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Patent 2266310 Summary

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(12) Patent Application: (11) CA 2266310
(54) English Title: REAL-TIME AUDIO TO DATA AND DATA TO AUDIO CONVERTER
(54) French Title: CONVERTISSEUR DE SIGNAUX AUDIO EN DONNEES ET VICE VERSA, EN TEMPS REEL
Status: Withdrawn
Bibliographic Data
(51) International Patent Classification (IPC):
  • H04M 7/00 (2006.01)
  • H04L 12/64 (2006.01)
(72) Inventors :
  • GARIEPY, DONALD JOSEPH (United States of America)
  • STOULIL, GEORGE JAMES (United States of America)
(73) Owners :
  • GARIEPY, DONALD JOSEPH (United States of America)
  • STOULIL, GEORGE JAMES (United States of America)
(71) Applicants :
  • GARIEPY, DONALD JOSEPH (United States of America)
  • STOULIL, GEORGE JAMES (United States of America)
(74) Agent: RIDOUT & MAYBEE LLP
(74) Associate agent:
(45) Issued:
(22) Filed Date: 1999-03-23
(41) Open to Public Inspection: 1999-09-23
Availability of licence: N/A
(25) Language of filing: English

Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT): No

(30) Application Priority Data:
Application No. Country/Territory Date
09/046,281 United States of America 1998-03-23

Abstracts

English Abstract





A real-time audio to data and data to audio converter
for use in transmitting an audio converted to data signal,
typically a telephone conversation, over a data transport
system, such as the Internet. The converter is hardware and
thereby eliminates delays inherent in a software converter
and eliminates the need for computer calculation . The
converter is positioned at the access site of a data
transport system and comprises a telephone interface for
linking telephone lines to the converter. The telephone
interface is attached to a transmitter and a receiver,
whereby the telephone interface receives audio signals and
transmits the audio signal to a real-time converter. The
real-time converter converts the audio signal received from
the telephone interface to a data signal, the data signal is
transmitted by the transmitter to a data transport system.
The receiver receives the data signals from the data
transport system, sends the data signals to the converter,
whereby the data signals are converted back to audio signals
to be routed to the recipient as audio signals. A method for
converting audio signal to data signals and data signals to
audio signals in real time is also disclosed.


Claims

Note: Claims are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.




25
CLAIMS
1) A real-time audio to data and data to audio converter for
interfacing audio signals with a data transport system, the
audio to data and data to audio converter comprising:
a) a telephone interface means for linking telephone
lines to the converter, the telephone interface means being
attached to a transmission means and a receiving means, the
telephone interface means receiving audio signals from and
transmitting the audio signals to a converting means;
b) a real-time converting means for converting the audio
signal to a data signal or a data signal to an audio signal,
the converting means being attached at one end to a
transmission means and at the other end to a receiving means;
c) a transmission means for transmitting the data signal
to a data transport system;
d) a receiving means for receiving the data signal from
the data transport system; and
whereby an audio signal is received and converted in
real-time to a data signal which in turn is received as a data
signal and converted in real time to an audio signal.
2) The real-time audio to data and data to audio converter as
defined in claim 1 further comprising:
a plurality of the converters in a network;
a central station at the data transport system, the
central station having at least one converter.



26
3) The real-time audio to data and data to audio converter as
defined in claim 2 further comprising:
telephone switching means for switching data between a
converter at the central station and other converters in the
network.
4) The real-time audio to data and data to audio converter
as defined in claim 1 further comprising:
a switch/routing means for routing the audio signals to a
desired remote location.
5) The real-time audio to data and data to audio converter as
defined in claim 1 further comprising:
an amplifying means for converting a received balanced
telephone audio signal into an unbalanced signal.
6) The real-time audio to data and data to audio converter as
defined in claim 1 further comprising:
a modulating/demodulating means for sampling an input
audio signal, dividing the signal and outputting a bit stream.
7) The real-time audio to data and data to audio converter as
defined in claim 1 further comprising:
a timing means for synchronizing the converter, the
timing means having high frequency signals.


27
8) The real-time audio to data and data to audio converter as
defined in claim 6 further comprising:
a gating means for removing undesirable spikes in the bit
pattern and producing a smooth ASC11 bit stream.
9) The real-time audio to data and data to audio converter as
defined in claim 7 further comprising:
a dividing means for dividing the high frequency signals
of the timing means to lower frequency signals output as a
clocking pulse.
10) The real-time audio to data and data to audio converter
as defined in claim 1 wherein:
the telephone interface means uses a four wire E and M
trunk to transmit audio signals to the converting means.
11) The real-time audio to data and data to audio converter
as defined in claim 6 wherein:
the modulator/demodulator is a delta modulator.
12) The real-time audio to data and data to audio converter
as defined in claim 1 wherein:
the telephone interface means uses a two wire E and M
trunk to transmit audio signals to the converting means.


