TW200922249A - Method and apparatus for communicating in multiple modes - Google Patents

Abstract

One particular time divisional function (TDF) system uses both contention based and time division based access for acquisition of an uplink channel in order to support data and sporadic user controlling messages over a cable access network. One system uses a hybrid time slot in a TDF superframe of time slots to allow TDF Stations operating in contention based mode to switch to time division mode. The hybrid time slot is a combination of a registration time slot and a contention base time slot. One particular implementation includes using a frame structure (2600) for communication. The frame structure supports at least two communication modes. The communication modes include a time division mode in which a slot in the frame structure is reserved for a device and a contention-based mode in which a contention slot in the frame structure is used by multiple devices for data communication.

Description

200922249 Nine, invention description: [Technical field to which the invention pertains] This disclosure generally addresses various aspects of a communication system. [Prior Art] A communication system exists to connect a user to information. Such systems can use coaxial cable as well as wireless networks. Existing systems exhibit various limitations. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A frame structure is used for communication in accordance with the general state. The frame structure supports at least one communication mode. The communication modules include a slot in the frame structure stored for a time division mode of a device and wherein a contention slot in the frame structure is used by one of the plurality of devices for data communication to compete The basic model. According to another general aspect, a signal is constructed to carry = bedding according to the format supporting multiple communication modes. The signal includes a - part that is constructed in the time slot for a time-sharing communication mode. The first portion includes one or more time slots for individual devices and carries data for the individual devices. The signal includes a second portion that is constructed in a competing time slot for a communication mode based on one of the slots in which no device saves the competition. The second portion carries the data for at least the device in the contention slot. The drawings and the following description set forth - or details of various embodiments. That is, wood is described in a specific manner, and it should be clear that various ways of designing or embodying the embodiments can be employed. For example, an embodiment may be implemented as a method 'or as an instruction configured to perform a set of operations for performing a set-group operation. Apparatus is taken from the reference to the drawings. 132608.doc 200922249 Other aspects and features will be apparent from the description and scope of the patent application. [Embodiment] At least the description of Figures 1 through 8 is in the form of silver 4, which includes various embodiments including one or more novel and inventive aspects or features. At least one of these embodiments provides a system for transmitting data in a cable using typical features of a wireless system. In particular, at least one embodiment uses time-multiplexing in a coaxial cable. This system allows, for example, an operator to provide a television signal in the portion/score of the spectrum and provide additional services in another portion of the spectrum. Additional services may include, for example, Internet access, including access to search the Internet and view web pages on the Internet, and receive services over the Internet (e.g., 'on-demand video). At least Figure 9 illustrates the presentation of additional implementations and these additional

At least one of the embodiments of the embodiment is described by the description of Figures 1 through 8 by illustrating the novelty and inventive use of the packet. The material implementation includes a data machine that receives the Ethernet packet from the night = host. Each host may try to communicate with a different website through one way.兮龄诚地^ The basis of the machine is based on a single packet formatted by the wireless transmission-format structure or protocol. The lack of 'packet message' is in-coaxial transmission to be received by the router. δ 玄 routing|§ In a real Gu's > u soil W program to transmit the packets in turn, each of the host attempts to communicate with different websites. Compared to a system that only encapsulates one packet at a time, the packet used by the scheme provides an increase in output. Therefore, no,: The workload is spread across multiple Ethernet packets. This disc (for example) allows for additional features to be contrasted by the use of the packet provided by the other (4), or by the preservation of the old framed structure in the packet data to ensure backward compatibility. In addition, the packets of the above-described embodiments are also allowed to encapsulate data from multiple sources to be packaged together with data intended for different end users (eg, different websites, or different hosts) depending on the system design. . At least the description of Figures 21 through 34 presents additional embodiments. Some of these implementations address the novelty and inventive aspects associated with the frame structure and access based on polling and competition. A further embodiment addresses the dual module state 0. This application now provides an illustration of Figure (1). It should be noted that the headers are used in the sections of the description of Figures i to 8. - The header of a given chapter is not considered to limit the chapter = disclosure to the subject matter of the header, nor to limit the disclosure of other chapters to topics other than the subject matter of the header. The headers are exemplary and are expected to be “assisted” to the reader. These headers are not intended to contain: the disclosure of content, nor the applicability of the disclosure or the general description of the application; _: 1: Information in the H-axis TV system (CATV) The service, in which the time-sharing function is arranged in the electrical access network, is coordinated with the access point (AP) and the station (STA). The Ap b-tree, ,, is connected via a splitter in the stage. The structure is delayed by AP and STA. In this way, the remote ιρ core network can be accessed via the Thunder & Interpretation - sample to solve the fine network (four) bureau. In Figure 1, 132608.doc 200922249 can be seen from Figure 1, in this typical access network infrastructure, there is a TDF protocol compliant AP with an Ethernet interface connected to the IP core network, And a coaxial cable interface to the cable access network. On the other end of the cable access network, there is a TDF protocol compliant STA, that is, a terminal, which is connected to the cable access network via the coaxial cable interface and via the Ethernet interface to the home LAN (regional network) Road) connection. According to at least one embodiment, both TDF Ap and STA implement separate protocol stacking in the logical link control sublayer, the MAC sublayer, and the physical layer in accordance with the 8〇2 u series specification. However, in the MAC sublayer, the TDP AP and the STA replace the 8〇2 n frame transmission entity with the TDF frame transmission entity. Therefore, the MAC sublayer for the TDF AP and the STA is composed of the 802·1 1 frame packet/decapsulation entity and the TDF frame transmission entity, and the MAC sublayer for the 8〇2n compliant Ap and STA is 802.1 1 The frame packet/de-packet entity and the 8〇2.n frame transmission entity are composed. For integrated APs and STAs, the TDF frame transmission entity and the 802.1 1 frame transmission entity can coexist simultaneously to provide both 8〇211 and TDF functions. Switching between the two modes can be achieved by manual or dynamic configuration. Basic approach The main idea of the TDF protocol is to transmit IEEE 802.1 1 frames over coaxial cable media rather than over the air. The purpose of using the IEEe 802.1 1 mechanism is to implement mature hardware and software implementations that are stacked using the 802.1 1 protocol. The main feature of TDF is its unique media access control method for transmitting IEEE 8〇2.11 data frames. That is, it does not utilize the traditional IEEE 802.1 1 DCF (Distributed Coordination Function) or PCf (Point Coordination Function) mechanism to exchange the 132608.doc 200922249 MAC frame, which includes the MSDU (MAC Service Data Unit) and the MMPDU (MAC Management Protocol). Data unit). Instead, it uses a time-sharing method to transmit MAC frames. Thus TDF is an access method that defines a detailed implementation of a frame transport entity located in the MAC sublayer. For purposes of comparison, the IEEE 802.1 1 MAC sublayer protocol in the OSI reference model as shown in Figure 2 is illustrated herein. Although the exact location of the TDF protocol for use in the OSI reference model is illustrated in FIG. Communication Mode Entry Procedure Currently, there are two communication modes recommended for the TDF compliant station, as explained below. One is the standard IEEE 802.1 1 operating mode, which is subject to the frame structure and transmission mechanism defined in the IEEE 802.1 1 series of standards; the other is in the TDF operating mode, and detailed information about it will be explained in the following paragraphs. Figure 4 indicates the strategy for deciding which mode of operation to enter when a TDF STA is activated. Once a TDF STA receives a synchronization frame from an AP, it is enabled to enter the TDF mode. If the synchronization frame is not received within a preset timeout, the TDFSTA remains or offsets to IEEE 802.1 1 mode. TDF Protocol Functional Description Access Method The physical layer in the TDF station can have multiple data transfer rate capabilities that allow the implementation to implement dynamic rate switching with improved performance and device maintenance goals. Currently, the TDF station can support three types of data rates: 54 Mbps '18 Mbps and 6 Mbps. Data services are provided primarily at 54 Mbps data rates. When there is some problem with supporting 54 Mbps data transmission, it can temporarily switch to the 18 Mbps data rate. Design a 6 Mbps data rate operating mode based on network maintenance and 132608.doc -10- 200922249 desk debugging. The data rate can be statically configured before a TDF station enters the TDF communication program and remains the same throughout the communication procedure. On the other hand, the TDF station can also support dynamic data rate switching during service. The criteria for data rate can be based on channel signal quality and other factors. The basic access method of the TDF protocol is Time Division Multi-Direction (TDMA), which allows multiple users to share the same channel by dividing the same channel into different time slots. The TDF STAs successively transmit uplink traffic in succession, and each STA uses its own time slot in the TDF hyperframe assigned by the TDF AP. For downlink traffic, the STAs share the channel and select the data or management frame targeted by comparing the destination address information of the frame with its address. Figure 5 illustrates an example of a TDF hyperframe structure and time slot allocation for a typical TDF hyperframe when there are m STAs competing for uplink transmission opportunities simultaneously. As shown in FIG. 5, there is a time slot of a fixed number of TDF frames (tdfTotalTimeSlotNumber), which is composed of: a synchronization time for transmitting clock synchronization information from the TDF AP to the TDF STA. a slot for transmitting a registration request for uplink time slot allocation; by registering a TDF STA for successively transmitting data and some management frames to the TDF AP's tdfUplinkTimeSlotNumber uplink time slots; The tdfDownlinkTimeSlotNumber downlink time slot used by the TDF AP to transmit data and register the response management frame to the data machine. Except for the sync slot, all other slots known as the common slot have the same duration and have a length equal to tdfCommonTimeSlotDuration. 132608.doc -11 - 200922249 The value of tdfCommonTimeSlotDuration is defined to allow transmission of at least one maximum IEEE 802.1 1 PLCP (Physical Layer Convergence Protocol) Protocol Data Unit (PPDU) for use in one of the highest rate data modules. The duration of the synchronization time slot tdfSyncTimeSlotDuration is shorter than the duration of the common time slot because the clock synchronization frame transmitted from the TDF AP to the TDF STA in the slot is shorter than the 802.1 1 data frame. Therefore, the duration of a TDF hyperframe defined as tdfSuperframeDuration can be calculated by the following equation: tdfSuperframeDuration = tdfSyncTimeSlotDuration + tdfCommonTimeSlotDuration * (tdfTotalTimeSlotNumber - 1) The relationship between tdfTotalTimeSlotNumber, tdfUplinkTimeSlotNumber and tdfDownlinkTimeSlotNumber satisfies the following equation: tdfTotalTimeSlotNumber = tdfUplinkTimeSlotNumber + tdfDownlinkTimeSlotNumber + 2 In addition, the number of allocated uplink time slots of the TDF STA in a TDF hyperframe can be changed from one to tdfUplinkTimeSlotThreshold. Therefore, the available downlink time slot in a TDF hyperframe can be changed from (tdfTotalTimeSlotNumber-2) to (tdfTotalTimeSlotNumber-2-tdfMaximumUplinkTimeSlotNumber). Each time there is a TDF STA requesting an uplink time slot, the TDF AP will infer one or more time slots from the available downlink time slots, and then assign the time slot to the TDF STA as long as The number of uplink time slots will not exceed the value of tdfMaximumUplinkTimeSlotNumber ° tdiMaximumUplinkTimeSlotNumber afterwards may vary in different implementations. However, it must be carefully chosen to have at least a downlink time slot available for an associated TDF STA in order to guarantee the QoS of the data service. In addition, all consecutive time slots used by the same TDF STA or AP for transmission in the same direction can be combined to continuously transmit MAC frames to avoid such time slots caused by unnecessary conversion and protection. Waste at the edge. In the current embodiment, tdfCommonTimeSlotDuration is about 300 sec, which is sufficient for the TDF STA to transmit at least one of the largest 802.1 1 PPDUs in a common time slot of the 54 mode, and there are a total of 62 times per TDF frame. groove. In this time slot, there are 20 uplink time slots and 40 downlink time slots in this way. When there are 20 STAs, it can guarantee that each TDF STA has access to the 680 kbps uplink data rate and share 30 Mbps (4 consecutive time slots) downlink data rate; when there are 30 STAs, Each TDF STA can be guaranteed access to the 680 kbps uplink data rate and share a 22.5 Mbps (30 consecutive time slots) downlink rate. tdfMaximumUplinkTimeSlotNumber is 30. Finally, the value of tdfSuperframeDuration, which is the total duration of 61 common time slots and a synchronized time slot, is about 18.6 ms and can be defined as different values for different uses. For example, if there is only one TDF STA, it can be guaranteed to have 4 time slots to achieve an uplink data rate of approximately 18 Mbps and its own 18 Mbps (4 consecutive time slots) downlink data rate. In this way, the number of tdfSuperframeDurations for the total duration of the nine data time slots and one synchronization time slot is about 4 ms. Frame Format In the 802.1 1 specification, there are three main frame types. Will be the information frame 132608.doc -13- 200922249

