(12)
`
`United States Patent
`Goldman et al.
`
`(10) Patent No.:
`(45) Date of Patent:
`
`US 7,929,519 B2
`Apr. 19, 2011
`
`USOO7929519B2
`
`(54) POTS/PACKET BRIDGE
`
`(75) Inventors: Joel Goldman, Randolph, NJ (US);
`Lawrence Richard Rabiner, Berkeley
`Heights, NJ (US); Dennis Matthew
`Romain, Convent Station, NJ (US);
`Patrick Michael Velardo, Jr.,
`Manalapan, NJ (US)
`(73) Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property II, L.P.,
`Atlanta, GA (US)
`
`(*) Notice:
`
`Subject to any disclaimer, the term of this
`atent is extended or adiusted under 35
`ps C. 154(b) by 1680 E.
`
`(21) Appl. No.: 11/180,425
`
`(22) Filed:
`(65)
`
`Jul. 12, 2005
`Prior Publication Data
`US 2005/0249198 A1
`Nov. 10, 2005
`Related U.S. Application Data
`(63) Continuation of application No. 09/640,797, filed on
`Aug. 18, 2000, now Pat. No. 6,963,556, which is a
`continuation of application No. 08/946,965, filed on
`Oct. 8, 1997, now Pat. No. 6,134,235.
`(51) Int. Cl.
`(2006.01)
`H04L 2/66
`(52) U.S. Cl. ......................... 370/352; 370/401; 37Of 466
`(58) Field of Classification Search .................. 370/401,
`370/400
`See application file for complete search history.
`
`(56)
`
`References Cited
`
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`(Continued)
`Primary Examiner —Nathan Flynn
`Assistant Examiner — Jason Harley
`(57)
`ABSTRACT
`A system and method for bridging the POTS network and a
`packet network, Such as the Internet, uses a set of access
`objects that provide the interfacing and functionality for
`exchanging address and payload information with the packet
`network, and for exchanging payload information with the
`payload Subnetwork and signaling information with the sig
`naling subnetwork of the POTS network. The system includes
`a communications management object that coordinates the
`transfer of information between the POTS network and the
`packet network; a payload object that transfers payload infor
`mation between the system and the payload subnetwork of the
`first communications network; a signaling object that trans
`fers signaling information between the system and the signal
`ing Subnetwork of the first communications networkinaccor
`dance with a signaling protocol associated with the signaling
`Subnetwork; and a packet object that transfers payload and
`address information between the system and the second com
`munications network in accordance with a communications
`protocol associated with the second communications net
`work. An alternative embodiment uses a plurality of payload,
`signaling and packet objects to provide a scalable system.
`
`23 Claims, 4 Drawing Sheets
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`1-15, 26-7
`
`PALOAD
`OB
`
`SIGNA
`
`SIGNAL
`B
`
`APP,
`RESOURCE
`OB
`
`Ex. 1014
`CISCO SYSTEMS, INC. / Page 1 of 15
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`

`

`US 7,929,519 B2
`Page 2
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`WO-97,23078 A1
`6, 1997
`WO97,31491
`8, 1997
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`EP
`EP
`JP
`WO
`WO
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`OTHER PUBLICATIONS
`Examination Report for EP 98.308 187.8-1249, May 4, 2010, copy
`consists of 6 pages.
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`communications Corporation, 1997, pp. 1-2.
`“WANs & Internetworking'. Lucent Goes for the Multimedia Gold,
`Netowrk World, Feb. 17, 1997, p. 11.
`“Internet Telephony Basics', Dialogic WorldView; 5 pgs.
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`Internet Telephony Solution:”. Computer Telephony, Sep. 1996, pp.
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`VocalTec Telephony Gateway Next Generation Telephony,
`VocalTec, Northvale, NJ. 2 pgs.
`“Computer Telephony VocalTec's Internet Telephony Gateway'.
`Product of the Year, VocalTec Telephony Gateway, Jan. 15, 1997, 1
`O9.
`VocalTec Telephony Gateway Telephony Gateway White Paper/
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`“VocalTec Telephony Gateway Next Generation Telephony”, Jan.
`15, 1997, 2 pgs.