28
13) A real-time video to data and data to video converter for
interfacing video signals with a data transport system, the
video to data and data to video converter comprising:
a) a video interface means for linking video lines to
the converter, the video interface means being attached to a
transmission means and a receiving means, the video interface
means receiving video signals and transmitting the video
signals to a converting means;
b) a real-time converting means for converting the video
signal to a data signal or a data signal to a video signal,
the converting means being attached at one end to a
transmission means and at the other end to a receiving means;
c) a transmission means for transmitting a data signal
to a data transport system;
d) a receiving means for receiving the data signal from
the data transport system; and
whereby a video signal is received and converted in real-time
to a data signal which in turn is received as a data
signal and converted in real-time to a video signal.
14) A method of converting audio to data and data to audio in
real-time and for interfacing audio signals with a data
transport system using a converter, comprising the steps of:
a) providing a telephone interface means for linking
telephone lines to the converter, the telephone interface
means receiving audio signals and transmitting the audio
signals to a converting means;


29


b) providing a real-time converting means for converting
the audio signal to a data signal or a data signal to an audio
signal, the converting means being attached at one end to a
transmission means and at the other end to a receiving means;
c) providing a transmission means for transmitting a
data signal to a data transport system;
d) providing a receiving means for receiving the data
signal from the data transport system; and
whereby an audio signal is received and converted in
real-time to a data signal which in turn is received as a data
signal and converted in real-time to an audio signal.
15) The method of converting audio to data and data to audio
signals as defined in claim 14 further comprising:
providing a plurality of the converters in a network;
providing a central station at the data transport system,
the central station having at least one converter.
16) The method of converting audio to data and data to audio
signals as defined in claim 15 further comprising:
providing a switching means for switching data between a
converter at the central station and other converters in the
network.
17) The method of converting audio to data and data to audio
signals as defined in claim 14 further comprising:


30
providing a switch/routing means for routing the audio
signals to a desired remote location.
18) The method of converting audio to data and data to audio
signals as defined in claim 14 further comprising:
providing an amplifying means for converting a received
balanced telephone audio signal into an unbalanced signal.
19) The method of converting audio to data and data to audio
signals as defined in claim 14 further comprising:
providing a modulating/demodulating means for sampling an
input audio signal, dividing the signal and outputting a bit
stream.
20) The method of converting audio to data and data to audio
signals as defined in claim 14 further comprising:
providing a timing means for synchronizing the converter,
the timing means having high frequency signals.

Description

Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.



CA 02266310 1999-03-23
REAL-TIl~iE AUDIO TO DATA AIJD DATA TO AUDIO CO1NVERTER
Background of the Invention
The availability of the Internet as a world-wide, low
cost, data transport system has prompted the development of
software packages which convert voice signals on the
microphone and speaker of a multi-media personal computer into
data signals which can be transmitted over the Internet. The
same software has also been used to permit a computer to
convert voice signals from a telephone line to data signals
which can be transmitted over the Internet. A problem arises
with this software in that the time required to process the
voice signal using software conversions of voice to data and
data to voice causes a long delay between transmission of a
voice signal (speaking) and reception of the voice signal
(hearing). The delay which the sender perceives is twice as
long as the time required to process his own voice signal
because the receivers' reply signal is similarly delayed
before it can be heard by the original caller. These
conversions cause uncomfortable delays and pauses such that a
normal conversation cannot be had over the Internet using this
technique. What is desired therefore is a hardware based
real-time voice to data and~data to voice converter.


CA 02266310 1999-03-23
2
' Summary of the Invention
In order to overcome the problems inherent in the prior
art, there has been devised by the present invention a new and
novel electronic circuit which converts a voice or other audio
signal from a telephone into a digital signal for transmission
over a data transport system, typically the Internet, to a
similar unit at a remote location. The real-time converter of
the present invention also converts the digital signal back to
an audio or voice signal for reception as a sound or voice at
the receiving end of the conversation. The real-time voice to
data converter eliminates the calculations required by
software and eliminates the need for a computer.
The real-time audio to data and data to audio converter
of the present invention generally comprises a two way
conversion means for converting audio signals to data signals
and for converting data signals to audio signals. The
converter of the present invention is positioned at the access
site of a data transport system and comprises a telephone
interface means for linking telephone lines to the converter.
The telephone interface means is attached to a transmission
means and a receiving means, whereby the telephone interface
means receives audio signals and transmits the audio signal to
a real-time converting means. The real-time converting means
converts the audio signal received from the telephone
interface means to a data signal, the data signal is
transmitted by the transmission means to a data transport
system. The receiving means of the present converter receives


