Variable frame rate technique for use in a time-division multiple access (TDMA) communication system

摘要

The present invention relates to a method for use in a communcation system of providing efficient access by low traffic stations while keeping the buffering requirements for high traffic stations at a minimum. The method provides a TDMA architecture which includes a plurality of different frame rates which is dependent on the traffic requirements between station pairs. In operation, a sequence of a plurality of s switching frames are used to form a super frame and each communication burst of a switching frame is divided into a plurality of q subbursts representative of q transmission channels so that a maximum of (qxs) transmission channels are available for assignment in corresponding bursts during a super frame. When traffic demands require nxs channels between two ground stations, then n subbursts in corresponding bursts in each switching frame will be assigned thereto for an integer portion of n, while demands for less than s channels will be spread as evenly as possible throughout the corresponding bursts of the s switching frames of a super frame.