MXPA99000547A - Digital communication system for buildings of similar structures and departments using telephone cables exist - Google Patents

Abstract

A digital communication system for buildings of departments and similar structures using existing telephones, includes a switching terminal (618 ') for directing information from a source selectively to one of a plurality of switch lines as signals in a selected frequency band. which exceeds frequencies of voice signals in a telephone link, a switch (699) for coupling each line of the switch selectively to one of m telephone lines and circuitry to control the switch (69)

Description

DIGITAL COMMUNICATION SYSTEM FOR DEPARTMENT BUILDINGS AND SIMILAR STRUCTURES THAT USE EXISTING TELEPHONE CABLES Cross Reference to Related Requests This application makes reference to the Patent Applications of the United States of America with Serial Numbers 08 / 431,270 filed on April 28, 1995, entitled "VIDEO TRANSMISSION SYSTEM USING INTERNAL RESIDENTIAL TELEPHONE LINES", Serial Number 08 / 670,216, filed on June 21, 1996, entitled "RADIO FREQUENCY TRANSMISSION SYSTEM USING INTERNAL TELEPHONE LINES", Serial No. 08 / 816,059, filed on March 11, 1997, entitled "CABLE TELEVISION DISTRIBUTION AND COMMUNICATION SYSTEM" USING INTERNAL TELEPHONE LINES ", and Serial No. 08 / 814,837, filed on March 11, 1997, filed on March 11, 1997, entitled" TWO-WAY RADIO FREQUENCY COMMUNICATION AT CONVERGENCE POINT OF PAIRS OF TELEPHONE NETWORKS INTERNAS SEPARADAS ". U.S. Patent Application Number 08 / 431,270, filed April 28, 1995, entitled "VIDEO TRANSMISSION SYSTEM USING INTERNAL RESIDENTIAL TELEPHONE LINES" is a continuation of the Serial Number * 08 / l81 , 562, filed on January 13, 1994, now abandoned, which is a continuation of Serial Number 08 / 062,148, filed on May 14, 1993, now abandoned, which is a continuation of Serial Number 07 / 688,864, filed April 19, 1991, now abandoned, which is a continuation of Serial Number 07 / 379,751, filed July 14, 1989, now Patent Number 5,010,399. U.S. Patent Application Number 08 / 670,216, filed June 21, 1996, entitled "RADIO FREQUENCY TRANSMISSION SYSTEM USING INTERNAL TELEPHONE LINES", is a continuation of Serial Number 08 / 545,983, filed on October 20, 1995, now abandoned, which is a continuation of that of Serial Number 08 / 376,921, filed on January 23, 1995, now abandoned, which is a continuation of 08 / 255,355, presented on 8 June 1994, now abandoned, which is a continuation of that of an Application with Serial Number 08 / 114,976, filed on August 31, 1993, now abandoned, which is a continuation of the Application with Serial Number 07 / 803,135, filed December 5, 1991, now abandoned, which is a partial continuation of Application Serial Number 07 / 688,864, filed on April 19, 1991 (hereinafter "State Patent Application"). Unite of North America with Serial Number 08 / 431,270"), now abandoned, which is a continuation of Application Serial Number 07 / 379,751, filed July 14, 1989, now Patent Number 5,010,399. U.S. Patent Application Serial Number 08 / 816,059, filed March 11, 1997, entitled "CABLE TELEVISION DISTRIBUTION AND COMMUNICATION SYSTEM USING INTERNAL TELEPHONE LINES", is a continuation of the Application with Serial Number 08 / 674,117, filed July 1, 1996, now abandoned, which is a continuation of Application Serial Number 08 / 545,983, filed on October 20, 1995, now abandoned, which is a continuation of Serial Number 08 / 376,921, filed on January 23, 1995, now abandoned, which is a continuation of Serial Number 08 / 255,355, filed on June 8, 1994, now abandoned, which is a continuation of Application with Serial Number 08 / 114,976, filed on August 31, 1993, now abandoned, which is a continuation of Application Serial Number 07 / 803,135, filed on December 5, 1991, now abandoned, which is a partial continuation of Application Serial Number 07 / 688,864, filed April 19, 1991 (hereinafter "United States of America Patent Application Serial Number 08 / 670,216"), now abandoned, which is a continuation of Application Serial Number 07 / 379,651, filed July 14, 1989, now Patent Number 5,010,399.

U.S. Patent Application Serial Number 08 / 814,837, filed March 11, 1997, entitled "TWO-WAY RADIO-FREQUENCY COMMUNICATION AT CONVERGENCE POINT OF CABLE PAIRS OF SEPARATE INTERNAL TELEPHONE NETWORKS", which is a continuation of the Application Serial Number 08 / 673,577, filed July 1, 1996, now abandoned, which is a continuation of the Application Serial Number 08 / 545,937, filed on October 20, 1995, which is a continuation of Application Serial Number 08 / 372,561, filed on January 13, 1995, now abandoned, which is a continuation of Application Serial Number 08 / 245,759, filed May 18, 1994 , now abandoned, which is a continuation of 08 / 115,930, filed on August 31, 1993, now abandoned, which is a continuation of 07 / 802,738, filed on December 5, 1991 (hereinafter "Application for Paten of the United States of America Serial Number Number 08 / 816,059"), now abandoned, which is a continuation of 07 / 688,864, filed on April 19, 1991, now abandoned, which is a continuation of the Application with Serial Number 07 / 379,751, filed July 14, 1989, now United States Patent Number 5,010,399 (hereinafter, the "parent application").

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The invention relates in general to digital communication on existing lines in residential structures. The development and popularity of the computer communications network called the Internet has aroused much excitement. Although there are many services provided by the Internet that people enjoy, there is a common complaint that data does not flow downstream (that is, towards the end user) at a rate that is sufficient to support many of the applications that are in demand. An effort has begun to use municipal coaxial cable networks to provide connections for cable television subscribers to the Internet. The new devices called "cable modems" have allowed the adaptation of these coaxial networks to computer communication over the Internet. The coaxial cable in its place in most places is installed in a "tree and branch" manner. This allows a downstream and high data rate, which is one reason why you can use the cable for these Internet connections. It is very difficult, however, to use this cable for an upstream data path (that is, away from the end user) at another speed that is not very low. The alternative improvement seems to be the use of ordinary telephone lines to provide an upstream path. This, whether it is added to the cost or occupies a line. Another difficulty is that cable modems are extremely sophisticated devices and their use will make the cable system very expensive. Finally, the coaxial wall plugs in a residence, in general, are not placed where the connection of computers is convenient. The municipal coaxial cable networks represent, unfortunately, the only existing conductor paths that can economically support a very high upstream communication data rate from the central location to individual residences in the surrounding areas. As a result, there is no satisfactory solution to the problem of inadequate Internet bandwidth downstream and upstream.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to the communication in two-way signals, particularly digital signals, on telephone cables between several residential units in an apartment building or a similar structure, and a point where the cables converge in the building , for example, in the basement, where the cables continue to fulfill their original function as a conductive path for voice signals. A dedicated digital path is created, in this way, between each department unit and a communications cube located at the point of convergence or cube. A high-capacity line connects between this cube and a part of the larger network, such as the well-known Internet. This completes the connection between the residents in the building and the external communications network. A particular advantage of the invention is that residents can share access to the high-speed line in a manner in which each resident can enjoy almost their full capacity. This is possible because typical residents make short "bandwidth demands", or requests for "dedicated" accesses to the line at very frequent intervals, for example, a demand of one second of access per minute. The result is that the line is inactive, and therefore completely available to the other residents during the other 59 seconds. Finally, of course, a resident would have to wait to have access, at least for a short period, when many other people in the same building are also engaged in communication activities. The invention also provides the use of these telephone cables to allow the inhabitants to have access at the same time to the video signals that are brought to the same point of convergence. Finally, the invention includes methods to reduce the effect that reflections in the internal cable can have on the transmission signals at frequencies below the voice band. Some of these methods can be particularly useful for using the internal telephone wire for single-family houses for data and video communication. This invention is partially a development of the technology presented in the parent application (Patent Number 5,010,399) and the three partial continuations thereof (Patent Applications of the United States of America Serial Number Number 08 / 431,270; 08 / 670,216; 08 / 816,059 and 08 / 814,837). Which are incorporated herein by reference. Most of the technology described in Patent Number 5,010,399 and in the United States of America Patent Application Serial Number 08 / 431,270 relates to the transmission of telephone signals and non-telephone signals (such as cable television signals). , other video signals, audio signals, data signals, and control signals) through telephone wiring networks of a general nature. Many of the elements described in U.S. Patent Application Serial Number 08 / 670,216 are particularly suitable for transmission within typical single family residences, while the main focus of the U.S. North America with Serial Number 08 / 816,059 is communication through apartment buildings and similar structures. This invention takes advantage of the opportunities available for the unused frequencies that exist in the telephone wires in apartment buildings. In part, the invention is directed towards the use of an internal cable network to the apartment buildings to inexpensively establish a digital connection between the inhabitants and an external communication line. By establishing such connections according to the invention, and by connecting multiple buildings together in a particularly cooperative network, the problem of slow data flow, described above, can be significantly reduced at relatively low cost. This is an object of the invention. An additional objective is to provide the digital communication capability at the same time as allowing simultaneous video communication over the same conductive paths. A third objective is to economically overcome some of the adverse effects that divisions have on the internal cable in the use of these cables for non-telephone communications. The methods described in the above applications are extended herein. The focus of these extensions is to provide better communication over these cables using less expensive hardware, and to provide a solution "that is less expensive to install and operate. For example, the use of the Manchester coding system and these elements of the Ethernet local area networks extend to the telephone networks, resulting in a digital communications network operating in a manner that is virtually identical to the Internet networks. Classic local area of Ethernet. Methods for using the particular data networks described herein for the transmission of digital video signals are also described. Because the invention can also be used in single-family homes, in addition to apartment buildings, measures are taken to adapt the invention for use in all types of structures.

Brief Description of the Drawings Figure 3 is a general view of a system to allow the inhabitants in a multiple dwelling unit (MDU) to access multiple sources of video data taken to the point where the telephone wires converge. Figure lb is a separator for connecting both the voiceband and broadband signals. Figure lc shows the principles of the transceiver. Figure Id shows the processor, a main component of the transceiver. Figure 2 shows the most important components of the system in the cable cabinet.