CA 02266310 1999-03-23
3
the data signals from the data transport system, sends the
data signals to the converting means, whereby the data signals
are converted back to audio signals to be routed to the
recipient as audio or voice signals.
It is therefore an object and advantage of the present
invention to provide a real-time audio to data and data to
audio converter which eliminates software calculations and
thereby eliminates uncomfortable pauses in a telephone
conversation which takes place over the Internet.
It is another object and advantage of the present
invention to provide a low cost way of transmitting a
telephone conversation over the Internet in real-time.
It is yet another object and advantage of the present
invention to provide a hardware based, real-time voice to data
and data to voice converter for added reliability to the
transmission of a telephone conversation.
It is still yet another object and advantage of the
present invention to provide a real-time audio to data and
data to audio converter that has flexibility in the hardware
with which it is used.


CA 02266310 1999-03-23
4
Hrief Description of the Drawings
Figure 1 is a block diagram of the audio to data and data
to audio converter of the present invention.
Figure 2 is an environmental block diagram of the audio
to data and data to audio converter of the present invention
in its simplest form, as it is positioned at the access site
of the data transport system provider.
Figure 3 is an environmental block diagram of the
preferred embodiment of the audio to data and data to audio
converter of the present invention, showing more than one
sender and more than one recipient, all are connected through
a telephone switch installed at a central Internet Service
Provider. Each sender and each recipient can dial each other
as desired. The telephone switch also allows each sender and
each recipient to dial out through the existing telephone
system to any destination on the telephone network. Figure 3
is an example of a user that is located locally to the central
switch station.
Figure 4 is an environmental block diagram of the
preferred embodiment of the audio to data and data to audio
converter of the present invention, similar to Figure 3 and
showing an example of a user that is located in a remote
location to the central switch station.
Figure 5 is an environmental block diagram of the
preferred embodiment of the audio to data and data to audio
converter of the present invention, similar to Figure 3 and


CA 02266310 1999-03-23
showing an example of a full time network user of the present
invention.
Figure 6 is an environmental block diagram of the audio
to data and data to audio converter of the present invention
5 used with a different type of telephone switch, a
switch/router which allows routing capability directly to the
Internet backbone.
Figure 7 is an environmental block diagram of the audio
to data and data to audio converter of the present invention
wherein the audio signal that is converted to data is a video
signal. A typical application of this use of the audio to
data and data to audio converter is a security camera wherein
it is desirable to transmit the images of the camera to a
remote location.


CA 02266310 1999-03-23
6
Description of the PrefQrred Embodiment
Referring now to the drawings in general, and in
particular to Figure 1 and Figure 2 of the drawings, there is
shown in Figure 1 a block diagram of the real-time audio to
data and data to audio converter 10 of the present invention.
Figure 2 is an environmental block diagram of the audio to
data and data to audio converter of the present invention, in
its simplest form, as it is positioned at the access site 12
of a data transport system provider 14, typically the
Internet. The converter 10 of the present invention converts
voice signals received by it from a phone line 16 into a data
signal. This data signal is transmitted over the data
transport system 18, to a similar remote location, at the
access site 20 of the remote data transport system provider
22. At the remote location, the data signal is converted back
to a voice signal and is transmitted over a phone line 24 at
the remote location as a voice signal, as seen in Figure 2.
The converter 10 of the present invention generally
comprises a two way conversion means having a sender 26 and a
recipient 28 as seen in Figure 2. Generally, both the sender
26 and recipient 28 have access to a similar converter 10 one,
for the sender 30, positioned at the access site 12 of the
data transport system provider 14 and one, for the recipient
32 positioned at the access site 20 of a recipient data
transport system provider 22. The converters 30 and 32 work
in a mirrored manner for both parties. By positioning the
converter 10 of the present invention at the access site 12 of


CA 02266310 1999-03-23
7
a data transport system provider 14, the converter 10 can
transmit its data signal using a high quality T-1 connection
directly to the backbone 34 of the Internet. The backbone 34
of the Internet, as it is depicted most clearly in Figures 3,
4, and 5 uses the fastest links of the Internet, which bypass
local connections. In this way, any delays which may be
inherent on the Internet due to other numerous local
connections, are bypassed, causing the transmission of the
data signals to be the fastest possible.
While, in typical practice, the converter 10 of the
present invention uses the Internet as the data transport
system 18 for transmitting data signals, it is within the
spirit and scope of the present invention to use any type of
Local Access Network (LAN) or Wide Area Network (WAN), a
personal computer or mainframe computer, a server, bridge or
router, a modem or a wireless distribution system.
In general, as seen most clearly in Figure 2, the
converter 10 of the present invention comprises the two way
conversion means for converting audio signals to data and data
signals to audio for a sender 26 and a recipient 28. The
converter 10 works in a mirrored manner for both parties.
Each converter 30 and 32 generally comprises a telephone
interface means 36, as seen in Figure 1, for linking telephone
lines 16 and 24 to the converter 10. In the preferred
embodiment of the present invention, the telephone interface
means 36 uses a four wire E and M trunk to transmit audio
signals from the telephone 38 to the converter 10 of the


