Multiplex communications – Pathfinding or routing – Combined circuit switching and packet switching
Reexamination Certificate
2000-03-21
2004-06-08
Kizou, Hassan (Department: 2662)
Multiplex communications
Pathfinding or routing
Combined circuit switching and packet switching
C370S401000, C370S466000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06747970
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to communications technologies. More specifically, the invention relates to a system and techniques providing advanced telecommunications services using connectionless network host(s) for service implementation while using connection-based network equipment for transport of at least a portion of a telecommunications session.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Generally, telecommunications systems provide the ability for two or more people or machines (e.g., computerized or other electronic devices) to communicate with each other. Many types of telecommunications systems exist in the prior art. Examples include telephone systems and networks, data communications systems, computer networking systems such as the Internet, wireless and satellite communications systems, and so forth. Each of these systems is inherently enabled or can be retrofitted via software and/or electronic hardware to provide telecommunications services between persons or devices coupled to such systems. Telecommunications systems and services in a general sense are sometimes limited to simple voice or audio communications, although such systems may support communications of other types of data such as signaling and protocol data, video data, and computer or device application data.
FIG. 1
illustrates an example of a prior art telephone network
101
that is a common example of a telecommunications system in widespread use throughout the world. As illustrated, the telephone network
101
includes a number user telephony devices
105
through
108
(e.g., telephones) that inter-connect to various tandem or central offices
110
through
113
. Communications media (e.g., telephone lines, wireless links, and/or the like) interconnect the offices
110
through
113
to one another to form a public switched telephone network (PSTN)
101
-A. The central or tandem offices
110
through
113
may be replaced, for example, private branch exchanges, PSTN control hardware or other telephone switching equipment. Such equipment is typically owned by a telephone service provider. Users of the telephone network
101
typically subscribe to a telecommunications service (e.g., telephone service) which the telephone service provider offers.
The telephone network
101
also includes a PSTN signaling network
101
-B that operates over the same medium as the PSTN
101
-A . The PSTN signaling network
101
-B generally supports a standard signaling technique such as Signaling System Seven (SS7) or User-to-Network interfaces between the offices
110
through
113
and the user telephony devices
105
through
108
to support call connections (e.g., telephone calls, not specifically shown) between the user telephony devices
105
through
108
. The user telephony devices
105
through
108
may be telephone handsets, telephone answering machines, fax machines, modems or other such devices.
The telephone network
101
is an example of a connection-based network. To communicate in a connection-based network, the network components (telephony devices and switching equipment in this example) establish a dedicated connection or path between two or more end points of communication. The dedicated connection, also called a circuit or switched circuit generally remains active or established during the duration of a telecommunications session between parties using the connection.
By way of example, in
FIG. 1
, suppose a user (not shown) of the user telephony device
105
desires to communicate with a user (not shown) of the user telephony device
108
. To do so, the user of user telephony device
105
picks up a handset of the user telephony device
105
. This action causes the central office
113
to establish a dedicated connection (a completed circuit) to the central office
113
for use by the user telephony device
105
. Thereafter, when the user of telephony device
105
enters connection establishment information in the form of a phone number corresponding to the user telephony device
108
, the central office
113
extends the dedicated connection through the PSTN
101
-A to the central office
112
using signaling provided by the PSTN signaling network
101
-B. When the central office
112
receives this signaling, the central office
112
completes the connection to the user telephony device
108
causing it to ring. When a user or machine answers the user telephony device
108
by lifting the handset for example, this action fully establishes an end-to-end connection between the user telephony device
105
and the user telephony device
108
. The dedicated connection remains established for the duration of the communications session between the users using the user telephony devices
105
and
108
, even if they are not speaking or otherwise communicating at all times.
Typically in a connection-based network such as telephone network
101
, the network components (e.g., switching offices) can identify various active dedicated communications sessions by the circuit or wire identifiers of the physical wires with which the network
101
uses to transport communications for those sessions. A central office, for example, can identify one particular segment of a connection circuit used for communications with a user telephony device by the telephone number associated with the segment that leads to the device. Most central office switching equipment can be programmed to identify a particular call identifier such as a telephone number with a particular circuit associated with a telephony device located at the end of the circuit. When the central office equipment receives a request to establish a call connection to a telephony device on a particular circuit, the central office can activate the circuit to form a completed circuit or call connection to the telephony equipment on the opposing end of the circuit.
Prior art telephone switching offices and equipment are able to combine certain signaling techniques such as those supported by the PSTN signaling network
101
-B with the ability to identify connection segments or individual circuits in order to support various prior art extended telecommunication services. Such services provide features within the telephone network beyond the ability of the network to support simple end to end telephone calls. For example, many prior art telephone networks support calling features such as call waiting, call forwarding, missed call call-back (also known as “star-69”), toll-free “800” numbers, scheduled wake-up calls, conference calling, and so forth. A prior art connection-based telephone network provides each of these types of services based on connection-based network signaling which may occur before, during, and/or after the actual establishment or activation of one or more individual circuits or call connections to one ore more telephony devices (e.g., before, during or after placement of a telephone call). For example, a prior art toll-free “800” number service uses signaling before placing a call connection to perform a “lookup” operation of the toll-free phone number in order to reverse call charges to the receiver of the call (identified by the receiving call circuit) instead of charging the sender or calling party. A prior art call waiting service uses signaling during a call connection to notify a user in the active call connection of another incoming call connection for the same circuit. A scheduled wake up call service provides call signaling after one call connection is made (the call to schedule the wake up call) but before another future call connection is placed (the actual wake up call).
In each of these examples, a signaling system within the telephone network (e.g.,
101
) provides signaling to support, track, or otherwise manipulate one or more basic dedicated circuits or call connections between one or more telephony devices in the network. In
FIG. 1
then, while the PSTN signaling network
101
-B may be quite robust to support the aforementioned enhanced calling features, the underlying results from the signaling are esse
Lamb Christopher H.
Petrack Scott B.
Slaughter, III Frank G.
Toga James E.
Chapin & Huang , L.L.C.
Chapin, Esq. Barry W.
Huang, Esq. David E.
Kizou Hassan
Lee Timothy
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