Used to exchange data between stations. According to the network, 35 different kinds of data frames appear. The control frame is combined with the data frame to implement the regional clearing operation, channel acquisition, and carrier sensing maintenance functions and positive confirmation of the received data. Control and data frame joint operations to reliably deliver data between stations. More specifically, there is an acknowledgment mechanism for the important characteristics of the data frame exchange, and therefore there is an acknowledgment (ACK) frame for each downlink unicast frame to reduce the unreliable wireless The possibility of data loss caused by the channel. Eventually, the management frame performs a supervisory function: it is used to join and leave the wireless network and move the associated links between access points. However, in the TDF system, since the sTDF STA passively waits for the AP's synchronization bribe (4) target TDF Ap, there is no need for the probe request and the probe response frame. In addition, 纟 coaxial TEMs instead of air carriers exchange these frames so that RTS and CTS frames do not have to be defined to clean up the area and prevent hidden node problems' and define the ACK frame to ensure the reliability of the data frame delivery. . Therefore, in the agreement, only some of the materials 802.1 ! MSDU and M_U are used for the data in the coaxial power scheme. For example, the sub-type of information used in the information frame is made on the package (four) and transferred from one station to another. In addition, & cooperates with the clock synchronization requirements in the system to define a new management frame (synchronization frame); and in order to implement the uplink time slot request, allocation and release functions, define four other management messages. Box, remaining book requests, registration responses, non-registration requests, and active notifications. To outline this, four 132608.doc -14- 200922249 new subtypes have been defined in the management frame type of the TDF agreement. The following table defines the valid combinations of types and subtypes added to the TDF contract. Table 1 shows the valid types and subtypes of TDF frames added for use in the TDF protocol. Table 1 Type Description Subtype Description Management Synchronization Management Registration Request Management Registration Response Management Non-Registration Request Management Active Notification TDF Access Procedure TDF AP Find Time Synchronization Program The TDF protocol largely depends on the distribution of timing information to all nodes. . First, the TDF STA listens to the sync frame to determine if there is an available TDF AP. Once it enters the TDF communication procedure, it uses the sync frame to adapt the area timer, and the TDF STA determines whether it is transmitting the uplink frame based on the timer. At any time, the TDF APS is primary and the TDF STA is dependent in the synchronization procedure. Furthermore, if it does not receive any synchronization frame from the associated AP within a predefined critical period defined as tdfSynchronizationCycle, the TDF STA will consider that the AP has abandoned the service and then it stops the TDF communication procedure and begins listening again. Synchronize the frame and look for any TDF AP. In a TDF system, all STAs associated with the same TDF AP will be synchronized with a common clock. The TDF AP will periodically transmit the special frame called its time slot 132608.doc -15- 200922249 to be synchronized to synchronize the modems in its local area network. Each TDF STA will maintain a Zone Timing Synchronization Function (TSF) timer to ensure that it is synchronized with the associated TDF AP. After receiving a sync frame, a TDF STA always accepts timing information in the frame. If the TSF timer is different from the timestamp of the received synchronization frame, the receiving TDF STA sets its regional timer according to the received timestamp value. In addition, it can add a small offset to the received timing value to resolve the area processing by the transceiver. The sync frame will be generated to be transmitted by the TDF AP once per TDF frame time unit and transmitted in the sync slot of each TDF frame. Registration Procedure Figure 6 illustrates the entire registration process illustratively. Once a TDF STA has obtained timer synchronization information from the sync frame, it will know when time slot 0 begins. If a TDF STA is not associated with any TDF AP, it will try to register with a particular TDF AP that transmits the registration request during the contention slot of the second time slot for a TDF frame. The frame is transmitted to the TDF AP and the synchronization frame is transmitted. The duration of the contention time slot equal to tdfCommonTimeSlotDuration, and the registration request frame structure should be carefully designed to allow at least tdfMaximumUplinkTimeSlotNumber registration request bars to be transmitted in a contention slot. According to the design, the contention time slot is divided into tdfMaximumUplinkTimeSlotNumber sub-time slots of the same length. As soon as the target TDF AP is found, a TDF STA will select a sub-time slot in the contention time slot 132608.doc •16-200922249 to transmit a registration request frame to the TDF AP according to the following method: A. Assign an uplink each time In the link time slot, a TDF STA will store the number of allocated uplink time slots defined as tdfAllocatedUplinkTimeSlot, which indicates the location of the time slots in the slot set and the range from 1 to tdfMaximumUplinkTimeSlotNumber throughout the uplink. B. The TDF AP shall allocate the same uplink time slot to the same TDF STA at its maximum capacity each time it requests an uplink time slot. C. When it is time to decide when to select the slot to transmit the registration request frame, if there is a stored tdfAllocatedUplinkTimeSlot value ', the TDF STA will set the same number of sub-time slots as tdfAllocatedUplinkTimeSlot; if there is no such value, then TDF STA A sub-time slot in the available sub-time slot of tdfMaximumUplinkTimeSlotNumber will be randomly selected. It will transmit a registration request frame to the TDF AP in a randomly selected sub-time slot. The purpose of such an operation is to reduce the chance of collisions when there are many STAs that are simultaneously activated and the same TDF AP registration is used at the same time. The TDF STA will enumerate all the data rates it supports at the time and also carry some useful information, such as the received signal carrier/noise ratio in the registration request frame. It can start with the highest data rate and transmit several consecutive registration request frames at different support data rates. After transmitting the frame, the TDF STA will listen to the registration response frame from the TDF AP. After receiving a registration request frame from a TDF STA, the TDF AP will transmit a different type of registration in the downlink time slot according to the following method. 132608.doc 17 200922249 The response frame is returned to the TDF STA: A. The allocated uplink time slot is equal to tdfMaximumUplinkTimeSlotNumber, and the TDF AP places the uplinkTimeSlotUnavailable indicator in the frame body. B. If the TDF AP does not support any of the data rates listed in the supportedDataratesSet of the registration request management frame, the TDF AP places the unsupportedDatarates indicator in the frame body. C. If there is an uplink time slot available for allocation and a common data rate that can be supported by both the TDF AP and the TDF STA, the AP will allocate an uplink time slot and base information (eg, registration of the STA) The carrier/noise ratio in the request frame is selected to an appropriate common data rate, and then a registration response frame is transmitted to the TDF STA. Information about the assigned uplink time slot and the selected data rate will be included in the frame body. After a successful registration procedure, the TDF STA and the TDF AP will reach an agreement on what uplink time slot and data rate to use. Segmentation/Reassembly Procedure In the TDF protocol, the time slot duration for the transmission of the MSDU is fixed to tdfCommonTimeSlotDuration. In some data rates, when the length of the MSDU is greater than a threshold, it is not possible to transmit in a single time slot. Thus, when a data rate for uplink transmission is longer than a threshold defined as tdfFragmentationThreshold and varies according to different data rates, it is segmented before being scheduled for transmission. For all segments except the last segment that can be smaller, the length of a segment frame 132608.doc -18- 200922249 will be an equal number of octets (tdfFragmentationThreshold octet). After segmentation, the segmentation frame is placed in the delivery queue for transmission to the TDF AP. The segmentation procedure can be run in the TDF frame transport entity or upper layer by using the tdfFragmentationThreshold dynamically set in the TDF frame transport entity. At the end of the TDF AP, each received segment contains information to allow the complete frame to be reassembled from its constituent segments. The header of each segment contains the following information used by the TDF AP to reassemble the frame: A. Frame type B. Address of the sender obtained from address 2 field C. Destination address D Sequence Control Field: This field allows the TDF AP to check that all input segments belong to the same MSDU and that the sequence used for the segments should be reassembled. The sequence number in the sequence control field remains the same for all segments of an MSDU; the sequence number in the sequence control field is incremented for each segment. E. Multiple segment indicators: indicates to the TDF AP that this is not the information. The last segment of the box. Only the last or only segment of the MSDU sets this bit to zero. All other segments of the MSDU set this bit to one. The TDF AP reconstructs the MSDU by combining the segments in the order of the segment number subfields of the sequence control field. If a segment with a multi-segment bit set to zero has not been received, the TDF AP will know that the frame has not yet completed. The TDF AP - receives a segment with multi-segment bits set to zero, which knows that no more segments are available for the frame. 132608.doc -19- 200922249 The TDF AP maintains one of the receive timers for each frame received. There is also an attribute tdfMaxReceiveLifetime that specifies the maximum amount of time allowed to receive a frame. The receiving timer is started after receiving the first segment of the MSDU. If the receiving timer exceeds tdfMaxReceiveLifetime', all received segments of the MSDU are discarded by the tdF AP. If additional segments that must be sent to the MSDU are received after their tdfMaxReceiveLifetime has passed, then the segments are discarded. Uplink Transmission Procedure After receiving a registration response frame from the TDF AP, the tdF STA will analyze the frame body to see if it is granted an uplink time slot. If it is not granted, it will stop for a while and apply for an uplink time slot later. If granted, it will begin transmitting uplink traffic during the assigned time slot using the data rate indicated in the registration response frame. When the uplink transmission is started during the assignment time slot, if at least one outgoing tfl frame exists in the 7-line towel outside the TDF STA, the TDF STA will transmit the mth TDF in the outgoing queue. AP H, the TDF S^TA will check the length of the second uplink frame and evaluate whether the second uplink frame can be transmitted during the remaining duration in the time slot. If not, it will stop the uplink transmission procedure and wait for the fm (four) financial transmission in the next tdf box period to be immediately poor. Then, in this way, the frame is sent to the destination MDF. The transfer program will continue the link frame until the end of slot 6 or no uplink 132608.doc •20- 200922249 The downlink transmission procedure is moved in the entire tDF communication procedure by changing the number of related wheels. Change the way: the number of slots may be sent by the _ phase, and its line pass = between the use of the protocol f rate to transmit a specific downlink frame required = : Temple;: comparison. Therefore, depending on the result, it will decide whether to transmit the frame at a specific data rate between this and Super ::. In addition, the TDF AP does not need to segment any downlink frames. : When it is not time to transmit the uplink traffic, it seems to always listen to (4) the channel of the feasible downlink frame for which it is targeted. The non-registration procedure is as shown in FIG. 7. If the D-DF STA decides to abandon the Df communication procedure, it is in its upstream material-non-injection request box to the associated coffee AP' to notify the coffee Ap to release for use. It allocates uplink key slot resources. After receiving the unregistered request frame, the (4) and dispatched mDF STAs' uplink time slots are free and placed in the free time slot pool for future use. Active notifier

Referring to FIG. 8', in order to release resources as soon as a TDF STA accidentally crashes or shuts down, the TDF STA must periodically transmit an active notification frame to tdf Ap during its uplink time slot period. Report its active H. If there is no active notification frame within a predefined critical period called tdfAliveN〇tificati〇nCycle, the associated TDF AP will consider that the TDF STA has abandoned the service and thus release the allocation for the TDF 132608.doc - 21 - 200922249 The STA's subscription link time slot is just like receiving a non-registration request frame from the TDF STA. To ensure coexistence and interoperability on the multi-rate capability TDF sta, this specification defines the _group rules to be followed by all stations: A. The synchronization frame will be transmitted at the lowest rate of the TDF basic rate set so that it will borrow Known by all STAs. All frames with destination unicast addresses are transmitted at the supported data rate selected by the registration mechanism. No station transmits a single frame at a rate supported by the receiver station. C. All frames with destination multicast addresses are transmitted at the highest rate of TDF base rate concentration. 9 to 20 are explained as follows. At least Figures 9 through 2A illustrate embodiments that may be used, for example, as illustrated by Figures 1-8, or a plurality of systems. Of course, the features and aspects of the embodiments of Figures 9 through 20 can be used in other systems. As explained above, a TDF protocol can replace the traditional 8〇2 ii dcf (distribution coordination function) or PCF (point coordination function) mechanism. This system can take advantage of the wide layout of WLAN (802.1 1) networks and one of the wireless local area network (WLAN) chipsets that may become more mature and cheaper. This system provides a cost-effective solution for the two-way t for CATV networks by transmitting WLAN signals in the cable network, even if the wlan protocol is established for transmission/reception in the air environment rather than in the cable network. In this system, the basic access method of the TDF protocol is TDMA, which allows multiple users to share the same channel by dividing the same channel into different time slots. The TDF stations transmit uplink traffic in succession one after the other, each using its own time slot in the -TDF hyperframe assigned by the TDF Ap 132608.doc -22- 200922249 (access point) . For downlink traffic, the stations share channels (eg, as shown in the TDF hyperframe of Figure 5) and are selected by comparing the destination address information of the frames to their addresses. It is the target frame. Reference circle 9, which shows a typical D DF network _. The network provides a connection from the user's home and 92G to the Internet (or another resource or network). User homes 910 and 920 are connected in cable system 95 by an access point r (AP) _. The AP_ can be located, for example, in the homes of the homes 9H) and 920' or in a home including (in this case, an apartment state and an apartment building. The AP 940 can be owned by, for example, an electric operator). Ap _ is further integrated in the Ethernet 970 to a router 96 router 960 is also connected to the Internet 93. It should be clear that the term "consumption" refers to direct connection (no intermediate components or units) and Indirect connection (one or more intermediate components and/or units). Such connections may be, for example, wired or wireless, and permanent or instantaneous. User homes 91 and 920 may have various configurations. And each one can be configured differently ϋ 'As shown in the network _, the user's home and the 920 each include one (referred to as a data machine) 912 and 922. The data machine Μ and 922 are respectively in one The Ethernet 918, 928 is coupled to the first host (host 1) 914, 924 'and the second host (host 2) 916, 926. Each of the hosts 914, 916, 924 and 926 can be (for example, a computer or Another _ (4) piece or communication device. ° ° There are various ways, The network 9 can allow multiple hosts (eg, 914, 9W, and 9%) to connect to the router 96. Based on the following 132608.doc -23- 200922249, only the data machine 912 and the hosts 914 and 916 are considered. In a first method, the data machine 912 acts as another router. The hosts 914 and 916 are identified by their IP addresses, and the data 912 sends 11} packets from the hosts 9 14 and 9 16 To router 960. This method 1 typically requires the data processor 912 to run the router software, which requires additional memory and increased processing power. In a second method, the data machine 912 acts as a bridge. The data machine 912 and the AP 940 are used. A standard wireless distribution system (WDS) mechanism is used to convey layer 2 packets to router 960. Hosts 914 and 916 are identified by their Media Access Control (MAC) address. This method 2 is part of the 802.1 1 standard and can simultaneously Servo multiple hosts. However, not all APs and modems support WDS, and APs and modems that do support WDS usually only have limited support. For example, some APs and modems cannot be used to access Wi_Fi protection (WPA). ) In WDS, and this may introduce security issues. In a third method, the data engine 912 uses MAC priming to change the source MAC address of the Ethernet packet (one of the source hosts 914 and 916). From its point of view, router 960 sees only data machine 912. Data machine 912 can only serve one host at a time using this method. In an alternative method, data machine 912 uses packets, such as The following is more detailed §. Each of the above methods has advantages and disadvantages, and such advantages and disadvantages may vary depending on the embodiment. However, the packet method provides specific advantages. It generally does not require the modem to run the router software and allows the modem to be simpler. It usually does not introduce security issues, and it can serve multiple hosts at once. In addition, the "packeting method" avoids the large workload associated with the three methods before the packet is transmitted by the single-wlan packet. Therefore, the first three methods incur the workload of the WLAN packets for each packet transmitted from a host, and correspondingly reduce the output. Such invalid rates are usually degraded in the TDF environment. In a TDF environment, the duration of the time slot is fixed and the time slot is designed to allow only one WLAN packet to be transmitted in the -slot. Therefore, only one host packet can be transmitted in each slot. One or more. Such advantages include, for example, simpler router design and operation, increased security, packageability, server hosting, and increased efficiency and output.

