Importance

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Abstract

A time division multiple access communication system utilizing a transmission medium, such as the broadband cable of a CATV system having a retransmission facility at the head end thereof to which messages from stations at nodes spaced successively along the cable are transmitted upstream to the head end and broadcast downstream and upstream on different frequency channels. The messages are transmitted in frames addressed to different stations or in sequential order with portions near the beginning thereof representing the length of the data contained therein. The stations at successive nodes are scheduled to transmit successively and are given access to the cable at a time after the start of reception of a preceding message equal or greater than the difference between the duration thereof and twice the propagation time from the station scheduled to transmit to the head end of the cable. Message length adaptive multiple access to the cable without collisions and efficient utilization of the cable is thereby obtained.

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First Claim