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`“VocalTec Telephony Gateway Telephony Gateway Key Compo
`nents', Jan. 15, 1997—3 pgs.
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`1997.2 pgs.
`“VocalTec Telephone Gateway—Calling Options', Jan. 15, 1997, 2
`pg.S.
`News & Info: In The Press: “Lucent Technologies Unviels Internet
`Access to Universal Fax, E-Mail and Voice Mail Mailbox”. Sep. 17.
`1996, 2 pgs.
`“Internet Communications. White Paper: Lucent Technologies and
`the Internet BCS and Data Dial Tone'. Lucent Technologies, Jan.
`24, 1997, 3 pgs.
`“Communications—Intuity Message Manager Release 4.0. With
`CTI’, Buhsiness Works, Lucent Technologies, Jan. 24, 1997, 3 pgs.
`Intuity Universal Messaging, Business Works OnLine, Lucent Tech
`nologies, Jan. 24, 1997. 1 pg.
`“Lucent Technologies Announces Internet Telephony Servers to Put
`Voice, Fax and Voice Mail on The Internet'. In The Press, Lucent
`Technologies, 1996, 2 pgs.
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`“Business Works', Jan. 26, 1997, 1 pg.
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`“MMCXTechnology—Protecting Your Investment—Builton Indus
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`Server'. MMCX Communications, Lucent Technologies, Jan. 26,
`1997, 1 pg.
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`“DataCom Hot Products”. Vienna Systems—Best of 96, 1997.2 pgs.
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`1997.2 pgs.
`“Intranet/Internet Switching, Vienna Systems Products, Oct. 20.
`1996, 2 pgs.
`“Vienna Voice. Way Srever'. Vienna Systems Products, Oct. 20.
`1996, 4pgs.
`WorldWideWeb: Connect, NetSpeak.Compress; “New Gateway to
`Offer Virtual Second Line for Internet Users'. Boca Raton, Fla., Aug.
`15, 1997, 2 pgs.
`WorldWideWeb: Telstra.com.au/press, Telstra MediaRelease; “New
`Gateway to Offer Virtual Second Line for Internet Users'. Aug. 15.
`1997.2 pgs.
`Lucent Technologies, “Getting Down to Business out in
`Cyberspack', pp. 1-8 published date—unknown. http://www.lucent.
`com/intl/magS/tech news.html.
`Lucent Technologies, BCR Product Review “Lucent Internet
`Server, May 7, 1997, pp. 1-2, http://www.bcr.com/bcrmag/059707.
`htm;.
`Cheryl Gerber, Computerworld, “The Net of Internet Telephony'.
`Mar, 1997, pp.
`1-6, http://www.computerWorld.com/home?
`online9697.nsf/all/9703TESL9703te-1:.
`Chris Bucholtz, Internet Telephony News of the Week, “News of the
`Week, D-Day for IP”, Apr. 7, 1997, pp. 1-2, http://www.
`internettelephony.com/archive/4.7.97/NOTW.html.
`GTE Showcase, VoIP. Published date -unknown. http://www.gte.
`com/Showcase?voip/Feature.html;.
`Telephony World.com. “Industry Studies and Reports Presented by
`Faulkner Information Systems', published date -unknown, pp. 1-3,
`http://www.telephonyworld.com/marketing/voipSuite.htm;.
`Inter-Fone-Internet Telephony, “What is Inter-Fone?', published
`date -unknown, pp. 1-2, http://www.inter-fone.com/whatis.html;
`Inter-Fone “How Inter-FoneWorks', published date -unknown, pp.
`1-2, http://www/inter-fone.com/how.html.
`Inter-Fone, “How it Works', published date-unknown, pp. 1-2.http://
`www.inter-fone.com/pc3pc.html.
`EP Examination Report for EP 98.308 187.8, dated Dec. 28, 2007,
`copy consists of 7 pages.
`International Telecommunication Union, “ITU-T Recommendation
`H.323”, Nov. 1996.
`Rabbage R., et al.: Internet Phone-Changing the Telephony Para
`digm?, BT Technology Journal, GB, BT Laboratories, vol. 15, No. 2,
`Apr. 1, 1997, pp. 145-157.
