`
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`
`
`5,502,726
`[11] Patent Number:
`Unlted States Patent
`
`
`
`
`
`
`Fischer
`Mar. 26, 1996
`[45] Date of Patent:
`
`
`[19]
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`I|||||llllllll||||I|l||lllIl||||ll|||IllIllIlllllllllIlll||l||||||||||I|||I
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`[54] SERIAL LAYERED NIEDICAL NETWORK
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`
`
`
`[75]
`Inventor: Michael Fischer, San Antonio, Tex.
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`.
`-
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`[73] Assrgnee. 1:23:01. Incorporated, Pleasanton,
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`
`OTHER PUBLICATIONS
`
`
`pintiaejygfufiiégswégfifsfiig 15331.16 Whlte’ Chapt. 5’
`
`
`“Architecture of a Comprehensive Radiologic Imaging Net-
`
`
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`
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`
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`
`
`
`work”, H. K. Huang et 31., IEEE Journal on Selected Areas
`in Communications, Sep. 1992, vol. 10, No. 7, ISACEM
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`
`
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`
`
`(ISSN 073M716)
`[21] Appl. No.2 829,146
`
`
`
`Primary Examiner—Wellington Chin
`
`
`
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`
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`
`
`Assistant Examiner—Ajit Patel
`[22] Filed:
`Jan. 319 1992
`
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`
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`
`
`Amway, Age”: 0’ Fim‘Twnsend and TOWnsend and
`Int. Cl)5 .............................. H04J 3/24; H04L 29/02;
`[51]
`
`
`
`H04L 12/56
`Crew
`
`ABSTRACT
`[52] U.S. Cl.
`...................................................... 370l94.1
`[57]
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`[58] Field of Search .............. 370/941, 60, 85.15,
`A network or telemetry system which allows virtual services
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`
`370/58'1’ 56’ 112’ 92’ 85'13’ 42’ 83’ 85'6
`at the application or presentation layer to communicate with
`other virtual services without regard to the physical inter-
`.
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`
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`
`
`References Cited
`connections. Each message, called a parcel, includes the
`U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS
`information to be transmitted along with a virtual address
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`header. The parcel is provided to a gateway, which inserts
`
`
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`
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`
`
`the parcel without modification into a packet with address
`$3323 éfiggg E;;;et‘a‘1"""""""""""""""" 370/941
`
`
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`
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`
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`
`
`4’495’493
`1/1985 Segaira et 211..
`information for the physical through session layers in the
`
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`
`
`
`
`
`
`4:549:297 10/1985 Nishirnoto _
`packet header. The packet is then transmitted to another
`3/1986 Feldrnan et a1.
`_
`network node, which receives and delivers the unmodified
`4,574,284
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`4,603,416
`7/1986 Servel et a1. ........................... 370/941
`parcel to the addressed destination virtual service. A number
`
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`
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`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`7/1987 Kozh’k et a1.
`of parcels from the same or difierent virtual services can be
`.
`4,680,581
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`9/1987 Elliott et a1.
`packed into a single packet for transmission from the
`4,692,918
`.
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`
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`
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`
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`
`
`11,1987 SiHCOSkie-
`gateway in cases where these parcels are all directed to
`4,705,080
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`..................... 370/94.1
`5/1990 Takahashi et al.
`virtual services at the same destination node. Once a session
`4,930,122
`370/85 13
`133%: $338 gig: ‘
`is established, such as between a gateway and a workstation,
`
`
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`
`
`
`
`
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`
`
`
`
`
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`
`
`370/941
`4/1991 van dgn Dooletal""""""".
`virtual services at the gateway node and the workstation can
`5’007’043
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`370,941
`4,199] Km
`communicate with each other without requiring a lot of
`5:010:546
`5,050,166
`9/1991 Cantoni e
`header overhead for each transmission. Instead, the session
`370/61
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`11/1991 Hyodo et a1.
`370/58,]
`need simply be identified Each gateway typically has one
`5,067,123
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`5,113,392
`5/1992 Takiyasu et a1.
`370/8515
`session at a time, but a workstation can support up to 64
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`5,140,584
`8/1992 Suzuki
`...........
`370/60
`sessions simultaneously.
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`5,173,897 12/1992 Schrodi et al
`370/60
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`5,214,642
`5/1993 Kunimoto et a1,
`............... 370/82
`12 Claims, 8 Drawing Sheets
`..
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`
`
`[56]
`
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`
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`
`PATIENT
`DATA
`
`
`
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`Petitioner Valve - Ex. 1023, Page 1
`
`Petitioner Riot Games, Inc. - EX. 1023, p. 1
`
`Petitioner Riot Games, Inc. - Ex. 1023, p. 1
`
`Petitioner Valve - Ex. 1023, Page 1
`
`