In summary, at least one embodiment of the packetization method includes packetizing a plurality of Ethernet packets into one WLAN packet. The Wlan packet will be as large as the maximum length allowed by the TDF slot. The Ap (e.g., another data machine) will decapsulate the WLAN packet into individual Ethernet packets and transmit them to the route. For communication in the opposite direction, the data machine will go to the package of a WLAN packet and transmit the individual Ethernet packets to the (or other) main / π %Tana, the field and other data machines to clearly display; And a ΑΡβ the explanation includes a data machine about 1010, a data machine #Ν 1020, and a ΑΡ 1030, and each of the γ bab 4 data machines 1010 and 1020 is coupled in a cable network 1 〇 4 〇 To Αρ 1〇3〇. Other embodiments use a separate cable network for the data machine. ^ 132608.doc -25- 200922249 Each of the data machines 1010 and 1020 and the AP 1030 include functional components of the same name, although some of the external connections Different and the components themselves perform different functions on a data machine and an AP. Therefore, a common unit serving as both a data machine and an AP is provided. However, it should be clear that different units can be designed for a data machine and an AP, with different units only implementing the functions required by a data machine or an AP, respectively. The modem 1010 includes a zone application layer 110 followed by a Tcp/ip layer 1012' followed by a bridge 1014. The bridges 1〇14 are coupled to an Ethernet interface 1015, a packet aggregation/de-collection module (PADM) 1〇16, and a WLAN interface 1〇17. The PADM 1016 is also coupled to the WLAN interface 1017. The Ethernet interface 1015 is coupled to the Ethernet 1〇52, which is coupled to a first host (host 1) 1054 and a second host (host 2) 1〇56. The data machine 1020 is similar to the data machine 1〇1〇. However, the data processor is connected to the Ethernet 1062, and the Ethernet 1/62 is coupled to a first host (host 1) 1064 and a second host (host 2). . The components of the data unit 1〇2〇 are shown to be identical to the components of the data machine 1010. However, it should be clear that when the data units 1010 and 1 020 are set up and operating, various configuration parameters (for example) will be different. The AP 1030 includes an area application layer 101 followed by a TCP/IP layer 1072' followed by a bridge 1 74. The bridge 1 74 is coupled to an Ethernet interface 1077, a PADM 1076, and a WLAN interface 1075. The PADM 1076 is also coupled to the WLAN interface 1075. The Ethernet interface 1077 is coupled to an Ethernet 1〇82' which in turn is coupled to a router 132608.doc -26- 200922249 1090. The WLAN interfaces 1017 and 1075 are communicatively coupled to each other in the cable network 1040. Router 1 090 is further coupled to the Internet 1 〇 95. Therefore, there is a connection between the host 1054, 1056, 1064, 1066 and the Internet 1095. The various regional application layers (1011, 1071) are standard layers for running regional applications and interfacing with other layers in the architecture. The various TCP/IP layers (1 〇 1, 2, 10 72) are used to run TCP/IP and provide a standard layer of services typically provided by such layers, including interfacing with other layers in the βH architecture. Various Ethernet interfaces (1 01 5, 1077) are used to interface to/from the standard unit of the Ethernet. Such interfaces 1015, 1077 transmit and receive Ethernet packets and operate in accordance with the Ethernet protocol. Various WLAN interfaces (1017, 1075) are used to interface to/from the WLAN network. Such interfaces 1〇17, 1075 transmit and receive WLAN packets and operate in accordance with the WLAN protocol. However, the WLAN interfaces 1017, 1075 are actually coupled to a cable network 1〇4〇 in the narration 1000 rather than using wireless communication. The Ethernet and WLAN interfaces 1〇15, 1〇17, 1〇75, and 1〇77 can be implemented in, for example, a hardware such as a plug-in card for a computer. The interfaces can also be implemented to a large extent in a software such as a program that performs the functions of the interface using instructions implemented by a processing device. This interface typically includes a portion for receiving an actual signal (eg, a connector) and buffering a received signal (eg, a transmit/receive buffer), and typically includes a portion for processing the signal (eg, a signal processing chip) All or part of 132608.doc -27- 200922249 The various bridges (1014, 1〇74) are a single bridge that can forward packets between an Ethernet interface and a WLAN interface for software or hard. Implemented, or may be only a logical entity. A standard implementation for a bridge includes a processing device (such as an integrated circuit) or a processor-based device (such as a processor running a bridge software) An instruction set/PADM 1〇16 and 1076 running on it performs various functions, including packet encapsulation and decapsulation, which are further described below. PADM can be implemented in, for example, software, hardware, firmware or some combination 1016 and 1.76. The software implementation includes, for example, an instruction set, such as a program for running on a processing device. The hardware implementation includes, for example, a dedicated chip, such as Special Application IC (ASIC) Referring to Figure 11, a procedure 1100 describes a procedure for transmitting a packet from a host to a modem. The packets are further transmitted from the modem for reception by an AP, and Finally, it is delivered to a router and then to a final destination. This program 1100 is also referred to as an uplink transmission procedure.) The program 1100 includes the use of, for example, a program described earlier in this application. Connect to the AP (1110). Such programs may include, for example, standard WLAN protocols including authentication and associated operations. The program 1100 thus includes one or more hosts transmitting one or more packets (Π20) to the data machine, and the data machine receiving the (etc.) transmission packets (1 1 30). It should be noted that the transport packets are received by a router that delivers the packets to the final destination. In the embodiment of FIG. 1, the data machine 1010 receives the transport packets from one or more of the hosts 1054 and 1056 over the Ethernet 1052 via the Ethernet 1015. 132608.doc •28- 200922249 The modem therefore decides that the (etc.) packet will be in the _wlan interface (1)40). The modem makes this decision in the following manner: (1) The heart (4) The router is opposite to the access on the WLAN interface ##' and on the other. In the figure "', the round of the program, the data machine 1010 value of the (etc.) receiving packets to the bridge 1G14, and the bridge 1G set (1140). This is the data machine is therefore used for packets The plurality of packets of the router include a plurality of received packets (1) 50. The packets (1) 5) may include packets received from the plurality of hosts, such as from the host in the embodiment, and (10) received. In addition, the packets may include The (etc.) packets received in operation 113A and the packets received earlier and stored in the queue. In an embodiment that does not encapsulate multiple packets, the embodiment may use a bridge to Map the Ethernet packets to individual SMS packets to individually packetize each Ethernet packet. This packet can, for example, include the entire Ethernet packet as one of the cameras. Partially adding an additional WLAN header. Furthermore, embodiments that do not packetize multiple packets do not even need to encapsulate individual Ethernet packets. Instead, such implementations may employ, for example, a WLAN header. Replace the Ethernet header and add it as needed One or more additional fields are converted into individual WLAN packets into individual WLAN packets. For example, referring to FIG. 12, a conversion 1200 is shown that includes an Ethernet header 1220 and a data portion 1230. An Ethernet packet 1210. The conversion 1200 generates a WLAN packet 124, which includes a 132608.doc -29-200922249 header 1250, a data portion 1230, and a frame check sequence (FCS) 1260. Implementation operation 11 50 includes packetizing a plurality of Ethernet packets into a single WLAN packet. Figure 13 illustrates an implementation of operation 1150. Referring to Figure 13, a conversion 1 3 〇〇 receives multiple Ethernet packets , including Ethernet packets 1310, 1312 and 1314' and generate a single WLAN packet 1318. The Ethernet packets 131, 1312 and 1314 each include an Ethernet header 1320, 1322 and 1324, respectively. Each includes a data portion 1326, 1328, and 1329. The Ethernet packets 1310, 1312, and 1314 may originate from the same host or different hosts. Additionally, although the Ethernet packets 1310, 1312, and 1314 are packetized for transmission to a router, but the Ethernet packet 131, 13 The final destinations of 12 and 1314 can be different. For example, each of the Ethernet packets 131, 1312, and 1314 can be a different Internet location where one or more hosts communicate with (or attempt to communicate with) the host. The conversion 1 300 series is shown to include two intermediate operations. However, other embodiments do not implement any intermediate operations, and other implementations implement multiple intermediate operations. The first intermediate operating system is the Ethernet. The packet is converted into an extended Ethernet packet. Ethernet packets 1310, 1312, and 1314 are converted to expanded Ethernet packets 1330, 1332, and 1334, respectively. In the conversion 13 00, all Ethernet packets 13丨〇, 13 12 and 13 14 are included to expand the data portions 1336, 1338 and 1340 of the Ethernet packets 1330, 1332 and 1334, respectively. The extended Ethernet packets 1330, 1332 and 1334 also include optional headers 132608.doc -30- 200922249 1342, 1343 and 1344, and optional endings 1346, 1347 and 1348, respectively. Headers 1342, 1343 and 1344 and endings 1346, 1347 and 1348 may include various information pieces 'whether or not they are typical for the header/end, such as the number of packets, confirmation and retransmission information, for source and/or The address of the destination, as well as error checking information. The second intermediate operation includes converting the extended Ethernet packets into a single WLAN Ethernet (EIW) packet 1350. The EIW Packet 1350 includes a data portion for remotely expanding each of the Ethernet packets. Show two possible conversions. The first transformation is illustrated by the solid arrow 137 and the first transformation is illustrated by the dashed arrow 丨375. As indicated by the solid arrow 137' in the transition 1300, the data portions 1352, 1 353, and 1354 correspond to the included extended Ethernet packets 丨33〇, 1332, and 1334, respectively. The EIW packet 1350 further includes an optional header 1356 (also referred to as an EIW header) and an optional ending 1358, which may include, for example, any of the data for the header/end first. . If the k-head or the end is not inserted in an extended Ethernet packet, the data portion of the extended Ethernet packet (eg, data portion 1336) becomes the data portion of the EIW packet (eg, , data section 1352). In addition, even if a header or trailer is inserted into the extended Ethernet packet, an implementation can abandon/ignore the header or end when forming the EIW packet. In any of these conditions, the expansion of the Ethernet packet and the portion of the data of the Elw packet have the same information. As indicated by the dashed arrow 1375 in the conversion 1300, the data portions 1352, 1353, and 1354 do not have to correspond to the extended Ethernet packets 1330, 1332, 132608.doc - 31 - 200922249, and 1334, respectively. gP, - One of the EIW packets does not contain an entire extended Ethernet packet. As indicated by the dashed arrow 1375, an extended Ethernet packet can be divided into data portions of two EIW packets. More specifically, the implementation shown by the dashed arrow 1375 shows (!) that the second portion of the extended Ethernet packet 1330 is placed in the data portion 1352 of the eiw packet 1350, and (7) the entire extended Ethernet is The network packet is placed in the data portion 1353 of the EIW packet 1350, and the first portion of the expanded Ethernet sfl packet 1334 is placed in the data portion 13 54 of the EIW packet 135. Therefore, in one scheme for the eiw packet 1350, (1) the data portion 13 52 includes a portion of the extended Ethernet packet, and (2) the last "before portion 1 354 includes a portion of the expanded Ethernet. The Road Packet, and the (3) Intermediate Negatives section (1 3 5 3 and any other data sections not explicitly shown) contain all of the extended Ethernet packets. Although not shown, it should be clear that the first part of the extended Ethernet packet 1330 can be placed in one of the data portions of a previous mw packet, and (2) the second part of the Ethernet packet 1334 can be expanded. Place it in a data section of a subsequent EIW packet. In the final phase of the conversion 1300, the EIW packet 135 is included as a data portion 136 of the WLAN packet 1318. The WLAN packet 131 8 also includes a WLAN MAC header 1362 and an FCS 1364. It should be clear that not all embodiments use all of the optional headers and ends' even without using all (or any) of the optional intermediate operations (also referred to as stages). For example, other implementations only copy portions of the extended Ethernet packets into the EIW packet to fit more of the original data (eg, 'data portions 1326, 1328, and 1329) to a fixed duration of 132608.doc -32· 200922249 slot. It should be clear that which headers and endings are used, and how many intermediate operations are included, may vary from implementation to implementation and from design goals and constraints. Referring to Figure I4, a diagram 1400 shows how an embodiment of a PADM encapsulates an Ethernet packet. The PADM maintains an incoming queue 1410 in which each incoming Ethernet packet is placed. The PADM chain of these Ethernet networks