`Simeonov P L., et al.: Ingate. A Distributed Intelligent Network
`Approach to Bridge Switching and Packet Networks, Proceedings of
`the International Conference on Computer Communications and
`Networks, Sep. 1997 XP002073675.
`White PP:RSVP and Integrated Services in the Internet. A Tutorial,
`IEEE Communications Magazine, US, IEEE Service Center,
`Piscataway, NJ, vol. 35, No. 5, May 1, 1997, pp. 100-106,
`XPOOO6571 15.
`* cited by examiner
`
`Ex. 1014
`CISCO SYSTEMS, INC. / Page 2 of 15
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`U.S. Patent
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`US 7,929,519 B2
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`+---------------------------------~----------------------~--~--~----------------------------~--~--~--~~~~--~~~~
`
`TELEPHONE
`
`MULTIMEDIA PC
`
`s
`
`SIGNALNG
`44
`
`130
`S.
`USER2
`
`TELEPHONE
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`32
`
`MULTIMEDIA PC
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`Ex. 1014
`CISCO SYSTEMS, INC. / Page 3 of 15
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`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`
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`US 7,929,519 B2
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`3010A
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`V? "5)IJI
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`Ex. 1014
`CISCO SYSTEMS, INC. / Page 4 of 15
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`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Apr. 19, 2011
`
`Sheet 3 of 4
`
`US 7,929,519 B2
`
`LIOVd
`
`rao
`
`raoans|aevaQVOUAVdans|aeva
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`OISavalavol
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`Ex. 1014
`CISCO SYSTEMS, INC./ Page 5 of 15
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`Ex. 1014
`CISCO SYSTEMS, INC. / Page 5 of 15
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`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Apr. 19, 2011
`
`Sheet 4 of 4
`
`US 7,929,519 B2
`
`FIG. 3A
`
`(STARD
`
`RECEIVE REQUESTED COMMUNICATION
`
`301
`
`DETERMINE DESIRED CHARACTERISTIC(S)
`ASSOCATED WITH COMMUNICATION
`
`302
`
`OBTAIN TRAFFICCONDITIONS FOR POTS-30
`NETWORK AND FOR PACKET NETWORK
`
`
`
`
`
`DETERMINE WHETHER TO ROUTE TO
`POTS NETWORK OR PACKET NETWORK
`
`304
`
`FIC. 3B
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`RECEIVE REQUESTED COMMUNICATION
`
`301
`
`DETERMINE DESIRED CHARACTERISTIC(S)
`ASSOCIATED WITH COMMUNICATION
`
`302
`
`OBTAIN TRAFFICCONDITIONS FOR POTS-30
`NETWORK AND FOR PACKET NETWORK
`
`DETERMINE WHETHER TO ROUTE TO
`POTS NETWORK OR PACKET NETWORK
`
`SELECT ACCESS POINT IN DETERMINED
`NETWORK
`
`
`
`INITIATE ROUTING TO SELECTED
`ACCESS POINT
`
`
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`304
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`305
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`306
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`Ex. 1014
`CISCO SYSTEMS, INC. / Page 6 of 15
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`

`

`1.
`POTS/PACKET BRIDGE
`
`US 7,929,519 B2
`
`This application is a continuation of U.S. patent applica
`tion Ser. No. 09/640,797 filed Aug. 18, 2000 now U.S. Pat.
`No. 6,963,556 entitled POTS/PACKET BRIDGE, which is a
`continuations of, and claims priority to U.S. application Ser.
`No. 08/946,965, filed Oct. 8, 1997, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,134,
`235 issued Oct. 17, 2000 entitled POTS/PACKET BRDIGE.
`The aforementioned related patent applications are herein
`incorporated by reference.
`
`10
`
`TECHNICAL FIELD
`
`This invention relates to communications in general and,
`more particularly, to a way of bridging together the telephone
`network with a packet network.
`
`15
`
`BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
`
`2
`Details of STPs and SCPs, their operation, and how they
`interact with SSPs are well-understood by those skilled in the
`art.