`

`US. Patent
`
`Mar. 26, 1996
`
`Sheet 1 of 8
`
`5,502,726
`
`33
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`Petitioner Valve - Ex. 1023, Page 2
`
`Petitioner Riot Games, Inc. - EX. 1023, p. 2
`
`Petitioner Riot Games, Inc. - Ex. 1023, p. 2
`
`Petitioner Valve - Ex. 1023, Page 2
`
`

`

`US. Patent
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`Petitioner Valve - Ex. 1023, Page 3
`
`Petitioner Riot Games, Inc. - EX. 1023, p. 3
`
`Petitioner Riot Games, Inc. - Ex. 1023, p. 3
`
`Petitioner Valve - Ex. 1023, Page 3
`
`
`
`
`

`

`
`US. Patent
`
`
`
`Mar. 26, 1996
`
`
`
`
`
`Sheet 3 of 8
`
`
`5,502,726
`
`
`
`TRANSCEIVER
`
`
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`
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`
`Petitioner Valve - Ex. 1023, Page 4
`
`Petitioner Riot Games, Inc. - EX. 1023, p. 4
`
`Petitioner Riot Games, Inc. - Ex. 1023, p. 4
`
`Petitioner Valve - Ex. 1023, Page 4
`
`

`

`US. Patent
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`Mar. 26, 1996
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`Sheet 4 of 8
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`5,502,726
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`/ I2
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`413
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`Petitioner Valve - Ex. 1023, Page 5
`
`Petitioner Riot Games, Inc. - EX. 1023, p. 5
`
`Petitioner Riot Games, Inc. - Ex. 1023, p. 5
`
`Petitioner Valve - Ex. 1023, Page 5
`
`

`

`
`US. Patent
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`
`
`Mar. 26, 1996
`
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`
`Sheet 5 of 8
`
`5,502,726
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`
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`Petitioner Valve - Ex. 1023, Page 6
`
`Petitioner Riot Games, Inc. - EX. 1023, p. 6
`
`Petitioner Riot Games, Inc. - Ex. 1023, p. 6
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`Petitioner Valve - Ex. 1023, Page 6
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`

`

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`US. Patent
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`Mar. 26, 1996
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`Sheet 6 of 8
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`5,502,726
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`Petitioner Valve - Ex. 1023, Page 7
`
`Petitioner Riot Games, Inc. - EX. 1023, p. 7
`
`Petitioner Riot Games, Inc. - Ex. 1023, p. 7
`
`Petitioner Valve - Ex. 1023, Page 7
`
`

`

`
`US. Patent
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`
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`
`
`Mar. 26, 1996
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`
`
`Sheet 7 of 8
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`5,502,726
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`
`
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`Petitioner Valve - Ex. 1023, Page 8
`
`Petitioner Riot Games, Inc. - EX. 1023, p. 8
`
`Petitioner Riot Games, Inc. - Ex. 1023, p. 8
`
`Petitioner Valve - Ex. 1023, Page 8
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`
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`

`

`US. Patent
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`
`
`
`Mar. 26, 1996
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`Sheet 8 of 3
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`5,502,726
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`8/8
`
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`
`NO PARCELS OR NOT NEAR
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`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`PARCELS AVAILABLE
`
`
`
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`
`
`
`
`
`
`END SESSION
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`RECLAIM BUFFER
`
`
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`
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`
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`
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`
`
`
`
`
`
`END SESSION
`
`
`
`
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`No RECEIVED PACKETS wAND NO TS TIMEOUT
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`RECENEDET
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`TEST
`ENABLE RECEIVER
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`SHO,DHD AND
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`TXSEO
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`END SESSION
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`DISCARD BOFFERS
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`RESET Ts
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`FOR SESSION
`RXSED== TXSEO
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`OUEUE FOR UNPACKINC
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`FREE
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`BUFFER
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` FREE
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`BUFFER
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`VAILABLE
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`NO FREE BUFFER
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`DISABLE
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`RECEIVER
`FIG.
`.9.
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`Petitioner Valve - Ex. 1023, Page 9
`
`Petitioner Riot Games, Inc. - EX. 1023, p. 9
`
`Petitioner Riot Games, Inc. - Ex. 1023, p. 9
`
`Petitioner Valve - Ex. 1023, Page 9
`
`

