Telephonic communications – Telephone line or system combined with diverse electrical... – Having transmission of a digital message signal over a...
Reexamination Certificate
1999-03-19
2003-09-02
Eng, George (Department: 2643)
Telephonic communications
Telephone line or system combined with diverse electrical...
Having transmission of a digital message signal over a...
C379S093070, C379S196000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06614888
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to telecommunication in general and to user information handling in an exchange in particular.
BACKGROUND
Today more and more people use the possibility to connect their home computer to the employer's intranet to be able to work from home. Often the companies provide their employee's with user names and passwords, which make it possible to connect to the company's intranet via the company's private branch exchange, PBX (Private Branch Exchange). The connection is done so that the employee calls the exchange, by means of his home computer and a modem, enters his user name and password and after a check of these is permitted access or denied access to the intranet. The check is made, among other things in order to make sure that non-authorised persons do not access internal company information.
The international application PCT/SE98/00512 describes a device and a method for connecting a computer to a data network via an exchange. The exchange is equipped with a network connection device that sets up the connection between the computer and the data network. At the establishment of the connection, a network address, belonging to the network connection device, is associated with the computer, or more exactly with the telecommunication connection to which the computer is connected.
A technology that “doubles” the telephone line has been developed in order for a person having a single telephone line to have his computer connected to a data network, via the telephone network, and simultaneously be able to use the service telephony. The technology is based on the technology to send speech signals, via the data connection, in packets, which follow the standard protocol TCP/IP, i. e. IP-telephony. The TCP/IP protocol is sometimes referred to as the Internet protocol and the data network, which from the beginning used this protocol, is called the Internet. It was originally developed to link computers together within the defence and the educational system in the USA, but has now grown to a global network. Since many intranets of companies and organisations are connected to the Internet, it is possible to consider the Internet as a network consisting of many linked intranets.
The service phone doubling, is as mentioned, the service that makes it possible for a subscriber to be connected, via his telephone line, to a data network and simultaneously receive or make phone calls. This service is employed by a subscriber by means of call forwarding calls to his telephone, according to prior art, to a telephone number associated with a particular telephony server. This telephony server stores information about which network address is associated with a computer of a particular user. Calls to and from the subscriber are handled by the telephony server, which has the ability to code and store speech signals in data packets according to the TCP/IP protocol and send these to the computer of the subscriber over the existing data connection. Thus, the user uses the computer in stead of the ordinary telephone. For this purpose, a telephony application must be run on the user's computer. The telephony application handles inter alia the communication with the telephony server. The international application WO-A1-97/47 118 describes in detail how a subscriber is given the possibility to telephone during an ongoing Internet-session.
A company in which employee's are allowed to work from home can use a Virtual Presence Server alongside the company exchange, as described in the international application WO-A1-97/18 622. The purpose of the Virtual Presence Server is to provide an employee with access to all the services, which he has access to at his office, also when he is at home.
Another solution for the company is to provide the company exchange with both a network connection device and telephony server to provide the employees with the possibility to connect to the intranet, via the exchange, and simultaneously, under an ongoing intranet session, have the possibility to receive calls to the office at home. The network connection device and the telephony server have each a data base for storing user related information. The operation and maintenance personnel of the exchange enter information about valid users in the respective data base, which then is used to allow or deny a user access to the use of the network connection device and the telephony server, respectively, with their two corresponding types of services: connection to the intranet via the exchange and doubled telephony. A user employing both types of services must at two occasions send information to the exchange, which then is stored in the data bases in the network connection device and in the telephony server. When connecting to the intranet, the user must first enter user name and password. The network connection device checks this information against the information about valid users that is stored in the data base of the network connection device. If the user name and the password are valid, information is stored, in relation to the user name in the user data base of the network connection device, about the timeslot which is used for the communication connection with the network connection device and a network address which is allocated to the user to set up the data connection to the intranet. When the telephony application is activated, the information about the user is stored in the user data base of the telephony server. The user must when activating the telephony application enter user name and password, which must be checked against the information which is stored in the user data base of the telephony server and be accepted as valid, for the activation of the service to be allowed. The telephone number, which shall be forwarded, and the network address employed for the data connection are stored in the user data base of the telephony server, in relation to the present user name, when the user name has been verified by the telephony server. Since a lot of information, which is stored in the databases of the network connection device and of the telephony server, is identical, much information is duplicated by this method.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
A private branch exchange which is used to provide a user with the possibility to log in by his home computer; to the company's intranet via the private branch exchange and to provide the users with the service doubled telephony, stores much information twice. The user information must be administered, which implies that a duplication of the user information in the exchange often leads to a duplication also of the administration of this information.
The network connection device is responsible for connecting users via the exchange to the intranet and a telephony server in the exchange is responsible for providing the service doubled telephony. Both the network connection device and the telephony server have user data bases comprising information about which users are allowed to use the respective service, which the network connection device and the telephony server provide, respectively. The operation and maintenance personnel of the exchange enter the information about valid users of the respective service. If a user has access to both of said services, the information about the user must be stored in both the data base of the network connection device and in the database of the telephony server, which implies that operation and maintenance personnel must enter the information about the user twice, one time in each of the two data bases.
A subscriber who wants to employ the two mentioned services; connection of his home computer to the intranet via the exchange and the service of doubled telephony is forced to go through access controls at two occasions. One occurs at the intranet connection and the other occurs at the activation of the service doubled telephony. At both controls, the user identity of the subscriber is checked. A valid user is permitted access to the intranet and the service, whereas a n
Eng George
Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ)
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