The Lucent package is a string of 1420, and an EIW header 1430 and a WLAN header 1440 are added. Based on the information included in headers 1430 and 1440, these headers 1430 and 1440 can be constructed early or after chaining the Ethernet packets. For example, at least one embodiment includes a number in the EIW header 1430 indicating the number of Ethernet packets in the string 1420. If the Ethernet packets can have a variable length, then this number is typically not available until the Ethernet packets have been packaged into strings 1420. It should be clear that headers 1430 and 1440 can be defined to meet the needs of a particular implementation. Referring to Figure 15, a format 1500 of one embodiment of an EIW header is shown. The format 1500 includes a field 151 用于 for the sequence and the acknowledgment number, a total number of packet packets 1 5 2 0, and a series of packet descriptors, including each Ethernet packet for packetization in the WLAN packet. One of the descriptors of the road message package. Therefore, one of the expected packet descriptors is variable, as indicated by the ellipses in Figure 5. Packet descriptors 1 530 and 1 540 are displayed, wherein each of the packet descriptors 1530 and 1540 includes a packet flag (155 〇 and 1555, respectively) and a packet length (1560 and 1565, respectively). The sequence number (1510) provides a sequence identifier for the packet material that allows the recipient to confirm receipt of the transmission. The confirmation number provides confirmation of the previously received information. 132608.doc •33· 200922249 The number of total packets is the number of Ethernet packets that are encapsulated in the WLAN packet. . Kong has flagged (1550, 1555) to indicate whether the associated Ethernet packet is το王汛包. If the time slot has a fixed duration, then it is possible that the entire Ethernet packet may not fit a given wlan packet. Therefore, it is expected in the amnesty implementation that the first and last Ethernet packets are usually incomplete in any given WLAN packet. The packet length 〇56〇, 1565) indicates the length of the particular Ethernet packet. Continuing with program U00, in the embodiment of Fig. 10, operation 115 can be performed by, for example, PADM 1016 of the data processor. Other embodiments may perform operation 115 in, for example, the bridge, the Ethernet interface, the wlan interface, another intermediate component other than the PADM, a component over the bridge, or a combination of components. Hey. It should be clear that the rent can be implemented in, for example, a software (such as a program of instructions), a hardware (such as a button), a body (such as a body that is embedded in a processing device), or a combination of operations ιΐ5〇. Item 0 Another j PADM can be located in different locations within the data machine (for example, on the 5th bridge, above or in the female ^ J. Ag, . between the " Ethernet interface and the bridge ), in the "face" - or the bridge, and / or distributed among multiple components. The spear sequence 1100 further includes the data packet transmitted by the Thunders in the cable to the AP (the transmission packet of the 1160^ is transmitted by the router is expected to be received by the router. Coaxial electrical winding, with media. & fiber or other wired transmission. In a particular implementation, ♦ - the uplink time slot of the Putian data machine reaches 132608.doc • 34- 200922249, the data machine will collect The packet from the queue is placed in a large WLAN packet. The WLAN packet is not larger than the maximum packet allowed by the slot. Conversely, when the slot arrives, if the WLAN packet is Not being large enough to fill the duration of the fixed time slot, an embodiment will transmit a (smaller) WLAN packet, and another embodiment will transmit null data (10) 11 data). Referring to Figure 16, a procedure 16 The receiving packet packet 'decapsulates the packet and delivers the __ program that constitutes the packet. This program _ is also referred to as an uplink receiving procedure. The private sequence 1600 includes an ap from a data on a WLAN interface The machine receives a packet (1620). Figure 10 In an embodiment, the Ap 1〇3〇 receives the packet from the data machine 1〇1〇, and receives the packet on the cable network 1040 (for example, a coaxial cable network) on the WLAN interface 1075. The AP receives the packet and receives the packet. The packet is used to capture the component packet (1630) constituting the packet packet. In the implementation scheme of FIG. 1 , the wlan interface transmits and receives (packages) the packet to the PADM 1076 dPADM 1 〇 76 to perform decapsulation and provide the composition B. The network packet is sent to the bridge 1 to 74. By checking, for example, the number of the total packet 1520, and the parent packet descriptor (for example, the packet descriptor of the packet descriptor (for example, the packet packet) 1550) Decapsulation is performed with the packet length (for example, the packet length is 1560.) By checking this information, IQ% can determine where each of the constituent packets is opened and ended. Special 疋σ之,PADM 1076 Check each component packet to ensure that the packet is a full Ethernet packet. If the packet is not complete, the PADM 1G76 retains the incomplete packet and waits until it receives the Ethernet 132608.doc. 35· 200922249 The rest of the road package (presumably in the subsequent package In the package), when receiving the rest of the Ethernet packet, the PADM 1076 assembles the full Ethernet packet and forwards the full Ethernet packet to the bridge 1〇74. Referring to Figure 17, The above embodiment of operation 1630 is described in Figure 17A for receiving a packet 171. Based on simplicity, the received packet 171 is assumed to be the same as the transport packet described with reference to Figure 14. However, it should be understood There may be a change between a transmission packet and a reception packet. The receive packet 1710 includes a WLAN header 144A, an mw header 143A, and a string 1420 that forms an Ethernet packet. As the PADM 1076 processes the received packet 171, if a component of the Ethernet packet is complete, the packet (e.g., packet i 72) is provided to the bridge 1074. If a component of the Ethernet packet is incomplete, then it will not end.

The full packet is stored in a waiting queue 173 (which does not have to be located at pADM 1076) until the rest of the packet arrives. The figure shows an incomplete packet 174 stored in the waiting queue 1730. This can occur, for example, in the case of an Ethernet packet spanning two WLAN packets. When the packet is complete, the packet is transmitted to the bridge 丨〇74. It should be noted that a WLAN may include, for example, a full Ethernet packet and a partial Ethernet packet. Referring to the figures to further illustrate the decapsulation procedure 113, an embodiment of a PADM 1750' that provides either PADM 1〇16 or 1〇76 is described. The PADM 175 includes a packer (10) and a depacker (10). The packetizer 176G and the depacketizer 1770 are communicatively coupled to -bridge/and ΑΝ" φ. In the case of a PADM 175 叙 description, I32608.doc • 36- 200922249 _ 1750 may be more specifically referred to as a packet/decapsulation module. In the knowledge, the packet H 1760 receives an Ethernet packet from the bridge, such as 以 and provides the WLAN interface. D. The packet data is received from the packet data and is provided. In operation, the packet 177 is removed from the WLAN device. The packetizer 1770 is decapsulated to receive the decapsulated packet information to the bridge as described above. . For example, another embodiment uses an embodiment

Clearly, other embodiments are feasible and envision a combination of a packetizer and a de-packer. Another virtual Ethernet interface feature of Linux. It should be noted that other implementations of the -AP or -data machine are directly transmitted from a single interface - packet to packet - bridge. The bridge determines that the packet is to be packetized and transmitted to a PADM. Continue the program 1 6 〇〇, the AP decided to know 4, and the 疋 専 専 専 composition packet will be transmitted to a router (1640). This operation can be performed at a different point in the trampoline y dilution 1600 with a number of operations (1640). In Figure 1 〇 Λ Λ Λ Λ Λ Λ Λ Λ Λ Λ Λ Λ Λ Λ Λ Λ Λ Λ Λ Λ 桥 桥 桥 桥 桥 桥 桥 74 74 74 74 74 74 74 74 74 74 74 The device then transmits the component packets to the router (purchased) on the Ethernet interface. In the embodiment of Figure 1G, the bridge deletes the constituent packets to the Ethernet interface 1〇77, which uploads the packets to the router 1〇9〇 on the Ethernet 1〇82. The router receives (deletes) and processes (1_) the packets. Processing may include, for example, transmitting the packets or portions thereof to another destination, such as a website with which the host communicates or attempts to communicate. In addition, in one embodiment where the 132608.doc -37-200922249 packet includes an Ethernet packet from multiple hosts, the router can transmit the underlying information to multiple websites. Referring to Figure 19, a program 18 〇〇 describes a procedure for receiving a packet from a router at -Ap. The packets are encapsulated and the packet is transmitted from the AP. The transport packet is expected to be received by a modem, and the constituent packets are expected to be finally delivered from the modem to - or multiple hosts. This procedure 1 800 is also known as the downlink transmission procedure. The program 1800 includes a router receiving one or more packets intended for one or more hosts (1820), and the router transmitting the (etc.) receiving packets to the AP (1830). The router can, for example, attempt with One or more websites that communicate with one or more hosts receive the packets. In the embodiment of Figure 1, the router 1090 receives packets from the Internet 1095. The router 1〇9〇 then transmits the received packet to the Ethernet interface 1077 on the Ethernet 1082. The Ap determines that at least one of the received packets will be transmitted to the data device on a WLAN interface (1840). In the embodiment of FIG. 10, the Ethernet interface (7)^ sends a receive packet (which is an Ethernet packet) to the bridge 1〇74. The bridge 1074 determines that a packet will be transmitted on the WLAN interface 1 to 75 to, for example, the modem 101 0 . The AP packet includes one or more packets of the received packet for transmission to the modem (1850). It should be noted that all of the packets are received from the router, but the packets have been received at the router from one or more different sources (e.g., different websites). In addition, the packet may include packets received during operation and packets received earlier and stored in a queue. 132608.doc -38- 200922249 With regard to operation 1850, in the embodiment of FIG. 10, bridge 1074 forwards the (etc.) receive packet to PADM 1076 ° PADM 1076 along with other messages intended for, for example, data machine 1010. The packets are arranged to receive the packets and form a packet WLAN packet for the available downlink time slot of the data machine 1010. The PADM 1076 maintains a separate queue for each data machine (also referred to as a single), including a first queue for the data machine 1010 and a second queue for the data machine 1020. The packet is illustrated as described earlier in conjunction with Figures 15 through 15 to illustrate Padm 1 〇 1 6 . The AP transmits a packet to the modem in a cable connection, which is expected to be delivered to one or more hosts (I860). In the implementation of Figure 1, the PADM 1076 prepares a _WLAN packet for each of the data machines 1〇1〇 and 1020 in a circular frequency format. The pADM 1 〇 76 then supplies the WLAN packets to the WLAN interface 1 〇 75 for insertion into the corresponding downlink time slots in the TDF hyperframe structure. The WLAN interface 1〇75 then transmits the WLAN packet to the modems 1〇1 and 1020 using the TDF frame structure. Multiple test chart 20, a program 〗 〖9 describes the use of receiving packet packets to packet packets and delivery of a package. This program 19 is also known as the downlink receiving procedure. The program 1900 includes a data machine that receives a packet (chest) from an Ap on a wlan interface. In the embodiment of Figure 1, the data machine ι〇ι〇 receives the packet on the WLAN interface 1〇17 in an electronic network (e.g., a coaxial cable network). . The data machine then goes to the packet to receive the packet to retrieve the packet (thoracic) that constitutes the packet. In the embodiment of Figure 1Q, the pADM pain is implemented by 132608.doc -39-200922249 & and the packet is provided and the Ethernet packet is provided to the bridge as described earlier in the description of Figures 16-18. 1076-like implementation of the de-packing. The data packet (4) and other component packets will be transmitted to - or multiple expected hosts (1940). This operation (194G) can be performed at a different point in the program 19〇〇 with many operations. For example, operation 1940 can be performed in conjunction with any of the operational measurements or 195. In the embodiment of Figure 1 (), the bridge (8) 4 determines that the packets will be delivered to the host. The /data machine then transmits the constituent packets to the host (195G) on the Ethernet interface. In the embodiment of FIG. 1Q, the bridge (8) scores the constituent packets to the Ethernet interface 1〇15, and transmits the packets to the host on the Ethernet brother} 1〇54 and the host 2 One or more of 1〇56. Or multiple hosts receive (I960) and process (1970) the packets. The processing may include, for example, a personal computer that stores multimedia files received on the Internet; a PDA that displays an electronic message (also received over the Internet) for viewing by a user and interactive. 21 to 34 will now be explained. However, the description of the embodiments represented by Figs. 21 to 34 is not limited to the following description. In order to take advantage of the mature hardware and software implementation of the 802.1 1 protocol stack, it has been proposed to use the WLAN with modified WLAN (Wireless Local Area Network) chipset to transmit the 802.1 1 frame in the coaxial cable media in different frequency bands. Therefore, a TDF (Time Sharing Function) agreement is established to replace the traditional (10) 2" 丨 DCF (Distributed Coordination Function) or PCF (Point Coordination Function) mechanism in the MAC (Media Access Control) layer for this application. As mentioned above, this 132608.doc • 40· 200922249 TDF protocol is based on TDMA (Time Division Multi-Direction), which allows multiple users to share the same channel by dividing the same channel into different time slots. The TDF STAs quickly and successively transmit uplink traffic, each of which uses its own time slot in one of the TDF super-frames assigned by the TDF AP (access point). For downlink traffic, the STAs share the channel and select the frame to target by comparing the destination address information in the frame with the address of interest. Figure 5 illustrates time slot allocation for a typical TDF hyperframe when there are m (= tdfUplinkTimeSlotNumber) STAs that are simultaneously competing for uplink transmission opportunities. As shown and described with respect to FIG. 5, there is a time slot of a fixed number of TDF frames (tdfTotalTimeSlotNumber), which is composed of: one for transmitting the clock step information from the TDF AP to the TDF STA ( 1) Synchronization time slot, one of the registration requests for transmitting the time slot allocation for the uplink (1) the competition time slot, the tdfUplinkTimeSlotNumber uplink used by the registered TDF STA for successive transmission of data and some management frames to the TDF AP. The link time slot and the tdfDownlinkTimeSlotNumber downlink time slot used by the TDF AP to transmit data and some management frames to the STA. Except for the sync slot, all other slots known as the common slot have the same duration and have a length equal to tdfCommonTimeSlotDuration.

