`
`exceeded
`
`
`terminal
`
`failure
`processing
`
`successful '
`
`transmission
`
`
`
`
`
`
`Figure 5
`
`11
`
`
`
`
`11
`
`

`

`Case 2:11-cv-00030-TJW Document 45-1 Filed 04/05/11 Page 5 of 26
`Case 2:11-cv-00030-TJW Document 45-1
`Filed 04/05/1 1 Page 5 of 26
`
`US. Patent
`
`Oct. 8, 1996
`
`Sheet 4 of 16 '
`
`5,563,883
`
`
`
`
`terminal
`
`
`request
`
`
`
`
`
`registration
`message
`
`
`signalling
`processing
`
`
` newly
`registering
`
`terminal
`
`
`NO reassign
`ment
`authorized NO
`
`
`
`terminal
`
`disable
`
`polling
`
`cycle
`
`
`
`available
`capacity
`
`
`
`terminal
`
`disable
`
`terminal
`
`assignment
`
`Figure
`
`6
`
`12
`
`
`
`
`12
`
`

`

`Case 2:11-cv-00030-TJW Document 45-1 Filed 04/05/11 Page 6 of 26
`Case 2:11-cv-00030-TJW Document 45-1
`Filed 04/05/1 1 Page 6 of 26
`
`US. Patent
`
`Oct. 8, 1996
`
`Sheet 5 of 16
`
`5,563,883
`
`
`
`regis—
`tration
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`x=x'=1
`
`YES
`
`registration
`frame on RD-x
`
`
`
`
`
`YES
`
`between 1/2
`
`toggle x
`
`. YES
`
`
`
`
`
`terminal
`channel
`
`.
`.
`_
`
`assngnment
`dtsable
`.
`set x and x
`
`retry
`count
`
`
`exceeded
`
`
`
`toggle x'
`between 12
`
`
`
`operatio
`
`
`
`Figure 7
`
`
`
`
`13
`
`

`

`Case 2:11-cv-00030-TJW Document 45-1 Filed 04/05/11 Page 7 of 26
`Case 2:11-cv-00030-TJW Document 45-1
`Filed 04/05/1 1 Page 7 of 26
`
`US. Patent
`
`Oct. 8, 1996
`
`Sheet 6 of 16
`
`5,563,883
`
`
`operation
`
`controller
`
`poll or
`command
`
`
`
` request on
` controller
`response
`
`
`
`tx.
`
`requued
`
`RD-x'
`
`collision or
`
`enor retIy
`
`
`successful
`transmission
`
`
`
`
`retry
`exceeded
`count
`
`
` Figure 8
`
`terminal
`
`confirmation
`
`
`
`
`14
`
`

`

`Case 2:11-cv-00030-TJW Document 45-1 Filed 04/05/11 Page 8 of 26
`Case 2:11-cv-00030-TJW Document 45-1
`Filed 04/05/1 1 Page 8 of 26
`
`US. Patent
`
`Oct. 8, 1996
`
`Sheet 7 of 16
`
`5,563,883
`
`Signalling data frame in the reverse
`Signalling data frame in the forward
`direction sent by remote terminals:
`direction sent by central controller:
`I
`1
`3
`1
`1
`3
`1
`EE-—- EE-—-
`
`bytes
`
`preamble (PMB)
`- sequence to indicate the start of message frame transmission and aid detection of
`collision
`
`Terminal IDentifier (TID)
`-
`terminal identifier for command
`-
`lower TID of the range for the selective poll
`- 0 (hexadecimal 00)IS an invalid TID used for disabling terminal during the
`registration process (SAT/SRT contains the serial number)
`- 255 (hex FF) for registration process (SAT/SRT contains the serial number)
`Signalling Action Type (SAT)
`. serial number of the remote terminal for channel assignment during registration
`process
`selective poll including higher TID of the range (used also for general/specific poll)
`selective poll with collision alert including higher range (used also for specific poll)
`in-coming call command on the indicated channel number
`release command
`disable command
`test command
`
`- channel re-assignment command
`Signalling Request Type (SRT)
`serial number of the remote terminal for terminal registration process
`on~hook
`off—hook
`switch-hook
`
`ringing
`release
`
`dial-digits
`incoming call blocking
`incoming call unblocking
`feature code (e.g., conference)
`test report
`alarm message (fault and fraud)
`multiple channel request (bandwidth-on-demand)
`- channelized services (sub-rate & multiple channels)
`Frame Check Sequence (FCS)
`' protection, which covers TID and SAT/SRT fields, against transmission error or
`collision
`
`Figure 9
`
`15
`
`
`
`
`15
`
`

