Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR INTEGRATING
TELEPHONE AND BROADBAND NETWORKS
Background of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to
telecommunication networks and services and more
specifically to broadband networks and services.
By comparison to today's mature telephony networks,
nationwide broadband networks are in their early infancy
1o phase. In this application, the term broadband includes
video information (both moving and still images) as well as
conventional voice and alphanumeric data. Over the past
few years, the industry has spent considerable effort to
develop broadband access, switching, and transmission
technology. However, little effort has been devoted to
integrating and controlling broadband networks. As a
result, there is no commonly accepted architecture for the
control of broadband networks. In addition, there are very
few standards or industry requirements defining control
functions, interfaces, and protocols for broadband
networks.
While certain vendors, e.g. AT&T and Fujitsu, may
offer end-to-end solutions with control capacities
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integrated into broadband access and switching products,
these approaches are proprietary and, when considered for
large scale deployment, are characterized by the same
drawbacks and challenges which were attributed to switch
based telephony services over 20 years ago, i.e., service
implementation, deployment and uniformity problems, as well
as, limited service customization.
It is therefore desirable to provide a broadband
network and services that substantially obviate one or more
of the problems due to limitations and disadvantages of the
related art.
It is also desirable to provide a broadband network in
which network operators can quickly respond to changing
market demands to rapidly create, test, and deploy new
services in the broadband network.
It is further desirable to extend existing service
creation and service control features and functionality to
support the creation and execution of broadband services in
a broadband network.
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It is still further desirable to provide a system and
method for generating broadband services and for
provisioning those broadband services in an execution
environment quickly and efficiently.
It is desirable to provide efficient and inexpensive
systems and methods for providing video-on-demand services.
It is also desirable to provide efficient and
inexpensive systems and methods for providing
videoconferencing services.
l0 It is also desirable to provide an integrated
broadband network and telephone network.
It is also desirable to provide an integrated
broadband/telephone network in which network operators can
quickly respond to changing market demands to rapidly
create, test, and deploy new services.
It is further desirable to provide a system and method
for generating services in an integrated
broadband/telephone network and for provisioning those
services in an execution environment quickly and
2o efficiently.
It is still further desirable to provide efficient and
inexpensive systems and methods for providing caller
identification services.
Additional objectives, features and advantages of the
invention will be set forth in the description which
follows, and in part will be apparent from the description,
or may be learned by practice of the invention. The
objectives and other advantages of the invention will be
realized and attained by means of the instrumentalities and
3o combinations particularly pointed out in the written
description and appended claims hereof as well as the
appended drawings.
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Description of the Invention
To achieve these and other advantages and in
accordance with the purposes of the invention, as embodied
and broadly described, the invention includes an integrated
network, comprising a broadband network, a telephone
network, and
an integrated service control point connected to both said
broadband network and said telephone network.
Also in accordance with the purposes of the invention,
l0 as embodied and broadly described, the invention includes
an integrated broadband/telephone service control point
connected to both a broadband network and a telephone
network, comprising a first database having a plurality of
broadband processing records, a second database having a
plurality of call processing records, means responsive to a
first set of triggers from said broadband network for
executing one or more of said broadband processing records
and returning processing instructions to said broadband
network, and means responsive to a second set of triggers
2o from said telephone network for executing one or more of
said call processing records and returning processing
instructions to said telephone network.
Also in accordance with the purposes of the invention,
as embodied and broadly described, the invention includes
in an integrated network including a broadband network, a
telephone network, and an integrated service control point,
a method, executed by a processor in the integrated service
control point, comprising the steps of receiving a trigger
of a first kind from said broadband network, executing one
or more processing records in response to said trigger of
said first kind, returning broadband processing
instructions derived from said one or more broadband
processing records to said broadband network, receiving a
trigger of a second kind from said telephone network,
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executing one or more processing records in response to
said trigger of a second kind, and returning call
processing instructions derived from said one or more call
processing records to said telephone network.
Also in accordance with the purposes of the invention,
as embodied and broadly described, the invention includes
an integrated broadband/telephone service control point
connected to both a broadband network and a telephone
network, comprising a database having a plurality of
broadband processing records and call processing records,
means responsive to a first set of triggers from said
broadband network for executing one or more of said
broadband processing records and returning processing
instructions to said broadband network, and means
responsive to a second set of triggers from said telephone
network for executing one or more of said call processing
records and returning processing instructions to said
telephone network.
It is to be understood that both the foregoing general
2o description and the following detailed description are
exemplary and explanatory and are intended to provide
further explanation of the invention as claimed.
Brief Description of the Drawings
The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in
and constitute a part of the specification, illustrate
presently preferred implementations of the invention and,
together with the general description given above and the
detailed description of the preferred implementations given
3o below, serve to explain the principles of the invention.