The duration value of tdfCommonTimeSlotDuration is defined to allow transmission of at least one of the largest 802.1 1 ? 1^ (physical layer convergence protocol) protocol data elements (?? 〇 11) in one of the normal time slots of the highest rate data mode. The duration of the synchronization slot tdfSyncTimeSlotDuration is shorter than the duration of the common time slot, because the clock synchronization frame from the TDF AP to the TDF I32608.doc -41 200922249 STA is shorter than 802.1 1 data in this slot. frame. Therefore, the duration of a TDF hyperframe defined as tdfSuperframeDuration can be calculated by the following equation: tdfSuperframeDuration = tdfSyncTimeSlotDuration + tdfCommonTimeSlotDuration * (tdfTotalTimeSlotNumber - 1) The relationship between tdfTotalTimeSlotNumber, tdfUplinkTimeSlotNumber and tdfDownlinkTimeSlotNumber satisfies the following equation: tdfTotalTimeSlotNumber = tdfUplinkTimeSlotNumber + tdfDownlinkTimeSlotNumber + 2 In a practical application scenario where a WLAN chipset with a reduced frequency band is used to provide data transmission over a CATV access network, there are typically two applications. An application uses this solution to provide Internet access, so users must be assigned a guaranteed time slot to achieve constant data rate and QoS (quality of service). Another application uses this solution to transmit sporadic uplink traffic from the user side to the headend, such as user control messages in VoD (Video on Demand) applications for digital TV services. Using the above proposed MAC layer mechanism, the STA uses an AP registration to first acquire an uplink time slot, and then transmits such a control message in the slot of each hyperframe allocation. However, because the traffic for such applications is extremely low, the STA needs to use a very small portion of the time slot for data transmission, and even, even if it is used to support such applications with sporadic traffic. There are still no traffic to be transmitted during the number of consecutive hyperframes of the TDF STA. Therefore, those skilled in the art will appreciate that in some scenarios, it may be quite expensive to support this second application using the purely time-sharing media access previously established and known in the TDF protocol 132608.doc -42.200922249. According to other known embodiments, during a contention-based uplink time slot, TDF sta with sporadic uplink traffic to be transmitted and without Ap registration for uplink time slot allocation will use DCF The mechanism transmits uplink traffic to the TDF AP.

However, due to the intrinsic nature of the DCF mechanism, it is possible that a TDF STA s will have a greater chance of accessing the channel for uplink traffic transmission if it uses a smaller window of view to obtain transmission opportunities instead of . Moreover, a fair distribution of transmission opportunities cannot be achieved among such STAs that use a contention based media access method for uplink traffic. This disclosure suggests at least two TDFs to support data services and sporadic user control messages over the cable access network. The first type of TDF uses both polling and time-sharing media access, and the second type of TDF uses a hybrid mechanism to get the upstream channel. Variations and other combinations, such as the use of polling and a competition-based hybrid mechanism, are imaginary and part of this disclosure. Referring to Figure 2, in order to provide support for both high data rate services with Q〇s support and other services with sporadic data traffic and latency tolerance characteristics, an advanced technology TDF is shown, including and on the uplink Both channel polling and time-sharing media access mechanisms. The suggested Tdf with polling and time-sharing media access adds a time slot (e.g., polling slot) to one of the time slots used in the previous implementation of the TDF program order tdf hyperspatial. As shown in Fig. 21, there is a time slot in which the fixed number of tddf hyperframes is 132608.doc • 43- 200922249 (tdfTotalTimeSlotNumber), and the detailed function series for each of the time slots included therein is as follows: > (1) Synchronization slot. This synchronization slot of the synchronization time slot is used to transmit clock synchronization information from the TDF AP to the TDF STA. > One (1) registration slot. The registration slot (ie, the registration time slot) is used by the TDF STA to transmit a registration request to the TDF AP. In the registration request frame body, the TDF STA will inform the AP of its operation mode, polling mode or time-sharing mode to obtain an uplink transmission request.