`The SS7 signaling subnetwork also includes a protocol
`(which, in turn, includes a series of Sub-protocols). Thus, for
`example, under the SS7 protocol, it is possible to automati
`cally transfer information about the calling party to the called
`party (i.e., the so-called “Caller ID'). Furthermore, e.g., the
`SS7 signaling subnetwork and protocol interacts with the
`voice subnetwork so as to enable a query from an SSP in the
`voice subnetwork to a Service Control Point (SCP) database
`in the SS7 subnetwork for determining how to route a call,
`such as a toll-free (e.g., '800) call. Thus, e.g., the SCP can
`return to the SSP a routing number corresponding to the
`dialed “800' number. Additional call features or services
`utilizing the interaction capabilities of the Voice and signaling
`subnetwork of the POTS network are well known.
`2. Interactive Voice Response Systems
`Using known interactive voice response (IVR) techniques,
`callers can directly update database records or select specific
`information for retrieval by, e.g., entering touch-tones or
`using Voice commands. Retrieved textual information can be
`converted to speech and played over the phone, or sent
`directly to the caller as a fax document. As a result, customers
`can access information or place orders at their convenience
`without waiting for a service representative. Businesses ben
`efit by reducing costs associated with attendants and service
`representatives and by increasing customer satisfaction.
`B. Packet Networks
`Packet networks are general-purpose data networks which
`are not tied to fixed-bandwidth circuits. Instead, they are
`designed to transmit bits (in the form of a packet of fixed or
`variable length) only when there are bits to transmit. Packet
`networks evolved independently of telephone networks for
`the purpose of moving bursty, non-real-time data among
`computers and are distinguished by the property that packet
`communications are routed by address information contained
`in the data stream itself.
`Packet networks are especially well suited for sending
`stored data of various types, including messages, fax, speech,
`audio, video and still images, but are not well Suited for
`sending real-time communication signals such as real-time
`speech, audio, and video signals. Typically, one accesses a
`packet network through a client program executing on a per
`Sonal computer (PC), and so packet networks are inherently
`“PC” oriented, and client/server driven. Packet networks pro
`vide access to distributed databases and have excellent search
`capabilities.
`There are approximately 30 million users of packet net
`works in the US; this number of users is growing rapidly and
`will continue to do so over the next decade. Today, the Internet
`(the largest and most renowned of the existing packet net
`works) connects over 4 million computers in some 140 coun
`tries. The Internet is implemented using a large variety of
`connections between those millions of computers. These
`interconnected computers can Support applications, such as
`electronic mail and the World Wide Web, which facilitate
`communications between persons across the U.S. or around
`the globe.
`Among the connections between computers typically
`found on the Internet are routers. Routers serve to send pack
`ets along to their destination by examining packet headers to
`determine the destination address; routers often send packets
`to another router closer to the destination.
`Access to the Internet may be obtained through a point of
`presence (POP), typically through a server connected to one
`of the networks that make up the Internet. A large company or
`
`A. The POTS Network
`The Plain Old Telephone Service (POTS) network, which
`has been in existence for over 100 years, is well designed and
`well engineered for the transmission and switching of 3 kHz
`voice calls. The POTS network is a real-time, low-latency,
`high reliability, moderate fidelity voice telephony network. It
`is not designed for, nor especially well suited for, other forms
`of communications, including wideband speech or audio,
`images, video, fax, and data. The POTS network is inherently
`“telephone' or “handset' oriented and is driven by the need of
`real-time Voice telephony.
`There are approximately 270 million users of the POTS
`network in the United States, making POTS access nearly
`ubiquitous throughout the US. On the other hand, the POTS
`network has high access costs, and for international calls,
`settlement costs.
`1. Voice and Signaling Circuits
`Today’s POTS network includes a plurality of subnet
`works. The two primary subnetworks are a circuit-switched
`Voice Subnetwork and an out-of-band signaling Subnetwork.
`In addition, the POTS network includes other packet subnet
`works used for operations and network management func
`tions.
`The POTS circuit-switched voice subnetwork includes
`Voice-grade circuits that can carry Voice signals or data at
`multiples of a basic 64 kilobits/second rate. The voice sub
`network includes a multiplicity of Service Switching Points
`(SSP) that are used to set up circuit-switched connections that
`carry voice traffic or data traffic (i.e., the “payload”) on the
`POTS network. Each SSP may be a switch used by a Local
`Exchange Carrier (LEC), such as a 5ESSR) switch (5E) made
`by Lucent, or a Switch used by an InterEXchange Carrier
`(IXC), such as a 4ESSR) switch (4E) made by Lucent.