In the drawings:
Fig. 1A is a block diagram of a broadband network in
accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;
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Fig. 1B is a block diagram of a broadband network for
providing video information in accordance with one
embodiment of the present invention;
Fig. 2 is a block diagram of a broadband session
controller in accordance with one embodiment of the present
invention;
Fig. 3A is a block diagram of a broadband service
control point in accordance with one embodiment of the
present invention;
Figs. 3B and 3C are examples of a broadband processing
record in accordance with one embodiment of the present
invention;
Fig. 4 is a block diagram of a settop controller in
accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;
Fig. 5 is a process flow diagram for a video-on-demand
service in accordance with one embodiment of the present
invention;
Fig. 6 is an example of a level one gateway menu in
accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;
Fig. 7 is an example of a display menu for requesting
a user's PIN in accordance with one embodiment of the
present invention;
Fig. 8 is an example of a video selection menu for a
video information provider in accordance with one
embodiment of the present invention;
Fig. 9 illustrates an exemplary selection menu
provided by a video information provider in accordance with
one embodiment of the present invention;
Fig. 10 illustrates another exemplary selection menu
provided by a video information provider in accordance with
one embodiment of the present invention;
Fig. 11 is a block diagram of a broadband network in
accordance with an alternative embodiment of the present
invention;
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Figs. 12-14 illustrate alternative system setup and
processing flow operations in accordance with an
alternative embodiment of the present invention;
Fig. 15 illustrates a display menu for a
videoconferencing service in accordance with one embodiment
of the present invention;
Fig. 16 is a processing flow diagram for providing a
videoconferencing service in accordance with one embodiment
of the present invention;
Fig. 17 is a block diagram of an integrated broadband
and telephone network in accordance with one embodiment of
the present invention;
Fig. 18 is a block diagram of an alternative scheme
for connecting a remote location to a telephone network in
accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;
Fig. 19 is a block diagram of an integrated
telephone/broadband service control point in accordance
with one embodiment of the present invention;
Fig. 20 illustrates an example of a service
provisioning menu in accordance with one embodiment of the
present invention;
Fig. 21 is an example of a video-on-demand access
screening menu in accordance with one embodiment of the
present invention;
Fig. 22 shows an example of a list of telephone-based
services in accordance with one embodiment of the present
invention;
Fig. 23 is an example of a call history menu in
accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;
3o Fig. 24 shows an incoming call information menu
displayed on a display screen in accordance with one
embodiment of the present invention;
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Fig. 25 is an example of an incoming call information
menu in accordance with one embodiment of the present
invention;
Fig. 26 is a processing flow diagram for providing
video-based caller I.D. information in accordance with one
embodiment of the present invention; and
Fig. 27 is a processing flow diagram for providing
video-based caller I.D. information in accordance with
another embodiment of the present invention.
Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention
Reference will now be made in detail to the
construction and operation of preferred implementations of
the present invention which are illustrated in the
accompanying drawings. In those drawings, like elements
and operations are designated with the same reference
numbers.
The following description of the preferred
implementations of the present invention is only exemplary
of the invention. The present invention is not limited to
these implementations, but may be realized by other
implementations.
Fig. 1A is a block diagram of a broadband network in
accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
As shown, the preferred broadband network includes
broadband switch network ("BSN") 100, information
sender/receivers 101, broadband session controller ("BSC")
104, and broadband service control point ("BSCP") 106.
BSN 100 preferably includes one or more broadband
switches 114 for routing digital information to and from
the information sender/receivers 101. Broadband switches
114 may include, for example, asynchronous transfer mode
(ATM) switches or any other conventional digital
information switches.
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Information sender/receivers 101 preferably send
and/or receive information over broadband connections 116
to the BSN 100. Broadband connections 116 may include, for
example, twisted pairs of copper wires, coaxial cable,
fiber optic link, or some hybrid of these.
BSC 104 communicates with information sender/receivers
101, BSCP 100, and broadband switches 114 via data
connections, 120, 124, and 126, respectively. These data
connections preferably include one of twisted pairs of
to copper wire, coaxial cable, fiber-optic link, or some
hybrid of these. Connections 120 are shown as physical
connections between BSC 104 and information
sender/receivers 101, respectively. In an alternative
embodiment, however, these connections 120 are logical
connections, with the physical data paths passing through
broadband switches 114 or a separate public packet data
network (not shown).
In accordance with the present invention, information
sender/receivers 101 may include any type of communications
2o equipment, computer, or network capable of sending and/or
receiving control signals, data information, and/or
broadband information. For example, in accordance with the
present invention, information sender/receivers 101 may
include customer premise equipment, personal computers,
data communication hubs, information servers, video
servers, cameras, monitoring equipment, telephones, other
networks, etc.
Broadband session controller 104 preferably processes
signals from an information sender 101 based on
3o instructions provided by the BSCP 106. The interaction of
the BSC 104 and BSCP 106 is described in detail below.
Broadband session controller 104 also instructs switches
114 of the BSN 100 on when and how to route information
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(data and broadband) between information sender/receivers
101. Thus, in accordance with the present invention,
broadband switches 114 need only limited intelligence since
they preferably get routing instructions from the broadband
session controller 104.
The processing and functionality of the broadband
network of the present invention will now be explained in
the context of a broadband network for providing video
services to a user. Fig. 1B is a block diagram of a
1o broadband network for providing video services in
accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
As shown in Fig. 1B, one of the information
sender/receivers 101 comprises a settop controller 110,
preferably at a remote user location. Associated with the
settop controller 110 is a video display 112, video camera
120, and remote control device 118. The other information
sender/receiver 101, in the video services embodiment, is
replaced with one or more video information providers 102.
Also, in a preferred embodiment, the communication
2o connection 116 between settop controller 110 and the
broadband switch network 100 may be provided via an access
network 108. Access network 108 may comprise the same
coaxial cable, fiber optic link, or some hybrid, as
broadband connection 116. Alternatively, however, access
network 108 may comprise ADSL technology.
In accordance with the present invention, settop
controller 110 responds to input signals from a remote
control device 118. These input signals include
information entered by users, such as selections and data,
3o and control the display of information on video display
112. Settop controller 110 relays these input signals to
either the BSC 104 or VIP 102, depending on whether a video
session with the VIP 102 has been set up and established.
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Broadband session controller 104 preferably processes
control signals from settop controller 110 based on
instructions provided by the BSCP 106. Broadband session
controller 104 also instructs switches 114 of the BSN 100
on when and how to route data between VIP 102 and settop
controller 110 and instructs VIP 102 on when and how to
transfer broadband video to settop controller 110.
Fig. 2 illustrates a block diagram of the broadband
session controller 104 in accordance with one embodiment of
to the present invention. As shown, the broadband session
controller 104 preferably includes processor 200, session
manager 202, network connection manager 204, one or more
resource adapters 206, one or more signalling agents 208,
and database 210.