CA 02266310 1999-03-23
8
present invention. It is also within the spirit and scope of
the present invention to transmit audio signals to the
converter 10 via a two wire E and M trunk, a two wire loop
trunk, a fax line, a POTS line, a two-wire reverse battery
trunk, a modem line, a microphone line, a speaker line, a DX
line, a security and alarm circuit, a telemetering circuit or
a broadcast circuit. The telephone interface means 36 is
attached to a transmission means 40 and a receiving means 42,
as seen most clearly in Figure 1, the telephone interface
means 36 receiving audio signals and transmitting the audio
signals to a converting means 44. The converter 10 of the
present invention also generally comprises a real-time
converting means 44 which converts the audio signal received
from the telephone interface means 36 to a data signal or
converts a data signal received from the data transport system
18, as seen in Figure 2, to an audio signal. The converting
means 44 is attached at one end 46 to the transmission means
40 and at the other end 48 to the receiving means 42. The
transmission means 40 of the present invention transmits data
signals to the data transport system 18 and the receiving
means 42 receives data signals from the data transport system
18.
More specifically, in the simplest form of the present
invention, as seen most clearly in Figure 2, the sender 26
transmits an audio signal using the telephone interface means
36. The sender's telephone network 50 delivers the call to
the converter 30 of the present invention at the access site


CA 02266310 1999-03-23
9
12 of the data transport system service provider 14, most
typically the Internet Service Provider. At the data
transport system provider 14, when the call is delivered, the
converter 30 of the present invention answers, converts the
audio signal to a data signal, and routes the data signal
(converted voice of the caller) to a converter 32 positioned
at the access site 20 of the recipient data transport system
provider 22. When the audio signal is first received at the
converter 30 of the sender's data transport system provider
14, the transmission means 40 in the form of a transmitter 52
transmits the audio signal to a receiving means 42 in the form
of a receiver 54, as seen most clearly in Figure 1. The
transmitter 52 and receiver 54 are both attached to the
telephone interface means 36 which links telephone lines 16
and 24 to the converter 10. From the telephone interface
means 36, the sender's audio signal goes to a real-time
converting means 44 where the sender's audio signal is
converted to a data signal. From the converting means 44, the
now converted data signal is sent over the data transport
system 18 to the converter 32 at the recipient's 28 data
transport system provider 22. The converter 32 at the
destination data transport system provider 22 converts the
data signal back to audio and the recipient 28 telephone
interface 56, as seen as Figure 1, routes the audio signal to
the ultimate destination. At this point, after the recipient
28 has received the sender's audio signal (voice), the


CA 02266310 1999-03-23
recipient 28 responds and thereby now becomes the sender 26,
whereby the process is repeated.
More specifically, the sender 26 transmits an audio
signal using the transmission means 40 of the converter 10, in
5 the form of a transmitter 52. The transmitter 52 transmits
the audio signal to a receiving means 42 in the form of a
receiver 54. Attached to both the transmitter 52 and receiver
54 is the telephone interface means 36 for linking telephone
lines 16 and 24 to the converter 10. From the telephone
10 interface 56, the sender's audio signal goes to the real-time
converting means 44 where the sender's audio signal is
converted to a data signal. The data signal is transmitted
over the data transport system 18 (typically the Internet) and
is received by the recipient 28 at the recipient's converter
32 as a data signal. The data signal goes to the converter 32
of the recipient 28, where it is converted to an audio signal.
The audio signal goes from the converting means 44 to the
recipient's telephone interface 56 whereupon it is transmitted
to the recipient as an audio signal or the sender's voice.
The telephone network 58 for the recipient 28 answers and the
reverse process takes place, all in real-time so that there
are no uncomfortable gaps between sending and receiving an
audio signal. Each of the converters 30 and 32 then, the
sender's converter 30 and the recipient's converter 32 act as
alternating senders and recipients. Each converter 30 and 32
is the same, just positioned at the access sites 12 and 20 for
different data transport system providers 14 and 22. So, each


