Multiplex communications – Communication techniques for information carried in plural... – Combining or distributing information via time channels
Reexamination Certificate
1997-11-24
2001-04-10
Ton, Dang (Department: 2661)
Multiplex communications
Communication techniques for information carried in plural...
Combining or distributing information via time channels
Reexamination Certificate
active
06215799
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. The Field of the Invention
The field of the invention relates to interfacing, analog and digital devices with a digital network system such as an Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) system. Additionally, the invention also relates to concurrently interfacing analog devices such as telephones, faxes, modems and computers to compatibly interface with an ISDN system. More particularly, the invention relates to providing an integrated, portable module for interfacing both analog and digital devices with an ISDN system.
2. Present State of the Art
Through recent decades, the majority of data transmitted between two locations utilized analog transmission devices such as analog telephones or analog modems. Analog networks facilitated interconnection of analog devices and provided a conduit for analog information exchange therebetween. As analog networks became congested and inadequate for facilitating the transfer of significant amounts of analog information, digital systems including high bandwidth systems were conceived. One such popular modern system includes the ISDN system wherein information is transferred and maintained in digital format. Furthermore, higher bandwidth encoding and modulation techniques facilitate the exchange of yet significant amounts of data between users.
As ISDN systems are becoming more ubiquitous, users are desiring access to larger reservoirs of digital data. To satisfactorily facilitate the exchange of significant amounts of digital data, users and network providers are migrating to higher bandwidth technology such as ISDN. Since the ISDN system accommodates the exchange of digital data only, all analog information must be digitized before transmission.
Additionally, users transitioning from an analog system to a digital system prefer continued use of existing analog devices as opposed to obsoleting such devices already procured. To facilitate the reuse of analog devices in a digital system, adapters have been developed to interface existing analog devices with the ISDN system. Referring to
FIG. 1
, an analog telephone
12
may independently operate in an analog telephone system, however, in a digital network, a terminal adapter
14
must transform an analog telephone signal from analog telephone
12
to a digitized and formatted digital data signal compatible with the digital standards of an ISDN system
10
. Likewise, other analog devices such as a fax/modem
16
interact using analog signals and therefore must also utilize a terminal adapter
18
to facilitate conversion from an analog signal to a digital signal compatible with ISDN system
10
. Furthermore, traditional digital devices such as a computer
20
employing an analog modem
22
for generation of interfacing analog signals must also utilize a terminal adapter
24
to convert the analog signals generated by analog modem
22
into a digitized format compatible with ISDN system
10
.
Additionally, in an arrangement wherein a plurality of devices are to be employed, a network termination adapter (NT-1)
26
converts the 2-wire ISDN line from the telephone company, called the U interface, into an 8-wire S/T interface. An NT-1
26
may be employed when a user desires connectivity of multiple devices to one ISDN system. Therefore, referring to
FIG. 1
, to facilitate coupling analog phone
12
, fax/modem
16
and computer
20
to ISDN system
10
, three terminal adapters (
14
,
18
and
24
), and an NT-1
26
are required to accommodate interfacing an analog phone, a fax/modem and a computer to an ISDN system.
Furthermore, modern applications of computers such as notebook computers dictate a portable or mobile environment wherein a user transports, carriers or otherwise has available to them portable office hardware such as a computer, a telephone and a fax. Such an operational environment renders the use of multiple terminal adapters and an NT-1 impractical and burdensome.
Thus, what is needed is a system and method for integrating a plurality of interface components into a portable module capable of practical transportation by a user with a computer and an analog telephone. Also, what is needed is a system and method for interfacing an analog telephone and a computer into an ISDN system wherein the direct interface with the ISDN system may take the form of either a U-interface or an S/T-interface.
SUMMARY AND OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide an integrated portable ISDN interface module for interfacing an analog telephone and a computer with ISDN partitioned channels.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an integrated portable ISDN interface module for interfacing a plurality of analog devices such as an analog telephone and fax/modem with digital data information originating from a computer.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide advanced telephony features in an integrated portable ISDN interface module such as answering machine and speed-dialing functionality.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a method for integrating both analog information from an analog telephone and digital data information from a computer into the partitioned channels of an ISDN service.
It is still a further object of the present invention to provide an integrated portable ISDN interface module for providing multiplexing of both analog information from an analog telephone and digital data information from a computer over partitioned channels of an ISDN service regardless of whether the ISDN service presents a U-interface or an S/T-interface.
Additional objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part, will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by the practice of the invention. The objects and advantages of the invention may be realized and obtained by means of the instruments and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims.
To achieve the foregoing objects, and in accordance with the invention as embodied and broadly described herein, an apparatus and method for integrating both an analog telephone via an analog interface and a computer via a digital data interface with the partitioned channels of an ISDN is presented.
The present invention provides a portable ISDN interface module such as an NT-1 Analog Telephone Device (NATD) for interfacing a computer or digital device having framed a framed data format such as HDLC with an analog telephone over integrated partitioned ISDN channels. HDLC formatting may be implemented by a software program located on the computer which formats data into HDLC format prior to dispatch to the portable ISDN interface module. The portable ISDN interface module comprises an analog telephone interface, a controller or other mechanism for generating and managing the partitioned channels of a typical 2B+D ISDN service and an ISDN interface.
The analog telephone interface of the portable ISDN interface module receives and transmits analog information with an analog telephone or other analog device such as a fax/modem between the corresponding external devices and the ISDN interface. Signal conditioning such as level translation is also performed to provide electrical compatibility between signalling standards of analog telephony and digital processing and manipulation logic levels. For example, TIP/RING signals and subscriber line interface circuits (SLIC) facilitate compatible interaction with standard analog telephones.
The controller or channel generating means implements the channelization or partitioning of the physical link between the portable ISDN interface module and the ISDN system. Typical ISDN service configurations take the form of 2 B-channels and 1-D-channel. In the present invention, analog telephone information is multiplexed into one of the B-channels for routing to the ISDN service provider. Digital information from the computer may be multiplexed into a remaining B-channel or alternatively into the D-channel.
The ISDN interf
Fine Michael R.
Mitchell Eric P.
3Com Corporation
Ton Dang
Workman & Nydegger & Seeley
LandOfFree
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