Session manager 202 provides intelligence to
communicate, via signaling adapters 208, with the settop
controller 110 and VIP 102. Prior to establishing a new
session, session manager 202 negotiates the attributes of
the session with the settop controller 110 and VIP 102.
Session manager 202 also interacts with the settop
controller 110 and VIP 102 prior to modifying/terminating
an existing session. Session manager processing includes a
set of predetermined events (referred to as "triggers")
which make the session manager 202 suspend current
processing and query BSCP 106 for instructions on how to
proceed. Thus, session manager 202 responds to "triggers"
and input signals from remote control 118 to provide
interactive functionality with a user.
Network connection manager 204 receives from the
3o session manager 202 requests to allocate/modify/release
network resources assigned to a particular session.
Network connection manager 204 translates logical
specifications of a session transport topology into
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requests for allocation/deallocation of specific network
resources, such as trunks, bridges and switches. For
example, the network connection manager 204 determines what
connections need to be made to connect a predetermined VIP
102 to the settop controller 110 for a particular user, and
sends instructions to resource adapters 206 controlling the
broadband switches 114 to set up those connections.
Resource adapters 206 communicate directly with
broadband switches 114 and translate instructions from the
broadband session controller 104 to instructions understood
by a particular broadband switch 114. Thus, in a preferred
embodiment, broadband session controller 104 includes a
resource adapter 206 corresponding to each type of
broadband switch 114 or any other network resource which is
controlled by broadband session controller 104. Resource
adapters 206 preferably communicate with broadband switches
114 via connections 126 (Fig. 1A). Connections 126
preferably comprise a broadband link connected to the
broadband switch 114 fabric and multiplex broadband content
with control information. Alternatively, a separate
connection, not shown, can be provided for control
information.
Signaling adapters 208 screen the session manager 202
from the need to implement multiple session signalling
protocols. Signaling adapters 208 translate a session
signaling protocol utilized by the settop controller 110
and VIP 102 into a generic session signaling protocol
utilized by the session manager 202.
As described, in a preferred embodiment session
manager 202 responds to triggers in its processing by
seeking information from BSCP 106. For example, session
manager 202 might respond to "power on" at the settop
controller 110 by requesting information from the BSCP 106
on how to respond to that "power on" occurrence. The
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triggering operation of the BSC 104 may be thought of, for
purposes of illustration, as analogous to triggering by a
telephone switch in response to a call model trigger in an
Advanced Intelligence Network ("AIN"). In
the AIN, telephone switches respond to
certain triggers from a caller by
requesting call processing information from a telephone
network SCP running the MSAP application and SPACE-based
call processing records for each user. In a preferred
to embodiment, BSC 104 responds to the following triggers to
provide broadband functionality.
1. Session Creation Requested. This trigger message
notifies the BSCP 106 that a broadband network client, e.g.
settop controller 110, has requested creation of a new
broadband session. A network client is, preferably, a
software module that acts as an agent of a user and
interacts with the network on the user's behalf. For
example, a settop controller includes a network client
software module which handles video-on-demand applications
2o and interacts with the network in this capacity. In
response to this trigger, BSCP 106 may execute outgoing
"screening" services. In addition, BSCP 106 may implement
"call forwarding and routing" services by responding with
the name and/or address of broadband clients) to whom the
session ought to be forwarded.
2. Session Change Requested. This trigger message
notifies the BSCP 106 that a broadband network client has
requested modifications to an existing broadband session
(session which is already in progress). The requested
3o changes may include any of the following operations:
a. adding and/or removing network clients;
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b. changing the session transport topology,
e.g., adding/removing transport connections between network
clients which participate in the session;
c. changing the session control policies. The
session control policies include session privacy policy
(determines who can learn about the existence of the
session through the network directory service), changes
control policy (identifies the group of network clients
which have permission to modify session characteristics),
to agreement policy (identifies the group of clients who will
be involved in approval of session changes), state change
notification policy (identifies the group of clients who
will be notified of any session state changes), billing
policy (identifies a network users) who will be billed for
the network resources used by the session).
In response to a session change requested trigger,
BSCP 106 may execute session modification screening
services. For example, the BSCP 106 may validate whether
the broadband client requesting changes to the session is
authorized by the changes control policy currently in
effect for the session.- In addition, BSCP 106 may
implement "call forwarding and routing" services by
responding with the name and address of broadband clients
to whom the session ought to be forwarded.
3. Address Information Available. This trigger
message reports the session signaling addresses) of the
proposed session participants. In response to this
trigger, BSCP 106 may look up the session agreement policy,
which is currently in effect for the session, and determine
which clients ought to be queried for acceptance of the
proposed session creation/change. The BSCP 106 would
report to the session controller 104 the list of clients to
query for acceptance.
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4. Client's Responses Received. This trigger
reports to BSCP 106 the client's responses to session
creation/change acceptance queries. In response to this
trigger, BSCP 106 may look up the session agreement policy
and, based on client's responses, determine whether the
session creation/modification ought to be authorized.
5. Session Action Committed. This trigger reports
to BSCP 106 that broadband session controller 104
successfully performed creation/modification of the
session. In response to this query, BSCP 106 rnay look up
the state change notification policy and determine which
clients ought to be notified about the session change which
took place. In addition, BSCP may look up the billing
policy and determine which clients ought to be billed for
the session changes.
6. Session Terminated. This trigger notifies BSCP
106 that a session was terminated. It also reports to BSCP
106 the network resource usage incurred by the session.
Based on this trigger, BSCP 106 could implement various
2o billing services.
SPACE is a graphical programming language for
generating call processing records ("CPRs")
using a system of graphical nodes and branches. The nodes
and branches are put together by an operator or a user
graphically on a computer screen and represent processing
flow for handling telephone calls based on various call
model triggers. Also, the MSAP program executes the CPRs
to provide call processing information to telephone
3o switches. In accordance with the present invention, the
SPACE programming language is extended to provide for
broadband processing.