`

`5,502,726
`
`1
`SERIAL LAYERED MEDICAL NETWORK
`
`BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
`
`The present invention relates to serial data communica-
`tion networks, and in particular to networks for intercon-
`necting medical instrumentation.
`In a typical computer network, computers are connected
`together over a communication medium. Each computer has
`its own, unique physical address which is used for identi-
`fying both the source and the destination of any transmis-
`sion. Data and other information is typically sent in packets,
`with each packet containing a data field and a header setting
`forth the source and destination addresses, as well as other
`information. Different protocols exist for the header and for
`determining when a particular source can transmit.
`In a number of fields, such as the medical field, it is
`desirable to be able to connect remote instruments to a
`central computer workstation. Typically,
`the instruments
`will gather data and have minimal processing power. The
`large bulk of data is typically transmitted from the instru-
`ments to the computer. In addition to the data, there may be
`alarm signals which need to be transmitted and immediately
`received.
`
`It would be desirable to have a system optimized for
`network communication from a number of medical or other
`instruments to a central computer.
`
`SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
`
`The present invention provides a network or telemetry
`system which allows virtual services at the application or
`presentation layer to communicate with other virtual ser-
`vices without regard to the physical interconnections. Each
`message, called a parcel, includes the information to be
`transmitted along with a virtual address header. The parcel
`is provided to a gateway, which inserts the parcel without
`modification into a packet with address information for the
`physical through session layers in the packet header. The
`packet is then transmitted to another network node, which
`receives and delivers the unmodified parcel to the addressed
`destination virtual service.
`
`A number of parcels from the same or difi‘erent virtual
`services can be packed into a single packet for transmission
`from the gateway in cases where these parcels are all
`directed to virtual services at the same destination node.
`Once a session is established, such as between a gateway
`and a workstation, virtual services at the gateway node and
`the workstation can communicate with each other without
`requiring a lot of header overhead for each transmission.
`Instead, the session need simply be identified. Each gateway
`typically has one session at a time, but a workstation can
`support up to 64 sessions simultaneously.
`For example, a gateway with a pulse oximeter attached
`may establish a session with a workstation. The pulse
`oximeter would provide virtual services for real time data
`streams for oxygen saturation values, ECG values and pulse
`values. A separate virtual service called trend service would
`periodically store real time data for subsequent retrieval.
`These would communicate with virtual services in the
`workstation over a single established session. The oxygen
`saturation and ECG may communicate with a display con-
`trol virtual service at the workstation, while the pulse value
`service communicates with an annunciator service at the
`workstation, for instance. The workstation can simulta-
`neously carry on other sessions with other pulse oximeters
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`or other instruments. A single session may last the duration
`of a patient’s stay in a hospital room.
`Unlike the prior art, where separate sessions would typi-
`cally be needed for transmissions between each pair of
`virtual services, the present invention supports transmissions
`between multiple virtual services in a single session. This
`eliminates the need for each instrument or virtual service to
`have a large amount of computing power to support its own
`session. By sharing a session, less overhead in the form of
`computing power to support communication to and from
`multiple virtual services is required; while still permitting
`the virtual services to be unaware of data handling during the
`communication process.
`The parcels can be of varying size and number. Each
`parcel includes precedence information in the header which
`indicates the relative delivery importance of the information
`contained in the parcel. For example, an alarm indication
`parcel would have a highest precedence level, while real-
`time data would have lower precedence (with further dis-
`tinctions between types of data: general data would be
`higher precedence than detailed data which would be higher
`precedence than stored data that could be resent if neces-
`sary). The gateway transmits the highest precedence level
`parcels first. If buifer space at the gateway is exhausted,
`parcels having the lowest precedence level are discarded. If
`only high precedence parcels are present, older parcels are
`overwritten with the newer parcels from the same source.
`Each virtual service sends parcels to the gateway with
`precedence information in the parcel header. The parcel
`header also identifies the length of the information field. The
`information field can contain data, a command requesting an
`action, or a reply to a request. If the information field
`contains data, a sequence number is included indicating the
`order in which the parcel was generated.
`Each gateway has a table for indicating the location of
`virtual services local to that node and the internal addressing
`required to deliver parcels to those virtual services. This
`parcel routing is done transparent to the virtual service itself.
`The gateway also has a bufier for temporarily storing parcels
`while they are waiting to be multiplexed into a packet. The
`packet header identifies the number of parcels included and
`the overall length of the packet information field containing
`the parcels. The packet header also contains source and
`destination handles identifying the physical source node and
`destination node, as well as the particular session (which is
`useful for nodes that support a plurality of sessions). A
`sequence number is included to identify the packet for
`detection of packets delivered more than once by the physi-
`cal network hardware.
`
`The present invention detects missing data at the appli-
`cation layer for each service. This is done with the assump-
`tion that there is a reliable physical/MAC layer underneath.
`In this context, “reliable” means that the physical and MAC
`layers are (when communication is possible) incapable of
`indicating packet delivery without the packet having suc-
`cessfully reached the destination node (at the MAC layer).
`In order to do this, the MAC layer, by necessity, is capable
`of delivering the same packet twice.
`For fuller understanding of the nature and advantages of
`the invention, reference should be made to the ensuing
`detailed description taken in conjunction with the accom-
`panying drawings.
`BRIEF DESCRlPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
`
`FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a system using a protocol
`according to the present invention;
`
`Petitioner Valve - Ex. 1023, Page 10
`
`Petitioner Riot Games, Inc. - EX. 1023, p. 10
`
`Petitioner Riot Games, Inc. - Ex. 1023, p. 10
`
`Petitioner Valve - Ex. 1023, Page 10
`
`