Figure 3 shows the main components of the communications cube. Figure 4a is a diagram of a connection board for combining and separating the multiple signals of different varieties. Figure 4b is a diagram of a connection board for combining and separating the voiceband and broadband signals. Figure 5 shows the main components of a modem to transmit data in an apartment unit over active telephone lines. Figure 6 is a diagram of a modem that does not load the communications line. Figure 7 shows the details of the modem in Figure 6. Figure 8a is a diagram showing how to use two pairs of active internal cables to connect an lOBaseT adapter. Figure 8b is a diagram showing how to use a 10Base2 adapter on a single pair. Figure 9a is a diagram showing how to connect a lOBaseT cube over the internal wiring of a multiple dwelling unit. Figure 9b is a diagram showing how to connect 10Base2 Adapters to an lOBaseT cube.

Figure 9c is a diagram showing how to connect lOBaseT adapters to an lOBaseT cube using a single pair. Figure 10a shows a low data rate local area network using the internal cables of a multi-dwelling unit. Figure 10b shows a second local area network with base data rate using internal cables of a multiple dwelling unit. Figure 11 shows a data communications network established through a group of buildings of a multiple dwelling unit. Figure 12 shows a modulator that can transmit, either video or data.

Description of Preferred Modes A General View of the System The Figure shows the type of twisted pair cable network typically found in apartment buildings and other "multiple housing units," which will be referred to as multi-family units. The configuration is typical, because the pairs of multiple cables extend from a point of convergence, reaching each of the residential units in the building, which are called 411 local networks. In most apartment buildings, each unit It is attended by two or more of these pairs of cables. The wiring is divided inside each unit, ending in wall connectors in different places. Frequently, both telephones and broadband devices are connected to these connectors, telephones communicate with local exchange 475 and broadband devices communicate with a high-speed line 402 through the transmitter-receiver at 400. (The voice signals are expressed as a baseband using frequencies below 3 KHz. The signals whose energy is confined to frequencies below 3 KHz, on the other hand, are known here as broadband signals.) Figure la, the telephone devices 414a, b and c are shown connected to one of these connectors. Each phone is connected through a low pass filter. These connectors can follow the design of a divider 161, shown in Figure Ib. The divider 161 includes filters that block transmitting radio frequency energy between the telephone devices and the cabling, and also provides a termination between radio frequencies to prevent reflection of radio power back into the network. Figure la also shows a digital device, the 495c computer, connected to the wiring through a 491c digital transceiver. This transmitter-receiver exchanges digital signals with a transmitter-receiver / switch 400. The basic principles of the 495c transceiver are shown in Figure lc. That figure shows the digital transmitter 178 and the digital receiver 179, and how they communicate digital signals over an active telephone wiring network. As described in the United States of America Patent Application Serial Number 08 / 816,059, the transceiver 491c combines the functions of these two devices with each other, so that they transmit and receive signals through it. connection to the wiring. The Figure shows the components of the systems called Local Network Interface 404a, b and c. These represent electronic processors connected to the cabling at a point just before the cables reach their destination (which is the individual department unit), and separate to the different terminations. The Local Network Interfaces 404 are provided to assist in the communication process. An example would be the placement of an amplifier in the cable cabinet on each floor of the building. However, these interfaces are not strictly required. Configurations can be implemented where there is no Local Network Interface, and the signals run over the wiring directly from the point of convergence to the terminations (in the inhabitant's apartment) without active or passive processing anywhere in between.

Figure Id shows the processor 418, which is the main competent of the transmitter-receiver 400. This is the "nerve center" of the department communication system described in United States of America Patent Application Serial Number 08 / 816,059. This applies signals on the wires that lead the residential units up, receives the broadband signals applied to the wiring by the transmitters that connect at the terminations on the 411 local networks, provides the necessary switching to direct signals to their proper places, and exchanges signals with a high-speed communication line 402. The following four topics are covered in the following four sections: l. Connections at the point of convergence of the cable pairs. 2. The cube of digital communications. 3. Connection boards - separation of voice and broadband signals. 4. Flow and signal processing in department units. 5. Two-way communications using a pair of cables and two frequency banks. These sections describe the processing used to allow the individual in a large structure to efficiently share a high-speed connection with a digital communications network. Subsequent sections will describe much more specific systems that provide additional functionality and economy. 1. Connections at the Cable Pair Convergence Point Figure 2 illustrates the telephone connections to an apartment building. The telephone service is typically provided to the inhabitants in apartment buildings as follows. A bundle of cable pairs from the central telephone office arrives at a 612 connection board in the master cable cabinet in the basement of the building. Board 612 allows the cross connections of these cables with the internal cables that are directed from the cabinet upwards to department 611 units. An internal line becomes active when it is cross-connected with one of the external lines ending in the Board 612. In the United States of America, typical apartment units are served by at least two internal pairs. Some apartment buildings include a private telephone switch, to which all inhabitants connect. This switch, also called a PBX, is functionally identical to the central office of the telephone company. Referring to Figure 2, it is clear that the validity of the teachings of this invention are not affected when the "head office" is replaced by a PBX. To install a broadband system in a building, the broadband board 615 is installed in the cable cabinet, and a "deviation" is created through this board for each twisted pair 616 that will carry broadband signals to or from from a department unit. These pairs 616 exchange signals with the cube 618 through the connection board 615. In other words, signals are added to the pairs 616, transmitting in the direction of the department units, and the signals transmitted in the opposite direction are separated from each other. the pairs and are transmitted to the cube 618. The details of the separators 613 and the board 615 are described below. 2. The Digital Communications Cube The functions performed by the digital communications cube 618 are a subset of the functions performed by the processor 418, in Figure Id. Both the 418 processor and the 618 cube are designed to manage two-way communication with multiple destinations in a single structure that is served by twisted pairs that converge on a common point. As described in U.S. Patent Application Serial Number 08 / 816,059, processor 418 manages the communication of signals of all varieties, and also manages communication between one destination and another., and between each destination and the external communications line. Hub 618, on the other hand, manages only digital communications, between one destination and another, and, especially, between a destination and an external communications line. The details of the cube 618 are shown in Figure 3. The cube 618 receives signals from the communications line 602, converts these signals into a digital bitstream multiplexed in time, separates the signal into individual bit streams, and applies the individual bit streams to the twisted pairs that are routed to the appropriate destinations. When the processing signals flow in the reverse direction (ie, to the line 602), the cube 618 inputs digital signals from the different telephone lines that are directed from each connection board 615, multiplexes it in time with each other in a high-speed bit stream, and applies this bitstream to the communication line 602. The cube 618 includes the interface 609. The interphase 609 performs the function of exchanging signals with a high-speed communications line 602. There are many different methods for performing this exchange, one of which is frequency modulation / demodulation to separate the signal frequencies applied to line 602 of the signals. received from it. Manchester coding could also be used separately from these frequencies. The signal collecting subsystem 607 represents the part of the cube 618 that receives the digital signals at the broadband frequencies from twisted pairs 678 that are routed from the wideband connection board 615. (These pairs eventually lead to the units of individual departments.) The demodulators 608 represent the parts of the subsystem 607 that convert the signals received from broadband to baseband frequencies, whereby a digital signal data stream is created. The processor 614 then uses time domain multiplexing to combine them into a single data stream which is passed to the interface 609. The signal distribution subsystem 603 represents the part of the cube 618 that separates a digital current into several digital signals to lower data rates, and applies them over the twisted pairs leading to the broadband connection board 615. The processor 606 is the part of the subsystem 603 that separates a data stream multiplexed in time into its individual signals. The modulators 610 represent the part of the subsystem 603 that converts each of the digital signals of lower speed to broadband frequencies before passing them to the broadband connection board 615. The modulators 610 and the demodulators 608 may not work by modulating a wave carrier in the classical style. A method called Manchester coding can be used to express the digital sequences as the electrical signals that will be transmitted through the wiring at frequencies above the speech band. Manchester codes are the same as codes used in standard local area network technology, such as Ethernet and Token Ring systems. The Manchester codes are square bilevel transition waves at the midpoint of any time interval used to encode a bit. This transition provides synchronization information, and extra transitions encode the data. Manchester encoded signals have no direct-current power, and have low energy at low frequencies. As a result, no additional modulation of the waveform is necessary to place the signal completely above the voice band, and the output of the signal by standard local area network products can be passed directly through a pass filter. high over the wiring. (Such a high pass filter is necessary to block the voice band energy.) These types of signals can also be interpreted directly by the receiver without classical demodulation. As a result, if subsystems 607 and 603 are designed to send and receive signals encoded using the Manchester method, modulators 610 actually work by converting (this is modulating) classical square waves into bi-level square waves with a fixed transition pattern. The demodulators 608 work by performing the reverse process. Other versions of subsystems 603 and 607, which include additional functionality, are illustrated in cube 618 ', 618a and 618b, which are shown in Figures 9a, 10a and 10b of this application and are described below. 3. Connection Board 615 - Separation of voice and broadband signals Figure 4a shows the details of a connection board version 615 labeled 615a. A simpler version of connection board shown in Figure 4b will be described later. The signals produced through the ports of the cube 618 are passed through the broadband connection board 615a, before they are transmitted to the department 611 units. The broadband signals sent from the departments also pass through. this board as they flow into the hub 618. These signal paths are now described in greater detail. To connect a computer of the inhabitant to the cube 618, at least one of the pairs leading to the unit of the inhabitant's apartment is diverted through the board 615a. Board 615a is comprised of a selection of signal separators 613a, 613b and 613c. As shown in Figures 2 and 4, broadband signals reach one of the signal separators 613 transmitting along the pairs 616 from the inhabitant's apartment unit or transmitting along the 678 pairs. They drive from cube 618. Voice signals flow through the dividers from the central office to the units of the inhabitants' apartment and back. The separators 613 use passive processing to guide the broadband signals from the pairs 616 (in Figure 2) over the correct pairs of the pairs 678 (in Figure 2), and to guide the signals they transmit in the opposite direction of a similar way. To do so, they receive signals that transmit to different frequency bands in a single pair, and separate them by applying them on different pairs of multiple pairs. They also combine signals, at different frequencies, from multiple pairs on a single pair of wires. Different types of separators are described below. The separator 613a is an example of a joint that allows digital signals to flow in opposite directions on the same pair of wires. The digital signals are directed downstream (towards the inhabitant) they pass through a coupling junction 623 that is internal to 613a. Junction 623 prevents the downstream signals from reversing directions by taking the alternate path back to the junction. The high-pass filter 622 is placed downstream of the junction, and blocks the voiceband signals so that they do not flow into the hub 618. The digital signals pass through the filter 622 and continue to the inhabitant's apartment. The voiceband signals, meanwhile, reach the upper department after passing through the low pass filter 621 which blocks the digital signals so that they do not flow to the central office. In the opposite direction, the digital signals applied to telephone cables in the apartment of the inhabitant pass through the high-pass filter 622 and through the coupling connection 623 to the demodulators 608 in the hub 618. Ordinarily, the two digital signals they must cover different frequency bands in order to avoid interference while flowing upstream and downstream on the same pair of wires. (Important exceptions to this restriction are described below.) In separator 613b, the upstream and downstream signals that serve an inhabitant flow over different pairs of wires. The signals transmitted upstream to the cube 618 are transmitted on the left pair. They find a simple division in the wiring, but block out to the central office through the 627 low pass filter shown on a branch of the division. Instead, they continue through the high pass filter 624 and flow into the hub 618. The high pass filter 624 prevents the voice band signals from transmitting to the hub. Broadband signals that flow in the opposite direction (downstream) use the second twisted pair that serves the same department. These signals are routed from the cube 618 through the high pass filter 625, while the telephone signals pass, in both directions, through the low pass filter 626 which prevents radio frequency energy from flowing to the central office. The second twisted pair passing through the separator 613c also illustrates a different concept. This is routed through the separator 613c which allows video signals at frequencies greater than data to flow over the cable pair and be transmitted to the inhabitant. Internal to separator 613c, video and data signals converge on coupler 630, which prevents any signal from flowing back to the source of opposite signals. These continue through the bandpass filter 628, which blocks the energy outside the bands occupied by the two signals. At the same time, the control signals used to control the video source are created in the inhabitant's department. These signals are converted to the electrical form and transmitted over the cable, arriving at the separator 613c. (Previous applications show numerous ways to apply control signals to the wiring.) These flow through the connection board, but are blocked by the bandpass filter 628, passing through the pass filter instead. from band 629 on the way to electronic that can receive and interpret your information. The bandpass filter 629, meanwhile, blocks the video and digital signals from being transmitted to these electronics. To more clearly illustrate the flow of signals through separators 613b and 613c, an example of the combination of video, data, and control in the same cable is now given. Suppose that the digital signal flowing through these spacers is an Ethernet signal with power between 3 MHz and 18 MHz. Suppose further that a video source frequency modulates a 27.5 MHz carrier, expressing the video information between 20 MHz and 35 MHz. Because digital and video signals are separated in frequency by 2 MHz, then they can be easily transmitted on the same cable without interference. Meanwhile, the control signal could occupy, for example, the frequencies between 1.5 and 2 MHz, and also avoid interference with these two. The bandpass filter 629, in this case, would pass frequency between 1.5 and 2 MHz, while the bandpass filter 628 would pass frequencies between 3 and 35 MHz. The high pass filter 625, in the separator 613b, would pass all frequencies between 1.5 and 35 MHz, because the video, data, and control signals are not separated in that component. The 626 low pass filter would pass only the voiceband, blocking the three broadband signals so that they are not transmitted to the central office. Figure 4b shows the connection wiring 615b, which is a simpler version of the connection board 615. The simplicity is due to the fact that there is no separation or combination of two different broadband signals on the board. Instead, the separation and combination of broadband signals is carried out inside the cube 618 and inside the electronic transceiver that is placed in the inhabitant's apartment unit and is described below. . The passive electronics on the board 615b only separate the broadband signals from the voiceband signals, and only combine a broadband signal on a pair that conducts a voiceband signal and nothing else. The low pass filter 628 and the high pass filter 617 are used to perform these functions, which are described many times in the above applications. 4. Flow and Signal Processing in the Units of Departments Figure 5 shows the communication processes in the unit of departments of the inhabitant. The modem 645a exchanges signals between the selected computer 646 and the cube 618 through the connection board 615.