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As shown in Fig. 3A, in accordance with the present
invention, BSCP 106 includes a processor 300, a broadband
application 302, and a database 304 containing a plurality
of user broadband processing records ("BPRs") 306.
Broadband application 302 preferably includes the broadband
extended SPACE programming and execution language.
Broadband database 304 includes one or more BPRs 306
for each user. In response to triggers from the broadband
session controller 104, BSCP 106 refers to a BPR 306 for
that user, executes that BPR to obtain processing
information, and returns processing instructions to the
broadband session controller 104. The broadband session
controller 104 preferably responds to processing
instructions from the BSCP 106 by instructing either the
settop controller 110, the broadband switches 114, or the
VIP 102. Details of these instructions are described
below.
Figs. 3B and 3C illustrate the processing flow of an
exemplary BPR 306 in accordance with one embodiment of the
present invention. Initially, BPR 306 responds to a
video-on-demand ("VOD") session creation trigger (node 310)
and determines whether the user has activated screening
capabilities (node 312). If the user is not screening
his/her VOD service (false branch 314), BPR 306 instructs
the settop controller 110 to display a level one gateway
("L1GW") menu (node 316). The L1GW menu is described in
more detail below. BPR 306 then identifies a L1GW menu
selection made by a user (node 318). If the selection
cancels the session (branch 320), BPR 306 requests session
manager 202 to cancel the establishment of the VOD session
(node 322). If the selection requests VOD service setup
(branch 324), BPR 306 invokes service provisioning logic
(node 326). The service provisioning logic allows a user
to modify the characteristics of the VOD service, e.g. turn
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on/off the VOD access screening. In response to any other
selection (branch 328), BPR 306 instructs BSC 104 to
connect the user to the selected VIP 102 (node 330).
If the user uses VOD screening (branch 332), BPR 306
invokes the screening service processing (node 334). The
screening service processing is shown, for example, in Fig.
3C. To provide VOD screening, the BPR requests the settop
controller 110 to display a PIN prompt screen (node 340).
The user then makes a selection (node 342). If the user
to selects to cancel the session (branch 344), BPR 306 blocks
the session (node 346) and exits the routine (node 348).
For any other user selection (branch 350), BPR 306
evaluates the PIN entered by a user (node 352). If the PIN
entered by the user matches a predefined PIN (branch 354),
the processing continues, as shown generally by node 356.
If, instead, the user has not input a matching PIN (branch
358), BPR 306 blocks the processing and exits the routine
(nodes 360 and 362, respectively).
Referring again to Fig. 2, BSC 104 also includes a
database 210 that preferably stores data or information to
be sent to the settop controller 110. For some triggers,
broadband session controller 104 need not go to the BSCP
106 for information on how to respond. Instead, session
manager 202 may provide responsive information from the
database 210. For example, when a settop controller 110
goes off hook, session manager 202 may initially transfer
interface graphics from database 210 to the settop
controller 110. Alternatively, even if the session manager
202 does go to the broadband BSCP 106 for information on
responding to the trigger, BSCP 106 may instruct the
session manager 202 to respond with information from the
database 210 in the broadband session controller 104.
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As shown in Fig. 2, broadband session controller 104
includes a single session manager 202. However, in
accordance with the invention, broadband session controller
104 may include more than one session manager 202.
Preferably, a session manager 202 is provided for each
broadband application or service provided by the system
shown in Fig. 1A. For example, one session manager may
manage VOD services, while a second session manager,
including a set of different triggers, manages
videoconferencing services. Videoconferencing services are
described in more detail below.
In accordance with the present invention, network
connection manager 204 also includes a set of triggers
which make it query BSCP 106 for instructions.
Specifically, while allocating physical network resources
to a session, network connection manager 204 may request
BSCP 106 to grant permission to use a particular resource.
For example, some network resources, e.g. trunks, may be
reserved for exclusive use by certain network users, such
2o as the U.S. government. Whenever the connection manager
204 attempts to allocate these reserved resources to a
particular session, a trigger condition will make the
network connection manager 204 request BSCP 106 to
authorize the resource allocation.
Session manager 202, network connection manager 204,
resource adapters 206, and signaling adapters 208
preferably comprise software or microcode, which is
executed by processor 200, and any hardware necessary to
effect the execution of that software or microcode in
3o accordance with conventional techniques. Processor 200
comprises any conventional processor or computer capable of
executing the software or microcode and performing the
functions described in connection with these components.
In an alternative embodiment, however, these components of
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broadband session controller 104 can be implemented in
electronic logic circuitry.
Fig. 4 illustrates a block diagram of a settop
controller 110 in accordance with one embodiment of the
present invention. As shown, settop controller 110
preferably includes a processor 400 and control
applications 402 for controlling signalling and broadband
contents information flow between the broadband session
controller 104, the video display 110, and the BSN 100. In
1o addition, settop controller 110 preferably includes memory
404 to store and buffer data and video information.
Settop controller 110 also includes an IR decoder 406
for decoding input signals sent to the settop controller
110 by remote control 118. Network access I/O 408 provides
input/output control of information to and from the
broadband switch network 100. Session controller I/O
provides control of signaling information to and from the
broadband session controller 104. Video I/O 412 provides
control of video information to and from the video display
112. Finally, video camera I/O 414 provides control of
video information from a video camera 120.
Fig. 5 illustrates a process flow diagram for the
broadband network of Fig. 1B for providing VOD services in
accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
Initially, in response to a user input signal from
remote control 118, settop controller 110 transmits a
service request instruction to the BSC 104 (step 500).
Session manager 202 of BSC 104 issues the service request
to the BSCP 106 (step 502). In response to the service
request, BSCP 106 executes a BPR for the user (step 503).
In the embodiment of Fig. 5, the BPR for the user instructs
the settop controller to display a L1GW menu and sends the
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L1GW menu choices to the settop controller 110 through the
BSC 104.