&gt; One (1) polling slot. During this time slot, TDF STAs with occasional uplink traffic to transmit and not using TDF AP registration for uplink time slot allocation will transmit uplinks using the specific PCF (Point Coordination Function) mechanism detailed below. Link traffic to TDF AP &gt; Downlink time slot. These slots contain tdfDownlinkTimeSlotNumber downlink time slots, which are used by the TDF AP to transmit data and some management frames to the TDF STAs. &gt; Time-sharing uplink time slot. These slots contain tdfUplinkTimeSlotNumber uplink time slots, which are used by the registered TDF STAs to successively transmit data and some management frames to TDF APs with high data rate and QoS support. Depending on the requirements of the particular application, the duration of the slots for the synchronization time slot, the registration time slot, the polling time slot, the downlink time slot, and the time-sharing uplink time slot are different in most cases. However, each uplink time slot called the common time slot in the tdfUplinkTimeSlotNumber time slot has a phase 132608.doc -44 - 200922249 with the duration of tdfCommonTimeSlotDuration. Therefore, the duration of a TDF hyperframe defined as tdfSuperframeDuration can be calculated by the following equation: tdfSuperframeDuration = tdfSyncTimeSlotDuration + tdfRegTimeSlotDuration + tdfPollingTimeSlotDuration + tdfCommonTimeSlotDuration * (tdfTotalTimeSlotNumber - 3) The relationship between tdfTotalTimeSlotNumber, tdfUplinkTimeSlotNumber and tdfDownlinkTimeSlotNumber is satisfactory. Ij equation: tdfTotalTimeSlotNumber = tdfUplinkTimeSlotNumber + tdfDownlinkTimeSlotNumber + 3 0 Enhanced PCF program during polling time slot For STAs in this TDF with both polling and time-sharing media access mechanisms, various implementations include two modes of operation: For the polling mode; and the other is the time-sharing mode. The basic media access method for the STA operating in the polling mode for uplink traffic transmission is the PCF. However, several improvements to this classical PCF mechanism have been made due to the specific environment for data transmission on fixed lines. Basic Access The PCF mechanism in the slot provides a non-competitive frame transmission. Referring to Figure 23, the PC (Point Coordinator) 23 02 is resident in the TDF AP 23 00. The form of the polling mode support provided by the AP 2300 is identified in the capability information field of the beacon frame transmitted from the APs. Need to poll based media access 132608.doc • 45- 200922249 Ding 0? 5 Ding 8 23 04 should be able to respond from one to eight? 23〇〇 Received non-competitive round s (CF round s), and therefore is called CF polling. When polled by pc 23〇2, the CF pollable STA will transmit only one MPDU (MAC Protocol Material Unit), which will be transmitted to the Ap and the MpDU is not required to be acknowledged by the AP. An AP will never poll the STAs that are not on the polling list of this gossip. Frames transmitted by an AP or STA during the polling slot will use the appropriate frame type according to the following usage rules: 1 - CF Polling, which is only transmitted by one Ap to the CF Polling sta. In this frame, the AP is not transmitting data to the address recipient, and the address recipient is allowed to transmit the next STA during the polling time slot; and 2 _ data and null frames can be any ( : 17 Polling STA transmission. The AP gets media control at the beginning of the polling slot and attempts to maintain control of the entire polling slot. It does not require the polling start and end of the slot by the AP respectively. The transmission of a beacon and the end of the CF is sent as required in the classic pcF protocol. When there is an entity in the polling list, the AP will transmit a -CF poll to at least the "STA" during the per-polling slot. During each-polling slot: «Hai AP will post polls to the subset of lights eight on the polling list in order from beginning to end. &gt; Test Figures 24 and 25, once each polling slot starts , the Ap will transmit = 506) - the CF round inquiry frame to a sta in the polling list. If there is no entity (2502) in the polling early morning, the AP will immediately transmit the downlink traffic (25〇4) during the polling time slot until the end of the downlink time slot. 132608.doc -46· 200922249 After receiving a data from a particular CF-trigable STA or * immediately after the AP transmission, after pre-defining a response polled by δ匡(2508), or CF, the AP then recovers” It can transmit the next box of the round 5 to the polling list, unless there is not enough time during the time slot. If at this time, it has reached: two f: the last item in the middle, The next time the AP will poll the list: = try to send the CF round of the inquiry frame to the STA. If the current: Γ = insufficient (four) (25ig) to allow the polling heart to transmit the minimum I ^ MPDU In the case of the message box, the milk word is not released - the π round inquiry frame. Conversely, if the slot is just at the beginning of the polling period during the lower-superframe, the thin wheel has been rolled;:=...the last item' is the AP Start Publishing - CF Polling: - Down, or Polling List Reference Map... All W Polls in the polling mode associated with this AP are logged in any uplink traffic unless they are polled The time slot is polled by the AP. One of the polling modules can be cf polled to be directed to its political address and received without error (10) polling. Immediately after CF polling, a data frame is transmitted. If there is no frame to be transmitted when the STA polls, the response will be a null frame. There is not enough time before the end of the slot when polling the bean array data frame. - Polling; CF polling STA will respond by transmitting - null message box. Polling list maintenance The AP will maintain a "polling list" for selecting STA, J: Charging in the polling slot During the reception of the CF poll, and prompted the polling like: round (four) 132608.doc -47- 200922249 conditions. The polling list can be used to control the use of the CF polling type for transmitting the data frame transmitted by the AP to the CF-capable STA. Once an AP receives a registration request frame from a STA, where the STA needs to access the channel using a polling mechanism, and the AP decides to authorize the STA to transmit the mechanism according to the setting policy in the AP, the AP will Add an input to the end of the polling list, which includes the STA's MAC address and data rate. On the other hand, once an AP receives an unregistered frame from a STA indicating that it will not access the channel using the polling mechanism, the AP will delete the corresponding input for the STA in the polling list. If a STA needs to change from a time-sharing mode to a polling mode, the STA will notify the AP by transmitting a non-registration to abandon the time-sharing mode and then transmitting a registration request with a polling mode indication to the AP. Referring to FIG. 22, in order to enjoy the flexibility provided by the DCF and the fairness provided by the PCF, a hybrid medium access mechanism for uplink traffic is also described, which uses both DCF and PCF for the STA to obtain For sporadic traffic transmission opportunities, and dedicated time slots for STAs to transmit high data rate traffic. A detailed time slot allocation for this enhanced TDF hyperframe is illustrated in FIG. As shown, there are fixed tdfTotalTimeSlotNumber time slots per TDF hyperframe, and the detailed functions for each of the time slots contained therein are listed below: &gt; One (1) sync slot. This synchronization slot of the synchronization time slot is used to transmit clock synchronization information from the TDF AP to the TDF STA. &gt; One (1) contention-based uplink slot. During this slot, the TDF STA can transmit a registration request to the TDF AP. In the registration request frame 132608.doc -48- 200922249 body, the TDF STA will inform the AP of its operational mode 'Polling, contention based or time-sharing mode to obtain an uplink transmission request. At the same time, TDF STAs with occasional uplink traffic to transmit and not using TDF AP registration for uplink time slot allocation will use the specific DCF mechanism to transmit uplink traffic to the TDF AP. &gt; One (1) polling slot. During this time slot, TDF STAs with occasional uplink traffic to transmit and not using TDF AP registration for uplink time slot allocation will transmit uplink traffic to the TDF using the specific PCF mechanism previously described. AP. In general, the TDF STA can notify the TDF AP of its operational mode (ie, DCF or PCF) 藉&gt; downlink by setting a corresponding flag transmitted by the TDF STA to the associated request frame of the TDF AP. groove. These slots contain tdfDownlinkTimeSlotNumber downlink time slots, which are used by the TDF AP to transmit data and some management frames to the TDF STAs. &gt; Time-sharing uplink time slot. These slots contain tdfUplinkTimeSlotNumber uplink time slots, which are used by the registered TDF STAs to successively transmit data and some management frames to TDF APs with high data rate and QoS support. Depending on the requirements of the particular application, the duration of the slot for the synchronization time slot, the contention base time slot, the polling time slot, the downlink time slot, and the time-sharing uplink time slot are different in most cases. Therefore, the duration of a TDF hyperframe defined as tdfSuperframeDuration can be calculated by the following equation: 132608.doc •49- 200922249 tdfSuperframeDuration = tdfSyncTimeSlotDuration + tdfContentionTimeSlotDuration + tdfPollingTimeSlotDuration + tdfCommonTimeSlotDuration * (tdfTotalTimeSlotNumber - 3) 0 tdfTotalTimeSlotNumber, tdfUplinkTimeSlotNumber and The relationship between tdfDownlinkTimeSlotNumber satisfies the following equation: tdfTotalTimeSlotNumber = tdfUplinkTimeSlotNumber + tdfDownlinkTimeSlotNumber + 3. The present principles suggest a TDF' that uses both contention-based and time-sharing media access to obtain uplink channels' to support data services and occasional user control messages on the power access network. In order to provide support for both high data rate services with QoS support and other services with sporadic data traffic and latency tolerance characteristics, an advanced technology TDF is shown that includes competition for uplink channel access. Basic and time-sharing media access mechanisms. The functional description of this TDF protocol using the mixed media access method is described in detail below. Access Method The TDF of both the competition-based and time-sharing media access using the present principles adds a time slot (e.g., a registration slot) to the previously disclosed TDF procedure. The detailed time slot allocation for this enhanced TDF hyperframe is illustrated in Figure 26. As shown in Fig. 26, there is a time slot of a fixed number of TDF frames (tdfTotalTimeSlotNumber), and the detailed functions for each of the time slots included therein can be enumerated as follows: 132608.doc • 50- 200922249 - One (1) Synchronization slot. This synchronization slot of the synchronization time slot is used to transmit clock synchronization information from the TDF AP to the TDF STA. - One (1) registration slot. The registration slot (i.e., the registration time slot) that can be compared to the contention time slot in the hyperframe structure illustrated in Figure 5 is used by the TDF STA to transmit a registration request to the TDF AP for uplink time slot allocation. - One (1) contention based uplink time slot. During this time slot, TDF STAs with occasional uplink traffic to transmit and not using TDF AP registration for uplink time slot allocation will transmit uplink traffic to the specific DCF mechanism as described in detail below. TDF AP. - Time-sharing uplink time slot. These slots contain tdfUplinkTimeSlotNumber uplink time slots, which are used by registered TDF STAs to successively transmit data and some management frames to TDF APs with high data rate and QoS support. - Downlink time slot. The slots include tdfDownlinkTimeSlotNumber downlink time slots, which are used by the TDF AP to transmit data and some management frames to the TDF STAs. In one embodiment, the &apos;registered slot and the contention based uplink time slot can be combined into a mixed time slot to improve system performance. This improvement will be due to the fact that both slots use a contention-based fallback method for channel access and in most cases there may be few traffic during the registration slot. In addition, the CWmin and CWmax of the competition window for the registration request can be defined as smaller than the cwmin and CWmax of the competition window for the data frame respectively, in order to provide the ratio information for the transmission of the registration request frame. The transmission of the frame has a high priority. Those skilled in the art should recognize that the "competition window" is for the 8 〇 2 ι standard and indicates how many hours the slot (10) the STA will wait before accessing the wireless medium in 5 and then determining whether the medium is available to the user for transmission of data. For 9 US) via _, initially the exact contention window is determined by selecting the number of random backoffs between 0 and CWmin. Each time the back-off period expires, so that the channel is still busy, the STA will randomly select another back-off period between the numbers in Omcwmin, CWmax] until the 0 and CWmax are selected. The last back cycle between. CWmin&amp; CWmax by defining the contention window for the registration request frame is smaller than the competition window for the data frame respectively ^^" and CWmax ' (CWmin for registration) &lt; (for information Box CWmm) and (CWmax for registration) < (CWmin for data frame), ensure the transmission of the registration request frame higher than the transmission of the data frame: Ushiquan. As explained below, this comparison The high priority is due to the smaller number of backoff periods available during the smaller contention window. For synchronization time slots, registration time slots, contention based time slots, time-sharing uplinks, as required by specific practice applications The durations of the time slot and the down chain slot are different from each other in most cases. However, each uplink time slot in the tdfuPilnkTimeS1〇tNumber slot is called a common (four) slot having its length equal to. The same duration as .nTimeSiQtDurati〇n. 132608.doc •52- 200922249 Therefore, the duration of a TDF hyperframe defined as tdfSuperframeDuration can be calculated by the following equation: tdfSuperframeDurati On = tdfSyncTimeSlotDuration * + tdfRegTimeSlotDuration . + tdfContentionTimeSlotDuration + tdfCommonTimeSlotDuration * (tdfTotalTimeSlotNumber - 3) The relationship between tdfTotalTimeSlotNumber, tdfUplinkTimeSlotNumber and tdfDownlinkTimeSlotNumber satisfies the following equation: tdfTotalTimeSlotNumber = tdfUplinkTimeSlotNumber + tdfDownlinkTimeSlotNumber + 3. In addition, a TDF hyperframe The number of allocated uplink time slots of the medium TDF STA can be changed from 0 to tdfMaximumUplinkTimeSlotNumber. Therefore, the available duration of the downlink time slot in a TDF frame can be from: (tdfCommonTimeSlotDuration * (tdfTotalTimeSlotNumber - '3)) Change to tdfCommonTimeSlotDuration * (tdfTotalTimeSlotNumber -3 - dfMaximumUplinkTimeSlotNumber)). Each time there is a TDF STA that requires an uplink time slot, the TDF AP will infer one or more common time slots from the available downlink time slots, and then assign the time slots to the TDF STA as long as the uplink The link time slot will not exceed tdfMaximumUplinkTimeSlotNumber after it. In addition, although the duration of the slot for the downlink is equal to 132608.doc -53 - 200922249 (tdfC〇mm〇nTimeSlotDuration *. Stealing, it is not necessary to have the guard time between the boundaries of these common time slots, because of this The downlink mode slot is continuous and transmits traffic from an independent Ap. Knowing this way, the downlink transmission in this protocol will be highly improved in efficiency and channel utilization. For the contention-based uplink Time slot enhancement dcf program for both contention-based and time-sharing media access mechanisms

The STA, several implementations have two modes of operation: one is based on a brother-only mode, and the other is a time-sharing mode. The basic media access method for STAs operating in a contention-based mode of uplink traffic transmission is defined in the mn specification (10), which allows for KSMA/CA (multiple proximity detection by collision avoidance (four) wave detection) And ▲ automatic media sharing with random back-off time after busy media conditions. However, several improvements to this classical DCF mechanism have been made due to the specific environment of data transmission on the fixed line. The random back procedure requires the transmission of the frame to be initiated—the TDF STA calls the carrier detection mechanism (in most cases the physical carrier detection) to determine the busy/idle value of the media '%. If the media is busy, then the STA STA delays until the media decides to be in a period of no nuisance time (4). In this media idle time: '4STA is generated for the extra delay time before transmission—the random backoff period, unless the back-off timer has already wrapped m, one has 3 non-zero values, in this case - the random number is selected &amp; It is necessary and not implemented. This procedure minimizes collisions during the competition between multiple STAs that are postponed to the same event. 132608.doc -54- 200922249 Back time = Random() * aSlotTime where

Random〇 = a pseudo-random integer drawn from a uniform distribution in intervals [〇, CW], where CW is an integer in the range of aCWmin and aCWmax, aCWmin &lt;= CW &lt;= aCWmax. The set of CW values will be a sequence of 2 increments of the integer power minus 1, starting with the special application aCWmin value and continuing upwards and including a special application aCWmax value. More specifically, for most of the application environment for this agreement, the maximum number of STAs in the competition-based model (which is tdfMaximumContentionStationNumber) is known in advance and can be manually configured and/or broadcast from TDF APs. The management frame is notified to the TDF STA, so the value can be set to a multiple of tdfMaximumContentionStationNumber or tdfMaximumContentionStationNumber. Therefore, the STA can access the physical medium after a relatively short back-off time when compared with the condition in which the aCwmax value is blindly set. By reducing the size of the contention window for the registration frame, the number of available backoff periods will be less than the number of backoff periods available for the data frame, resulting in a higher priority registration frame. Confirmation Procedure For TDF STAs operating in time-sharing mode, the STA-derived frame is exchanged in the wired environment rather than over the air during the uplink time slot allocated for this particular STA, so it has excellent signal Transmission of quality without competition. Therefore, it is not necessary to define an acknowledgment (ACK) frame to ensure the reliability of the delivery of the MAC frame. 132608.doc -55- 200922249 However, for TDF STAs operating in a competition-based mode, the physical carrier sensing mechanism does not work well in fixed lines because of the difference between the wired environment and the wireless channel. Therefore, the hidden table problem will cause many collisions among different TDF STAs in the competition mode. As a way to combat this failure, this principle recommends the use of a positive confirmation mechanism. Therefore, there are two kinds of acknowledgments that can be used for configuration: 1. This AP, which receives an uplink frame originating from a TDF STA in a contention mode, immediately acknowledges from the TDF AP, and therefore, if no ACK is received, Then, the TDF STA schedules retransmission. 2. Block ACK mechanism that improves channel efficiency by grouping several acknowledgments into one frame. There are two types of block ACK mechanisms: immediate and delayed. The immediate block ACK is immediately transmitted by the TDF AP after being a number of uplink frames from a TDF STA in the contention mode, and is suitable for high frequency wide and low latency traffic. The delay block ACK is transmitted by the TDF AP at the beginning of the downlink time slot in the same hyperframe as the contention-based uplink time slot in response to the TDF during the time slot based on the specific contention. Several successfully transmitted uplink frames transmitted by the STA. It is appropriate for applications that tolerate moderate latency and will be used for most of this TDF protocol with contention-based and time-sharing media access control. The block ACK frame may be a unicast frame in a competition mode to a specific TDF STA to notify it of successful reception of its uplink frame, and may also be a broadcast or multicast frame for notification. The number of TDF STAs in the competition model from the successful reception of the uplink frames of these STAs 132608.doc -56- 200922249. Operational Mode Conversion Procedure Once a TDF STA is initiated (e. g., after initialization), it enters a competition-based mode by a preset. Then, depending on its application requirements, configuration, and/or service provider's service level agreement, it can enter the time-sharing mode after transmitting the registration frame to the TDF AP and receiving the registration response with access permission. The transition from a competition-based mode to a time-sharing mode is illustrated in FIG. As shown, when in the competition-based modulo 2710, it is decided (27 12) whether or not it is necessary to enter the time-sharing mode. When the answer is yes, then it is determined (2714) whether a positive response has been received after the TDF STA has transmitted a registration request to the TDF AP. If a positive response has been received, then the time-sharing mode 27 1 6 is entered. If the decision m or 2714 produces a negative response, the system remains in the competition-based modulo 2710. In contrast to the embodiment shown in Figure 27, a TDF STA can enter a competition-based mode from a time-sharing mode during its operation. This concept is illustrated in Figure 28. As shown, when in time-sharing mode 2802, it is decided (2804) whether a competition-based mode is required. If necessary, a non-registration request (2806) is transmitted and the competition-based modulo 2808 is entered. If a competition-based module (2804) is not required, the system remains in the time-sharing mode. 2802 ° It should be noted that similar procedures can be applied to the polling implementation. For example, the implementation can switch between polling mode and time-sharing mode as needed. As explained above, in order to provide a cost-effective two-way data transmission solution on the existing coaxial cable access network, a method has been established which will provide a mature commodity WiFi chipset with an external frequency conversion circuit. This system for frame delivery using this method is called AD〇c (Asymmetric Coaxial Grid Data System), in which gamma must be configured in the electrical (four) network (time-sharing compliant protocol AD 〇 C storage) Take the point (Ap) and the station (STA). The terms "ADoC system" and "Qing system" are used interchangeably herein. The separators are connected via the hierarchical tree to the Ap and STA (see Figure 丨). Users in this way can access the remote IP core network via the cable access network. Detailed network layout is illustrated in Figure 1. In this typical infrastructure access network architecture, there is a TDF protocol adaptation. An AD〇C (TDF) access point (AP) having an Ethernet interface through which the AP is connected to the IP core network; and a coaxial cable &quot; face through which the AP Connect to the cable access network. Another knowledge of the access network is the existence of a TDF protocol adaptation ad〇C (TDF) STA, which is connected to the cable access network via a coaxial cable interface, and via a wireless interface (eg WLAN (wireless local area network) Interface) or a wired interface (such as an Ethernet interface) to a resident LAN (local area network). Referring to Figure 29, an embodiment of the invention for a hardware implementation of an ADoC STA 2900 is two devices ( An ADoC device 2903 and a WLAN device 2904) are integrated into an integrated STA. The ADoC device 2903 will be coaxial with a

