Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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TITLE: COMMUNICATION SYSTEM
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present application relates to communication
networks, and particularly to communication networks which
use existing physical channels of communication which
cooperatively form a new system for transfer of information
in at least one, and preferably two, directions without the
construction of additional physical communication channels
or major upgrades to existing physical communication
channels. The structure disclosed in this application has
application for the automatic reading of various meters
provided in homes, businesses, and institutions, as well as
in electronic mail, electronic TELEXTM-type applications
and security systems, and other data communication
applications, as but some examples.
Various systems have been proposed for establishing
a communication network between individual subscribers and
certain utilities, such as the water utility, the gas
utility, or the electric utility, whereby the meter of the
particular utility is read electronically and the reading
forwarded to the utility electronically. To a large extent,
many of these systems required a telephone communication
link being initiated by the utility causing the telephone
within the subscribers' dwelling to be activated. Some
arrangements placed equipment before the telephone to
recognize an incoming signal, however, these have not proven
popular. The main problem with this system is that all
phones are activated by the incoming call resulting in
inconvenience to the subscriber.
It has also been proposed to utilize existing cable
television systems as a two way communication channel;
however, owing to the high cost of conversion from one-way
to two-way, such systems have proven to date only to be
speculative. It has also been recognized that it would be
possible to again hard wire a further communication channel
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within a city or region which is in effect what has happeneb
with the use of TELEX systems; however, the cost for doing
this has been prohibitive in most cases.
According to the present invention, a new utility
or central processor or intermediary is proposed which would
function much as the existing utilities for supplying the
telephone services. This service would be particularly
useful for the electrical utilities, water utilities, gas
utilities as prime examples, and could also be used for
electronic mail used by corporations and individuals.
Basically, a new communication utility can be established
which uses existing communication channels without
modification, thus avoiding the massive investment in
additional equipment for existing communication systems or
for new communication systems that has been proposed in
prior art arrangements. In effect, according to the present
application, this communication utility is possible and will
work in a way very similar to a new wire based communication
network without requiring the massive investment for such a
new communication network.
According to the present invention, the
communication system combines the communication capabilities
of the telephone and broadcast media with the power of
distributed micro-processor intelligence. This system
requires a receiver installed on the premises of each
subscriber which interfaces with various communication
channels including the telephone communication channel and,
in certain cases, a cable television outlet. The receiver
is adapted to continually "hear" a broadcast signal either
sent on the free air or over the cable TV network. In this
way, the receiver is always "listening" for its
identification signal and, upon matching its identification
signal with a received signal, it initiates a telephone
communication from the receiver to the central processing
facility. In this way, the problems associated with a
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telephone call being placed to the subscriber from the
processing facility are avoided.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A com~unication network according to the present
invention, comprises a plurality of receiving means in
combination with a central processing facility. The central
processing facility is adapted to receive and automatically
answer incoming telephone calls and to send out an
instructing signal containing particular address and
preferrably command signals mixed with, or superimposed on,
a transmitted broadcast signal. Each of the receiving means
has a particular address, and is tuned to the instructing
signal. Each receiving means further includes means for
determining whether the instructing signal contains the
particular address of the receiving means. Processing means
are associated with each receiving means and activated by
the receiving means upon receipt of the appropriately
addressed instructing signal to execute a control action
based on command data contained in the instructing signal,
for example, to determine the value of at least one
predetermined function of a plurality of functions. This
value or values is transmitted to the central processing
facility by automatically placing a call to the central
processing facility and transmitting a code identifying the
subscriber and the value of the at least one predetermined
function. The central processing facility upon receipt of
the transmitted coded signal processes the signal to, in
general, combine it with other signals as required for
subsequent transmission to predetermined parties.