Fig. 6 illustrates an example of a L1GW menu 600. The
L1GW menu 600 preferably includes selection buttons for
various services provided by the broadband network. The
service buttons may include conventional broadcast TV 602,
VOD 604, or videoconferencing 606. Videoconferencing is
discussed in more detail below. In addition, the L1GW menu
600 may include a text area 610 to provide information to
1o the user as needed.
Referring again to Fig. 5, through a series of
interactions between the user and the settop box, the BSCP
106 provides service setup (step 506), as follows. The
user selects the VOD button 604 from the L1GW menu 600 and
the BSCP 106 responds by requesting a user's personal
identification number ("PIN").
Fig. 7 illustrates an exemplary display menu for
requesting the user's PIN. As shown, the PIN display menu
700 includes a field displaying the text "PLEASE ENTER YOUR
PIN: " (field 702}, as well as a "cancel" button
(704) and "okay" button (706). The user enters a
predefined PIN number and selects the "okay" button 706.
In response, BSCP 106 displays a VIP menu display 800, as
shown for example in Fig. 8. The video selection panel 800
includes selection buttons 800(a)-(d) corresponding to
various VIPs offering VOD services in the network. The VIP
selection menu may also include a preview button 804 to
provide preview information for each VIP server, as well as
a setup button 806 to establish a connection with the VIP
server.
Referring again to Fig. 5, when the user selects a VIP
button 802, the BSCP 106 sends a request session setup
instruction to the BSC 104 (step 508). Session manager 202
then sends a session connection request to the VIP 102
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selected by the user (step 510). After receiving a session
connection accept or acknowledgment signal from the VIP
(step 514), BSC 104 sends setup instructions to the BSN 100
(step 512). BSN 100 sets up the video and signaling
connections between the settop controller 110 and the VIP
102 (step 516). BSC 104 notifies VIP 102 and settop
controller 110 that the connections were established (step
520). VIP 102 then begins pumping proprietary interface
menus, such as video selection menus, down a broadband
l0 connection 518 to the settop controller 110.
Fig. 9 illustrates an exemplary video selection menu
900 provided by a VIP 102. The video selection menu 900
may include a selection of video category buttons 902A and
9028, as well as exit (904) and setup (906) buttons.
Although Fig. 9 shows the video selections based on only
two criteria, entertainment (902a) and education (902b),
the video selection can be provided based on many
categories, such as any category found in video rental
stores.
2o In response to a user's selection of a category 902
and setup button 906, the VIP 102 might respond by
displaying a menu listing movies in that particular
category. Fig. 10 shows an exemplary menu 1000, which
includes a listing of video titles 1002(a)-1002(d), as well
as a "more" button 1004 and a "previous menu" button 1006.
A user selects the movie title and the VIP 102 begins
sending the video signal to the settop controller 110 for
display on the user's video display 112.
Returning again to Fig. 5, a VOD session may end in
3o response to a session completion request from either the
VIP 102 or the user through the settop controller 110 (step
522). In response to such a session completion request,
the network connection manager 204, through the RAs 206,
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instructs the broadband switching network 100 to take down
the broadband connection to the VIP (step 524). Once the
connection is terminated, the session manager sends a
session termination notification signal to both the VIP 102
and the settop controller 110 (step 526), thus ending the
system operation.
In an alternative embodiment, a broadband network
according to the present invention includes an intelligent
peripheral ("IP") for providing certain system
1o functionality. As shown in Fig. 11, this alternative
network remains essentially the same as the network shown
in Figs. 1A and 1B, however, an IP 1100 is connected to
BSCP 106, BSC 104, an information sender/receiver 101 (in
the case of Fig. 11, settop controller 110), and one or
more switches 114 of the BSN 100.
In the embodiment of Fig. 11, IP 1100 preferably
replaces low level operations associated with the settop
controller 110 in the previous embodiment. In this
embodiment, BSCP 106 preferably sends signaling information
2o to IP 1100 requesting IP 1100 to generate video
representation of the VOD menu screens and send it to the
settop controller 110 via transport connections in
broadband switch network 100. and access network 108. Thus,
in this embodiment, IP 1100 off-loads the settop controller
from generating video representations of the VOD menu
screens. IP 1100 preferably comprises a Bellcore
Intelligent Services Peripheral modified to provide the
disclosed broadband network functionalities. Connections
120, 122, and 128 shown in Fig. 11 may be logical
3o connections, with the physical connections passing instead
through switches 114.
Fig. 12 illustrates a system setup and processing
operation for connecting a user with the IP 1100 to provide
VOD services. Initially, the user creates a session
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request through IR decoder 404, which is sent from the
settop controller 110 to BSC 104 (step 1200). BSC 106
returns an acknowledge signal (step 1202) and sends an
information request signal to the BSCP 106 (step 1204).
The BSCP 106 executes a BPR (step 1206) and returns an
information response to the session manager 202 of the
broadband session controller 104 (step 1208). The response
message (step 1208) directs broadband session controller to
establish signaling and video connections between the IP
1o and settop controller 110. Session manager 202 then
requests a signaling adapter module 208 to send a session
connection request to the IP (step 1210). The IP 1100
responds to this signal by sending a session action
accepted signal to the broadband session controller 104
(step 1212). In response to the session action accepted
signal, session manager 202 invokes network connection
manager 204 (step 1214). Network connection manager 204,
via resource adapter 206, establishes the signaling data
and video connections between settop controller 110 and IP
1100. In particular, resource adapters 206 associated with
access network 108 and broadband switches 114 set up the
signaling, video, and audio transport connections between
IP 1100 and settop controller 110 (connection 1216). After
the transport connections are established, session manager
202 then sends session connections mode notifications to
both the settop controller 110 and the IP 1100 so that the
IP 1100 and settop controller 110 know when to start using
the connection.