`

`5,502,726
`
`3
`FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a peripheral network adaptor
`(PNA) of FIG. 1;
`FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a hub of FIG. 1;
`FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a workstation of FIG. 1;
`FIG. 5 is a block diagram of the intelligent network
`adapter (INA) of FIG. 4;
`'FIG. 6 is a diagram of the ISO layers used by the present
`invention;
`FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the fields of the parcels and
`packets of the present invention;
`FIG. 8 is a diagram of a transmitter state machine; and
`FIG. 9 is a diagram of‘a receiver state machine.
`
`DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED
`EMBODIMENT
`
`FIG. 1 is a block diagram of one embodiment of a system
`using the protocol of the present invention. An Oxinet2
`network 10 connects workstations 12 and 26 to a large
`number of medical instruments. The network is physically
`configured, for wiring convenience and other reasons, as a
`number of lines which are physically interconnected through
`hubs 14 and 16. Communication over network 10 is con—
`trolled by gateways connected to each node. Each of work-
`stations 12 and 26 includes an internal intelligent network
`adapter (INA) which acts as a gateway. Each of the other
`instruments connected to the network either contains its own
`internal gateway or is connected through a gateway called a
`peripheral network adapter (PNA) 18. A number of instru-
`ments are connected to the network through a radio fre—
`quency link that operates between radio-equipped gateways
`19 and radio frequency (RF) bridges 20, 22 and 24 that serve
`as radio hubs and connect the RF network to the wired
`network.
`
`Among the instruments shown in FIG. 1 are pulse oxime—
`ters 28 and 30. Other pulse oximeters 32, 34 and 36 include
`a power base with wave form display and printer capabili-
`ties. Personal monitors 38, 40, 42 and 44 monitor heart rate,
`respiration, oxygen saturation and ECG waveforms. Moni—
`tors 38, 40 and 44 include a base unit 50, 52, 54, respec-
`tively, which provides a bedside waveform display capabil-
`ity. A display 56 is shown separately hooked up to hub 14.
`Also shown are blood pressure monitors 57, 58 and 60. The
`PNA gateway devices 18 and RF PNA gateway devices 19
`allow older, existing instruments out in the field to be
`adapted for communication over the network of the present
`invention.
`
`Each workstation has other elements coupled to it. Work
`station 12 has a pair of annnunciator displays 62 and 64, a
`pair of interactive displays 66 and 68, a printer 70, and is
`coupled to a hospital’s patient data management system 72.
`Workstation 26 is connected to a single interactive display
`74 and a pair of annnunciator displays 76 and 78. Annun-
`ciator displays only present alert conditions. The interactive
`displays permit a user to request the display of alerts, status,
`data, trends and waveforms.
`FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a peripheral network adapter
`or gateway 18 or 19 of FIG. 1. The connection to its
`associated instrument is through a serial port 210. The
`connection to the network is through a network interface 212
`for wired gateways 18 or a radio interface 214 for RF
`gateways 19.
`The PNA has a microcontroller 218 which is connected to
`push buttons 220, status LEDs 222, and EEPROM memory
`224 that is used to store configuration parameters. A separate
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`flash EPROM memory 226 is used to hold operating firm-
`ware. An SRAM memory 228 acts as the buffer for the PNA,
`storing parcels which are assembled into packets and hold—