The interface 2906 is connected to support bidirectional data communication in the electrical network, and the WLAN device 2904 is coupled to an antenna 2908 to support bidirectional data communication in the WLAN network. The STA 2900 will exchange the data frame between the ad C device 2903 and the WLAN device 2904 as needed to enable the PC in the network to access the Internet via the ADoC STA. The STA presented in Figure 29 requires two separate devices for channel encoder/decoder and data processing to provide Internet access for personal computers in a home WLAN. The present principles provide a solution that utilizes a single dual mode device and can periodically switch between the ADoC mode and the WLAN mode to provide the same access to the local area network. The dual mode ADoC device of the present principle can support both the ADoC mode and the WLAN mode and periodically switch between the two modes. In the ADoC mode, the dual mode device operates as an ADoC STA; in the WLAN mode, it operates as a WLAN AP. By using a single dual-mode device solution of the present principles, rather than two of the classic solutions shown in Figure 29, the ADoC STA embedded in the dual-mode ADoC device can provide Internet access to the local area network. Features. Thus, the manufacturing cost of an ADoC STA with Internet access support via a cable access network can be reduced by half the cost of the original compared to the classic solution of the two devices shown in FIG. To implement the dual mode device 2902 of the present principles, a standard ADoC device 2903 is modified and developed in accordance with a mature WLAN device. It differs primarily from the WLAN device 2904 in two aspects: 1) in a physical implementation, the RF operates in the ADoC band (about 1 GHz) instead of the standard 802.1 1 band (about 2.4 GHz); and 2) In the MAC (Media Access Control) layer, it does not utilize the traditional 802.1 1 DCF (Distributed Coordination Function) or PCF (Point Coordination Function) mechanism to exchange MAC frames. Instead, it uses the TDF protocol, which is based on the Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) method to transmit MAC frames. 132608.doc -59- 200922249

As shown in Figure 30, dual mode ADoC device 2902 will be coupled to a coaxial cable interface 2906 for interconnection with a cable access network and simultaneously coupled to an antenna 2908 to support bidirectional data communication in a WLAN network. The ADoC 'STA 2900 will exchange the data frames received from this dual mode ADoC. device 2902 during the two modes as needed. The hardware architecture of the dual mode ADoC device is based on a hardware implementation of the dual mode ADoC device 2902 shown in FIG. 31, providing a switch 3 1 02 that is configured for use in the WLAN RF circuit 3 104 and the ADoC RF A circuit that switches between circuits 3 106. The switch 3 1 02 can be controlled by the MAC layer software. This embodiment requires modifying the WLAN die set and adding switch 3 1 02 to the modified wafer set. According to another hardware embodiment shown in Fig. 32, the position of the switch 31 can be changed in accordance with the proximity of the MAC fundamental portion 3100 of the device. In this embodiment, converter 3108 reduces the WLAN band (which is the output of WLAN RF 3104 and is about 2.4 GHz) to the ADoC spectrum (which is about 1 GHz) and can reach a relatively long distance in the coaxial cable. It should be noted that the MAC baseband portion 3 1 00 may be characterized by a communication device configured to enable a user device to communicate with the dual mode ADoC device 2902. In contrast to the embodiment of Figure 31, the embodiment of Figure 32 is external to the existing WLAN chip set, and as such does not require modification of the WLAN chip set. MAC Layer Program for Dual Mode ADoC Devices In dual mode ADoC device 2902, the basic access method is the TDF protocol, which is the same as the MAC layer protocol in ADoC device 2903. 132608.doc •60· 200922249 As shown in Figure 34, there is a fixed time slot per tDF frame (tdfTotalTimeSlotNumber), which consists of the following: Used to transmit clock synchronization information from the ADoC AP to the ADoC STA. 1 synchronization time slot for transmitting registration requests for uplink time slot allocation! A competitive time slot, used by registered ADoC STAs to transmit data and some management frames to people? His 11卩1丨111&lt;:1^111681〇11^1111^1&gt; uplink time slot, and the tdfDownlinkTimeSlotNumber downlink time slot used by the ADoC AP to transmit data and some management frames to the STA. The dual mode ADoC device 2902 in this TDF protocol&apos; STA mode will be active only during the synchronization slot, the contention time slot, the allocation uplink time slot (e.g., time slot k), and the downlink time slot. In the remaining time slots (ie, from time slot 2 to time slot k; and from time slot k to time slot m), the dual mode AD〇c device in the STA mode will be inactive in the ADoC interface portion, and It is therefore possible to switch to the WLAN AP mode in the presence of a switch that can be controlled to change the operational RF from the ADoC band to the WLAN band.

The detailed MAC layer procedure in a dual mode ADoC device is as follows: 1. Once an ADoC STA is enabled and successfully allocates an uplink time slot for uplink traffic transmission, such as time slot k, then the dual mode The device will calculate if k&gt;(m+2)/2. If h(m+2)/2, the duration of [time slot 2, time slot k) indicated by τ (1)me slot 2' time sl〇tk) is at least equal to T (time slot k, time slot m] The duration of the indicated (Japanese temple slot k, time slot m). Therefore 'the dual-mode ADOC device will choose to operate in the [time slot 2, time slot k) period. The other side returns if k&lt;(m+2 )/2, then it means D (1)...丨.t2ti...丨.tk) is short 132608.doc -61 . 200922249 ;(time slot lc' time slot m]. Therefore, the dual-mode ad〇c device will choose [Time slot k, time slot m] operates in the WLAN mode during the period. It should be noted whether to determine whether the period [slot 2, slot k) &gt; cycle (slot k, slot call will generate criterion (k-2) &gt; (mk 'It sequentially produces a criterion k&gt;(m+2)/2. In the illustrated embodiment, the WL AN mode is selected for longer periods. However, other embodiments are in the WLAN mode during shorter periods. In the operation, or in the super-frame towel change between the modes multiple times. 2. For the other time slots in the TDF super-frame, the dual-mode AD〇c device is in the [time slot 2, time slot k) cycle Dual mode ADoC in the case of It operating in WLAN mode The device will operate as an AD〇c STA in the AD〇c mode and act in accordance with the standard gossip (: TDF protocol). Therefore, when the dual-mode ADoC device enters the time slot 2 in the ADoC mode, it will be grouped. The RF switch 3 102 changes the operating frequency to the WLAN spectrum 'and acts as a WLAN AP. Therefore, the dual mode STA can communicate with the WLAN STA in the resident WLAN network according to the standard WLAN procedure. k, and before the start of time slot k, the time for at least one WLAN frame is not left, the dual mode device 2902 will transmit a CTS (Clear Transfer) signal to all STAs in the resident WLAN. Duration of the CTS frame The block will be equal to the duration from time slot k in the superframe to time slot 2 in the next frame. After receiving the CTS message, all STAs will update their NAV and stop the continuation reported by the CTS message. Accessing the WLAN media in time. In this way, the dual-mode device will have all the STAs in this frame by pretending that another 132608.doc • 62· 200922249 entity is used to save the WLAN media for the duration of time. Slot k to the next super frame Quiet time slot 2 of the cycle. Thereafter, the device will switch to controlling the operation of the spectral change back to TDF ADoC frequency band and in accordance with the operation program.

When the dual mode device 2902 enters the time slot 2 of the next hyperframe, the device 2902 will repeat the same mode switch procedure and the STAs resident in the WLAN will also begin to use this available infrastructure WLAN to communicate again because The quiet duration indicated by the CTS expires at the same time. Conversely, for the case where the dual mode ADoC device decides to operate in a WLAN mode during other time slots (time slot k, time slot m) periods for use in a TDF superframe, the dual mode ADoC device will be in ADoC The operation in the modulo is a STA. When the dual mode ADoc device 29〇2 enters the time slot 〇 in the AD〇c mode, it will configure the switch 3 1 02 to change the operating frequency to the WLAN spectrum, and

Act as an AP. Once it is passed through the slot (η-ΐ) over time, the dual-mode device will try to transmit the cst signal during the time slot, and the duration field is equal to the downlink from the superframe. The duration of the time slot from the beginning of the time slot to the time slot (k+l) in the next superframe. Thereafter, dual mode device 2902 will control switch 2002 to change the operational spectrum to the ad〇c band and operate in accordance with the ADoC TDF procedure. Therefore, when the dual mode device enters the time slot (4) in the next superframe, it will again perform the same mode switching procedure as described above. According to one embodiment, a dual mode device 132608.doc-63-200922249 2902 of one embodiment of the present principles is integrated into a data machine (e.g., 1010, 1020, etc.) from FIG. Figure 33 shows an example of this embodiment. Similarly, when the dual mode device 2902 is operating or performing standard WLAN communications (i.e., when operating within an appropriate time period), the device allows the user PC to connect to the Internet. In this embodiment, the Pc user will request an internet address (eg, a web page) by transmitting a request for the internet address to the data machine over the wireless medium via a WLAN interface, and 2) The data machine is connected via the ADoC interface

The request is relayed over the cable network to AD〇c Ap, then to the router, and then to the Internet. In this embodiment, dual mode device 29A2 includes an AD〇c interface or device 1018 rather than an Ethernet interface. When the dual-mode device of the data machine operates in WLAN (ie, wireless mode), the device acts as a WLAN AP, and the personal computer acts as a wireless link between the data device and the personal computer. The way receives the request from the personal computer. The dual mode device relays a request to the bridge' and the bridge determines whether the dual mode device needs to transmit the request via the ADoC interface of the dual mode device, or according to the packet for the request Transmitting the destination address information to the other PCs in the resident network. The bridge then transmits the request back to the request to establish an external connection, and the dual mode device maintains the request until the pair The modulo device enters the AD〇c mode (ie, the wired component acts as the ADoC station and enters via the AD〇c. The dual converter requests the ADGCAP at this time. The heart transmits the 132608.doc on the wired network. 64 - 200922249 In order to make the request establish 4 requests with other pCl internal dual-mode devices in the resident network until the dual-mode device enters the human-machine mode, the line mode) 'at this time it acts as a WLAN AP and via Wlan communicates the request to the destination PC on the wireless medium. 反 When the dual mode device receives any response from the associated ADgC Ap in the electrical network or other PC in the regional network, the reverse procedure is performed. The description can be clearly seen In at least some embodiments, a common circuit or software (for example) can be used to perform most of the processing associated with the WLAN mode and the ADOC mode. For example, the reception of data from the two modes can be performed by a common circuit and De-encapsulation, and conversion between two modes. Possible applications for this conversion include (1) receiving a WLAN mode input from a computer (eg, a request for Internet access) and using AD〇c mode a modem that transmits the input, and (2) it receives the requesting Internet-information in the AD〇c mode and transmits the data to a computer using a WLAN module. These schemes will typically involve different Conversion between Agreements Various embodiments of a dual mode device use a communication unit to enable communication in one or more modes. A communication unit can include, for example, a dual mode AD〇c device 2902 'or a portion thereof, for example MAC baseband 3100, WLAN RF 3 104, and ADoC RF 3106. It should be noted that a modem may include not only a dual mode device as described above, but may also be included to enable transmission across other networks (except WLAN and ADoC). Such other networks may include (eg, an Ethernet). Thus, a data machine may include, for example, a dual mode device 2902 that enables WLAN and ADoC networks and Ethernet Communication of the network interface 1〇15. 132608.doc -65- 200922249 Various implementations (for example) with -JL^ -1? -V· « Access to data in the form of "1" or another form. "Sub-take" is used as a broad term to include, for example, a method of obtaining, capturing, receiving, manipulating, or circumventing, in a manner, the description of accessing data, for example, is a broad description of a possible implementation. Features and aspects of the illustrated embodiment hum, 俅T is used in a variety of applications. Applications include, for example, individuals in their homes to make more hosted devices to use a cable on the Ethernet interface and the Internet as described above. However, the features and states described herein can be «• Gan is used in other application areas, and therefore other applications are feasible and envisioned. For example, users who use the public space to bite the Emperor L can locate the outside of their home network and cable..., Φ. In addition, it can be used in addition to the Ethernet cable and the universal string. Somebody. For example, 'can be in the fiber optic power =: sink: row _) read, small computer system cable remote household road (DSL) line, satellite connection, line connection and hive 彳 ^ ^ 砚 and receive data. And using the agreement associated therewith) can be implemented in, for example, a method or procedure, an implementation of the method described in this document, the implementation of the content in the program U, so that only a single form of implementation in the implementation Other features can be implemented as method P but described. It can be implemented, for example, in a suitable hard body: body-device or program, for example, in the device, and in the device. A - processor, including = method, the device is generally referred to as a processing device, or a process =) - a computer, a microprocessor, an integrated device. Processing devices also include overnight π such as computers, mobile phones, and lunch. Including "pieces, examples of portable/personal digital assistants ("pDAj", 132608.doc * 66 - 200922249 and other devices that facilitate communication between end users. Available in a variety of different devices or applications, especially Embodiments of the various programs and features described herein are embodied, for example, in devices or applications associated with data transfer and reception. Examples of devices include video encoders, video decoders, video codecs, and web servers. , transponders, laptops, personal computers, and other communication devices. It should be clear that the device can be mobile and even installed in a car.