The IP 1100 can now communicate with the user directly
to provide service functionality as described above. For
example, as shown in Fig. 13, in this alternative
embodiment, once the IP 1100 and the user's settop
controller 110 are connected, the IP 1100 processing may
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take over and request information from BSCP 106 to provide
VOD services for the user (step 1302). In response to this
request, the BSCP 106 will again execute a BPR (step 1304)
and provide response information to the IP 1100 (step
1306). In this example, the information from the BSCP 106
instructs the IP 1100 to display VOD menu information (step
1308) (i.e. upon receiving this information, the IP 1100
generates a video representation of the menu and sends it
to settop controller 110). The user's settop controller
1o then returns selection information to IP 1100 (step 1310).
In response, the IP 1100 again sends an information
request to BSCP 106 (step 1312). BSCP 106 again executes a
BPR responsive to that information request (step 1314) and
returns another response to IP 1100 (step 1316). This
communication between IP 1100 and BSCP 106 and IP 1100 and
settop controller 110 continues until BSCP 106 has all
information necessary to connect the user's settop
controller 110 to the VIP 102. At this point (step 1316),
BSCP 106 instructs IP 1100 to request a connection between
the user's settop controller 110 and VIP 102.
Fig. 14 shows the processing steps for connecting the
user's settop controller 110 to the VIP 102 in this
alternative embodiment. Initially, the IP 1100 requests
the broadband session controller 104 to modify the existing
session between the settop controller 110 and IP 1100. The
requested session modification includes removal of
signaling and video connections between settop controller
110 and IP 1100 and establishment of signaling and video
connections between settop controller 110 and VIP 102.
3o Specifically, IP 1100 sends a modify session request to BSC
104 (step 1400), and the BSC 104 returns an acknowledgment
signal to the IP 1100 (step 1402). The BSC 104 then
requests information from the BSCP 106 (step 1404), which
executes a BPR to determine how to handle the request (step
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1406) and returns responsive information to the BSC 104
(step 1408). The session manager 202 of BSC 104 then
negotiates with the user's settop controller 110 and the
VIP 102 by sending session action requests (steps 1410 and
1412, respectively), and receiving session action accepted
signals (steps 1414 and 1416, respectively}. In response
to session action accepted signals from the settop
controller 110 and the VIP 102, session manager 202 invokes
the network connection manager 204 to set up the network
l0 connections (step 1418). The connection manager 204 calls
the appropriate resource adapters 206 to connect the settop
controller 110 to the VIP 102 through the access network
108 and BSN 100 (signaling and video connections 1420).
BSC 104 then sends session action complete signals for
final notification to VIP (step 1422), settop controller
(step 1424), and IP 1100 (step 1426).
The present invention also provides for broadband
videoconferencing. The general operation of the network is
similar to that for VOD services as described above, except
2o that for broadband videoconferencing, the video source
comes not from a VIP, but from the video camera 120
associated with a user's settop controller 110.
Preferably, for videoconferencing, settop controller 110
controls cameras 120, microphones (not shown}, video
display 112, and speakers (not shown).
The videoconferencing service is preferably selected
using the videoconferencing button 606 off the L1GW menu
600, shown in Fig. 6. In response to the selection of the
videoconferencing service, the BSCP 106 preferably
transfers a videoconferencing menu to the caller's settop
controller 102. A preferred videoconferencing menu 1500 is
shown, for example, in Fig. 15. The videoconferencing menu
1500 preferably includes a personal list of names of
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individuals or businesses 1502(a)-1502(d) that the caller
includes within the caller's videoconferencing services.
Videoconferencing menu 1500 may also include "go back"
1504, "more," 1506, "find," 1508 and "hang up" 1510
buttons. "Go back" button 1504 displays the main menu shown
in Fig. 6. The "find" button 1508 determines the address
of any videoconferencing subscriber. In response to the
selection of the "find" button 1508, settop controller 110
displays a screen prompting the caller for information
1o about a videoconferencing subscriber whose address is
needed. In response to the selection of the "more" button
1506, the settop controller 110 displays another portion of
the caller's personal list of names of individuals or
businesses 1502(a)-1502(d) that the caller often calls via
videoconferencing services. In response to the selection
of "hang up" button 1504, the settop controller 110
requests termination of the existing videoconferencing
session between the settop controller 110 and
videoconferencing network clients) utilized by other
2o videoconferencing users) engaged in the current
videoconferencing session.
Fig. 16 shows the processing steps for providing a
videoconferencing service in accordance with one embodiment
of the present invention. As discussed, for
videoconferencing, the setup steps 1600-1608 between a
caller's settop controller and BSC 104 and the
communication between BSC 104 and BSCP 106 are the same as
step 1200-1208 shown in Fig. 12 for VOD services, except
that the user has selected the videoconferencing service
button 606 off the L1GW menu 600. In response to the
information request message (step 1604), BSCP 106
preferably executes broadband processing record BPR (step
1606) which, like the exemplary BPR shown in Figs. 3B-3C,
may implement services offered to videoconferencing users,
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e.g. "call screening" services, "call forwarding and
routing" services, etc. In this embodiment, in response to
information from BSCP 106, session manager 202 of BSC 104,
through a signaling adapter 208, sends a session action
request signal to a settop controller 110 of a called party
to inform the called party of the attempted videoconference
(step 1610). The called party's settop controller 110
responds through the signaling adapter 208 to the session
manager 202 by accepting or rejecting the request. In this
1o example, the request is accepted (step 1612). Session
manager 202 then invokes connection manager 204 to set up a
broadband connection between the calling party and the
called party (step 1614). Connection manager 204 then
invokes the resource adapters 206 for the broadband network
100 and the access network 108 to set up the transport
connections (step 1616). Once the network resources are
allocated, the session manager 202 sends a notification
signal (steps 1618 and 1620) to the settop controllers 110
of both the calling party and the called party. In this
embodiment, both the video and voice information are pumped
down the broadband connection.