The modem 645a is connected to the wiring through the divider 634. Within the divider 634, the low pass filter 631b allows the voiceband signals to reach the telephone, while blocking the broadband signals, thereby preventing a telephone device unloads the power to the broadband. The digital signals they transmit between the cube 618 and the modem 645a pass through the high-pass filter 631a. The high-pass filter 631a blocks the voiceband signals so that they are not transmitted to the modem 645a. The separator 634 is similar to the separator 161 in Figure lb, but does not have the terminator 163. The signals that reach the modem 645 through the divider 634 pass through a coupler 643, and pass through the bandpass filter. 640 to a digital demodulator 636. That component converts the analog waveform of the signal into digital bitstream. The resulting bit stream reaches digital diplexer 637, which sends the data to the computer. The digital signals transmitted from the computer 646 are received by the diplexer 637 and are passed to the digital modulator 635. That device converts the digital bitstream to an analog waveform, which flows through the bandpass filter 641. , through the coupler 643 and the high pass filter 631a, and over the internal wiring. The bandpass filters 641 and 640 prevent analog signals passing through the coupler 643 from crossing to the opposite sections of the modem. The analog signals that pass over the internal wiring are separated and transmitted in two directions. If the energy of the signal is sufficiently high, however, sufficient force will appear in one of the demodulators 608, which is the companion of the modem 645 and is located in the cable cabinet. The digital modulator 635 works in coordination with one of the demodulators 608 (Figure 3), and the digital demodulator 636 works in coordination with one of the modulators 610 (Figure 3) in the cube 618. The modulators use coding to express digital information as Analog waveforms, and the coding procedure must be correctly interpreted by the demodulators in order that the bit stream is reproduced correctly. The digital diplexer 637 which is simply a digital device includes the means for establishing two-way communication with a body on a personal computer or another type of computer. In the preferred embodiment, this diplexer will be designed to communicate with the parallel ports that are common to most personal computers. The parallel port is a good choice, because it can be added cheaply to the computer, it can be configured with digital double-track communication at high data rates, and the 637 digital diplexer can be designed to emulate one of the many devices that communicate through this port in this way. This emulation could allow the personal computer to use approximately the same software it designs to communicate with the device being emulated.

. Dual Way Communication Using a Pair and Two Bands The most common interaction on the Internet is the copying of data from a server to an end user. This is what makes the demand for "downstream" broadband much higher than the demand on the "upstream" bandwidth. There are some applications, such as video conferencing, where high upstream capacity is required. Even in these systems, however, the downstream data rate requirements are probably much higher. The lower upstream requirements mean that upstream data can be expressed within a narrower frequency band. In the invention, the narrow band makes it easier to find enough spectrum on a single twisted pair for the expression of both signals. Expressing both the upstream and downstream signals on a single pair has many advantages. First of all, it leaves all frequencies (this is the spectrum) in the second open pair for other types of communication, such as the analog video transmission described in Patent Number 5,010,399, and in the subsequent partial continuations. A second advantage is that the path established by the second pair of cables frequently breaks down in intermediate cable cabinets and in some of the telephone contacts in the department unit. As a result, confining all communication to the first path can decrease the amount of preparation needed to begin the service of a particular unit. Perhaps the most important advantage of using a single pair of wires is that communication can be carried out through wiring where a four conductor beam serves a department unit, and all the conductors are twisted together instead of braiding in pairs. This type of wiring is sometimes called "quad", and is often used to reach the "local cable cabinet" found on the floor of each apartment building for individual units on that floor. Due to the nature of the braid, there will be a lot of interference between a pair of wires and any second pair. Effectively, this may mean that a "quad" cable includes only a pair of wires that is available for radio frequency communication. An example of the expression of both of both the upstream and downstream signals flowing between a single department unit and the cube 618 is now given. Suppose that modulator 610 (Figure 3) in subsystem 603 receives a bitstream at 2 million bits per second from processor 606. Modulator 610 can then use the common encoding scheme called frequency shift key (FSK) for expressing this bit stream as an analog waveform confined within, for example, 5-10 MHz. This signal transmits through a patch board 615b (Figure 2) and reaches the digital demodulator 636 in the modem 645 (Figure 5) ). That component recreates the digital bitstream of 2 million bits per second and passes it through digital diplexer 637 to computer 646, thereby completing the downstream path. In the opposite direction, the personal computer creates a bitstream of only 1 million bits per second. This signal can also be converted to an analog waveform using a frequency shift key, and is slow enough to be expressed in only 3 MHz of bandwidth, as between frequencies of 1-4 MHz. As a result, it can flow between the digital modulator 635 and the digital demodulator 608 in the subsystem 607 without interfering with the downstream signal, because the two do not overlap in frequency.