`ing trend data for up to 24 hours for readout by the
`workstation upon request. The PNA also includes a clock}
`calendar circuit 230, and a power supply 232 with a con—
`nection to an external AC adapter 236. A battery 234 is used
`to maintain the contents of the clock/calender and SRAM
`circuits for at least 24 hours without AC power.
`For a wired connection to the network, a separate ARC-
`NET controller circuit 238 handles the network transmis—
`sions, implementing the ARCNET MAC layer. “ARCNET”
`is a registered trademark of Datapoint Corp. ARCNET is a
`widely used LAN described in the ARCNET Designers
`Handbook, Datapoint Corporation, 2nd Ed, 1988, order no.
`61610. ARCNET is also covered by a proposed ANSI
`Standard, draft rev. 1.6, 1—5-91, available from the ARCNET
`Trade Association, 3365 North Arlington Heights Road,
`Suite J, Arlington Heights, 111. 60004.
`Microcontroller 218 controls the assembling of parcels
`into packets for transmission. If a radio interface is used, RF
`network interface 240, radio modem 42, and RF antenna 244
`transmit to a RF bridge as shown in FIG. 1. The RF bridge
`contains a microcontroller similar to microcontroller 218
`and an ARCNET controller similar to controller 238. Also
`shown in the radio interface 214 is an infrared location
`interface 246. This is used to receive signals from an infrared
`transmitter in a hospital room to indicate the location of the
`instrument.
`
`PNA microcontroller 218 acquires data from an instru-
`ment over EIA- 232 link 210. The link is configured to be in
`a mode compatible with the link of the instrument. A
`peripheral transaction server (PTS) in microcontroller 218 is
`programmed to receive data from the instrument. The data
`acquired from the instrument is stored in a circular buifer in
`the microcontroller where the raw instrument data is
`assembled and routed to a butler position in SRAM 228.
`EEPROM 224 is a configuration memory which holds
`session and initialization parameters. The PNA microcon-
`troller executes firmware stored in flash EPROM 226 that
`includes functions that translate instrument-specific data
`formats into the uniform parcel formats used by the work-
`stations. This firrnware also maintains a record of actual
`sensor data each 10 seconds in a special area of SRAM 228
`allocated for such trend storage, and permits these trends,
`extending back up to 24 hours,
`to be read out by the
`workstation.
`
`FIG. 3 is a block diagram of hub 14 of FIG. 1. The
`network connections are made through the transceivers for
`ports 1—16 as shown on the right side of the figure. These
`ports connect to the workstations and the various instru-
`ments and PNAs as shown in FIG. 1. A logic block 310
`interconnects the lines depending upon who is transmitting
`to whom The logic is controlled by an ARCNET controller
`312 and a separate microcontroller 314. There is also
`provided a signal retiming (delay line) logic 316 and net-
`work address detection logic 318. Status LEDs 320 are also
`provided, along with a power supply 322. The hub listens for
`transmissions from the different ports. When a transmission
`is detected, the hub will receive on that port and re-transrnit
`on the remaining ports.
`FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a workstation 12 of FIG. 1.
`The connection to the ARCNET network 10 is through a
`intelligent network adapter (INA) 410. The workstation is
`operated under the control of a main, root processor 412
`with main memory 414. An internal bus 416 interconnects
`
`Petitioner Valve - Ex. 1023, Page 11
`
`Petitioner Riot Games, Inc. - Ex. 1023, p. 11
`
`Petitioner Riot Games, Inc. - Ex. 1023, p. 11
`
`Petitioner Valve - Ex. 1023, Page 11
`
`