`The POTS signaling subnetwork is itself a packet-switched
`network, denoted as Signaling System 7 (SS7). The SS7
`signaling Subnetwork carries digital information which
`assists in fast call setup and routing, as well as providing
`transaction capabilities using remote database interaction.
`The SS7 signaling subnetwork includes a series of paired
`components connected to an SSP. Typically, each of the
`paired components for the SS7 signaling Subnetwork
`includes one or more Signal Transfer Points (STP) and one or
`more Service Control Points (SCP). Each STP and SCP pro
`vides, respectively, a router and a database used to implement
`call setup, call routing, call control and the logic (or pro
`grams) and related information functions used to provide
`advanced communications services over the POTS network.
`
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`3
`business may establish a POP as its own direct connection to
`the Internet; individuals or Small businesses may typically
`access the Internet through a service provider which may
`provide a POP for, potentially, a multitude of individuals and
`businesses.
`The Internet’s global and exponential growth is common
`knowledge today. The recent developments of browsers for
`World WideWeb interfaces and information navigation soft
`ware, Such as a multitude of Web search engines (such as, e.g.,
`Lycos or Alta Vista), coupled with a continuously growing
`number of public access providers, are making the Internet a
`fundamental component of the information age, if not the
`information Super highway itself. Users typically communi
`cate over the Internet using a combination of hardware and
`software providing interconnectivity that is compatible with
`the standard, namely Transmission Control Protocol/Internet
`Protocol (TCP/IP).
`Several alternate forms of communication have developed
`which utilize either the POTS network or packet networks
`(and sometimes both). For example, facsimile (fax) commu
`nication is now a commonplace option fortransmitting copies
`of documents over the POTS network. Electronic messaging
`(e.g., e-mail) is a growing phenomenon for those who use a
`packet network, particularly the Internet, for communica
`tions. In addition, many companies today are using packet
`networks, locally or internally within the company, which are
`modeled in functionality based upon the Internet. These
`packet networks, denoted “intranets.” are typically private
`networks owned or controlled by the company or corporate
`user. Packets are moved over intranets using the Internet
`Protocol (IP), and often the same software used in connection
`with the Internet (e.g., Web browsers) is also used in connec
`tion with intranets. Intranet networks are often established to
`connect to the Internet through a firewall (i.e., a hardware/
`Software combination designed to restrict unauthorized
`access to the intranet from the outside world).
`As the Internet grows, more organizations are publishing
`information on a “site' on the World Wide Web (Web site).
`Furthermore, generally available and excellent search capa
`bilities can locate a particular piece of information quickly
`from this globally-distributed database.
`A World WideWeb site on the Internet typically resides on
`a computer known as a server, which is accessed through the
`Internet by a person (or a client) utilizing a computer, such as
`a PC. A Web site consists of one or more Web pages compris
`ing scripts written in HyperTextMarkup Language (HTML)
`and typically resides on a server compatible with HyperText
`Transport Protocol (HTTP, a protocol for interfacing with the
`Internet). Pages at a Web site are typically accessible and
`viewed by the person using the PC through software called a
`50
`Web browser, which typically resides on the person’s PC. A
`Web browser, such as the one by Netscape, interprets Web
`page HTML Scripts to provide a graphical user interface that
`allows easy access to various services over the Internet.
`Equivalently, Web sites internal to and locatable over a cor
`porate intranet may be set up and accessed in a like manner
`using the same or virtually the same Software (e.g., a Web
`browser). Such Web sites internal to a corporate intranet are
`typically HTTP compatible and addressable using Uniform
`Resource Locator (URL) techniques, and contain Web pages
`comprising HTML scripts.
`Persons may browse the World WideWeb for virtually any
`kind of information, including information having content
`derived from one or more media, Such as words, Sounds or
`images. Increasingly, businesses are establishing Web sites as
`a means of providing information to and attracting potential
`customers, and Web sites are emerging as a means of trans
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`acting business. One may locate a company's Web site by,
`e.g., using one of a number of existing search engines avail
`able over the Internet, or browsing other Web sites containing
`links to the company's Web site, or entering directly the URL,
`which represents an address for the Web site. Typically, Web
`browsing takes place in the context of an interactive commu
`nication session, where one may, for example, direct the Web
`browsing session by choosing to follow hypertext links found
`in Web sites and/or may respond to information located at
`various Web sites.