Although the present invention makes it possible to
effectively provide remote reading of various meters in a
home, business, or institution, it is also possible to use
this system for the relaying of information between
individual subscriber equipment over existing telephone
lines by means of a process intermediary. In this
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arrangement, the communication system includes subscriber
equipment activation means other than existing telephone
lines, with each subscriber equipment continuously listening
for a predetermined instructing signal. The process
intermediary includes means for storing information receivea
by the process intermediary means for eventual transmission
to one or more subscribers identified within the
information. The process intermediary means includes means
for processing the received signal to cause an instructing
signal to be produced and transmitted to the identified
subscriber over a non-telephone communication link and
further includes means for transmitting the stored
information over telephone lines when appropriately
activated by the identified subscriber equipment. Each
subscriber equipment includes means for establishing a
telephone communication link with the process intermediary
and includes means for identifying the subscriber to
activate the process intermediary means after the
communication link has been established and the subscriber
identified. The subscriber equipment also includes storage
means for receiving and recording the information addressed
to the particular subscriber equipment.
A process for a communication system having a host
of individual subscriber stations, each having an addresseu
receiver and processor for identifying a non-telephone
signal uniquely addressing the particular station, and means
associated with the receiver for initiating a telephone
communication link with a signal processing intermediary
upon receiving and identifying the address associated with
the receiver is taught. The process requires the signal
process intermediary to communicate with an existing
broadcast system which produces, according to its normal
operation, a broadcast signal capable of being received by
each subscriber station. The process intermediary transmits
instructing signals through a communication link for
simultaneous transmission with the broadcast signal ana
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includes telephone answering means for completing the
telephone communication link with the subscriber station.
The process intermediary includes means for storing ana
processing information received from a subscriber station
identifying at least one unique receiver which is one of
said subscriber stations, and causing said means for
transmitting to transmit the identifying signal and
preferrably a command signal of the at least one receiver
for simultaneous transmission with the broadcast signal.
The means for processing causes transmission of such
information to the identified subscriber station and
facilitates the receipt of such information from the
identified subscriber station upon establishment of the
telephone communication link between the station and the
signal process intermediary initiated by the subscriber
station.
The central processing intermediary according to
the present invention comprises means for automatically
answering incoming telephone communication links from
individual subscribers and establishing whether a signal is
to be received from such subscriber for eventual
transmission to others, or whether a previously received
signal is to be transmitted to such subscriber. ~eans for
recording received signals transmitted to the central
processor from the subscriber stations over such telephone
communication links is present, as well as means for
processing each of the received signals to extract the
identification code of a further subscr ber to which at
least a portion of the signal is to be sent. This extracted
identification code is transmitted to a broadcast station
for simultaneous transmission with a broadcast signal by
means for transmitting a signal which forms part of the
central processor. The central processor upon receipt of
incoming telephone communication links at least partially
determines whether the subscriber is to originate a signal
for transmission to others or is to receive a signal
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transmitted to the central processor by another subscriber.
Once this has been determined, the central processor selects
the appropriate channel for processing of the signal.
A subscriber station for use in the communication
network comprises means for establishing a telephone
communication link with a central processor in preparation
for the receipt of a signal from or the transmission of a
signal to the central processor, tuning means for receiving
a signal superimposed on a broadcast signal, means for
comparing the received signal with a predetermined code
peculiar to the subscriber station, control means for
actuating the means for establishing a telephone
communication link when a match between the received signal
and the predetermined code is found, means for identifying
the subscriber station to the central processor when the
communication link has been completed, means for receiving
and recording a signal originating from the central
processor if the control means establishes the communication
link, and means for selectively transmitting a signal to the
central processor over a telephone communication link for,
in general, eventual transmission to another party or
subscriber.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Preferred embodiments of the invention are found in
the drawings wherein;
Figure 1 is an overview of how the communication
system connects various subscribers and each subscriber with
one of several large utilities.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
The schematic of the communication network is shown
in Figure 1 and includes a plurality of subscriber stations
generally shown as 2, which are linked to a central
processing intermediary generally shown as 20 via telephone
modems 4 and the non-dedicated telephone lines 24. Each
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subscriber station 2 includes an input means, in this case
the antenna 6, for receiving the free air communication
broadcast generally shown as 32. It can be appreciated that
the antenna 6 could be replaced with a connection to a
broadcast carried over a cable network as but one
alternative. Each station includes a number of input/output
channels generally designated as 8 for allowing connection
to the remotely readable gas, water and electricity meters
generally designated 10, 12 and 14 respectively. In
addition, a hot water heater 19 or other interruptible load
is connected to the receiver/processor 16 in a manner to
allow interruption of the power supply to the hot water
heater or other load to effect load shedding as will be
discussed subsequently.