Improving the Data Link (and Video) on ßl Network Cabling Much of the discussion above describes processing that is likely to be common to many systems that meet the specific challenge of allowing individuals in a large structure to efficiently share a high connection. speed to a digital communication network. Later, more detailed systems are described to meet this challenge. Prior to that description, however, the invention includes new methods that are useful in the communication of high-speed data and other broadband signals over telephone cables in general, and over active internal telephone networks in particular. 1. Remove All Internal Cabling Reflections and Loads Patent Number 5,010,399 and United States of America Patent Application Serial Number 08 / 431,270 describe the use of low pass filters to remove the charging effects of telephone devices that they can be connected to the cable network. As described, if all the telephone devices are connected through a low pass filter, all can continue to operate normally and will not affect the high frequency energy. These filters are shown, among other places, as part of the separator 161, in Figure lb. All telephone devices connected in a cable network can be filtered cheaply in this way. Other loads may be caused by connections from broadband devices that receive power from the cabling. In this section, a method of connecting these devices that do not interrupt the flow of the existing signal is described. The reflections are caused by open terminations and cable separations. U.S. Patent Application Serial Number 08 / 431,270 discloses the use of a terminator in divider 161 to suppress reflections at the end of an open termination. As described in that application, however, the separator 161 can cause a substantial reduction in energy flowing through the network if it is connected at the end of a very short bead. An example is when several connectors in a network are connected through a process known as "daisy chaining". Referring to Figure 6, if one ignores, for the time being, the cable going from the connector 642a to the connector 642b, the remaining conductive paths illustrate an example of "daisy chaining". Note that a single pair of wires goes successively from one wall of the connector to the next (this is from 642a, to 648, to 649), providing an opportunity for connection at each connector. Many department units connect in that way. If the divider 161 were connected to the 642a connector, its termination would unnecessarily take power from the wiring. It is always possible to identify a straight path from the "open" termination to another, and consider that this is the main path, or "busbar", and consider all other wiring as part of a branch. In Figure 6, for example, it is natural to identify the connector 649 as a termination and the cube 618 as a second termination, with the connectors 648 and 642a connected in the middle. The path from connector 642a to connector 642b would be an example of a branch. Note also that extra branches are created if the broadband transmitters and receivers are connected to the intermediate connectors 642a and 648, either to the end of a long cord or in such a way as to charge the power in the cable. If a video receiver were connected to the 642a connector, for example, significant energy would flow to the receiver. When energy finds a branch in twisted pair cabling, reflections can occur as a result of some energy being reflected back to the source. Another type of reflection can be presented if the branch ends an "open connection". The reflected energy of an open termination can return to the main path, but with a dispatch relative to similar signals in that trajectory. Even when the reflected energy does not cause substantial interference, the energy flow back to the main path is reduced by a branch. If all those branches and affects are eliminated, and the termination designed at the other end of the main path, the transmission becomes well carried - the signals applied to the main path, or bus, simply separate and half the Energy is transmitted to each termination, where they graciously exit the busbar. The methods for suppressing the reflections caused by the connection of high sequence devices and by branches that occur naturally are described below. Referring to Figure 6, the separator 661 is designed to allow the connection of a broadband device without causing reflection problems. It connects to connector 648 with a zero impedance, so that no separation or reflection can occur. The signals can be received from the main path, because the processor 632 detects voltage variations of the signal as it flows past the wall connector, without disturbing or discharging the signal flow. The detected signal is then amplified and sent by the broadband device, which is a modem 645 in the case of Figure 6. The cord issuing from the divider 661 may be long, although it will not affect the signal flow in the main path of the internal wiring. The signals transmitted on the wiring through divider 661 simply flow through the zero impedance connection, only by adding the signals in the main path. These signals are separated, being transmitted towards the endings of each end. Note that the divider 661 also includes the terminator 669 which is connected behind the high pass filter 664, at the same point that the processor 632 is connected. The connector 671 allows one to break the connection (at high frequencies) between that terminator and the wiring. The terminator should not be connected when the wiring runs past a "daisy chain" style connector, as it runs past connector 648 in Figure 6. Such a connection would pull power from the line before it flowed over the downstream connector 649. Instead, it is important that the terminator be connected when the splitter 661 is connected to the connector at the end of a cable segment, such as the connector 649 in the lower right part of Figure 6. This connection ends in the line in the Broadband frequencies, allowing the energy to "gracefully come out" without causing reflection. The processor 632 can still detect the energy of the wideband signal, if there is any present, because the signal flows past its connection point. (Note that a similar terminator is required when the internal wiring is connected to cube 618, down in the wiring closet.This defines the opposite end of the transmission "busbar", and will be discussed later. Separator 161, which connects to connector 649, provides the termination used in Figure 6. Now consider the emission presented when the branch that is directed to connector 642b actually connects to the internal wiring in connector 642a. This can be called a "natural" branch, because it is not a result of connecting a high-frequency device to the main path. This branch can be a cable that leads to some other part of the department not shown in the diagram. Because there is nothing to avoid, the energy of the signal flowing from the cube 618 to separate, in this branch, the energy will move away from the wide branch devices that can be connected in the connectors 648 and 649. Also, they can be create reflections in connector 642b, causing some energy to be reflected back to connector 624a. Reflections and energy deviation can be suppressed by opening the wall connector and placing the low pass filter 647 over the branch part closest to connector 642a. This will cause the flow of the radio frequency signal to behave as if there is no branch connected to that connector. Fortunately, most of these branches are created in the wall connectors, so that easy access is usually available at the point where the filter should be connected. In addition, the low-pass filters are made in the form of a well-known "magnetic splitter core", which can be connected to the wiring in a "grasped" manner, that is, without making an interruption in the cable to connect the filter. One possible disadvantage to using the low pass filter 647 in this manner is that it prevents the operation of a broadband device at the end of the branch. A good solution is available, however, when the internal wiring consists of more than one pair, as is typical. The low pass filter 647 will not affect the second pair, and broadband signals can use that pair to flow to the connector 642b at the end of the branch. A similar low pass filter (not shown), however, must be installed along the second pair leading from connector 642a to connector 648. Placing both filters will effectively create two special paths. One path would allow the broadband energy to flow, over the first pair of wires, directly between cube 618 and connector 649, without any division at all, and without any device that could draw power from the line. The second path would allow the flow of energy between the connector 642b and the hub 618 in exactly the same way. When a second pair exists, but the wiring is of the "quad" type, where the four conductors are braided together, it may not be possible to create two paths in this way, due to the probability of large amounts of interference. One can either tolerate the divisions created by the junction in the connector 642a, or use the low pass filter 647 to simply block the broadband power of the 642b connector. Still another alternative (not shown) is to place a sophisticated coupler in the 3-way junction. In theory, this union could avoid reflections in all branches, and allow the signals to separate neatly when they intersect in a united direction. The details of the 661 separator are shown in Figure 7. The 663 low pass filter connects directly to the internal wiring, blocking the broadband power so that it is not transmitted to any telephone that may be connected. The terminator 669 and the processor 632 are connected behind the high-pass filter 664, which blocks the signals in the speech band. Switch 671 is interposed between the terminator669 and the wiring. The switch 671 is provided to overcome (ie, disconnect) the termination when necessary. As described above, the terminator should not be connected when the internal wiring runs past the connector and envelope in a second place. A possible improvement is to provide an adjustment mechanism (not shown) that can vary the resistance that the termination creates. This would allow the impedance to more closely match the line, making more accurate the suppression of reflections. The divider 661 is designed to be used with the modem 645, which is a slight variation of the modem 645, shown above. One difference is that bandpass filters 641 and 640, and coupler 643 are not included. Another difference is that two pairs of cables are connected between the modem 645 and the divider 661, and the signals flow in only one direction in each pair. The key to the processor 632 is the amplifier 665. This device detects the voltage variations created by the signal in the internal cable as it flows past the wall connector towards the termination. These variations can be picked up through the high-pass filter 664, the coupler 668, and the band-pass filter 660. The amplifier 665 sends the amplified signals to the demodulator 636 at a specified energy level. The amplifier 665 is energized by a direct current source in the modem 645, as shown in Figure 7. The direct current energy is separated from the other signals in the cable by the series of high and low pass filters shown in FIG. the diagram. Alternatively, the amplifier 665 can be directly connected to a direct current power source.

In the opposite direction, the signals from the modulator 635 flow through the amplifier 662a and the bandpass filter 662 to the coupler 668. The joint applies 30 decibels of attenuation to the signals crossing to the bandpass filter (BPF) 660, so as to prevent the amplifier 665 from picking up the signal from the modulator 635. The small amount of energy crossing to the amplifier 665 is blocked by the filter 660. The signals continue on the wiring and immediately separate, transmitting to the terminator at the connector 649 (Figure 6), and the terminator (described later) in the hub 618 towards the cable cabinet. 2. Use Telephone Wiring as a Bus Bar 10Bas2 - For Simple, Same Band Used for Upstream and Downstream Flow When reflections in the main transmission path have been minimized, as explained in the previous section, the 635 modulator can transmit signals inside of a frequency band, and the demodulator 636 can receive the signals sent from the cube 618 within the same band. The well-known computer communication network 10Base2 sends signals between stations on a single conductive path in exactly the same way. Such a system can work because the signals sent from cube 618 will terminate by divider 161 in wall connector 649 - this will not reflect back to the cable cabinet. As described above, the signals sent from the modulator 635 will also reach the termination, as well as the termination in the cube 618. The only possibility of confusion can occur in the coupler 668. As described above, the signals sent from the modulator 635 do not can reach demodulator 636, because coupler 668 attenuates signals flowing along the path from 635 to 636. (Bandpass filters 662 and 660, which were provided for extra separation, will not be effective when the signals communicate at the same frequencies.) A similar mechanism allows the cube 618 to send and receive signals within the same band. There may be many ways to implement the 668 coupler. An example of a device here is the "hybrid" link found in common phones. (The common phones, sure, they communicate signals in opposite directions on a single pair within the same frequency bands.) Ideally, the coupler 668 will include an adjustment mechanism, so that the separation can be "tuned" taking into account minor variations in the characteristics of the wiring and in the electronics in the specific site. To coordinate with modem 645, demodulator 608 and modulator 610 must also transmit and receive signals within the same frequency band. The same methods that the 661 splitter is used can be used to create this property on those devices.

Transmit Analog Video when sß Suppress Reflections and Loads As described in the previous applications, the transmission of analog video in ordinary 6 MHz AM NTSC format is possible over short distances of telephone wiring, such as that found in houses single-family When NTSC video is transmitted below the tuneable range, a mechanism must be provided to change the frequency signals, so that when they again fall within the range of a television tuner. This involves extra expense, an expense that could be saved if the signals were transmitted within tuneable channels. But transmission over tunable channels is more difficult, because the signal energy attenuates more quickly, with distance, when the energy is expressed at higher frequencies. Other factors, however, also contribute to the attenuation, and if these factors can be alleviated, the attenuation due to transmission distance alone may not be sufficient to adversely affect the image. (The minimum threshold required for SNR and the signal energy are described in Patent Number 5,010,399 and in United States of America Patent Application Serial Number 08 / 431,270.) In the United States Patent Application of North America with Serial Number 08 / 431,270, for example, suggests the possibility of using tunable channels as potentially feasible if the attenuation due to all connected telephone devices is suppressed by low pass filters. (This type of attenuation is known as "loading.") The methods described above, which suppress all divisions within the network, reduce the attenuation of the signals in the digital signals described herein, but can also be used to reduce the attenuation of any other broadband signal in exactly the same way. This attenuation is reduced in the following ways: As described above, when a signal finds a division, a small amount of energy is reflected back to the source, while half of the remaining energy, in general, is transmitted to a source. band and half is transmitted to the other. Assuming that the target receiver is located downstream of one of the branches, the suppression of reflection and deviation saves slightly more than half of the energy loss. The attenuation due to the transmission along the cord connecting from a connector to the device is eliminated by the affect of the amplifier on the active divider 661. Additionally, one of the methods described in the United States Patent Application. with Serial Number 08 / 670,216 can be used, in harmony with the methods described herein, to count the attenuation in single-family cases. This is the method where the video signals are transmitted from the source to the repeater unit in the telephone interface, they are reamplified and transmitted along a second branch to the video destination. Effectively, this cuts the transmission distance by as much as a factor of two. Because these savings are substantial, these methods can significantly increase the number of internal networks over which analog video can be successful within a tuneable channel.

Establish a Common Ethernet Local Area Network on Muftifamiliares Internal Cables and Other Structures This section describes two different types of Local area networks. Each of these networks uses the internal telephone cables in a multi-family to communicate between the computers in the network and the concentration point located in the telephone wiring closet.

System A (the preferred mode) - One lOBasßT connection in each department If there are at least two twisted pairs that lead from a department unit to the cable closet in the basement, these pairs, in theory, can be used to connect the lOBaseT Ethernet adapter directly to an Ethernet hub. The challenge becomes easier, of course, if all the reflections are removed from the two trajectories. This configuration is shown in Figure 8a, which shows the electronics in the department unit. The low pass filters 647, 647a, and 647b confine the high frequencies along the dedicated path between the cube 618 'and the energized divider 691 which is connected to the 648 connector. There are no reflections along this path because There are no divisions. (In Figure 8b, Filters 647, 647a, and 647b provide filtering in each of the two pairs.) Note that the cord connecting energized divider 691 to connector 648 need not be short. This is because the technology, described in the last section, is not used for the solution shown in Figure 6a and 9a. In particular, broadband devices do not connect to wiring in the style of a busbar.

