Telephonic communications – Centralized switching system – Switching controlled in response to called station...
Patent
1997-06-16
2000-03-14
Tsang, Fan S.
Telephonic communications
Centralized switching system
Switching controlled in response to called station...
379 8807, 379 8824, H04M 164
Patent
active
060383100
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a service node connectable to a telephony network, in which a plurality of peripheral devices are provided, along with switching means for connecting said peripheral devices to external communication means under the control of control processing means.
Over recent years, telephony networks have become more sophisticated and it has become possible for an increasing number of services to be provided, in addition to the fundamental provision of allowing a first customer to be connected to a second customer.
Telephony systems of this type are often referred to as intelligent networks, and provide such services as automatic call distribution, store and forward, fax to speech, call queuing, voice menu systems, call diversion, follow-on and voice prompts, etc.
Service nodes are units within the network where intelligent services are concentrated and made available to customers connected to the network via switching mechanisms provided within the network. At the node itself, a large switching device is provided which allows customer calls to be connected to peripheral devices under the control of central control processing means, such as a mini or mainframe computer. In known systems, an incoming call is connected to a digit collector to collect, or receive, digits (i.e. signalling information) generated by a calling customer, in order that peripheral devices may be connected and, as necessary, disconnected etc. Thus, once a particular service has been established, this is generally driven under the control of a particular peripheral device. However, it is necessary for the central control computer to observe the operation of a connection between peripheral devices and external lines, in order to ensure that the integrity of the overall network is maintained.
A problem with known service nodes is that it is desirable to have large switches at the nodes, so that maximum benefit may be gained from a large number of shared services. However, as the number of shared services increases, with a resulting increase in the size of the connecting switch, the size and power of the control computer must also increase, along with the bandwidth of the communicating link between the computer and the switch.
It will be appreciated that the use of dual tone multi-frequency (DTMF) receivers to receive and decode routing digits or other command signals is well known in the art as is exemplified by the following prior published documents.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,879,743 discloses a PBX system which is responsive to an incoming call directed to an adjunct of the system, for example a voice messaging system, for sending a ringing signal to the adjunct. When the adjunct goes off-hook, the PBX outputs to the adjunct dual tone multi-frequency (DTMF) signals containing information associated with the incoming call prior to establishing a connection between the adjunct and the incoming call. The information includes a mode code for selecting the required operating mode of the adjunct, and also includes the calling and called numbers. Following the sending of this information to the adjunct, the PBX then sends a disconnect mode code to command the adjunct to go on-hook, and subsequently connects the adjunct and the incoming call. During this connection, the adjunct may use in a well-known manner prerecorded voice response to prompt the calling party to enter DTMF digits to access a particular operating capability of the adjunct.
In this U.S. Pat. No. 4,879,743, the adjunct, which is a program-controlled device, has to identify which of the set of mode codes of the form ##nn, where n is a numerical digit in the range 0 to 9, has been received, and, in response to a particular mode code identification, switch to the corresponding operational mode. It does not communicate the received mode code to the PBX or any other adjunct or terminal equipment attached to the PBX.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,181,283 discloses an arrangement for providing pre-authenticated access from a caller to a service provider.
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Hall et al, "The AT&T Service Circuit Node: A New Element for Providing Intelligent Network Services", AT&T Technical Journal, vol. 70, No. 3/4, 1991, Short Hills US, pp. 72-84, XP 000271089.
Murray, "Distributed Transaction Processing Aspects of the Intelligent Network", International Switching Symposium 1990, Session B8, Paper 4, vol. 5, May 28, 1990, Stockholm, SE, pp. 153-158, XP 000130941.
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Hollywood Steven
Johnston John Griffiths
British Telecommunications public limited company
Tsang Fan S.
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