CA 02266310 1999-03-23
11
' converter 30 and 32, has a sender portion 60, when it acts as
a sender 26 and a recipient portion 62 when it acts as a
recipient 28, as seen in Figure 1.
The sender portion 60 of the converter 10 accepts a
balanced 600 or 900 ohm telephone signal on an amplifying
means 64 in the form of an operational amplifier 66. The
operational amplifier 66 converts the balanced telephone
signal into an unbalanced signal which is a ground reference
signal required by a modulating/demodulating means 68 in the
form of a modulator 70 of the converter 10. The modulator 70
of the converter 10 is a standard delta modulation or
demodulation integrated circuit. It is, however, within the
spirit and scope of the invention to use any type of suitable
modulating or demodulating means 68. In the present instance,
modulation is a function of transmission, so the
modulator/demodulator 69 functions as a modulator 70 when
positioned at the sender portion 60 of the converter 10 and
demodulation is a function of reception, so the
modulator/demodulator 69 functions as a demodulator 72 when
positioned at the recipient portion 62 of the converter 10.
In Figure 1, the same modulator/demodulator 69 is shown at 70
and 72. When positioned at.the sender portion 60 of the
converter 10 the modulator/demodulator 69 functions as a
modulator 70, that is converts audio signals to data. When
the modulator/demodulator 69 is positioned at the recipient
portion 62 of the converter 10 it functions as a demodulator
72, that is converts data signals to audio. A timing means 74


CA 02266310 1999-03-23
12
in the form of a crystal clock 76 synchronizes the operation
of the converter 10. This high frequency clock 76 has its
high frequency divided to a lower frequency clocking signal by
a dividing means 78 in the form of a divider 80. The divider
80 then transmits these lower frequency clocking signals as a
clocking pulse. The lower frequency clocking signals are used
by the transmitter 52 of the converter 10. The modulator 70
samples the input ground reference signal one time for each
clocking pulse received from the divider 80. The modulator 70
then outputs a 1 bit if the audio signal has increased or a 0
bit if the signal has decreased. An alternating 1 and 0 is
sent by the modulator 70 if the signal does not change. The
signal produced and output by the modulator 70 is thus an
endless string of 1's and 0's. Single bits, or even several
occasional bits can be lost from the resulting bit stream with
no real impact on the signal. An alternating 0 and 1 produces
no change at all in the transmitted signal. The quality of
the transmission from the modulator 70 is directly
proportional to the speed of the clock 76 which is used to
sample the audio signal, and can be arbitrarily changed by
plugging a different crystal clock into the circuit board that
is the converter 10, should.it become necessary to do so for a
high quality radio broadcast or a similar application. The
continuous stream of bits output from the modulator 70 must be
converted into a string of ASC11 characters in order to be
sent to a normal data transmission port 82 as a modem 84 would
use it, to transfer data signals across the data transport


CA 02266310 1999-03-23
13
system 18, as seen in Figure 2. An ASC11 character consists
of a short packet of eight information bits. It is framed by
a start bit that is always 1 and ends with a stop bit that is
always 0. In a continuous stream of information, there is
therefore a O1 combination that separates every 8 bits of
information. This frame is used by the data transport system
18, typically the Internet, to maintain synchronization, and
to preserve these eight bit groups, which are coded such that
each 8 bit group forms a single character or letter. The
converter 10 of the present invention produces this framed 8
bit pattern by generating a O1 bit pattern repeatedly as every
9th and 10th bit in the divider 80. A gating means 86 in the
form of a gate circuit 86 inserts this O1 pattern into the
signal, thereby overriding whatever pattern formerly existed
there, as seen in Figure 1. This process causes the data
transport system 18, as seen in Figure 2, to see a continuous
stream of ASC11 characters, which it will recognize as data
and will transmit this data through the system in the normal
fashion. The receiving means 42 of the converter 10, in the
form of a receiver 54, as seen in Figure 1, will also see this
O1. Since the O1 is a null combination in the
modulator/demodulator 68, the O1 combination has no effect on
the signal received by the receiver 54, other than to slightly
reduce the quality of the signal. The gate circuit 88
produces some undesirable spikes in the bit pattern, which are
removed by the gated flip-flop 90 to thereby produce a smooth
ASC11 bit stream. The bit stream passes through a RS232


CA 02266310 1999-03-23
14
' driver circuit 92 which converts the O to +5 volt logic signal
received from the circuit of the converter 10 into a + and -12
volt signal which is used on the RS232 standard modem
interface 94.
The continuous data signal is passed through the data
transport system 18, as seen in Figure 2, and arrives at the
receiver 54 at the recipient portion 62 of the converter 10 at
the remote access site 20 of the data transport system 18. At
the remote access site 20 the + and -12 volt signal is
converted into the 0 and +5 logic signal by the 12 to 5 volt
converter 95. This 0 and +5 logic signal directly enters the
demodulator 72 at the recipient's converter 32 where it is
converted into voice. The 12 volt driver 92 converts the 5
volt signal of the converter 10 to a 12 volt signal as
required by the RS232 interface 94. The 12 volt supply line
96 supplies the necessary voltage for the 12 volt driver 92
and the RS232 interface 94. The voice signal passes through a
receive amplifier 97, which is a similar amplifier to the
sender's operational amplifier 66. The receive clock pulses
are provided by the same divider 80 that drives the
transmitter 52 so that only one primary clock is required.
The phase of the receive clock pulse from the divider 80 is
continuously adjusted by a circuit in the receiver 54 such
that the receive bits are always sampled in the center of each
bit. This form of synchronization preserves a clean received
signal.