`

`Case 2:11-cv-00030-TJW Document 45-1
`Case 2:11-cv-00030-TJW Document 45-1 Filed 04/05/11 Page 9 of 26
`Filed 04/05/11 Page 9 of 26
`
`US. Patent
`
`Oct. 8, 1996
`
`Sheet 8 of 16
`
`5,563,883
`
`1
`
`ranges of remote temnnals
`
`
`
`r32
`
`r33
`
`r34
`
`r35
`
`r36
`
`‘
`
`N level of
`halving
`
`0th
`
`lst
`
`2nd
`
`3rd
`3
`I
`
`2
`O
`
`:
`O
`
`3
`O
`
`F i g u r e
`
`1 0
`
`C0
`
`lines
`
`central
`
`remote
`
`controller
`
`terminals
`
` 119
`
`121
`
`120
`
`122
`
`16
`
`Figure 11
`
`
`
`
`16
`
`

`

`Case 2:11-cv-00030-TJW Document 45-1 Filed 04/05/11 Page 10 of 26
`Case 2:11-cv-00030-TJW Document 45-1
`Filed 04/05/11 Page 10 of 26
`
`US. Patent
`
`Oct. 8, 1996
`
`Sheet 9 of 16
`
`5,563,883
`
`first poll
`range r11
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`b0 response YES
`
`
`next poll
`range r 1 2
`
`next poll
`range r21
`
`response YES
`
`
`
`
`
`next poll
`processing res—
`ponse from r12
`range r22
`
`
`
`next poll
`range r31
`
`
`tx. error
`
`processin .4
`
`
`next poll
`continued in
`range r24
`continued in
`
`Figure 12b
`
`
`
`Figure 12b
`
`
`
`Figure 1 2a
`
`
`
`
`17
`
`

`

`Case 2:11-cv-00030-TJW Document 45-1 Filed 04/05/11 Page 11 of 26
`Case 2:11-cv-00030-TJW Document 45-1
`Filed 04/05/11 Page 11 of 26
`
`US. Patent
`
`Oct. 8, 1996
`
`Sheet 10 of 16
`
`5,563,883
`
`from
`Figure 120
`
`from
`Figure 12a
`
`
`
` response
`
`from r31
`
`
`
`
`next poll
`range r41
` response
`from r35
`
`
`
`
`
`processing res-
`
`next poll
`range r49
`
`ponse from r35
`
`
`Figure
`
`12b
`
`
`
`
`18
`
`

`

`Case 2:11-cv-00030-TJW Document 45-1 Filed 04/05/11 Page 12 of 26
`Case 2:11-cv-00030-TJW Document 45-1
`Filed 04/05/11 Page 12 of 26
`
`US. Patent
`
`Oct. 8, 1996
`
`Sheet 11 of 16 .
`
`5,563,883
`
`time
`
`
`
`in
`cu
`:1
`g
`I:
`c
`U
`
`—
`N
`l-
`*8
`E
`o
`U
`
`:0
`—
`N
`E
`3-:
`Q)
`‘H
`
`a.)
`H
`O
`E
`‘9
`L‘
`
`",
`
`VK‘OIOZOXQA
`
`controller.A'A‘
`
`33.
`N
`.E
`1..
`Q)
`a
`
`E
`L-
`a
`g:
`q,
`Q
`
`2
`a
`
`E
`a»
`in
`
`Figure
`
`133
`
`Figure
`
`13b
`
`
`
`
`19
`
`