`C. Integration of the POTS and Packet Networks
`Recently, several new evolutionary systems have emerged
`with the goal of integrating the POTS and packet networks,
`including the introduction of packet telephony and "hop-on
`hop-off servers.
`1. Packet Telephony
`An Internet-related development is packet telephony.
`Packet telephony involves the use of a packet network, Such as
`the Internet, for telecommunicating Voice, pictures, moving
`images and multimedia (e.g., voice and pictures) content.
`Instead of a pair of telephones connected by switched tele
`phone lines, however, packet telephony typically involves the
`use of a “packet phone' or “Internet phone' at one or both
`ends of the telephony link, with the information transferred
`over a packet network using packet Switching and packet
`routing techniques.
`Packet telephony systems were created with the goal of
`providing real-time speech communications over packet net
`works. The basic idea of packet telephony is (1) to use the
`sound board of a multimedia PC to digitize speech into bits:
`and (2) to use the processor in the computer to compress the
`bitstream, packetize it, and then send the result over a packet
`network to another multimedia PC with the same or equiva
`lent functionality. Although the basic idea is feasible, the
`resulting real-time Voice communications experience is of
`low quality, albeit at low cost. Some of the drawbacks are:
`long transmission delays (due to packet size, packet buff
`ering, packet overheads and routing delays)
`lost and delayed packets (due to network congestion)
`poor quality of the coded voice (due to the use of low
`complexity speech coders)
`difficulty offinding the Internet Protocol (IP) address of the
`person at the destination
`need to call people who did not have access to the packet
`network
`Several improvements in these areas have been made since
`the initial introduction of packet telephony, and others have
`been Suggested (e.g., reservation protocols such as RSVP).
`2. HOHO Servers
`As packet telephony grew in popularity, the need to call
`people who did not have access to the packet network led to
`the creation of Hop-on Hop-Off (HOHO) servers. The devel
`opment of Hop-on Hop-Off servers provided a mechanism
`for PC-initiated telephone calls on a packet network to con
`nect with the POTS network and terminate at a customer's
`telephone handset or vice-versa. The HOHO or server brings
`the packet network and POTS network together at a common
`gateway interface, which bi-directionally converts IP packets
`into Voice and signaling information, Such as the sequence of
`messages used to set up, bridge, and tear down calls. In this
`way, Voice communication is established across the packet
`and POTS networks.
`3. Call Center-Based Telephony
`Another recent development in linking together the POTS
`and packet networks is the call center-based system devel
`oped by Genesys Telecommunications Laboratories, among
`others. In a typical call center-based scenario, a customer
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`5
`finds a product/service, while browsing the Web, for which
`more information is desired. If the particular product/service
`provider maintains both a Web server and a call center, the
`customer, along with the Web connection, can be linked to a
`call center representative in the following way. The customer
`is asked to click on a button on the PC screen which requests
`customer information (e.g. home telephone number, name,
`etc.). The Web server passes the information to the database
`server in the call center system, which initiates a POTS call to
`the customer and connects the call to a call center represen
`tative. At the same time, the Web page that the customer is
`looking at may be passed to the call center representative,
`along with side information Such as the length of time that the
`customer has been looking at the page, the previous pages
`which have been looked at, etc. In this manner, the customer
`maintains a voice connection to the call center representative,
`as well as synchronization between what the call center rep
`resentative sees on the PC screen and what the customersees
`on the PC screen.
`While the systems described above provide some limited
`usefulness for individualized applications, none of these sys
`tems provide a comprehensive means for combining the
`POTS network and a packet network (such as the Internet) in
`a way that takes full advantage of the signaling and real-time
`signal processing capabilities present in the POTS network.
`For example, current packet telephony Systems do not take
`advantage of the SS7 signaling Subnetwork and protocols to
`assist call setup and routing. Further, none of the current
`systems that enable packet telephony using a POTS telephone
`connection at one or both ends have the capability to intelli
`gently make Switching or routing decisions between the
`POTS network and packet network based upon consider
`ations such as desired quality, time, cost, bandwidth or other
`considerations.
