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A link utilization control mechanism for a demand assignment satellite communication network employs a modified point-to-point communications protocol (X.25) in order to simulate point-to-point communication ports and thereby interface what is effectively a multidrop network with point-to-point land

A link utilization control mechanism for a demand assignment satellite communication network employs a modified point-to-point communications protocol (X.25) in order to simulate point-to-point communication ports and thereby interface what is effectively a multidrop network with point-to-point landlink communication resources. Through an acknowledgement reservation mecahsnism the return link channel is subdivided into interleaved data and (preassigned) acknowledgement time slots, in order to substantially obviate ovrhead and throughput penalties encountered in the use of large data packets to transmit reduced size acknowledgement messages. In addition, the normal contention mode of operation of the return link is augmented with a data time slot reservation mechanism through which, during periods of increased message input density at a remote station, transmission throughput is facilitated, so that congestion at the remote station is reduced.

대표청구항 ▼

For use with a communication system having a master station and a plurality of remote stations which communicate with one another over a communications link, each of said remote stations having the capability of transmitting messages over said communications link to said master station on a demand b

For use with a communication system having a master station and a plurality of remote stations which communicate with one another over a communications link, each of said remote stations having the capability of transmitting messages over said communications link to said master station on a demand basis, and wherein the successful transmission of a message from said master station to a remote station and receipt thereof by a destination device is acknowledged by the return of an acknowledgement message from said remote station to said master station, a method of controlling the return of acknowledgment messages from a remote station to a master station comprising the steps of: at said master station, (a) transmitting, as part of a message to a remote station, the identification of a prescribed time slot, relative to a reference time occurrence, within which an acknowledgement message is to be returned by said remote station; and at a remote station, (b) monitoring said communications link for a message transmitted to that remote station from said master station and, in response to the successful receipt by a destination device of a message from said master station, returning an acknowledgement message to said master station during a time slot as identified as part of the received message.