`

`Case 2:11-cv-00030-TJW Document 45-1
`Case 2:11-cv-00030-TJW Document 45-1 Filed 04/05/11 Page 13 of 26
`Filed 04/05/11 Page 13 of 26
`
`US. Patent
`
`Oct. 8, 1996
`
`Sheet 12 of 16
`
`5,563,883
`
`selective
`
`
`
`polling
`
`first poll
`
`range r11
`
`processing
`
`polling
`
`cycle
`
` tx. error
` YES
`
`next poll
`
`range r23
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`response
`from 112
`
`YES
`
`a
`
`continued in
`
`Figure 14b
`
`processing res—
`ponse from r11
`
`next poll
`range r21
`
`polling
`cycle
`
`0
`continued in
`
`Figure 1417
`
`Figure
`
`14a
`
`20
`
`
`
`
`20
`
`

`

`Case 2:11-cv-00030-TJW Document 45-1 Filed 04/05/11 Page 14 of 26
`Case 2:11-cv-00030-TJW Document 45-1
`Filed 04/05/11 Page 14 of 26
`
`US. Patent
`
`Oct. 8, 1996
`
`Sheet 13 of 16
`
`5,563,883
`
`from
`
`Figure 14a
`
`from
`
`Figure 1 4a
`
`next p011
`
`range r37
`
`
`
`respons- YES
`
`Figure 14b
`
`21
`
`
`
`
`21
`
`

`

`Case 2:11-cv-00030-TJW Document 45-1 Filed 04/05/11 Page 15 of 26
`Case 2:11-cv-00030-TJW Document 45-1
`Filed 04/05/11 Page 15 of 26
`
`US. Patent
`
`Oct. 8, 1996
`
`Sheet 14 of 16'
`
`5,563,883
`
`22
`
`time
`
`terminals
`remote
`
`,
`
`In
`G)
`
`=Q
`
`Ha
`
`=OU
`
`central
`
`Figure
`
`15
`
`
`
`
`22
`
`

`

`Case 2:11-cv-00030-TJW Document 45-1 Filed 04/05/11 Page 16 of 26
`Case 2:11-cv-00030-TJW Document 45-1
`Filed 04/05/11 Page 16 of 26
`
`US. Patent
`
`Oct. 8, 1996
`
`Sheet 15 of 16
`
`5,563,883
`
`
`
` ——>
`
`—-|
`
`
`switching
`
`
`
`10
`
`23
`
`
`
`
`23
`
`

`

`
`
`
`
`
`
`micro—
`
`processor
`
`Case 2:11-cv-00030-TJW Document 45-1 Filed 04/05/11 Page 17 of 26
`Case 2:11-cv-00030-TJW Document 45-1
`Filed 04/05/11 Page 17 of 26
`
`US. Patent
`
`Oct. 8, 1996
`
`Sheet 16 of 16
`
`5,563,883
`
`
`
`system bus
`
`
`
`telephone
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`14
`
`Figure
`
`17
`
`24
`
`
`
`
`24
`
`