CA 02266310 1999-03-23
' In addition to transmitting voice signals in both
directions, telephone applications also require supervision.
Supervision refers to the signal generated when a telephone
goes off hook and it is used to set up, hold and release
5 telephone circuits at the appropriate time. The signal
remains on as long as the conversation exists and ends when
the user hangs up. There are two supervision signals required
for any call. One signal represents the sender 26 and the
other represents the recipient 28. The converter 10 of the
10 present invention uses the transmission of bits, and the
absence of bit transmission to generate supervision. When the
circuit of the converter 10 is idle, no bits are sent. When
the circuit becomes active, the bit stream appears, and when
the bit stream is received at the recipient's converter 32, it
15 communicates an off hook condition for the sender 26 and an
answering signal for the recipient 28. The bit stream is
therefore always present to carry the voice signal when the
circuit of the converter 10 is in use, and always absent when
the circuit is idle and there is no voice to carry. When a
call is delivered from the sender 26 to the sender's local
converter 30, the M lead 98 of the 4 wire E and M interface
changes from open to -48 volts to indicate an incoming call.
When the M-lead 98 is open indicating the absence of a call,
the ability to send the data stream across the data transport
system 18 is disabled. When the M-lead 98 goes negative,
indicating the presence of an outgoing call, the ability to
send the data stream across the data transport system 18 is


CA 02266310 1999-03-23
16
enabled, allowing a continuous data stream to be sent across
the data transport system 18 to the recipient's converter 32.
Within the recipient portion 62 of the recipient's converter
32 is a bit detector circuit 100 that detects the presence or
absence of a data stream. With the absence of a data stream
indicating the absence of a call, the E-lead 102 is open
indicating an on hook or idle condition. When the presence of
a data stream is detected, indicating the presence of an
incoming call, the E-lead 102 goes to ground indicating an off
hook condition. When the off hook condition is detected by
the telephone network 58 associated with the recipient's
converter 32, the M-lead 98 transitions from open to -48
volts. This transition opens the gate 88, allowing the data
stream to be transmitted over the data transport system 18 to
the sender's converter 30. Detection of the data stream from
the recipient 28 to the sender 26 converter 10 using the bit
detector 100 transitions the sender's relay 104 to switch the
E-lead 102 from open to ground indicating the answering of the
call.
Referring now to Figure 3 of the drawings, there is shown
an environmental block diagram of the preferred embodiment of
the audio to data and data to audio converter 10 of the
present invention, showing more than one sender 26 and more
than one recipient 28, all are connected through a telephone
switch 106 installed at the central station 108 data transport
service provider 14. Each sender 26 and each recipient 28 can
dial each other as desired. The telephone switch 106 also


CA 02266310 1999-03-23
17
allows each sender 26 and each recipient 28 to dial out
through the existing telephone system 110 to any destination
on the existing telephone network as shown by location 112 in
Figure 3. Figure 3 is an example of a sender 26 that is
located locally to the central switch station 108. In Figure
3 it can be seen that each station 114 in the converter
network 116 as shown in Figure 3, has a converter 10 for
converting audio signals to data and data signals to audio.
The converter 10 is accessible to the end user either through
a telephone switching means 118 in the form of a telephone
switch 106 or a local telephone line 120, depending on the
location of the user relative to his converter 10. For
example, a client that is local to the central switch station
108 would reach the appropriate converter 10 by calling over
the local phone line 120. After the sender's audio signal has
ben converted by the converter 10 to a data signal, the
resulting data stream is sent to an access server 122. The
access server 122 puts headers and trailers on the data stream
so the data will fit the data transport system 18 protocol for
data transportation. Then a router 124 routes the data from
the access server 122 to the data transport system 18. The
location of the sender 26 of a call is important to how the
call is handled. In a first example, as shown in Figure 3,
the sender 26 is local to the central switch station 108. The
sender 26 calls the telephone switch 106 at the central switch
station 108 via a local phone line 120 or an 800 number set up
for this purpose. The telephone switch 106 answers the call