Thus far, the description concentrates on the
structure and services provided by a broadband network.
However, in accordance with the present invention, a
broadband network can also be integrated with a telephone
network to provide additional services and features.
Fig. 17 shows a block diagram of an integrated
broadband and telephone network in accordance with one
embodiment of the present invention. As shown, broadband
3o network 1700 and telephone network 1702 communicate with an
integrated broadband/telephone SCP ("BTSCP") 1704 via
connections 124. Broadband network 1700 preferably
includes the basic components of the broadband network as
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described above, including broadband switches 114 and
broadband session controller 104. Broadband switches 114
connect to a user's settop controller 110 to provide
broadband information as described above.
Telephone network 1702 may include any
conventional telephone network including the PSTN,
intelligent network ("IN"), or advanced intelligent
network ("AIN"). Fig. 17 shows only the basic
switches 1706 and a line information database
to ("LIDB") 1708 of the telephone network.
As described above, AIN switches 1706 rely on
instructions from an SCP to provide call processing
information. Thus, switches 1706 of telephone network 1702
15 connect to the BTSCP 1704 via connections 124. Switches
1706 also connect to end-user call processing equipment
1710, such as telephones, via conventional connections
1712. In addition, in accordance with the present
invention, switches 1706 could connect directly to a settop
20 controller 110 at a user's remote location. Although Fig.
17 shows separate connections 1712 and 1714 from a
telephone switch 1706 to a user's CPE 1710 and settop
controller 110, only a single connection may be necessary.
This embodiment is shown, for example, in Fig. 18, where a
25 single connection 1712 connects a telephone network 1702 to
a remote location. In this embodiment, a line
splitter/caller I.D. adapter 1800 splits the telephone
connection 1712 and feeds telephone extensions 1802 to CPE
1710 and settop controller 110. The functionality of the
30 caller I.D. adapter portion is disclosed in more detail
below.
In accordance with the present invention, integrated
BTSCP 1704 provides processing instructions to both the
broadband network 1700 and telephone network 1702 to
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integrate services across these networks in an efficient
and effective manner. As shown in the embodiment of Fig.
19, to integrate the two networks, the integrated BTSCP
1704 includes both a broadband SPACE application 302 and a
telephone SPACE application 1900. Again, the basic
telephone SPACE application 1900 is described in the
incorporated patent applications. In an alternative
embodiment, the broadband SPACE application 302 and
telephone SPACE application 1900 exist as a single
integrated application.
In one embodiment, BTSCP 1704 includes database 304
containing BPRs 306, and an additional database 1902
including telephone call processing records CPRs 1904.
CPRs are also described in the incorporated patent
applications. In an alternative embodiment, both BPRs 306
and CPRs 1504 are included in a single database.
Processor 300 responds to triggers from either broadband
network 1700 or telephone network 1702, executes the
corresponding SPACE application 302 or 1900, and accesses
2o the appropriate database 304 or 1902 to provide processing
instructions to either network.
Although in one embodiment of the invention, the
broadband and telephone functions are provided in an
integrated SCP, in an alternative embodiment, the functions
are distributed across multiple SCPs.
By integrating the broadband and telephone networks,
the present invention provides new network-based services
for end-users. For example, in accordance with the present
invention, an end-user can now provision video and
telephone services via a display interface at the user's
remote location. The display interface in this embodiment
preferably comprises the video display 112 (or television)
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connected to settop controller 110, as shown, for example,
in Fig. 1B.
To provision video and/or telephone services via a
display interface, the present invention provides a service
provisioning menu similar to the broadband menus described
above. Fig. 20 illustrates the service provisioning menu.
Just as any other broadband menu described above, the
service provisioning menu of Fig. 20 can originate at
several sources, including the integrated BTSCP 1704,
1o intelligent peripheral 1100, BSC 104, or settop controller
110.
As shown in Fig. 20, service provisioning menu 2000
preferably includes a video button 2002, a telephone button
2004, and a PREVIOUS button 2006. Selection of the video
button 2002 preferably displays a list of video-based
services that may be provisioned, while selection of
telephone button 2004 preferably displays a list of
telephone services that may be provisioned. PREVIOUS
button 2006 permits a user to return to previous menus.
2o One example of a broadband network-based service that
may be provisioned by an end-user in accordance with one
embodiment of the invention, is a video-on-demand access
screening service. For this service, a user selects VOD
access screening from a list of video services (not shown)
that would be displayed after selecting the video button
2002. Broadband network 1700 responds to this selection by
displaying a menu like that shown, for example, in Fig. 21.
The menu includes a line which reads, "Turn on the VOD
access screening:" 2100 and a "new PIN" field 2102. To
3o enable VOD access screening, the user selects the VOD
access screening line 2100 by selecting a box 2108
associated therewith and entering a PIN in the new PIN
field 2102. CANCEL button 2104 allows a user to cancel any
changes and return to a previous menu. OK button 2106
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allows a user to enable the service after completing the
menu. As described for other broadband services above,
information collected by the VOD access screening menu is
transmitted back to the integrated BTSCP 1704 and added to
the user's BPR 306.
As discussed above, a user can also provision
telephone services via a video interface in accordance with
the present invention. To provide telephone services, a
user selects the telephone button 2004 in the service
1o provisioning menu 2000 of Fig. 20. Fig. 22 shows an
exemplary list of telephone-based services that would be
displayed in response to selection of the telephone button
2004. For example, the telephone service provisioning menu
of Fig. 22 may permit a user to turn on a call blocking
feature (line 2200). Should the user select incoming call
blocking 2200, the user can also exclude certain telephone
numbers from the blocking service if desired (line 2202).
The telephone service processing menu may also permit a
user to turn on a caller I.D. display feature (line 2204)
or to consider the call histories of recent incoming calls
(line 2206). The telephone menu of Fig. 22 also includes a
cancel button 2208 and an OK button 2210.