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`the elements under the control of a system bus controller
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`418. A graphics adapter 420 provides data to a video display
`or a touch services board 422. An SCSI controller 424
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`provides an interface to disk memory 426. Difierent virtual
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`services in workstation 12 communicate with virtual coun-
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`terparts in the instruments attached to the network using the
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`protocol of this invention. An example of a virtual service is
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`a program running on the workstation that performs a
`particular function.
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`FIG. 5 is a block diagram of the INA 410 of FIG. 4. The
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`connection to the network is through an ARCNET controller
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`510 and transceiver 512. The connection to the internal bus
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`416 of the workstation is through a memory space interface
`and relocation register 514 and an I/O space interface 516.
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`The INA operates under the control of its own processor
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`518, and includes EPROM memory 520, SRAM memory
`522, and EEPROM memory 524. Also included is a watch-
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`dog timer 526, switches and LEDs 528 and an optional serial
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`interface 530 for debug purposes. INA 410 acts as the
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`gateway for workstation 12, assembing parcels into packets
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`for transmission, and deassembling received packets.
`Transmissions primarily take place from the instruments
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`to the workstation, and from the workstation to the instru—
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`ments. An instrument sending data or other information
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`transmits a parcel to its associated gateway. The gateway
`receives several parcels from various instruments or the
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`same instrument and packs them into a packet in the order
`of arrival. If more parcels arrive between packet transmis-
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`sion opportunities than will fit into a packet, precedence is
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`used to cause the most important parcels to be packed into
`packets first. The packet is then transmitted to the remote
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`workstation as discussed in detail below. The instrument
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`need only provide the virtual service address of the appli-
`cation layer program in the workstation, with the interim—
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`diate levels through physical layer transmission being taken
`care of by the gateway and the network.
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`The gateway will examine the precedence information in
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`the parcels it receives and send alarms from its associated
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`instruments first, in accordance with the precedence rules
`discussed below. The parcels awaiting transmission in the
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`gateway’s buffcr are overwritten in accordance with the
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`precedence rules in the event of buifer exhaustion. This
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`prevents a real time data waveform from preventing an
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`alarm from getting through, for instance.
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`1. Definitions
`
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`The meanings of some terms used are defined below.
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`Terms being defined are presented in bold, while the first
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`references to terms whose definitions appear subsequent to
`their initial usage are presented in italics.
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`OxinetZ is the name of a network using the protocol of the
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`present invention.
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`The Oxinet2
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`protocol is a definition of communication over OxinetZ
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`networks.
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`An Oxinet2
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`network is a set of entities communicating among each
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`other, via a serial interconnection medium, using pack-
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`ets conforming to the OxinetZ network protocol.
`The elements that use the Oxinet2 network communication
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`facilities are
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`application layer entities
`services, which are
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`exchange parcels with other services.
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`Each Oxinet2 network is comprised of one or more
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`segments, which are subsets of the network that commu—
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`nicate via a single instance of a particular link layer
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`facility. Examples of link layer facilities currently used
`for Oxinet2 segments are
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`5,502,726
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`ARCNET (a registered trademark of Datapoint Corpora-
`tion), used to provide 2.5 Mbps of raw transfer band—
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`width over coaxial cable to locations where wired
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`interconnection is available, and the
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`Oxinet2 RF network, used to provide a spread-spectrum
`radio link to mobile devices and/or locations where
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`wired interconnection is not available.
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`Each segment using the Oxinet2 RF network operates
`on a particular channel, which is a subset of the
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`available portion of the RF spectrum, using a par-
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`ticular frequency range and spreading sequence, to
`offer 200 Kbps of raw data transfer bandwidth.
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`Communication between Oxinet2 network segments takes
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`place through
`bridges, which are clusters that forward packets between
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`network segments, performing any necessary buifering
`and conversion of frame formats. Bridges direct pack—
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`ets according to
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`mutes,
`that associate network-specific addresses on
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`each network segment attached to the bridge with the
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`unique station ID in the packet header.
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`One type of bridge used for Oxinet2 networks is an RF
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`bridge, which forwards packets between an ARC-
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`NET segment and an RF channel that constitutes an
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`Oxinet2 RF network segment.
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`The session administrator (SA) is a service facility, typi-
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`cally implemented in software on an Oxiview work-
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`station, that
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`receives requests to initiate communication activities;
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`determines whether to create sessions in response to
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`these requests,
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`determines whether each new session is a reconnection
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`of a preexisting session, and
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`provides the necessary information to permit bridges to
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`determine the appropriate route for the communica-
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`tion activity.
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`Communication between Oxinet2 networks takes place
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`through
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`gateways, which are stations that forward parcels between
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`the network and virtual services, performing any nec-
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`essary multiplexing and demultiplexing functions.
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`The basic addressable units on a Oxinet2 network are
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`stations, each of which are uniquely-identified physical
`entities from among all manufactured equipment which
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`may be attached to, and exchange information over, an
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`OxinetZ network.
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`one or more physically connected stations constitute a
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`cluster, which is a component, or a set of interconnected
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`components,
`attached
`an OxinetZ network.
`to
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`Examples of clusters include
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`Oxiview workstations (including their attached periph—
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`eral devices), each of which is a single station;
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`PNA—200 peripheral network adapters (including their
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