CA 02266310 1999-03-23
18
' and requests authorization of the sender 26. The sender 26
enters a prearranged authorization number and then the phone
number of the person he wishes to reach. The telephone switch
106 analyzes the phone number the sender 26 has entered,
consults its routing table and sends the call to the selected
converter 126 based on the destination of the call, in the
example of Figure 3, the station B converter 126. The
telephone switch 106 may choose also to use existing local or
long distance phone lines if the call is destined for a
location which does not have a converter 10.
Another example of how the network 116 works is
illustrated in Figure 4. Figure 4 is an environmental block
diagram of the preferred embodiment of the audio to data and
data to audio converter of the present invention, similar to
Figure 3 and showing a sender 26 that is located in a remote
location to the central switch station 108. In Figure 4, a
sender 26 that is not local to the central switch station 108,
a sender located at station A 128, calls his local station A
converter 130, located at the station A data transport system
access site 12, as seen in Figure 2. The station A converter
130 sends data via the data transport system 18 directly to
its companion station A converter 132 located at the central
switch station 108. The companion station A converter 132 at
the central switch station 108 connects to the telephone
switch 106, whereby the telephone switch 106 verifies
authorization and selects the remote converter 10 to which the


CA 02266310 1999-03-23
19
' call should be sent, remote station D 134 in the example of
Figure 4.
It is also within the spirit and scope of the present
invention, to have full time converter network users as in the
example shown in Figure 5. Figure 5 is an environmental block
diagram of the preferred embodiment of the audio to data and
data to audio converter of the present invention, similar to
Figure 3 and showing an example of a full time converter
network user of the present invention. In the example shown
in Figure 5, the station D 134 telephone or telephones 136 all
use the central switch station 108 for all their calls. In
the example shown in Figure 5, the station D 134 has a
telephone switch 106 connected to a plurality of converters at
D1 138, D2 140 and D3 142. The converters D1 138, D2 140 and
D3 142 all send data to the access server 122 of the D station
134 data transport system 18. So that, every time the
telephone 136 is used from station D 134 the call is
automatically routed by the telephone switch 106 at the data
transport system provider 14 located at station D 134 to the
telephone switch 106 at the central switch station 108, making
authorization verification unnecessary. The telephone switch
106 at the central switch station 108 then routes the call to
the appropriate remote station or uses local or long distance
phone lines if an appropriate converter is not available.
It is also within the spirit and scope of the present
invention to use the audio to data and data to audio converter
with another type of telephone switch, a switch/router 144, as


CA 02266310 1999-03-23
seen in Figure 6, which would also contain routing capability
so that the converter 10 could be directly connected to the
Internet backbone 34. This switch/router 144 would then be
its own Internet Service Provider, as well as having
5 capabilities of connection through the existing telephone
system. Thus, with the use of the switch/router 144, the
switch/router 144 would have the ability to gather either
voice or data users, and to connect them throughout the world,
using either the Internet or the older telephone system.
10 Referring now to Figure 6 of the drawings, there is shown an
environmental block diagram of the audio to data and data to
audio converter of the present invention used in conjunction
with a switch/router 144 which incorporates Internet router
technology, as well as telephone technology, and is therefore
15 capable of direct connection to the Internet backbone 34
through trunks 145, as well as direct connection to converter
trunks 146 to a traditional phone line system, direct
connection to cellular radio systems, telephone instruments,
fax machines or modems. It is within the spirit and scope of
20 the present invention, for the audio to data and data to audio
converter of the present invention to be the audio/data
gateway of the system 148 as shown in Figure 6. In Figure 6,
the switch 106, converters 10, access servers 122 and routers
124 depicted in Figures 3, 4 and 5 are efficiently
consolidated into a single electronic system which
functionally replaces both the local data transport system
service provider 14 and the local telephone company switch


CA 02266310 1999-03-23
21
106, or most commonly the local PBX. In the instance as shown
in Figure 6 a plurality of senders 26 use the switch/router
144 to route the telephone call to a plurality of desired
recipients. In order for the data to audio and audio to data
converter 10 of the present invention to be a practical
device, it is necessary that the sender 26 and recipient be
able to communicate between any locations available on the
world wide telephone system. Therefore, the switch/router 144
in Figure 6 receives a telephone number from the sender 26 and
routes the data received from the converter 10 at the sender's
data transport system 18 to an appropriate location at any
recipient's data transport system. In the example as shown in
Figure 6, it would not be necessary, therefore, for the
recipient to have an Internet Service Provider, and all calls
would not go through the telephone switch 106 at the central
switch station 108 as shown in Figures 3, 4 and 5. In Figure
6, the call is routed by the switch/router 144 to a converter
10 at an appropriate remote location, whereupon the remote
data transport system, which can be a Local Access Network of
the telephone system at this point, routes the converted data
(the voice) to the desired recipient. In Figure 6, then, the
converter 10 of the present invention is a circuit 150
positioned on a larger PC card 152, wherein 24 converter
circuits 150 are positioned on each PC card 152. Five hundred
to one thousand such cards 152 would be part of a central
switch station 108, wherein the central switch station 108
would extend audio and data to a local area.