`

`Case 2:11-cv-00030-TJW Document 45-1
`Case 2:11-cv-00030-TJW Document 45-1 Filed 04/05/11 Page 18 of 26
`Filed 04/05/11 Page 18 of 26
`
`5,563,883
`
`1
`DYNAMIC CHANNEL MANAGEMENT AND
`SIGNALLING METHOD AND APPARATUS
`
`FIELD OF THE INVENTION
`
`The present invention pertains generally to methods and
`apparatus for facilitating the two-way multi—media commU»
`nication based on a shared transmission media such as
`coaxial cable—TV network, and more specifically to methods
`and apparatus for signalling channel management and pro—
`tocol.
`
`BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
`
`A multiple access communication system comprises a
`central controller, a shared transmission media and a plu-
`rality of remote terminals dispersed geographically. To pro—
`vide the means for multiple access is a classical problem in
`communication systems with a shared common transmission
`media. Some of the well known schemes are frequency
`division multiple access or FDMA, time division multiple
`access or TDMA, and code division multiple access or
`CDMA. These multiple access schemes deal with the tech-
`niques of separating the communication bandwidth into
`traffic—bearing channels. In a FDMA scheme, the commu—
`nication bandwidth is divided into the frequency bands. The
`TDMA scheme separates the communication bandwidth into
`time slots. The traffic is encoded and then decoded using
`different code in a CDMA scheme.
`
`In all these multiple access schemes the contention for
`access is resolved through signalling protocols on a pre—
`determined and fixed signalling channel. There are propos-
`als to dynamically allocate traffic—bearing channels to meet
`the service requirements in terms of lower blocking prob—
`ability. However, in addition to availability, bandwidth and
`delay of the traffic—bearing channel, the traflic requirements
`should include responsiveness of the signalling process and
`the quality of the transmission means.
`The signalling protocols for multiple access communica-
`tion systems fall in two general categories for resolving the
`possible contention: scheduled access via polling or other
`means, and random access contention. In radiotelephony and
`local-arca-network (CSMA/CD) environment, the conten—
`tion is resolved by monitoring the signal during transmis-
`sion, which requires synchronization and/or means to moni-
`tor activities amongst all remote terminals and the central
`controller. In the CATV network, remote terminals have
`different distance from the central controller making syn-
`chronization difficult. It is also not feasible to detect colli-
`sion, i.e., multiple remote terminals transmit at the same
`time, on the CATV network since the remote terminals are
`attached to different branches of the network. The poll and
`response method is often used to schedule the multiple
`access from plurality of remote terminals, but it has the
`disadvantage of inefliciency due to wasteful interaction with
`remote terminals that are not in need of servicing.
`
`DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART
`
`There are many proposals of means for dynamically
`adjusting the number of traffic-bearing channels according
`to varying trafiic demands or the transmission quality in the
`radio telephony environment, e.g., U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,134,709,
`5,235,631 and 5,276,908. In addition U.S. Pat. No. 4,868,
`811 discusses the protocol over the common signalling
`channel for allocation of traffic—bearing channels. U.S. Pat.
`No. 4,870,408 proposes a process of re-assigning subscriber
`
`IO
`
`15
`
`20
`
`25
`
`30
`
`35
`
`40
`
`45
`
`50
`
`55
`
`60
`
`65
`
`2
`units to balance the traffic load over the available channels.
`U.S. Pat. No. 5,010,329 discloses a method for dynamically
`grouping terminals in blocks for which the central unit
`performs block polling on a common data channel. The
`present invention presents a method to dynamically allocate
`both signalling data and traffic—bearing channels and to
`dynamically assign remote terminals to these channels.
`The polling scheme is commonly used to resolve conten—
`tion in a multiple access system. U.S. Pat. No. 4,385,314
`proposes a system to sequentially poll all terminals. Due to
`the inherent inefficiency with sequential polling method,
`some proposals with the following variations for perfor-
`mance improvement have been presented. U.S. Pat. No.
`4,754,426 proposes a two-level polling scheme with distrib—
`uted control. U.S. Pat. No. 4,829,297 proposes use of a high
`priority group. U.S. Pat. No. 4,868,816 proposes a binary
`polling scheme, similar to the polling scheme in the present
`invention, with terminal address in each poll. U.S. Pat. No.
`4,924,461 proposes a method to register other pending
`request on a second channel to interrupt sequential polling.
`U.S. Pat. No. 4,942,572 proposes a dual rate polling method
`using pseudo random sequence at high rate to poll all
`terminals resulting possibly in contention with a small
`number of terminals, and following the high rate poll by
`specific poll at lower rate in case of collision. This invention
`differs from the prior art in that multiple access is controlled
`through overlapping polling sequence executing on multiple
`channels in a parallel fashion. Only when collision occurs,
`this method will enter a selective polling sequence for
`contention resolution. The added benefit of this method is
`efliciency and redundancy against anomalies such as inter—
`ference and component failure.
`
`OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
`
`To overcome the problems mentioned above, the objec—
`tive of the present invention is to present
`A flexible and extensible method for signalling channel
`management;
`A flexible and extensible method for assigning remote
`terminals to the signalling channels;
`An efficient asynchronous signalling protocol.
`In the present invention, a dynamic process is disclosed to
`adjust the number of signalling channels to meet the require-
`ments of varying traffic demand and the system growth. This
`is important in carrying multi-media traflic with diiferent
`requirements in both the traffic—bearing channel bandwidth
`and the time required to setup a traffic-bearing channel. This
`dynamic signalling channel allocation and terminal assign-
`ment method also aids in system redundancy for anomalies
`such as interference and component failure. Integrated with
`the channel allocation and terminal assignment process, the
`present invention also presents an efficient controlled mul—
`tiple access method. The central controller initiates the
`general polling on each signalling data channel in parallel to
`solicit request from all terminals assigned to the signalling
`data channel. Only when collision is detected, the central
`controller starts to poll selectively for resolution.
`Further objects and advantages of my invention will
`become apparent from considerations of the drawings and
`ensuing description thereof.
`
`BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
`
`The multiple access communication system architecture
`depicted in FIG. 1 comprises a plurality of remote terminals,
`21 common shared transmission media, a central controller
`
`25
`
`
`
`
`25
`
`