Fig. 23 illustrates a call history service display for
a user's display 112 in response to selection of the call
history button 2206 in Fig. 22. Field 2300 shows a list of
a predetermined number of most recent calls, the date and
time of the calls, and the status of the calls (delivered
or blocked). In addition, in accordance with the present
invention, the call history includes caller I.D.
3o information, including the caller's telephone number and
the caller's name. This caller I.D. information will be
described in more detail below. The call history menu also
includes a MORE button 2302 to move forward through the
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list, and a PREVIOUS button 2304 to display previous
screens.
As mentioned above, the present invention provides for
video-based caller I.D. delivery. Fig. 24 helps illustrate
this service. Fig. 24 shows a conventional television
program, such as a weather report, being displayed on a
user's display 112. When a call is placed to that user's
telephone, in accordance with conventional techniques, the
call rings the user's telephone. However, in accordance
2o with the present invention, caller I.D. information is
transmitted to the settop controller 110 which displays the
incoming caller I.D. information on a window 2402 of the
display 112.
Fig. 25 shows an exemplary listing of the incoming
call information that may be displayed in the display
window of the user's display 112. The incoming call
information 2500 preferably lists the name of the caller
(field 2502), the caller's telephone number (field 2504),
the time of the call (field 2506), and date of the call
(field 2508), and the disposition of the call (field 2510).
Call disposition field 2510 informs the user if the call
is being delivered or blocked, provided the user subscribes
to a call blocking feature. DONE button 2512 permits the
user to go back to a normal viewing screen. CALL HISTORY
button 2514 provides the same function as call history
field 2206 in Fig. 22.
The processing operation of the integrated broadband
and telephone network for providing the incoming call
information will now be described with reference to Figs.
26 and 27. In a first embodiment, the caller I.D. adapter
portion of the line splitter/caller I.D. adapter 1800 (Fig.
18) (henceforth referred to only as "the caller I.D.
adapter") provides the same functionality as today's
conventional caller I.D. devices that are connected to
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user's telephone lines to identify incoming callers. In
this embodiment, the caller I.D. adapter 1800 rings the
user's telephone 1710, and sends the caller I.D.
information to the user's settop controller 110, which
incorporates the caller I.D. information into the
appropriate fields (2502 and 2504} of the incoming call
information window 2500 (Fig. 25) for the user's display
112.
Fig. 26 shows the processing operation diagram to
l0 provide the video-based caller I.D. information in
accordance with the first embodiment of the present
invention. In this embodiment, the processing of a
telephone call through the telephone network is performed
in a manner consistent with today's conventional caller
I.D. service.
Initially, a calling party places a call to a user
(called party), which causes the calling party's telephone
to transmit a call setup request to a telephone switch
(step 2600). The switch responds to the call by sending a
calling name retrieval request to LIDB (step 2602). LIDB
matches the calling party's telephone number to the calling
party's name and returns the calling party's name to the
switch (step 2604). The switch then transmits a call setup
request (including caller identification information) to
the caller's telephone (step 2606). However, in the
present invention, caller I.D. adapter 1800 receives this
call setup request and sends the caller I.D. information
contained in the call setup request to the settop
controller 110 (step 2608). The settop controller then
displays the caller information in a window (step 2610), as
shown in Fig. 24. At the same time, caller I.D, adapter
1800 sends the call setup request information to the called
party's telephone (step 2612) to ring the telephone (step
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2614). The called party can review the caller information
being displayed and determine whether to answer the phone.
Although in this embodiment the caller I.D. information is
sent to a settop controller 110 to be displayed on display
112, in alternative embodiments, the line splitter/caller
I.D. adapter 1800 may pass the caller I.D. information
directly to CPE 1710 for display or display the caller I.D.
information directly.
As just described, to provide caller I.D. information
to according to the embodiment shown in Fig. 26, the invention
does not require a broadband network to deliver the caller
I.D, information. Rather, the caller information is
provided to a remote location in accordance with
conventional telephone network techniques. In an
alternative embodiment, however, the caller I.D.
information can also be delivered to the called party's
display via a broadband network 1700.
Referring to Fig. 27, initially, a calling party dials
a user's (called party's) telephone number. Again, the
calling party's telephone sends a call setup request to the
telephone switch (step 2700). In this embodiment, the
telephone switch preferably sends a trigger query to BTSCP
1704 (step 2702). The BTSCP then requests a calling name
from LIDB (step 2704), which returns the calling party's
name (step 2706). BTSCP 1704 instructs the switch to
confirm call setup to the telephone switch (step 2708), and
forwards the caller information to the called party's
settop controller 110 via the broadband network 1700 (step
2710), which the settop controller displays on display 112
(step 2702). The telephone switch sends the call setup
request to the called party's telephone (step 2714) to ring
the phone (step 2716). Accordingly, at approximately the
same time, the called party's telephone rings, and the
settop controller displays the call identification
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information on the user's video display 112.
Alternatively, BTSCP could return to the switch the calling
party's name for delivering to traditional caller ID
display devices.
While there has been illustrated and described what
are at present considered to be preferred embodiments and
methods of the present invention, it will be understood by
those skilled in the art that various changes and
modifications may be made, and equivalents may be
substituted for elements thereof without departing from the
true scope of the invention. For example, in the preferred
embodiments, BSCP 106 provides processing instructions
and/or data in response to services originated by BSC 104.
In alternative embodiments, however, BSCP 106 could
communicate directly with an information sender/receiver
101 and provide processing instructions and/or data in
response to direct queries from an information
sender/receiver 101 via BSC 104, BSN 100, or some other
communication facility.
2o In addition, many modifications may be made to adapt a
particular element, technique or implementation to the
teachings of the present invention without departing from
the central scope of the invention. Therefore, it is
intended that this invention not be limited to the
particular embodiments and methods disclosed herein, but
that the invention include all embodiments falling within
the scope of the appended claims.
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