Ordinarily, an lOBaseT Ethernet adapter only requires an ordinary two-pair connection with a cube, as long as the length does not exceed 100 meters and the cabling meets certain specifications. In this case, however, several problems may arise. These problems and their corresponding solutions (shown in Figure 8a) are described below. The voice signals are on the line. High pass filters 692a are provided to block the voice band. - A telephone device can discharge the energy. The low pass filter 692b is provided to block high frequencies of these devices. There can not be a good match between the impedance of the line and that of the adapter. The Impedance Impedance (IM) 694a corrects these types of tie-breaker in the pair of cables on which the signals arrive at the adapter. The Impedance Balance and Impedance (IMB) 694b circuitry corrects similar breakdowns in the opposite pair, and also balances the signal through the two terminals of the line before applying them to the cable. The impedance matching units 694a and 694b must be manually adjustable, so that the impedance tie can be established conveniently and correctly after installation. Wiring can attenuate the signal more than Ethernet specifications allow, and higher frequencies can be attenuated, compared to lower frequencies, than what is allowed under specifications. (This relative difference of attenuation is also called "tilt".) The 695a amplifier / equalizer corrects the tilt in the first pair of wires, and the 695b provides gain and corrects the impending tilt "pre-emphasizing" the signal that is about to be applied. to the second pair. It can be noted that broadband devices can not be connected to connectors 649, 642a, or 642b, because broadband power does not reach these connectors. This is necessary to reduce divisions, and although this is somewhat limiting for the inhabitant, the energized divider 691 can be removed and connected to any of the other connectors to operate in the same way. All that is needed is to change the position of the low pass filters 647, 647a and / or 647b. (For example, connecting the energized divider 691 to the 649 connector would require the low pass filter 647b to be disabled, and that all telephones that connect to the 648 connector should leak in. Connecting the energized divider 691 to the 642 connector would require the filter to low pass 647b will be connected near connector 642a, along the path to connector 648.) Special wall connectors that include these low pass filters and allow the user to easily enable and disable them would allow a user to perform this I change quickly. The methods for designing these connectors will be clear to those skilled in the art of building connectors and switches for twisted pair systems. [Energized Line Devices. Almost all telephone devices have an excess of direct current energy available through the telephone system "that establishes communication. The Public Switched Telephone System (PSTN) is no exception. This allows devices connected to the cable network to derive energy through that connection, as many ordinary telephones derive energy for lighting or their keyboards. Although there are several legal restrictions on the power that can be derived from the public switching telephone system, these restrictions do not apply to systems operated by electronic PBXs, or similar devices. Deriving energy for the energized divider 691 will eliminate the need for a separate power supply and will reduce the number of cables required to complete all connections. In Figure 8a, the power supply 691a is shown connected behind the low pass filter 692b. (The energy will be available at that point, but not behind the filters 692.) Those skilled in the art will be able to design 691 so that it can derive power for the operation of the 695 amplifiers. This concept can be extended later, allowing the network to provide power for the lOBaseT adapters, or other devices that connect to energized divider 691 on port 691b. Still another good solution is to use an empty pair to have energy available to the entire network. If this pair is available, this would be the best alternative.] The electronics in the cable cabinet are shown in Figure 9a. The main components in this diagram are the Ethernet switching cube 618 ', the bridge transceiver 609a, the rectangle switch 699, and the junction board 615b. (The diagram also includes the PBX / voice 698a hub, the 698c voice-ethernet link, and the 698b backup telephone link.) These devices are used to join voice traffic to data traffic on a common external line. important function, they do not play a role in the system described herein.) The transceiver 609a can be any device that: connects to a group of devices connected together according to a local area network standard, such as the 10Base2 Ethernet standard, and can connect to a communications line that joins the Internet to exchange signals with that line, and whether it performs the necessary addressing functions to send signals to the correct destinations in the local area network, or coordinates with devices that perform this addressing. In the preferred embodiment, the bridge transceiver 609a is half a pair of transmitter-receiver of Ethernet bridge. Together with its pair mate, it constitutes what is known as an Ethernet Bridge. When connected to a group of computers (or other digital devices) that are connected together according to the Ethernet local area network standard, a bridge gives the local network the property of being an "ethernet segment". The segment consists of computers or other digital devices that connect to this local area network. The bridge connects to a second local area network, which also becomes an ethernet. The data flow between the two can be increased by adding a bridge transceiver as an additional link between each of the two segments. One property of the bridge is that the data applied by a station that is destined for a second station in the same local area network does not flow through the bridge. (The local area network connected to bridge transceiver 609b is shown in Figure 11 and the manner in which these two ethernet segments are coordinated is described below.) An example of a remote bridge is the BestLan2 bridge on the which is in the catalog of the well-known Black Box Corporation. The Bridge of BestLan2 consists of two companion transmitters-receivers. As described, a transceiver is connected to an Ethernet segment, and the second is connected to a different segment. They allow 2 million bits per second to flow from one segment to another. If a second Besan bridge is established, of course, the data rate connecting the two segments becomes 4 million bits per second. The switching cube 618 'is an Ethernet switching hub lOBaseT. It has a multiple number of lOBaseT ports through which Ethernet adapters can be connected via two twisted pair cables. Typically, it also has a port to establish a connection to the 10Base2 bus. In the preferred embodiment, it is connected to bridge transceiver 609a via this port. (The 698c Voice-to-Ethernet link can also be connected to this 10Base2 busbar.) Cube 618 'exchanges signals with line 602 through that connection.All other connections to the 618' cube are through standard twisted pair ports. lOBaseT The lOBaseT adapters in the department units are connected, finally with the lOBaseT ports in the cube 618 'These connections are made through the connection board 615b, shown in the upper left part. connections 615b are the same as those of junction board 615a, and provide the same filtering. (Panel 615b includes rectangular switch 699, which is not part of panel 615a and is described below.) Signals are transmitted between adapters lOBaseT and the cube 618 'transmitting through the high-pass filters 617 and the energized divider 691. The effect of the 617 and 691 is to adapt the wiring so that this communication function one, for all practical purposes, exactly like the lOBaseT cubes that are used in a more recognizable system. The switching property of the cube 618 'protects the privacy of the individual inhabitants. Without this property, all signals flowing through hub 618 'are transmitted to all connected lOBaseT adapters. Although adapters are usually set to intercept only data labeled with their addresses, invalidating that protection is not difficult - leaving open the opportunity to monitor a neighbor's communication. When switching is provided, the signals flow only to their intended destinations. The rectangular switch 699 is provided to economize the number of ports that can be included in the cube 618 '. In theory, the number of ports required is equal to the maximum number of users that can be connected at one time. Because this is probably much smaller than the total number of subscribers, that is, they have the ability to connect, it is not necessary to include a port for each subscriber. As a result, the number of ports in cube 618 'may correspond to the maximum number of users that one can expect at any time. This would correspond to the number of ports at the entrance to switch 699. The dimensionality of the output, on the other hand, should be equal to the total number of subscribers. Clearly, some control switch mechanism 699 is required, and it is clear that those skilled in the art of switching and control can develop one. For example, a cross-point switching circuit could be used as the rectangular switch. The 699a amplifier / equalizer section is provided to do the following in each port of a cube618 ': Raise the energy of the signals transmitted outward through the port apply pre-emphasis to the transmitted signals to compensate for the impending inclination Firmly balance the signals transmitted through the twisted pairs to match the impedance of the port with the line of transmission equalize the signals introduced by the port, thereby compensating the spectral tilt, and increasing the energy level of the input signals.

These functions extend the distance over which the 618 'cube and lOBaseT adapters can communicate reliably. Note that it is more efficient to perform these processes before the dimensionality is expanded by the rectangular switch 699. Focusing now on voice processing, the PBX / voice 698a concentrator intercepts all voice traffic in the building, and converts it into a encoded bit stream. This data is applied, via the voice / Internet link 698c, in the local area network 10Base2 which connects the cube 618 'to the bridge transceiver 609a. The data is routed to the "PSTN" link 673, shown in Figure 11 and described below. In the case of failure of this link, telephone communications would be suspended. Telephone support 698b is provided to secure emergency connections. Backup 698b can be any telephone link that is activated "on demand" and activates telephones in the building.

System B. Using a 10Base2 Adapter over an Empty Pair Consider Figure 8b, where the 654a modem represents an ordinary 10Base2 Ethernet card. This figure will illustrate a method of using this common adapter to establish an Ethernet local area network by connecting computers to the network cube over internal wiring. In particular, this method is attractive when there is at least one "inactive" twisted pair running from the department unit to the cable cabinet. Establishing this capacity is important because there are many situations where external factors such as guarantee contracts in PBX systems prevent the connection of external devices to active wiring. (When there is no PBX, guarantees are not a problem, but government regulations are, fortunately, 628 low-pass filters can be done to block any energy that could be a violation.These regulations, and the filters necessary to meet them, are described in the United States of America Patent Application Serial Number: 08 / 816,059 and Patent No. 5,010,399.) [Adapter 10Base2 is connected to adapter 661a, which is an optional device. Adapter 661 is only needed when the communication is to be conducted through an active twisted pair. The pair in question is supposed to be inactive, as at the beginning of this discussion, the description of the 661a adapter is deferred.] 647 and 647a low pass filters block wideband frequency on two of the paths away from the connector 642a. As a result, the signals are transmitted directly between the modem 645 and the cube 618 and are not divided into the connector 642a or elsewhere. (Note that the cord connecting to the modem 645 can not cause a split, because it is part of the main transmission path The technology, described above, which prevents splitting of the cord connection is not required in the Examples 8b and 9b.) Thus, the wiring between two devices acts as a standard busbar 10Base2, while the termination is provided on the modem 645a (as indicated by the T inside a circle in Figure 8a, and also in cube 618). The processing in the cable cabinet is almost identical to the processing shown in Figure 9a. The only difference is in the electronics, shown in Figure 9b, which are connected between cube 618 'and switch 699. In Figure 9b, high-pass filters are not required, because the line is active. Instead, the media converters 679a and the baluns 679b are interposed between the switch and the hub. Baluns 679b convert the path from a single twisted pair to a coaxial cable, which is a natural medium for 10Base2. The 679a converters, which are available as off-market, inexpensive devices, perform the exact coordination required for 10Base2 devices to connect to the lOBaseT cubes. In particular, the coaxial medium of 10Base2 is replaced with two twisted pair cables, and coordination of different collision detection schemes of the two systems is provided. Preferably, they would also include the amplification and equalization functions incorporated in the 699a amplifier / equalizer. It remains to show how to adapt the collision detection system 10Base2 to operate on a twisted pair that conducts voiceband signals. This is not straightforward, because the 10Base2 adapters are coordinated to avoid detections pointing to each other in direct current. Specifically, the 10Base2 adapter creates a "direct current offset" on the busbar to signal its intention to transmit. Other adapters capture this and react in accordance with the same. To adapt the collision detection system of the 10Base2 adapters, the adapter 661a includes elements (not shown) that provide the following: Block direct current signals with a low pass filter. They provide impedance matching between the twisted pair cables and the coaxial port of the 10Base2 adapter. They detect the direct current shift of 645a, create a tone frequency in response, and apply the tone to the line. They detect tones applied to the line by means of a similar adapter connected to cube 618. They create a displacement of direct current in the connection with 645 in response to these tones. The media converters, 679a, shown in Figure 9b must be adapted to recognize that the collision detection is signaled by a tone and not by a direct current shift, and to react in accordance therewith.