`

`Case 2:11-cv-00030-TJW Document 45-1
`Case 2:11-cv-00030-TJW Document 45-1 Filed 04/05/11 Page 19 of 26
`Filed 04/05/11 Page 19 of 26
`
`5,563,883
`
`3
`
`and interface to wide area networks. There are provided a
`number of communication channels (L) to the wide area
`networks, a number of communication channels (M) for
`supporting a plurality of remote terminals (N). The M
`number of channels to support communication between the
`central controller and the remote terminals are separated into
`four categories as depicted in FIG. 2, for carrying signalling
`data and user traffic in the forward and reverse directions,
`i.e., forward signalling data or FD channel, forward traffic
`bearer or FB channel, reverse signalling data or RD channel,
`and reverse tralIic bearer or RB channel. All communication
`signals between the central controller and the remote termi—
`nals are multiplexed onto the shared transmission media.
`The remote terminals are equipment supporting the users’
`communication need and are distributed throughout the
`network. For simplicity reason,
`the summing device for
`signals from remote terminals are shown as a single device
`in FIG. 1. Each of the remote terminals has one RF data
`demodulator capable of receiving data on the assigned FD
`channel, one frequency agile receiver capable of tuning to
`the assigned FB channel, one RF data modulator capable of
`transmitting data on the assigned RD channel, and one
`frequency agile transmitter capable of tuning to the assigned
`RB channel. The central controller comprises a switch and
`control mechanism, and a pool of transmitters and receivers
`for the communication channels. The central controller
`provides concentration and control function to meet the
`communication demand of the remote terminals much the
`same way as a Private Automated Branch eXchange or
`PABX. The central controller also translates the signalling
`information according to the requirement of the network.
`There are two levels of concentrations provided with this
`system: contention in the shared transmission media via the
`signalling protocol, and through the switching matrix of the
`central controller.
`
`The signalling channels are dynamically adjusted for
`efficiency and redundancy. This also adds to the extensibility
`of the system for the increasing trallic load and system
`growth. The downstream trafiic on these channels are sched-
`uled by the central controller. Multiple access of the remote
`terminals for the upstream traffic are mitigated by separating
`remote terminals in groups via the channel allocation and the
`terminal assignment process. Prompted by the remote ter-
`minals at startup, or through the failure recovery procedure,
`or deemed necessary by the central controller, the channel
`allocation and terminal assignment process are initiated and
`controlled by the central controller. Through the registration
`process, the central controller assigns the remote terminal to
`a group supported by coupling of the specific forward and
`reverse signalling data channels. Afterwards, the communi-
`cation between the central controller and the remote termi-
`nals follows a two-phase process. The controlled multiple
`access method is used, on each forward signalling data
`channel in parallel. for sporadic user data transfer or sigv
`nalling purpose. The central controller either sends com-
`mand to a specific remote terminal or solicits requests via a
`general poll from remote terminals assigned to the forward
`signalling data channel. The remote terminals respond to the
`controller’s poll to request services. The selective polling
`process is used to identify the remote terminals involved in
`case of collision. The traffic bearer channel is used once the
`circuit is established via signalling protocol over the signal—
`ling data channels. The controllcd multiple access scheme
`using overlapping polling method represents an efficient
`asynchronous signalling method and the decision process is
`designed to improve the effectiveness of the selective poll-
`ing coverage during the contention resolution process.
`
`4
`Accordingly the achieved benefits of the present invention
`are:
`
`General communication channels management architec-
`ture;
`
`Flexible and extensible scheme. for signalling charmel
`management;
`Flexible and extensible scheme for assigning remote
`terminals to the signalling channels;
`Flexible and extensible scheme for supporting system
`growth and new services requirements;
`Improved syst