Central processing intermediary 20 is a central
computer with the capability of automatically answering
various telephone signals conducted over the normal
non-dedicated telephone lines. The automatic answer lines
are generally designated as 22. The central processing
intermediary 20 is also connected to a radio station 28 via
the transmission line 26 to effect transmission of an
instructing signal to the radio station 28. The instructing
signal at least identifies the address code of desired
subscriber stations, with this instructing signal being
superimposed on the normal broadcast signai eventually
received by the antennas 6. The receiver processor 16, of
each subscriber station 2, continuously listens or hears the
instructing signal, and when a match between the particular
address of the receiver/processor 16 and the instructing
signal is achieved, certain functions will be carried out by
the receiver/processor. Preferrably command co~es are also
transmitted with the address codes such that the receiver/
processor 16 carries out certain functions generally in
preparation for communicating with the centIal process
intermediary 20. Therefore, in effect, the broadcast signal
32 which includes the address signals, is used as an
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outbound link to identify the particular subscriber stations
that are to carry out a particular function such as meter
reading. In this case, the instructing signal would actuate
certain receiver/processors 16 which would then determine
the various values of meters 10, 12 and 14. These values
may already be stored in memory of the receiver/processor 16
if the signals from the meters are continuously fed to the
receiver/processor 16. The receiver/processor l~ via the
telephone modem 4 and an automatic dial-up capability places
an outgoing telephone call to the central process
intermediary 20, whereafter identification of the subscriber
station and the various readings will be transmitted. The
central process intermediary 20 would record these values
and, preferrably, process them with other data received from
subscriber stations for appropriate distribution to the
utilities such as electrical utility 34, gas utility 36 and
water utility 38 which can be electronically connected to
the central process intermediary via dedicated or
non-dedicated communication lines 37 or may be connected in
a conventional manner such as by mail. Obviously, the
electronic communication is preferred, and will allow more
rapid invoicing by the various utilities.
In addition, other institution type users 39 of the
system are shown and include governments, banks, brokers,
newspapers, advertisers, security agencies, ticket agencies,
credit card companies, data base services, market survey
firms etc., who desire electronic communication with
subscribers. These users may have a dedicated or
non-dedicated connection to the central process intermediary
20 and may or may not require two way communication. This
group would also "subscribe" to the system but because of
its particular purpose, has been separately identified.
These other users 39, may require additional equipment 18 at
each subscriber station for functions such as information
display, printing, entering, editing, storage, and
processing. This equipment may include a printer, display,
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keyboard, storage means, and computer system, among other
devices.
It is also possible to use this communication
system for other functions, such as load shedding which will
be discussed with respect to interruptible loads such as the
hot water heater l9. It is well known that the electrical
utility must operate within fairly rigid maximum load
requirements and pay substantial penalties for exceeding the
maximum. In order to provide them with control or at least
some control over the total demand for electrical power,
certain interruptible appliances within individual premises
can be automatically disconnected for a shcrt period of time
to thereby reduce the peak load. This is true of hot water
heaters and central air conditioners, and water heater l9
has been connected with the receiver/processor 16 and upon
an appropriate signal being transmitted to the receiver/
processor 16, the power supply of the hot water tank can be
temporarily interrupted as required.
Many advantages are possible by having a central
process intermediary which effectively connects individual
subscribers with individual utilities and other
institutional users. Centralized meter reading for example,
becomes an economic reality. In addition, the basic
equipment can be added to make possible electronic mail an~
electronic billing as additional services. The
communication network uses existing technology to allow the
completion of a telephone communication link between the
subscriber station and the central processing intermediary
to be activated by the subscriber station upon receipt of an
instructing signal. Therefore, two existing communication
channels, broadcast and dial-up telephone, have been
advantageously combined and a central processing
intermediary has been introduced to substantially reduce the
capital cost associated with each station. Furthermore,
secondary features such as load shedding and time of day
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billing can be accomplished providing further economic
justification of the capital costs.