System C - Adapters lOBaseT and 10Base2 that use a single twisted pair as a busbar. (The preferred mode for single-family homes.) Referring to Figures 6 and 7, suppose that the 645b modem is a standard lOBaseT Ethernet card. (Functionality, this assumption is profound, because the 645b modem connects to a personal computer and exchanges signals through two twisted pairs.) Because all the reflections from the cables are suppressed, the Manchester code signals from 10 million bits per second, created by 645b, will transmit, in the style of a busbar, over a single pair, to which the 661 divider connects. These signals transmit to the terminators at connector 649 and cube 618. Note that the lOBaseT card uses Manchester codes to communicate both its data signals and its collision detection signals. As a result, both of these signals will transmit through the busbar between connector 649 and cube 618. It remains to be shown how these signals would coordinate with the switching hub lOBaseT. (An lOBaseT cube is the best choice for cube 618, because it is the only inexpensive piece of hardware that performs the switching functions necessary to protect privacy.) The electronics in the cable cabinet are almost the same as those shown in the Figure 9a. The only differences are shown in Figure 9c. That figure shows how the 679c diplexers replace the 699a amplifier / equalizer.

Also, a termination is provided between each diplexer and the high pass filter 617. The diplexers 679c are connected to detect signals without loading the busbar. These signals are passed to the twisted pair providing input to a port in the lOBaseT cube.

The signals emitted by the cube are picked up from the second pair by the diplexers, and applied to the busbar, finally reaching the lOBaseT 645a adapter in the department unit. In the preferred embodiment, the 679c diplexers also perform the amplification / equalization commonly provided by 699a. It is noted that, when privacy is not a reputation, the use of an lOBaseT cube is not required. This has important implications for use in single family homes. In particular, multiple lOBaseT adapters, each through divider 661, can be connected to a "busbar" created from internal wiring in the manner shown in Figure 6 and described above. These adapters will communicate with each other on this busbar without the help of a cube - just as the 10Base2 cards communicate over a part of the coaxial cable. Each adapter will receive all the data signals and collision signals applied by each of the other cards - exactly if they had been connected to an lOBaseT cube. For example, referring to Figure 6, suppose that 645b is an lOBaseT adapter, and suppose that a second lOBaseT adapter is connected (through a second divider 661) to connector 642a. If the low pass filter is connected between the hub 618 and the connector 642a, and the terminator 669 in the second divider 661 is connected, the "busbar" will reach between the connector 642a and the termination in the connector 649. The two cards lOBaseT may, at that point, communicate freely through this stretch of cable. While other connectors available along the busbar, the additional lObaseT adapters could connect and communicate in the same way. It is further noted that the 10Base2 adapters can be connected directly to a busbar, without the aid of a divider 661, and reflections will not occur if the connecting cord is not too long. (One way to do this is to connect a 10Base2"bag style" adapter to a wall connector using a very short cord, and use a long cord to connect to the parallel port on a personal computer.) In order for the signaling of collision work properly, however, the twisted pair that serves as the bus bar «a must be empty - can not be used for telephone communications. If these conditions are met, the 10Base2 adapters will communicate as they do on standard coaxial cables.

Networks for Cableo sue No Will support 10 million bits per second (Mbs) As described above, the wiring in some apartment buildings is not of a sufficiently reliable quality to support communication of 10 million bits per second. The communication reliability factor, however, directly handles data rate communication, so that these problems can be attacked by establishing lower data rate communications over the department's cables. In the next two sections, the systems to establish these communications are described. The biggest advantage of these designs is that they require relatively cheap electronics, and allow all the inhabitants in the building to share access to one or more high-speed lines, and guarantee the privacy of all those who use the system. In both systems, it is suggested that it be used at the data rate of 2 million bits per second in basements and each inhabitant. While this speed is significantly less than 10 million bits per second, the data rate can be limited to below 10 million bits per second by other factors. Also, the advantage of the extra 8 million bits per second can be that the user can copy a graph in .2 seconds instead of 1 second, a difference that may not be appreciated.

System A - Ethernet Adapters are Used for Routing The first system is now described in terms of the most important components shown above. The cube 618a, which; it differs from cube 618, only in that its description is more detailed, it is shown in Figure 10a. Hub 618a consists of a bridge receiving transmitter 609a, bus 619, and modems 650a. The function of the bridge receiver transmitter 609a, in this system, is the same as the function seen in the system described above. Specifically, the bridge receiver transmitter 609a can be any device that: can be connected to a group of devices connected to each other according to a local area network standard, such as the Ethernet 10Base2 standard, and can be connected to a communications line that join in the Internet to exchange signals with that line, and either perform the necessary addressing functions to direct signals to the correct destinations in the local area network, or coordinate with devices that perform this addressing. In the preferred embodiment, the bridge receiver transmitter 609a is half a pair of Ethernet bridge receiver transmitter. Together with its accompanying pair, the bridge receiver transmitter 609b, constitutes what is known as an Ethernet bridge, and the local area network in the cable cabinet is called the Ethernet segment. These concepts were described in greater detail above. The modems 650a include modulators and moderators that apply signals on the twisted pairs and recover signals by transmitting them from the apartment units upwards. They correspond to the modulators 610 and the demodulators 608, shown in Figure 3. (Note that, together with the busbar 619, which is described below, the modems 650a perform the same processing as the subsystems 603 and 607, described above.) The modems 650a and bridge receiver transmitter 609a are connected to the bus bar 619, and can apply data to, and retrieve data from, that busbar. The data applied to the busbar is transmitted to all other devices connected to the same busbar. Therefore, communication is established between all the devices that are connected to the busbar 619. In the preferred embodiment, the common standard lOBase2 governs the communication through this busbar. Bus bar 619 connects all modems together in an Ethernet local area network. (As described above, this local area network also Ethernet network "segment" when the bridge receiving transmitter 609a is connected to the accompanying transmitter receiver.) Bus bar 619 can follow the standard of the common hubs lOBaseT, the busbar 10Base2, or mechanisms Similar. In the case of 10Base2, the "cube" is simply a thin coaxial cable, or busbar, that ends at both ends. The digital stations on the network are connected to the bus through a high impedance, collecting the signals without interrupting or otherwise downloading the flow of the signal energy. The signals applied to the busbar are transmitted to both ends, where their energy is removed by the terminators. There is a modem for each inhabitant that subscribes to the service provided by the system described in this section. Part of each 650a modem is the Ethernet Network Interface Card 653, which makes processing equivalent to the Network Interface Card, or NIC. A Network Interface Card is the common piece of electronics that connect between computers and the cubes or busbars of the network. Each Network Interface Card captures all the signals that flow through the bus, and selects only those that are labeled with the same "address" that is encoded on the Network Interface Card. These signals are passed to the bus data collector of the computer. In summary, a Network Interface Card provides the necessary processing to exchange signals between the computer's busbar (to which it connects) and the network bus (or cube) while protecting the privacy of others in the network. network. Although a two-way communication path is provided, a typical Network Interface Card also uses the computer's processing power to manage some of the processing that drives it (the Network Interface Card). The microprocessor 654 is included in the 650a modem for this specific purpose. This eliminates the need for the Network Interface Card 653 use a processor on a large computer. (This need would significantly increase the cost of the cube.) A design for the 618a cube, by which a microprocessor 654 performs this function for several of the modems 650a would be preferred.

The signals retrieved by the Network Inferid Card are passed to a single of "the first that comes in first out" (FIFO) 655, henceforth known as the first queue that comes in first out of 655. This device it is a digital buffer and makes conceivable the speed at which data comes through the network with the speed of the data flowing through the modem and the subscriber. The tail of the first entering first that goes out 655 can be implemented by well-known electronic circuits. The focus now moves to the question of how fast the 650a modem should pass the data to its associated computer. If a common Ethernet technology is used, 10 million bits per second will flow through the network. But the maximum data rate is more likely to be limited by the remote bridge 609a, and bridges become very expensive when used to accommodate a very high data rate. Due to the availability of relatively cheap wireless bridges, such as the BestLan2, which communicates at 2 million bits per second, a link of 2 million bits per second for the inhabitant may be a good option. The data flows through the local area network Ethernet, however, bursts of 10 million bits per second, even if the data reaches the network at a slower speed. As a result, the 653 Network Interface Card must pass data downstream at a rate of 10 million bits per second. In these circumstances, the Inferid Network Card 653 will fill the intermediate memories of the queue of the first one that enters first that leaves 655 at the speed of 10 million bits per second, but only in relatively short "bursts". The buffers must be flushed, or read, at the speed of 2 million bits per second, and the capacity of the buffer memory will determine the possibility of overflow. Clearly, the buffers should be large enough to make that possibility very small. The first-in-first queue that exits operates under the control of the MPU 654 and its intermediate memories are routed to the modulator 657. That device expresses the digital energy as a waveform confined to frequencies above the speech band, and the passes to broadband connection board 615. Various methods, such as a phase quartence movement key (QPSK) or the Manchester encoding described above, can be used to encode information at frequencies above the speech band . The analog waveform created by the modulator 657 passes through the band pass filter 658 and the coupler 651 and over the twisted pair going to the broadband board 615 and into the inhabitant's apartment. The 650a modem also receives signals sent from the inhabitant's department. These signals are applied by the modem 645a, as shown in Figure 6. These transmit through the broadband board 615, through the coupler 651 and the bandpass filter 652 in the modem 650a. They are blocked from the modulator 657 by the bandpass filter 651 and by the directionality of the coupler, while the filter 652 blocks signals from the 657 from the flow to the demodulator 656. It is noted that the bandpass filter 658, 652 and the coupler 651 performs filtering and separation of signals that is equivalent to that performed by the signal separator 613a. The demodulator 656 converts the received signals into digital logic form. Finally, these data apply to the Network Interface Card in the same way that a personal computer would pass signals to that card. This completes the communication circuit in the cable cabinet, because any other transmission of those signals is carried out in accordance with common Ethernet standards. As described above, a modem 645a communicates, in the preferred embodiment, with the inhabitant's personal computer through a common parallel port. An advantage of using the parallel port could be seen considering a 650a modem and the 645 modem working together in a single housing. The 650a modem connects to a common 10Base2 Ethernet network, and the 645a modem connects to a parallel port on a personal computer. As such, the combination of the two devices is equivalent to what is known as "Pocket Ethernet Adapters". These devices are small electronic boxes that connect to a parallel port on a personal computer and also to an Ethernet. As a result of the similarity of the inputs and outputs, the modem 645 can be designed to emulate these adapters, and the same software can be used to drive the adapters to suit the system described herein.

