초록 ▼

A message scheduler in a telecommunications system receives single messages having associated message constraints and stores them on one of a plurality of appropriate queues. The scheduler assembles the messages from the queues in groups by adding received messages to the temporary combined message

A message scheduler in a telecommunications system receives single messages having associated message constraints and stores them on one of a plurality of appropriate queues. The scheduler assembles the messages from the queues in groups by adding received messages to the temporary combined message if the message constraints are satisfied. While prioritizing the messages from the queues, the message scheduler prevents messages from being indefinitely stored on any queue and ensures that operating constraints of the system messages are satisfied. The message scheduler handles message constraints including an earliest starting time and a latest ending time. In addition, some of the messages are slotted messages that must be sent during a predetermined time slot of the telecommunications system. Other messages are unslotted messages and have no such time slot constraint. The grouped messages are passed to a frame formatter which formats the message for transmission. Completed frame are passed from the frame formatter to a modulator driver which stores the messages and provides a steady stream of frames to a modulator for transmission. In this way, the scheduler acts as a buffer between the irregular stream of messages to be sent and the constant stream of frames needed for transmission.

대표청구항 ▼

[ I claim:] [1.] A message processor apparatus that schedules messages for transmission in a telecommunications system, the apparatus comprising:a slotted message input queue in which received slotted messages that must be sent during one of a subset of predetermined system time slots are stored pri

[ I claim:] [1.] A message processor apparatus that schedules messages for transmission in a telecommunications system, the apparatus comprising:a slotted message input queue in which received slotted messages that must be sent during one of a subset of predetermined system time slots are stored prior to scheduling;an unslotted message input queue in which received unslotted messages are stored prior to scheduling;a message scheduler that determines the sequence in which said slotted and unslotted messages are sent, such that no message remains indefinitely in either said slotted or said unslotted message input queue, by assembling a plurality of said slotted and unslotted input messages into a temporary combined messages block, wherein said message scheduler first considers said slotted messages in said slotted message input queue and then considers said unslotted messages in said unslotted message input queue for a current system time slot for which it is scheduling messages; anda formatter that assembles said slotted and unslotted messages from said temporary combined messages block into data frames for transmission over a channel of said telecommunications system.