CA 02266310 1999-03-23
22
Referring now to Figure 7 of the drawings there is shown
an environmental block diagram of the video to data and data
to video converter 153 of the present invention wherein a
video signal is converted to a data signal. The example, as
shown in Figure 7, is illustrative only of another application
of the present invention. Figure 7 shows a security
television camera 154 positioned at a machine shop area 156 in
an industrial plant. In the example of Figure 7 the converter
153 is used to extend the camera's view image to a security
desk 158 over an existing ethernet network 160. The machine
shop 156 has its own access server 122 for the ethernet 160.
The access server 122 in Figure 7 is connected to a printer
162 and a machine controller 164 as typically arranged in such
an application. The security desk 158 in the example shown in
Figure 7, also has its own access server 166. To utilize the
camera 154 in this application, a converter 153 is attached to
each access server 122 and 166, and the camera 154 is attached
to one access server 122, and a monitor 168 is attached to the
other access server 166. There is generally a one way
transmission of a video signal to a data signal at a remote
monitor 168 location, then accomplished in Figure 7. The
closed circuit television camera signal is transmitted in a
standard video protocol over cable 169 and is converted by the
converter 153 into a data stream, the data stream being the
same sort of data stream as output in the other applications.
The data stream is routed by the router 124 to the monitoring
center 170 where the data stream is converted back to the


CA 02266310 1999-03-23
23
standard video protocol and displayed on a monitor 168. The
data stream is transmitted over a data transport system 18 as
in the previously described applications. At the recipient 28
remote location, the monitoring center 170, the data stream is
converted back to video signals and is transmitted to the
recipient 28 as video signals. In the video signal converter
153, as shown in Figure 7, a video interface means 172
replaces the telephone interface means 36 of the previous
applications. In other respects, the video to data converter
153 uses the same parts as shown in Figure 1 of the drawings.
In Figure 7, the video interface means 172 is attached to a
transmission means 40 in the form of a transmitter 52 and a
receiving means 42 in the form of a receiver 54, as seen in
Figure 1. The video interface means 172 receives video
signals and transmits the video signals to the converting
means 44 in the form of a converter 153. The converter 153
converts the video signal to a data signal and the transmitter
52 transmits the data signal to a data transport system 18, as
seen also in Figure 1. The receiver 54 receives the data
signal from the data transport system 18 and the data signal
is converted back to video at the recipient's data transport
system. Figure 7 shows the. practicality of the video to data
converter 153 of the present invention. Without the video to
data converter 153 of the present invention it would be
necessary to have the security system 174 in a single location
because the camera 154 requires that a camera cable 169 be
extended from the machine shop area 156 to the security desk


CA 02266310 1999-03-23
24
158. With the use of the present converter 153, however, two
remote locations anywhere in the world can take advantage of
the security system 174 because the data signals are
transmitted over a data transport system 18, so that a camera
cable 169 is not required between the machine shop area 156
and the security desk 158.
From the foregoing it can be seen that all the objects
and advantages have been provided by applicant's invention.
Nevertheless, it is apparent that many changes can be made in
the circuitry and arrangements of parts without departing from
the spirit and scope of the invention which has been shown in
the preferred embodiment by way of illustration only.

Representative Drawing
A single figure which represents the drawing illustrating the invention.
Administrative Status

For a clearer understanding of the status of the application/patent presented on this page, the site Disclaimer , as well as the definitions for Patent , Administrative Status , Maintenance Fee  and Payment History  should be consulted.

Administrative Status

Title Date
Forecasted Issue Date Unavailable
(22) Filed 1999-03-23
(41) Open to Public Inspection 1999-09-23
Withdrawn Application 2000-11-09

Abandonment History

There is no abandonment history.

Payment History

Fee Type Anniversary Year Due Date Amount Paid Paid Date
Application Fee $150.00 1999-03-23
Owners on Record

Note: Records showing the ownership history in alphabetical order.

Current Owners on Record
GARIEPY, DONALD JOSEPH
STOULIL, GEORGE JAMES
Past Owners on Record
None
Past Owners that do not appear in the "Owners on Record" listing will appear in other documentation within the application.
Documents

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Document
Description 
Date
(yyyy-mm-dd) 
Number of pages   Size of Image (KB) 
Abstract 1999-03-23 1 30
Representative Drawing 1999-09-10 1 6
Description 1999-03-23 24 955
Cover Page 1999-09-10 1 44
Abstract 1999-06-23 1 33
Drawings 1999-06-23 6 88
Claims 1999-03-23 6 188
Drawings 1999-03-23 7 112
Correspondence 1999-06-23 8 160
Correspondence 1999-05-04 1 24
Assignment 1999-03-23 3 98
Correspondence 2000-11-09 1 38
Correspondence 2000-11-20 1 1