System 2- Using a Personal Computer Collection Bar and Routing Software Figure 10b shows cube 618b, which is an alternative to cube 618a. Like cube 618a, cube 618b includes a modem (shown in Figure 10b as modem 650b) for each subscriber dweller. Hub 618b also includes receiver transmitter 609a. The main difference between the two is incorporated in the way that the bridge receiver transmitter 609a data reaches the output of each modem. This mechanism is now described. Referring to Figure 10b, the Internet data reaches the bridge receiving transmitter 609a on line 602, and continues on the microprocessing unit (MPU) 670. The data destined for the Internet is transmitted in the opposite direction. In the preferred embodiment, the physical connection between the bridge receiving transmitter 609a and the microprocessing unit 670 adheres to the 10Base2 Ethernet local area network Internet standard, and the communication protocols also adhere to established standards for area networks local Ethernet. Other links of other types of communication links may also suffice. It is noted that the second bridge receiver transmitter can be simply connected to the local area network 10Base2 in the ordinary manner. This will double the data rate between the microprocessing unit and the Internet. If more bridge receiver transmitters are connected in this way, the factor limiting the data rate in the cable cabinet could eventually be 10 million bits per second of the 10Base2 link, instead of the added data rate. of the bridge receiver transmitters. In the preferred embodiment, the data arriving at the microprocessing unit 670 includes a label that determines which of the inhabitants is the target of the final destination. Using software, the microprocessing unit at 670 can interpret that label, and apply the associated signals on the logical data bus 681, so that it directs them to the appropriate destination. The circuits that implement this communication busbar are well known. In addition, a particular microprocessing unit, Motorola xxx, has already been designed to drive the type of communication described here, adding an economy to this system. The modems 650b are connected to the busbar 681 and allow the data to flow in each direction. This data exchange is managed by the digital diplexer 684. This device is similar in function to the digital diplexer 637, described above. The function of the 650b modems is almost identical to the 650a modems. Both exchange data with the communications bus, and regulate with data relay the modems in the departments of the inhabitants. As can be seen from Figures 10.a. and 10b, both use the same configuration of modulators and passive filtering and coupling to create the voice data function. A difference in function is that the 650b modem must include hardware to recognize data addresses. This function is performed by the Network Interface Card 653 under the control of the microprocessing unit 654. When the modems 650b are used, this function is performed in software by the microprocessing unit 670.

Connecting Small Offices That Are Located in the Building The system described in this is given to each subscriber shared access to a high capacity line. This ability can be useful for individual residents in an apartment building, but it can also be attractive to small businesses. In particular, when many small different businesses share a common building, some find that the cost for the level of service provided by this system is attractive to them. These businesses may choose to subscribe to the local 645a modem on the computers of workers who are required to access the Internet. To be sure, a PBX switch is installed in many other offices, and this device can interrupt the continuity of a twisted pair path that arrives between the basement wiring and the computer. A high frequency deviation is required to get to the computer in such a configuration. (This deviation is not shown in this application, but an example is shown in Figure 5 of Patent Number 5,010,399.) Many of these offices, however, have a local area network that connects to the computers used by several of them. workers, and may wish to provide workers with access to line 602 over this local area network. This can be accomplished by connecting the local area network of the office with a 10Base2 network in the basement using a network bridge, such as the bridges described above. A network bridge can be implemented through a variety of products. Some of the products, such as the V.35 jumpers that appear in the Black Box Corporation catalog, consist of receiver transmitter pairs. This connection is shown in Figure 10a, where the Ethernet Bridge 659 receiver transmitter is connected to the Ethernet local area network established in the basement, and the accompanying transmitter receiver is connected to the local area network established in the office . When this connection is made, the networks become Ethernet segments related to each other. Privacy issues are resolved automatically. The data destined to the inhabitants do not reach the local area network of the office due to bridge 659, which follows Ethernet standards, which do not allow traffic to other destinations that flow in the connected segment. The data destined to the local area network of the office can not be intercepted by the inhabitants, because the Network Inferid Cards are set to block data that are not notified for the transmission to the inhabitant. The data destined for the Internet (via high capacity line 602) will be blocked from both the inhabitants and the local area network of the office for the same reasons.

The Capability of the Department's Internet System One benefit of connecting computers as described above is that each computer can communicate digital data with any other computer in the building. A more important benefit, which is the focus of this invention, that each inhabitant can communicate with the better known Internet at a relatively high data rate. There are two data speeds internal to the system described here that will have a great effect on the speed experienced by the users. The first is the speed at which signals are communicated from the Internet Connection to cubes 618 ', 618a or 618b, located in the cable cabinet. The second is the speed at which the signals communicate between those cubes and the 645a (or 645b) modems in the department units. The proper speeds for these links will depend on many factors. These are several features of this system, however, that are common to all implementations, and can help determine the optimal data rate. Some of these characteristics are described later. When line 602 communicates at 2 million bits per second, there is no immediate reason for modems 650 and modems 645, which determine the data rate internal to the building, to communicate at a higher speed. The valid reasons for implementing a higher data rate are: a) allowing future expansion, b) economy - some higher data rate devices, such as Ethernet devices, are actually less expensive, and c) the capacity of use of the link for compressed digital video. Due to the "stop-start" nature of the Internet, a shared connection works more efficiently when a large part of that capacity can be focused, that is, "concentrated" on a single user. When the connection link can be focused in this way, a request for bandwidth can be quickly satisfied, and the user examines the data while the bandwidth in the connection is dedicated to satisfying the requests of other users in the set. Until the requests for a "concentration" are so numerous as to exceed and concentrate any single moment in time, every user feels that he or she enjoys the total bandwidth of the connection link. The data rate of the connection to the Internet is limited by the remote bridge 609a, which, in the preferred embodiment, provides a data rate of approximately 2 million bits per second. The extra bridges can be added to create a simple increase in that data rate, that is to double, the number of bridges increases in the speed of connection to the Internet by a factor of 2. Many experts believe that the most common experience of a Internet user will be the one that proceeds according to this sequence: a) the Internet "refreshes the user's screen", b) the user examines the screen, c) the user makes certain decisions, d) the Internet reacts by refreshing to create a new screen, and e) the cycle starts again, when the newly created window consists of most graphics instead of text (alphanumeric), the refreshing on the screen can be very slow. This is the phenomenon that has created a great demand for an increase in the speed at which users can access the Internet. Using compression methods, approximately 1 million bits are required to fill a computer screen. Meanwhile, the inhabitant must, presumably, inspect each screen for at least a few seconds. Because 2 million bits can refresh a screen in approximately .5 seconds, a doubling in capacity would lower the "wait" time by .25 seconds, which would reduce the "progress" from one screen to another in only a small fraction. While there are other uses for the Internet that do not involve moving from screen to screen, this particular type of use is very common, so that the increase in the data rate can not be appreciated significantly. Because the user advances through the screens and brings data from the shared line for only a few seconds to a minute, several users could be added before a small decrease in service was perceived by existing users. Also, only a fraction of the total number of subscribers may be actively using the system at any given time. As a result of the above, it is suggested that 2 million bits per second is sufficient until the number of subscribers in the building exceeds between 25 and 50.

A second bridge should be added when the number increases beyond this. It can be shown, mathematically, that the efficiency of the system increases when the number of users sharing access increases while the "quality of service" remains the same. For example, be the "quality of service" defined by the percentages of times that a user requires and access seconds can wait more than x seconds for this access (where x is a fixed number). Under these conditions, a duplication of capacity, that is, bandwidth, results in an increase in the maximum number of users (who can enjoy at least the same "quality of service") by a factor well above 2, and possibly reaching 4. In other words, the shared bandwidth efficiency has increased. Standard motion machines can be expressed as compressed digital stream with a bit rate of 1.5 million bits per second, and a data rate of 6 million bits per second can be used to express any NTSC video signal. The transmission of compressed digital video signals, however, requires the source to supply a stable stream of data to the receiver, and this capability typically can not be provided by the systems in Figures 6-10. The following section describes how to make the communication link between the modems 650 and the modems 645 provide a path for the digital video signals generated by the systems described in United States Patent Application Serial Number 08 / 816,059.

