Multipoint communication system having polling and reservation schemes

摘要

In a multipoint communication system, first polling signals are sequentially and respectively transmitted to terminal stations on a broadcast channel from a central station, asking a request for reservation without waiting for a reply from the terminal stations. A reservation signal is transmitted on a multiple access channel from a terminal station requesting the reservation to the central station in response to the first polling signal addressed to it. A second polling signal is then transmitted on the broadcast channel in response to the reservation signal and the multiple access channel is reserved for a period of time variable in accordance with the reservation signal. A data signal is transmitted from the terminal station requesting the reservation on the reserved multiple access channel in response to the second polling signal.