The receiver/processor 16 includes logic such that
the outgoing call to the central processing intermediary 20
only occurs when the telephone line is available and aborts
the call in the event that another phone connected to the
line is used. In this way, the normal operation of the
telephone within the subscriber's premises remains unchanged
and the subscriber station 2 only uses the line when not in
use by the occupants.
It can be appreciated that the various utilities
can make requests of the central processing intermediary via
the preferred direct communication lines 37, however, it is
somewhat more effective if all meter readings are
transferred from the subscriber station to the central
processor intermediary at the same point in time.
Therefore, in order to transfer the required information to
separate utilities, the central processing facility
processes the information received from each subscriber an~
separates the same into the appropriate groups for
distribution to the separate utilities. In this way, the
central processing intermediary processes the information
into a suitable form for use by other parties.
Figure 1 up to this point, has been discussed with
respect to the communication system for use in gathering
information available at the subscriber's premises and/or
the possibility of load shedding with respect to some
appliances. It is also possible with this system to
implement such services as dynamic time of day billing for
electrical power, time of day metering for electrical
utilities, quality of service monitoring for electrical
utilities, supply pressure monitoring for water and gas
utilities, control of certain uses of water, on-line
monitoring of fuel oil tank levels, on-line monitoring of
gas leaks, inventory monitoring for industrial gas
cylinders, inventory monitoring for vending machines and
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remote monitoring and control of distributed equipment.
These services require the use of specialized sensors of one
sort or another, which result in an electrically-readable
signal. The receiver/processor can be appropriately
programmed to process these signals and provide a telephone
communication link between the receiver/processor and the
process intermediary. It is also possible in the present
system to provide on-line monitoring of security alarms,
on-line monitoring of smoke and fire alarms, on-line
monitoring of flood alarms, heat loss alarms, panic switch
alarms, medical monitoring and extended power failure alarms
using the proposed communication network and suitable
sensors.
In order to provide electronic mail or messages,
the receiver/processor of the subscriber would be provided
with a terminal 18 for the presentation and entry of
information and preferrably some processing means and memory
capacity. In a more sophisticated embodiment, it may
utilize a personal computer as the terminal equipment 18
connected to receiver/processor 16 via line 17. A message
would be originated at one subscriber station which
thereafter would make the telephone communication link with
the central processing intermediary 20 and transfer the
desired message with the address of the subscriber or user
to whom the message is destined. The central processing
intermediary 20 would then extract the address code of the
subscriber or user to which the message is to be sent and
have a signal produced and transmitted with the broadcast
signal generally indicated as 32. As all receiver~
processors 16 are continuously listening they would
recognize their particular address code and, in this case,
may recognize a further code indicating that a message was
waiting for them at the central process intermediary. The
user of that particular receiver/processor would have a
message or indication appearing thereon produced by his own
receiver/processor acknowledging a message had been received
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by the central process intermediary. In this manual-type
operation, the person would then complete a telephone
communication link and have the message transmitted to him.
It is also possible to automatically have this message
transfered once the signal was received by the station using
its automatic dial-up capability for contacting the central
process intermediary 20. Therefore, this arrangement again
uses the existing dial-up telephone lines to effect a
communication link between the subscriber and the central
process intermediary while using the broadcast signal to
alert the subscriber equipment of particular functions to be
performed.
The system described above provides an interactive
subscriber service, which in effect, acts as a medium
suitable for electronic mail, electronic delivery of
invoices, electronic bill paying, electronic direct mail
advertising, personalized real time information services,
personlized notification services, electronic message
services, shop at home services, home banking services,
consumer surveys, plebisites, electronic purchase and
delivery of tickets, and home lottery selection and ticket
delivery to mention only a few of the possibilities. This
full interactive subscriber service is accomplished without
the creation of a new physical communication channel, by
using the existing communication channels in a unique manner.
Although various preferred embodiments of the
present invention have been described herein in detail, it
will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, that
variations may be made thereto without departing from the
spirit of the invention or the scope of the appende~ claims.
