Electrical computers and digital processing systems: multicomput – Network computer configuring
Reexamination Certificate
1999-01-06
2001-05-08
Maung, Zarni (Department: 2155)
Electrical computers and digital processing systems: multicomput
Network computer configuring
C709S221000, C709S226000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06230195
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a communication system in which a center apparatus is connected and opposed to each of user apparatuses via a communication network such as a star-form optical fiber network, and which is arranged to provide communication services to a plurality of terminals connected to each user apparatus, and also relates to the center apparatus, the user apparatus and a terminal interface unit which are used in the communication system.
In the conventional communication system for providing communication services, a communication service provider is connected to users via different communication lines, thereby providing them with communication services which are individually contracted therebetween.
Accordingly, when the user adds another communication terminal to the existing ones for obtaining services through the added terminal as well as the existing ones, or when they disconnect the existing terminals from the communication system, they have to ask the communication provider construction for adding or removing communication lines, or corresponding construction in the center apparatus. This means that high cost and lots of time and labor are required.
Even when the existing communication terminal is exchanged for another type of terminal, the user has to ask the service provider corresponding construction in the center apparatus, and accordingly, cost, time and labor are required.
The conventional problems are summarized as follows:
In the conventional communication system, the communication lines are provided so as to correspond to predetermined communication services, respectively, and the type of a communication service to be provided through each communication line is fixed, with the result that addition, cancellation or exchange of communication services cannot be performed on the user side only, requiring construction by the communication service provider. Thus, high cost and lots of time and labor are required.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a communication system which permits the user to easily perform exchange, addition or cancel of communication services, and also a center apparatus, a user apparatus and a terminal interface unit which implement the communication system.
According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a communication system comprising: a center apparatus for providing a plurality of communication services; user apparatuses each connected to the center apparatus via a communication line; terminal interface mounting means provided in each user apparatus and capable of mounting thereon at least one of terminal interface units which are prepared in accordance with desired communication services; terminal interface detecting means provided in the each user apparatus for detecting at a predetermined timing whether or not any terminal interface unit is mounted on the terminal interface mounting means; configuration information transmitting means provided in the each user apparatus for transmitting to the center apparatus, at a predetermined timing, predetermined configuration information indicative of the configuration of the each user apparatus and containing the detection result of the terminal interface detecting means; user configuration managing means provided in the center apparatus for recognizing and managing the configuration of the each user apparatus on the basis of the configuration information transmitted from the each user apparatus; identification information setting means provided in the center apparatus for newly setting, when the user configuration managing means has recognized that a terminal interface unit has-been newly mounted, identification information peculiar to the newly mounted terminal interface unit, and for invalidating, when the user configuration managing means has recognized that a terminal interface unit has been removed, identification information having been set for the removed terminal interface unit; identification information notifying means provided in the center apparatus for notifying identification information newly set by the identification information setting means, to that one of the user apparatuses on which a terminal interface unit corresponding to the newly set identification information is mounted; and identification information managing means provided in the each user apparatus for managing the identification information notified from the center apparatus, in relation to a terminal interface unit corresponding to the notified identification information.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a communication system comprising: a center apparatus for providing a plurality of communication services; user apparatuses each connected to the center apparatus via a communication line; means for setting a down stream frame period for which a down stream signal, as a transmission signal to be transmitted in the communication line between the each user apparatus and the center apparatus, is transmitted from the center apparatus to the each user apparatus, also for setting an up stream frame period for which an up stream signal, as another transmission signal to be transmitted in the communication line between the each user apparatus and the center apparatus, is transmitted from the each user apparatus to the center apparatus, and for setting pairs of down stream time slots and up stream time slots during each of the down stream and up stream frame periods; time slot assignment storing means provided in the center apparatus and pre-storing the contents of each down stream time slot assigned to a corresponding terminal; down stream frame generating means provided in the center apparatus for generating a down stream frame by dividing, in units of a predetermined length, a signal to be transmitted to terminals, thereby adding at least identification information indicative of each terminal as a destination, to a corresponding signal component resulting from the division, then forming a predetermined down stream packet, determining that one of the down stream time slots which is assigned to a terminal as the destination of the down stream packet with reference to the time slot assignment storing means, and inserting the down stream packet into the determined down stream time slot; down stream frame transmitting means provided in the center apparatus for transmitting the down stream frame generated by the down stream frame generating means, to the communication line during the down stream frame period; down stream time slot managing means provided in the each user apparatus for determining, from the down stream frame transmitted via the communication line during the down stream frame period, that one of the down stream time slots in which identification information corresponding to a terminal connected to the each user apparatus is contained, thereby managing the relationship between the down stream time slot and a terminal to which the down stream time slot is assigned; up stream frame generating means provided in the each user apparatus for generating an up stream frame by forming a predetermined up stream packet which includes signal components obtained by dividing, in units of a predetermined length, a signal transmitted from each terminal connected to the each user apparatus, and also determining, with reference to the management contents of the down stream time slot managing means, that one of the down stream time slots which was assigned to a sender terminal indicated by a signal inserted in the up stream packet, and inserting the up stream packet into an up stream time slot corresponding to the determined down stream time slot; up stream frame transmitting means provided in the each user apparatus for transmitting the up stream frame generated by the up stream frame generating means, to the communication line during the up stream frame period; and sender determining means provided in the center apparatus for determining that a sender terminal whi
Ibe Hiroyuki
Nakao Masatoshi
Sugawara Mitsuru
Finnegan Henderson Farabow Garrett & Dunner L.L.P.
Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba
Maung Zarni
Winder Patrice
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