Provide Multi-Apartment Buildings Shared Access and a Common Router As described above, when one of the systems described in Figures 6-10 is installed in a given apartment building, it creates a local area network between the computers of the inhabitants in that building. In a preferred embodiment, this network follows the well-known Ethernet local area network standards. (In Figure 8b, to be precise, only a small Ethernet local area network is connected at the root of the electronics - that is, between the bridge receiver transmitter 609a and the microprocessing unit 670. The moving data beyond microprocessing unit 670 individual inhabitants are shared by means other than local area network technology.) In accordance with these standards, many of these networks can be connected to a master network using devices known as bridges Ethernet The result is that all computers in all buildings are really part of the same large network. (The local area network in the basement of a single building is called the "Ethernet segment," and the largest network is composed of many of these different segments.) A device called a router is required to provide Internet access to the computers in an Ethernet network. A router can be sufficient for each network, even though there are networks that are composed of many different segments. Because routers are relatively expensive, there is a significant advantage in connecting (the networks installed in) several buildings, so that they become separate segments of Ethernet from a single common network, allowing one router to serve them all. Another economy available in large networks is the sharing of a computer called the Internet workstation. This computer can be useful to improve the convenience and energy available to users who have access to the Internet over a network. A single computer, moreover, can be useful to any user in any segment of the network. A system of connecting the network segments installed in multi-department buildings is now described. In addition to the economy of a single router and a single Internet workstation, this system will enjoy the additional advantage, described above, of making all segments share the same connection in Ethernet. (This advantage will be described above in terms of several individual users sharing access to the same "high-speed line." The same principles apply when several segments of the network share the same access port.) Referring to Figure 11 , a group of bridge receiving transmitters 609b are located together with a 672 router and port 670. Port 670 is a port that provides a fixed access speed on the Internet. They are connected to router 672, which is connected to bus 675, which is a simple 10Base2 Ethernet bus. The bridge receiving transmitters 609b are also connected to the same busbar. The bridge receiver transmitters 609b and the router 672 are co-located with port 670. This location is commonly referred to as a "point of presence." The Internet workstation 686a and the PSTN 886b are also connected to this busbar. The workstation provides the economy described above. The PSTN link 686b communicates with the PBX / Voice Concentrator 698a, shown in Figure 9a. These devices cooperate to connect the telephones in each department (of the group of departments) to a common port of the public connected telephone network. The connections described above establish a network between the router 672, the receiver transmitters 609b, the Internet workstation and the PSTN link. Ten million bits per second can flow through this network when common Ethernet standards are used. The data flows between the Ethernet and this network via port 670 and router 672. Router 672 processes the data as it is applied to the network. Follow the well-established protocols for communication between Ethernet networks and the Internet. In particular, it examines the addressing information associated with the data, and alters that information so that it can be understood by the bridges and the network interface cards (also known as network adapters), which are connected to the network. A group of apartment buildings is shown at the top of Figure 11. The 609a bridge receiver transmitter is installed in the basement of each of these buildings, as well as other electronics illustrated in Figures 9-10. At the point of presence, each of the 609b receiver transmitters is the dedicated companion of one of the 609b bridge receiver transmitters installed in the basement of one of the apartment buildings. (More than one of the 609a bridge receiver transmitters can be connected to the network tracking in the basement cable box of any given building, as long as it has a dedicated companion receiver transmitter at the point of presence. receivers are not dedicated in pairs are also possible.) The link between each pair of transmitter receiver switches to the network in a corresponding building together with the network at the point of presence, making the network in the building is an individual "segment" of this major network. The following results are now established: Any piece of data sent from port 670 is processed by router 672. After processing, the data will be directed by one of the inhabitants in one of the buildings. (In the system described in Figure 10b, the router 672 directs data only to the correct buildings.) The routing performed by the microprocessor unit 670 calculates in the final direction that is used to direct the data to the correct inhabitant.) These data will be entered. by one of the Ethernet 609b receiver transmitters that connect to the local area network at the point of presence. The data will pass through the companion Ethernet receiver transmitter 609a.

Now it will not flow to other buildings. The 609a Ethernet receiver transmitter will apply the data to the shared access system inside the building. The data will be recognized by cube 618 '(or by modem 650a or modem 650b) and directed to the correct inhabitant. The data transmitted from an inhabitant and destined for the Internet will be interpreted by the receiver transmitter of bridge 609a in the building of that inhabitant. These data will be transmitted back to the point of presence, where they will be received by the companion bridge receiver transmitter 609b. Then they will flow through busbar 675 to router 672, where their address will be processed and passed to the Internet through port 670. In the preferred mode, data will flow from the Internet, through port 670, through of the router, on the busbar 675 and will be received by one of the bridge receiver transmitters 609b. This data will flow at a rate of 10 million bits per second. The data will flow between the bridge receiving transmitters 609b and 609a at a rate of 2 million bits per second, and these bridges will follow the BestLan system, cited above. (The speed of aggregate data that reaches a building can be increased by providing extra counting.) The considerations that govern the speeds at which data flows inside buildings are discussed above.

Assuming there are 10 buildings, if each building connected directly to the Internet, rather than through a shared connection like, your demand could be completely satisfied by a connection of 2 million bits per second dedicated. In that situation, 10 buildings would require at least 20 million bits per second of access. Due to the efficiency, described above, where several network segments share the same access port, a port of significantly less than 20 million bits per second will provide exactly the same level of service that would provide it if each segment enjoyed the connection of 2 million bits per second. Assuming, as before, between 25-50 subscribers per connection of 2 million bits per second, implies that approximately 400 subscribers could feel that they enjoy an access of 2 million bits per second from a port whose capacity is less than 20 million of bits per second. These numbers are translated at 50 kilobits per second per client, which indicates that shared access provides a very substantial efficiency. When there is only a small number of subscribers in an apartment building, one can not be able to justify the cost of dedicating 609a and 609b bridge transmitters to this building. In this case, the network segment established by the receiver transmitter 609a can be expanded by connecting extra buildings. In particular, a bridge can connect the network service in the building "with low subscription" to a neighboring building. If the neighboring building is nearby, the cost of the bridge can be significantly less than the cost of par 609, and the total number of subscribers in the two buildings can justify the cost of the link to the Point of Presence. This type of "dubbing" is illustrated by the apartment building shown in the upper left of Figure 11. Recent Advances for Video Transmission Digital in digital video included have increased the number of video signals that can reach subscribers in digital form. In particular, the signals received by satellite dishes of 35.7 centimeters, called DSS signals, are received in this way, and the telephone companies of the United States of America have announced plans to deliver their programming in digital form via microwave technology. In the United States of America Patent Application Serial Number 08 / 816,059, many methods are described for allowing inhabitants in apartment buildings to have access to video sources, which provide many programs brought to the basement cable cabinet via one or more high capacity trajectories. Using these systems, the inhabitants would send a control signal to the electronics in the cable cabinet. This signal would indicate which of the programs should be sent to the unit of the inhabitant's department, and the basement electronics would respond in accordance with the above. Part of the system that carries the signals to the inhabitants required, of course, a digital link between the basement and the apartment unit above. In this invention, these digital links are provided between the modem 650a and the modem 645a. To use these links to communicate compressed digital video, however, a mechanism must be provided to transmit the data streams to the modem 650a. Applying these signals directly to the network established by bus 619 is not a solution, because the network can not guarantee the transmission of a data stream at a minimum stable speed, a characteristic required for digital video transmission. Referring to Figure 10a, it is seen that two lines of communication are connected with the queue of the first one that enters first that leaves 655: the line connected to the Card of Inferíase of Network 653, and a line of the digital video source 655a . The source 655a may be provided, in coordination with a path for signal control, by many of the systems described in United States of America Patent Application Serial Number 08 / 816,059. The microprocessing unit 654 controls the queue of the first input that first comes out 655, allowing it to input digital signals, either from the Network Inferred Card 653 or from the 655a source. The digital signals are input from the video source instead of the Network 653 Inferred Card, there is no reason for interruptions of the data stream, and the digital signals can flow stably to the personal computer to the inhabitant's department . Electronic hardware is available, such as well-known MPEG hardware, which can provide a personal computer with the ability to display compressed digital video on common personal computer monitors.

A Transmitter / Receiver Pair That Can Communicate, Whether Data or Analog Video US Patent Application Serial Number 08 / 816,059 describes circuits for transmitting analog video signals over twisted pair cable using frequency methods modulated As described therein, these signals can be communicated on a single twisted pair cable at the same time as digital signals, as long as different frequency bands are used for each. In configurations where two twisted pairs serve the end user, one can transmit frequency-modulated video over one pair and digital signals over the second. Due to the recent very large increase in interest in communications, there has been an increase in demand for new trajectories that carry data and / or video to end users. When communicating over internal telephone cables according to the methods described in this application and their predecessors, the transmission on the final link is reached to the end user typically requires a different transmitter / receiver pair for each type of signal. As a result, an efficiency can be obtained when a transmitter / receiver pair can handle signal communication of two or more different types. A method for a transmitter / receiver pair that can communicate both analog video and digital signals is now described. The transmitter / receiver pair works on frequency modulated principles. Conceptually, a frequency modulated transmitter / receiver pair will treat any input waveform in the same way - whatever the waveform that is input by the transmitter will be reproduced as an output at the receiving end. The only consideration is that the bandwidth of the input has to be within the range of the devices. As a result of the property that the frequency-modulated transmitter / receiver pairs are essentially transparent to the nature of their input, the same transmitter / receiver pairs described in the United States of America Patent Application may be used. Serial number 08 / 431,270 to communicate a digital bit stream, as well as an analog video signal. An example of how these devices would react to digital and analog input is shown in Figure 12. An example of the time-varying behavior of an ordinary NTSC video signal, expressed in the baseband, is shown in the parts from the extreme left of the diagram in the upper row in Figure 12. The waveform looks arbitrary, but its spectrum, shown in the diagram to the right, indicates that its energy is confined below 4.5 MHz. In classical frequency modulation, the time-varying amplitude of an input waveform is used to create alterations that vary over time in the frequency of a carrier, shown on the right. This carrier, which oscillates at 25 MHz when no input is applied, travels over 20 MHz of spectrum, between 15 MHz and 35 MHz, when it reacts to the video information supplied at its input. This movement provides a coded expression of the video information. The frequency receiver modulated at the receiving end will interpret this movement to reconstruct the signal to the left. A bilevel square wave produced by digital logic is shown on the left side of the bottom row. The upper levels represent some and the lower levels represent zeros. If the data rate is less than or equal to 2 million bits per second, most of its spectrum will be confined below 4.5 MHz, as shown in the middle diagram. In response to movement between the high and low levels, the 25 MHz carrier frequency changes between approximately 17.5 and 32.5 MHz. The effect of the transmitted signal is shown on the right, concentrated at the extremes of 17.5 and 32.5, but distributed around them, so that the entire spectrum is largely confined to the same channel as shown in the top row. The movement of the carrier between the two frequency extremes is detected by the receiver, and is used to reproduce the square wave at the receiving end. The above represents an example of how the same transmitter / receiver pair can be used to communicate, be it a digital bit stream or analog video signals, whatever is fed into its input. As a result of this economy, there may be a good reason to use these pairs as the components of the digital network described above. It would be to perform the functions, incorporated in the modulators 610, 657, and the demodulators 636, which express the necessary bitstreams as a waveform in the wiring, and vice versa.

Claims (5)

REVINDICATIONS

1. A system for communicating digital information between a source of this digital information and a plurality of destinations for the digital information source, the system comprising: a switching cube coupled to the source, the cube directs information from the source selectively to some of a plurality n of switching lines, signals in a selected frequency band that exceeds the frequencies of voice signals in a telephone link; a switch that couples each switching line selectively with one of a plurality of telephone lines, of a telephone link, the telephone link carrying voice signals from at least one telephone connected to said link, and circuits to control the switch, and wherein the number of telephone lines m exceeds the number of switching lines n.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the switch is a cross-dot switching circuit. The system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of telephone lines is connected to several of a plurality of units in an apartment building. 4. The system of claim 3, wherein the plurality of cube switching lines are physically placed in a basement area of the apartment building. The system of claim 1, wherein: the switching lines carry digital data to and from the cube, and the cube is an Ethernet switching cube.