Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 14
Claim 1
Independent Claim
262 words
A device for evaluation the throughput of virtual circuits carried by an asynchronous time-division multiplex transmission channel carrying cells each including a header containing a destination indicator forming a virtual circuit identifier, said device comprising: receive means for receiving incoming cells and providing a virtual circuit identifier identifying the virtual circuit to which the cell belongs; clock means for defining consecutively numbered cell times corresponding to successive time intervals during which incoming cells are received on the input asynchronous time-division multiplex transmission channel; and a counter for counting the incoming cells associated with each virtual circuit, said counter being incremented for each incoming cell of the associated virtual circuit and being periodically decremented; and control means for processing each virtual circuit by controlling the counter associated with each virtual circuit and evaluating the throughput of each virtual circuit on the basis of the content of the associated counter, said control means being responsive to said cell identifier and said clock means for evaluating said throughput, said control means: (i) maintaining a cell time queue for each said cell time, (ii) assigning each virtual circuit, whose counter is not idle, to a cell time by writing the virtual circuit identifier identifying said each virtual circuit into a corresponding cell time queue, so that each cell time queue comprises cell identifiers identifying virtual circuits associated with said each cell time queue, and (iii) upon the arrival of each cell time, identifying a virtual circuit to be processed from said cell time queue and decrementing the counter associated with said virtual circuit to be processed.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
262 words
A device for evaluation the throughput of virtual circuits carried by an asynchronous time-division multiplex transmission channel carrying cells each including a header containing a destination indicator forming a virtual circuit identifier, said device comprising: receive means for receiving incoming cells and providing a virtual circuit identifier identifying the virtual circuit to which the cell belongs; clock means for defining consecutively numbered cell times corresponding to successive time intervals during which incoming cells are received on the input asynchronous time-division multiplex transmission channel; and a counter for counting the incoming cells associated with each virtual circuit, said counter being incremented for each incoming cell of the associated virtual circuit and being periodically decremented; and control means for processing each virtual circuit by controlling the counter associated with each virtual circuit and evaluating the throughput of each virtual circuit on the basis of the content of the associated counter, said control means being responsive to said cell identifier and said clock means for evaluating said throughput, said control means: (i) maintaining a cell time queue for each said cell time, (ii) assigning each virtual circuit, whose counter is not idle, to a cell time by writing the virtual circuit identifier identifying said each virtual circuit into a corresponding cell time queue, so that each cell time queue comprises cell identifiers identifying virtual circuits associated with said each cell time queue, and (iii) upon the arrival of each cell time, identifying a virtual circuit to be processed from said cell time queue and decrementing the counter associated with said virtual circuit to be processed.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
72 words
A virtual circuit throughput evaluation device according to claim 1, wherein said control means maintains a processing queue containing said virtual circuit identifiers representing virtual circuits awaiting processing, and in each cell time transfers the content of the cell time queue associated with said each cell time into said processing queue, said control means decrementing the counter associated with each virtual circuit in accordance with the cell identifiers in the processing queue.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
92 words
A virtual circuit throughput evaluation device according to claim 2, wherein after a given counter associated with a given virtual circuit is decremented and if said given counter has not reached an idle state indicating an idle condition of said given virtual circuit, said control means determines a speed indicator for saie given virtual circuit representing a speed at which said given counter is to be decremented and writes the virtual circuit identifier identifying said given virtual circuit into a cell time queue which is selected in accordance with said speed indicator.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
26 words
A virtual circuit throughput evaluation device according to claim 3, wherein said speed indicator is determined in accordance with evaluated throughput of said given virtual circuit.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
87 words
A virtual circuit throughout evaluation device according to claim 3, wherein when a given counter associated with a given virtual circuit is in an idle state and when an incoming cell associated with said given virtual circuit is received, said control means determines a speed indicator for said given virtual circuit representing a speed at which said given counter is to be decremented and writes the cell identifier identifying said given virtual circuit into a cell time queue which is selected in accordance with said speed indicator.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
26 words
A virtual circuit throughput evaluation device according to claim 3, wherein said speed indicator is determined in accordance with evaluated throughput of said given virtual circuit.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
22 words
A virtual circuit throughput evaluation device according to claim 4, wherein said evaluated throughput corresponds to the content of said given counter.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
22 words
A virtual circuit throughput evaluation device according to claim 6, wherein said evaluated throughput corresponds to the content of said given counter.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
79 words
A virtual content throughput evaluation device according to claim 7, wherein said control means maintains a count indicator for each virtual circuit and increments said count indicator for said given virtual circuit when said given counter is decremented if a value in said given counter is within a predetermined range, and decrements said count indicator for said given virtual circuit when said given counter is decremented if a value in said given counter is not below said predetermined range.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
42 words
A virtual circuit throughput evaluation device according to claim 9, wherein said control means determines a speed indicator corresponding to a reduction in the speed at which said given counter is to be decremented if said count indicator reaches a predetermined value.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
57 words
A virtual circuit throughput evaluation device according to claim 3, wherein when said given counter is decremented and if this counter has not reached said idle state, said control means writes the identifier of said given virtual circuit into a cell time queue selected on the basis of the cell time currently defined by said clock means.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
61 words
A virtual circuit throughput evaluation device according to claim 3, wherein when said given counter is decremented and if this counter has not reached said idle state, said control means writes the identifier of said given virtual circuit into a cell time queue selected on the basis of the cell time to which said given virtual circuit has previously been assigned.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
43 words
A virtual circuit throughput evaluation device according to claim 9, wherein said control means includes means for detecting when said given counter has reached a predetermined value and for providing a signal indicating that the throughput of said given virtual circuit is excessive.