Eight q7 beta money, and j can store such instructions in the processor-readable media, such as integrated circuit, software carrier or other storage components, such as - hard disk 1 (" one rI disc, - random access memory ("_") or a read-only memory 1 media 71"). The instructions may be tangibly embodied in a processor that may be, for example, used for clarity, and the processor may include one of the instructions readable by the processor. The storage of n parts usually includes a variety of devices or eve storage devices. For example, but the data machines 1 10 and 10, "not, the elements of the month" generally include one or more for the storage force /, AP 1G3Q (and various other electronic materials, for example) Storage unit. Storage) Electronic, magnetic or optical. It should be understood from the above disclosure that the carrier can, for example, be stored ':,', can be formatted for use, including, for example, for rain. - signal. The information generated by the information scheme;: the method of the method, or by the implementation of the magnetic wave (for example, using frequency 11. This signal can be formatted as (for example) - power - the radio part) or - a baseband signal. The lattice 132608.doc • 67- 200922249 may include, for example, encoding a data stream, packetizing the encoded stream according to any frame structure, and modulating a carrier using a packetized stream The information carried by the signal can be, for example, analog or digital information. It is known to transmit the signal over a variety of different wired or wireless links. [Simplified Schematic] FIG. 1 illustrates a simplified exemplary TDF. Access network architecture Figure 2 illustrates the 802.1 1 MAC sublayer in the 0SI reference model.Figure 3 illustrates one implementation of a TDF transport entity in the 〇81 reference model. Figure 4 illustrates one implementation of a communication mode entry procedure. Figure 5 illustrates a TDF One embodiment of a hyperframe structure. Figure 6 illustrates an embodiment of a registration procedure. Figure 7 illustrates one implementation of a non-registration procedure. Figure 8 illustrates one implementation of an active notification procedure. Figure 9 includes a description of a TDF. A system diagram of one embodiment of a network.Figure 10 includes a block diagram of one embodiment of an AP and a data machine from Figure 9. Figure 11 includes a flow diagram of one embodiment of an uplink transmission procedure. 12 includes a diagram of an embodiment of a one-to-one mapping between an Ethernet packet and a WLAN packet. Figure 13 includes a conversion between a plurality of Ethernet packets and a single WL AN packet. Figure of an embodiment. Figure 14 includes a diagram depicting a packet flow in the conversion of Figure 13. Figure 15 includes a diagram of one of the implementations of the 耵|header of Figure 14. 132608.doc 200922249 Figure 166 includes an upstream One implementation of the link receiving procedure Figure 17 includes a diagram of an embodiment for decapsulating packets. Figure 18 includes a diagram depicting one embodiment of a PADM from Figure 10. Figure 19 includes an embodiment of a downlink transmission procedure Figure 20 is a flow diagram of one embodiment of a downlink receiving procedure. Figure 21 illustrates one embodiment of a TDF hyperframe structure employing both polling and time-sharing media access. Figure 22 illustrates One implementation of a TDF hyperframe structure for a hybrid media access mechanism. Figure 23 illustrates a block diagram and an SP and station in a TDF network.Figure 24 illustrates one implementation of a polling notification procedure. Figure 25 illustrates a flow chart of a polling procedure. Figure 26 illustrates an embodiment of a TDF hyperframe structure with a hybrid media access mechanism. Figure 27 illustrates a flow chart for a procedure for switching from a contention based mode to a time sharing mode. Figure 28 illustrates a flow diagram of a procedure for switching from a time-sharing mode to a contention-based mode. Figure 29 is a block diagram of a TDF (ADoC) STA. Figure 30 is a block diagram of a TDF (ADoC) STA having a dual mode device in accordance with an embodiment. Figure 31 is a block diagram of one of the hardware implementations of a TDF (ADoC) STA dual mode device. Figure 32 is a block diagram of another hardware implementation of the TDF (ADoC) STA dual mode device 132608.doc -69- 200922249. Figure 33 is a block diagram of the data system of Figure ίο. The implementation of the dual-mode device

Figure 34 illustrates - TDF hyperframe structure [main component symbol description] 900 network 91 user home 912 data machine 914 host 1 916 host 2 918 Ethernet 920 user home 922 data machine 924 host 1 926 host 2 928 Ethernet 930 Internet 940 AP 950 Cable System 960 Router 97 〇 Ethernet 1010 Data Machine #1 1011 Area Application Layer 1012 TCP/IP Layer Another Solution 132608.doc •70· 200922249 1014 Bridge 1015 Ethernet interface 1016 PADM 1017 WLAN interface 1018 device 1020 data machine #N 1030 AP 1040 cable network 1052 Ethernet 1054 first host 1056 second host 1062 Ethernet 1064 first host 1066 second host 1071 Area Application Layer 1072 TCP/IP Layer 1074 Bridge 1075 WLAN Interface 1076 PADM 1077 Ethernet Interface 1082 Ethernet 1090 Router 1095 Internet 1210 Ethernet Packet 132608.doc • 71 - 200922249

1220 Ethernet network road sign head 1230 data part 1240 WLAN packet 1250 WLAN header 1260 frame check sequence (FCS) 1310 Ethernet packet 1312 Ethernet packet 1314 Ethernet packet 1318 WLAN packet 1320 Ethernet network road sign head 1322 Ethernet network road sign head 1324 Ethernet network road sign head 1326 Data part 1328 Data part 1329 Data part 1330 Expanding Ethernet network packet 1332 Expanding Ethernet network packet 1334 Expanding Ethernet network Package 1336 Data Section 1338 Data Section 1340 Data Section 1342 Header 1343 Header 1344 Header 132608.doc -72- 200922249 1346 End 1347 End 1348 End 1350 EIW Packet 1352 Data Section 1353 Data Section 1354 Data Section 1356 Header 1358 End 1360 data part 1362 WLAN MAC header 1364 FCS 1410 enter queue 1420 string 1430 EIW header 1440 WLAN header 1530 packet descriptor 1540 packet descriptor 1550 packet flag 1555 packet flag 1560 packet length 1565 Packet length 1710 packet 1720 packet 132608.doc -73- 200922249 1730 waiting for the queue 1740 Packet 1750 PADM 1760 Packetizer 1770 Depacker 2002 Switch 2100 Frame Structure 2110 Polling Time Slot 2120 Time Slot 2300 TDF AP 2302 PC 2304 TDF STA 2600 Frame Structure 2610 Competing Time Slot 2620 Time Slot 2900 STA 2902 Dual Mode Device 2903 ADoC Device 2904 WLAN Device 2906 Coaxial Power Interface 2908 Antenna 3100 MAC Fundamental Part 3102 Switch 3104 WLAN RF Circuit 132608.doc -74- 200922249 3106 ADoC RF Circuit 3108 Converter

132608.doc -75-

Claims (1)

200922249 X. Patent application scope: 1 · A method comprising: using a frame structure (2600) for communication, the frame structure supporting at least two communication modes, wherein the communication modes include one slot in the frame structure A time-sharing mode is stored for one of the devices, and one of the competing slots in the frame structure is used by a plurality of devices for competition-based mode of data communication. 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising switching between the time division mode and the contention based mode in a device. 3. The method of claim 1, further comprising using the contention slot in the competition-based model to (1) perform data communication and (2) save a slot for the time-sharing mode. 4. The method of claim 3, further comprising assigning a higher priority than (2) communicating the data for using the contention slot (1) to save a slot for the time division mode. 5. The method of claim 4, further comprising establishing a priority structure by defining CWmin and CWmax for storing a competition window of a slot such that the values CWmin and CWmax are less than one of the data for transmission One of the competition windows corresponds to CWmin and CWmax. A method of 6', such as π, wherein the frame structure is a time-sharing function (tdf) communication system. The heart of the clerk 1 is used, wherein the use of the s-frame structure includes the use of the rules-based module, during which the data is transferred from a TDF station to a TDF access point, and the TDF station It is not registered for - uplink 132608.doc 200922249 link time slot allocation, and the TDF station uses a distributed coordination function (dcf) mechanism to transmit the data to transmit media access control (MAC) frames. 8. The method of claiming, further comprising: receiving, in a "his contention slot, a tdf station at a TDF access point. - a registration request, the registration request being in the time-sharing mode - uplink The slot is stored in one of the frame structures of the TDF station; transmitting a positive response to the TDF station requesting registration; and r, the knife is assigned to one of the frame structures of the TDF station 9. The method of claim 1 wherein the device comprises a station, and the plurality of devices comprise a plurality of stations. 10. The method of claim i, wherein the frame structure is included in the During the competition-based modulo, the data is transmitted from one station to an access point in the contention slot. 11. In the method of research, the frame structure is included in the contention slot, and is stored in the competition slot. Receiving data from a station. V 12. The method of requesting, further comprising: receiving, in the contention slot, an uplink frame from a tdf station at a TDF access point; The TDF access point transmits a positive acknowledgment to the TDF station. The method further includes: if a tdf station does not receive an acknowledgement from an access point for one of the early transmissions of the uplink frame in the contention slot, by using one of the contention slots in the contention slot The TDF station is rescheduled and retransmitted. 132608.doc 200922249 14. The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving, in the contention slot, one or more uplinks from a TDF station at a TDF access point And the method of claim 14, wherein the block acknowledgment comprises transmitting a unicast frame to the TDF station. 16. The method of claim 14, wherein the block acknowledgment comprises transmitting to one of the upper TDF stations a multicast or broadcast frame. 'I7. The method of claim 1, wherein the contention slot comprises a plurality of sub-slots And the method comprises: a first device 'which uses the contention-based mode to communicate on a first sub-slot of one of the plurality of sub-slots; and a first pirate that uses the first device a competition-based module in the plurality of sub-slots While communicating on the first sub-slot, the contention-based module is used to communicate on the second sub-slot of the plurality of sub-slots. 18. A device comprising: a U-one communication unit (1010; 1030), configured to use a frame structure for pass e, the frame structure supports at least an i communication mode, wherein the communication mode includes one of the frame structures saved for one of the devices The time module 'and its contention frame is a competition-based module used by one of the two devices for data communication. 19. = The device of claim 18, the step-by-step includes storage One of the data storage units (1010; 1030). 20. The device of claim 18, wherein: 132608.doc 200922249 the device is part of a TDF station, and the communication unit is configured to be in the contention slot during the contention-based mode The frame structure is used to transfer data from the TDF station to an access point. 21. The device of claim 18, wherein: the device is part of a TDF access point, and the communication unit is configured to be in the contention slot at the TDF access point by using a TDF station The frame structure is used to receive the data. 22. An apparatus comprising: a component O0H); for deleting a frame structure for communication, the frame structure supporting at least two communication modes, wherein the communication mode includes one of the frame structures The slot system holds a time-sharing mode for a device and the contention-based mode in the frame structure is a competition-based mode by which multiple devices are used for data communication. 23. The apparatus of claim 22, further comprising means for storing data (1010; 1030). 24. A device (1〇10; 1〇3〇) comprising: a processor readable medium, the processor readable medium II comprising thereon for storing a frame structure for communication In the instruction, the frame structure supports at least two communication modes, wherein the communication mode includes a time-sharing mode in which the slot structure is saved in the frame structure, and one of the frame structures The competition slot is a competition-based model for one of the data communications by multiple devices. 25. A signal constructed to carry data in accordance with a format supporting a plurality of communication modes, the signal comprising: 132608.doc -4- 200922249 a first portion configured to be used for a time-sharing communication mode a slot (2620), the first portion comprising data stored for one or more time slots of the individual device and carrying data for the individual devices, and a second portion configured for use therein One of the contention-based communication modes of one of the contention time slots is stored in a contention time slot (2610), and the second portion carries data for at least one device in the contention time slot. 26. The signal of claim 25, wherein the signal represents digital information. 27. The signal of claim 25, wherein the signal is an electromagnetic wave. 132608.doc