`What is desired is a way to combine the POTS network and
`a packet network, taking full advantage of the signaling capa
`bilities present in the POTS network as well as the addressing
`capabilities inherent in a packet network, to seamlessly com
`40
`bine the networks for flexible and optimal communications
`based upon considerations such as desired quality, time, cost
`or bandwidth.
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`SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
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`The present invention provides away of bridging the POTS
`network and a packet network, Such as the Internet, using a
`system of access objects that provide the interfacing and
`functionality for exchanging address and payload informa
`tion with the packet network, and for exchanging payload
`information with the payload Subnetwork and signaling infor
`mation with the signaling subnetwork of the POTS network.
`The system includes a communications management object
`that coordinates the transfer of information between the
`POTS network and the packet network; a payload object that
`transfers payload information between the system and the
`payload Subnetwork of the first communications network; a
`signaling object that transfers signaling information between
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`the system and the signaling Subnetwork of the first commu
`nications network in accordance with a signaling protocol
`associated with the signaling Subnetwork; and a packet object
`that transfers payload and address information between the
`system and the second communications network in accor
`dance with a communications protocol associated with the
`second communications network. In an alternative embodi
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`US 7,929,519 B2
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`6
`ment, a plurality of payload, signaling and packet objects may
`be utilized to provide a scalable system.
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`BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
`
`FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the relationship of the POTS
`network, a packet network (such as the Internet oran intranet)
`and the POTS/Packet Bridge of the present invention.
`FIG. 2A shows an exemplary architecture for the POTS/
`Packet Bridge system of the present invention.
`FIG. 2B shows an alternative scalable architecture for the
`POTS/Packet Bridge of the present invention.
`FIG. 3A demonstrates one example of intelligent commu
`nications management in accordance with the present inven
`tion.
`FIG.3B demonstrates another example of intelligent com
`munications management in accordance with the present
`invention.
`
`DETAILED DESCRIPTION
`
`The present invention is directed to a POTS-packet bridg
`ing device that combines the POTS network and a packet
`network (Such as, e.g., the Internet oran intranet) in a way that
`takes full advantage of the signaling capabilities present in the
`POTS network as well as the addressing capabilities inherent
`in a packet network. The bridging device of the present inven
`tion will be referred to herein as the “POTS/Packet Bridge'
`and is intended to seamlessly combine the POTS network and
`a packet network for flexible and optimal communications
`based upon considerations such as desired quality, time, cost
`or bandwidth. Further, the POTS/Packet Bridge will enable
`customers to easily invoke enhancements to POTS services
`Such as messaging and mobility, by using point-and-click
`interfaces on their PCs to open up a range of services that is
`broader than that enabled by a simple telephone interface.
`Additionally, users having only a telephone could gain access
`to information from databases, formerly available only on the
`packet network, through emerging text-to-speech and Voice
`recognition network interfaces. Moreover, new services com
`bining the simultaneous delivery of multimedia content to a
`PC and real-time communications (e.g. Voice, audio, video)
`over a telephone become possible with the integration of the
`POTS and packet networks using the POTS/Packet Bridge of
`the present invention.
`The POTS/Packet Bridge described herein exploits the out
`standing strengths of the both of its network constituents, e.g.:
`The POTS network provides low-latency, high reliability,
`moderate fidelity real-time voice/data telephony;
`The packet network transmits data of all types and provides
`point-and-click access to distributed databases with
`excellent search capabilities.
`In accordance with the present invention, the POTS/Packet
`Bridge has several important attributes:
`The POTS/Packet bridge interconnects with the existing
`POTS and packet networks, which remain essentially
`intact, while leveraging the outstanding strengths of
`each network
`Through the POTS/Packet Bridge, each network can be
`used to control the other in a synergistic way, so as to
`allow flexible communications which can be optimized
`for quality of service, time, cost, etc.
`The POTS/Packet bridge will enable delivery of a broad set
`of new multimedia services which provide significant
`improvements in ease-of-use, convenience, ubiquity,
`quality of service, etc.
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`The POTS/Packet Bridge of the present inventi